150 Gallon Peninsula in a Condo

[DC_addict]

So this thread will be dedicated to the build of my new 150 Gallon Peninsula mixed reef tank in my Condo. Obviously with a condo I am facing unique challenges when it comes to space as well as sound. I do not have the ability to have a Fish room so I have to make due with what I have.
This hobby for me started out with a 55 Gallon tank I purchased used and fully running online.
I don't have many pictures of the first tank, but here it is.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/Old%20living%20room.jpg

I quickly wanted more and after everything was stabilized with my 55 Gallon I upgraded to a 150 Gallon. I purchased it used from a reefer online who had upgraded to a 150 Gallon setup. Unfortunately just after the cycle finished and my fish were in the tank disaster struck.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/2013-02-02%2018.14.44.jpg

Here is a picture of what caused the flood

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/2013-02-03%2011.40.48.jpg

The cleanup was brutal, but even when I had no floors I was already planning my new setup. This time I was determined to do it right, I am going to build everything exactly the way I want it. Here is a picture of the floors out and my tape outline of where I would put the new peninsula tank, and the next image shows the tape back once my floors are back in. (notice the aquarium glow coming from the washroom ;)

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/2013-02-14%2007.31.35.jpg
.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/2013-03-05%2020.57.56.jpg

I now have the new tank and have started to work with a local reefer to build me a custom stand. I have picked up a 150 Tall with a foot print of 48x24x30. Here is my drawing of the stand.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/20130305_215330.jpg

The stand is already in production and will be done soon, the tank is drilled I will be going with a beananimal style overflow.

I should also mention I was able to "save" most of the fish and transfer them into the 55 Gallon which still had a small amount of water in it. I started making more salt water to attempt to save the fish, but unfortunately most of them died within days after the accident. I still have a few left who are in my temporary tank which is setup on the washroom floor.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/2013-02-14%2007.30.47.jpg


Stand by for more pictures of the progress as I continue on this project. :thumbsup:

[PistolShrmp]

Wow, what a heartbreaker. Glad to see your still at it, I'll be watching your progress as I too am building a peninsula tank. Good luck!

[OrQidz]

oh jeez, that broken glass makes me cringe! What a bummer. Was it a rock dropping in the tank or something, or just tank failure? Glad you are back at setting up another tank though!

[LennyD4]

yea, I am also curious as to how your tank cracked like that....that is very scary.

[DC_addict]

I am not sure why it happened actually. I didn't drop anything but about 1 hour before this happened I rearranged some of the rocks. I also checked the level of the tank as a few people suggested to me it could be that, but it was level.
I really don't know what caused it, but I do know 150 Gallons is ALOT of water when you put it on your floor all at once. The tank emptied in about 10 seconds while I stood directly in front of it in disbelief!!:bigeyes:

My girlfriend was also in shock, she was standing there at the same time; she ran to the bathroom and came back with a towel... Needless to say it wasn't big enough. lol

[OrQidz]

wow.....yikes! I would be freaking out. That is a nightmare. Maybe some inherent weakness in that part of the glass or something. The last time I had a plumber out to the house he told me a saying, "water always wins". If it can get out it will!

Good luck with the new setup though!

[DC_addict]

Things are coming along, here is the latest progress on the stand which I hope to have in place by the end of the weekend.

The Base assembled
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/2013-03-12%2019%2000%2040%20%282%29.jpg

The Canopy in progress
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/2013-03-09%2016%2037%2059.jpg

The doors all painted, just drying
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/2013-03-13%2014.27.57.jpg

Canopy Painted and drying with Vent holes cut in the top
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/2013-03-13%2017%2015%2029.jpg

The Base painted and ready to rock
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/2013-03-13%2017%2015%2056.jpg

More pictures to come, this weekend is going to be dedicated to this build.

[DC_addict]

Here are some pics drilling the bean animal overflow.

Holes Marked and overflow box installed.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/IMG_00000003.jpg

All holes drilled, this was a bit nerve racking but it turned out great.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/IMG_00000006.jpg

Instead of using paper to make the background of the tank black I decided to plastidip it. I dont know if anyone has used this stuff but its great, and you will see it used a bit more by the time I am done this project. I plastidipped the back of the tank on the outside and also the inside of the overflow box. It is aquarium safe.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/IMG_00000015.jpg

First layer done
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/IMG_00000016.jpg

The finsihed product as viewed from the inside. I will get better pics later, but it gives a very nice finish on the inside of the tank I think.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/IMG_00000019.jpg

[Palting]

Maybe I'm blind, but is that overflow box external?

Sorry to read about the catastrophe, but you've made a great recovery! One of my favorite movie quotes, "Never give up, never surrender!"

[DC_addict]

Wow, what a heartbreaker. Glad to see your still at it, I'll be watching your progress as I too am building a peninsula tank. Good luck!

Thanks, I actually just looked up your build thread, very nice. I thought I had my sump/refugium all planned out, but after seeing yours I may be making some changes.

Maybe I'm blind, but is that overflow box external?

Sorry to read about the catastrophe, but you've made a great recovery! One of my favorite movie quotes, "Never give up, never surrender!"

No its not external just an optical illusion in the pictures. I had thought about external but settled on this setup.

[Pastey]

Kudos to not losing the desire to build again. That big of a disaster, I can't say I'd have the guts to get right back into it. Building a large tank scares the bejesus out of me as it is.

[OrQidz]

wow you are coming right along with that! I have been mulling the beananimal overflow in my head. Did you make the overflow box out of glass or acryclic? How do you know the dimensions? Sorry lots of questions lol. I've read the blog about how the pipes work, but I couldn't figure out if the overflow box had to be an exact size relative to the tank.

looks like you are doing a great job!

