hatfielj's AGE Build

[hatfielj]

I'm happy to announce that I am now the proud new owner of a 162 gallon Starphire AGE Tank!
First some background,
I've been running my current system for less than a year now. Its a 36"X30"X20" tank with a 50 gal sump and 50 gal rubbermaid frag tank all spread throughout one room in our home. I realized earlier this year it was time to upgrade my display while at the same time getting rid of all the excessive clutter in the room. So, I convinced my wife to allow me to get a new, larger display if I promised to get rid of the frag tank and external sump I was running. This would "clean up" the room where the tank is and allow us to use our space more efficiently.

SO, I went with a 60"X26"X24" custom AGE with 3 sided starphire, external overflow box and acrylic euro-bracing. I also had them build a 40" tall steel, powder coated stand with plywood top and bottom.

I ordered the tank back in late January and patiently waited up until about 1 week ago when I received word that the tank was nearly ready to ship. I originally planned on just paying to have it shipped to my door, but it just so happened that my wife and I were on vacation the week that it was finished, so we decided to take a fun little road trip and pick it up ourselves! This also allowed me to get the tank a few days earlier than had I waited for it to ship which has given me time to work on it while I'm still on vacation. Plus we actually saved some money by not having to pay shipping and crating.

So, we loaded up the Honda Element and headed out of Cincinnati on our way to Garland, Texas!
It was a cold, dreary day in Cincinnati as we crossed the Ohio River on a ferry to Kentucky

We made stops in Memphis, TN, Little Rock, Arkansas and Dallas, TX before finally making it to AGE.
Tom was a super nice guy to meet and talk with. He and his crew helped us load the tank in the back of the Element (it just barely fit) and helped us tie the stand down to the roof!
I was a little nervous initially driving with that stand on top of the car, but it did fine and we made it back in one piece!
Here's a shot of the cramped quarters we drove back with!

More to come...

 

[juniormc8704]

AWESOME JASON!!!

Cant wait to see it come together.

 

[hatfielj]

Thanks, I'm having some issues with my internet connection now so its taking me a long time to upload pictures. Hopefully I'll be able to get it fixed quickly!

 

[hatfielj]

Details of the new system:
160 gallon display with 65 gallon acrylic sump (48X18X17) ~200 gallons total
Will likely add a small frag tank at a later time probably bringing the total to around 230 or so
Skimmer: New Royal Exclusive Cone on its way hopefully soon!
Return: Mag 18
Flow: 2 Vortechs (I only have one at the moment) and return
Controller: Currently using a Neptune Jr., but thinking about upgrading to a Reef Keeper Elite.
Calcium Rx: Geo 610, probably will need bigger in the near future.
Lighting: Giesemann Spectra 2X250 watt MH with 4X54 Watt T5s
Will be using Radiums

First step was getting the tank in the house. This required the help of 5 friends. The tank is massively heavy. We had to turn it on its side so that the overflow box would fit through the door.

Here are some detail shots of the tank:
Starphire glass, PVC bottom, Acrylic Euro-brace

External Overflow with adjustable teeth (excuse the messy loc-line from my old tank!)

Long Views

Stand

Tank on stand

 

[hatfielj]

Next I had to begin dismantling the old tank. I started by transferring all of my livestock and fish into the 50gal rubbermaid tank.

Then I had to disconnect the old display from the sump and leave the frag tank and sump running alone.
Here's a shot of the mess I made in doing so! The old display is already gone in this pic, it used to be on the right.

Next I had to work on some plumbing from the overflow box. I really wanted to keep things simple with this tank. Just one drain and one return. No closed loops.

A better shot of the adjustable overflow and return plumbing. I'll be using a CJ Standpipe for the drain (not pictured)

 

[hatfielj]

Next it was time to hang the light. I just finished this today. My wife insisted that it be hung from the ceiling, so I had to spend a significant amount of time today figuring out how to do that correctly. It actually went surprisingly well and I was able to get it hung in pretty much perfect location in relation to the tank. I was very happy with myself for this!

I think at this point I'm just about ready to start filling it with water. I've got about 40 or so gallons saved from the old tank and I'll use the water that's in the frag system now too. After that's all in there I'll have to start making some new water which will probably take a couple of days to finish.

I'll post more when I've made some head way. Thanks for looking!

 

[Volcano1]

Hat,
Very nice tank.

Does the adjustable overflow use 2 nylon screws to raise and lower a piece of acrylic or go another rout?
Wanted to do something similar, by having teeth be adjustable.

 

[polywise]

hatfielj,
Cool set up. Do you have a link to the company you bought the tank from?

 

[hatfielj]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14736065#post14736065 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Volcano1
Hat,
Very nice tank.

Does the adjustable overflow use 2 nylon screws to raise and lower a piece of acrylic or go another rout?
Wanted to do something similar, by having teeth be adjustable.

Yep, you guessed it! That's exactly how it works. Pretty simple, but very useful device.

 

[hatfielj]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14736585#post14736585 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by polywise
hatfielj,
Cool set up. Do you have a link to the company you bought the tank from?

Thanks! Yes, I bought it through Chris B. at www.thefishgallery.com
Everything was done via email and it was a really easy transaction. I must have about 50 or so emails back and forth from Chris though! He was very helpful and friendly and made the whole process a breeze.
As you probably know A.G.E. doesn't sell directly to the public, but they will sell to ANY local fish store of your choice if you'd rather go that route. Plus, Tom was available via email on a couple of occasions to answer questions that I had. He's a super nice guy too.

 

[hatfielj]

Has anyone else noticed that everytime you type the word R E E F you get wreath instead? Hmmm... Could be april fool's day. Also, I think if you type S U M P you get Christmas Tree Stand??? HA!! Good one Mods!

That link above is supposed to say The F i s h Gallery dot com. (not the wreath gallery!)

 

[Jflip2002]

Time to update your "current tanks" section! Thats an excellent sized tank. How long did your trip take to pick that baby up? I'll be following along for this..

 

[hatfielj]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14739318#post14739318 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jflip2002
Time to update your "current tanks" section! Thats an excellent sized tank. How long did your trip take to pick that baby up? I'll be following along for this..

Thanks for reminding me, I'm going to do that now! It took about 15 hours each way, but we stopped overnight in Memphis on the way down and somewhere around Nashville on the way back, so it wasn't that bad overall.

 

[juniormc8704]

Come on Jason! where is the mermaid shot!

 

[mseepman]

haha...I was thinking that you were talking in some kind of code that I just didn't understand.

Glad you pointed out the April Fools joke cause I was busy trying to figure out what a wreath store was!

 

[hatfielj]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14739549#post14739549 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by juniormc8704
Come on Jason! where is the mermaid shot!

Ha Ha Ha! Well, I forgot about that! At this point she'd have to do an underwater mermaid shot because the tank is currently filling with water. I'll see what I can do, but don't get your hopes up!:lol:

 

[Jflip2002]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14739724#post14739724 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hatfielj
Ha Ha Ha! Well, I forgot about that! At this point she'd have to do an underwater mermaid shot because the tank is currently filling with water. I'll see what I can do, but don't get your hopes up!:lol:

Hmmmm.... Thatd be a quick way to make "tank of the month" :eek1: kidding.... no, but really lol

 

[BreadmanMike]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14740584#post14740584 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jflip2002
Hmmmm.... Thatd be a quick way to make "tank of the month" :eek1: kidding.... no, but really lol

IIRC your wife is quite the eye catcher. You should stick her in the cube. :lol:

 

[juniormc8704]

no salt? play ball!

 

[juniormc8704]

when you get it all setup, make sure you make the trip north. Ill hook you up with some frags and such...im running out of room...