Jacob's 360 Gallon Build

[Jacob D]

DML - Thanks for the compliments. It has been quite the saga. I just went back to the beginning to read it again myself. In the end I think I ended up taking a little of everyone's input on the equipment selection.

I might have come off a little harsh (reading back some of my own posts) on friends who were giving me a little encouraging ribbing about keeping rare sps and lps again, sorry about that, guys (I still don't plan to keep any of that though ). The other think I noticed is that a lot of the pics are now missing on the thread - but they are all on my blog. One day I'll do a picture only summary here on RC to get synced back up.



I'll try to get some better shots and explanation on the plumbing posted soon. I'm a far better pipe designer than I am a pipe fitter. The fit-up came out about as good as I hoped but not as good as I would have liked. One thing I did to help the clean appearance was sand all of the lettering, scuffs, and excess primer off the piping and fittings. Lots of work but I'm a glutton for punishment!

 

[friendorfoe]

Still a beautiful job! As a matter of fact, I am thinking of following in your footsteps alittle there. I have an oppertunity to get a bigger tank(180). and seeing that you have endured the temptation of rushing into filling that monster up with water, by being patient and doing things the right way the first time.
My only problem is that I do not think I could handle having a small tank until I get the other completed, so what I think I will do is store the other(?) in my garage(wife will hate it) and work on it that way! Hats off to you Mr. Dinardi!:strooper:

 

[Jacob D]

Thanks Anthony. Go for the upgrade while you have the boss' approval! My advice is just think everything through and write it down somewhere (notepad, forum, blog, etc...). It helped me evolve my plan, in fact now I'm doing that for my stocking list of both fish and coral.

As you said at the party - getting the build done is only the beginning...

 

[RobsReefs]

Wow i just read this thread for the first time. And what a grate build. it looks like you have a future TOTM on your hands. :thumbsup:

 

[bbl_nk]

I'm waiting for the solor lighting, geoothermal colling and heating and running the electric from compost

 

[Jacob D]

Rob: Thanks. It's way too early to talk TOTM. All of the TOTM are my inspiration and I aspire to reach that level some day. I also find a lot of inspiration in the Japanese reef tanks and plan to model my aquascaping after their style. We'll see... I'm just now starting to look for rock but it's a start

Brian: I have thought about a dedicated solar power supply for the tank. That may be Phase III.

 

[Jacob D]

The tank is sooo close to being full. I'll put another 30-50 gallons in today and expect that I'll have a little water going down the overflow line into the sump finally! Then I have to keep going until I get the sump filled


I made a blog update with pictures of the plumbing and explanation of how it works.


Here's a picture of the tank today, notice the water level only a few inches from the top!
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30740619@N08/3166949513/" title="2009-01_1494 800x533 by Dinardi Family, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3257/3166949513_06dc6cb6ae_o.jpg" width="800" height="526" alt="2009-01_1494 800x533" style="border:0px;"/></a>


edit:
I also forgot to mention that I got two of my Tunze magnets stuck together the other day. It barely pinched the skin on my finger - ouch! I was lucky it didn't smash my finger, I should have been more careful. To get them apart I had to build a contraption to hold one while shearing the other off with a jacking bolt. Those things are strong! (600+ pounds of force according to the owner manual)

 

[DML08]

part 2 of you blog you mention a dosing system.. what do you plan on dosing? I really dig the plumbing, looks really clean!..

 

[lanxang]

I finally woke up.

Dang i see water in the sump.

 

[Jacob D]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14078303#post14078303 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DML08
part 2 of you blog you mention a dosing system.. what do you plan on dosing? I really dig the plumbing, looks really clean!..

Initially I had planned on dosing home made 2 part which is how I maintained ALK and CA on my last tank. However I'm rethinking that for now. This is going to be a soft coral and fish system so 2-part will most likely not be needed and to automate the mixing and dosing would take quite a bit of work. If necessary, maybe Phase III

 

[Whacked]

Ohhh,... water!

 

[RiOnRoxXx]

Nice to see the progress coming along! Man the days I dream to do half of what you are doing. Major props man. What salt mix are you going with Jake? Are you doing a pallet buy? I can't even imagine the cost of just getting the thing up

 

[bbl_nk]

WATER! OOOOOHHHHH! Nice going man!

Rion, its not just the dollar investment, it the growing balance in the "Honey Do" and "I Owe You Baby, sure I'll watch that chick flick with you" accounts

 

[Jacob D]

There was no water in the sump in that last picture, however the tank and sump are both full now! I ran the return pump briefly this evening and found a couple of leaks. I don't think any of them are going to be major issues to solve.

Heaters are in the tank and I'm just waiting for one of our LFS to find me all of the sand that I need so I can buy it and get the sand in it, then the rock a little later down the road.

I started the canopy also, it should be finished this weekend.

 

[Jacob D]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14086511#post14086511 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RiOnRoxXx
Nice to see the progress coming along! Man the days I dream to do half of what you are doing. Major props man. What salt mix are you going with Jake? Are you doing a pallet buy? I can't even imagine the cost of just getting the thing up

Ryan,
I have about 14 buckets of Reef Crystals stacked up on the side of my house. Can't wait to crack a few open

Regarding the cost, it might be less than you'd think. I know I am under $5k, probably under $4k. That's only about $10-12 a gallon. Buying the tank and some of the equipment second hand helped cut costs.

 

[bbl_nk]

Plus you have to consider the time you took. My planning it out you could look for a deal and wait for the best price, I'm sure you've saved quite a bit off retail by waiting for the right price at the right time.

Let me know when you need the extra set of hands...

 

[Jacob D]

Yes, most people don't take 2 years from initial purchase to having a few fish in the tank. It will be at least another year before it's fully stocked (is it ever really fully stocked?....)


By the way, I appreciate the compliments from everyone very much and the support. It helps to motivate me to keep going. At the same time I haven't done anything ground breaking here and I know that any of you guys could come up with this, and better, if you really wanted to. Every time I see another NVR member upgrade they raise the bar a little, so I'm just following suit with the tanks that have inspired me


So who's next? (I think I may already know!)

 

[RiOnRoxXx]

Man I can't wait for salt! Jake this is a very impressive build. I was just blown away by the parts and hardware going into it.

Second hand stuff is always fun and wayyyyy cheaper!

 

[Jacob D]

Fixed several leaky fittings this afternoon. I'm almost in disbelief that I have water circulating in my tank, in my house

 

[bbl_nk]

That is a great feeling...going dry to wet with motion!