Going in WAY over my head...Jena's 240 SW build :)

J

jtapgar

Membership Expired
The Saturday, July 31st, I am acquiring Roberts tank and converting it into my own creation. Basics specs: 240 Gallon glass tank (72" L X 32" D X 24" W), oak colored stand and canopy, 1-48" 4-bulb T-5, 1 - 36" 6-bulb T-5, 1 - 24" compact for the 40 gallon refugium, 30 gallon QT tank, 25 gallon wet dry not currently associated with the tank, all plumbing, live sand, live rock, a 2 chamber reactor, skimmer, 3 pumps, and live stock with 3 powerheads.

The very interesting mix of fish are coming with me as well:
(2) Yellow Tangs
(1) Coris Wrasse
(1) Engineer Goby (10inches)
(1) Dogface Puffer
(1) Niger Trigger
(1) Bursa Trigger
(1) Foxface Rabbitfish
(1) Soapfish Grouper
(1) Lunare Wrasse
(1) Long Stem Pencil Urchin
(1) Sea Cucumber

I am guessing that it will be a beast to move all this equipment, the rocks and the fish.

I am figuring that I will probably add some details to the stand and canopy and stain them a much darker and more rich color to go with the our new home.

I was also considering creating a few faux rocks with some of the recipes online. I thought this would be a great way to get some really interesting arches and hideouts without having to worry about the live rock crashing and killing the fish which I have done before. I also thought I might be able to build a bottom to better hold them in place that I could hide below the live sand. Anyone ever done this? Any good recipes or to do or not to do's?

Never had a salt water aquarium all by myself before and this is a pretty big setup. Should be interesting.....


The Original:
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lots of buckets, air stones, and new water to get your move going. to better situate your live rock, you can drill holes and put in rods to hold it or just make the base out of large diameter pvc holders.
 
Hi,

It can take several months to cure homemade LR so keep that in mind. Good luck with the new tank, sound's like you are gonna do good with the positive attitude just remember that research is your friend.[smilie=smile.gif] [smilie=smile.gif]

Cheers,
 
I love my research, but wow is there a lot of conflicting ideas out there! I think I am going to try to replicate his system and let it be as best as possible and then start tweeking.

What do you use to drill the live rock? And will it kill the live rock to be out of the water so long? I saw another build on here and he had the LR dry shipped in, took his time, drilled it in his garage taking his time to build it the way he wanted.
 
Wow. Wow is about all I can say. I am mentally exhausted.

I went to pick up the tank today. In the end I left behind the furniture - the stand and canopy - because they were roach infested really badly. So...plan 'B'. I called The Fish Gallery to save and keep those fish that survived. Those guys are great. The two tangs, trigger, goby, lunar wrasse, urchin and sea cucumber survived and will most likely live. The niger trigger and the dogface puffer probably will not make it through the night. We'll see. I was sad for those that didn't make it.

The live rock will be left outside to bleach and I will most likely boil and reuse my favorites and toss the rest. Can I do this with the live sand as well? There is so much of it and I would rather it not go to complete waste.

The refugium is pretty good. It needs some serious cleaning and some retooling. Skimmer needs to be cleaned, not positive on the condition.

The plumbing is everywhere and I have zero clue how to put it back together exactly because it was mostly broken down when I got there.

Since I have a tank now and no stand, this truly will be a tank build. My aunt works at a welding company and they can hopefully have one made of steel by Friday this week. Not sure how to cover that, but I'll figure that out too.

Instead of making any faux liverock, I am going to use the waterfall foam sealant to create a background like the one I saw in a thread here that I really liked:http://dfwmas.org/Forums/viewtopic.php?f=100&t=53424

Aye aye aye!
 
