BobbyV's Marineland 300DD Starphire Project

[BobbyV]

Happy to report I have a moving crew scheduled to put the tank on the stand tomorrow. I will absolutely sign the insurance paperwork before they touch it. I had to work a trade show these last few days and my fiance mentioned that my third Ecotech Radion LED came in the mail. Along with 2 Ecotech battery back ups and a Reeflow Gold Dart. I am hopefully on a group buy this Wednesday which I plan on buying 200lbs of Pukani Rock. I will call the order in and specifically request giant pieces. I am looking for some suggestions of a good bonding agent to secure the rocks. My lighting plan with my Radions are to start at 20k in the morning then gradually transition to 10k to promote growth then gradually end the day back at 20k to encourage coloring.

I also decided to change my mind on the initial sand choice and go with 6 30lb bags of Eden Reef Flake.

 

[BobbyV]

Slowely but surely making progress. Having the tank put up on the stand was completed over the weekend. I will say, people make a huge deal about moving this tank. I will have to report - that it looks more challenging than it really is. If you have have 4 average build guys, it can be lifted easily if each person grabbed a corner. No need for the industrial suction cups.

In addition to the items I have had delivered, I have ordered an MP60 and Reef Octopus Cone 5000EXT (new generation model).

Notice that my ADT motion detector is right above the tank - so no funny business for people thinking they will steal any corals once everything is up and running! :uzi:

 

[cfredallen]

The heat from the tank lighting may affect the motion detector. Infra-red can false alarm from heat sources. Or it could just not detect anything due to the heat. May want to check with your alarm company.

 

[bhsgk]

Is that plywood under the tank or Styrofoam?

 

[BobbyV]

That would be plywood - I had it cut by HomeDepot 73 x 37. Notice a 1/4 inch spacing around the entire stand. So when I have the cabinet makers put on everything - non of the cabinets will touch the tank and gives me a little bit of room to scoop any salt creep or misc that forms along the inner edge.

Same plywod as the bottom floor. Very solid about 5 individual layers thick and can distribute the weight perfectly! There is one more type of plywood that is a bit firmer but - I like a slight give to form any micro indentations is preferred. Also the tank's bottom isn't exposed by the way - the plastic frame actually creates about 1/4 inch gap from the bottom glass to the tank sitting flat - I am assuming this is engineered so there is some give with the plastic when the tank is filled up. Also when you build your stand - make sure not to chim the tank on the stand if you see a gap between the stand and the tank. Chim the direct area underneath the stand to create upward force to fill the gap. Also if you do not add center frame support - the tank will form a gap in the middle.

If you do go with a Marineland DD and have it shipped directly to you from Indiana, apparently they all have a piece of thick hard particle board placed on the top to secure the straps. This particle board is cut the exact dimensions of the tank. You can be resourceful an use it as your stand top or bottom. I will use mine for a separate project down the road.

 

[BobbyV]

Bit of a delay, I was too busy getting married up in PA this weekend! :love2:



Yes - I missed the convention in Tampa. :sad1:

Here are a few sneak peeks of us.

And of course my crew that supported me.

Today I have a bunch of stuff being delivered to the house - I took advantage of the Group Buy with BRS. BRS were very nice and apparently I have 3 45 lb Pukani rock show pieces being sent to me.

I am assuming not too many people ask for 45 lbs pieces so I assume they will be part of the BRS natural selection - with how light and airy Pukani is - I bet they are huge! They said they would fit though. My design will be a bit different. I am going to hang 3 Radions above - so I am thinking 3 seperate islands under each LED fixture would be pretty cool and give a a minimal look effect in the tank. Fun to watch the little critters climb up the peaks of rocks as little mountain explorers.

BRS customer support ROCKS! (pun intended) They told me that the rocks were hand selected so I could showcase them on my thread. Super excited to see!!! :ape:

I am going with everything SCH 80. I am even replacing the ABS bulk heads that came with the Tank and going with the SCH 80. Herbie method all the way. SCH 80 is pretty pricey - but I just kinda want to do it right the first time and forget about it, you know. I travel a bunch so the piece of mind that there are no failing is worth the money.

Stay Tuned to see what arrives - I feel bad for the UPS man however to haul everything to my door step. :uhoh3:

Thank you for following along.

 

[oldsaint]

HI Bobby
Congrats! getting married.
I haven't posted on your thread but been lurking as I'm building the same tank. I see you decided to go with sch80 bulkheads. Are you drilling new holes? I'm pretty sure the holes in there now are for sch40 and are 1 3/4". Where the sch80 will require 1 7/8".

