Hoopsdaddy's 8 foot built-in w/tank room

Thanks Ron and Mat! Did a water test on the whole system yesterday and everything went great. Going to let it run for a day and double check everything and then I will dump water, wash sand, and put the last of the putty on my rock to keep it in place. Busy weekend.
I will post picts of the water test tonight.
 
Well, freshwater test went great. I am draining the system now. Going to clean the sand tomorrow and place it in the tank. Also going to epoxy a couple more rocks in place. Once that is done I will start adding SW to the system. It will take me a couple of days to fill everything up. Here are a couple of pictures of the plumbing and water test. The flow through the sump was excellent and I was very happy with it.

DSC00646e_zps73b11933.jpg
alt="">

DSC00649e_zpsfa74d222.jpg
alt="">

DSC00648e_zps49da0138.jpg
alt="">

DSC00650e_zps485ea8d2.jpg
alt="">
 
Thanks Big D!

Got all the freshwater test emptied and just finished getting all the saltwater in the main display and the sump and starting the process of getting the water clear. No water in the remote fuge or frag tank yet. Gotta mix some more water.

Got the skimmer in the sump and it is pulling out all the fine particles from the sand that didn't completely rinse out. Also pulling out some some other nastiness from the tank. I also need to do a review of the skimmer since it is hot off the production floor.

I also got the MP60 installed and have been playing with the controller and trying to learn how it works. Not to difficult. Not sure what the best mode or setting will be best yes, but will start to dial it in soon. I have to say, that I thought the MP60 would be a great start on my tank. I am now wondering how long I will be able to go with only having the one pump on the tank until a bunch of coral grows in. This pump is a monster! I shut down all the power to the tank and just ran the MP60 and went through all the different modes. I was surprised that in an 8' tank I could get a 3-4" wave from one end to the other and be pulling up crap off the bottom of the tank with the undertow it was creating. Now when I have the return pump going, Reeflo hammerhead, I have that split to go to 4-3/4" eductors and this tank is churning some serious water. Once everything clears, I will try and shoot my first video. So far I am seeing that I will have to make some adjustments to output positioning and MP60 top end speed. I have quite a bit of sand moving around. It isn't blowing per say, but rather just shifting from one area to another. Mind you the tank has only been running for a couple of hours so we will see.I also need to do a review of the skimmer since it is hot off the production floor.
I still have a ton of work to do on this tank, but today was a big day. SW in the tank- check! Skimmer installed and working- Check! MP60 installed and working- Check! Monster flow in the main display- Check!
 
Sweet. I have the Reef Octo DC250-int skimmer and it has worked like a charm for about 3 weeks now. I'm still having to fiddle with it a little bit, which is expected on a new setup. Overall, I've been very happy with it. Are you using the Apex controller module for the Vortechs? I'm still just running mine in whatever random mode I've picked. I haven't seen any difference in corals for the different modes over the past 3-4 years I've used Vortech. I just don't run the wave mode since I'm in a rimless environment.
 
A few more....
DSC00657e_zps5bf31f13.jpg
alt="">

Some with the sand moving..
DSC00659e_zps23a0e40b.jpg
alt="">

DSC00659e_zps23a0e40b.jpg
alt="">

DSC00662e_zpsad9a673b.jpg
alt="">

Tank is clearing very quickly. Surprised by that. Will keep picts coming and will video as soon as I can.
Also, ordering the lights for the tank's on Tuesday night.
 
A few more....
DSC00657e_zps5bf31f13.jpg
alt="">

Some with the sand moving..
DSC00659e_zps23a0e40b.jpg
alt="">

DSC00659e_zps23a0e40b.jpg
alt="">

DSC00662e_zpsad9a673b.jpg
alt="">

Tank is clearing very quickly. Surprised by that. Will keep picts coming and will video as soon as I can.
Also, ordering the lights for the tank's on Tuesday night.
 
Charlie,
I have used a Reef Octo recirculating skimmer on my 165g for over 6 years. I have always thought that was one of the better purchases for that tank. I went with the new DC powered 250 RO skimmer for this tank. Man it is a beast. I am sure I will be messing with it for a while like you said. I plan on writing a full review of the skimmer soon. Kind of a running log of the pro's and con's.

I will be ordering an APEX as soon as I pay off my lights. I have decided to go with their controller. So after the lights that will be the next purchase. I may have to hit you up since I have never used a controller on any tank.


The tank is clearing nicely.
 
Now we have a build log! Great job@@!! Rock work looks very nice. You will have tons of room for fish to swim and corals to grow out!!
 
Thanks man!
That is the idea with the rock work. It is very wide open and easy access to keep the glass clean and looking great. Also has tons of hiding places and like you said plenty of room for corals to grow. It was a good weekend.
 
Thanks Titus and Pete!
Tank is almost clear now. I added some sand to the remote fuge and that fogged things up for a couple hours, but skimmer cleaned it up quickly. Have remote fuge and frag tank full now. Total system water volume is 315gallons. That is for the display, sump, fuge, and frag tank. So a quick 50 gallon water change will be right at 16% water change and I believe I can accomplish this is less than 15 minutes from start to finish.

Ordered lights today. Can't wait to see them on the tank.

QT is ready to go. I will try to order or pick up the first batch of fish for it soon. Realizing that I need to get a handle on my "fish wish list" soon!

Going to spend a little time organizing my fish room today. Lots to clean up and put away. Trying to find a nice plastic box that I can mount some of my controllers in soon. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Would like to be able to mount my Vortech controller, Diablo DC skimmer controller, and an Apex controller. Any ideas??

Waiting on BRS to get the Apex back in stock with the Lab grade PH probe. I will order that soon. If anyone see's this on sale elsewhere please give me a shout.
 
Check out this enclosure....
http://forum.neptunesystems.com/showthread.php?198-A-Great-Enclosure
 
Thanks Mantismania. Glad you are following along!
Big D, I PM'd ya.

Went to the frag swap a couple days ago. I was very pleased! I thought prices were very fair for the most part and many nice colorful corals could be had for $5-$15. I even ventured home with a few myself. Great job everyone who made the swap possible.

270g tank Updates,
I have 14 blue/green chromis in the QT and 1 Red Fin Fairy Wrasse. All are eating well and so far show no signs of health issues. They will be in the QT for another 2 weeks.

All the lights came in on our group buy. I have 2 Photon 32's currently hung over the 270g and I will hang one of the Photon 16's over the frag tank. The 16 will end up on the display when I order a couple more lights from Reefbreeders. To make a long story short when my wife saw the 2 fixtures I had bought for the frag tank mounted on the 165g so I could see how the tank looked with LED's she said they were staying put and to order more lights for my frag tank..... [smilie=rofl.gif]

Been working a little on some plumbing. I am trying to fine tune my drains. They are a little louder than I would like. You can't hear them in the dining room, but in the fish room they are not to my liking. I think I just need to drill a little bigger hole at the top of the durso's. I will find out...

Gonna fire up the biopellet reactor this week. I have decided to use the Prodibio line of products and will keep you all informed as to how much I like it and it's ease of use. Also, and most importantly, how the tank and corals respond.

I will post some picts tonight or tomorrow.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top