Soulpatch's build thread (ongoing)

Running them both together might be a bit much, but I guess I'll find out!

Yea I'm interested to see how you like them running together.

I don't have a mp10. Cabo compared the gyre to mp which is why I have the gyre. The gyre will move to the other tank most likely with either a WAV or rw8 pair to compliment.

For the gyre I like the wide flow but it does have some dead spots amd I needed my rw still to hit them. If I had two gyre I don't think I would have Any issues but they are bulky in the tank which is annoying.

Yeah forgot it was Cabo. I still want to give the gyre a whirl. I'm feeling like my tank may have too much laminar flow, with just one MP10 at 75% shooting across the middle. It's plenty of flow, and the corals seem to be happy, but there's always something else. We'll see... I wonder if it would be much better if I repair the old MP10 and sync them together on opposite sides...
 
sad but awesome day yesterday as my 125 went to a new home. It took about 2 hours to drain and empty much of the substrate from the tank so that we could even lift it and carry out to the car. Thankfully the fish cooperated for the most part and were pretty easily caught. I had one cory that gave me a run for my money though...

Either way it is gone and I dont have to worry about that tank anymore especially the upkeep. My daughter was asking where her fish were though and was dragging around her step stool she used to see in the tank. So I know she will miss it slightly. That I feel bad about till the new tank is up and running.
 
That is sad (but awesome). Kids can be adorable. Just re-introduce her to Mr. Shrimp, and maybe get some colorful/flashy fish for the 29g in the meantime?
 
the 29 gallon is on autopilot. I need brakes for my truck, auto insurance 6 month premium is coming up, and the holidays that I need money set aside outside of money for the 93 build.
 
the 29 gallon is on autopilot. I need brakes for my truck, auto insurance 6 month premium is coming up, and the holidays that I need money set aside outside of money for the 93 build.


I hear you on the holidays!! I was shocked how close they are! My wife put it in perspective when she laid it out in terms of how many paychecks there are until Xmas. LOL
 
I hear you on the holidays!! I was shocked how close they are! My wife put it in perspective when she laid it out in terms of how many paychecks there are until Xmas. LOL

Aint that the truth. Thankfully I have a toddler who is still semi cheap for the holidays as she doesnt get it yet but in coming years it is going to get massively expensive.
 
With the cost of daycare I am inclined to stop at the one. Now way can I afford over 2K a month to send 2 kids to daycare nor could I take nearly a 1K hit a month to my income to have my wife stay at home. Even now I pay over 1300 for daycare and it crushes me.

That is more then I pay for my house. I could have one heck of a decent vacation home for that amount each month...

Still trying to keep the tank upgrade going though. I have over 1K in parts sitting in my basement waiting to go on the new tank so I am invested decently at this point. Just hoping I can get the tank in my hands in the next couple weeks and get started on the stand. I have to order in the overflow yet and drill the tank. plumbing and a return pump and I am ready to go. The rock though is the expensive part. To spend over 1K right before Christmas will be a hard sell for the wife. Even now she is balking and it is only September. Hopefully I hear about bonus earlier this year and can use some of that...
 
With the cost of daycare I am inclined to stop at the one. Now way can I afford over 2K a month to send 2 kids to daycare nor could I take nearly a 1K hit a month to my income to have my wife stay at home. Even now I pay over 1300 for daycare and it crushes me.

That is more then I pay for my house. I could have one heck of a decent vacation home for that amount each month...

Still trying to keep the tank upgrade going though. I have over 1K in parts sitting in my basement waiting to go on the new tank so I am invested decently at this point. Just hoping I can get the tank in my hands in the next couple weeks and get started on the stand. I have to order in the overflow yet and drill the tank. plumbing and a return pump and I am ready to go. The rock though is the expensive part. To spend over 1K right before Christmas will be a hard sell for the wife. Even now she is balking and it is only September. Hopefully I hear about bonus earlier this year and can use some of that...

My wife hasn't worked for the last 17 years... so she is our daycare. ;) We also have a decent spread across the kids, with 4 years between being the average. This means the oldest two are built in baby-sitters! For the first time in about 16 years my wife and I can actually have date nights. LOL

When you get the tank, if you need any hands helping build the stand, let me know. I have some fairly decent tools and am "not bad" at building things.
 
come on Tim - I will pay in frags or give your wife a couple hundred a month...


As an aside I am getting fed up waiting for my tank as I have not heard anything from That Pet Place. I need to call them tonight to see where things currently sit.
 
come on Tim - I will pay in frags or give your wife a couple hundred a month...


