My fireplace replacement 270 photo diary

[bulldogfish]

Well, after great deliberation and discussio, I have finally talked my wife into letting my remove the fireplace and replace it with a larger tank. So Saturday evening I started to remove the fireplace to make room for the new tank.

This tank is going to be a 6'X3'X2' acrylic made by a local tank fabricator. My plan is to make it viewable from the left side and the front while it being in a wall.

I will have a small room behind the tank to enclose all the equipment and any noise.

Here are a few pictures.

This one is from Saturday. I didn't take one of the fireplace before removing it. I think I thought if I waited too long my wife would have changed her mind.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02388.jpg

This one is from Sunday at about noon. I decided to lay a new floor down. The extra thickness won't hurt and I needed a smooth surface to put the linoleum onto.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02389.jpg

I then got the linoleum laid.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02390.jpg

Framing started this morning. I got pretty far by noon. Here is a picture of my little helper standing next to our handy work.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02393.jpg

I had a friend come over this evening to help move the stand that I built into place. This stand is 2"X2" 1/4" walled square tubing. OMG, talk about heavy. Well it should hold the tank. LOL.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02394.jpg

And finally both of my kids wanted to show off so.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02395.jpg

Hopefully tomm. I will finish all the framing and start on the electrical for this room.

Any questions or comments, please, feel free to post them.

[MacnReef]

Good start.

[joelk835]

Looks good so far!

[eugimon]

very nice. something very poetic about replacing a fire place with an aquarium... almost as poetic as a small clown fish jumping and twisting in the air.

[bulldogfish]

MacnReef - Thank you

joelk835 - Thank you

eugimon - Hmm, not too sure how to take that. LOL.

[Funky_Fish14]

This looks like an awesome project! I am very excited to see how this turns out because at the moment I too am planning out a 270g Reef(but mine will be 24" high) However my buget right now is broke so I cant have the setup looking as good as yours, lol. Good luck with the project!

And wow, your moving fast on this haha I guess the worry of your wife changing her mind must be motivating eh? The farther you get the better lol.

Cheers,

Chris

[bulldogfish]

Chris

This tank is 60" L X 36"W X 24" T. Maybe that should clear it up. Sounds like the one your planning is the same size? And definetely my wife is a motivating factor. LOL. I have to work this weekend, so I probably won't get too much completed.

[TheCoralReef731]

I have to say that that looks very nice. Is that a fishroom behind it?

[SERVO]

All right Bulldogfish!!!!!!!!!!

Can't wait to see what you do!!!

If you do closed loop and a recirc pump go with 2 Darts.

Good luck.

[David Corbett]

Looks good, the room behind will be a great asset, have you done any reinforcement on the floor? That's allot of weight, is there any air ducts in the room behind? David

[CAreefer]

One thing I have been looking at in my own place. That chimney makes a perfect vent for ventilating heat and humidity. I would utilize that too. Maybe get it a good cleaning and try to find some sort of fan to help things along. Although the convection should work pretty well. Just my $.02

CAReefer

[SERVO]

Originally posted by CAreefer
One thing I have been looking at in my own place. That chimney makes a perfect vent for ventilating heat and humidity. I would utilize that too. Maybe get it a good cleaning and try to find some sort of fan to help things along. Although the convection should work pretty well. Just my $.02

CAReefer

Oooohhhh, Good Idea. I would install a monster fan (attic fan etc) with the capacity to hook it up to a timer and vent out your back room. That would be great! I wish I had mine hooked up to timers. I need to keep them on more than off and I'm going to hate my new electric bill.:mad:

[bulldogfish]

I am going to look into some sort of fan to install up there. Unfortunately, I am working this weekend and pulling 12 hour shifts doesn't allow for much else.

Servo - Why would you go with 2 darts? I was planning on one hammerhead. Going through either a 4 way or eight way. Need to talk to Paul on this one.

CAreefer - Thanks for the idea. I will have to remove the flume though. Every time it rains hard I end up with a little inside the flume. And ultimately in the room.

[SERVO]

When I originally set up my Hammerhead it instantly created a couple of problems.

1) three overflows and one inch returns (Thanks a lot Oceanic *sarcasm*) only allows me 3000 GPH return thru my 400 gallon.

2) I turned on the pump and it cavitated for a bit. This initially made me SOOOOOO MAD. I posted and was a bit flamed. I had never had a big external pump cavitate so I thought, Damn these things are loud! That ended up ultimately working out but the pump seemed so noisy.

