my 255 starfire ocean upgrade!

Well, for all you late night folks, you know who you are........... Here is a midnight snack for you picture loving reefers!

I didn't get as much done as I wanted to but that is the story of this build. Slow and steady wins the race. I got the frag and skimmer stands moved into place and did a bit of organizing.

I also got all of the "cooked" rock in the tank waiting for the 12 hour aquascape fest tomorrow. I also plan to move the inhabitants from my current tank over to the new one. I have plenty of epoxy putty, plastic rods, zip ties, and thing-a-magigs to keep everything balanced and in place.

I hope to do something cool like ChingChai with his 1000 gallon tank. He also has a 4' tall tank so it makes it look easy to do. Mine's only 36" wide and 24" tall so it will have to be to scale!!! I'll try my best. I really want alot of open room with sand. It's been awhile since I've had a shallow sand bed!

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I love this scape!!!

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Got the skimmer tank painted for that RE/Vertex red and white theme!!

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Made a custom graphic for the skimmer stand. I had to know where the skimmers home was

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I still need to paint the QT tank trim red as well. I did a custom job on the HOB filter lid as well. Why not!

Also, the plastic safe spray paint brand from lowe's is way better in my opinion then the krylon fusion. For what it is worth.
 
To Do List:
paint floor
trim the rest of the stands and paint red
finish electrical...........I have 4 20amp lines for the tank that need to be hooked up
finish light rack
drill skimmer tank for a drain
make 65 gal acrylic frag tank
make aluminum light rack like the display light rack
finish salt mixing station
remount RO/DI unit to wall and install float valves in 55gal. drums
plumb frag and skimmer tanks
install pullout table that will be mounted under the skimmer tank stand! should be cool. I am going to put it on drawer rails so that it will slide in a dn out as needed!

Wow, the list goes on and on. But at least I can do some of that as the tank is settling in!
 
LOL, a bubble king theme! Thanks for the inspiration I want future upgrade to be just like that, everything red and white. Looking super sweet!

PS you should paint your calcium reactor too.
 
LOL, a bubble king theme! Thanks for the inspiration I want future upgrade to be just like that, everything red and white. Looking super sweet!

PS you should paint your calcium reactor too.

Good idea about the reactor!
 
Awesome set up! Quick question, (not related to the tank itsef, sorry) where did you get the wall panels around the bottom of the tank? Is it just plexglass? or something else? Where did you get the mounting hardware? We are starting to build a bar, and that was one of the looks I was considering, but wasn't really sure how to approach it exactly.
Thanks!
Looking forward to the rest of this build!
Chris
 
Wow I like it.
Glad your diggin it!
Very cool.. will look you over your shoulder and follow your project!
sounds good. I don't claim to have any skills though
Wow. That's an insane set-up.
thanks. It's coming together
love the man cave!!! Someday i will have me one.... My man cave currently is the garage......
my wife hates that I call it a man cave
Awesome set up! Quick question, (not related to the tank itsef, sorry) where did you get the wall panels around the bottom of the tank? Is it just plexglass? or something else? Where did you get the mounting hardware? We are starting to build a bar, and that was one of the looks I was considering, but wasn't really sure how to approach it exactly.
Thanks!

The sheets are plexiglass from lowes cut by them to equal size and then I used an orbital sander and sanded one side for a frosted look. The holders are from lowes as well. They are in the section where you find hardware to hang pictures. I can look to find the exact product name. They were like $5 or $6 per 4.
Looking forward to the rest of this build!
Chris
 
Well, a new tank was born!!! On Feb. 13, 2010 at 5:33pm. It weighs 2486lbs and is 72"x34"x24". Health and strong born with all it pumps and filtration working good and no leaks!!!! The fish are all looking cheerful and at home minus the onyx clown who has a slight learning curve with the over 12,000gph flow. LOL. The Vertex 300 cone skimmer is finally churning away after some tweeking to find a stable sweet spot. I came home from the store to my wife saying your tank is overflowing!!!!! I ran down the stairs to find the skimmer just overflowing like mad. I had adjusted it right before I left. Lesson learned: don't mess with your skimmer unless you have time to check it to see if it settles!!!! I just sort of threw the rock and corals in to make the move and will be doing the rock scape after I get all my electrical finished and all the cords tucked away nice and clean. Yeah, I know I don't have pics to share but they will be posted tomorrow Nighty night! If your lucky maybe a video tour of my mess!
 
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