My 180gal project..reef vs. baby, which will come first?

[ghever]

This is my tank in progress, not running yet, soon..like a few weeks..I have a baby due Sept 1st, first one, so I am trying to beat the arrival of the baby..hence the title to the post So far, this project has involved an electrician, a plumber, and lots of labor, but I am ready to put the sucker in the room now. Just need to sell off my 120g cube and inhabitants in it.

Special thanks to Kevin Camachi for building the canopy and stand you see below. I did the stain and sealing on my own. We did have some miscommunication on this deal, but overall I think you will agree this is a pretty sweet piece of furniture. I got the idea from marino420td so thanks to him for the idea. I still think his looks nicer

MAIN COMPONENTS:

Visio 180gal BB starphire glass (3 viewing sides), center trap overflow. 4 closed loops returns, 1 closed loop drain. 2 returns drilled into the cross bracing of the tank so that they will shoot water straight down the back of the tank.

120gal sump (guess it wont be a fuge since I am going BB)

30 gal frag tank

FLOW:
Closed loop powered by DART with 4 return holes going through an Ocean Motions 4 way.

GenX PCX 55 for return pump (will also feed my Ca. Reactor and frag tank)

2x6100 Tunze streams controlled by 7095 multicontroller


FILTRATION/DOSING?HEATING
Dual Chamber Reef Fanatic calcium reactor controlled by Milwaukee pH controller.

Reef Octopus (Pacific Coast Imports) RPS3000 recirc skimmer ( might upgrade to H&S eventually)

2x 250w Ebo Jager heaters

CONTROLLING:

ACIII controller

LIGHTING:
3x 250w Reef Optics III with icecap ballast.. Bulbs will be 2 Phoenix 14k and one ???? 10k

2x60in T5 HO SLS Tek retro for actinic supp (dusk dawn effect)

2x48in T5 HO SLS Tek retro for frag tank

Not sure yet about sump lighting, since I wont have a fuge

WATER MAKING/CHANGES

2x55gal drums
Airwaterice Typhoon III RO/DI
GenX Mak4 (transferring water to saltwater drum and pumping it to sump when making water change)
Mag 7 for auto top off water

Some pics:

 

[hawaiianwargod]

Its gonna be a killer setup....love the details on your stand and canopy. Good luck to reefing and fatherhood!!! best combo!!!

 

[hawaiianwargod]

ghever

Forgot to ask...do you have equipment room or is your sump going to be setup remotely?

Keep us posted..thanks.

 

[ghever]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7587600#post7587600 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hawaiianwargod
ghever

Forgot to ask...do you have equipment room or is your sump going to be setup remotely?

Keep us posted..thanks.

Guess I didnt make that point too clear

That room you see with the RODI and water containers, that is my equipment room... along that wall on the right side is where the sump will be.. that wall backs to the office room and where the tank will be located.

I will try and post more pics as the project moves along.. for now, I need to clear out my 120g cube that is in that room and start the plumbing process.

G

 

[muir]

Hurry up man

Hurry up man

my baby came 2 weeks ago...... 6 weeks to early. I was in the middle of setting up my tank. Hurry up you never know what will happen.

 

[Diatome]

muir, congratulations and I hope everything is going well. My twins came a couple of weeks early, touchy there at the end. They are 2 and half now and have a NC 12 in there room with a single fish, macro algae and live rock.

I will be putting together a large tank soon, as an upgrade to my 37. The girls love the 37 and are very respectful, though they like reaching their little hands behind the stand to play with the wires and such tucked inside the stand. They are very good around the tank and actually feed both tanks and their betta at their day care and never hit the tank or try to climb on it but they do like the wires/hoses. Just fair warning. My next tank is going to be designed around this. Just have to get the house finished and then the tank can start.

ghever, I would think of things in terms of trimesters instead of due date. With the third trimester looming, you may find a lot less time to spend with the tank. If you think at any time prior to this point she was enotional/hormonal, just wait, you ain't seen nothing yet.

 

[ghever]

I am trying to take down my current tank and get the new tank in place on its stand this weekend...so hopefully that will allow me to work on the plumbing and get it running before mid july.