I have since discovered that the manifold pluming from the return was touching my electrical outlet strip. The front of the stand is actually the facade of the tank and this acted like an acoustic guitar to amplifly and reverberate the sound of the pump. Well, I fixed that. The biggest problem that I am currently working out is that my Durso's haven't been calibrated and I need to complete some small modifications on the plumming to drill the tops to get the overflows to silence.


The pump has now quieted down, but the thing is too damn big. I don't need 6K GPH to my sump. IMO, a 3K turn over would be adequate. When I say two, I assume, one for your closed loop and one for your return. Good luck.

[bulldogfish]

My initial plan for the tank was as follows:

I have 2 - 2inch drains from this tank both of which will go to a 100G rubbermaid stock tank sump ( really cant justify spending big bucks on something that I won't see very much)

I was going to use a Dart for the returns from the sump.

I also have a 2 inch hole drilled for a closed loop intake that I was planning on being a Hammerhead. This was going to be fed through a OM 4-way or 8-way. I really need to talk to Paul at OM about this. But I have 8 - 1 inch holes drilled at various locations in the tank. including 2 in the front bottom.

Does this sound like it will work and give me enough flow for a SPS dominate tank?

[SERVO]

I like that plan. Be careful. Word on the street is that if you place the OM unit on to top of the Hammerhead outlet, it may fail when the plastic cracks. I don't know much about that, but I think that I heard some kind of discussion about that.

[sherm71tank]

Oh wow! Please keep the pics coming as you progress. I plan on doing something like this some day. * Sigh* I am very jealous!

[NexDog]

Originally posted by bulldogfish
Chris

This tank is 60" L X 36"W X 24" T. Maybe that should clear it up. Sounds like the one your planning is the same size? And definetely my wife is a motivating factor. LOL. I have to work this weekend, so I probably won't get too much completed.
This tank is 225g. It's still a very nice size though. I've decided on 60x36x30 (280g)because I want to keep big tangs and angels and they'll appreciate the extra height. I'd like to go longer but space doesn't permit it. I'll be interested to see how you get on though. :)

I've decided on a PanWorld pump that only pumps out 1270gph for my return because I'll have 3 Darts on 3 closed loops. Two of the darts are on 4-Ways. One set will outlet to 4 bulkheads in the back of the tank and then 2 on each end. The third closed loop will be running through two PVC racks that I'm building where the rock will sit. This will keep the bottom and rocks free of detritus. The closed loop on the back and bottom I'll turn off at night.

I made an "aragocrete" barrier at the weekend that winds from one end of the tank to the other and it's about 2" high. What I did was make a box the same size as the tank out of plywood and filled it with earth. I then scooped out the earth where the barrier was going to go making a mould out of the earth so to speak. The crete I made from sand, shells, cement, crushed coral and plastic shavings and I poured it into the mould and let it set overnight. The next day I removed the earth, hosed of the concrete and then took a hammer and chisel to it so it didn't look like concrete anymore.

So my idea is that the barrier will separate the rock area from the sand area. I can still have 2/3 barebottom and good looking sand in the front and the flow from the PVC racks won't disturb the sand. Once rock is piled on the vbarrier and it's encrusted with coraline no-one will know the difference.

Anyhow, that's the concept behind the tank I'm making. I'm still so far away from realising my dream which will be around December. Hell, the tank isn't even made yet and I'm making fake tanks out of boxes to get a hit. :D

[skippyreef]

Nice start!

I am also in the construction phases LOL..

How far from teh ceiling is th etop of the tank and how tall is the wall?

[bulldogfish]

Well, I know it has been awhile since I have posted on this project. But, the friggin rain hasn't helped. Seems to always rain on my days off. I did get some work finally completed on this project. I finished all the framing and almost have all the sheet rock work done. Have I said how much I hate mudding. LOL. Anyway, I will try to get some pictures on Wednesday and get them posted. I have to work the next 2 days, so I won't get much done.

I did make it up to Scotts, I picked up my calcium reactor, what a thing of bueaty. And I also have my tank from him also. So pics of those will follow as well.

[bulldogfish]

Nexdog - your right ..... my tank is 72 X 36 X 24 that size would make it a 270. Stupid me. My original design was going to be 60 long and that keeps popping into my head for some reason.

[NexDog]

Wish I could have gone 6' long. I could have fit it in easily but I want space on either side....

