Mike's 260g Rimless Starphire Build

Wow on the tank. That monster is going to look amazing with livestock in it. That huge rock monument is really cool.
 
Thanks! I decided to not build any other rock structures until the tank gets here so I can see what things will look like inside. I don't think I truly appreciate the size and scale of the tank just yet but I'm sure I will when it gets here [smilie=smile.gif]
 
@MBSL55 wrote:
I don't think I truly appreciate the size and scale of the tank just yet but I'm sure I will when it gets here [smilie=smile.gif] said:
Hehe, when that tank shows up and you start to bring it in the house your going to be thinking to yourself "Oh, wow that's big"! [smilie=surprised.gif]

One action I took to get a size perspective was that before my tank was setup I went ahead and taped off the floor where the tank/stand would be located to get an idea of the size and what obstable might come into play.
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@blide wrote:
[I]@MBSL55 wrote:[/I][quote="I don't think I truly appreciate the size and scale of the tank just yet but I'm sure I will when it gets here [smilie=smile.gif] said:
Hehe, when that tank shows up and you start to bring it in the house your going to be thinking to yourself "Oh, wow that's big"! [smilie=surprised.gif]

One action I took to get a size perspective was that before my tank was setup I went ahead and taped off the floor where the tank/stand would be located to get an idea of the size and what obstable might come into play."]

Yeah, we did that as I originally wanted it to be 8' in length but realized that might be a bit too much (well, that's what the wife said, I thought it would be fine). We put some frog tape on the wall too so we would have an idea of what it would look like but still, I think I'll only fully appreciate it once it gets here. I do need to call up the Salvation Army for them to pick-up the sofa and loveseat set in the formal living room where this is going to go though. Tank first, then we'll figure out how much room is left for furniture and what would work well for viewing. [smilie=smile.gif]
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Thanks Tony, I do still have both the other setups.

Basically, I'm going to setup the new tank, make sure everything is running fine and levels are where they need to be and then move over the auto doser, ATO, Apex, and Vortechs (just going to run spare Koralias in the new one at first) from the 70g tank to the new tank along with the livestock. The new tank is getting AI Vega lights, will have new dosing containers and ATO container built so I won't have to worry about trying to move over lights. Moving the auto doser and ATO will be easy as they can run independently from the Apex if they have to for some reason but I don' anticipate any issues with moving the Apex over.

I am not moving over any sand or rock from the existing 70g and the new tank will be fully self-sufficient so I can take my time when moving things over and acclimating.

I'm going to sell the Solana though and just got it ready this weekend (i.e. move out corals I'm keeping).
 
Anyone who's interested in looking is more than welcome to come over whenever it gets done . . . I think I need to pester AI again to get my lights built [smilie=lol.gif]
 
After more than a few recommendations, I decided to go with Tropic Eden Reeflakes for my substrate after considering Caribsea and Marco Rocks sand. The Tropic Eden costs a bit more but I figure I'm only doing this once and am going all out on just about everything else so I wasn't going to skimp on the sand and I really liked the way it looked in people's tanks. The Tropic Eden sand came in earlier this week and I finally had a little time to actually unbox it. Heed the warning on top of the boxes to not open them with a sharp object. [smilie=wink.gif]

Hoping 240lbs will be enough to get me a roughly 2" sandbed. I figure I can always add more if needed. I do not plan on rinsing it as that is a LOT of sand to rinse. Part of the reason why I picked TE was I heard it requires minimal to no rinsing. I figure if the water is cloudy, I can run one of the 5 micron filter socks I have leftover from my live rock cooking and curing adventure to clear it up.

[attachment=0]IMG_0378.JPG[/attachment]
 
Thanks, I sure hope it will make a difference. Just gathering piles of stuff until I have something to put it all in. It does make it that much harder to wait as more stuff piles up around me. I'm pretty sure if I had gotten the tank first I would have just literally thrown everything in. Patience is not my strong suit so this forced wait is probably a good thing.

Funny side note, so my wife asks what I'm doing and I tell her I am updating my build thread. She asks what I could possibly be updating given that the tank is not here yet. I tell her, "Well, I took a picture of the pile of sand that I got in." She gets a freaked out look and says, "What!?!?!? There's a pile of sand in the living room and you took a picture of it?!?!?!" Me: "Yeah, I took a picture of the pile of sand." Her: "OMG, REALLY? You took all the sand out and put it in a PILE." Me: [light bulb goes off] "Oh, no I didn't take it out of the bags and make a pile, I just took the bags out of the boxes." Her: sigh of relief, shakes head.

Word choice folks, word choice.
 
LOL

As for the algae scrubber Im guessing you are going with one of those top of the line robot scrubber? haha

http://www.agiaquatics.com/
 
I didn't know they make (or are going to make) something like that! The whole "product on shelves in Jan 2012" doesn't look like it happened but it does look cool. Kind of like a Roomba for your tank! I went ahead and added myself to the pre-order notification list [smilie=smile.gif]

Also, just got an update. The tank itself is done and the stand should be close to finished in about a week!!! I need to get some dimensions so I can plan out the sump and other containers and get that info to Marc so he can start on the sump build.
 
You and me both. I've got two full buckets of salt waiting in addition to everything else that is piling up in the living room. It is getting close though so once the stand is finished I'll have them deliver as soon as they are available to set it up. I want them to do any leveling work that may need to b done so that I don't mess anything up on something of this size and magnitude. Then I'll need to get Marc my finals specs for the sump and other containers that go underneath and get the plumbing done. Realistically, I won't have much time to work on it until after the 23rd or so due to my work schedule.
 
Quick update. Sitting at the airport to go overseas for an emergency family visit so I won' be able to do squat for about 3 weeks. The forums have been a nice break from the recent craziness.

The tank is done and stand is almost done too. I have some pics on my computer that I'll try to post when I get settled in.

Marc is building the sump, ATO container, and dosing containers. I'm tempted to see if I can get the tank builder and stand builder together or convince the wife to take delivery so everything is in one place and then have the ATO container and sump delivered so that the plumbing can be put together while I'm out :smile:

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk 2
 
I've been meaning to post these pics for a while and finally have time to do it now. These were taken the week I was trying to get ready to leave so the stand should be done and the tank plumbed from the bottom up.

Completed Tank:
[attachment=2]Tank 4.jpeg[/attachment]

Stand as of a week or so ago:
[attachment=1]Stand 1.jpg[/attachment]

And with me in the picture for scale:
[attachment=0]Stand 2.jpg[/attachment]

Marc is working on the ATO container, sump, and custom dosing supplement containers
 
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