Newbie's 180 Reef in Wall Progress (Image Intense)

[Briankook]

Here ya go Marc:

Here ya go Marc:

I am happy with the look of the trim. It really gives it a "finished" look. My camera makes the paint look greenish, but the walls are a yellowish color which goes very nicely with the stained trim.

 

[melev]

Nice job!

I finally figured out my woodwork layout today. I can't wait to start cutting lumber and get my stuff built for the 280g.

 

[jthnhale]

great job on the trim!
I love the exposed corner on the tank, it opens the whole feel of the tank up.
That tv's so big it makes the 180 look small!
I think I would get distracted by the tank all the time, I hope you have tivo, so you don't miss the important plays

 

[Briankook]

jthnhale, your right, I find my self looking at the tank when I'm trying to watch TV, but its worth it.

 

[Briankook]

Getting ready to notch out the starboard for the overflows.

 

[andro]

Great job. I am in the process of putting a 180 into my basement at the same time I am finishng it. I love the trim work you did around the tank, I might do something similar. Mine will be viewable on both long sides, the TV on one side and a bar on the other.

-Ian

 

[MacnReef]

Very sweet! So after all of that, are you ripping out the sand to put in starboard...if so, GREAT IDEA! I just did this in my 180 and it is the best move I have made in a long time.

Mike

 

[sde219]

Nice looking tank. I'm jumping into this thread late but it's very impressive. You did a lot of work in a pretty short amount of time. How do you plan to use the starboard in that tank?

Steve

 

[Briankook]

I plan on removing the sand & placing the starboard on the bottom of the tank. I will place the rockwork on the starboard to build my reef. I am really looking foward to see how my corals respond to a cleaner tank environment.

 

[MacnReef]

Cool, like I said, I just did this...actually last week. If I can make a recommendation...build a small pvc support for the rock to get it off of the starboard so you can blow the detritus out from under it plus get flow under there.

Mike

 

[Briankook]

macnreef, I failed to mention that I already have a support rack built & my rocks are on it now. I have holes drilled in there & I have a pump pushing water through the rock work eliminating most dead spots. I plan on using that again. Thanks for the input.

 

[Bender]

You have done a fantastic job. I am getting ready to start finishing my basement and will be building my 120 in wall. One question though. Now that it has been set up for a while do you ever regret not having front access to the tank? Please keep the updates and pictures coming. I am also on the fence between BB and sand. I will be looking forward to your switch to BB as well.

Bender

 

[Toledofishguy]

I am also interested in the front access issue. I see it as a problem for aquascaping, but other than that the clean look i think is more important.

 

[Infinitereef]

Great work Briankook, very nice. I am in the process of setting up my in wall 180g and I like your setup very much.

I have one question though. I have the similar overflow tank and the instructions said that you screwed your bulkhead onto the tank hole first and then stuck your return pipe or the drain pipe onto it when you finished adjusting the heights. I tried to push in the pipe as far in as possible but I have the feeling that it does not fit in tight enough.

Also do you just hand tight the bulkhead in the overflow compartment.

 

[MacnReef]

Infinite...I usually hand tighten then give it a quarter turn with a wrench. Do not over tighten because you don't want to flatten out the gasket or push it out from the bulk head.

Mike

 

[Briankook]

bender, I do not regret not having access to the front of the tank. All maintenance on my tank can be done very easily from the back. The only thing that I needed someone to help me from the front was initially setting up the rock wall; after that, everything is easily done from the back.

infinte, I agree with macnreef about tightening the nut for the bulkhead. Also, the "standpipe" does not have to fit in very tight, it just needs to fit in there so that the pipe stays upright. It will be fine. IMO, you can put teflon tape around the pipe to make it more snug.

 

[Briankook]

Major Macro!

Major Macro!

We removed some of the macroalgae from the refugium, here is some, it grows like crazy.

 

[melev]

:thumbsup:

 

[Briankook]

Sand, Livestock removed...

Sand, Livestock removed...

Here is the starboard & pipe rack before the rock was placed back in.

Filling the tank back up!

At this point, all of the livestock is back in the tank...everything looks great . I will post more pics tomorrow.

 

[Briankook]

BTW, We modified the returns to create my flow on the bottom of the tank: