Mark's 180 Starfire upgrade

[mpoletti]

Yeah Jay, I have seen plenty of tanks and lots of different color and bulb combinations. Naka's colors are great and he is a double ended guy. My colors aren't that bad either
It's such a personal choice and I still have not made up my final decision. There are many wonderful tanks that have been done either way and that have achieved great results. I guess I will probably just flip a coin to decide.

 

[gabe3d]

Congrats on the new tank. Can't wait to see the finish product. By the way, if you ever need an impeller to upgrade your snapper to a dart let me know i have an extra one when i upgraded my dart to the super dart.

 

[tfp]

sweet lookin reactor mark!

 

[eagleONE]

Most definitely. Both are valid points. If you get the lumenarcs... I feel you'll have more options to play with. Then again, that may not be fun....

not that bad...yeah right. your colors are crazy.

Just don't flip a quarter... one side is heavier than the other.

 

[mpoletti]

Thanks guys. For the local guys; Kieth just left my house as we finalized my sump dimensions and design. It should be ready in a few weeks.

I am planning on making a trip on Sat to start hunting for the finish wood. My next decision is, should I build a 36" or 38" stand.

 

[tbone28]

38" definitely. My current tank sits pretty low. We wanted the lines to flow with our kitchen cabinetry. As a result, I miss the extra height I had in the stand of my last tank. It was a 40" stand.

 

[AJPACINO23]

thats 2 more inches till the baby can get to it.?

 

[tbone28]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11731598#post11731598 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by AJPACINO23
thats 2 more inches till the baby can get to it.?

LOL. that's 2 more inches til there are fingerprints on daddy's glass!

 

[mpoletti]

I definitely am leaning to a 38 inch stand because I like to collect a lot of electrical devices for my corals and fish. I am also building a small stand so my ballast will not be top of each other and my APC will have free access as well.

 

[mpoletti]

Not too much to update right now as the tank is still being built. I did get a package from Jesse today. I sent back a 6025 because of the plastic washer was chewed up as well as a 6055 because the metal shaft had broken off. Needless to say, Tunze replaced them and sent me new pumps. Their customer service is some of the best I have ever seen in any industry. Thanks again.

I did make a trip to a local wood distributor this last weekend and I was able to at least narrow down my wood down to a couple choices.

 

[eagleONE]

when will the tank be completed?

 

[mpoletti]

Jay, I believe it will be ready to be picked up the weekend of the SWCFM. If not, I'll go down and pick it up the weekend of March 1st.

 

[AJPACINO23]

any final pics of the sump??

 

[mpoletti]

These are for my buddy Anthony

I just picked up my sump tonight. It was made by Keith, who is local here in Sacramento. It is crafted really nicely and I like the quality. The overall dimensions are 42 x 18 x 18.

I know I should of made the center section larger, but oh well. The section on the left will house my H&S skimmer ( if I can ever get my replacement from USPS ). The section on the right will be for my refuguium. Each of these sections will be fed individually after I split the 1 & 1/2 inch drain. The skimmer section will get a 1" feed and the refugium will get a 3/4" feed; each being contolled by a ball valve.

 

[tbone28]

that sump looks WELL made! I like the black acrylic - to block off the light. I did the same on mine. Is that 3/8" acrylic? Are you going to direct feed your skimmer like Anthony? If not, will you run your drain into a filter sock?

 

[mpoletti]

I will most likely run my drain through a filter sock. I have thought about a direct feed, but at this point, I will be doing a quick set up. One of the larger challenges that I will have in the tank transfer will be time. Once I get everything up and running, I will most likely go back a modify certain things to dial everything in.

 

[AJPACINO23]

sump looks great, very clean looking, and looks like a tank, no pun intended.

 

[reefer334]

Very nice Mark!!!

 

[mpoletti]

I am still trying to decide on what to use as my auto top off system. I am unable to rig another rodi near the tank as mine is currently in my detached garage. I will have to use a remote reservoir. I was thinking I would use a 5 gallon plastic jug like the one pictured against my Ca reactor and use some type of float switch mechanism.

I am not too sure about any product that says it is better to have a back up switch in case of failure. Has anyone ever used this product or something similar?
http://www.spectrapure.com/St_alc_p3.htm

I was thinking of feeding it with an aqualifter or another small pump.

I know there are others out there and my original plan was to do a gravity feed, but I need to address this before I get to far ahead of myself. Thanks for looking and your help.

 

[ycnibrc]

try auto top off they have a double switch that you can buy.

http://www.autotopoff.com/products/DT1/index.htm