180 Gallon Build

thejtl

thejtl

New member
Hi all,

I'm new to RC and thought I'd start out by saying hi and introducing you all to my latest mania: my 180 build.

I just started a 75 about 2 months ago after having a Biocube 29 for about a year. I quickly discovered that the 75 was a little too "in-between" for me and decided to see if there was anyone local looking to sell a 125 or 180 for a good price. Well, as soon as I put a post up on the local reef club board, I got an offer: a 180 plumbed with a stand and the guy even threw in a 65 gallon SeaClear system II tank he was using as a sump. how much, you ask/ $350 a great deal and a great guy to deal with.

Now, getting a 180 out of one basement and into another was one of the most difficult moving jobs I've ever been a part of, and I lived in NYC for 11 years, moved apartments there several times, including pianos, and I was a touring musician for a long time; I've moved heavy stuff. This thing was a whole other world. Wow. About 350 lbs of glass. At one point it almost fell over on me when the weight of it fell on the bruises I already had on my biceps from the day before. Somehow I got it before it came down, but just barely.:hmm4:

Anyway, here are a couple pics of it in my garage and then on the stand.

2012-07-14093331-2.jpg


photo3.jpg


Here's a pic of the 75. It was short-lived, but I've learned a lot from it:
2012-06-17074810-2.jpg


Much to my wife's chagrin, I just made a big order of stuff to get the 180 set up. Should bee a fun next couple week!

1) CD-970393 Glass Only Mag-Float® Medium

Quantity: 1

2) CD-967052 Aragamax Sand 30 lbs

Quantity: 3

3) CD-18977 Double Threaded Bulkhead Fittings 3/4"

Quantity: 2

4) CD-18985 Slip Bulkhead Fitting Kits 1"

Quantity: 1

5) CD-18826 Theo Heater 400 watt

Quantity: 1

6) CD-70397 Auto Top Off Float Valve Float Valve

Quantity: 1

7) CD-74854 Marineland Maxi-Jet PRO 1200 PRO
Quantity: 2

75 GPD RO/DI 4 Stage Economy System

BRS Felt Filter Sock 7" x 16" 200 Micron (w/ Plastic Ring)

Thanks for looking!
 
question, will you be skinning the stand and putting doors on it? are you building a canopy for it?

I think you will really like going from a 75 to a 180 for a dozen reasons.

looking forward to seeing your build, good luck with everything :wavehand:
 
I will skin the stand once its fully set up. I haven't decided about the canopy yet. Ill be running halides and I might hang them at first.
 
I also wanted to throw out a little criticism of Drs Fosters and Smith shipping. I made my order last Tuesday evening and my sand showed up Saturday, the rest though, a different story. First of all, it didn't ship until Friday, then it went to WI, sat there until Monday night, then went to Kansas City (and therefore had to travel through Iowa, where I am located) to then get shipping back to Iowa, to be transferred to the local post office, and delivered to me on Friday, 7/27. They're using something called FedEx Smart-post. It is not smart, to say the least.

I've ordered a lot of stuff through the Internet, the majority of it taking advantage of various free shipping options. I have never had service this bad. I've talked to customer service a couple times and, while they couldn't do anything to help me, they were very personable and conscientious. I wish their shipping practices reflected this.

I guess I'm headed out to the LFS to buy most of what I wanted shipped and I'll return the package when it finally gets here.
 
Anybody out there? Am I posting this in the wrong place?

Well, I got water flowing and all the leaks seem to be stoppered.

Got video documentation. Will post later if folks wanna see.
 
The 75 looked good, don't see why this won't look just as good.

I recently placed an order with Drs. Foster and Smith as well, and I must say, I agree with you on this Fed Ex Smart ship. It seems to be very slow which is to bad because they're a great company. I'll probably just stick the BRS in the future, they have lightening fast shipping.

Good luck on the rest of the build.
 
+1 ^^^
BRS > Dr. Fosters as far as shipping speed.
Ordered several things from BRS 2 days after I ordered 1 thing Dr. Forster's. I got the BRS shipment 3 days before the Dr. Foster's...lol
 
Funny....I'm runnnong a 29 Biocube right now, picking up a 75 setup today.....already thinkinh of bumping the 75 to a 90, and then question if I need bigger! Sounds like you! If I found the 180 deal you did, I would have jumped on it. What are the tank dimensions?
 
Sethjamto said:
Funny....I'm runnnong a 29 Biocube right now, picking up a 75 setup today.....already thinkinh of bumping the 75 to a 90, and then question if I need bigger! Sounds like you! If I found the 180 deal you did, I would have jumped on it. What are the tank dimensions?
Click to expand...

