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Unread 03/15/2016, 05:55 PM   #101
soulpatch
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I have the 150 BRS unit and it is well worth every penny. Though even I keep roughly 60 gallons on hand all the time. 25 in RODI and roughly 35 in saltwater.


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150 SC tank build: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2550948

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Unread 03/15/2016, 06:09 PM   #102
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OOh soul by the way, I was just going through my spare room(fish room) throwing out all the boxes and junk. I noticed on the bulkheads SC sent me, the bags are stamped USA. I wonder if they decided to start sell the proper plumbing with their tanks here in the states, and thats what I got?


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80G SCA Build: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2560256

Originally posted by der_wille_zur_macht:

"He's just taking his lunch to work"
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Unread 03/15/2016, 06:35 PM   #103
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I got US standard bulkheads but not the plumbing.


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150 SC tank build: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2550948

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Unread 03/17/2016, 06:43 PM   #104
ChitownBrickie
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Quote:
Originally Posted by homer1475 View Post
Seeing as its nearly 70 out today and I have the day off, I figured I would crawl under my house and get the floor braced up. For some reason I always forget to take pictures while in the process.

I added a 2x8 to span across the 3 floor joists the tank will span, and added joist hangers. There is a beam the joists sit on, but felt this would be added security. Yes I know my braces is slightly short, but with the hangers and holding up over half the joist, I think it will be fine. I screwed the beam in place using timberlock screws(there shear weight is 10x that of normal deck screws(I used these to build my deck per codes request).


Here I dug down below the frost line and stacked 5 bricks and filled with concrete. Then placed the block on top. I was assured that even though these blocks are designed to hold a 4x4, a 6x6 would be fine resting on the top.


And here's the finished product. I believe this should do the trick.
that was a great idea. I'm glad that I seen this as it has my wheels turning


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Unread 03/17/2016, 06:44 PM   #105
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Quote:
Originally Posted by homer1475 View Post
So finally got the tank set in place. Still a ton of work to do, but at least its in place.

I nixed the idea of a separate "stand" next to the tank to house my electronics and ATO reservoir as I have a coat closet directly behind the tank. I'm going to put all my electronics in there. Only thing that will be in the stand is my EB8's. Not the best idea to put the EB8's in the stand where they can be exposed to humidity, but I think its the best idea for my setup.

So without further ado, heres the tank:
that is sharp! I like it already


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Unread 03/17/2016, 06:45 PM   #106
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Quote:
Originally Posted by homer1475 View Post
Well got it all drained and cleaned up. Plumbing is finished with the proper fittings, light hangers should be here today so I'll probably get that setup tomorrow. Put the sand and rock in, pretty happy with the aquascape. Not 100% sure I want to add my existing rock. I will peel some of the zoas off, but want to avoid the blueberry start polyps that are spreading everywhere.

Critique on the aquascape? Obviously the bowl is just for filling so I don't blow the sand everywhere.
stunning bro, I cant wait to see the finished product


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Unread 03/17/2016, 06:45 PM   #107
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[111


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Unread 03/18/2016, 01:03 PM   #108
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Got the tank finally filled with SW! Rockwork is done. Only issue I ran into is the stupid little bag of "biosomethingorther magnet cleaner" they put in the bag of caribsea live sand. Forgot they were in there and dumped all my sand in. After stirring it up, I found 2 of the 3. Have one under rocks or somewhere. I don't think it will hurt anything, but for the life of me I can't find it.

Ammonia ready to go in.



Finished product.



First FTS!!!! Everything is so pristine white. lol




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80G SCA Build: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2560256

Originally posted by der_wille_zur_macht:

"He's just taking his lunch to work"
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Unread 03/18/2016, 01:10 PM   #109
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So as far as work goes, everything is basically done. I will eventually transfer the apex thats on my bicube over, as well as my mp10's, and the Tunze nano ATO(Need to replace this with the full size version sooner or later).

Originally I was going to put all the electronics in the coat closet behind the tank, but my wife didn't like that idea, so all the electronics will be attached to the back of the stand. I can easily access it by sliding the island cupboard behind the tank out of the way(its free standing). The ATO reservoir will be the only thing going in the closet. So I need to order in some of that cord raceway stuff to keep it nice and clean looking. I'll still put the EB8's in the cabinet(maybe one in the stand for the equipment in the sump, and one out for everything else?), but everything else will be on the backside.


