Karl's 100G Build Thread

[Krazy_Karl]

Well, its that time again. The time where your wallet becomes much lighter, the significant other is having second thoughts about your sanity, and sometimes the time where you question your own commitment to the hobby. Yup, were talking upgrade time!

I started in this hobby about two years ago with a Biocube 29. I thought I would be perfectly content with keeping some small critters and some nice Z+P's in a humble AIO. Before I even set the tank up I did mass amounts of research regarding optimal conditions for my soon to be new pets. It was during this time that the addiction took over. Before I knew it I had a MH fixture over the tank and was a full blown SPS addict. I toyed around with the BC for about a year and upgraded to my current system, a 57 Edge by Deep Blue. Ive had this tank running for about 10 months but I never really gave it my all. I knew I wanted something larger, not only to house my precious SPS but to have some big fish that I didn't want to house in a small system. Ive amassed some nice pieces along the way, along with some nice equipment. All of the livestock in my current tank will be transferred to my new setup. I don't believe I ever actually shared any photos of my current setup so here they are:

As far as my plans for my upgrade, here they are:

Tank: 100G Cadlights Rimless Starfire (Currently taking up floor space in my dining room)
Stand: DIY (Process hopefully beginning this coming weekend)
Sump: DIY
Fuge: DIY
Lighting: 2 Ecotech Radion's (Ordered)
Flow: 2 MP40W (Ordered)
Return Pump: Modded Eheim 1260
Substrate: Tropic Eden Reef Flakes (Ordered)
Skimmer: SWC 160 (Possibly being upgraded depending on its performance on the larger system)

At this time Id also like to thank Fintastic Aquariums for dealing with me (Ive been known to change my mind, often) and providing me with great service and advice with my upcoming build.

Hopefully Ill be able to post a couple updates on the build in the coming week or so. I cant wait to get it all up and running. Thanks for following along! :beer:

 

[mtc1966]

sound like a nice build in the works . cant wait to see the process begin.

 

[charleneatkins]

that's a beautiful looking tank:wave:

 

[sweet d]

Nice!

 

[ctcorals]

Awesome tank, love the rimless!

 

[StacieRocks]

Really nice tank! I love the variety and colors.

 

[BubbaBoBobBrain]

Love the current setup and cant wait to see the new one.

How do you like that swc160 Skimmer? I am about to order one of those myself.

 

[Krazy_Karl]

Thanks for the compliments!

I really like the SWC, its been great on my current tank and its actually rated for a much higher volume of water. When I spoke to Luke from RF he said 75-90 is probably the sweet spot for it. He said I might not get a consistent foam head on my current sized tank, but it was never an issue.

 

[frankyrivera]

Hey Karl is it going in the same corner in the living room. I see u upgraded to Radions nice man. So when can u come over shopping lol can't wait to see the new build if it's anything like the 57 it's gonba be sick gl bro keep us posted

 

[Krazy_Karl]

Yes its going in the same spot as the 57. Yea I ended up selling my sol's so I can try something new. Im sure there will be plenty of (unintentional) frags made during the move, ill keep you posted!

 

[peter58]

"At this time Id also like to thank Fintastic Aquariums for dealing with me (Ive been known to change my mind, often) and providing me with great service and advice with my upcoming build. "

Wow - you made up your mind and pulled the trigger - thought it would never happen LOL
I miss our banter when ever you came in.
Sounds great -Good luck with it

 

[Krazy_Karl]

Haha, yes finally decided to step it up to a big boy tank! I didnt realize you were even on these forums Pete, good to know. It certainly was a pleasure, maybe ill run into you there sometime, the place feels like my second home!

 

[Krazy_Karl]

Apparently I'm not very good about keeping you guys posted on the build! Its been a long month and I finally have the ball rolling. Ill post a bunch of pictures of my update with some minor descriptions just to get this updated.

Stand being built

Stand done then stained

Inside of stand painted and sealed and mat for under tank applied

Test fit

Vinyl backgound removed (PIA!) then sprayed

Sump design phase

 

[Krazy_Karl]

Baffles sealed and back/sides/bottom blacked out

5.5 Gallon ATO water tank blacked out and installed

Sump fitting

Plumbing configured

Plumbing edited after input from UsefulIdiot

Access portal to closet behind tank installed

Livestock in temporary 40B holding tank

 

[Krazy_Karl]

FW leak test (it passed)

Radion hanging via short rail kit and hanging kit

Setup as of 7/14

Sump setup

Still have a lot of odds and ends to clear up like the stand doors and the reactor that you see just laying next to the sump. As of right now Im ready to start enjoying the tank again, its been a serious project to accomplish.

 

[mtc1966]

great job . thanks for the update

 

[Pallobi]

Great work so far!!

 

[frankyrivera]

Nice great job everything looks good awesome coral placement and layout. Nothing better than clean sand and squeaky clean glass

 

[my2girls]

Beautiful upgrade. I'm surprised you went with the Radions on the new tank. The Sols looked like they were doing a great job on the 57g. Please comment on the pros/cons of each light from first hand experience. Thanks!

 

[Krazy_Karl]

Thanks guys. It's got a long ways to go and the move stressed a lot of stuff out so I'll be in recovery mode for a while.

As far as my decision to switch over from sol's to radions, it's too early to tell regarding the long term pros and cons. The main reason I wanted to switch was to have the "full spectrum" and the radions offer a greater light spread. From my experience I would have needed 4 sol's to cover the tank while my understanding is that 2 radions will provide ample light for the same area. Time will tell. While the sol's pack a punch for sure I feel a lot of it is wasted since I was never able to run mine at over 60% without frying stuff even at 12" above the waterline. I also got tired of playing Russian roulette with the lenses. Placing a coral was difficult due to the hot spot provided by the inner 40* lenses. While I've only had the radions for a few days I can name a couple cons already. I've had issues with the rail kit, which is why u see one of the units hanging unlevel (the problem is being corrected by ecotech). My second gripe is regarding the programming software. It just feels a little "overdone". Maybe that's because I'm used to the super simple AI controller, but to have to connect my PC to change anything is just a pain. Hopefully that issue will be solved with the imminent release of the Live software. I can only hope.