CenTX aquarium build

[bfrench]

Hi All,

So I wanted to document my build here in addition to our local forum.

As it currently stands, the home we were purchasing fell through so we're back to looking again. However, a large majority of the aquarium supplies have been purchased and the tank has been commissioned from James at Envision Acrylics. The current tank dimensions are 72x30x30 for a 280 gallon volume. A custom 90 gallon sump and twisted skimmer have been ordered from Bashsea. Will be running Ecotech Vectra L1 for return and 4 MP40's for flow. Lighting will be 3 Radion XR30w Pro's. The tank was designed to function as a room divider between my office and the kid's play room. Regardless of what house we go with, it will still be situated with my office, but I'm not sure what room it will look through to.

I downloaded sketchup and taught myself how to play with it.

The 140 gallon (60L x 18W x 30T) I'm running is going well. Albeit a bit overstocked at the moment.

Pictures to follow

 

[bfrench]

sketch up diagram

 

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current 140 gallon tank

 

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140 at initial setup

 

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And the little 36 gallon bow front that started it all

 

[bfrench]

Not a whole lot of news on the build front. We found the house we're going to put it in and are hoping to close on it in the next 2.5 weeks. Sump is currently being produced and should be shipped this week or next. pictures below

 

[bfrench]

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And the layout of the stand

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[bfrench]

Starting to plan for the move.

Current fish will be transferred to a large black tub from tractor supply for QT purposes. Will be using some live Rick and a marine pure block for filtration plus an old reef octopus skimmer I had sitting around.

The corals I plan to keep will get transferred over to a 30 gallon tank for the time being. Will be using an mp10 for water movement and radion xr30w pro for lighting on the 30.

The new property has a 30x30 metal shed that we'll be finishing out (insulation, mini split, walls, etc). My office, the tank and the kids play room will all be in there. Hoping we can have that functional within 6 weeks of moving in.

Tank setup is likely to take a full day. I have an installer coming out from Houston to help. I learned a long time ago that it's important to know your limits and I'm not a plumber by any stretch of the imagination.

Should have the 150gpd RODI unit setup before then. Going to have as much salt water mixed up and ready to go into the tank as I can. Still trying to figure out how I want to do water changes. The genesis system looks great, but not certain I want to spend $1000 on it. There's more than enough room in the sump to add an extra 30-40 gallons then pull off 30-40 gallons. Won't be quite the same dilution as pulling the 30-40 off first, but should work.

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[bfrench]

Hooray for something that resembles progress!

This showed up at my house today

Bashsea did a phenomenal job packing everything up. Everything (sump, skimmer, ATO container) arrived in pristine condition.

I had been getting some teaser pictures from Bash (owner) but they don't do this justice. Can't wait to get water in this, but it's looking like mid to late August before the tank will arrive/the office area we'll be completed. In tge meantime here are some pictures of the sump

Huge shout out to Luke at premium aquatics for handling the purchase and delivery. I can't speak highly enough about Luke and Bash they've been AWESOME every step of the way. I would totally order from them again. It's been an enjoyable experience. I reached out to a number of companies regarding the custom sump build and it took weeks for a few of them to get back to me. With Bashsea I got an email back from Bash within 24 hours. After exchanging a few emails he gave me his cell number and we spent an hour talking where he educated me on their products. Best customer service experience I've ever had! He was responsive every step of the way even when he didn't have to be. Bashsea will be my first stop for any new gear Bash makes one hell of a sexy product.



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[ReefKeeper64]

How is your build coming along? That's one badass looking sump!

 

[mcrist]

Do you have any updates on the setup?