DaveJ's 300G Build (Build has officially begun - In Process)

[psteeleb]

Dude - this is boring, another 300, how normal is that. It’s nothing, go for a 540 at least

Just joking of course, I can’t wait to see it come together, keep me posted, I’ll be happy to lend a hand with the setup when ever possible

And it’s about time you get something you can put that beautiful Sohal Tang in :lol:

 

[washingtond]

@DaveJ wrote:

Space mostly... If I went 8ft on the tank or 10ft, it would stick right into the foyer. I don't want to do anything perm to the house, so doing an inwall or building a wall unit with stand wouldn't be a go. Tank size as well.... that is the biggest they go with Marineland and with a 20yr warranty on the tank, you can't beat that. Plus the maintenace and equipment re-use... if I went larger I would need a new skimmer. You have to draw the line somewhere... plus as Donnie mentioned, larger water changes suck At this size, with frag tank and sump, I can do the 40G can once a week and be good to go. I am going to need a bigger RO/DI unit and probably will get one of those Suppository shaped storage bins for the garage for fresh and salt and plumb those into the system with pumps/valves."]

You also have the foundation of the house itself once you get into 700 gal and up range. :roll:

 

[bimmerzs]

8)...That's gonna be a nice lil' tank when you get it going. I'm just waiting on you to do a mermaid shot. :lol: :lol:

Cheers,

 

[DaveJ]

@bimmerzs wrote:

You can submit your request for mermaid via PM or setup a poll thread, actually I'll do it for fun...

 

[bimmerzs]

@DaveJ wrote:

You can submit your request for mermaid via PM or setup a poll thread, actually I'll do it for fun..."]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Hankzilla]

@DaveJ wrote:

300G are you done yet? That shouldn't take long at all.

 

[DaveJ]

Place your votes........

http://www.dfwmas.org/Forums/viewtopic.php?t=52475

 

[DaveJ]

@Hank wrote:

300G are you done yet? That shouldn't take long at all."]

Remind me to slap you next time you are over.....

 

[Hankzilla]

ehh :twisted:
When are planning to aquire your tank and are still going to do the foam covers around the over flows?

 

[DaveJ]

@Hank wrote:

Yep, still need you're talented skills on that. Looking like next week I'll order it and get things going.

 

[dp1416]

As good as hank is, forget the foam and go with the hydrolock quick crete product. it will last forever and you have so much more control over what it looks like.

 

[guitareefs]

Wow, looks like another build thread that will have many pages before the tank is in the house :shock:

Can't wait to see your build progress Dave!

 

[DaveJ]

Sump Design (V1.0)

The doohickies on the right and left sticking out are bulkheads. The return is pretty standard. The two on the right represent a drain and the fill for the water changes. The fill will be above the bubble tower and drain via 90 PVC into the tower. Both bulk heads will be fitted with a barb for 1" Vynil hose connections.

Basic calculation of volume is 140G in the sump.

Total water volume in system: 480G

Tank 250 (minus LR displacement)
Sump 140
Frag Tank 65
Refuge 30

 

[dp1416]

Dave, couple of things to conside?

1. Your return section. can you make it any larger? The reason i ask is because of evaporation. I wish i would have made mine bigger and it is 24 inches right now. granted mine is not as deep but even with my litermeter topping it off, it seems like it took a while before i could get the flucuation to stop.

2. How tall are you going with the stand? A 24 inch tall sump is going to be tricky, here is why. assuming a 40 inch tall stand you will have a the tank recessed down 2-3 inches to cover the trim, your top support will be a minimum of 3 inch steel, your bottom stand frame will be a minimum 2 inch steel with 3/4 ply as the floor and 3/4 foam under your sump (assuming it is acrylic). Added up that is 3+3+2+3/4+3/4 = 9.5 inches. This means the workable space from floor to top of inside of stand is only 30.5 inches. If the sump is 24 inches you only have 6.5 inches to work with and trying to do anything in that space is tricky. My sumps are 19 inches tall and i almost wished they were about 16 inches as it is a pain to get my skimmer out to clean. My skimmer is 12 inches around and 31 inches tall with three recirc pumps....

Just a thought. Also, do you really see a need for a second DSB since you will have so much surface area in the main tank?

 

[ss95003]

What kind of sand are you going to use for your DSB?

 

[TRITON1]

What do you mean by foam covers on the overflows? Foam as in pond foam? Do you have any pics of this on your current tank?

 

[DaveJ]

@dp1416 wrote:

DSB in sump only at this point, not both tank and sump. That has changed from the original design.

@ss95003 wrote:

Pulverized, Southdown or whatever I can find that is similar. I'm thinking of black in the display as its shallow.

@TRITON1 wrote:

Foam covers, eggcrate filled with foam to look like a rockwall similar to what Hank did in his. Donnie also has something similar he did with concrete.

Pics... just search in photography forum for my name and they will popup.

 

[DaveJ]

Okay a few updates here...

Tank has been ordered with side dual overflow box and black silicon.
Ballasts have been ordered.
Reflectors will be ordered soon.
Sump is out for quote.
Light assembly is planned out and waiting for order.
Stand is still being worked out, but pretty firm design in place.

Hank will be doing the wood work on this one. It will match the frag as closely as possible, though the maple/black may be reversed on this one so there isn't that much maple exposed.

Formal Dining Room (Fish Room) will most likely be tiled. Half the room will be done first, then the other half after the tank goes in and is up and running full steam due to logistics.

Chiller - After a long discussion with Frank on this, I believe that I will forgo a new Chiller until its justified. I will utilize my existing 1/3 HP Teco since its such a high efficiency device as is. It rarely kicks on anyway due to the temp I keep the house at. Since this is going in during Winter and Spring, there will be time to put one in later if needed. Everything will be plumbed with this in mind however to make a switch to a larger chiller possible. The Teco 1HP was quite pricey, nearly 800 more than the Oceanic 1HP. With the additional fans etc.. I may not even need my existing one, but I will plumb it in just in case and monitor it.

Live Rock - Unfortunately we have been unable to locate any Marshall so it looks like I will be going with my second choice of Bali Alor LR at this time. If anyone has Marshall... PM me.

 

[DaveJ]

Time for a new update...

Okay a few updates here...

Tank could be here next week.
Ballasts have been ordered and will be here this week, T-5's already here.
Reflectors have been ordered and should be here this week.
Sump is out for quote (Marc is doing this one).
Light assembly is planned out and ordered.
Stand is completed and delivering tomorrow.

Formal Dining Room (Fish Room) will BE tiled. Tile has been picked out and I am working with a client of mine on trading for the materials. I am hoping to get this installed by next week at the latest, sooner if possible.

2 20amp circuits are going in tomorrow for the electricity.

Photos will start being posted.

 

[bimmerzs]

Dang that's fast.....guess it help's to be independently wealthy. :wink:

Cheers,