210G Upgrade / Build (Lots of Pics)

[Atomic081]

Boiler up!!!

Nice looking tank!!

 

[Atomic081]

Boiler up!!!

Nice looking tank!!

 

[michael_in_nc]

Boiler up!!!

Nice looking tank!!

Go Boilermakers!

 

[michael_in_nc]

I was over anxious on getting the tank up and going and didn't QT the first batch of fish. Got an Ich outbreak just before a week long business trip, and ended up with a big fish loss. Lesson learned. I still have inverts, and some coral frags, so I will let the tank go fallow for 8 weeks before adding any more fish. I will get the QT up and going and get some fish ready for addition at the end of that time.

In the mean time, I got my canopy finished up. Pretty happy with it despite my poor judgement on the fish. Going to work hard to finish up some details while I wait on the fish.

The Apex display mount:

 

[cas1069]

now that its kinda up and running how are you feeling on the Vortechs (2x40mpw)? do they give you the flow you were after or do you feel like you need more of them?

 

[michael_in_nc]

I am actually at 3 x mp40. Here's my opinion so far....

- I have two on one end and two on the other end. I am considering moving one to the back and having it fire forward, but with my lift system, there are a number of obstructions to putting it on the back.

- Controllable from the Neptune Apex. Very nice.

- No extra drilling for a closed loop. Big plus for me.

- No wires in the tank OR over the top of the tank. This has been a huge plus with my lift system as I don't have to worry about cables issues with that and can still keep a tight seal on the tank with the canopy. No jumpers...

- Flow. Overall it seems pretty good, but not being able to 'direct' it is a downside for me. I think there are 'pockets' around the bigger live rock structure that will collect detritus. Some areas in the tank are not quite as high of a flow rate as I'd like.

I'm going to continue to work on adjusting position, settings, etc. on the pumps over time to see if I can improve it. I was also going to try and get on the Ecotech forum and see if I could get some inputs to improve the overall performance. I may need to replace the wet sides on two of them (all were bought used on RC). I did that to one that had a problem and it works much better now. That may improve flow on the other two as well.

Overall they are great pumps. Expensive, but still a reasonable option for flow. If I had to do it over again, I'd probably buy new pumps. The price difference doesn't warrant buying used when the new wet side makes such a difference.

My 2 cents.... Hope that helps.

 

[UWUALineman]

Have you considered putting 2 on the ends and then 2 on the back wall if you can overcome the canopy dillema? Working them in an anti sync mode and getting creative with the patterns could really add diversity to the flow.
I ran into this with my 210G. The 40's just do not have the reach to take care of the middle of the tank. I eventually went to an MP60 on one end with the Tunze 6205 on the other, plus some smaller tunzes to fix the dead spots.

 

[michael_in_nc]

I had thought about going to 4, or as you suggested going to MP60 at least on one maybe two. Cost is adding up on those, and I have a few other items up in priority at the moment. I think I will play with the settings and upgrading wet sides first, and see if I can get it working better, then maybe go to a 4th MP40. My rock work creates issues getting good flow through, too. Maybe some adjustments there would help, too.

I am working on getting some stock in the tank. I have a few corals and inverts in a little 10G QT with T5's. I've got some fish in a 55G QT, too. Picked up a few really nice Tangs that I'm anxious to get in the tank, but still got to get them through QT.

 

[aquaenthusiast]

Your stand, tank, sump and everything looks gorgeous! Really love how you have the 75 plumbed to the main tank in another room. How does the 75 look? Keep up the amazing attention to detail :thumbsup:

 

[michael_in_nc]

Your stand, tank, sump and everything looks gorgeous! Really love how you have the 75 plumbed to the main tank in another room. How does the 75 look? Keep up the amazing attention to detail :thumbsup:

Thanks! :beer:

I actually had something weird happen with my 75G. It cracked one night right down the middle of the front glass to the lower right corner. Had to drain it quickly and move everything to the main tank. I really just did it because I had it already and thought my son would have fun doing it with me, but now that it's all in there I decided to go ahead and replace it. Already have a new tank, but haven't installed it yet.

