Yoccm's 300G DD In Wall Build

[yoccm]

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Nice pics Chris! Glad to hear the dino's have cleared up. Would love to see an updated FTS.

Thanks Mike - evertything seems much happier without them. I moved some things back to the QT tank that were having bad reactions.

You can see that the Devil's Hand is much happier - has nice polyp ext now

And the Sinularia looks better too

And here is the FTS

 

[aquaph8]

Looking great Chris.

 

[yoccm]

Looking great Chris.

Thanks Brett. Been pretty happy with how it has been turning out.

 

[cubsare1]

How are you liking the lights now that you've had them for a little while? I'm leaning pretty heavily towards using them

 

[yoccm]

How are you liking the lights now that you've had them for a little while? I'm leaning pretty heavily towards using them

I am loving the lights. I have them set up on my Apex and they are working like a charm. The biggest hassle was getting the MH bulbs in, especially the middle one. I would also strongly suggest having a rail mounted system so you can slide it back off the tank. I have found that to be very helpful. It is a beast of a fixture and has been great so far!!

 

[yoccm]

Quick update - I am actually in Maui with the family for Christmas for 2 weeks. Got here on Christmas Eve. Went snorkeling yesterday with the kids and it was awesome. Tons of Monti Caps in tons of colors. Lots of acros as well pink, blue, green, etc. Several snowflake eels and an Octopus. Very cool!!

Just before we left I hooked up a reef genesis ATO system and left the tank in the hands of my 17 y/o neighbor!! Talk about about a leap of faith!

I have most everything automated at this point so I hope it is o.k.

Wish me luck!

 

[slovan]

Good luck with the babysitter! I am also jealous of your Christmas vacation, be sure to take lots of pics!

Can you tell me what kind of rail did you use for your lights and where you bought them? What a great solution!

 

[slovan]

I also have another question for you. I was on Mike and Terry's thread and they didn't have the answer readily available and I want to know if you can help. Can you tell me the width of the trim for the top and bottom of your tank? I am also in the process of putting together a 300g DD tank and wanted to know the viewable space so knowing the width of the trim will help. Thanks in advance!

 

[yoccm]

Good luck with the babysitter! I am also jealous of your Christmas vacation, be sure to take lots of pics!

Can you tell me what kind of rail did you use for your lights and where you bought them? What a great solution!

I also have another question for you. I was on Mike and Terry's thread and they didn't have the answer readily available and I want to know if you can help. Can you tell me the width of the trim for the top and bottom of your tank? I am also in the process of putting together a 300g DD tank and wanted to know the viewable space so knowing the width of the trim will help. Thanks in advance!

Thanks Slovan - been trying to keep my mind off all the things that could go wrong while I'm away!!

Maui is awesome so far. Went on a catamaran yesterday out to Molikini, a small island off the coast that is 3/4 of the top edge of a volcano. The boats anchor in the caldera so you can snorkel. Saw giant sea turtles, whales, flying fish .... Very cool!

As for the rail system for the lights - I used a commercial grade pocket door track and hanger system. Works great but would be a bit industrial looking if used in a finished space. Mine is in the fish room so no worries. I will try to find a link to the site where I ordered but if you google commercial pocket doors you will see lots of good options. There are several rated to carry 150+ lbs which is what I got. So far it has worked out well - easy glide action to move the lights.

As for the trim - I checked back on my thread because someone asked me that before .... Looks like the trim is 2" thick and the tank height is 27" so I would think your viewable space is 23" but I will double check the measurements when I get home and let you know for sure.

 

[yoccm]

Good luck with the babysitter! I am also jealous of your Christmas vacation, be sure to take lots of pics!

Can you tell me what kind of rail did you use for your lights and where you bought them? What a great solution!

I also have another question for you. I was on Mike and Terry's thread and they didn't have the answer readily available and I want to know if you can help. Can you tell me the width of the trim for the top and bottom of your tank? I am also in the process of putting together a 300g DD tank and wanted to know the viewable space so knowing the width of the trim will help. Thanks in advance!

Hey Slovan - well back to reality!! Got back from Maui yesterday. The tank held up well in my absence - only issue is some dirty glass and a bit more hair algae than when I left. The reef genesis ATO system worked like a charm.. I have been very impressed with it.

Now to your questions......

Here is the link to the site where I ordered the pocket door rails for my lights

http://www.jhusa.net/100pdbp.aspx

I got 2 of the packages that supported 200lbs.

As to tank dimensions:

The exposed glass is 23.5 inches tall by 71.25 inches long. The top and bottom trims are both 2 inches tall.

Hope that helps and good luck with the tank build. You are going to love the 300dd.

