My new 300 Gallon Reef Tank

[bob21115]

This is my second attempt at a large reef tank. My first tank was bought used on eBay in Oct of 2003. One of those just add water and live stock. The tank was a 240 Clarity Plus acrylic tank about 10 years old and I was the third owner, so I found out later. After a large water change sometime in April I noticed a crack in the side. Thank God it wasn't leaking.

Crack in old tank
http://myreef.dyndns.org/images/rc/old_tank_crack_3.jpg

I found this crack in the morning and spent the entire day in a panic. Long story short:


My wife said order a new tank. I got lucky and a local tank builder felt sorry for me a said they could have a tank done in a week. It would be a 300 gallon 96x24x30 all side ¾ in and top and bottom ½. I spent a whole next day finding 2 150-gallon Rubbermaid stock tanks and plumbing them together. At about 3 am I had all live rock move into one tank and the livestock into the other tank. Here comes the first mistake: After removing all of the live sand I dumped a 5-gallon bucket of live sand in the tank with the livestock. Needless to say I lost all my fish but on female gold stripe maroon clownfish.

I knew the old stand wouldn’t hold the new tank, so a new stand was built. The new tank was delivered on a Monday late in the day. I spent 2 or 3 days pluming the tank to one of the 150-gallon sumps in the basement below the tank.

Tank on new stand sand bed, LR and water in.
http://myreef.dyndns.org/images/rc/new_tank_construction_1.jpg

This is our cat Smitty. I came home from HD and this is what I found.
http://myreef.dyndns.org/images/rc/dscn1109.jpg

[bob21115]

I have no construction skills and did not know what I wanted to do about a hood. After some thought and approval from my wife, I started to frame in the tank to make look like it was built into the wall.


http://myreef.dyndns.org/images/rc/new_tank_construction_7.jpg


http://myreef.dyndns.org/images/rc/new_tank_construction_4.jpg


http://myreef.dyndns.org/images/rc/new_tank_construction_8.jpg

I wanted it to take up the whole wall and since the wall was 10 ½ feet long I made the stand 2 ½ feet longer with the plans to put shelving on the left.

I got the framing done and the dry wall up(green board). I found the only way I could gain access to the pluming under the tank was to put doors on the front. I bought some shelving and put it in place.

http://myreef.dyndns.org/images/rc/new_tank_construction_16.jpg

[bob21115]

Lighting
3 250 watt HQI 10k Usihio
4 130 watt VHO actinic

Water flow
2 Tunze 6080 (2 stream rocks in sump purpling up)
1 Mag 7

Sump/refugium
150 gallon Rubbermaid Stock tank
100 lbs live sand
200 lbs live rock
250-watt HQI XM 10k
Tons of macro

[Equipment
Deltec PR509 Calcium reactor
Deltec FR509 Fluidized Reactor (ROWAPhos phosphate remover)
Top Phatom Protein Skimmer
TUNZE Osmolator Universal 3155 (auto top off)
TUNZE Calcium Dispenser

After the tank was running for a week or so my wife decided she didn’t like the shelf on the top left. I suggested a 30-gallon Sea Horse tank. She said that would be awesome. So I ripped out the shelf and found a glass tank. Its lighted by 2 65-watt PC lights 1 daylight and 1 actinic bulb. I put some LR and Macro in it. It’s plumed to the 300-gallon system. Ill put a chiller on it before the horses go in and let it run for a month to build up the pod population.

http://myreef.dyndns.org/images/rc/New_Tank640.jpg

Due to the addition of LS from the old tank and 200 gallons of new water I started to have a Phosphate and nitrate problem. That’s when I added the FR509 and the ROWAPhos. I will be adding 2 more Fluidized Reactor in the next day with Nitrate sponge and GAC.

Tank parameters
Temp 79 – 80
Salinity 1.025
PH 8.5
Calcium 530 and dropping (I’m only running co2 for 4 hours a day now)
Alkalinity 10
Phosphates .02 and dropping
Nitrate 50 and dropping

[bob21115]

Not thinking about the recycling of the tank and missing my fish I re stocked the tank, luckily most were bought after the Phosphates came down.

FISH
2 Gold strip Maroon Clowns
2 Orange Skunk Clowns (From my 39)
1 Blond Naso Tang
1 Hippo Tang
1 Powder Brown Tang
1 Purple tang
1 White-freckled Tang (Acanthurus maculiceps) (http://fishbase.sinica.edu.tw/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=4746)
4 Schooling banner fish
1 Six line wrasse
1 Leopard wrasse
2 Common cleaner wrasses
1 Flame Angel


Inverts
Tiger Tail Cukes
6 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
4 Coral Bannded Shrimp
12 Peppermint Shrimp
?? Blue and Red Hermit Crabs
100 Mexican Turbo Snails
!00 Cerith Snail
100 Nassarius Snails
?? Asteria Snails

[FEEDERFISH]

The tank seems close to the floor you will have to lay down to look into the tank, but it looks cool and i like the addition of the seahorse tank

[deansreef]

looks like it is shaping up for you.

[TonyGee29]

i love that little tank on the top left corner!
how big is it?

[Rhodan]

That's sweet! And from what I gathered from your post you worked fast on it getting it all together....Looks great.

[bob21115]

FeederFish Yes its 22 in off the ground. I did it for a number of reasons. While sitting in the room you can see right into the tank from any place you are sitting. The old tank was 96x24x24 and the bottom was 39 in off the floor and it was hard for me to reach the bottom of the tank from the top. The new tank is 96x30x24 abit taller and I wanted to be able to reach the bottom.

TonyGee29 Its a 30 Gallon Oceanic Cube. I was given the OK to repalce the shelfing below the Seahorse tank with another tank. I would like to do Puffer tank. But I dont have a true plan yet.

