300gal. DD build

Thanks everyone. My buddy and I have been working hard to get this stand done. Hoping to have the it sealed/stained soon. Not sure about that stuff but I know I'd like to make it somewhat waterproof.

I love the taller stands because I'm 6'2" and hate having to bend over to see in the tank. I'll be building a canopy too after I get the tank running so it will be pretty impressive once its all put together. I've been saving my pennies for awhile now for some good LED lights and pumps.

I'll also be painting the back of my tank.....probably blue. Going to give the tank a good cleaning and remove the drains so that I can clean them better. Then I'm going to fill it to make sure theres no leaks before I get the crew to come help me move it.

More pics to come!
 
Alright! Got help from some fellas at work and finally got the tank on the stand! What a workout!
300gal.jpg


Unfortunately, I did a poor job planning for the drains and returns. I totally forgot to measure the stand and figure how they would fit. I will have to do some cutting to get the tank to slide all the way back on the stand.

I'll be painting the back glass blue and working on my 75gal. sump as well.
 
Well I'm slowly but surely making progress. Today we notched out the stand so the drains/returns under the tank would fit on the stand. Still looking for some sugar grain sand.

I found a nice 75gal. for the sump and have a great plan for that thanks to a fellow reefer who gave me his design. Not sure if I should use plexiglass or just regular glass for the baffles? I'm ordering unions and gate valves and getting all the pvc from Home Depot. Hoping to have this thing running next week sometime. My livestock is suffering in small tanks. Lost some show size corals that died for some reason. (Hammer colony of over 30 heads.) I think I did 50 water changes on the tank I have it in. Everything else seems to be ok...zoas are finally opening up some again. My fish are in a 55gal. tank and I see they have ich and my Hippo has popeye as of this morning. Blah. Did I get in over my head here? I didn't forsee my 150gal. springing a leak in the middle of this build - sure makes things more complicated.
 
For what it's worth I used acrylic for baffles in my 125. I wanted glass but I didn't want the hassle of having them cut. I like the DIY side of the hobby. They work fairly well as long as there is water on both sides. They flex quite a bit when the water s only on ose side but the silicon never broke loose from them. When it's all said and done, i am glad I chase acrylic because I had to move them (didn't like the placement) and modify the length of one of them.
 
I used glass for my baffles!!! It cost me 60 bucks for the glass and having cut and beveled!! It's was well worth it!! So much cleaner looking and strong!!
 
Well I've been on vacation this week and have gotten a lot accomplished. The tank is mostly full of saltwater now but have to wait to completely fill it till the sump baffles' silicone is fully cured. I had to use an older 75gal. tank as a sump so I resealed it and after a couple days I filled it and it the new seals worked great!

Next was the pvc plumbing to the sump and back. I used 1" pvc and installed unions and gate valves on each input/output as well as the pipe leading to the refugium section. I ended up using acrylic baffles and had them cut at Aquatica since I was there and he does that stuff. Cost around $40 so not too bad. The sump will be finished today and will be ready for water in a day or so.

I went with as fine of a grain sand as I could get. It is white and yes, is taking forever to clear in the tank. Got a couple bags of live sand as well to speed up the process. I even put a couple larger rocks in the tank hoping it will speed up the cycle time.

I should be "firing" the tank up early in the week and hoping for no leaks in the plumbing. I will do a freshwater test first and then it will be ready to go! Hoping to get rock and livestock in there soon. I've had a bout with ich in the tank holding my fish from the leaky 150gal. and taken some bad losses. What terrible timing for my display tank to leak when I was right in the middle of this build. Hopefully my luck will turn around and have some happy fish / corals from my other tanks in their new, larger home.

Pics to come soon!
 
Bcamp said:
Do you think it will get the tank to hot blowing directly on it?
Click to expand...

That would be a valid concern if it were a blower. It is hot water heat so no forced air. Not to mention my house is quite chilly in the winter - I'll be investing in a couple large heaters I'm sure.
 
Stand looks good so far. I built a wood stand for my 300DD a few years back, and while I used 2x8s for the crossbeams, I also didnt put anything for a middle support. I was also dumb enough to joint and plane every piece of lumber, which did reduce their overall dimensions a bit. You can see the stand build around this point in my thread.

Good luck on your build! I've really enjoyed this size tank over the last 2 years.
 
crvz said:
Stand looks good so far. I built a wood stand for my 300DD a few years back, and while I used 2x8s for the crossbeams, I also didnt put anything for a middle support. I was also dumb enough to joint and plane every piece of lumber, which did reduce their overall dimensions a bit. You can see the stand build around this point in my thread.

Good luck on your build! I've really enjoyed this size tank over the last 2 years.
Click to expand...

Thanks! The stand was a challenge and I would definately do some things differently if I ever make another one. I've done very little wood working and my saw blade was not completely perpendicular to the cutting surface so some of my boards have a slight angle on the end. Also I didn't even think about the drains and returns - notched out the stand so they would fit rather than just using a hole saw. :facepalm: I have learned A LOT though and have worked with some other things for the first time as well such as PVC, and silicone with the seals and baffles on the sump. Its been a good experience for sure!
 
Ok things are finally coming together! Check out my progress:

Resealed the 75gal. sump
3607.jpg

3608.jpg


My gf helped paint the back glass
3445.jpg


Sand! Yes, I realize its better out of the bag. lol
3490.jpg


PVC plumbing and sump baffles complete....and NO LEAKS!!! =)
3636.jpg


Its coming together!
3635.jpg


One light hung. Going to get another this weekend. Need.....cash! lol
3637.jpg
 
Next up:
- Treat LR and corals for flat worms. Darn things are everywhere!
- Start transferring LR from existing tanks.
- Install DSB in the refugium and filter socks in the return area.
- Look for a larger return pump - mine is barely keeping up.
- Start planning for building the canopy and skinning the stand.
 
ganjero said:
What are you going to use for circulation?
Click to expand...

Good Question! The answer I wish I could afford to tell you is a pair of MP-60's. However, I'm not wealthy so I'll have to make the best use of 2 or 3 large Korallias as well as the 4 loc-line returns. I did buy a wave maker to use as well. Not sure where I'll have the pumps in the tank but right now I have only two, one on each end and pointed in such a way to make a whirlpool type motion of waterflow.
 
Thanks everyone. I've had a rough few days as my FOWLR tank got infested with black ich so I've been battling that.

One of my lights stopped working and I realized it was the GFI outlet that had turned off. So glad I had those put in - there was just enough splashing in the overflow that some water dripped down the cords and into the power strip. I thought I had enough of a "drip loop" but I was apparantely mistaken. After a day of drying I got the light back on again. Topped off with fresh RO water and all my corals and fish are looking very happy.

I need to shorten my return lines in the sump as they go too low to allow me to get a filter bag on them. I tried using one of those pvc cutters that you tighten on and move around the pvc, tightening as you go. That didn't work. Now I'm going to try the type that looks like scissors. I sure hope it works.
 
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