As an aside I am getting fed up waiting for my tank as I have not heard anything from That Pet Place. I need to call them tonight to see where things currently sit.


LOL"¦ maybe when she sees how bada$$ your corals are she'll make a deal. ;)
 
torn right now slightly. Chance to go out to pittsburg to buy a 200 dd tank and stand for a significantly discounted price or continue down my path of the 93 tank and stand build.

The 93 will cost same as the 200 in terms of tank, stand, and overflow but the 200 will require a lot more money in upkeep, rock/sand, and at least one more light fixture. So all in all the 200 will cost me another 1500 easily then the 93 but it is the size of a dream tank where I wouldn't need to upgrade further.

That said I am very torn since I am newer to sw and not sure it is wise to invest in a tank that size or go the 93 and upgrade later while keep an eye on my equipment as I have been doing so it could be used on larger tank later.

Thoughts? Am I crazy to be thinking of the 200? Am I even crazier to be considering passing on it?
 
If you're not still considering moving in the near future, I would just go big. If you're going to spend the bank and do it right, there won't be a huge difference between the 93 and 200 as far as equipment (a few more lights and powerheads), mostly just rock as you noted.

Maybe it's an opportunity for you to also do something awesome/creative and stick with the same rock you were going with before, and do some cool PVC/quickcrete/foam/netting project, or maybe make an iwagumi reef setup with lots of fish swimming room and room for corals to grow out.

Also, were you going to do "the package" for 90 gallons worth of critters, rock, and sand? I bet that you could easily get double the tank size filling out of whatever you order from TBS. And you can also just order some dry rock to fill in the gaps down the road if you feel like it.

I like 200g. That's my dream of where to go. One of the nicest tanks I've seen was a locals 210g tank before he went to a 375 (the 210 was probably 8-10 years old, beautifully grown in). You can also do a Tunze wavebox, which makes a standing wave, and looks fantastic in a longer tank. And you can have almost any size fish you want (including shoals of smaller fishes if desired).
 
the 200 DD is 48x36. I am a bit concerned with how deep it is as it might be a pain to get into things and clean/make adjustments. I think I would almost have to have room to walk behind it or else there will be no way I can get to the back middle.

I am considering it but need to give it more thought. Waiting on reply from seller on what the dimensions inside and outside the stand are. I need to ensure I can do what I want with the equipment in the stand. Height is also a concern for me as I like slightly taller stands.

Lighting would potentially cost me a pretty penny as a tank that size I would probably go with a MH/t5 fixture like a cebu sun and use the Kessils on the sides for the shimmer and accent lighting.

We are still thinking of moving in the next year or two. Values around me are rising so we might sell our house for enough to be worthwhile and have a downpayment. The 200 DD tank has the corner overflows which I am not fond of and there were some concerns of the dd tanks durability.

So I am torn. I am actually leaning more towards keeping the 93 direction and going custom with the next tank to do it right as you said with custom overflow for bean animal and such.
 
I agree if with reefwreak, if you're still planning to move within the next 2-3 years, I wouldn't go with the larger tank. They're just a pain to move (trust me, I know.....my 240 was pita).

BUT, while it will take some extra gear and initial setup "stock" (sand/rocks/CuC/etc.) a larger tank is much easier to maintain (in my opinion of course). You have more volume, so slight 'problems' won't have as heavy of an effect and you have more options as far as livestock goes. Plus, there's more room to create different heights in the rock work for a mixed reef.

With that being said, if you DO have an issue that gets out of control, you have much, much more to lose.

I didn't really help you much I don't think.....but this is what I think about when going larger again.
 
I think I will stay with the 93. I will look to move to larger tank when I move and can have a dedicated fish equipment room...
 
48x36? Ouch, ok, so that would make me think long and hard about it. Cleaning and rearranging stuff in the tank would be a pain.

What are the concerns about the tank's durability? That's a whole lot of water if it springs a leak.
 
48x36? Ouch, ok, so that would make me think long and hard about it. Cleaning and rearranging stuff in the tank would be a pain.

What are the concerns about the tank's durability? That's a whole lot of water if it springs a leak.

yeah that is my concern as well. Would have a lot of room for unique aquascaping but cleaning, rearranging, and such would be impossible to handle at times without a scaffold build on the side LOL.

There were concerns about some leaks with seams giving. Those people used other stands then the marineland but still. And yes 200 gallons would be insane to have on the ground.

I love the idea of a deep dimension tank but I would need to be able to walk around it if I did that. Otherwise I think max I would want for depth on a longer tank would be 24 inches.
 
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