It's 72x25x25. Big. Yeesh.

The 75 is cool. I would have stuck with it for a while. But this deal came along and I had only just started the 75, so I thought it was a good time to switch before I got in too deep.

Proving to be an expensive setup though. Hope the wife sticks with me through this one.
 
EVERYTHING's MOVED OVER!<div><br></div><div>Well, I got the fish, rock, corals, sand and water moved over this morning/afternoon. Quite a job, but I'm glad it;'s none and I hope everyone survives. The Niger Trigger doesn't like moving around.</div><div><br></div><div>The only casualty so for is the collection cup for my Super Skimmer. hit the ground as I was moving it and the bottom broke pretty good. It's not going to be my long=term skimmer for this tank, so I don't know what to do.</div><div><br></div><div>And the added bonus: I stopped on the way home from the CR/IC BBQ last night and picked up 2 AI Sols and hung them. I'll probably need at least one more, but that's all the $$$ I could wrangle out of the banker for now. Even thought I explained the long-term cost savings. it's hard to explain why you have to spend $1000. Eek. I think she still loves me.
</div><div><br></div><div>Here are a few picks. I'm going to do another video of all the steps I went through to get this stuff done. Stay tuned. Thanks for reading.</div><div><br></div><div><img src="http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/a401/thejtl/2012-07-28091323.jpg"></div><div><br></div><div><img src="http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/a401/thejtl/2012-07-29003529.jpg"></div><div><br></div><div><img src="http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/a401/thejtl/2012-07-29003552.jpg"></div><div><br></div><div>And the 75 setup, soon to be on Buy/sell/trade for sale. </div><div><img src="http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/a401/thejtl/2012-07-29003602.jpg"></div>
 
wait you went from a 75, to a 180 in a matter of a few days and already putting livestock in? you didnt think to wait and see if you are going to have a cycle?
 
It also looks like your tank may not be sitting square on the stand as I can see gaps between the top of the stand and the tank. That can lead into big problems.
 
mthomp said:
It also looks like your tank may not be sitting square on the stand as I can see gaps between the top of the stand and the tank. That can lead into big problems.
Click to expand...

Those are shadows from the light. It's level.

As for a cycle. I transferred water and sand from the old tank, used Cycle, and let the water circulate through the new tank for about a week. About the best I can do. At some point, the stuff has to go from one tank to the other.

Thanks for the positivity, though.
 
wierd your time line says 4 days from getting plumbing done till stocking not a week. Old water holds no biological value btw.

I am sorry if you feel I am being harsh but I am just trying to show you the reality of things and many times it may not be what you want to hear.
 
Last edited:
mthomp said:
wierd your time line says 4 days from getting plumbing done till stocking not a week. Old water holds no biological value btw.

I am sorry if you feel I am being harsh but I am just trying to show you the reality of things and many times it may not be what you want to hear.
Click to expand...

Well, the water's been in there since last Monday. I've been tinkering with the plumbing all week.

It's not that I'm not interested in "reality," I had to make a choice based on where I was in the process and what lies ahead of me. I made it. It wasn't the choice you would have made. That's fine.

As for whether you were harsh, i don't see any reason why anyone would want to be harsh on a message board that's dedicated to what's supposed to be a relaxing hobby. Having opinions and stating them is fine, but your bedside manner could use some work.
 
thejtl said:
I just started a 75 about 2 months ago after having a Biocube 29 for about a year. I quickly discovered that the 75 was a little too "in-between" for me and decided to see if there was anyone local looking to sell a 125 or 180 for a good price. Well, as soon as I put a post up on the local reef club board, I got an offer: a 180 plumbed with a stand and the guy even threw in a 65 gallon SeaClear system II tank he was using as a sump. how much, you ask/ $350 a great deal and a great guy to deal with.
Click to expand...

We all know what happens when you assume, but assuming the OP stocked his 75gal with rock, sand and fish from the biocube he had running for almost a year, then transferred that same rock/sand/fish to the 180gal after two months in the 75 I wouldn't think there would be a problem. Of course, if the OP added a large amount of live rock that took days to ship cross-country or added several fish once there was water in the 180 that's a different story.

Taking live rock out of a cycled, running tank and immediately transferring it to a new tank across the room or down the hall shouldn't be that big of a deal if the two tanks are close in salinity, pH and temperature. Again, assuming he didn't add any bioload to the 180 that wasn't already in the 75 for awhile I wouldn't expect there to be an issue.
 
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