Swoop's 300g Deep Dimension Build
- Thread starter Swoop
- Start date
stylolvr
New member
I personally like 2nd page #1 or 3rd page #2. They allow for visual access to the back, which means more room/spots for corals. You could make the heights of the piles different to mix things up a bit. I also agree with serpentman's thought about the skimmer - make sure it's a dandy! You could always run a fan or 2 over the sump for extra cooling. I can't wait to see this thing get wet!
KJAhp098
New member
The rock is stacked against the glass in the back. I initially had it pulled out about 5 inches, but realized it was a waste of real estate and switched it to lean against the back.
thejuggernaut
Member
awesome choice for a tank. Did you get the low iron glass or the regular. If you don't mind me asking, how much does one of those tanks go for?
So have you started thinking about what fish your gonna keep. With 300 gallon your choices are pretty open to almost anything.
So have you started thinking about what fish your gonna keep. With 300 gallon your choices are pretty open to almost anything.
For sure went with the Starphire front glass. Picked up the stand and a pair of Vortechs on Tuesday. Picking up the tank this coming Tuesday.
I'll post some pics of the stand over the weekend. Little disappointed in the stand. Don't get me wrong it's stout and solid and will do a great job of holding up the tank. However for the price the doors could have been a little nicer. Could I have built one cheaper and better, sure, but as busy as I am I just didn't feel like trying to find the time. I got the black stand so I could easily build some nicer doors, paint them black and they would easily blend in.
As for the tank I paid 1579.00 plus tax for the Starphire front version. When I picked up the stand Tuesday my LFS guy informed me that he made a mistake and the tank should have run me 1779.00 plus tax but that he would honor the original quoted price.
No idea if that is in the ball park of what they should run, but I did reward the LFS by going ahead and getting the two Vortechs from him rather than ordering them. Price on those was the same as what I've found online so paid some sales tax rather than shipping charges and I have someone I can take them back to directly if I run into any issues.
So shoutout to Aquatropics in Gainesville, Florida. Owner and my sales guy Mike have been really great so far.
As for moving the tank on Tuesday. It should fit in my Suburban, the stand did and it is bigger than the tank. Gonna cut a 3/4 sheet of OSB to fit the floor in the Suburban so the tank doesn't catch on any plastic or anything. Also gonna set the tank on 2x4s so that we can get our hands underneath it.
Have about 8 people lined up to help me get it into the house and onto the stand. Brother in law owns a glass company so have lots of strong suction cup things if we need them. Also considering making or renting or buying some of those flat 4 wheeled wooden furniture dolly things and perhaps set the tank on some of those and then wheel it into the game room. Figure the less amount of time the tank spends in the air the less likely it is to get dropped
This is gonna be a pretty long build because I can't afford to get everything at one time. Got the tank, stand and Vortechs this month, next month sump tank, return pump and maybe lights, month after that Skimmer, etc.
I'll get lots of the little things along the way no problem, but have to spread out the larger purchases. If I have rock and sand and water in this beast by July then I'll be happy. Of course I'll have the obligatory leak test picks up in the next few weeks.
I'm really leaning towards having my HVAC guy install an Aprilaire whole house dehumidifier with local zone control in my game room. Gonna get a bid in the next few weeks. If I pull the trigger on that then it will definitely push the date to get the tank cycling back a month or two. I'm guessing around $2000.00 installed for the dehumidifier. But knowing that I won't have moisture or mold problems, priceless
.
When I get the sump, lights and return pump I'll setup the tank with freshwater and simulate as if it was running with saltwater for a few weeks and see how the evap and humidity is. At that point I'll make the final decision on the dehumidifier. My instinct based on reading other large tank build threads is that I will need to install it.
More to come.
I'll post some pics of the stand over the weekend. Little disappointed in the stand. Don't get me wrong it's stout and solid and will do a great job of holding up the tank. However for the price the doors could have been a little nicer. Could I have built one cheaper and better, sure, but as busy as I am I just didn't feel like trying to find the time. I got the black stand so I could easily build some nicer doors, paint them black and they would easily blend in.
As for the tank I paid 1579.00 plus tax for the Starphire front version. When I picked up the stand Tuesday my LFS guy informed me that he made a mistake and the tank should have run me 1779.00 plus tax but that he would honor the original quoted price.
No idea if that is in the ball park of what they should run, but I did reward the LFS by going ahead and getting the two Vortechs from him rather than ordering them. Price on those was the same as what I've found online so paid some sales tax rather than shipping charges and I have someone I can take them back to directly if I run into any issues.
So shoutout to Aquatropics in Gainesville, Florida. Owner and my sales guy Mike have been really great so far.
As for moving the tank on Tuesday. It should fit in my Suburban, the stand did and it is bigger than the tank. Gonna cut a 3/4 sheet of OSB to fit the floor in the Suburban so the tank doesn't catch on any plastic or anything. Also gonna set the tank on 2x4s so that we can get our hands underneath it.
