Mike's 300 Double-D

[drummereef]

The woodwork and canopy are awesome. Such a great, clean install!

 

[Bamm Bamm]

I like the remote ballast idea..

 

[Eckreef]

We had scrubbed and cooked the rock for about 6 months in 110g stock tanks to get it nice and clean. Mrs. Prop-Frags had wanted to use the StarBoard under the rock, and it worked out great. Highly recommended.

One of my favorite builds on RC. Congrats on the rebuild!
Can you describe how you cooked the rock in more detail and how you used the starboard and why you think it is beneficial.

I am in the planning stages of a 300g DD.
I recently ordered 150 lbs of pukani rock from BRS and am going to cook it for the next 6 months by seeding it with bacteria. Wondering how you did yours.
I was planning on putting mine in a rubbermaid water trough in the garage. I am wondering if the bacteria can handle the Texas summer heat...it can easily get 100F+ in the garage...

 

[prop-frags]

Looks Great and SAFE!!!

We learned a bunch from our mistakes, Trisha. SAFE is higher on our "awareness meter" now than before. Sucks to have a flood to get to that spot, but hey, when given lemons, lets make some lemon drop shots!

Great work. It's funny, you could never imagine how much time & thought go into just the plumbing on a system this size...until you do it! If I breathe in any more PVC glue I'm going to probably die! It is nice when it's all done though

Ah thank you sir. We think that plumbing is fun - labor of love, you might say! But yes, your point is dead-on... with a large system, pretty much every aspect becomes larger! The work is hard, but the enjoyment is...well, you know.

what all do you have for flow in there?
Love the aquascape too, it will look great when filled in too!

See below for a bit of an update around in-tank flow. We are using a Reeflo Dart (3600 gph) pump for our closed loop, the main return pump is a Pan World 200PS (1750 gph), and some Tunze 6055 nano streams (1450 gph). And thank you for the kind words!

Looking good. Sorry to hear you had to start over again.

Thanks for that, and we're glad you took the time to look and post.

The woodwork and canopy are awesome. Such a great, clean install!

Brett, you are the king of clean - so your words mean a helluva lot to us. Thanks and we're always learning from your wonderful thread. Keep up the great work.

I like the remote ballast idea..

Thanks Dan. We have a HVAC guy coming in a couple of weeks to look at how we might get some of the heat out of that laundry room from the ballasts, and how we might be able to cut some kind of duct through that wall into the canopy space and evacuate the heat and humidity from there.

One of my favorite builds on RC. Congrats on the rebuild! Can you describe how you cooked the rock in more detail and how you used the starboard and why you think it is beneficial. I am in the planning stages of a 300g DD. I recently ordered 150 lbs of pukani rock from BRS and am going to cook it for the next 6 months by seeding it with bacteria. Wondering how you did yours. I was planning on putting mine in a rubbermaid water trough in the garage. I am wondering if the bacteria can handle the Texas summer heat...it can easily get 100F+ in the garage...

We're flattered Eckreef. That made our whole week!
* The "cooking" process was pretty simple, really. We did an initial rinsing in clean salt water, with a light scrubbing with a stiff brush. Then it all goes into the stock vats with aeration, skimming, heat, and plenty of water flow. We monitor the water quality, and do water changes utilizing a mix of tank water from the temporary system and fresh salt mix. This goes on for about 6 months. We were careful to maintain good water parms, including temperature. Going into the last 2 months, we started adding Stability, and doing some additional rinsing and scrubbing to remove any remaining algae and detritus.
* The Starboard idea was born out of our desire to even out any pressure points that our "bonsai tree" rock structures may put on the bottom glass. We also like the way it absorbs and distributes the impact of any possible rock falls (we had one accident before when one of our higher "tree branches" snapped at the drill hole and fell about 16" down to the glass - ouch!).
_______________________

OK, on with a small update.

When we first put in the closed loop outlets, it was pretty much a rush job. Here's what the first pass looks like. Right rear outlet has the 1" black PVC Tee with a couple of 1" elbows:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5633623318/" title="nt 1014 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5023/5633623318_f1c1b38e11_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="nt 1014"></a>

Right front outlet has the 3/4" loc-line tee with the smaller flared nozzles:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5633624166/" title="nt 1015 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5310/5633624166_83eeb66e93_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="nt 1015"></a>

Left rear outlet is a bit of a hybrid of those two (looking very proto-typish). We're using the 1" pvc with the loc-line fittings:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5633622466/" title="nt 1013 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5221/5633622466_e6429048cd_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="nt 1013"></a>

We are re-working all of these outlets. Here is a layout of the 1" PVC parts that we're playing with:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5633039237/" title="nt 1012 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5027/5633039237_a32e20a72c_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="nt 1012"></a>

We'll post another update later once we've settled on a design we're happy with. Any suggestions out there?

 

[nanonubey]

I just spent a good hour reading your thread, you could turn this thread into a movie! I must say your wife is beyond awesome too be your partner in crime on this build/rebuild. You guys have put together a killer setup and I can't wait to see it after a few years! Good luck.

