180 gal reef build

[Musbtr1pin]

How did you wash your sand?

I made a horrible mistake of not washing my sand, I was going out of town, So I figured I could dump it into my tank and let it filter for a few days.. BAD MISTAKE... FOOLISH if you ask me...

I am pumping my water into my mix tanks from the display tank now.. Letting the water settle before I pump it back into the tank, and as for the sand in the tank now, I am scooping out 50 lbs at a time, and sticking a hose in the middle of the sand at the bottom of the bucket.

The water that overflows is a milky color... just going to do that until the water that is coming out of the bucket is clear...

FML, I knew better than to do this.... WHY WHY WHY

 

[Musbtr1pin]

Light timers!

Light timers!

What do you prefer to use when you are talking about controlling your lights? I have 3 MH bulbs... Two 70 '' Actinics.. and 3 LED strips for nighttime lights...

3 plug ins.... What do you use? I have been looking for a few hours, but everyone I find is full of bad reviews... Thoughts?

 

[Musbtr1pin]

Help me choose a skimmer. I would like an "External" skimmer and needs to be able to handle a LARGE Bio load for at least 225 Gal.... Lets hear it! Price is not a problem, when it comes to quality and craftsmanship.

 

[Musbtr1pin]

UPDATE: Water is back to normal, and I am getting ready to pump it back into the tank as we speak. I have my arch that I made from the rock that I smashed in the tank now as well. The silicone has cured for almost 4 days and has sat in the water for 2 days on top of that. Now for the fun part....

To do list:

1. Fill Tank
2. Start Cycle
3. Monitor Cycle and start Refugium.

 

[Musbtr1pin]

Update!!! Aquascape finished!!

Update!!! Aquascape finished!!

So I finished the aquascape, and have started the filling process. Here are some pictures thus far....

FYI...... I still need a good skimmer people Help a fellow Reefer out!!!

 

[Musbtr1pin]

Lighting is on Tank

Lighting is on Tank

I'm mixing up the rest of my tank water as we speak.. I will pump rest in tomorrow... As you can see, the water is pretty cloudy.. I have two micron filters in there on a giant rio power head.. Clearing up well.. Here's some pictures with the nighttime lighting

 

[reefermad619]

Check out the swc extreme 200 tube skimmer.

 

[Musbtr1pin]

Check out the swc extreme 200 tube skimmer.

Awesome skimmer, but I don't have room in my 55 sump for something like that. I need an "Extrernal" skimmer... I do like that SWC tho, fairly cheap as well..

What about Deltech or Bubbleking?:bounce1:

 

[Musbtr1pin]

Lets start cycling!!!!

Lets start cycling!!!!

Tank is filled up, temp is a comfortable 75.5 Deg F, and I have some ammonia in brewing up in the tank as we speak.... Lets do it! I'm ready for corals and fish and anemones already :lol2::thumbsup:

 

[Musbtr1pin]

Tank Heaters!

Tank Heaters!

So apparently Marineland discontinued the "Stealth Series" heaters. I have 3 of them and there all in my SW tanks... YIKES!

What brand of heater do you recommend?

 

[duncantse]

I like your lights!

 

[reefermad619]

Awesome skimmer, but I don't have room in my 55 sump for something like that. I need an "Extrernal" skimmer... I do like that SWC tho, fairly cheap as well..

What about Deltech or Bubbleking?:bounce1:

Those are good skimmers too. I don't have any experience with deltec. Bubble kings are great, but for the price, I'd buy a bubble magus or swc and have enough cash leftover to buy a nano tank. Check out bubble magus. They've got some external skimmers too. I don't have any experience with external though. Sorry.

 

[Musbtr1pin]

Protein Skimmers

Protein Skimmers

Those are good skimmers too. I don't have any experience with deltec. Bubble kings are great, but for the price, I'd buy a bubble magus or swc and have enough cash leftover to buy a nano tank. Check out bubble magus. They've got some external skimmers too. I don't have any experience with external though. Sorry.

Just add a nano tank on to my existing 55 gal sump and then run the plumbing for either a SWC or BBKING.. or a DELTECH.. ?????????????????????

What ATO valve or systems do you use? I want like tripple protection, double at LEAST.?????

HOW DO I CATCH DAMSELS LOL!!! There soo fast... Any tricks????

 

[Musbtr1pin]

Skimmers people skimmers!!!!

Skimmers people skimmers!!!!

Ok, hear is the deal...... I got 600 dollars give or take a few that I want to spend on a skimmer.. With these thoughts said, HAVE AT IT!!!!!!!!

I honestly dont care about price, reliability is a must when it comes to this skimmer!

 

[Musbtr1pin]

Those are good skimmers too. I don't have any experience with deltec. Bubble kings are great, but for the price, I'd buy a bubble magus or swc and have enough cash leftover to buy a nano tank. Check out bubble magus. They've got some external skimmers too. I don't have any experience with external though. Sorry.

Why buy a nano tank?

 

[Musbtr1pin]

I like your lights!

Thanks Broham.... I love em too

 

[reefermad619]

Sorry for the confusion. I meant that bubble king skimmers are great, but there are other skimmers out there that are also good quality that are much cheaper. A bubble king will run about $1000. What I meant was that I would buy a swc, bubble magus, or reef octopus for less than $500 and use the rest of the money to buy a whole other tank. Like a nice little aio nano and put it next to my bed.

A friend of mine had a BK. The pump went out. The customer service sucks and the replacement pump was like $500. I got rid of mine for that reason too.

 

[Musbtr1pin]

I have a 55 gal right now, and my 180 gal with 55 sump cyclin right now... SWC seem to be the way to go? No, on the nano tank... I have 4 tanks in my basement... including my 180

I am moving my bed to be infront of my tank... Ladies LOVE IT!

 

[reefermad619]

Ya they do. I like swc skimmers alot. Good prices and the perform well. Bubble magus has similar models to swc, but are a little cheaper. The swc skimmers, from what I've seen, seem to be a little beefier than the bubble magus stuff.

 

[Musbtr1pin]

SWC I think is where I'll be venturing here shortly for an order.. Any specific model you recommend? I'm shooting for around 250 gal with a Heavy Bio load...

Thanks for the help