G's 180 in wall build thread....

[mystery_reef]

hi guys and gals,
figured it's about time i start a build thread for my tank even though there hasnt really been any building yet, just buying

im upgrading from a 125 AGA with the megaflows that is currently up and running in my living room.
my plans for my new tank are bigger and better equipment plus a more automated system that i can leave for days at a time without problems.
i also want to have a cleaner system (livestock wise) no xenia, button polyps, pests, etc.
i am starting with all dry rock and dry sand and seeding it.
the new tank is a glass 180(i dont know who makes it though? maybe someone can help) i picked it up used from a local reefer getting out of the hobby. it's going in a wall in the basement. DIY stand. my uncle is giving me a hand with the wall and stand, as he is a general contractor/carpenter and has some free time. i traded some frags for an empty 75gal AGA to use as my sump. i currently have a frag tank already and i plan on keeping the frag tank seperate from my main system.
i have been piecing together equipment for about the past month.
new post for my equip. to follow.

 

[mystery_reef]

180 gal glass tank---unknown maker....drilling it this weekend with 4 one inch bulkheads total. 2 drain/2 return. small acrylic overflow box as well.
I HATE my currect all glass megaflow overflows!! cant wait to have an open tank to aquascape.
building materials from homedepot for stand etc...

75gallon DIY SUMP. section for fuge, skimmer, and return. probably going to put the return in the middle but i have not decided yet.

i have about 75lbs of dry marco rock and the brs saver stuff so far. also have about 150 lbs of dry aragonite sand.

LED LIGHTING! CREE XRE LEDs:Mean Well LPC-35-700 Driver:HX-CREE Lens :2 Part Heat Sink Epoxy and End Caps: 70 degree optics as well. i purchased 96 leds total from captive reef ecosystems. 2 medium heat sinks from heat sink usa. i decided to go with 48 cree cool whites and 48 royal blue leds for a 50/50 spectrum. there are also going to be 4 36" HO t5's from reefgeek as of right now. i may add 2 more later if im not happy with the lighting.
this tank is going to be easy to keep cool and will be more energy efficient as well.

for flow i picked up 2 tunze 6105's and a 6095 tunze multicontroller. i may add another tunze later if i need more flow.

i picked up a used ATI BUBBLEMASTER 250 here on RC with the two sicce pumps so this skimmer should be a beast on a tank this size.

deltec KM500 kalkwasser stirrer.

phosban reactor with mini jet pump

i still need to pick out a few items like a heater and my return pump other than that i think i have just about everything ill need to get the tank started.

 

[mystery_reef]

i plan on transferring everything very slowly and hope to have my 125 empty around the beginning of august so i can start getting rid of equipment etc.
im only keeping the corals i like, which is a lot, the new tank is still going to be a mixed reef but i hope to have mostly sps.
i also plan on either cooking or drying out most of my old rock as i have lots of nuisance (imo) softies like minicloves, button polyps, xenia on a lot of the rocks.

 

[mystery_reef]

current 125 tank. with MH/PC lighting.

 

[mystery_reef]

 

[mystery_reef]

questions and comments welcome! TIA.

 

[tyreeftank]

Nice tank. I cant wait see the setup. My question is why you did not get the Meanwell ELN-60-48D dimmable drivers. The dimming option is really nice. You can set it to whether color you desire. Check out my LED Project http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1805041

My other question is do you think it better to have a Close Loop system or get the Tunze for flow? The reason I ask is I am currently building my 150gallon tank and I still debating whether to drill the tank for the close loop.

 

[mystery_reef]

to be honest I have no interest in dimming the leds or spending the extra money on the ballasts, etc, etc.
i am not a fan of closed loops. imo i would not drill your tank for one. tunzes or vortechs is the way to go imo.
i will check out your link.
thx for the reply

 

[runningnreefing]

Hey G,

Any updates?

 

[mystery_reef]

finally an update, pics speak for themselves.

 

[Reefer Brian]

I like the inset framing!

 

[ptr13]

Good luck G,cant wait to see it person,sorry it is taking a long time for me to stop by for the zoos. Hope to make it there soon.

 

[mystery_reef]

here's an update, hopefully it will be plumbed and aquascaped in the next couple weeks. my lights may be another month or two still though as i still have to put em all together, etc.

 

[mystery_reef]

how about this for an update?

 

[mystery_reef]

obviously i have yet to aquascape i just piled in the rock with the sand when the water was all cloudy. i also decided against the leds for the big tank but put them on my biocube instead.
check it out....

 

[Poriferan]

Very Nice!

 

[mystery_reef]

thought i'd get more feedback with my mobile light and hanging frames...

thank you poriferan

 

[mystery_reef]

update. been adding a lot lately. several fish. so far have had zero losses except for a marine betta chomping a few smaller fish and 4 lyretail anthias dying. i have no idea what happened to the anthias one by one they dropped within a week. everything else doing great. corals are getting brighter colors with the stronger light and is fun to watch.
my new clowns

 

[mystery_reef]

update. from iphone.

http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/LindseyWarta/?action=view&current=IMG_0262.mp4

 

[aussie_chicago]

Very nice ! what was it about the 125 you didnt like ? Im setting the exact same 125 up right now.Ive heard the overflows can be louder than normal. For me, its a nice step up from a 72 bowfront .