My 180g tank: The beginning

[jer77]

Here are some more pics:

The outside front trim:

The tank half full:

I'm still unsure about how to make the doors, with hinges or without somehow. The problem with saltwater is that is corrodes everything! The only hinges that are solid brass are piano hinges or other ones that wouldn't work or look tacky. How have people made doors without hinges?

Also I am thinking about my protein skimmers. I'm thinking of using two ultimately, an AquaC EV-180 and an old ER ES 5-2. Will this be enough for a 180 with a medium bioload?

Also I am thinking about my lighting situation. I'm thinking of getting Lumenarc reflectors but don't know which ones, probably the SE ones. Any help here would be appreciated too.

 

[graveyardworm]

If you could get a hold of stainless hinges you be good. If your having trouble finding them at the big box stores. Then try looking at a Marine store for boat stuff.

The tank build looks good. I'm going to look at a used 180 today for an upgrade to my 90.

 

[bj32482]

please make sure you have the tank completely level!!!
I had a 240g from glasscages that cracked on one of the seems and because I had it on a similiar stand, there was no warranty...

 

[jer77]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10585612#post10585612 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bj32482
please make sure you have the tank completely level!!!
I had a 240g from glasscages that cracked on one of the seems and because I had it on a similiar stand, there was no warranty...

I checked it with a level on all sides before I put the tank on it and it was very close to being exactly level. The tank is in the basement where the concrete foundation is underneath too. Besides the warranty should still be good since it says you must put the tank on a commercially made stand, which my stand is even though its DIY because I run a small business from my garage where I made the stand.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10585573#post10585573 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by graveyardworm
If you could get a hold of stainless hinges you be good. If your having trouble finding them at the big box stores. Then try looking at a Marine store for boat stuff.

The tank build looks good. I'm going to look at a used 180 today for an upgrade to my 90.

Thnks!

I'm worried about using stainless steel because I've had many stainless steel things rust near my fish tank. Plus I really want something with no hinges, with just panels that I could somehow take on and off.

 

[The Shan Man]

Tank looks great... I can't wait to see it with all of your corals in it.

 

[Darkstar04]

180 is such a great size.... I am jealous! I want to know how that Pan World pump works for you. I am thinking about getting one for my next setup (smaller size though).

 

[jer77]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10589168#post10589168 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Shan Man
Tank looks great... I can't wait to see it with all of your corals in it.

Thanks for the compliment Shan Man. I can't wait to see all my corals in it either. There will definitely be a lot of extra space, I don't have that many corals. I wish I had huge sps that would take up the whole tank. I'm concerned about how soon or how long I should wait until I put them in there. I rushed it before with sps in my 75g and I lost a nice millepora and a medium sized chip's acro colony.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10591115#post10591115 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Darkstar04
180 is such a great size.... I am jealous! I want to know how that Pan World pump works for you. I am thinking about getting one for my next setup (smaller size though).

Yes, I agree, 180 is a nice size. Any bigger and it wouldn't of fit into my basement. I turned on the panworld 200PS for a few secs the other day with the sump filled with water to see how she ran. The flow was incredible and the pump didn't make too much noise, just a low hum. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow when the tanks all full and ready to go.

 

[zach0660]

Looks like an awesome setup, keep us updated with pics.
Good Luck!

 

[jer77]

Well I finally filled the tank and sump with water and turned the thing on. Needless to say but the return pump is very powerful and a little too strong. So I had to cut back the flow with the ball valve on the outlet side a little. But the flow coming out of the returns is amazingly strong still. The whole tank I can barely see into it cause of all the smaller sand particles are in suspension. How long will it take for them to settle? I put a filter bag on the drain outlets and some filter floss in the sump to try and reduce the particles but its not really working. Oh, I had to take off the acrylic overflow covers because they were restricting the flow. I did the math by measuring the teeth sizes and number plus the height of the water and the teeth were not equal to the drain hole size. So I have to make the teeth bigger or add more of them. I can't wait until the tank clears up so I can put the rock in since its cured already. Then I'll take some pics of the tank and the rockwork too.

 

[jer77]

Well, very unfortunately today half of my sps corals died. Included in the bunch were an Oregon Tort, Cali Tort, a large A. vermiculata, 2 A. pulchra's and an A. valida. Lots of others are half-bleached and look bad. I am so very unhappy as you can probably tell, I have been taking care of these frags for over a year now and some for up to two years. The cause of the bleaching was the salinity went to 1.030 from not topping off and the temp was up to 84. It was my stupidity or not topping off with freshwater, so I blame only myself. Oh well, I knew something like this was going to happen when I started moving them. Its just so hard to move them from one tank to another when you have to start the new tank from scratch. I guess the bright side of things is most of the monti's survived and some of the stags. But today is a very sad day for me...

 

[davocean]

I've seen heavy duty magnets at home depot that could easily work for doors.
They are round, and all you have to do is bore w/ a paddle bit so they are recessed in door and stand.
I may do this on mine.

 

[jer77]

I have finished mounting the doors and the trim. I decided just to use normal stainless steel hinges. I used my new table saw to cut the doors and the trim. I also used a router to bevel the edges to make them look nice. I decided to just put a clear varnish on the trim and doors because I like the look of the natural wood, it matches the walls. I still need to apply the varnish.

I now am focused on making a canopy for the Lumenarc III's. I anyone has any plans or pictures of their canopies that would be great. I've never built or used a canopy before so I'm a little clueless.

I put all of my LR in the tank and I believe I still need more. The nitrates are still around 2.5-5.0 and the phosphates are near zero thanks to my phosphate reactor. I have lots of chaeto and caulerpa in the fuge so hopefully it will grow.

Here are some pics of the finished trim and doors:

 

[The Shan Man]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10628379#post10628379 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jer77
Well, very unfortunately today half of my sps corals died. Included in the bunch were an Oregon Tort, Cali Tort, a large A. vermiculata, 2 A. pulchra's and an A. valida. Lots of others are half-bleached and look bad. I am so very unhappy as you can probably tell, I have been taking care of these frags for over a year now and some for up to two years. The cause of the bleaching was the salinity went to 1.030 from not topping off and the temp was up to 84. It was my stupidity or not topping off with freshwater, so I blame only myself. Oh well, I knew something like this was going to happen when I started moving them. Its just so hard to move them from one tank to another when you have to start the new tank from scratch. I guess the bright side of things is most of the monti's survived and some of the stags. But today is a very sad day for me...

I am sorry to hear about you corals Your tank is really looking great!!! I am loving the updates keep them coming...