New 300 gallon tank project

[crharvel]

Great thread and progress updates along the way Landen! I much appreciate your advice on mine. Glad to see it is coming along at a good clip and I will be following along. Sucks about the chip but it sounds like your shop of choice is handling well.

How tall are your LumenMax elites and how far off the the water do you estimate they will be? I asked because I jumped on a pair of Lumenbrights but I am concerned about them being too close to the water with only ~ 9" of clearance under the canopy! May have to trade out for those.

Our living room is a disaster zone too with plumbing parts and equipment. The wife's patience (bless her heart which to this point has been really good) is wearing thin. Fear is a great short term motivator!

Also hear you guys regarding FedEx. They fully blocked my door (which I am thinking was 100% intentional) when I made them deliver a half dozen buckets of Reef Crystals up my front steps.

 

[cayenne]

Chad,

The LM Elites are right about 5" if I remember correctly. I would have gone the Lumenbright route, but they are just too tall for this application.

My only concern with the LM Elites will be the spread on a 36" wide tank. I may try to get the canopy on this weekend and see what the result is. If I do I will post pictures for you.

 

[cayenne]

Update Time.

The replacement tank still has not arrived. There is a good chance that I will rent a trailer and go swap tanks next Saturday. Anyone available to help get the damaged one out Saturday morning? I think I already have two people lined up, one or two more would be helpful though. I am going to bring the LFS tank cart back with me so hopefully unloading will be easier.

I got a good deal done this weekend, even though we had a plumbing leak from a bathtub in between the first and second floors and I had to remove a large section of drywall in the kitchen, so Saturday was shot and I didn't get to work on anything other than disaster clean up.

Couple of goodies came in last week.

RODI was installed and has started filling the 125G storage tank.

Pump Manifold

First Pass at Sump Plumbing

Fuge and Equipment Table

What you don't notice in all these pictures is how Melanie carefully took each picture without showing the mess on the floor. The basement is a complete WRECK at this point. I can't wait to get it cleaned up.

 

[Virginia Reef]

Landen,

I should be available to give you a hand Saturday. What time? My new Koralia should be in tomorrow so I can return your loaners then. Also, still need Interceptor tabs? If so, let me know how many.

It's hard to believe the quantity of things that you need for a project like yours. Keep at it with the updates.

 

[NbMaxx13]

I'm really impressed with all the effort and work you guys have put in.. The attention to detail is phenomonal and I can't wait to visit and see it full in person...! keep up the good work you 2...

 

[cayenne]

Paul,

I am hoping around 9, but I won't know for sure until I find out what time I can pick up the rental trailer.

 

[crharvel]

Landen,

Get that tank swapped out yet?

I need you to be two steps ahead so I can copy your great work :thumbsup:

 

[cayenne]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15123404#post15123404 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by crharvel
Landen,

Get that tank swapped out yet?

I need you to be two steps ahead so I can copy your great work :thumbsup:

Based on your updates, I don't think I am any where near two steps ahead of you. Pushing forward steadily, but you have me beat. The replacement tank is safely here in Lynchburg. Several of my friends (including Paul) and neighbors, came by to help out early Saturday morning, and then again Saturday evening to unload the new one. Thankfully everything went okay...

Sunday was an extremely long day, I got the new tank repainted, and then proceeded to inhale PVC primer and cement for somewhere around 6 hours. As of tonight, all plumbing between the two floors is complete, and all but one return line has been plumbed. The last line will have to wait until the swap, as it will be inline with my chiller.

I still need to build my bubble towers for the sump, but we are hoping to do a freshwater test on part of the system this coming Saturday.

One gripe I have with this tank is, as large a tank as it is, the bulkhead holes were drilled right on top of each other. It was a tight fit getting unions and valves installed.

At this point, every last part needed for completion is here (as far as I know) with the exception of a replacement Red Devil II pump for my skimmer that is en-route from Seattle this week.

 

[Der ABT]

great update, progess looks like its going really well. I cant wait to see it finally plumbed, if there is any chance you can put up a pic of your final plumbing diagram it would be appreciated as i am confused about how a few things are "wired"

is one pump able to do all of the work or are there going to be 2 used.

thanks and sorry for the dumb questions, ill be looking to replicate something similar for the next tank.
cant wait to see it with water/fish

 

[PSU REEFER]

Lookin' good. What are you using to run your VHO's? I saw your going w/ 3--was 4 to tight of a fit?

 

[cayenne]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15129261#post15129261 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Der ABT
great update, progess looks like its going really well. I cant wait to see it finally plumbed, if there is any chance you can put up a pic of your final plumbing diagram it would be appreciated as i am confused about how a few things are "wired"

is one pump able to do all of the work or are there going to be 2 used.

thanks and sorry for the dumb questions, ill be looking to replicate something similar for the next tank.
cant wait to see it with water/fish

Here is the general layout of the final plumbing flow diagram. I threw it together rather quickly, so it doesn't show reactors, or QT tanks, etc...

