Kelly's 300g in-wall build thread

kelrn98

kelrn98

Member
Hi all, after nearly a 2 year vacation from this site and sort of from the hobby, I am back. Due to some major obstacles in life, I have not been so diligent in maintaining my tanks as I once was. But I am motivated and now have the money and time to finally build the reef I have always wanted. Though I have been in the hobby for nearly 10 years, there is still a lot I don't know, especially plumbing, so I hope you all can guide me in my project. I hope to take many pics and share as things develop.

Current tanks: 110g (long) and 120 (tall) both reefs. Here is a pic of one of my old reefs. For some reason I cannot find many pics, they must be on my external harddrive. RC deleted my pics that used to be on here.

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Day 1: I dismantled both above tanks. Temporarily set up the 110g in the garage and placed all LR and sand in it. I moved my remaining coral and fish into a smaller tank inside the house.

Here is my old 110g in the garage.
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Because I made the dreaded mistakes that we all have (flooding), my hardwood floors were ruined many years ago. Lesson learned, NO HARDWOOD FLOORS.
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Today they are removing the hardwood floors, they have been at it for several hours now. I am glad I hired someone to do this as it seems like back breaking labor for sure.
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They will be installing 20'' porcelain tile tomorrow.

This is were my new tank will be. It will be "in the wall". The wall being built were the blue line is. Everthing behind, to the doorway will be my fish room. The area is 10'x6'. It could actually be 7' but I am building a bar (ledge) in front so I can place bar stools for viewing.
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The new tank dimensions are 96x24x31 (300g). It is all glass from glasscages, it has starfire on front only and will be drilled x 4 (2 x 1 1/2'' and 2 x 1'' bulkheads). 2 overflows. I am converting a 75g (6') tank into a sump w/ refugium.

I have ordered two 48'' light fixures, each w/ 4x54w T5 and 2x 250w MH, LED lunar lights, and fans. I also ordered Reefkeeper Elite Net.

I have 2 Tunze DOC 9011 skimmers which I plan to use for now. I have 4 Koralia 4's and and 4 Seio powerheads, I am not sure the gph on those. I plan to do a closed loop system, and a few Power heads.

I plan to run NPX bioplastics nitrate and phosphate remover via a Two little fishies phosban reactor (I currently have a 150, but will most likely upgrade).

I am considering a chiller, but I am going to try fans first as they are much cheaper.

That's all I can think of now. My tank will be here 2/20/12. The construction of the room begins this weekend. Wish me luck. And please, offer any suggestions or wisdom from you veterans of the hobby.
 
Floor is done, tank will be here in 10 days. Here are my pseudo plans

Floor is done, tank will be here in 10 days. Here are my pseudo plans

I did not include specs on equipment as I havent fully decided what I am buying. I know the clock is ticking.
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Looks like your off to a great start!! My 315g is due to arrive next week so it will be fun to compare our trials and tribulations :)

Steve
 
can't decide between using kalkwasser or calcium reactor. I heard that the kalk stirrirs are not really needed. Just mix well and let the doser administer kalk solution suspended in the water at the top/middle. Is this true? The doser I was considering using will be connected to a reefkeekper and dose in response to pH.
 
if you are doing an sps heavy tank you will need a ca reactor and possibly add kalk to maintain ph levels.

Steve
 
proggressing, one thing at a time

proggressing, one thing at a time

The porcelain tile has been layed (it replaced the water damaged hardwood floors). Today we will begin the building of the dividing wall separating my living room to my new fish room. There will be a lot of painting as well. I will try to post more pics in the next few days. I am so excited.

As far as the Kalkwasser vs Calcium Reactor. I believe (for cost at this time) I will begin w/ Kalkwasser and as my coral needs increase I will add a calcium reactor.

So what about my sketches, any suggestions, criticizations?
 
proggressing, one thing at a time

proggressing, one thing at a time

The porcelain tile has been layed (it replaced the water damaged hardwood floors). Today we will begin the building of the dividing wall separating my living room to my new fish room. There will be a lot of painting as well. I will try to post more pics in the next few days. I am so excited.

As far as the Kalkwasser vs Calcium Reactor. I believe (for cost at this time) I will begin w/ Kalkwasser and as my coral needs increase I will add a calcium reactor.

So what about my sketches, any suggestions, criticizations?
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from what i can see of the sketch...a little blurry...it looks good. So far my only question is what kind of pump are you going to use for the return...internal or external? The sketch makes it look like its an internal pump.
 
Nice build! Sorry to hear about the floor flooding. At least it looks like you had concrete below it, that could have been bad if you were upstairs or something. Best of luck.
 
Updates with Pics

Updates with Pics

Here is the equipment I have ordered thus far:

reef octopus super reef 5000 internal skimmer w/ bubble blaster

JNS Alpha 2 Biopellet Reactor (1.3L capacity)

Super Reef Octopus 5000 Calcium Reactor

Regulator w/ dual gauges, solenoid, and bubble counter

Digital Aquatics Reefkeeper Elite (Net) controller w/ float switch kit

Hydror Theo Heater 400w

titanium ground probe

2 aquatek chillmaster (6 fans ea) aquarium fans

Edge Star 8000BTU portable AC/dehumidifier

Reeflo Barracuda pump (used) (to use for closed loop)

Below are pics of the progress of the build (tank not yet arrived):

Day 1
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Day 2 (my son and my father, they really must love me)
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Day 3
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Let me know what you all think. I am so excited! I have always wanted to do this!
 
nice progress kelly. You definitely took a gamble on the lighting....I know someone in my local club did the same thing....still trying to sell them. Was not happy with the quality of how they were built as well as how they looked when lit over the tank. I would try to cancel the order if you can.
 
Steve,

Its too late, they will be here tomorrow. I will give them a try for 6months to a year. By then I can upgrade if needed. I sacrificed top dollar lighting for a good skimmer and calcium reactor. As you see above the $$$$ is adding up fast. I still have to get a frag tank and a refugium. I have a sump (75g), but I do not want to incorporate my fuge into it. Been there, done that, would rather have them separate.
 
Maybe they improved the quality since he bought them. I saw you decided to go with the ca reactor....good decision and good selection on skimmer.

Steve
 
Last edited:
the tank will be here on Monday. I am trying to get everything ready. I can't wait! I will try to remember to take some pics. lol.
 
So far looking very good, " the tank will be here on monday" just wondering how much shipping to your door was since everything else was posted on the glasscages webpage, thanks
 
This is looking great! I will also be following along and I am excited to see the end result. Good luck with the rest of your build!!
 
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