[Johnsteph10]

Originally posted by NexDog
I'm making fake tanks out of boxes to get a hit. :D

Freakin' hilarious. :lol:

[rwrussom]

looks like a lot of fun. Just a quick thought to help avoid future issues. It seems the stand is supported by steel legs in the back and by the framed half wall in the front and side. You will definetely get shrinkage and some crushing on that framed wall. Mostly shrinkage. I would not be surprised to see 1/4" over a year. I would suggest supporting all edges of the stand with the same material some movement over time is consistant.
Otherwise its looking great. I tried to get my family to give up the fireplace for a tank, I was out voted 3:1.

[asnatlas]

rwrussom

http://reefcentral.com/images/welcome.gif

To Reef Central

Shawn

[bulldogfish]

Sorry to have taken so long to get back to posting on this project. I have been super busy with work. Even had to work yesterday.

Anyway, I have finished the sheetrock and mudding. BTW, did I say I hate mudding? I think I am beyond that stage now. My wife was nice and painted the outside of the room and today while I'm at work she said she would paint the inside. Here's a couple of pics of where the project is right now.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02396.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02397.jpg

I have started the trim on the inside of the room and hopefully will be far enough along to move the tank in on Friday. Then onto trimming the ouside of the tank in.

rwrussom- thanks for the info! My stand does have adjusters on the back legs. If any shrinkage occurs, then I can adjust forthat when it happens to relevel the tank. On your fireplace deal, you could always bring up that you want to build a racecar and see if they change there votes for the new tank. LOL

[REEF-DADDY]

:)

[TheCoralReef731]

I see your old tank in the background, could we see some pics of it?

[bulldogfish]

Sure thing!

This picture is a couple of months old. Been really busy with this new project. This is a full tank shot.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/Fulltankresize.jpg

This tank is a 75. Kind of a big upgrade I know but, hey I wanted a big tank.

And this is a picture of the tank stand right after I completed it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/finishedstand.jpg

Hope that works for you.

I should have new pictures of the 270 project up by Saturday.

[bulldogfish]

I got the whole room painted and the door installed a day or so ago..

Today MattC and I pulled the tank out of the shed and got it into the truck.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02400.jpg

We had to rinse it off since it has been there for about 4 months. Kinda dusty. We then got it into the house. Not too sure what this tank weighs but Matt and I were able to move this by ourselves.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02401.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02402.jpg

After peeling off all the protective paper and wiping the bottom off we were able to get the tank into its spot.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02404.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02411.jpg

I got the back and side panels mounted.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02416.jpg

Here is a view from the living room.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02418.jpg

And a view from the dining room.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02419.jpg

And I had a few people that wanted to see these so here is a picture of my Omni-flex. I will be using 4 of these on my sump returns.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02424.jpg

I want to thank MattC for all his help. Thanks man, couldn't have done it without you.

[UberBlue]

Who's the tank fabricator?

The only tank maker in mid-MO I knew of was in Fulton, and the last I heard they went under in the late 90's. Real shame too, they made some top-notch stuff.

[bulldogfish]

UberBlue- The fabricator for this tank was ScottM from Aquatics Systems Design. He is in Olathe, Kansas and does some really good work. Customer service is definetely his number one priority. He was really easy to work with. He definetely has his stuff together.

His website is www.aquaticsystemsdesign.com check out the website. Very well put together.

He also built my Calcium Reactor. Pictures of it to follow soon.

[bulldogfish]

Well, I had to work the weekend so not too much got done till today. I built a stand unit for the 55G refugium and also for my Kalk reactor and Calcium reactor. And got it all painted.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02450.jpg

The top shelf is for the refugium, which will drain directly into the tank. And the middle shelf is for the calcium reactor. Under that will be the chiller. I have the opening there so that I will be able to get to the skimmer with ease.

Here is a picture of my beautiful calcium reactor.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02451.jpg

I plan on doing alot more to the room over the next couple of days since I will be off. Planning on installing the sink and all the plumbing to it. Also hopefully will have the electric landing in the Main box to supply this room. I will keep everyone up to date on progress. Thanks

[vest0830]

wow. for sure gonna keep an eye on this...
-frank

[Bax]

Really nice! Love the dimensions of the display!

[NexDog]

Can't believe that 2 of you were able to lift it. Is it 3/4" acrylic and what are the dimensions?

[massman]

If possible I'd get rid of that overflow on the dining room side and move it to the middle of the tank against the back panel. Either that or are you considering covering it from view?

