150 build log

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I purchased a 150 gal. tank 63x24. I started to do my plumbing and ran into awhole bunch of problems . With the help of a few members I corrected a few of my mistakes. Still working on the others.

Here's a re-cap :

150 gal. all glass
mag 18 return
wet/dry cap2200 ( sump being built in 2wks )
2-250w 10k & 1-400w 10k
Black starboard 1/2

I wanted to something diffrent with the aquascape and liked what TCU was doing to his so in doing something diffrent I copied some of his ideas :roll: . Leave it to me to be unique. :lol:

I placed them back into the tank to see how hey looked. 175lbs of live rock and base rock dosen't go far. I am going to build an arch in the middle of the 2 colums as a walk way.Hopefully tonight waiting for it to clear up alittle.

I still have another 40-50lbs in with the corals and fish not yet in the tank but I will be purchasing some more here shortly. Picks were taking Friday night Saturday morning. I'll update tonight with clearer pictures of the rock work.
 
here's my plumbing :

I used 1 in. pvc. with the mag 18 as a return. I put in a union incase I ever have to change the mag 18. Also with the advice of Ashlar I put in a ball valve with a return line into the fuge part of my wet/dry to help out with the flow. I was having trouble keeping up with the mag 18 so I put a tee in the line with a ball valve to just re-route enough flow to keep it from stoppinh the flow back into the display.
 
Right now I am using a cap2200. I have been talking to someone about building me a sump and will up grade to a better skimmer and pump. I have a mag 7 that is a loaner that I have to return pretty soon but haven't used it yet.
 
I have that same wet/dry and pump and would like to see houw you hooed up the cap 2200 to it. I say this because my intake for the pump is really small compared to the output of the 2200.
 
Looks good so far.

My only concern/thing to change, is your return plumbing. If you are planning on keeping the Mag18, you should really consider stepping up to 2" plumbing. Mag reccomends running their pump with piping twice as big as the outlet of the pump. If you run smaller than this, you will greatly reduce the flow. If you are not concerned with getting the full amount of flow, I would change pumps to save you some electricity because the mag18 will suck it down. Just my opinion for what it worth.

I like your aquascaping, should turn out very nice.
 
I really didn't like the way the plumbing came out. I had to cut and fix a few times to get it going. I will do it over and would jump the pvc to 2". I really like to flow I get from the mag18. I plan to keep sps once everything gets settled.
 
Looks good Albert.

You'll love having those little "legs" on the PVC racks on your starboard.

I can slide my formation around if I need (to siphon or just rearrange) and also, I rigged up an MJ1200 to a piece of PVC so I could maneuver the powerhead to blow all the crap out from under the racks. You'll love barebottom!
 
Everything seems to be coming along fine. 3 days running with no problems except I had some sand get blown into the display and now I have to figure out a way to get it out. not alot I just used a mj1200 to blow it to the back were you can't see it.

Also , I had a spike in my amonia .50. I want to put my fish in since they have been in make shift tanks for 4 days now ( Friday-Tuesday ) rubbermaid contaniers. What can I do to help on the amonia ?
 
Here's my update :


I finally put all my coral and livestock in this past weekend. So far everybody looks happy. Also tried out a 400w 20k light bulb.
 
Thanks Matt,

I haven't tried it yet. I am afraid to switch it out right know with everything working fine. I may clean it out and let it sit for a week before trying to put it on the tank.

With it being a new tank and all the corals and fish just getting use to there new enviroment I'd hate to stress them out any further right now.
 
These pictures are only with the 400w 20k XM bulbs. I am going to off set that blue with 2-250w 10k Ushios on both sides.

I still haven't found exactly where I want to place everything. But with the room I have gained my tank looks very empty. I plan to order at least 80-100 lbs of rock. Add maybe 2-3 fish not sure which yet.

I have 7 fish now but would like to add some nice colorful show fish.

My current livestock is - purple tang (m) , salfin tang (m) , foxeface (s) ,2 T-Perc. Clowns (s) , Stawberry P.Chromis ( s ), Regal Tang ( s ), 1 cleaner & 2 Peppermint Shrimps
 
just an quick update -

after a full week or more everything seems to be doing great. Haven't lost anything to stress or the move. knock on wood.

I finally added a dual overflow that I got from Matt and has helped the overall flow of the tank. Still planning on the sump and better skimmer but with time I'll get there.
 
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