Have about 8 people lined up to help me get it into the house and onto the stand. Brother in law owns a glass company so have lots of strong suction cup things if we need them. Also considering making or renting or buying some of those flat 4 wheeled wooden furniture dolly things and perhaps set the tank on some of those and then wheel it into the game room. Figure the less amount of time the tank spends in the air the less likely it is to get dropped
This is gonna be a pretty long build because I can't afford to get everything at one time. Got the tank, stand and Vortechs this month, next month sump tank, return pump and maybe lights, month after that Skimmer, etc.
I'll get lots of the little things along the way no problem, but have to spread out the larger purchases. If I have rock and sand and water in this beast by July then I'll be happy. Of course I'll have the obligatory leak test picks up in the next few weeks.
I'm really leaning towards having my HVAC guy install an Aprilaire whole house dehumidifier with local zone control in my game room. Gonna get a bid in the next few weeks. If I pull the trigger on that then it will definitely push the date to get the tank cycling back a month or two. I'm guessing around $2000.00 installed for the dehumidifier. But knowing that I won't have moisture or mold problems, priceless
. When I get the sump, lights and return pump I'll setup the tank with freshwater and simulate as if it was running with saltwater for a few weeks and see how the evap and humidity is. At that point I'll make the final decision on the dehumidifier. My instinct based on reading other large tank build threads is that I will need to install it.
More to come.
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Quick update, tank and stand are in. Went alot smoother than I anticipated. 7 guys and 6 glass suction cups made the job super easy. Tank didn't appear to be as heavy as I anticipated. Marineland was a little sloppy with stray silicon getting on the glass in spots, but nothing a glass scraper and some rubbing alcohol couldn't take care of. Tank is sitting level and all the load bearing parts of the stand are shimmed and touching the floor. Gonna put some more shims in places that have some slight gaps but don't bear any of the tank load.
Front and back glass are 1/2" with the front being Starphire of course. Bottom is 3/4" and best I can tell sides are 3/4".
Mmmmmm, 2ft level, gotta love the extra foot of the DD.
Bottoms up
Silly tank reflects everything in the room, even the tripod the camera was on.
Quick question, should I cement the various overflow and return connections that sit in the tank in the overflow chamber or can those connections be dry fit since they will be in water anyway? I.E. the various elbows and reducer bushing, etc.
I'll probably plan to fill it with freshwater tomorrow to do the all important leak test. Fingers crossed. All the seams look good, but I suppose you never know.
Front and back glass are 1/2" with the front being Starphire of course. Bottom is 3/4" and best I can tell sides are 3/4".
Mmmmmm, 2ft level, gotta love the extra foot of the DD.
Bottoms up
Silly tank reflects everything in the room, even the tripod the camera was on.
Quick question, should I cement the various overflow and return connections that sit in the tank in the overflow chamber or can those connections be dry fit since they will be in water anyway? I.E. the various elbows and reducer bushing, etc.
I'll probably plan to fill it with freshwater tomorrow to do the all important leak test. Fingers crossed. All the seams look good, but I suppose you never know.
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mcliffy2
New member
My two cents on the aquascape. I think you are headed in the right direction keeping it open and keeping the back clear so you can scrape it clean. however, I think all your designs are too symmetrical. Natural reefs are very rarely that symmetrical. Try going with 2-3 larger structures, keeping with the open feel you've got.
Rickyrooz1
Acropora Nut
Following along
Well filled the beast with 300 gallons of fresh water, knock on wood, so far no leaks in any seams. No leaks in the bulkheads either. Hand tight then a quarter turn with a wrench worked like a charm.
Testing out the 2 Vortechs as I type this. Man those things can move some water around. Lots of dust particles and stray bits of silicon and such floating in the water so you can really see the water movement.
Wife already had her first complaint, she doesn't like being able to see the overflow plumbing from the sides. I told her I liked it cause at a glance I can see if anything that doesn't belong in the overflow has gotten in there. I won that battle for the time being.
I really really really like the Blue Life Water Colors Vinyl Background. I got black and it was super easy to install and appears to have good adhesion to the glass.
Anyone have any suggestions on heaters. On my 46 gallon from several years ago I had good luck with Jagers.
Also leaning towards the CarbiSea Fiji Pink Reef Sand for the substrate. Try to go around 2" max depth. Guessing around 8 40lb bags to start with. Instan Ocean Reef Crystals is my current thought for salt.
Probably get in touch with TampaBay Saltwater to get a large order of his dry rock, then seed it with some live rock from my LFS. Main reason to go this route rather than all live rock is that while some people love discovering all the hitchikers they get with live rock, I do not, I want to control as much as possible what gets put in the tank.
In my 46 gallon I set the rock directly on the bottom glass, is this still an okay method with this size tank? I've read of people laying a piece of plexi or acrylic down first to distribute the rock load more evenly.
My LFS called to get a price on the Aquactinics 72" Constellation T5 and while on the phone they informed him that their new Constellations with integrated LED moonlights should be out in early December so I'm waiting on the lighting till then.
Man I can't wait till I can get this thing full of saltwater and cycled and get my cleanup crew in there. Hermit and Emerald crabs fascinate me, I could watch them for hours.
As for the sump and such, still going back and forth on this. Not sure if I want to hard plump everything or do alot of flex tubing.
Was leaning towards an ATB skimmer but after much internal debate I think I'm gonna give the much more reasonably priced Marineland 300 series skimmer a go. I know some of you will cringe at that but in the end all skimmers do the same thing, remove excess organics.
. No leaks in the bulkheads either. Hand tight then a quarter turn with a wrench worked like a charm.Testing out the 2 Vortechs as I type this. Man those things can move some water around. Lots of dust particles and stray bits of silicon and such floating in the water so you can really see the water movement.
Wife already had her first complaint, she doesn't like being able to see the overflow plumbing from the sides. I told her I liked it cause at a glance I can see if anything that doesn't belong in the overflow has gotten in there. I won that battle for the time being.
I really really really like the Blue Life Water Colors Vinyl Background. I got black and it was super easy to install and appears to have good adhesion to the glass.
Anyone have any suggestions on heaters. On my 46 gallon from several years ago I had good luck with Jagers.
Also leaning towards the CarbiSea Fiji Pink Reef Sand for the substrate. Try to go around 2" max depth. Guessing around 8 40lb bags to start with. Instan Ocean Reef Crystals is my current thought for salt.
Probably get in touch with TampaBay Saltwater to get a large order of his dry rock, then seed it with some live rock from my LFS. Main reason to go this route rather than all live rock is that while some people love discovering all the hitchikers they get with live rock, I do not, I want to control as much as possible what gets put in the tank.
In my 46 gallon I set the rock directly on the bottom glass, is this still an okay method with this size tank? I've read of people laying a piece of plexi or acrylic down first to distribute the rock load more evenly.
My LFS called to get a price on the Aquactinics 72" Constellation T5 and while on the phone they informed him that their new Constellations with integrated LED moonlights should be out in early December so I'm waiting on the lighting till then.
Man I can't wait till I can get this thing full of saltwater and cycled and get my cleanup crew in there. Hermit and Emerald crabs fascinate me, I could watch them for hours.
As for the sump and such, still going back and forth on this. Not sure if I want to hard plump everything or do alot of flex tubing.
Was leaning towards an ATB skimmer but after much internal debate I think I'm gonna give the much more reasonably priced Marineland 300 series skimmer a go. I know some of you will cringe at that but in the end all skimmers do the same thing, remove excess organics
.Looking good, cannot wait to see this thing filled
The skimmer does make me cringe a little haven't really much about them to really say much. So it looks like you will be going with T5 whats the length of the unit? with such a deep tank might have to add additional lighting to spread through out the tank just my opinion.
The skimmer does make me cringe a little haven't really much about them to really say much. So it looks like you will be going with T5 whats the length of the unit? with such a deep tank might have to add additional lighting to spread through out the tank just my opinion.
72" with 14 T5 lights. Unit is 14 inches wide. I'll start with that and see how it goes.
!
mcliffy2
New member
I respectfully disagree, not a waste of space at all. It creates much more room for the fish to swim (two long channels versus one and allows them to swim circularly around the tank), and almost as importantly, allows you to keep the back scraped. I will not bash anyone, but state my opinion that I agree with Delbeek when, referring to the coralline covered back wall, he says:
IMO, you've got three feet of width to work width and a glass tank (which is easy to scrape if appropriately aquascaped), so keep all walls free from rock and scraped clean. Just my two cents.
mcliffy2
New member
IMO, you are wasting a ton of cash with this unit. 39w (3 foot) T5s cost almost the same as 80w (5 ft) T5s, and you don't need to cover every inch of your tank with T5s. Take a sample of ATI blue plus. 39w bulbs are $21, and 80w bulbs are $23. Every 9 months you have 14 bulbs * 21 = $294 or 7 bulbs *23 = $161. Thats $130 every 9 months for pretty much equivalent lighting (and actually better lighting under the fixture as 80w bulbs provide more wattage per inch).
A 5 ft. unit on a 6 ft. tank provides you plenty of coverage, unless you are planning on gluing SPS to the sides of your tank or something. In fact it can be an advantage as I found my T5s can bleach out a lot of LPS, so I use the far sides of my tank and very front where they are not directly under my T5 fixture. Just as a reference, here is my tank at a year and a half using a 4' (12x54w) Sfiligoi stealth on a 60x36x26 tank:
And here's an older pic where you can see the coverage by the fixture:
Thanks for the info mcliffy.
My only problem with using a 5ft fixture would be how to mount it. I was planning on setting the fixture on the tank using standoffs. Not sure how I could do that with a shorter than the tank fixture. Hanging from the ceiling isn't an option.
Its still up in the air about wether or not I'm gonna get the matching canopy. If I go with the canopy I suppose I could do a retrofit kit using 5ft bulbs.
My only problem with using a 5ft fixture would be how to mount it. I was planning on setting the fixture on the tank using standoffs. Not sure how I could do that with a shorter than the tank fixture. Hanging from the ceiling isn't an option.
Its still up in the air about wether or not I'm gonna get the matching canopy. If I go with the canopy I suppose I could do a retrofit kit using 5ft bulbs.