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80G SCA Build: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2560256

Originally posted by der_wille_zur_macht:

"He's just taking his lunch to work"
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Unread 03/18/2016, 01:40 PM   #110
homer1475
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Hmmm.... looked at a few ammonia calcs, 7ML in 80G to bring it up to 2ppm? Doesn't sound like much, but then again I've never used pure ammonia to cycle a tank either.


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80G SCA Build: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2560256

Originally posted by der_wille_zur_macht:

"He's just taking his lunch to work"
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Unread 03/18/2016, 02:23 PM   #111
soulpatch
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LOL I just poured some in and when my test maxed out I let it go. I wasnt trying to be exact till I tested for end of cycle 24 hour run.


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150 SC tank build: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2550948

Some have bar tabs. I have a coral tab at my LFS. Life goals.
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Unread 03/19/2016, 05:05 PM   #112
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Day 2 of the cycle. I put the 2 bags of seachem biomatrix media I've had in my sump of the biocube in the there today. Hopefully tht will cycle it a little faster.

Now that I look at the tank, I'm definitely not going to transfer any rock over. My only concern is transferring all the fish over. It's roughly 3 times the volume as my biocube, but my 5 fish I think might be a huge bioload initially. So not sure how to go about moving them all over. Unfortunately when I start taking things off the cube, I'll have to move everything at once. I know the corals will be fine, it's my fish I'm worried about.

Anywho, fixed up some leaking plumbing today, and got it all dialed in perfectly with filter socks installed. I still have one small leak where the spa flex meets a 45 because I didn't cut it long enough and it's barely glued in place, but it only drips back into the sump so it's not a huge issue. I'll have to get a couple new plumbing parts to fix it properly as the end that's on the pump fittings are glued in tight.

So if anyone has any ideas on how to not kill my fish when I do a transfer, it would be appreciated.


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80G SCA Build: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2560256

Originally posted by der_wille_zur_macht:

"He's just taking his lunch to work"
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Unread 03/20/2016, 07:51 AM   #113
soulpatch
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I would let the new tank run a week or so testing. I think you will have almost no cycle since you are moving so much bacteria laden materials.


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150 SC tank build: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2550948

Some have bar tabs. I have a coral tab at my LFS. Life goals.
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Unread 03/21/2016, 08:25 AM   #114
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You can also have some prime or amqel(?) handy in case you do get an ammonia spike, and even buy the little ammonia alert badges to stick to the front glass so you can watch for ammonia without having to be testing for it all the time.


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Unread 03/21/2016, 09:28 AM   #115
soulpatch
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yeah I run the badge still in the tank just to be safe. I will keep it in for the next couple months as things stabilize.

I also have stability and prime on hand for both my QT tanks as well as the big tank just in case.


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150 SC tank build: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2550948

Some have bar tabs. I have a coral tab at my LFS. Life goals.
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Unread 03/22/2016, 02:15 PM   #116
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Cycle still going...................................

God the wait is killing me.

Finally got the tank clips for the screen top. So I got that made today.


All nice and tight with no gaps. I do have an 1/16" gap at the back for power cords if I need them.


Now for some more waiting. lol


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80G SCA Build: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2560256

Originally posted by der_wille_zur_macht:

"He's just taking his lunch to work"
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Unread 03/23/2016, 06:45 AM   #117
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Looks awesome Homer! I'm following along. Nice work on the DYI screen top.


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Unread 03/23/2016, 07:27 AM   #118
soulpatch
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Flip that screen over so it looks cleaner. LOL

I made mine the other weekend though I might redo it as while it is nice and tight the mesh holes are at a slight angle and it irritates my OCD.


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150 SC tank build: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2550948

Some have bar tabs. I have a coral tab at my LFS. Life goals.
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Unread 03/23/2016, 05:47 PM   #119
homer1475
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Yeah I did flip it over. Didn't realize the pic was with it upside down.

Cycle is right in full swing!! Didn't take anywhere near as long as I thought to get it going.