Keep me posted on your progress

 

[Salt Stain]

Awesome build Chris. Question for you. You pretty much sold me on those lights because I have a 200G DD tank and I was thinking about LED's but MH/T5 are indeed tried and true plus I want a fairly SPS dominated tank.
How are you liking the 250W MH's? Do you think you should have gone 400? I know there adjustable ballasts from 250 to 400 but I dont want to buy 4 sets of Bulbs and keep switching them out:headwally:

 

[yoccm]

Awesome build Chris. Question for you. You pretty much sold me on those lights because I have a 200G DD tank and I was thinking about LED's but MH/T5 are indeed tried and true plus I want a fairly SPS dominated tank.
How are you liking the 250W MH's? Do you think you should have gone 400? I know there adjustable ballasts from 250 to 400 but I dont want to buy 4 sets of Bulbs and keep switching them out:headwally:

Thanks! I am pleased with the lights but at this point most of what I have put in the tank are softies and LPS. I was concerned that 400W would be overkill but might change my mind as I start to introduce more SPS. The monti caps and acro frags I do have are coloring up nicely and starting to show some growth under the 250s.

I am trying to take it slow and let the tank mature a bit before loading up on corals so I figure the 250s will be good for their life span then I can reassess when the time comes to change bulbs.

As for the fixture itself it has exceeded my expectations. As you can see in this thread, I struggled for a long time on my lighting decision and have not regretted the route I took.

Thanks for checking in and let me know what you decide on the lights.

 

[yoccm]

Some new additions:

Got a school of 6 Anthias

The male is very cool - struts around his harem

Also new Flame Angel - this guy is so active and colorful (pic's a bit blurry)

And some new corals

Almost basketball sized Frogspawn (30+ heads) with a mix of colors

Chalices

GBTA

Green Pavona

 

[yoccm]

And some tank shots

Still fighting the GHA but got a Cowrie and a Sea Hare and they have been mowing it down quite effectively

 

[prop-frags]

Chris, Your tank is looking great and we're lovin the new additions, especially that flame angel - sweet! Thanks for sharing the pics.

 

[yoccm]

Chris, Your tank is looking great and we're lovin the new additions, especially that flame angel - sweet! Thanks for sharing the pics.

Thanks Guys - yeah he has been a great addition. Was a little worried about putting him in with the Coral Beauty but they have both behaved themselves so far. A shoving match here and there but nothing terrible.

I would love to add a golden angel but don't know if 3 pygmys would be wise.

I also picked up a nice elegance coral today and an Area 51 chalice. I think I might be developing a chalice addiction :hmm6:

 

[slovan]

Hey Slovan - well back to reality!! Got back from Maui yesterday. The tank held up well in my absence - only issue is some dirty glass and a bit more hair algae than when I left. The reef genesis ATO system worked like a charm.. I have been very impressed with it.

Now to your questions......

Here is the link to the site where I ordered the pocket door rails for my lights

http://www.jhusa.net/100pdbp.aspx

I got 2 of the packages that supported 200lbs.

As to tank dimensions:

The exposed glass is 23.5 inches tall by 71.25 inches long. The top and bottom trims are both 2 inches tall.

Hope that helps and good luck with the tank build. You are going to love the 300dd.

Keep me posted on your progress

Thanks for the info, Chris! It's been valuable to me while planning my build.

How do you like the flow of your MP60s? Do you feel 2 of them are enough for your tank or do you feel like you need more flow? It also looks like your sanded is staying intact, what mode are you running your pumps in?

 

[yoccm]

Thanks for the info, Chris! It's been valuable to me while planning my build.

How do you like the flow of your MP60s? Do you feel 2 of them are enough for your tank or do you feel like you need more flow? It also looks like your sanded is staying intact, what mode are you running your pumps in?

Hey Slovan - glad to help.

I really like the 60s, they are really powerful! I have them setup in TSM mode and dialed in at about 50% power. Any more than that and I start to get a sandstorm going.

I don't have any dead spots with them but still think I need a bit more flow. I am considering adding 2 40s to the back side of the tank to get stronger more random flow. Not ready to spend the $$$$ just yet. I am going to wait a bit and see.

When I got the 2 60s I had several people say it was too much for the tank but it has definitely not been the case.

Where are you in the build process?

 

[slovan]

Thanks for the feedback in the MP60s. Maybe I'll add a third one at some point but since I am starting off fresh with new frags, it will be a year or so before I need it.

I don't have my tank yet but should be here in a couple weeks. Still planning other things in the meantime.

 

[yoccm]

Thanks for the feedback in the MP60s. Maybe I'll add a third one at some point but since I am starting off fresh with new frags, it will be a year or so before I need it.

I don't have my tank yet but should be here in a couple weeks. Still planning other things in the meantime.

Been there done that!!! :spin2:

Always something to do.

Just finished a water change - cleaned up the sand bed and tried to clean off some of the GHA but it is mostly on the pukani rock and is very stubborn to get off.

Also picked up some new chalice frags, a war coral and the most florescent green welso brain.

I will try to get some pics in a few days once the tank settles down a bit.