Southern Guy's 270 Advance Acrylic Build

[krjackso]

I figured it was time for me to start a build thread here. I have been keeping reef tanks for 8+ years and have always come to RC for inspiration and creative ideas. With that said, I will be probing the community for commentary and creative thinking and assistance on my newest endeavor, a 270 gallon acrylic tank from Advance Acrylics (72 x 34 x 25). This will be my first experience with an acrylic tank, but decided the clarity, longevity, and aesthetics of rounded corners to be worth giving it a shot. And yes, I am aware that acrylic scratches easy, so if you don't mind, please keep the negativity to a minimum and maybe turn it to accident mitigation and constructive help. The impetus for this tank is really 3 fold. First, everyone wants a bigger tank than what they have. Secondly, my current setup is a little crammed up against the wall and access to cleaning and organization has been a nightmare. And finally, with my fair share of minor "water on the floor" accidents, the lady friend was sick of the soaked carpet, so we are tiling the fish room. Everyone knows the rule, tank comes down, larger one must go up. I was warned not to put a tank on carpet, but proceeded thinking I won't spill any water, yeah right!

I still will not have the dedicated fish equipment room I have always wanted, but will leave some self those extra couple of inches to get behind the tank this time and also the new stand should provide some more room. The stand will be fabricated out of steel (still looking for a builder) and I would love the skin to mirror my old stand, cause I loved it so much. John at Advance Acrylics will also be making me a 135 gallon custom sump. Equipment list is as follows...

Lighting- 2 x AI Sol Blues and 2 x 250w Aquatic Reflection LED modules
Skimmer- Alpha Vertex 200
Filtration- NextReef SMR1 EcoBak Reactor, BRS Carbon Reactor
Returns- 2 x Eheim 1262
Flow- 2 x MP40es and a MP60es if I can hear one in person first
Supplementation- for now 3 BRS dosing pumps, but want an GEO 624

Now for a few quick shots of my old setup, a 185 gallon starphire beauty (60x24x30) that will be replaced when my new tank arrives in early to mid August. I too am a picture junky and will do my best to keep them coming. Thanks for looking and wish me luck...

my first reef. a 55 gallon...

my new home and the fish room was born. This is the entry way to my home, so it is literally the first thing you see when you walk in. I love that...

the 185...

I am starting to think I might need to invest in a decent camera to properly document this whole thing. Oh well, thanks for looking. More to come.

 

[krjackso]

here are some picks of the current problem with space and wires. Sadly this is actually relatively cleaned up and organized. I plan do a little better this next time around, we shall see.

and the new tile that's going down

 

[krjackso]

so the last week was pretty hectic. Tank came down Wednesday night. Started at 5pm and was done pulling the last rock and fish around 3am. Everything went into the adjacent kitchen. I had 2 x 29 gallons and a 45 gallon for fish and coral. 2 x 20 gallon containers for liverock. 2 x 44 gallon brutes for fresh water makeup and about 6x 5 gallon buckets. Long night. Pic of the not so happy girlfriend to what I did to our kitchen.

The next morning the flooring guy showed up and we moved the tank into the kitchen. Spent about 2 days trying to put it all back together sans the majority of the liverock. I will be selling about half of the corals that wont be in the next tank. softies and zoas mainly. After a few hours of scraping coraline. Man I hate this stuff. I am going to try and re-dedicate myself to staying on top of it, especially with the new tank being acrylic and all.

and here boys and girls is why you should never put an aquarium on carpet!!!

and finally the floor is tiled...very happy with it.

Now onto the planning of the next one...

 

[krjackso]

let some of the new toys start coming in...

300+ lbs of Topic Eden Reef Flakes

Couple AI Sol Super Blues to add to the mix

and an Avast Marine Swabbie Self Cleaning Skimmer Lid (gotta love the American flag)

and for the picture junkies, a few shots of the corals that will make the transfer

 

[krjackso]

No significant progress to report. Tank and sump construction is taking longer than expected. So I decided to use the weekend to get started on my two new dedicated 20 amp circuits. Plan is to tap into the breaker box, located on an exterior garage wall and run the direct burial wires in electrical conduit underground along the foundation to the back wall of my fish room. Actually turned out to be a whole lot more work than I thought it would be. Now I just need an electrician to make the terminations and hope it all works.

