220g Starphire:LED:4 sided viewable: with a Basement Sump

[LivingRoomOcean]

Got a good amount done on the stand this weekend .... now on to sanding .... and sanding .... and sanding....

Started on the Refug and getting it in place and plumbed ... i will send picts soon ....

Trying to decide now on how much rock to order (Marco Rocks) .... I think i might start with 100 or so lbs -

 

[LivingRoomOcean]

Quick update -

Here is a pict of my Refugium above the Sump - it's a little high for my liking .. but I wanted to leave plenty of room to work in my sump and for large skimmers in the future as well as reactors, and possible UV ...

I still have a good amount of room to work on refugium if need be - could be a frag tank as well ... looking at running some low wattage par 38 bulbs up there-

This came in yesterday - 170lbs of Marco Rocks - Ordered it sunday and it arrived Wed... Outstanding .... I haven't unboxed all the rock yet but I did bull out a few pieces ... the Prime cuts pieces looks like it is going to be fun to Aquascape- all pieces come wrapped in bubble wrap and seem to handle shipping well - or at least the pieces i saw so far ... saw just a few rubble rocks at the bottom of the box ... those will head to the refugium

The Stand is about 95% done... still some more Sanding and a couple more trim pieces

 

[mattiej]

What a sweet set up you have thus far. I will definitely be following this build thread. Where did you get those storage tanks? I have only been able to find tall cylinders and I need ones similar to yours.

 

[LivingRoomOcean]

http://www.tank-depot.com/ has some - all shapes and sizes -

I picked mine up locally from northern tool ... I was able to talk them down since these happen to be sitting there for a very long time -

 

[Acronic]

Vortechs on a quarantine tank = gangster

My thoughts exactly.

I like what youve done with the storage tanks :inlove:

 

[ast]

Quick update -

Here is a pict of my Refugium above the Sump - it's a little high for my liking .. but I wanted to leave plenty of room to work in my sump and for large skimmers in the future as well as reactors, and possible UV ...

I still have a good amount of room to work on refugium if need be - could be a frag tank as well ... looking at running some low wattage par 38 bulbs up there-

This came in yesterday - 170lbs of Marco Rocks - Ordered it sunday and it arrived Wed... Outstanding .... I haven't unboxed all the rock yet but I did bull out a few pieces ... the Prime cuts pieces looks like it is going to be fun to Aquascape- all pieces come wrapped in bubble wrap and seem to handle shipping well - or at least the pieces i saw so far ... saw just a few rubble rocks at the bottom of the box ... those will head to the refugium

The Stand is about 95% done... still some more Sanding and a couple more trim pieces

+1 for the flat rocks

 

[LivingRoomOcean]

Thanks Acronic and Mattiej!

I decided to spend the extra $ and get these holding tanks - having access to 150g of saltwater instantly and 300g in a matter of a couple hours( time for salt to mix) helps in any backup plans that I might need to put into action in the future.

Update on the pump: there is a small leak (shaft seal) it seems that it is very common with these units - called Chris @ Reeflo and they are sending out a new seal.

Tank update: still waiting urghhhhh ( although I am not ready for it yet ... still need to get the stand done)

Stand update:

I was messing around with different looks for the Stand ... I think the wife and I have agreed on this - instead of a plain black paint or stain, i wanted to have some rustic feel - I took some Antique Gold Rub and Buff and applied it to the wood and then watered down my black paint and painted over the buff and rubb then allowed to dry a little ... then I took a Fine sanding block and lightly sanded the areas I want the Gold to show through ..... I am also going to distress the wood a little to give it some character... what do you think?

 

[DBSAM]

I like it, but it only matters if your wife likes it...Happy Homeowners' Insurance...

What store did you find the "Antique Gold Rub and Buff"?

Thanks

 

[flounderfish]

Do you have any moisture barrier in the fish room? Sheeting over the exposed insulation?

 

[LivingRoomOcean]

I was going to put up some green board in areas near the Sump and refug - the basement is 100% unfinished - and is about 2000 SQ Foot

would heavy plastic work ? i am thinking about an Air exchanger as well -

 

[H2OKIE]

I'd recommend at a minimum pumping up the green board around the tank area. Any condensation or accidental spills will cause mold issues pretty quick. I wouldn't think the rest of the room would need to be finished immediately. I'm very interested in how you do the moisture control overall. I'm looking to put my whole setup in a currently unfinished basement.

