Alan's 300g Marineland DD Reef

[alanmorehead]

ya i got my 90g from their (GOOD PRICE):dance::dance::dance:
have not tested mine
are you taking back?
are will you fix the leak?

I'm not going to take it back. The leak really won't matter, just as long as the "outer container" of the tank doesn't leak. I'm considering sealing it from the inside of the overflow, but waiting to hear back from Marineland. Jon actually noticed that the other overflow is doing the same thing this weekend, but not leaking as bad.

That sohal is ridiculous. Great colors, streamers, and just huge. What else are you going to try to put in the 300 with it, fish-wise?

I'm not planning on adding anything else at this time, just let him have free roam of the tank. A couple chromis actually made it in there though.

 

[alanmorehead]

Made some progress on the tank build this weekend. I tore out the 180's stand on Saturday and Bohlke came over yesterday to help put the new one together. I went with the same stand design as the last one, but used 2x6s for everything. Basically a 6'x3' box, two lateral supports on the top, and legs built with two 2x6s in an L-shape, while making sure to overlap all the joints. I used treated 2x6 lumber for the sill boards and brought those straight out from the wall to help stabilize the back legs. No sill board across the back side, since the stock tank will sit partially underneath the stand.

We got everything in place and spent A LOT of time leveling it out and making it perfect. The front right corner was shimmed a little bit to make the front perfectly level. To minimize shimming, the back legs were cut a little long and then repeatedly shaved down until they were level. We used a couple 200g salt boxes to keep some weight on it while leveling. Everything looked good and we locked it in with a bunch of screws. This strategy worked out very well and I'm really happy with how things turned out.

We also got the stand primed last night. I actually went home over lunch today and put the first coat of paint on
The thought of actually getting the tank in the wall this week is pretty exciting! :bounce3:

I have two 30g trash cans that are about 2/3s full of rock. I started bleaching them today over lunch. I should have started this two weeks ago, but was debating on whether to bleach or not. Hopefully this won't slow me down too much. Once I get them fully dechlorinated I'll probably put them back in the trash cans for a week or two to start cycling. Then I'll scrub/rinse them off and finish cycling in the display tank with the new and old rinsed sand. After a few weeks I'll tie the two systems together.

 

[bohlke]

Its amazing how cool that tank looks when you can see it with water and a light from above. I can wait to see how everything looks once its in the wall. I wish I had more time to help get that skimmer setup its going to be sweet.

 

[nebraskareef]

The stand certainly sounds like a winner! I'm sure it's great being able to hit the house during lunch to get things like paint on the stand done, rather than waiting all night for it to dry, this way you could put on another coat in the evening. I've been hitting the weights pretty hard in anticipation of moving this thing in the wall!

I hope your backs aren't too sore because I'm gonna need some leveling assistance pretty soon! :bounce2:

 

[bohlke]

The stand certainly sounds like a winner! I'm sure it's great being able to hit the house during lunch to get things like paint on the stand done, rather than waiting all night for it to dry, this way you could put on another coat in the evening. I've been hitting the weights pretty hard in anticipation of moving this thing in the wall!

I hope your backs aren't too sore because I'm gonna need some leveling assistance pretty soon! :bounce2:

It appears that the 200G salt mix boxes are key

 

[lvpd186]

Sounds like you made some good progress.

 

[hyperlink17]

I started a leak test this week on the new tank. It's sitting in the living room and I was going to use it to make up about 200g for a water change. Looks like there is a small hole between the main tank area and the overflow chamber. I looked at it closely and the drip is coming through where the overflow meets the side wall, just at the top of the silicone bead. Another thing I noticed was that the inside of the overflow chamber does not have any silicone on it, just the outside. My plan is to just put a bead of silicone on the inside of the chamber. Overall, this leak is not going to really matter and the standpipe will maintain the water level.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m-X3a3yncc

I haven't had time to tear out the old 180g stand or get lumber for the new one. Hopefully sometime this weekend I can get started on this build.

My 300 Marineland DD tank does the exact same thing

 

[alanmorehead]

My 300 Marineland DD tank does the exact same thing

I'm beginning to think that they were not that concerned with completely sealing off the overflows. I guess as long as the tank itself doesn't leak, then it doesn't really matter. I assume they silicone the tank, let it fully cure, then go back and add the overflows. The first person I talked to at Marineland said "Hmmm, I've never heard of that problem before...". After getting redirected to Perfecto, they requested I send pictures so their engineers can look at it. I know it won't really matter once the standpipes are in, but I'm curious to see what they say about it .

 

[alanmorehead]

I just got a call back from Perfecto. They confirmed that the tank is completely sealed and cured, then overflows are added later. He said the reason it could be leaking is due to the flexibility of the overflow and all the pressure against the empty overflow. He mentioned that they are considering putting an FYI note in the tanks to recommend filling the overflow at the same time as the rest of the tank. They are going to send a tube of black silicone and said to just reseal over it after it is empty, both outside and inside the overflow chamber.

 

[prop-frags]

Then I'll scrub/rinse them off and finish cycling in the display tank with the new and old rinsed sand. After a few weeks I'll tie the two systems together.

What kind of sand are you planning to use in the 300?

 

[alanmorehead]

What kind of sand are you planning to use in the 300?

Caribsea Seaflor Special Grade Reef Sand

 

[alanmorehead]

I'm really happy with the way the stand turned out. I put the final coat of paint on it last night with a small sponge roller and it covered very well.
It's looking like the tank will go in the wall tomorrow! :spin1:

A few pics taken with my phone (Wife has the DSLR and is out of town):

 

[nebraskareef]

Alan,

Are you using the special grade so you can vacuum the sandbed without loosing it? Have you used smaller grain sand in the past?

 

[karsco]

Looks good Alan, I prefere the special grade sand as well. It works a lot better then the fine grain sand in a high flow tank...

 

[lvpd186]

Looks great Alan!

 

[BennyFrank]

Dibs on the lounge chair! :smokin:

 

[alanmorehead]

Alan,

Are you using the special grade so you can vacuum the sandbed without loosing it? Have you used smaller grain sand in the past?

Looks good Alan, I prefere the special grade sand as well. It works a lot better then the fine grain sand in a high flow tank...

I've used the special grade sand in my last few tanks and I have been very happy with it. I've repeatedly heard complaints about the smaller grained sand blowing all over the place, so I have never used it in a display. I have some sugar sized sand in a bucket, but that would only be used for a DSB.

Looks great Alan!

Thanks, and thanks to Jon for the help building and priming it :hammer:

Dibs on the lounge chair! :smokin:

Fine, I'll just hang out in the 300g Rubbermaid hot tub then :beachbum:

 

[pudelt32]

Looks good.

 

[bohlke]

Any pics of the new pico tank?

Cant wait to see that monster with water in it!

 

[alanmorehead]

Here ya go: