190 Tank Build!

[SoulFish]

Here's some updated picts. And before you guys say something The guys are coming back to adjust the doors so I have no light leaks. The sump is due into my LFS tomorrow. Then plumbing... and maybe an extra structural support under the floor.. running load calculations again as a precaution.

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[Eddie V]

Love it, its craftsmanship like that, that gets me motivated to learn and practice more on my skills.

 

[SoulFish]

The sump just arrived! 48"x22" footprint.

 

[jt48]

thats sweet

 

[SoulFish]

More boxes in the mail! new pump, bio pellet reactor & carbon reactor. Also picked up 150lbs of crushed shells from Boca Grande. The shell substrate is currently being cleaned out, then dried out before going into the tank.

Also sealed all seams and caulked the gaps, then painted the entire inside of the stand with a "BLACK JACK 3.6-Quart Elastomeric Roof Coating" in white. The paint is a siliconized paint designed to make metal and wood all weather.

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[SoulFish]

collected 150lbs of crushed shells and cleaned the load out with freshwater rinse and light bleach. Now drying out the shells

 

[Reefocd]

One thing I am learning, Reefer's have Vision and Skills. Great work! Fun days ahead....

 

[Ward1]

That's a great spot to set a tank, being able to walk around it and view from three sides will be super cool..

 

[Uglyman]

Love the way the tank blends in with the house, beautiful design and is going to look really nice once it's up and running for sure. :thumbsup:

 

[SoulFish]

Picked up the dosing controller today. <strong>GHL ProfiLux Stand Alone Dosing System, 3 Pumps w/ Controller</strong>.
I'll have Calcium, Magnesium & Alkalinity set up on auto dose.

Also ordered my skimmer, but they are back ordered, so wont be in till mid to late Feb. It's a Super Reef Octopus SRO-3000Int. Has the new Bubble blaster pump, cant wait to get it.

Hopefully will get the plumbing done tomorrow.

<a href="http://www.aquacave.com/GHL-ProfiLux-Stand-Alone-Dosing-System-3-Pumps-w-Controller-P2938C835.aspx"></a>

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[SoulFish]

Getting closer Plumber was a no show, so called another guy who come highly recommended. He'll be out next weekend. Until then Just putting the filtration where it needs to be, so the guy can come in a wip out the pvc and get this thing runnin.

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[SoulFish]

Well plumbing is in, a few leaks, still need fixing. Not sure why we had leaks, clean cuts, new glue, but guess thats the way it just goes sometimes. Anyway. getting very close, that tank runs fairly quiet, slight gurgling, but no toilet bowl noise, and the water in the standing pipes is broken up with a T so it doesnt swirl. Hopefully the skimmer will be in on Thursday and the couple leaks on the return can be sorted out. The water test was just with freshwater, .... just in case. But the floor supports held nicely and the tank didn't squat too much. Only compressed about 1/32 of a inch. Or that's the size of the space of movement in the trim work on the cabinet.

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[SoulFish]

Well all leaks cut out and fixed, replaced one dead pump and away I went. Pumped out the freshwater emptied into drain in stand, then pumped in my entire saltwater bank tank to fill the display. Still needed a bit more, and already had the RO/DI filter out another 40 gallons, so pumped that in, added extra salt, then fine tuned the sump area and added more substrate. It's still clearing out but it's cycling now... now if Coralvue could just send me my dam skimmer, ordered it on Jan 14th! They keep telling me you'll get it in a couple days. So I'm now expecting it's arrival on Wed. Fingers crossed. Other than that the tank is ready to go.

Going down the street tomorrow to collect a couple dozen white hermit crabs to clean out the sand. They can clean out the tank for a couple weeks, then get turned back into the wild

Filling the tank up
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Sand Settling out and clearing up
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[DM1975]

What kind of pump are you using in your salt water holding tank? Is that just a sump pump? I'm looking to put a pump on my fresh water vat to be able to fill my ATO tank more easily and was thinking of just going to Menards and buying a small sump pump to use for this.

By the way, the build looks fantastic. It's terrible that you have had the issues you have, but it is looking wonderful.

 

[Brando457]

very nice, i like!

 

[SoulFish]

Well the base rock is in there, now more waiting I guess. Tested the main parameters, all is fine, but tank is a bit cloudy, guess thats just the cycle process. Here's the recent picts. I resisted from putting too much rockwork in there I want to make sure I have enough room for the corals to grow out. That was my last mistake on my other tank, I ran out of room way too fast. This time I left a bit of the tank open on top and alone the sides to give fish room to swim and corals room to grow out.

The saltwater holding tank pump is a no name brand, I bought from "Harbor Freight" It's 2600Gph and cost $70, and has a one year extended waranty. If it breaks I just bring it back and they give me another one. It's basically one for marine applications and is submersible. Nothing fancy, it just pumps like a demon and is cheap

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[NaturalReef]

Incredible tank build! Very clean and well thought out!

 

[bpcardona]

I love this build. I have wanted a pennsulia style tank for some time. Just can't find a good spot for it in my house. So for know I will live through yours.

 

[jdpiii3]

Wow great looking build, keep up the great work!

 

[SoulFish]

Well the first set of readings are in, got my test kits today. Here they are.

Salinity 1.025
Temp. 82
Ak. 7.0
Ca. 400
Mg. 1,300
No. 2ppm
Po. 0.04ppm

Looks like a spike in NO though. Moved my fish over today and yesterday. The fish actually all seem much calmer in the big tank and they don't hide when you walk up to the glass.