Rhodan I worked Monday threw Friday on and off during the day for 2 weeks and its mostly done, just a few cosmetics left to finish. I wish I was able to take more time with it, but I was worried about getting the live stock still alive into the tank. The tank was made with out a colored back because we may move it to a island tank after we add on to the house. If I would have know about the Handi-Foam (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=9232&Ntt=foam&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=62728&Nty=1) people are using to aquascape, I may have covered the back and the overflow.

I'll try to take some pictures of the sump setup in the basement soon.

[bob21115]

Here is a link to the web cam that runs 24/7 on the 300 gallon tank.

Click here for web cam. (http://myreef.dyndns.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=45)

Lights turn on at 8 am EST and off at 10pm. If you see a black screen with a green dot the lights are off.

[Rhodan]

I think your web cam is having "technical difficulties" :) It's 11:00 AM EST and the screen is all black with no green dots anywhere.

[bob21115]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7544620#post7544620 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Rhodan
I think your web cam is having "technical difficulties" :) It's 11:00 AM EST and the screen is all black with no green dots anywhere.

I'm looking at it right now its working great.

[Rhodan]

AHHHH!! I cannot see it because of a firewall at work!! :(

[bob21115]

Here are some more pictures of the tank and Sump

This was taken from above the seahorse tank, the picture shows the HQI and VHO lights above the tank.

Inside above the tank
http://myreef.dyndns.org/images/rc/inside 1.jpg

I was trying to show behind the tank where I can walk. The black area toward the middle of the picture is the opening to get behind the tank.

Inside behind the tank
http://myreef.dyndns.org/images/rc/inside 2.jpg

This allows access to the Seahorse tank.

The Left top side of the tank
http://myreef.dyndns.org/images/rc/left side 1.jpg

This allow access behind the Shelf and to the Web Cam
The left lower side of the tank
http://myreef.dyndns.org/images/rc/left side 2.jpg


This is the sump in the basement
http://myreef.dyndns.org/images/rc/sump 1.jpg


This is the equipment next to the sump
http://myreef.dyndns.org/images/rc/sump 2.jpg

The camers is just behind the self with all the boxes in it.
This is a picture of the web cam
http://myreef.dyndns.org/images/rc/camera.jpg

This is a updated Front Shot
http://myreef.dyndns.org/images/rc/New Tank Full Front.jpg


Kirby this is that red Shroom I got from Preuss a 3 weeks ago. To judge the size its on a Tunze Stream Rock in my sump.

Atomic Red Mushroom From Preuss
http://myreef.dyndns.org/images/rc/Mushroom 2.jpg

[Rhodan]

That's awsome! How many Tunze streams do you have? I count 4 from the pictures are they all under a controller?

[thor32766]

great looking tank, its really coming along!

[bob21115]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7557804#post7557804 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Rhodan
That's awsome! How many Tunze streams do you have? I count 4 from the pictures are they all under a controller?

No just 2 The 2 you see it the sump are just tunze stream rocks. I put them there to purple up. I'll put the 2 tunze's in the display tank into them in a month or so.

[bob21115]

thanks thor32766. How big is your Black Tang?

[bob21115]

I got some new friends today for the Sea Horse tank.

Green Banded Goby
http://myreef.dyndns.org/images/rc/GreenBandedGoby.jpg

Helfrichi Fire Fish
http://myreef.dyndns.org/images/rc/HelfrichiFireFish2.jpg

Yellow Headed Jawfsh
http://myreef.dyndns.org/images/rc/YellowHeadedJawfish.jpg

Front of Seahorse Tank
http://myreef.dyndns.org/images/rc/Front of Seahorse tank.jpg

[Shawnts106]

Green Banded Goby
AWWWW, hes sooo cute!!!
how much did you pay for it?

Im wanting one.

[bob21115]

I got 2 @ 19.95 each and 20% off. They are way cool. Just after putting them into the new tank I put live brine and they attacked it. Kind of jumped and twisted after they ate it.

[Shnabbles]

Hey I love the wall you created, Ill actually be building something similar when my house is finished being built in january/February....

Did you drywall the wall with the main tank in place?

If god for bid something happend to the tank could it be removed without damaging the wall? What i mean is if the tank was light enough could you slide the tank in or out, or does the drywall go around part of the glass?

[bob21115]

Yes it can slide out.

[bob21115]

Its official the Seahorse tank is a Seahorse tank.

Katherine and I got him/her on Saturday during our Eastern Michigan Reef stores road trip. It’s a Hippocampus erectus or more communally a lined seahorse, we got him at Atlantis Fish Shopppe (http://www.atlantisfish.net) in Clawson MI. Dean the owner was very helpful and he is going to try to get 3 more and some pipefish I’ve been looking for.

He’s been eating well since I started hatching BBS, he didn’t like the frozen BBS. Hopefully when he is in the company of other seahorses he’ll start to take frozen food again.

Orange Seahorse
http://myreef.dyndns.org/images/rc/Orange Seahorse.jpg

[Rhodan]

That's Awsome!!!

[bob21115]

bump

[bob21115]

Just wanted to post an update about the tank. I’ve gotten some new fish and coral.

5 Seahorses
Sohal Tang
Hippo Tang(yellowbelly)
Coral Beauty
2 Dragon Face PipeFish
3 Green Chromis (Thanks John)
Tons of Shrooms
4 different caps
2 Ultra Blue Clams


I also lost the space for the plasma.

http://myreef.dyndns.org/images/rc/tankwall.jpg

Still waiting for a quote on the new tank from preuss’s

Traded my cracked 240 for a great 40 gallon tank with a awesome stand, canopy, sump, and skimmer.