175 gallons of Bliss

[xanthurum]

Figured I would start my build thread finally since my tank has been up and running since the beginning of February. I will do my best to keep my posts filled with pics and the typing to a minimum since we all know pics are king.

I have been keeping saltwater tanks for as long as I can remember and have been gaining experience with each new tank in the hopes to one day have a tank worth of TOTM! I hope that one day this one will be worthy.

So the tank is a Red Sea 650S that I was able to purchase at a steal of a price about 2 years ago now. A local store had sold a complete setup but chipped the glass during setup so Red Sea sent a replacement and said they could do whatever with the damaged tank. After a water test I purchased it and it sat in my den while I slowly collected equipment. Thru all my years I have found the way I like things and I wasn't willing to compromise so when I could I purchased things and it took a very long time to get all the equipment I wanted. I am very pleased with the end results and I hope I can help others while sharing my story.

I already loved the tank for a number of reasons which is why I jumped at the chance to buy it and create the tank Red Sea wanted it to be. Why d I love the tank so much? The ATO is gravity fed and built in along with the 4 powerheads also built in the back wall. Each nozzle is easy to position to create maximum flow in almost any direction. Behind each nozzle is a Sicce 2.0 providing up to 568 GPH of flow. Unfortunately the pumps didn't come with the tank and I had to purchase them. Enough about all that stuff here is the list of all the equipment that is being used currently.

Tank dimensions are: 62.5 x 25 tall x 27 wide
Custom sump dimensions are: 58.5 x 17 tall x 22.5 wide with 22 x 22.5 of it being a built in refugium
Skimmer: Reef Octopus SSS 220 Regal
Return Pump: Ecotech Vectra M1
Flow: 4 Sicce 2.0 pumps built in and 2 Ecotech Vectra MP-40qd
Ecotech Battery Backup
Bubble Magus BMT-11 dosing pump with 3 dosing containers
AI prime Refugium light
3 Ecotech Radions 2 Gen 3 pro and 1 Gen 2 soon to be upgraded

So there you have it pics to follow!

 

[xanthurum]

First pics! So if you are familiar with the 650S you know it has a pretty neat trim kit on it. If your not familiar, you know now. I didn't want to buy the trim kit plus I liked the idea of a giant rimless tank so I cut off the molding that the trim slides into. The molding is held on with silicone so it was a pain but still easy to remove and SO worth it.

Here is a nice shot of all the Ecotech goodies, did I mention I love Ecotech? I should mention that I purchased both the MP's before the QD's came out but I just swapped out the old ones for QD's this week.

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[CJBuckeyes]

You've got some great equipment, looking forward to seeing this come together.

 

[glaukos]

I didn't focus good enough and the thread's title looked like "175 gallons of bills "
You started with really nice equipment:thumbsup:

 

[FloformAustria]

wow nice ecotech collection!!

you´re gonna enjoy all that in compination with the reeflink and ecosmartlive!!

tagging along

Flo

 

[xanthurum]

So by now the equipment has been covered, don't think I missed anything. It was time to build a stand and not just any stand would do. I had a crazy idea that I had never seen done before although I doubt I am the first to do it. Barn Doors, sliding barn doors! I wanted to do it for 2 reasons. 1 I've never seen it and 2 for space reasons. My sectional couch is about 2 feet from the front of the tank so opening a door would be a bit of a pain if I needed full access. I drew up some plans and had a buddy of mine weld it all up and I did all the finishing and woodwork myself. I wanted a really sleek look so there is no trim the stand is flush with the tank sides for a super sexy finish.

Still in the rough stages

Both side doors are hidden but open wide for unlimited access. There are no signs that they are doors upon first look, no handles.

The little shelf is for the power box it slides out

Here are the Barn Doors, the doors are not the same size to eliminate a noticeable seam where the 2 doors meet.