 

[110galreef]

as far as flow, the Loc line is the best if you need to direct flow thru & around stuff. Also The omni flex nozzles from oceans motions are nice too. I am running those on my CLS & OM 4 way?

You guys using an OM??

 

[prop-frags]

Thanks for the reply! Yes, we are using an OM 4 way and I will check out the flex nozzles.

 

[prop-frags]

Thought we'd share a few pics:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5634147372/" title="DSC_5735 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5101/5634147372_e1a518a6e3_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="DSC_5735"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5633565567/" title="DSC_5737 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5146/5633565567_c11257674f_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="DSC_5737"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5633565931/" title="DSC_5738 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5068/5633565931_21ba2562e8_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="DSC_5738"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5633567489/" title="DSC_5743 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5061/5633567489_2a3a4c4714_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="DSC_5743"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5633567865/" title="DSC_5744 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5269/5633567865_d91a3659bc_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="DSC_5744"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5634151878/" title="DSC_5748 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5147/5634151878_ec05b78291_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="DSC_5748"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5633934418/" title="nt 988 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5106/5633934418_759ccc8120_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="nt 988"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5633910436/" title="DSC_5755 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5142/5633910436_b082d3f63a_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="DSC_5755"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5633908182/" title="nt 1026 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5064/5633908182_345c0fc8e3_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="nt 1026"></a>

 

[drummereef]

Drool! :thumbsup: Man, the tank is looking amazing. Very nice Mike.

 

[Bamm Bamm]

WOW it looks amazing!!!!

 

[d3hree]

looks awesome...great work

 

[apayan]

Wow!! I just spent a couple hours looking and reading your tank thread. I learned so much from your process. I feel as though the next time I want to build a tank I am going to take so many of your ideas! I hope you don't mind :worried:

A few really nice things I noticed:
1) Amazing wife! I hope when I get married mine is so caring with the hobby I love so much. If I come home one day and she is assembling a new amazing skimmer my mind will be blown!!
2) Your selection of fish color and pattern is amazing. Big props to that.:thumbsup:
3) The way you created flow is really refreshing. You combined the rock work and the direction of water flow which is something people normally don't due. Usually they throw their rock up then later aim power heads here and there. Very responsible reefing
4) Open rock work=longer tank life!! No dead spots for detritus to get stuck.


One question though. How did you add your wrasses? Was it all at once or one at a time? The Blue Star Leopard Wrass is my absolute favorite, but the female pattern/color is the best. I was thinking of adding a male and female at the same time and hope they pair up and not change colors. Any ideas on this?

Thanks for contributing your work to the Hobby

-Arya

 

[prop-frags]

Drool! :thumbsup: Man, the tank is looking amazing. Very nice Mike.

WOW it looks amazing!!!!

looks awesome...great work

Thanks guys! We really appreciate the compliments.

Wow!! I just spent a couple hours looking and reading your tank thread. I learned so much from your process. I feel as though the next time I want to build a tank I am going to take so many of your ideas! I hope you don't mind :worried:

A few really nice things I noticed:
1) Amazing wife! I hope when I get married mine is so caring with the hobby I love so much. If I come home one day and she is assembling a new amazing skimmer my mind will be blown!!
2) Your selection of fish color and pattern is amazing. Big props to that.:thumbsup:
3) The way you created flow is really refreshing. You combined the rock work and the direction of water flow which is something people normally don't due. Usually they throw their rock up then later aim power heads here and there. Very responsible reefing
4) Open rock work=longer tank life!! No dead spots for detritus to get stuck.


One question though. How did you add your wrasses? Was it all at once or one at a time? The Blue Star Leopard Wrass is my absolute favorite, but the female pattern/color is the best. I was thinking of adding a male and female at the same time and hope they pair up and not change colors. Any ideas on this?

Thanks for contributing your work to the Hobby

-Arya

Arya, Thanks so much for reading our thread and posting comments. Feel free to use any of our ideas - we have learned so much from fellow reefers here on RC and feel if we can help others in some small way then we've given something back.

To answer your question regarding the wrasses, the Blue Star Leopard Wrasse male was added first. He started out as a female and after we had her for nearly a year, she morphed into a male. I have to say it was rather shocking at first and having never experienced it before, we at first thought he was sick. The process took about 3 weeks to complete. He is now one of our favorite fish - spunky and great personality.

The Flame Wrasse pair were added together and we've had them for about a year now. We recently purchased the Lineatus male and the two female Blue Star Leopard wrasses together. All three spent a couple of days in an acclimation box inside the tank so the other fish could check them out w/out doing any damage and everyone could get used to each other. We had no issues when we released them.

You should have no problem adding a male and female leopard at the same time or you could add two females simultaneously and in the absence of a male, one will eventually morph.

 

[prop-frags]

As if we haven't had enough drama already...

As if we haven't had enough drama already...

File this update under the "when it rains, it pours" category. As hard as this is to believe, we have had yet another failure with our 300DD, requiring us to drain the tank yet again. This time, the overflow box has separated from the back of the tank. We have been sitting on the fence on whether to post our latest drama, but have decided full disclosure is best and perhaps someone else can benefit from our experience...

