Mike's 300 Double-D
- Thread starter prop-frags
- Start date
prop-frags
SPS Slave
Time for an update...
The work here on the re-build continues. The electrical work is now finished up. We have gotten the new laundry room electrical panel all set to mount the timers, ballasts and Tunze equipment.
Pretty much now we're just waiting on the new tank to arrive. We've been told by our LFS that the tank was supposed to be delivered to the store on 11/2, but there have been many unexplained delays since then. We are getting frustrated and anxious waiting. :sad2:
In the meantime, we're having significant livestock losses in the temporary tank in the garage. The temperature swings here in the mid-Atlantic have been dramatic from day to night and our garage is not climate controlled. There also have been several bad alk and pH swings since we are having to manually control most everything right now, and the more sensitive coral colonies have been suffering from pretty severe STN. At this point, we have lost about 7 of our nicer colonies, including the granulosa, jokers wild montipora, prostrata, setosa, 2 bottle brush acros, raspberry milli, and the big green slimer.
We added more flow in the temporary tank to try and slow the losses, done a bunch of fragging, and increased our water testing and monitoring. We really need to get this new tank in before it gets too cold at night.
Here's the (greatly smaller) coral rack in the temp 350:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5172944721/" title="coarals 596 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/5172944721_882ed9459f.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="coarals 596" /></a>
Here's the a. maryae that is showing the very typical STN:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5172945243/" title="coarals 598 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4153/5172945243_81810879b9.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="coarals 598" /></a>
The work here on the re-build continues. The electrical work is now finished up. We have gotten the new laundry room electrical panel all set to mount the timers, ballasts and Tunze equipment.
Pretty much now we're just waiting on the new tank to arrive. We've been told by our LFS that the tank was supposed to be delivered to the store on 11/2, but there have been many unexplained delays since then. We are getting frustrated and anxious waiting. :sad2:
In the meantime, we're having significant livestock losses in the temporary tank in the garage. The temperature swings here in the mid-Atlantic have been dramatic from day to night and our garage is not climate controlled. There also have been several bad alk and pH swings since we are having to manually control most everything right now, and the more sensitive coral colonies have been suffering from pretty severe STN. At this point, we have lost about 7 of our nicer colonies, including the granulosa, jokers wild montipora, prostrata, setosa, 2 bottle brush acros, raspberry milli, and the big green slimer.
We added more flow in the temporary tank to try and slow the losses, done a bunch of fragging, and increased our water testing and monitoring. We really need to get this new tank in before it gets too cold at night.
Here's the (greatly smaller) coral rack in the temp 350:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5172944721/" title="coarals 596 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/5172944721_882ed9459f.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="coarals 596" /></a>
Here's the a. maryae that is showing the very typical STN:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5172945243/" title="coarals 598 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4153/5172945243_81810879b9.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="coarals 598" /></a>
Reef_Daniel1527
Member
Good luck, hope you guys don't lose any more livestock. Its hard to keep a temperature in the garage, especially in VA. Good luck once again and hope all goes well.
Redhdfishgirl
New member
Terri, I can bring over our 25 gallon frag tank tomorrow evening with a 150 metal halide light for your corals. Just let me know, I am so sorry. Hopefully, your tank will be here tomorrow. Just let me know.
bankerboy350
New member
Mike - Have read through your build thread and must say I am sorry to here of the trouble. I do have a question. Where on the tank did the leak occur? I don't remember reading other than it was a bottom seal.
I am currently building out a 250DD and it is a bit concerning to read about a leak in one of these tanks.
My build thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1895161
I built my stand out of mostly 2 x 6's. Doubled on the front and back. Each corner has (2) 2 x 6's and a 2 x 4. Double 2 x 6's run from the front to back in the center. 2 x 6 center support in the back and 2 x 4 center support in the front. 1/2 ply on the bottom (glued and screwed to to the bottom frame) and 3/4 ply (glued and screwed to the top frame). Exterior is solid oak. I haven't used the foam under the tank but am now considering it.
The tank sits beside a load bearing wall but runs parellel over 3 joists. I supported the joists with (2) treated 4 x 6's running perpendicular to the joists and the tank at each end of the tank. Each 4 x 6 sits on a concrete block column. I can feel the support as there is almost no give in the floor like other areas of the room.
Reading this thread has definately caused me to slow up my progress and ensure I have provided adequate support.
If 1/16"-1/8" is possibly the margin of error for leveling the tank without increasing the potential for a seam to fail, then it would stand to reason that a number of tanks could fail over time.
Wish you the best of luck in the rebuild.
I am currently building out a 250DD and it is a bit concerning to read about a leak in one of these tanks.
My build thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1895161
I built my stand out of mostly 2 x 6's. Doubled on the front and back. Each corner has (2) 2 x 6's and a 2 x 4. Double 2 x 6's run from the front to back in the center. 2 x 6 center support in the back and 2 x 4 center support in the front. 1/2 ply on the bottom (glued and screwed to to the bottom frame) and 3/4 ply (glued and screwed to the top frame). Exterior is solid oak. I haven't used the foam under the tank but am now considering it.