Well, the tank is moving fast. The pond foam background is nearly done. It will have taken 6 cans to complete. I used pex pipe to build a shelf and covered it in the foam. Looking pretty freakin awesome! My husband saw a blue background he liked so I decided to paint the background blue with acrylic artists paints I had left over. I streaked it in dark blue, bright blue and white with a back layer of purple and later black to make it opaque with wave flows. It is my masterpiece, way better than any painting on canvas I've done [smilie=rofl.gif]

My cousin has been coordinating the stand and it is looking great too!

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[So the Stand is done (the metal part anyway), moved into the house and the tank hoisted into position.
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I am looking at the refugium and not quite sure how he had it set up and plumbed. Will start looking at that tomorrow as I boil the sand and put that and some of the water in that I have mixed. Any help with waht is going on with the rufugium will be greatly appreciated.
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The paint job looks beyond stellar - so excited.
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That almost looks like it's painted on the inside, hopefully not....look's pretty good otherwise. [smilie=smile.gif]

Cheers,
 
Thanks! Definitely painted on the outside of the tank, streaked with lots of colors to give depth.

I now have if half full of water, trying to clean out the sand to put it all in there. The sand is pretty gross and dirty and seriously messing with my water. When I get it all plumbed will probably run a sock for a week or so.

Deb: The foam is mostly attached to the acrylic overflows, but there are some pipes holding it into place towards the center. We'll see :) It'll all work out I'm sure.
 
Going through parts and plumbing now to the rufugium and sump.

I've got (2) Koralia 4s and a SEIO Super Flow Pump PROP 1500 for movement in the tank. Any ideas on positioning inside the tank? Is it just dependent on how you like it or...not sure exactly.
 
A lot is preference, Coral type and placement, and observation.

I tend to find the optimum place for my koralia pumps to be around 12 to 15 inches under the water level and pointed at a slight upward angle....

Then of course I have a few coral that need more flow so I have one pointing slightly upward and slightly to the rear towards the corals. Of course I think the placment is optimal for me because I have some coral that do better with minimal flow and they are at the bottom of the tank ...

Im guessing you have no coral yet so its not going to make any difference, Pop them in there about 12 inches under the water and facing each other the two flows will meet in the middle of the tank and disperse in all other directions.

Once you have corals then observe how they do and adjust accordingly.
 
In my opinion, your sump/refugium probably flows like this as it is pictured: skimmer -> return <- refugium.

You can plumb it any way you like....my recommendation would be to have 3/4 of your drain go into the skimmer section and 1/4 of your drain water go into the refugium.

Just my thoughts.
 
Still working on the plumbing, trying to find all the parts I need before going out to purchase. I have the bulkheads in and secured. I plumbed the water exiting the tank in to the sump areas. As it is, I have a adjustable flow valve to adjust the water into the rufugium. I need a part to finish the return plumbing lines. This all seemed simple enough as soon as I started tinkering and putting pieces together. I think I have the protein skimmer figured out as far as the plumbing goes.

My problem now are the pumps. I went to test one and watched it burn out smoking my house with a cruel electrical burning smell. Yah. I went to test another and got nothing. No water movement so I hurried and unplugged so as to not burn out another. Is there a trick I am missing here? So I am in need of a new pump for the main return. I have the one for the protein skimmer and the pump to push water through the BRS Reactor for GFO and Carbon and no idea how to use either :) I remember pumps being more simple than this.

If any of those individuals on this forum in the Dallas area would care to assist a damsel in aquarium distress and assist me in putting this thing together properly, I can cook really really well [smilie=itwasntme.gif]
 
So I took my pumps up to The Fish Gallery here in Dallas. Two are dead as door knobs....grrrrrr. The one for the protein skimmer works dandy but not the one for the reactor or the return. I bought the stuff to cement the PVC tonight and should have the skimmer ready to go.
 
Updates and pictures (my husband blacked out the borders to just show the tank)

Everything is up and running, and we have 2 damsels who have survived just over a week. Also added a starfish and a cleaning crew of hermit crabs. We should be populating the tank with bigger fish over the next month or two.
 
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