E_Aquatics
New member
Update - 11/24/2014
Currently working on the plumbing"¦ More pictures to come!
Currently working on the plumbing"¦ More pictures to come!
Eric's 300Gal Build!
- Thread starter E_Aquatics
- Start date
E_Aquatics
New member
What do you mean by Hi, Med and Low?
E_Aquatics
New member
Thats what I thought but wasn't sure… As you can tell from the picture there isn't much room between the top of the sump and top of the stand so I couldn't do it like you mentioned.
E_Aquatics
New member
Yes"¦ I order three hangers that will hold the 3 drain pipes.
skizzard22
New member
Kind of off Topic but if there were, what would you say the savings were from building the tank yourself verses buying one? I am debating it, but I have never built a tank and It's a big investment if I screw it up somehow.....
E_Aquatics
New member
I didn't build the tank. The tank was built by GlassCages. What I built was the sump which the bottom panel ended up cracking with the sump empty. Not sure what caused it to crack but it did. I would never attempt to build such as big tank as my display tank 96x30x24.
E_Aquatics
New member
The full siphon has a gate valve located behind the tank below the T that comes off the bulkhead.
skizzard22
New member
Ahh yes that is right, wrong thread. Lol
E_Aquatics
New member
Update 11/29/2014
I managed to get most of the plumbing done in the past couple of days and I also got all the rock and sand in the tank.
The Marco Rock sand was a PITA to rinse but it was well worth it.
Here is a shot when I first started and it took about 20 minutes for the water to clear up and this was with the bucket 1/3 full.
Eventually it ended up like this
310lb of dry rock.
Rock work all done"¦ Will get better shots later on
Last night I finally got the tank wet.
4 hours later and 38 gallons later.
Before i went to bed last night I noticed the water was not level in the tank so I took out my level and notice the bubble wasn't perfectly center. I had tanks in this same spot before and it was never an issue but they were only 4 foot. For this tank it the small imperfection in the floor cause the water to be 1/2" higher on one side. This morning I drained the 38 gallons out and had to come up with a way to lift up the stand with the tank, rock and sand. This is what I came up with..
After an hour I got the stand shimmed and perfectly leveled and pumped the 38 gallons of water back in a continued making water.
This is where Im at as of now, about 100 gallons. Before I began to filter the water I installed a 150gpd upgrade kit to my RODI unit so the whole process should go a little quicker and save me some water.
Closeup of the Marco Rock Bahama Coarse Aragonite sand
I managed to get most of the plumbing done in the past couple of days and I also got all the rock and sand in the tank.
The Marco Rock sand was a PITA to rinse but it was well worth it.
Here is a shot when I first started and it took about 20 minutes for the water to clear up and this was with the bucket 1/3 full.
Eventually it ended up like this
310lb of dry rock.
Rock work all done"¦ Will get better shots later on
Last night I finally got the tank wet.
4 hours later and 38 gallons later.
Before i went to bed last night I noticed the water was not level in the tank so I took out my level and notice the bubble wasn't perfectly center. I had tanks in this same spot before and it was never an issue but they were only 4 foot. For this tank it the small imperfection in the floor cause the water to be 1/2" higher on one side. This morning I drained the 38 gallons out and had to come up with a way to lift up the stand with the tank, rock and sand. This is what I came up with..
After an hour I got the stand shimmed and perfectly leveled and pumped the 38 gallons of water back in a continued making water.
This is where Im at as of now, about 100 gallons. Before I began to filter the water I installed a 150gpd upgrade kit to my RODI unit so the whole process should go a little quicker and save me some water.
Closeup of the Marco Rock Bahama Coarse Aragonite sand
whiteshark
Active member
Brilliant solution to lifting the tank! Looking good!
skizzard22
New member
Wow it is getting there! I am so excited for you! It looks awesome!
E_Aquatics
New member
Thank you... I had to come up with a safe and effective way to lift the stand because removing all the rock and sand was just something I really didn't want to do. Even with the tank empty it would has still been difficult to lift the stand with the tank because the tank alone weights about 700lbs dry.
Thank you
E_Aquatics
New member
Almost reaching the top.
E_Aquatics
New member
I was the happiest person in the world when I saw the stand coming up off the floor. Didn't want to take all the rock and sand out, plus having people lift and hold the stand/tank while I put shims in place wouldn't have been the safest thing to do. With the Jack I was able to make really small adjustments and get it level to the best of my ability.
E_Aquatics
New member
Getting there.... Once it gets to the top I still have to make another 80 gallons to fill my sump so I still have another day or so.