Finished product

The electrical box is in place with sliders also

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[ricks49reef]

Love your stand ideas.Very easy access when you need it.You could start your own business building them.

 

[Usernam Invalid]

Awesome stand. Will you be putting a try in the body for any potential spills

 

[xanthurum]

I didn't focus good enough and the thread's title looked like "175 gallons of bills "
You started with really nice equipment:thumbsup:

Well you are partially right about BILLS

Awesome stand. Will you be putting a try in the body for any potential spills

No I designed and built my sump so I wouldn't have any spills. Or so I thought until my sump overflowed when my filter socks clogged and I realized I never drilled my emergency bypass:mad2:

Love your stand ideas.Very easy access when you need it.You could start your own business building them.

So I've been told. I'm still on the fence about it because a stand like this wouldn't be cheap so I'm not sure how they would sell. The sliders alone were about $100 but they are all stainless steel. I got them from a boating supply company, they are used in yacht building.

wow nice ecotech collection!!

you´re gonna enjoy all that in compination with the reeflink and ecosmartlive!!

tagging along

Flo

I love Ecotech and their customer support is top notch

You've got some great equipment, looking forward to seeing this come together.

It's already together so you won't have to wait long. I will do updates every few days until I get to the current state of the tank. It's been running since February so the frags are still small but there are many!

Thanks for all the interest so far. There have been a few bumps along the road so far but nothing major. Sometimes the best laid plans still have to get modified along the way.

 

[Acromaniac]

Awesome can't wait to see the rest.

Can you please send me the link or the name of the sliders, they are exactly what I was thinking for my next build but couldnt find anything.

 

[xanthurum]

Awesome can't wait to see the rest.

Can you please send me the link or the name of the sliders, they are exactly what I was thinking for my next build but couldnt find anything.

boatoutfitters.com they have lots to choose from and they even detach with the press of a lever. Just go to their site and look under drawer sliders. You may have to search a bit but that's where I got them. Feel free to PM if you need any help. Lots of engineering went into my stand.

 

[xanthurum]

Time to shed some light on this thread. As I previously stated I am running 3 Radions on this tank, 2 gen 3 pros and a Gen 2 that will be upgraded soon. I can't stand wires so I designed a fixture to "float" my lights and hide the wires in the wall. The wires come back out of the wall behind my stand and connect to the ballasts which are mounted in the stand. It's a 3 piece fixture the first being the wood that matches the stand. The second is the arm that holds the lights over the center of the tank. The third is what the Radions actually mount to.

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[xanthurum]

Anyway to resize those 2 pics so they aren't so huge?

 

[glaukos]

Awesome job you did there:beer:
Very artistic!

 

[reefmutt]

very nice installation, so far.
looking forward to seeing it progress.

 

[xanthurum]

Been a bit so here are some pics of the sump. I built it myself. It's very large in fact it's a bit too big now that I think about it because I have no room under my stand since it is basically the same dimensions as the tank.

My son just had to check it out

Installed

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[Usernam Invalid]

Nice job on the sump [emoji106]

 

[xanthurum]

1000 views! :bounce2::lolspin:

 

[rovster]

Love your design ideas!!!

 

[xanthurum]

very nice installation, so far.
looking forward to seeing it progress.

Thanks, by the way I did a small fist bump when I saw you posted on my thread

Nice job on the sump [emoji106]

It was fun to build my own stuff for a change

Love your design ideas!!!

Thanks for all the kind words.

So far this tank has been about 50/50 bliss and troubles. I was very strict with QT on the fish side and somehow still got ich in the display. Haven't lost anything but All my fish are back in QT and the tank is just doing its thing. I wasn't very strict with coral QT and wound up with red bugs. Found an Interceptor pill and took care of it. Some corals bleached out due to the little buggers but they have almost recovered, just a bit more coloring back up to do. Now it seems I have black bugs so I am searching for another magic pill. I will be posting some coral pics soon but the next update is just around the corner.