The fun begins! 180g build.

shawna1972

shawna1972

New member
Finally decided on a tank! Pick it up labor day weekend. :)

I Just want to thank everyone who has tried helping along the way!
(GaryM,Mike 23334,MikeRads,RyanEG,Mr86mister,CaliDreaminJc,
TimmyNY,Tropills,Blockhead,BBQ BLUE,PCKRAJ,RandyO,Diverdick,
Kent D,TMZ,Cardiffgiant,GMaquariam.) Im sorry if I forgot anyone :(
Whew......

Ok so I got a 180g all glass,Reef ready tank. It was a great price and I couldn't pass it up.
Here is what it comes with ........30 gallon baffled sump,external Return pump....some kind of skimmer that looks alien to me lol

http://i678.photobucket.com/albums/vv149/shawna1972/Tank180holley.jpg

So Being that it is reef ready 2 holes on each corner, She gave me "some plumbing" that went with the tank but the owners were clue less as to how to set it up because they never used it. "which does not help me"They also have flex hose..........I want to hard plumb everything and this is where ( I will need help!) will post a pic of skimmer as well later,and sump to see if it will work with what I planned?

Were going to refinish the stand ourselves to match our walls in light Knotty Pine boards.I'm thinking doors on all 3 sides. As it stands right now it's just a frame as you can see. :)

Anyhow just wanted to update everyone and say thanks. Ill update more when I get it home and have some progress to report :)
 
<a href="http://s678.photobucket.com/albums/vv149/shawna1972/?action=view&current=Tank180holley.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i678.photobucket.com/albums/vv149/shawna1972/Tank180holley.jpg" border="0" alt="180 gallon aga predrilled,2 corner overflows"></a>
 
Congrats, I'm excited for you. I've only done saltwater since March, but already I just can't get enough. We were blessed with a beautiful 90 gallon reef ready tank complete with fish for a very low price - otherwise I never would even have attempted saltwater.

Turns out not to be as difficult as I thought (so far, anyway). So I wanted to go even bigger; to make a long story short, I had my 150 gallon (6 ft. long) freshwater tank drilled, thanks to all the wonderful advice I received on this site. Dave from A Reef Creation did a great job and he even came over to the house to drill it. All the guys at Reef Creation have been a big help; and they continue to be as we stop in every time we're near the airport. Kudos to A Reef Creation!

My husband even drilled holes in our floor so we could have a sump in the basement - what a guy!

So again, congrats Shawna - I'm sure you'll have loads of fun. Can't wait to see pictures of the finished product.

Carol
 
All that I can say is...Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!! I know you've been eager to build one for at least a month now so I'm happy you got the deal and are starting. I'm looking forward to following you through everything and watching you make progress.

Thank You as well for the help, ideas and support through my build!!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15591738#post15591738 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PCKRAJ
Congrats, I'm excited for you. I've only done saltwater since March, but already I just can't get enough. We were blessed with a beautiful 90 gallon reef ready tank complete with fish for a very low price - otherwise I never would even have attempted saltwater.

Turns out not to be as difficult as I thought (so far, anyway). So I wanted to go even bigger; to make a long story short, I had my 150 gallon (6 ft. long) freshwater tank drilled, thanks to all the wonderful advice I received on this site. Dave from A Reef Creation did a great job and he even came over to the house to drill it. All the guys at Reef Creation have been a big help; and they continue to be as we stop in every time we're near the airport. Kudos to A Reef Creation!

My husband even drilled holes in our floor so we could have a sump in the basement - what a guy!

So again, congrats Shawna - I'm sure you'll have loads of fun. Can't wait to see pictures of the finished product.

Carol
Click to expand...
Thanks Carol,
Im excited as well but scared at the same time lol I hope I get this sump thing down,Ive been using a canister for so long and really don't have to worry about no leaks anywhere. Im sure it's like anything else though I'll get the hang of it :)
I am so happy the members here introduced me to ARC I love the place as well -Great people.
He let you drill holes in your floor WOW. I'd love to hang my light but hubby said noooo way lol
I'm going to use you for an example and say(see carols husband even let her drill holes in their floor) and I only want are 2 Tiny,Tiny holes in the ceiling lol Joking (maybe)

Take care,
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15591868#post15591868 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mr86mister
All that I can say is...Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!! I know you've been eager to build one for at least a month now so I'm happy you got the deal and are starting. I'm looking forward to following you through everything and watching you make progress.

Thank You as well for the help, ideas and support through my build!!
Click to expand...

Thanks Mike,
Yeah all I can say is I'm glad I finally got something ,I never thought it would take this long! So now comes the stress!... Plumbing ......that word is taboo in our home. It's the first thing were going to try and tackle though.
I hope we get through it!.......Pray for us! haha
Thanks though,and (your welcome) :)
 
Congrats on the new tank. I would use spa flex for the lines rather than hard plumb everything. You avoid having 90 degree turns which reduces flow as well as it puts less stress on the tank. Keep the picts coming
 
I don't use the spa flex to run the flow from my main to sump. But use a a vinyl tubing for return and spa flew to connect sumps. Spa Flex is a great way to go to get water from your basement to the main. As John said you will have good flow without any problems slowing it down and less likely to get anything stuck in the plumbing!
 
I am going to use spaflex on mine tank build, heard it is the way to go. Congrats on the tank! Best of luck with it.
 
nice shawna,the sump looks like the 1 me and mike where telling you to build . timmy has mine now if hes got it up and running he will tell ya it works great. . sorry i still havn't called been extremely busy .
ill just pm you
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15592384#post15592384 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PCIALF
Congrats on the new tank. I would use spa flex for the lines rather than hard plumb everything. You avoid having 90 degree turns which reduces flow as well as it puts less stress on the tank. Keep the picts coming
Click to expand...
x4 (or is it 5? :D )

if you already have flex hose I would strongly consider using it if possible. Regular flex will work fine for drain lines. Pressure (return) lines to the aquarium should be spaflex or reinforced flex.

Congrats, Shawna :thumbsup:
 
if you wanted to hang light and not drill holes in the ceiling, you can do like i did for my frag tank.

go get lengts of 3/4 conduit and put a 90 degree bend, use one for each light or 2 or 3 if you go with one big light fixture.

this way you hang it form the conduit and you can mount the conduit right to the back of the stand.

i can send you a pic if you want to see mine
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15592384#post15592384 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PCIALF
Congrats on the new tank. I would use spa flex for the lines rather than hard plumb everything. You avoid having 90 degree turns which reduces flow as well as it puts less stress on the tank. Keep the picts coming
Click to expand...
Thanks,
I would but I have 6 cats that think they are lions lol I feel much safer
if it was hard plumbed. I dont know how to avoid 90 degree turns? do you mean elbows?
 
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