 

[krjackso]

Spoke with the builder last night. Tank and sump should be back on track. Should be here within the next 2 weeks. Got a few toys coming in the mail soon too. Updates to follow...

 

[fishtankfactory]

Please update with pics as soon as you can!

 

[krjackso]

I definitely will be posting pics as soon as I get some. I am very anxious to see some progress on that build. In the meantime, the deliveries have been flowing in like crazy! I have to randomly buy my girlfriend something offline so that she gets something in the mail every once in a while. Here are a few new toys for the build...

The completely unnecessary but cool looking Schedule 80 plubing supplies. Got some spears gate valves on the way to.

Also got about 6 cases of reef crystals, not picture worthy, but note worthy. I have used that product for years with good results and plan to continue using it on my next build.

And finally, I figured go big or go home. Had George with Geo's Reef build me a custom 624 reactor with an Eheim 1260 pump so that it can be used both internally and externally (safety and redundancy). That thing is bigger than you would think. Also sprung for the Aquariumplants.com controller and a huge 20lb C02 tank.

 

[Gonzalex]

I would like to know what you guys do for a living. I wish I had the cash to start a fresh build that size. So untill then, I will enjoy watching everyone else's build. Keep the pictures coming and keep up the good work. Looking good! I will be tagging along.

 

[SPotter]

tagging along. I have a sump from advanced acrylics....he does amazing work but takes a lot longer than he says. Well worth the wait.

 

[krjackso]

I would like to know what you guys do for a living. I wish I had the cash to start a fresh build that size. So untill then, I will enjoy watching everyone else's build. Keep the pictures coming and keep up the good work. Looking good! I will be tagging along.

The great thing about this build is that I get to use a bunch of equipment I have accumulated over the years and used on previous tanks. It helps cut down on cost since I dont have unlimited funds. I have been keeping reef tanks for awhile, so the fish closet is pretty full. But thanks for tagging along and the compliments.

tagging along. I have a sump from advanced acrylics....he does amazing work but takes a lot longer than he says. Well worth the wait.

Thanks for joining me on this one. I am patiently and anxiously awaiting the tank and sump. John said it should be finished this week, and delivered early the following week, so we shall see. Might be getting some progress shots soon too, so I will be sure to share.

 

[muttley000]

Watching this one! Can't wait to see it in action. What fish you putting in with those corals?

 

[krjackso]

Thanks. I currently have...

Blue Hippo Tang (my oldest)
2x Purple Tangs
Powder Brown Tang
Firefish
2x Black and White Clowns
False Perc
Longnose Hawk
Diamond Spotted Goby
Bangaii Cardinal
6 Line Wrasse

Plan to add...
Powder Blue Tang
Lots of anthias (not sure which kind yet)
couple other wrasses (undetermined)
couple more Bangaii to make a school
Cleaner Wrasse or 2
Mandarin down the road prolly
and my diligent search to find a reef safe Emperor angel!

I am open to suggestions though. Anyone got something they would like to see in my tank, haha.

 

[robot2222]

looks like a sweet build . cant wait to see up and running . you cant beat acrilic for the clarity . what color background are you going with ?

 

[krjackso]

looks like a sweet build . cant wait to see up and running . you cant beat acrilic for the clarity . what color background are you going with ?

Thanks. I am actually going with a black acrylic back panel. No use in messing with backgrounds anymore. More trouble than they are worth. I had blue on the 185 and think the black on the new tank will help some colors pop.

 

[SPotter]

Any updates?

Steve

 

[krjackso]

no updates unfortunately. Does anybody know John Hoang with Advance Acrylics? I have no idea what is going on.

 

[TheBass]

Wow this is going to be awesome if your builder doesn't crap out. Best of luck. Also your first tand stand is beautiful!

 

[Dustin1300]

Based on his feedback communication and timeliness are not a strong point:
eBay Feedback

 

[lifesaver31]

He hasn't listed anything on eBay for probably 4 months now...