180 Gallon Frankenstein

[QuarterTang]

A bit about me first: I started into salt water about a year and a half ago. I started with a 55 gallon tank, little to no equipment, and no idea what I was doing. I consider myself to be a smart person most of the time and decided to build on what I did know and one day I would start a bigger tank. I like to work with my hands and make stuff. Getting the most out of everything I have works pretty well.

I am calling this the 180 Frankenstein because for now, this is not meant to be the best looking tank out there. I still consider this part of my learning curve and there is still plenty more stuff to learn before I build an even bigger tank. The parts and pieces have been built, aquired used, and some bought new. It is a collection of pieces to accomplish an end result. Something capable of being a consistant habitat for fish and coral.

Another side note before I start with pictures, this tank is up and running now. But I wanted to share it, so I am posting it up like it is in progress from start to current. So while any reccommendations pertaining to the stand or placement of some things will only be for the next time I build another tank.

Pictures! Coming Shortly.

 

[QuarterTang]

So first pictures going up are about the worst looking tank you can imagine. This is what it looks like when you start by not knowing anything at all.

We all start somewhere right?

Go easy on me here, I know better now....

This was were I started about a year and a half ago. 1 55 gallon tank, 1 50/50 strip light, 1 homemade overflow, 1 homemade 5 gallon trickle filter, and a few power heads.

 

[QuarterTang]

If you are grinding your teeth and can barely look I understand, so am I. Nothing says you have come a long way better than looking back.

 

[QuarterTang]

180 Gallong Frankenstein

180 Gallong Frankenstein

That's where I started, I won't bore you with every detail of how bad that was, or how I encountered every problem imagingable with that tank. Really, that would take a long time. But I did finally start reading. The more I read and understood what was going on the more I realized what needed fixed. Then it is only money and time.

So I will skip ahead about 6 months.

 

[QuarterTang]

I got rid of the strip light, and moved on to MH and PC actinics. I got some Koreila 4's and a heater.

Wow, thought I was doing well at the time. I knew there was still alot to be done, but it was a step up.

 

[iLLwiLL]

The stand on your 55 is / was frightening . . .

~Will.

 

[ChloroPhil]

I like the clever use of water jugs.

 

[QuarterTang]

Well Moving on....
Here is my QuaterSized Tang. This has been the only fish I have kepted since I started. All of the others either didn't make it or went back to the LFS. Like most people I had several problems, jumpers, disease, overstressed and wouldn't eat, all the newbie problems. I did however build a hood to put the MH and PC's in.

 

[QuarterTang]

The stand on your 55 is / was frightening . . .

~Will.

Oh that gets even more frightening later on, you'll see.

 

[QuarterTang]

I like the clever use of water jugs.

Those were 2 for a dollar at the general and for what it's worth, they never leaked and flowed ok.

They were bit loud though. hmmm.

 

[QuarterTang]

So, time jump again. Here it is a little later. Algae anyone?
Oh yeah, if anyone ever wondered about JEBO PC actinics, here is what they looked like.

 

[QuarterTang]

If anyone has a weak stomach now is the time to quit looking. It get's worse before it gets better. But I promise, I am not completely stupid. I like to learn and part of learning is making mistakes. I know some people like to skip the mistakes part, but I like to learn through doing, so I made my fair share.

 

[QuarterTang]

To say I had a bit of a nutrient problem would be an understatement.
But what did I learn from that, a couple of things.

How about algae won't go away on it's own.
Two skimmers are not better than one good one.
Simply more rock does not help.
A 10 gallon aquarium inside a 55 gallon aquarium does not last long.
And lastly, more carbon does not help get rid of algae on it's own.

Scary isn't it.

I have to take a break and run a few errunds. I will be back later to post on and get out of the scary part. I will finish with the scary parts and get to the part where things start looking better after a while.

 

[QuarterTang]

Ok, I am back. I am going to get out of the bad and into the good.
Where I left off. I was getting pretty far off track of keeping anything that should keep stuff alive. So I did some more reading. Lot's of reading. I began to understand each problem and how to solve it. I started working on things to keep from chasing each issue and how to create a long lasting solution.

So for starters, I was still up to that point still using tap water. That had to go.

Next, thing that had to change, I was still topping off water by hand, I was good at this, doing it daily, but still, that gets old quick. So I bought a used Tunze water level controller and put that in.

I started to get a better idea of nutrient control, I was over feeding and I was not doing water changes like I should have been. I quit over feeding, and I started doing a 10% water change weekly. This was much easier because I had made a water station for fresh RO/DI and one for premix salt water. I plumbed through the wall with some extra tubing and maxijet 1200's I had laying around and connected the premix salt water storage to the tank so I could drain out 10 gallons/week and plug in the pump and pump in fresh salt water (made with RO/DI of course).

That I don't really have any pictures of, but I will say made it much easier, and I never miss a water change now.

 

[QuarterTang]

All of this work started to pay off. I wasn't seeing an increase in agae problems, but it wasn't really going away either. There was still some more stuff I needed to control my water. Strong skimming, and some other means of nutrient export. Refugium? I tried that, but didn't much care for it. I started reading about Zeo.

Now I'll disclaimer by saying, there are alot of ways to go for how to maintain a system and after I did much reading, I liked the Zeo set-up and I am still learning more everyday. I spend about an hour each morning reading about different systems and looking at people's builds. I still have a lot to learn, but for me this stuff works.

I next bought a reactor and the basics.
Following the advice of people that knew more than I did, I got rid of the extra LR in the sump went to using carbon passively in the sump and waited.

The reactor and media

and the basics I was using.

 

[QuarterTang]

After 6 weeks of starting.

and even later on.

 

[QuarterTang]

About September here's what it looked like.

That's a year in short. That was September 08-09.

It is really coming along and clearing up quite a bit. But still not everything I want it to be yet.

Meanwhile...I got a heck of a deal on a used tank. The kind of deal that doesn't cost you anything at all.

 

[QuarterTang]

That's where the Frankenstein 180 idea's started happening. To get a better idea of what I was going to do, I started sketching up my ideas.

 

[QuarterTang]

Any questions so far?

 

[QuarterTang]

By October the 55 was looking much better: