Southern Guy's 270 Advance Acrylic Build

[krjackso]

hey guys. thanks for the advice and reads. I actually have been dosing ammonia (supplied by Dr. Tim) from the onset of using One and Only. I just didn't post the details here (they are on a separate thread on my local forum). I have been testing twice daily and everything is on track. He actaully mentions using ammonia to feed the bacteria in his video as well.

Thanks for the compliments though. I will have an update here soon with some projects I worked on over the weekend.

 

[krjackso]

Update"¦

So I spent the weekend cutting, sanding, and painting again. I am in the process of finishing up the electrical and RO unit side underneath the stand.

Another little thing I put together was a rolling platform for my GEO 624 Calcium reactor, 20lb aluminum tank, and my latest delivery, an Avast Marine large skimmate locker. I put those in a 20 gallon tank to help contain any potential leaks. (I had the GEO custom made with an Eheim to go internal, but think I will keep it out the sump now to maximize the room in there for now.)

The cart will be slid behind my tank to stay out of sight but easily rolled out for cleaning and maintenance.

 

[TheFishTeen]

Nice! I like the cart idea.

 

[krjackso]

Nice! I like the cart idea.

Thanks Kovy, should help make things easier.

 

[krjackso]

Another Update…

So I finished up the “cabinetry” on the left hand side. Haha, I use that term really loosely here, but hey, it’s what I could do.

The reverse osmosis holding reservoir, a 29 gallon tank, will be housed underneath, and I am splitting the top shelf in half. The back half will be the electrical station holding the DJ strip, battery backups, and 2 or 3 Apex EB8’s. The front section of the top shelf will be a fragging station/ storage for food etc. I decided to put both sections on ball bearing drawer slides for easier access is necessary. Electrical shelf slides to the back and the other to the front.

Here it is installed.

A shot with the shelves extended.

I also put up a divider between the sump and these sections to keep it clean and help avoid moisture.

I left the side of the top shelf open because I suspect I will have a side access panel as well. I also improvised some U brackets to hang my dj strip. I like the way it came out. Should make maintance easier and keep the wires out of the way too.

Thanks for following along.

 

[pgr11]

Looks good. I have no wood skills so mine will not have anything like yours. Keep the pics coming

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[Reefed419]

looks good, any updates?

 

[pgr11]

Let's see how she's coming along

 

[krjackso]

hey guys. sorry for they delay. The whole transfer and selling of my old tank was so stressful, I just felt a big sigh of relief the last couple weeks and laid off my duties of posting. Now back to it...

Update time...

Well I can safely say Dr Tims one and only worked as advertised. I ended up adding 15+ fish and 30+ colonies of coral after just 9 days start to finish. A month in and not a single loss. Expensive stuff for larger tanks but worth it if you under time constraints like I was.

Ordered a couple new toys and finally made a decision on lighting for this beast. I need to feed the pic junkies soon and promise to do so shortly. Unfortunately I have not had time for proper coral placement and everything is just sort of strewn about, but you will get the idea. It has life!! and thats a good enough start for me. Pics coming soon...thanks as always for your comments and suggestions.

 

[pgr11]

I used one and only as well and it worked awesome for me as well. Everything transfered over not a single loss and no ammonia at all. Tank was running a week before I put in the one and only and a week after it was good to go. Then the transfer. I know how much work you just went through so good job can't wait to see some pics

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[krjackso]

well here are some amateur pics for ya...

Gotta catch this thread up. Ended up giving all the powerheads, skimmer, and return pumps a good vinegar bath. Rinsed on fresh water and made the transfer. Wanted to start as clean and fresh on this one as possible.

I then had to transfer all the old livestock to the new tank. Everything is just sort of thrown in there at this point. I only plan to keep about half of what I had and sell the rest off. At that point I will start working on placement. Just wanna save room for specific corals this time around. So anyways here are some shots of the tank.

****please excuse the ghetto lighting rig for now, that is my next project****

 

[krjackso]

Here are some livestock shots...

 

[pgr11]

Very nice. Good looking tank. I bet it felt sooooooo good to get it wet and life inside. Keep us posted as you continue

 

[Dustin1300]

Good looking shots for an 'amateur':thumbsup:

What type of lighting is currently above tank and what do you plan to change? I'm curious as I'm still back and forth on lighting and your tank looks great! (I know lighting is not only factor but sure seems it's doing it's job)

 

[krjackso]

Very nice. Good looking tank. I bet it felt sooooooo good to get it wet and life inside. Keep us posted as you continue

Yes it did, and yes I will. How is your build coming along. Thinking its time for an update as well.

Good looking shots for an 'amateur':thumbsup:

What type of lighting is currently above tank and what do you plan to change? I'm curious as I'm still back and forth on lighting and your tank looks great! (I know lighting is not only factor but sure seems it's doing it's job)

Currently I just have 2 ai sol super blues and 2 of those "chinese" led fixtures (that happen to be par and spread monsters after testing). Couple things are changing on that front though for more coverage and spectrum. More to come shortly.

As always, thanks for following along.

 

[krjackso]

Update...

I suppose I am long overdue for an update. I guess once I got everything in, I have just been breathing a sigh of relief. Well here goes.

Being an open top tank, I felt it was necessary to build a nice unobtrusive screen topper for it. All in all, was pretty easy and inexpensive. Got the clear mesh from BRS and a window frame and spline kit from HD. Once on the tank, you barely even notice.

Next addition was the brand new Cadlights Bionic Biopellet reactor. I saw this video and thought it looked really cool. I was running the NextReef SMR1 with good results, but I am a sucker for new toys...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3ZXKWzJBEI

Came in a little smaller than I expected, and doesnt quite make that same motion, but it is compact and functional (however prolly not worth the price tag).

 

[mtcoins123]

living??

living??

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.

Personally i dont work, i babysit the guys who do work at my pawn shop though. lol when your ready to get out of the hobby or anything else your doin i got 50s for you.

 

[Dustin1300]

Looks good. I've been considering dosing carbon somehow. Did you use biopellets on your previous system? If so, what pellets did you use?

 

[krjackso]

Looks good. I've been considering dosing carbon somehow. Did you use biopellets on your previous system? If so, what pellets did you use?

Yea lots of mixed reviews on Bio pellets for sure. I have been running biopellets for 2 years now. I have always had zero n and p. I do feed lightly though. So I'd say they are effective but not necessarily a miracle product like some claim. Lots of varied experiences with them it seems. I have always used Warner Marine EcoBak pellets.

 

[Dustin1300]

Understood. No miracle cure in this hobby but good husbandry is deploying the use of several mechanisms and frequent testing. Currently my Ns/Ps both are 0 but just trying to plan for the future and a bit torn between carbon dosing and building a DIY 3D ATS scrubber with LEDs for lighting.