Fishy's back with a rimless A.G.E.

[fishypets]

I decided to start a thread on the build of my 203 A.G.E. rimless starfire tank. If the size sounds familiar it because I acquired the system from Mike (Dudester) a few weeks back. Although the tank is sitting on it's custom steel stand also built by A.G.E. I am still a month away from adding H2O. My old system was a 125 (72x18) so I'm very excited to get to work with a tank that is 30" deep!



The tank will be set up in my living room behind the sofa and will also be viewable from the kitchen and dining room. One thing I need help with is the design of the stand skinned out. I would like to go for a modern look so it doesn't take away from the clean lines of the tank. My wife suggest I go with a darker stain and I would agree. Although I'm not sure if it is possible or not I would prefer to have a completely removable panel on the front for easy access during tank maintenance.


Well enough of that, here is the list of equipment I've selected for the tank.


203 (60x30x25) gallon rimless starfire tank built by A.G.E. with steel stand also built by A.G.E. The tank was designed by Dudester and the folks at Kingfish aquarium.

Skimmer: Bubble King supermarin 200 internal

Circulation: O.M. 4-WAY with barracuda pump and Tunze wave box.

Return pump: Red Dragon 4.5

CA set up: Deltec PF601 with Elos regulator

Top off: Tunze Osmilator

Lighting: ATI 10 bulb powermodule

I'm thinking I stick with around 160~200 pounds of rock which will allow for a "lower profile" aquascape and allow for the corals to reach out and up (hopefully)

Thanks for visiting and stay tuned. I'll add to this thread as the tank progresses. Oh yeah here is a picture of the empty tank sitting on the stand just begging for corals!

 

[Reefer08]

25 inches tall???? Is that safe?? How thick is the glass?? Is it starfire?

 

[fishypets]

Reefer08 yes the tank is 25 inches tall and starfire glass on the front and side panels. The glass is pretty thick at 3/4". But I'm curious why you think it wouldn't be safe?

 

[stunreefer]

AWESOME fishypets!!!

I was always very impressed with Dudesters set-up in this aquarium.....its got great dimensions!

Where do you plan on locating the wavebox?

I think most people are not used to seeing rimless aquriums over 18-20" tall in the states, hence the skeptisism above.

 

[goboltz]

Sweet dims. I will be tagging along, I'm looking at ATI fixtures too. Where did you get your fixture?

 

[fishypets]

stunreefer- Thanks man! One of the things I'll enjoy about this tank is the fact it was so perfectly laid out, almost to the point where anyone shold have success with it!

I'll mount the wave box on the left pane so the stream will just miss the overflow box. I think Mike had it mounted closer to the front of the tank which is okay but I think it will look a little cleaner mounted near the back.

As far as the height and thickness of the glass I'm not concerned at all. A.G.E. builds a solid tank and I'm sure this one will hold up just fine.

goboltz- Yeah 30" deep is going to be cool to scape.

The fixture came with the tank and I think Dudester bought it at Reefgeek. Good luck with yours!

 

[thor32766]

wow going to be a beautiful tank. good luck with your build.

 

[FishyBiz]

Very nice!
Whats the lock line on the bottom called and where do you get it? I think someone said its called Omniflex????

 

[SuperR*]

Nice tank!

 

[Reefer08]

I was wondering if its safe due to its height. I usually see most rimless tanks not nearly as tall and around 18 inches. But those are really really nice dimensions though. How tall is your stand btw?

 

[Bax]

There are lots of rimless tanks out there over 18", this one is built by AGE, it has a PVC bottom and is nearly bullet proof.

So you got the lights and all, great score, Mike did an awesome job specing this tank.

Enjoy it!

 

[fishypets]

Fishybiz -Are you referring to the locline above the pvc bottom? I plan on using omniflex for the 4-way but haven't purchased any yet so I'm not exactly sure where to buy it.

Reefer08 the stand is 36" tall which makes it hard for me to reach into the bottom of the tank without using a step and I'm just a tick over 6'.

Bax yeah I hear you man Mike didn't cut any corners when he planed this tank out. I'm very fortunate to come across a system of this caliber.

To everyone else thanks for the well-wishes.

 

[Dudester]

Looks great in that location Clint, job well done. While you're waiting for your rock and things, you could always plumb that puppy up. What's keeping you?

I'm sure you're gonna take this tank several notches above where I got it, and I'm really excited to follow along.

 

[fishypets]

I had a chance to start on the plumbing today and found out I need a few more parts before I can finish plumbing the closed loop. Almost there, just a few slip adapters short but I hope to have them finished in a few days. I hope to see the skimmer, rock and return pump this week. I'll update again when the plumbing is finished.

 

[Dudester]

Awesome Clint, I like the orientation of your pump much better than the way I had it. You still need a "T" between the pump and the 4-way so you can drain the closed loop for 4-way maintenance.

 

[GSMguy]

glad your back you have been talking about it since i registered here....

Mike designed a sweet tank there, i love the extra lip for wave action.

 

[Ed Reef]

Can't wait to see how you make used of the 30" depth going to be some cool scape

 

[fishypets]

Mike- I have to pick up a few more ball valves (sch 80 not 40) so I planned on redoing the plumbing coming out of the pump with a T dumping back into the sump. The good thing about the sch. 80 ball valves is they also double up as a union which will make for easier maintenance.

Nick, thanks man! The rimless/wave box action is very cool.

Ed- Glad you like the depth and thanks for stopping by. Good luck with you build.

 

[fishypets]

Well I finished plumbing the closed loop this afternoon. I wish I could have stuck with perpendicular and horizontal lines but the angles of the closed loop on the left side of the tank did not allow for that. I guess it doesn't look too bad so I'm hoping you guys will tell me. All I have left on the plumbing is to hard plumb the return pump and figure out how to plumb the chiller........Should I hard plumb or use soft tubing??? What are your thoughts? The chiller will be about 4' away from the tank.

Here's what I've done so far.

 

[Fish'InMN]

Really looking forward to this build! I'm planning on a nearly identical setup as a graduation gift for myself this May. Still trying to decide on manufacturer though as we don't have any local glass builders and I'm not a big fan of acrylic.

Really digging the sch. 80 plumbing too!

Marty