G

 

[jeffreylam1132]

ghever,

Did you stain your stand and canopy or had someone else did it? If you did it, can you please tell me what kind did you used. BTW, this is gonna be a really nice setup. Good luck and congrats on your newborn.

 

[want2reef]

ghever,


Thats the look I am looking for in a stand.

How much did the stand and canopy cost to build?

Thanks

 

[Diatome]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7592336#post7592336 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ghever
I am trying to take down my current tank and get the new tank in place on its stand this weekend...so hopefully that will allow me to work on the plumbing and get it running before mid july.

G

Good luck and looking forward to shots of the completed project. I'm still deep in thought on mine.

As rewarding as the hobby is, you will never experience anything like children.

 

[ghever]

one question I have... since I want to use a lot of hard plumbing and I will have at least 4 connections to make to 4 through wall plumbing holes... 1 for return pump, 2 for CL (return and drain) and one for overflow drain... do you guys have any suggestions as to how to accurately drill the holes in the wall to line them up with the plumbing coming from the tank? I was thinking about just using some flex spa PVC at the terminals of each component and some unions to easily connect and disconnect. The tank is 6 foot long, so just trying to figre out where I should put the connections...obviously I want to have the tank up as close to the wall as possible...

thanks
G

 

[tedu]

I did exactly that on my 110. I had just a single large opening in the wall with 4 1" sections of SpaFlex running throught it. Put unions on each end. Worked well, I had some play and could remove either side without pulling the plumbing entirely out.

 

[Chihuahua6]

Congratulations on the baby. Is this your first? I think you will have the tank done in time. I started my first reef tank about a week before I had my 3rd baby lol. Talk about enthusiasm. It was a complete set up I bought though, no where near the magnitude of your project, which btw is looking great. Your cabinet is beautiful. My husband does woodwork and built the wood skirt for the 90 gal I had. Kevin did a great job with yours and the stain you did looks great. Who is Kevin anyway? Is he a member here?
Best wishes to your wife and new baby. I have 4 kids, 5 and under and I wish I could have more : ) They're awesome.

 

[ghever]

Chihuahua...Kevin Kamachi... dont think he is a member here, but his email is: standsandcanopys@verizon.net

He is located out in Yucaipa and sort of does this on the side, but I am not sure , I have had a hard time getting hold of him lately, as well as others I referred , maybe he is just busy... but yah, overall he did a great job...

Jefferylam... I stained it myself.. I used a MinWax stain from HD, i think it was called Special Walnut..I forget the number, but can get it to you if you need it. The wood is maple, just so you know.

As for cost of stand and canopy... $850.. but that is without doors, and the back of the stand is open.... I dont think Kevin will build one again for this price, the pillar look took him a lot of time to do, those were his words.... but he is still cheaper than ANYONE I spoke with out there... I just wish he was more responsive to emails but I guess you get what you pay for one way or another... at least it looks great, and I am sure it will hold up a house if need be

G

 

[Chihuahua6]

ghever what kinds of quotes were you getting? My husband said he would have built it for you with the doors for $850. The only problem would be shipping. If you know anyone in the southeast needing a stand let me know. I was asking who Kevin was because I thought there was a member here who builds stands. I'm lucky I have my husband to build my stands, skirts and canopys. He would like to do it for others as well.

 

[crazdreef]

sweet set up

 

[818]

Looks like "G's" got his plumbing covered

 

[Steven0000]

nice tank

and i hope everthing works out
be a good father

 

[ghever]

update..

update..

UPDATE:

I have the tank on the stand and in the room.... time to work on plumbing.

Before I do so, can you guys check out these pics and let me know what you think... the stand that was made for me was made to fit the tank exactly instead of making it a tad bigger than its 72.5 x 24.5 dimensions...it fits fine length wise but as you can see by these pics, it is just right depth wise.... do you guys see any prob? The tank is a floating tank so it sits on the trim all the way around and the trim is a lil more than 1/2 inch thick.

Here are pics:

As you can see from this pic, the tank is level, so at least that is not a prob yet, but we will see if its still level after I fill with water.

Appreciate the feedback on the stand though

G

 

[Yinger]

Hey G, did you put styrofoam underneath the tank? I was told that if your tank comes with a frame, don't use the foam otherwise it could create pressure points on the glass and crack it.