Ok so I picked this tank up in January from Tim and Tonia and have just now added the water to it and have it up and running now (you would think being out of work I would have had this up a lot longer ago). Day 1 for the water and returns to be running on it.
alt="">
alt="">
I started planning on what I was going to do with it and where it would go and I wanted it next to the other 90g I have but the area was 3" too short. Talked to the better half and she said the bedroom. [smilie=wink.gif] I was on board with that and I also thought about the office. I then decided it could go in the bedroom and it would go on my side of the bed or on the other side where the little dogs kennel was. (Fast forward) Did the water test with the plumbing and it was pretty loud so back to the office.
I made a drawing to scale of the furniture in the office and moved a few things around and came up with the area I wanted it, as I did not want it on an outside wall. It is right in front of the desk.
(Rewind) During deciding on how and what to do with it and I started looking and reading on different setups. I really like the foam walls as it hides everything in the back and also gives character to the tank. I read the ones here and over on reefcentral.........something like 37 pages with links to other pages, and how they did it and what they used. Ok sounds easy enough so I pulled out some rock rubble I had and found some pieces that would fit together and make some nice rock ledges. Cut the egg crate that I had to fit the back areas as this has the center overflow. Laid them all out and bought one, can thinking it would be enough. Well got through about 2/3rds of the first section and ran out. Said I would go and get some more. Came back after getting some the next day and finished up. Well low and behold the foam rose higher than I thought and also bowed up after it was finished drying. I decided to throw some sand on there as people had used that method or they had used the epoxy and sand. The sand on while wet seemed fine.
alt="">
alt="">
alt="">
I pulled the pieces off the wax paper and trimmed them to fit and hat to trim the back as well. I then used the epoxy to seal the back and edges where I trimmed the foam off as to not let water in the area. All the mean time I was plumbing the system. I got everything hooked up and got the back finished and silicone them to the glass. As you can tell I had to brace them in to make sure of a good fit. After 24 hours of dry time I pulled the bracing out and then went to the water test.
alt="">
alt="">
alt="">
Had a small drip on the return bulkhead and I loosened it about 1/2 turn and then tightened it 1/4 of a turn, dried it off and no leak. I let it run for about three days and still dry. All the while I have had the rock sitting in SW to cook it, even though it was pretty dead, just to speed the process of the dead matter that was on there. Well I was still going to take my time and noticed a small leak coming from the container. Well I have a trashcan I can put it in. So I cleaned it out and put all the rock and SW over into it and it leaked even worse. So I moved it back and the leak was not leaking anymore. Guess I bought me a few more days. Well three days later big leak and decided I am going to go ahead and drain the tank, move it in and paint the office before I move it in. Monday morning at 6 am got up move the furniture in the office, painted the room, moved the furniture to where it needed to be, went to the county clerk’s office to get my tags, forgot they do not take CC's came back home grabbed a check and returned and got the tags, got back home, wife got home from work. Asked her to help me move the tank into the house. Moved it into the office, moved it three times before deciding on which way to face. Added the rock and sand and all the water I had. Ended up about 20g short. Placed a power head in the tank to keep the water moving and the next day I had an interview. It went well and hope to get the job. Came home and started making DI water and cleaned the container as it was pretty slimy in there. Got the water in the buckets and started mixing the salt. Checked the levels and started filling the tank again this morning and now it is running. Not a loud as it was in the garage. I now have to figure out about the bubbles the overflow is creating in the sump.
alt="">
alt="">
I am going to start on the canopy for the top as of right now I am going to have a lumen bright 250w MH and 4 T5's in it. One day when I land another job I am thinking about going with LED's. Mike did loan me an AI SOL to try out but I have no controller for it to actually test it out. I did hold it over the top of the tank and it looked nice and gave the shimmer effect that the MH's do.
alt="">
alt="">
More to come.
alt=""> alt="">I started planning on what I was going to do with it and where it would go and I wanted it next to the other 90g I have but the area was 3" too short. Talked to the better half and she said the bedroom. [smilie=wink.gif] I was on board with that and I also thought about the office. I then decided it could go in the bedroom and it would go on my side of the bed or on the other side where the little dogs kennel was. (Fast forward) Did the water test with the plumbing and it was pretty loud so back to the office.
I made a drawing to scale of the furniture in the office and moved a few things around and came up with the area I wanted it, as I did not want it on an outside wall. It is right in front of the desk.
(Rewind) During deciding on how and what to do with it and I started looking and reading on different setups. I really like the foam walls as it hides everything in the back and also gives character to the tank. I read the ones here and over on reefcentral.........something like 37 pages with links to other pages, and how they did it and what they used. Ok sounds easy enough so I pulled out some rock rubble I had and found some pieces that would fit together and make some nice rock ledges. Cut the egg crate that I had to fit the back areas as this has the center overflow. Laid them all out and bought one, can thinking it would be enough. Well got through about 2/3rds of the first section and ran out. Said I would go and get some more. Came back after getting some the next day and finished up. Well low and behold the foam rose higher than I thought and also bowed up after it was finished drying. I decided to throw some sand on there as people had used that method or they had used the epoxy and sand. The sand on while wet seemed fine.
alt=""> alt=""> alt="">I pulled the pieces off the wax paper and trimmed them to fit and hat to trim the back as well. I then used the epoxy to seal the back and edges where I trimmed the foam off as to not let water in the area. All the mean time I was plumbing the system. I got everything hooked up and got the back finished and silicone them to the glass. As you can tell I had to brace them in to make sure of a good fit. After 24 hours of dry time I pulled the bracing out and then went to the water test.
alt=""> alt=""> alt="">Had a small drip on the return bulkhead and I loosened it about 1/2 turn and then tightened it 1/4 of a turn, dried it off and no leak. I let it run for about three days and still dry. All the while I have had the rock sitting in SW to cook it, even though it was pretty dead, just to speed the process of the dead matter that was on there. Well I was still going to take my time and noticed a small leak coming from the container. Well I have a trashcan I can put it in. So I cleaned it out and put all the rock and SW over into it and it leaked even worse. So I moved it back and the leak was not leaking anymore. Guess I bought me a few more days. Well three days later big leak and decided I am going to go ahead and drain the tank, move it in and paint the office before I move it in. Monday morning at 6 am got up move the furniture in the office, painted the room, moved the furniture to where it needed to be, went to the county clerk’s office to get my tags, forgot they do not take CC's came back home grabbed a check and returned and got the tags, got back home, wife got home from work. Asked her to help me move the tank into the house. Moved it into the office, moved it three times before deciding on which way to face. Added the rock and sand and all the water I had. Ended up about 20g short. Placed a power head in the tank to keep the water moving and the next day I had an interview. It went well and hope to get the job. Came home and started making DI water and cleaned the container as it was pretty slimy in there. Got the water in the buckets and started mixing the salt. Checked the levels and started filling the tank again this morning and now it is running. Not a loud as it was in the garage. I now have to figure out about the bubbles the overflow is creating in the sump.
alt=""> alt="">I am going to start on the canopy for the top as of right now I am going to have a lumen bright 250w MH and 4 T5's in it. One day when I land another job I am thinking about going with LED's. Mike did loan me an AI SOL to try out but I have no controller for it to actually test it out. I did hold it over the top of the tank and it looked nice and gave the shimmer effect that the MH's do.
alt=""> alt="">More to come.
alt="">
alt="">
alt="">
alt="">
alt="">