Joey

 

[LivingRoomOcean]

Here are some more shots of the stand ... the paint goes on tonight ! or at least the gold rub -

I Moved the stand over to where it will be displayed - It is going to be big and have a huge impact on how the room is arranged - my thought was to have a couch right infront of the tank ... I am thinking now that we will have to move the couch and put two sitting chairs in front of the tank.... let me know what you guys think - How cool would it be to be laying down on the couch with a beer in hand watching the fish swim by ....

 

[LivingRoomOcean]

Here we go !!! Rubbing the Gold on First - the rub and buff can be found at any art store - pretty cool stuff - I will then then out some Black latex paint and brush on and the sand back some of the black to let some of the gold show through - I still need to distress it a bit -

 

[1mbrews8]

nice man! looks really good!

 

[tsiklauss]

Awesome build but be careful with a tank that close to a window in GA. I read some where on here that another guy had a tank in front of a window in a warm climate area and the constant warmth from the sun weakened the seal and he blew a seam. Just some thing to consider.

 

[nygiants72]

What kind of LEDs are you going to be using?

 

[LivingRoomOcean]

Thanks Tsiklauss - Never heard of that happening - I have heavy Shades that we can drop in the AM - we dont get that much sun due to trees blocking a good bit - we only get two hrs or so .... I was thinking of adding support the the Marineland some type of Euro bracing on the bottom ... not sure how to do it on the top ... I will have corner overflows ... worst case is that i build a background and attach it to the back of the tank keeping all the sun out and i guess this would help on heat - I have a Temp gun that I can get reading at different areas of the tank - I will run some test when I do my water test- thanks for the heads up though ...



I will call Marineland tomorrow and see what their feedback is on putting a tank in front of a window -

 

[LivingRoomOcean]

nygiants72,

I have built a LED setup for me 14g biocube and it looks great ... 6 Royal blue and 6 CW Cree's - I could build a setup for this for about 1800.00 or so- I am really not up for that big of a build... getting the heatsinks - Drivers - led's - and get it all to work with the APEX ... plus I really want the Wife Factor to go way up so keeing it neat would be a big challange- there are some great builds on these forums on some pretty large systems-

Here is a quick iphone pict- of my Biocube - I will turn this into a Coral QT Tank- once the big system is up and running -

So here is what I am going to Go with -

http://www.aquaillumination.com/sol/

Going to need 4 or 5 - depends on how I do my aquascaping ... Thinking about going with Towers on the side - no need to light the towers where there isn't any corals - that is what is great about these setup .. you can move the lights that are attached to a rail where you need them -

These are All in one units - no external drivers or anything simple plug and play and I am going to go with this -

http://www.neptunesys.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=57&Itemid=40

This works with the AI and can control :Simulate Sunrise/Sunset, Lunar Cycle, Clouds, and Lightning with the Aqua Illumination LEDs.

Neptune just released these - would love to see if anyone has some video of this running ...

 

[LivingRoomOcean]

NEED YOUR HELP HERE -

I am torn where to place the Tank -

let me know what you think! Here are picts of the different locations -

Living Room-

Pros:-Can see the tank from kitchen and living room where the TV area - where we spend most of our time - can lay on the couch and watch the coral and fish action - can see the tank from the outside (during fall and spring days and Nights)- 4 sided view of my reef-

Cons: going to block a bunch of the window - very hard to clean glass on the back side - even with a Float Mag - Aquascaping will be difficult since i have to leave clearance for the floatmag on the back- Some say i will have a algae issue due to the sunlight -might have to remove the couch that is infront of tank because it eats too much of the room up -

OK now the 2nd Choice ?


Pros: No window to worry about - opens up aquascaping - bigger towers that can be close to the back glass- no need to clean back glass- Floor joist run perpendicular to the tank (still will put up a brace wall) - quiet area for the fish (kids not running around) - still has a couch to lay on and read - has some nice artwork around that will add to the feel ... getting some more pieces in the future to fill up the left wall - Tank can be seen from dining room - lighting can be controlled by the plantation shutters - my guess is that it would be easier to show the house to sell with it in this room (out of the way not in the main living room)

Cons: not in a highly occupied area - can't see it from kitchen or living room
(although about 10 steps away) - will have to drill holes in floor or wall (prob just drill holes in floor and cover with register if/when i move -already finished the backside of the stand (a lot of work ) oh well .... your call sorry about the crappy picts - will get some good shots as i get closer to filling tank-

 

[SimonSKL]

That's a tough decision. Personally I would rather not blocking the window with a big tank especially with such beautiful outside view. Your room will be quite a bit darker with the tank blocking outside light to the room. Also looking at the tank during the day time with strong sunlight coming thru the window tend to make your tank darker similar to taking a picture with the sun in the background. Your tank will stand out more against a dark wall or background. JMHO.