The tank sits beside a load bearing wall but runs parellel over 3 joists. I supported the joists with (2) treated 4 x 6's running perpendicular to the joists and the tank at each end of the tank. Each 4 x 6 sits on a concrete block column. I can feel the support as there is almost no give in the floor like other areas of the room.
Reading this thread has definately caused me to slow up my progress and ensure I have provided adequate support.
If 1/16"-1/8" is possibly the margin of error for leveling the tank without increasing the potential for a seam to fail, then it would stand to reason that a number of tanks could fail over time.
Wish you the best of luck in the rebuild.
prop-frags
SPS Slave
Thanks everyone for the kind words. We really appreciate it!
We're still in limbo waiting to hear where our tank is. Talked with our LFS again last night. Apparently, the distributor has not been able to locate our tank which we were told was shipped from New York on 11/3/2010. :hmm2: We're hoping the issue will be resolved soon.
Here's some graphs from the Apex to give you a feel of the swings we're dealing with. The corals are not happy with us!
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5192912339/" title="apex2 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4113/5192912339_af3f9ecce7.jpg" width="500" height="250" alt="apex2" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5192912315/" title="apex1 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/5192912315_430051c1b2.jpg" width="500" height="253" alt="apex1" /></a>
We're still in limbo waiting to hear where our tank is. Talked with our LFS again last night. Apparently, the distributor has not been able to locate our tank which we were told was shipped from New York on 11/3/2010. :hmm2: We're hoping the issue will be resolved soon.
Here's some graphs from the Apex to give you a feel of the swings we're dealing with. The corals are not happy with us!
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5192912339/" title="apex2 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4113/5192912339_af3f9ecce7.jpg" width="500" height="250" alt="apex2" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5192912315/" title="apex1 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/5192912315_430051c1b2.jpg" width="500" height="253" alt="apex1" /></a>
Last edited:
prop-frags
SPS Slave
Thanks for the concern, BB. Our LFS picked up the tank 9/24 and shipped it back to the wholesaler. When we inspected it then, there was no obvious indication as to what had failed. The actual bottom seal is not visible without taking the bottom frame off the tank, so we don't really know precisely where the leak occurred. We have not heard anything back from the retailer, wholesaler, or manufacturer as to a failure analysis (and it is very doubtful we will).
Yes, we saw your thread. Your stand looks nicely done and plenty sturdy for the 250. Nice work there.
Looks like you've done the right kinds of things with your install to improve safety.
Thanks. It is our hope that in sharing our experiences, we can help others to make their builds as best as they can be, avoid errors, and improve designs that benefit us all. There are many factors that can contribute to increased safety. Structural soundness of the stand, floor, and the tank itself are critical ones, obviously.
Tanks of the size we're talking about in this forum exert some pretty extraordinary forces on these structures; so level, uniform distribution and transfer of the live load to the ground is very important. Our engineer friends have advised that "anomalies" in excess of 1/16" are to be avoided - this of course really depends on the specifics (such as the stiffness and strength of bottom panel of the tank, and what kind of stress the anomaly creates, for example).
PSU REEFER
New member
Any word on your tank?
Whitebread
resident stalker
Hang in the Mike and Terry! I bet you're ready for another meet with the firearms... haha. R.
prop-frags
SPS Slave
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PSU REEFER
New member
Still? Sorry to hear that.
prop-frags
SPS Slave
Update
Update
Just wanted to post a quick update...
As of 12/18, our LFS has assured us we will have our replacement tank the 2nd week of January...
We're keeping our fingers crossed as this has been a very stressful situation and trying to keep a large reef system running for what will be 17+ weeks in an unconditioned garage with extreme weather conditions is just pure madness.
On a good note, we've been playing with some LED supplemental lighting and love the shimmer and color pop...
-Terry
Update
Just wanted to post a quick update...
As of 12/18, our LFS has assured us we will have our replacement tank the 2nd week of January...
We're keeping our fingers crossed as this has been a very stressful situation and trying to keep a large reef system running for what will be 17+ weeks in an unconditioned garage with extreme weather conditions is just pure madness.
On a good note, we've been playing with some LED supplemental lighting and love the shimmer and color pop...
-Terry
prop-frags
SPS Slave
OK - the seemingly never-ending saga of frustration and excuses may be nearing an end.
The tank was re-ordered on December 10th. We have been pushing really hard for a written acceptance confirmation of our replacement tank from the factory and distributor. We received a (vague) email that looks as though the tank may actually finally being built. No idea of timing when we might see it - at this point we are so doubtful of any dates we get!
The tank was re-ordered on December 10th. We have been pushing really hard for a written acceptance confirmation of our replacement tank from the factory and distributor. We received a (vague) email that looks as though the tank may actually finally being built. No idea of timing when we might see it - at this point we are so doubtful of any dates we get!
Reef Happy
New member
Mike, sorry to hear of all the problems. I know it must be frustrating. Keep us posted..
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