Ammonia has dropped in half, and Nitrites are sky high.


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80G SCA Build: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2560256

Originally posted by der_wille_zur_macht:

"He's just taking his lunch to work"
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Unread 03/23/2016, 06:54 PM   #120
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Hi Homer! Looks like a sweet build! On the topic of moving all your fish at the same time, I agree with you that this will may be a huge load for a so young system. I was reading a build thread by "socalaz" (not sure if I typed it correctly). I think he put 5 clown fish in his tank and got a reading on amonia. And his system is a 1000 gallon tank. I'm not sure if I remember correctly... I am setting up a 170 gallon tank as I type, and I will start with my to clowns and continue moving one fish at the time while monitoring the tank daily. May be a solution is to by a new power head to keep flow in both tanks and take things slow.

I am not an expert on these things, but after subscribing to this thread, I would suggest "safe and slow", rather than " fast and sorry".

Looking forward to see more from this build!

Cheers!
Kristian


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Unread 03/27/2016, 06:52 AM   #121
homer1475
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I totally agree on moving slow, its in my sig line!

I think I'll just purchase a couple cheap hydor nanos to put in the cube(it's what was in there originally), and move the apex and mp10's over as well as all my coral. The fish I'll do probably like 1 a week until they are all transferred over.

My only concern is the lighting. The RapidLED aurora puck is totally controlled by the apex, without the apex I can only do full on. Suppose I could reinstall the manual potentiometer, and just set them to roughly how I have them now and just do a manual timer for on and off. I know the fish don't really care about light, so I'm not super concerned about it.

On a side note, Ammonia has dropped to 0, and nitrites are starting to drop also. So cycle is in full swing(actually on the downward slope), and I think I'll be moving things over faster then I originally thought.


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80G SCA Build: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2560256

Originally posted by der_wille_zur_macht:

"He's just taking his lunch to work"
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Unread 03/30/2016, 02:05 PM   #122
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Go update!


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Unread 03/30/2016, 06:06 PM   #123
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Nothing to really update. Tank is mid cycle(waiting for nitrites to drop). I'm just playing the waiting game now.

I'm thiking sometime next week I can give it the 24 hour test, then I'll do as big of a water change as I can(something like 60 or 70 gallons), throw my corals in, and possibly my war paint goby, or citron goby, depending on which one I can catch.

Soon as I stress test the tank I'm going to order my CUC and wad of chaeto from reef cleaners. Their "package" calls for a ridiculous amount of snails! I will custom order from them(no way you need 85 ceriths as an example lol).


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80G SCA Build: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2560256

Originally posted by der_wille_zur_macht:

"He's just taking his lunch to work"

Last edited by homer1475; 03/30/2016 at 06:15 PM.
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Unread 04/02/2016, 02:56 PM   #124
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Small update....

Tank is nearly cycled, ammonia is 0, nitrites are .25(expecting to be 0 tomorrow), and nitrates are up to 20ppm.

I think tomorrow I'll be adding more ammonia for the stress test, if it clears in 24 hours, I'll be doing the big water change on Monday night, or Tuesday morning.

I'm a little excited to start getting things moved over!!!

Since I started with dead rock and sand, I'm going to take a cup or 2 of the sand from the biocube just to get more bio diversity.


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80G SCA Build: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2560256

Originally posted by der_wille_zur_macht:

"He's just taking his lunch to work"
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Unread 04/04/2016, 06:37 AM   #125
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24 hour stress test started. Added 9ml of ammonia and got it up to 3ppm. Again just waiting for it to clear, and I got about 50G of water mixing up for a large WC. I totally want to do 100% WC, but don't have the containers to do it in.

Maybe by wednesday I can start moving my corals and one or two fish over!!

Still have to transfer all the apex stuff over, buy a new reactor, the spectrapure unit looks like a nice unit and what I'll likely be buying. It has a couple nice features as a double unit, and about the same price as purchasing another single from BRS and then having to buy all the plumbing parts to get 2 reactors running off one pump.

Maybe by this time next month I'll have everything transferred over.


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80G SCA Build: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2560256

Originally posted by der_wille_zur_macht:

"He's just taking his lunch to work"
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