I am thinking that I will replace the Metal Halide / PC fixture with LED's in the future to drop the power and light output as I'm probably going to just run mostly fish, maybe a few easy corals. I'll post some more pics as I get things off the ground on both tanks.

 

[cas1069]

I am actually at 3 x mp40. Here's my opinion so far....

- I have two on one end and two on the other end. I am considering moving one to the back and having it fire forward, but with my lift system, there are a number of obstructions to putting it on the back.

- Controllable from the Neptune Apex. Very nice.

- No extra drilling for a closed loop. Big plus for me.

- No wires in the tank OR over the top of the tank. This has been a huge plus with my lift system as I don't have to worry about cables issues with that and can still keep a tight seal on the tank with the canopy. No jumpers...

- Flow. Overall it seems pretty good, but not being able to 'direct' it is a downside for me. I think there are 'pockets' around the bigger live rock structure that will collect detritus. Some areas in the tank are not quite as high of a flow rate as I'd like.

I'm going to continue to work on adjusting position, settings, etc. on the pumps over time to see if I can improve it. I was also going to try and get on the Ecotech forum and see if I could get some inputs to improve the overall performance. I may need to replace the wet sides on two of them (all were bought used on RC). I did that to one that had a problem and it works much better now. That may improve flow on the other two as well.

Overall they are great pumps. Expensive, but still a reasonable option for flow. If I had to do it over again, I'd probably buy new pumps. The price difference doesn't warrant buying used when the new wet side makes such a difference.

My 2 cents.... Hope that helps.

thanks for the info on the pumps...

 

[michael_in_nc]

Update: Livestock

Update: Livestock

It's been awhile since I've updated. Had several issues with disease and my fish additions. Had to go fallow for 8 weeks and get QT system running better. I have managed to work through most of that now, so I have a few pictures with it up and running now...

Still working on the finishing touches. Auto water change system, live culture system (automated), and a few other items. I will post details as things progress, slowly as usual unfortunately!

 

[James404]

Lookin good so far!

 

[kdrof]

Nice man! Coming along well.

 

[lizardman129]

Hey I'm looking at getting a 200 gallon tank on the ground level of the house but a basement underneath it would the floor be able to support it?

 

[chefzif]

What was the cost for the hydraulics to lift the canopy? 700?

 

[michael_in_nc]

Hey I'm looking at getting a 200 gallon tank on the ground level of the house but a basement underneath it would the floor be able to support it?

I was very fortunate. My house is a crawl space and the spot that I wanted to put it was very solid. Main support beam on the wall it's against. Floor supports run perpendicular and there are 2 huge cinder block pillars right under it. For a basement, I'd have someone maybe a contractor look at it. I think it would be easy to reinforce it. Might be worth it just for the piece of mind.

 

[michael_in_nc]

Nice man! Coming along well.

How's your tank going?

 

[michael_in_nc]

What was the cost for the hydraulics to lift the canopy? 700?

I don't have a total of everything but here is a list of the main items:

Actuator: $150 ( I ended up using just one as it handles up to 400lbs)
Steel & Powder coating: $150 ( I got a killer deal on this b/c I knew someone with a metal shop)
Linear rails: $250 (I think this is close; ebay with shipping from China)

So, that's about $550, plus misc stuff (power supply, wiring, etc. @ ~$100), so I'd say you're pretty close.

I will say I love it. It is great and I would definitely do it again. Tank maintenance is so much easier. Maybe a rimless would work as well and I like that look, but it just doesn't really fit in our house where I put it. Canopy looks better in that spot. Wife approval is key on a 250G tank.

For me the metal working was easy b/c I had someone that could do it, but in most situations that's probably the toughest part. The rest is pretty easy.

 

[michael_in_nc]

Lookin good so far!

Thanks! Looks like we're moving along at the same pace...