200 Gallon Deep Dimension Build

[MeghanisradxD]

After several months of searching I have finally found a cube aquarium that I picked up today.

I've been working on a 6' 150 gallon tank, but due to the depth and narrowness of the tank, I haven't really enjoyed it as much as I thought I would, so I've been looking for a cube which will also fit in my space much better.

After 12 hours of driving, moving, driving, moving, and a few minor heart attacks along the way....I now have the cube in my living room!

It is the same dimensions as the 200 gallon Marineland Deep Dimension tank, but was actually a 100% custom build. The tank, stand, canopy and sump.

The biggest difference between the Marineland DD is the stand. It's 36" high which makes it extremely nice to work on.

I'm hoping to get it plumbed up, aquascaped, and livestock moved over next weekend!

 

[Lilmatty5dimes]

Looks awesome. Following along. Are you going to keep the MH?

 

[MeghanisradxD]

I do plan on keeping the MH as I'd like to get into some SPS and I have an anemone that I'm sure would love them! I think I'll throw a couple of my chinese LEDs on there too, so I can add the blue lighting and make the corals' color pop.

 

[MeghanisradxD]

Plumbing!

Plumbing!

And we have the plumbing done!

The person I bought the tank from had everything dry fitted already, so it was just a matter of putting it all back together and gluing it in place.

I'll throw the skimmer in shortly and start aquascaping. That ball valve hanging down will have a hose adapter connected for easy water changes. It will stay closed the majority of the time.

 

[MeghanisradxD]

Livestock transferred!

Livestock transferred!

So, we had somebody interested in my old tank and wanted to pick it up ASAP due to a leak they had in theirs. So, I had finished the plumbing and let the glue dry overnight, then spent SEVERAL hours the next day transferring rock and livestock over. Well, come to find out that this person ended up buying a brand new tank from an LFS, so now I have an empty 150 in my living room and an unorganized 200 gallon cube. Blah.

I like how the aquascape turned ou, so at least that is good, I just need to spend some time under the stand organizing cables.

I'd like to get an Apex at some point down the line, but for now the only thing I have automated are the lights. I setup a Wemo switch (Pretty cool device. If you haven't heard of it check it out) That basically connects an outlet to the internet and I can turn on/off my lights from anywhere on my phone and can also put it on a schedule. That's really the only automation I NEED to have right now.

This weekend will be pretty busy, so sump cleanup will probably be next weekend. The water line is also about a quarter inch lower than the canopy line and it's driving me insane! That is not an easy fix, so I guess it's something I'll learn to deal with.

 

[MeghanisradxD]

Oh yeah, and current stock list:

1 Atlantic Blue Tang
1 Hippo Tang
1 Kole Tang
1 Sailfin Tang
(I like tangs)
2 juvi ocellaris clownfish
1 flame angel

Several coral frags including frogspawn, hammer, trumpet, monticap, duncan, and some acans. It's mostly going to be an LPS/softie tank, but I would like to do a few SPS at the top with the MH lights.

 

[MeghanisradxD]

Sump Cleanup!

Sump Cleanup!

All livestock has been moved from all the tanks in the house as well as a few additional purchases.

I was able to spend some time today getting the cabinet cleaned up. I picked up a surge strip with switches (I'm sure there is a specific name for that) and now everything is easily controlled and labelled. I need to pick up some zip ties to clean up cables, but it's significantly better than it was before. I had to switch the left drain to a hose rather than PVC, because there really is nowhere to mount the PVC to keep it secure and I was having leak issues.

So far I'm happy with it! Looking back, I wish I had laid down some pond liner or black plastic of some sort to protect the floor. Not sure how I missed that. I'd like to be getting some more SPS in the tank, so I'll be adding a doser and containers under the stand at some point as well.

 

[MeghanisradxD]

I'm no photographer, but a few more photos.

 

[Devaji108]

looking good I do like the aquca scape! you can do so much with DD tanks.
i believe the there called DJ strips as they where made for DJ..haha

 

[monkeyruler90]

great rock placement, and those corals look amazing already!


definitely worth the 12 hour drive !

 

[MeghanisradxD]

Thank you thank you! We'll see what else we get into with this thing. I'd like to add a refugium, but also trying to keep it simple, so we'll see what comes of it

 

[MeghanisradxD]

Quick little update:

The tank was doing great for a while, I went on vacation this past week and come home to only 3 fish left. Thank god my flame angel is one of the remaining. Judging by the looks of my hippo tang, it seems like ich took over. I had a powder brown in there that died shortly before I left for an unknown reason, so I have a feeling he brought something in. I've finally learned my lesson....setup a quarantine tank to try and get the remaining fish in for copper treatment and all fish will be quarantine from now on


In better news: the coral are looking awesome. They are doing really well and growing like crazy. Full tank shot is attached. I also redid the entire sump area and laid down plastic like I should have in the first place. Painted the bare wood with mold/mildew resistant paint while I had the whole thing ripped out.

I'm stlil no good at cable management....you would think working in the IT field would give me an advantage, but it has not.

 

[lifeoffaith]

Don't put the angel through copper treatment. He probably won't make it. I would actually suggest not doing copper at all, but using the Tank Transfer Method. There are some threads on here that will tell you more specifics about what you need to do that. Awesome tank by the way, following along.

 

[MeghanisradxD]

Don't put the angel through copper treatment. He probably won't make it. I would actually suggest not doing copper at all, but using the Tank Transfer Method. There are some threads on here that will tell you more specifics about what you need to do that. Awesome tank by the way, following along.

Yeah, I've been doing some reading on the TTM. The trick right now is catching the little buggers without tearing the tank apart. None of the fish that are left seem to be showing signs of ich. I know that doesn't mean they don't have it, but at least they aren't showing it.