Everything is running off of one pump.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15151276#post15151276 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PSU
Lookin' good. What are you using to run your VHO's? I saw your going w/ 3--was 4 to tight of a fit?

All of the VHO's are running off of IceCap ballasts. 2 off of a 660 and the single off of a 430... Four of them would have fit fine, I just didn't see the need at this point in the game. I may change my mind later, but I think three of them will provide enough supplementation.

Completed the freshwater flush and leak check yesterday. Everything looked good, we drained everything today and will begin final cleanup of the system before pumping RO in. Also completed the canopy wiring for VHO's and MH's. Fired everything up together for the first time this afternoon.

Pretty happy with the crisp color at this point, can't wait to see the final result with SW in the tank. MH bulbs are behaving strangely, not sure if it is a result of them being brand new or what, but they are sometimes taking a couple of mins to come on, not all of them, and it is never the same bulb. No pattern that I see at this point, they just seem to be picky firing right now.

 

[cayenne]

Alright, everyone has been WAY TOO quiet lately, I guess that means I am moving too slow! I already knew that...

Got some stuff done this past weekend, I have a couple of weeks of heavy travel coming up, so I am trying to stay ahead of the game. We are hoping to have the rocks moved into the tank this week. The tank has finally hit the overflows, but I am short somewhere around 20 gallons in the sump to start up the skimmer. I also rebuilt my UV sterilizer with new quartz sleeves and bulbs.

We have been making 80 gal batches of SW all weekend long. I decided to mix outside of the tank to minimize the potential of additional phosphates from the salt binding agents. Once the RODI catches up we will have enough to start the skimmer.

I am seriously contemplating removing the fish from the 150 and putting them in my QT setup for a few weeks while I begin removing all of the rock and other equipment that will be reused. I think this will be easier as it will allow me to complete the aquascaping 100% without rushing, and I can leave my anemone, and softies in the 150, while all of the SPS gets put in the frag tank. This will also allow me to remove the unnecessary equipment and get it installed on the new system, while giving me a couple of weeks to iron out the bugs. I am sure I have missed a few things during the design that will not become obvious until I start everything up... Does anyone see a downside?

Tank filling with water early on Saturday. This was after Melanie rinsed 240 lbs of sand outside. I think she is still a little sore.

Moved the frag tank into position and hung the light.

 

[ThurlowR]

Looking great

 

[ade]

Sand before rock?
Looking forward to seeing that tank filled. I know you might think that you are taking a long time setting up your tank, IMO a lot better that getting it done in a week and then doing a lot of do overs on your plumbing.

Largest tank in the area and a full basement freag system, when does the store open. lol

 

[cayenne]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15199375#post15199375 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ade
Sand before rock?

I think it's easier to put the sand in first and then clear spaces to rest the rock on the glass. It seems like a much larger hassle to put the rock and then try to carefully dump 200+ lbs of sand in the correct areas.

 

[mdh0215]

you all never thought this day would come huh??!!

you all never thought this day would come huh??!!

Finally the day is here that I can say we have completed the upgrade. But, honestly, there is nothing in this hobby that is ever complete, but the upgrade is now underway and the only thing remaining in the 150 is the clam we still have to move and then a few frags we will be passing along.
I honestly never thought this day would be here but all in all it will be 3 months tomorrow that we first bought the tank. There have been a few interruptions, mainly in the last month, with Landen going to the UK twice and then us taking a trip to the Atlanta Aquarium. Either way it really wasn't that long.
Here are a few/(lot of) pictures over the last two days. Yesterday we concentrated on moving the rock and aquascaping and today we moved the fish.

 

[mdh0215]

More pictures

 

[ThurlowR]

I like seeing that 150 empty . Looks like I got some cleaning to do.

 

[cayenne]

A few full resolution pictures. The water is still cloudy from sand settling, and Melanie was having trouble with the camera. It's time for a new one, the white balance has been causing trouble lately.

Anyway, I will do a complete update tomorrow. On top of doing this for two days straight, I have a head cold as well, so I am beat.

 

[mdh0215]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15304666#post15304666 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ThurlowR
I like seeing that 150 empty . Looks like I got some cleaning to do.

Don't worry that much. We plan on cleaning it up a bit before you take it away. I love writing that as much as I hate writing that. I am going to miss that tank, but I also enjoy seeing it empty and the 300 filled
Since working on the 300 we got carried away with that and didn't pay that much attention to controlling nuisances in the 150 like the coraline and the xenia.