 

[Nwest]

congrats on getting married man!!! Love the build and will be watching all the way!!

 

[BobbyV]

Thank you guys - I tell you the most

Hey Oldsaint - I am assuming the 1 inch SCH 80 bulk heads will fit - not too many options at BRS 1 or 1.5 or 2 in sizes. So I am going to see if 1 will work. Fingers Crossed -

 

[MX175]

So when I have the cabinet makers put on everything - non of the cabinets will touch the tank and gives me a little bit of room to scoop any salt creep or misc that forms along the inner edge.

I take if you built the frame of the stand yourself and you are going to have cabinet makers come in and finish it? Not a bad plan. For some reason, I was thinking that I would need to either do the whole job myself of sub the entire cabinet build out. :headwally:

 

[BobbyV]

The BRS Rocks came in, and they look very good. I am skeptical about one however. The middle orange hue one is VERY heavy and is covered in soil. As much I am grateful that BRS went through the trouble to pick out some killer examples, I am willing to bet that the heavy one is a reef saver rock and not Pukani. However it looks very good regardless.

Just in case you were curious how they are shipped.

I still need to vinegar bath these rocks and soak them in RO and dry them out before introducing into the tank.

 

[BobbyV]

I went a little crazy with the vinegar purchase at Sams club but for $2.50 per 2 gallon box why not stock up?? They have a 2 1/2 shelf life, that is if I consume them. I assume the shelf life is alot longer if I only use the solution for soaking aquarium equipment. 20 Gallons worth below.

 

[BobbyV]

Picked up a few items previously commented on.

I invest in the largest Bio Pellet reactor available from Octopus.

2 MP60's with battery back up each.

I don't care so much if the light goes out in a power outage. Flow is highest priority in my opinion.

3rd Radion light to add, I already have 2 on the 120 which I will combine later.

Found out the new Ecotech Radion Lens became available as of Wednesday which boost up PAR on average 25%. So 3 Radions would be perfect for my system once I add on the new lens which are only $30 a piece per fixture, not bad.

 

[BobbyV]

Working on the drains, Herbie method is what I went with.

However I decided to go with the SCH 80 PVC so it will match the tank.

I figure if I am going to see these drains for a years to come, might as well have them match.

I moded the strainer a bit to encourage more flow.

Very happy with how it came out - can't wait to one day put water in the tank.

Excuse the glare - tough to see - which supports my point exactly as to why not consider going with the dark PVC exchange.

 

[Vpham97]

Test the phosphate level before placing rocks into your main tank. Look into using Lanthanum chloride to reduce phosphate if u have problem.

 

[MX175]

Marineland makes a fine tank, that's for sure.... Nice work on the plumbing too.

 

[BobbyV]

Thank you VPHAM97 for your suggestion. A buddy of mine used the Vinegar trick and it worked perfect. This is just 10 minutes of soaking in Vinegar with a 1200 gph circulation RIO utility pump. Look at all the nasty foam. The phosphates and all the other "JUNK" are just burning of the rock.

I will then shake them off in a RO bath and let them dry in the sun.

Then re-soak them again in an RO bath and let them dry. I know this is super overkill, but how annoying is battling unwanted algea for months on end in the begining!!

 

[BobbyV]

So I have been busy all day Saturday plumbing this monster of a project. I put together some cool ideas.

Since I don't have the luxery of my tank backing up to a garage wall, which would have been awesome and I don't live up north with all the great basements to build an amazing fish room, I had to really study my space under the stand.

I am using every ergonomic inch so I can easily access everything when needed.

I mounted my RO station with pump and dual inline deluxe TDS meter. Also learned that is you do this - make sure to get the see through RO canisters makes life easier.

Same goes for the Jumbo Carbon reactor which I intend to lightly mix some GFO in and change out completely every 2 weeks.

I also inserted my 65 gallon RO holding tank and 29 gallon glass sump. I had a little faith in myself and decided to drill the bulkhead myself, it worked out thank god! I also have the specific covers for both tanks to limit evaporation and salt creep.

 

[BobbyV]

Working on the plumbing - you have to make sure to be VERY accurate in all your cuts, however somehow it all came togther nicely so far.

 

[BobbyV]

So if you want to venture off and go with the highly sought after Herbie Drain method, you are pretty much left with the challenge of moding your own return back into the tank. I came up with this design. I angled it so you wouldn't see the piping go up the back of the tank. Again super accurate cuts and when that PVC cement dries - you pray you did it right because SCH 80 fittings are difficult to find and you have to wait 3 - 4 days to receive them on-line for a new order.

Put a little extra support on the back bottom just in case.