[DC_addict]

wow you are coming right along with that! I have been mulling the beananimal overflow in my head. Did you make the overflow box out of glass or acryclic? How do you know the dimensions? Sorry lots of questions lol. I've read the blog about how the pipes work, but I couldn't figure out if the overflow box had to be an exact size relative to the tank.

looks like you are doing a great job!

The overflow is made of glass, it is about 18x4x6.5 LWH. Most of the beananimal setups I have seen have been on the longside of the tank and have been coast2coast but hopefully this will work fine at 18" on the short side of the tank.

[DC_addict]

OK last night we brought the stand up and put it in place. Its starting to look good!

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/IMG_00000023.jpg

Tank in place.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/IMG_00000026.jpg

Doors and finishes are going on today, more updates later!

[C Dog]

Cant wait to see if filled up with water.

[Palting]

Nice to see a plan coming together well!!

[Phishguy]

looking good.. It's a good thing that you don't have downstairs neighbors. 150g of water coming through a ceiling wouldnt be fun.

[kenghmoob]

Wow, nice recovery. Hopefully you were on the bottom floor. Did the floor soak up a lot of water?

[DC_addict]

The downstairs neighbors got a little bit of water, but fortunately it all went into their bathroom through the air vent and right into the toilet! So very minimal damage downstairs. My hardwood floors soaked up a lot of the water and I was cleaning up very quickly with a sho vac and towels ringing them out in the shower.

[DC_addict]

Yesterday was great we got lots done and the stand is now complete!

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/IMG_2568.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/IMG_2566.JPG

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/IMG_2571.jpg

Doors open, lots of access to everything!

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/IMG_2573.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/IMG_2574.jpg

Shot of the back of the tank, I am really happy with the outcome of this, Plastidip on the back of the tank gave a great mirror finish inside.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/IMG_2576.jpg

Both sides of the top opened up.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/IMG_2578.jpg

More shots when the plumbing is all done.

[Bilk]

Nice work on the stand/enclosure! Looking forward to see the rest of the progress.

[IdahoCindy]

Love this build. I love the way the stand matches the flooring.

[Urbs]

Very nice can't wait to see the rest!!

[channingd]

Very nice. Looks like it will be easy to clean with all the access.

[Rognin]

When are you putting water in this beauty?!?!?!?

[rickytr23]

cant when u star to add the live stock

[JCKoenig]

Looking awesome! Very well thought out

[shaka]

You've done a fantastic job! Really impressive.

I've gotta give you a lot of credit for your hard work . . . I would've been totally devastated after the first tank disaster ( and I think my wife would've killed me ).

Kudos to you!

[Drew707]

My girlfriend was also in shock, she was standing there at the same time; she ran to the bathroom and came back with a towel... Needless to say it wasn't big enough. lol[/QUOTE]


LMAO...geez i laughed so hard at this i woke up the house!!

nice build tho!! great job!

[DC_addict]

Thanks for the comments everyone here are a few more pictures. The tank now has water in it about 80%, I cant fill it anymore until I get my sump done and the plumbing in place, but I am cycling it like this for now.

A shot of the plumbing rough in.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/2013-03-22%2022.41.02.jpg

The sand bed a mixture of aragonite and pink crushed coral
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/IMG_00000032.jpg

AI Sol lights mounted up, still have to put the wires together nicely.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/2013-03-28%2021.04.46.jpg

Shot of the tank with some live rock in it to help the cycle, obviously not placed as it will be, its just temporary.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/2013-03-28%2021.05.11.jpg

Shot of the rough idea for the sump, this is going to change a bit from this setup but the concept is here, should be done in a few weeks.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/IMG_00000030.jpg

[dakine586]

I like that style!

[reefer91]

Thanks for the comments everyone here are a few more pictures. The tank now has water in it about 80%, I cant fill it anymore until I get my sump done and the plumbing in place, but I am cycling it like this for now.

A shot of the plumbing rough in.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/2013-03-22%2022.41.02.jpg

The sand bed a mixture of aragonite and pink crushed coral
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/IMG_00000032.jpg

AI Sol lights mounted up, still have to put the wires together nicely.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/2013-03-28%2021.04.46.jpg

Shot of the tank with some live rock in it to help the cycle, obviously not placed as it will be, its just temporary.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/2013-03-28%2021.05.11.jpg

Shot of the rough idea for the sump, this is going to change a bit from this setup but the concept is here, should be done in a few weeks.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/92319351/IMG_00000030.jpg
Could you explain each compartment of the sump? Thanks. I enjoy the peninsula build.

[borderreef]

Sucks about your other tank. Wicked build going on now, though. I love peninsula tanks.

[zalmaxiss]

I am really impressed with the stand, looks very modern and sleek. Sorry to hear about your loss with the previous tank, bravo for not giving up!

[DC_addict]

OK it is finally done, I still have some things to fix up, but its running great.


Start with a picture of the rock work
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/92319351/IMG_2589.jpg

Here is the sump, my design but built by JT. It looks great and is perfect. The entire front is a display which I think looks great. We have some macro algae on order and will give updates when its here. Right now just some rumble, chaeto, copeopods, ampheopods and rotifers.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/92319351/IMG_2596.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/92319351/IMG_2597.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/92319351/IMG_2598.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/92319351/IMG_2599.jpg

Hard to take a good picture of this, but here is the plumbing setup. You will also see I have mounted the APEX and power bars on the backwall as well as the MP40 controll and AI SOL controller.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/92319351/IMG_2594.jpg

[Shia]

Very impressive, the setup looks unbelievable. You definitely took it to another level.