Late last week, we had shut down the main pump and noticed that the tank was continuing to drain below the level of the overflow box. Looking closely, we discovered the custom acrylic center overflow box separated from the silicone and glass on the left side all the way down to the bottom. Needless to say we were stunned! :eek2:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5653469836/" title="DSC_5947 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5025/5653469836_b4ac5eb26d_z.jpg" width="425" height="640" alt="DSC_5947"></a>

Not the best of pics, but you can see the 1/8" gap, and how it appears that the silicone has simply let go from from the acrylic. Closer inspection of the overflow revealed that there was no silicone on the inside of the box, and only a very thin strip applied to the outside of the box. Here's a look at the silicone strip from the left side of the overflow - this just simply peeled off with a gentle pull:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5655218090/" title="nt 1036 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5263/5655218090_e89f44f684_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="nt 1036"></a>

Why this didn't show up during the 2-weeks of freshwater leak tests we performed is still a mystery... just bad luck we guess, or perhaps Murphy's Law and we should have inspected the overflow box more closely and done a bit of a stress test on it to see if it was structurally sound. :hmm6:

So onto the recovery. While this failure didn't cause any kind of immediate urgent situation (the biggest risk was that in the event of a power outage, the tank would drain down to height of the lowest standpipe), the longer we waited, the more difficult it would be to fix. By allowing algae to build up on on the acrylic and glass, would mean more cleaning before the overflow could be repaired. Similarly, if corals were grown in, and permanently attached to the live rock, it would be vastly more difficult and disruptive to pull everything out. So with some anguish, frustration, and disbelief, we made the decision to drain the tank yet again, move all the livestock, and repair the tank.

We spent pretty much the entire holiday weekend (Good Friday included) shopping for the equipment, setting up the garage, and then moving all the contents of the tank out to the garage. At least this time, we had some control over the situation, unlike the disaster in September when the bottom seal gave out. And so on Easter Sunday, we started the move AGAIN.

With a lot of help from our amazing friends Blumoon Reefers, it took approximately 6 hours to drain the tank and complete the move of our livestock, rock and sand to the temporary vats.

The temporary housing this time-around is going to be more difficult as we're using a 180g Tuff Stuff stock tank to house our fish and live rock and a 110g stock tank for the corals w/no way to connect to our sump, refugium, chiller and ATO. Now if we can just keep our livestock alive and well for the next several days while the silicone cures. :worried2:

To ensure we don't have any jumpers, we placed a double layer of bird netting over the 180g stock tank housing the fish using plastic shower curtain hangers to hold it in place. We also setup a 250w MH pendant over the coral vat.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5652901025/" title="nt 1034 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5108/5652901025_8aa994b240_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="nt 1034"></a>

As if you guys haven't seen this picture enough already, here's a shot of the tank drained:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5653471858/" title="nt 1035 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5230/5653471858_5e25003eae_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="nt 1035"></a>

We had a professional do the overflow repair this afternoon... they recommended a bare minimum of 72 hours of drying time for the silicone. We are planning on waiting a full 5 days to be safe. At this point, we're shooting for Friday evening doing the leak test of the repair, and hopefully use the weekend to refill the tank and get back in business.

Did we mention we love this hobby? :sad2:

 

[PaPa_Johnny]

We had a professional do the overflow repair this afternoon... they recommended a bare minimum of 72 hours of drying time for the silicone. We are planning on waiting a full 5 days to be safe. At this point, we're shooting for Friday evening doing the leak test of the repair, and hopefully use the weekend to refill the tank and get back in business.

Did we mention we love this hobby? :sad2:

WOW. This is simply unbelievable . I cannot imagine the emotions that you went through on the second failure. You obviously do love the hobby to keep on keeping on with this second round . Kudos to you and your better half!

All I can say is I feel for you, I can only imagine how much stress you are under now with this. Thanks for all the documentation you have done on your thread! Keep us posted on how things are going with the repair/recovery please.

 

[apayan]

That is just horrible. Did you guys go with the same tank manufacturer after the first one? This is simply unforgivable if it is truly on their end. Thank goodness you both love the hobby and can support one another. If this were a household where one spouse didn't like the tank this would certainly be the end of it all. Best of luck in the coming weeks, I wish I could help you out in person, but Virginia is a bit of a drive from southern California :hmm4:

Keep on keepin' on!!

 

[dahenley]

WOW!!!!
Did you take pictures of everything, and do you plan on passing the expense of hiring a professional to come re-silicone the cover on for you? (pass it on to marineland and see what they say?)

Just curious, did you double check the glass internal overflow to make sure that it was still secured good?
most have a internal glass overflow with just a thin acrylic cover.

 

[cubsare1]

Wow, I think I would have thrown in the towel by now. Hope this works out for you!!

 

[drummereef]

My God Mike, I'm speechless.

 

[rick s]

Mike & Terry, I am so sorry to hear this. It is unbelieveable that this has happened again. You are both such good people!

Your positive, calm attitude is such an inspiration on how to react when life throws us curve balls. Please call me if I can help in any way.

I am so, so sorry.