[bulldogfish]

Bax - Thanks!

NexDog - Yes, it is 3/4" and the dimensions are 72L X 36W X 24T . It wasn't too terrible to carry. Just really odd shaped.

Massman- I actually have a cover to go over the overflow, so it won't be seen from the dining room but would still be able to look into it if need to.

Well, I probably won't get the things done that I planned to. I got news this morning from my Dad that my Grandma passed away last night. Caught our whole family off guard. I should be back in a few days. Thanks

[krajacich]

So sorry to hear about your Grandma. My thoughts are with you and your family.

[bulldogfish]

Well, sorry to have taken so long to get back to this. With my grandmother passing away and I had to head south to attend her funeral. Then on the way back my brother calls and said that his father-in-law pased away. So its been a really crappy week. I did make some progress on the room over the last couple of days.

I got the sink completely installed and got my RO/DI filter installed.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02469.jpg

And also I am starting on plumbing today. Oh, boy! I guess this is where the fun begins. LOL.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02468.jpg

So I went to Lowes yesterday to look for the parts for my drain. Well after getting a 2" Tee and a 2" Street Ell. I put the parts together and thought that they would be too big to go into my overflow boxes. Then again I could have been wrong. But, I came up with an idea. I was thinking about the Stockman overflow silencers and came up with this idea.

I took a 3" Cap and a 2" Coupling.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02464.jpg

Then I cut large sections of the Coupling out, only one one half.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02465.jpg

Then take the coupling and glue it to the inside of the cap. I had a small piece of 3" Pipe to make sure that the coupling was close to centered. Of course place the coupling to where the sections that are cut out are towards the inside of the cap.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02466.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02467.jpg

Then just drill a hole in the center of the cap. Instant silencer and easy to build.

I am hoping that I will be very close to completing the plumbing today, if not tomm. morning. So I can get this thing full of water to test for leaks.

[sherm71tank]

Great thread! Love the DIY pics. Keep it coming and let us know how the silencer works out.

[bulldogfish]

Phew! What a busy couple of days. I think that I must have made 10 trips to Lowes to finish everything up. But, I did complete all the plumbing.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02470.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02471.jpg

I have had to make a few changes to my plans. I found out the hard way that the 55 I was going to use as a sump was tempered. Yeah, that about made me pee my pants when it blew out, trying to drill a hole in it. So I went to a local farm inplement and feed store and found this. A 65 gallon stock tank. It barely fit under the stand but it works well. I tried to put some baffles in it. What a waste. As soon as I turned on the pump, the baffle that I installed blew out. So its been an experience for sure. Here is a picture of the sump.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02472.jpg

Angie and Matt came over last night to help transfer rock. And of course when they showed up I had a leak. So Matt and I had to fix that first. We then were finally able to transfer the rock from my 75 to this tank. After that we were able to acclimate all the inhabitants to transfer them as well. Heres a couple pictures of the rock setup.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02473.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02475.jpg

Matt is coming back over today to help me move my corals into the tank. Then I will work on getting the lights into place. And work on getting the refugium online. Currently right now the tank that I am using for it is holding all my corals. I really want to thank Matt and Angie for their help and time towards this project. Without your help I probably would have quit this project.

[sherm71tank]

I wish you lived closer to me. I could build you a nice skimmer. nice plans anyway!

[bulldogfish]

I sent you a PM sherm71tank.

[sherm71tank]

Back at ya!

[REEF-DADDY]

Hey what size ASM is that?

[bulldogfish]

Its a G4.........way too small for my tank in my opinion. I can't afford anything else rightnow so I plan in making it a recirculating model.

[bulldogfish]

Well, I was off yesterday, so I planned on getting some work done. I wanted to get my lighting up since it has been a few days since my corals had some MH lighting. I wanted to make a system where it was adjustable in height easily and something to get the light rack out of the way while I worked on the tank. I saw this idea on ReefCentral on Weatherson's thread and thought it would work perfectly. Please excuse the wiring mess, I need to clean it up still.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02480.jpg

The light rack holds 3 - 250W 10K Reeflux bulbs and 2- 110W URI Super Actinics . I really like the Reeflux bulbs, they have a nice white color with a hint of blue to them. They are exactly what I was looking for. All three MH are powered by Advance Magnetic Ballasts, I went with magnetic for the simple fact that the ratings on the bulb were better with the magnetic ballasts. So enough chit chat let me get some pics up so you can see for yourself.

Full Tank Shot

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02487.jpg

Right Side of Tank

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02485.jpg

Left Side of Tank

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02486.jpg

[bulldogfish]

All the inhabitants of my tank so far are really enjoying the new tank. My Regal Tang however really hasn't come to the front of the tank so far. I think the extra currents in this tank have it worried.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02483.jpg

Here is a closer picture of the island section of my tank from the front. I put some of the prettier corals on it, just because it will be viewed from 2 different rooms.

Island from Front

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02489.jpg

Island from the Side

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02488.jpg

Close picture of Pennisula

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02491.jpg

One thing that really made me happy was that my Chromis are finally schooling.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02495.jpg

But my clowns are a little ticked off at me. I have taken their home from them. They were using the Xenia in my old tank as a home. Well, I took it out just because I didn't want Xenia everywhere in this tank.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02494.jpg

Still debating on what to do about them. I am worried about getting an anenome, just because I don't want it stinging my SPS.

The only softie that is in my tank is my large rock loaded with zoas. I just like the colors.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02492.jpg

All in all the corals in my tank made the move very well. Most of them are expanded already and they didn't lose too much color. My yellow acro isn't as expnded as much as normal, but is expanded slightly.

I got the calcium reactor online as well. So hopefully I wont have to fight my calcium levels anymore. Well, its been a busy day. I am going to try to get the refugium online this afternoon. See ya later!!

[Mr. sure]

alright
that's going the right way.
just doing it easy, thake you're time for it and it's going to be oke.
make more pic's and please show us.
more pic's of your skimmer and stuff.

thankx and good luck with your tank.

mark

[bulldogfish]

Mr. Sure thank you for the compliments

[CPT. MURPHY]

Looking great!

CPT.

[bulldogfish]

Thank you CPT.

[wetWolger]

any updates??

[bulldogfish]

Yes here are some things.

Well, its been awhile since I have posted on this thread. I finally finished the trim work around the outside of the tank so I took a few pictures of it.

First, this one is from the front of the tank.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/11-30Tank.jpg

This one is a corner shot from the dining room.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/11-30diningroom.jpg


I lost my pair of solomon island percs to the darn chinese beetles. I had the same problem as another person from my local group. I had a few floating in the water in the display and I tried to get them all but my percs beat me to it. The evening that they ate them they were dead.

I also had a Walt Smith Tri-color from a friend that I think is now dead. Not too sure but it doesn't have much color left at all.

And my favorite Yellow acropora is losing its color. I think this is due to the fact that I had it too low in the display. I have since moved it up and hope that it colors back up.

Phew, been super busy around here. I got my stock tank refugium online, but don't like it. I am replacing it with a 58 glass tank. That way I dont have to stand on my toes to look into it. LOL.

Well, I will post more updates soon.

[Bax]

Great looking finish work on the trim!

[Julio]

Beautiful tank, great cabinet work!!!

[818]

Are u going to add sand? Im guesing once u get the refugium going u will?...Have followed this thread for quite some time. I hope one day I can get a big tank of my own! Congrats

[tabndust]

looking great

[bulldogfish]

Bax, Julio, tabndust - Thank-you for your compliments

My F1sh R D34D! - No I wasn't planning on a sand bed. This tank is a barebottom. This project has been alot of fun. And definetely a learning experience.

[bulldogfish]

Well, I have been kinda busy the last several days. Friday night I decided to change out my sump and try a different one. Heres a pic of the new one.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02668.jpg

Its a 75 with 4 baffles in it. Works pretty drn good. Thanks ScottM with the baffle spacing.

I also got my refugium/frag tank installed and plumbed in. It is a 58 Oceanic (I think). It turned out pretty good.

Here is the refugium side.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02666.jpg

Here is the frag side.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/bulldogfish/DSC02667.jpg

My next project is to get my water storage tanks installed along with the auto top-off system.

[BrianPlankis]

BDF,

NICE new sump and frag/refuge tanks. I can't wait to have a fish room so I can do all these extra tanks that make things so much easier.

Brian

[craftytony]

wow, now that is awesome...great job man!

[bulldogfish]

CirolanidHunter and craftytony - Thanks for the compliments.

[sonofgaladriel]

One of our nicest set ups in town! Very nice work on the sump room. Love the open rock work.
Great system.

[Alphabet]

Nice setup indeed! Looks great.

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

simply marvelous!

[wetWolger]

updates?

[alien9168]

Nice frag shelves :)

-alien