2024 Ohio Reef Frag Swap

2024 flyer

Author Topic: The nightmare begins!  (Read 12864 times)

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Offline CoralBeauties

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The nightmare begins!
« on: April 06, 2018, 14:50:06 »
  After alot of thinking and doubt I purchased a new tank.  I was able to find a tank from customaquariums.com and they had my tank that had been built for a customer that canceled the order.  The only problem was the tank doesnt have an upper and lower frame and the bottom was drilled already.  I was able to get it for a third of the price.  I will be glassing over the holes in the bottom.  For the frame I plan on installing an euroframe with 1 1/2 angle aluminum that my boss will weld up for me as a top and bottom frame.  I enjoy this part, but not getting it down the stairs and doing the actual swap of fish and corals.
  The tank is rated at 210 gallon with the same footprint of my 180 except it is 6 in deeper front to back.  I plan on rebuilding my stand to fit the new tank and building a new hood.  That should save quite a bit of money having not to buy a new stand.  I'll add as things progress.
Jeff

Offline Agame43

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #1 on: April 06, 2018, 16:03:13 »

Good luck, I'm excited and you only have the box lid off so far - should be a good build.

Offline SweetReefOH

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #2 on: April 06, 2018, 19:13:05 »
Awesome Jeff!

Offline soldiers4christ50

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #3 on: April 06, 2018, 19:26:10 »
Good luck on the build Jeff. I’m sure it will look amazing.

Offline mtamorrow

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #4 on: April 06, 2018, 19:58:15 »
Awesome! Following along on this one for sure!


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Offline yinyang

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #5 on: April 07, 2018, 00:00:23 »
This is awesome, good luck with your new tank.

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #6 on: April 07, 2018, 09:40:18 »
I would like opinions on the upper tank bracing.  The tank came without any bracing, I have ordered glass cut to install a 3in eurobrace all the way around the tank with 2 four in center braces.  I had planned on installing a 1 1/2in aluminum angle frame over this but think maybe the frame and eurobracing would be overkill for a tank of this size.  what do you all think?
Jeff

Offline joelbegt

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #7 on: April 07, 2018, 19:39:43 »
How thick is the glass?  Def don’t need both and would think metal with cross bracing would have less effect on lighting.

Offline Heinbaughb

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #8 on: April 07, 2018, 20:34:48 »
I don't know too much about euro brace etc but my 120 has a black center brace and I can't stand it. It serves a purpose but is a killer when it comes to lighting.

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #9 on: April 07, 2018, 22:57:41 »
How thick is the glass?  Def don’t need both and would think metal with cross bracing would have less effect on lighting.
Glass is 1/2 in.  The angle I ordered is 1 1/2 in and the cross braces I ordered are going to be 2 in.
thanks
Jeff

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #10 on: April 08, 2018, 23:26:10 »
I have decided to put my corals and rock through a qt and pest dip routine while I am doing the tank swap.  Tonight I removed all my rock that didnt have any corals on them and placed them in a 55 gallon tank for cleaning and qt.  I kept the rocks that are well encrusted with coral in the main tank and will dip them and return them to the tank.   All smaller frags that werent encrusted were removed and are now in my frag tank.   I'll be leaving all fish in the main display during this process.  They arent happy but will adjust.  Once the new tank is ready I will have to move the fish and remaining corals to a holding tank so I can start rebuilding the stand to accommodate the new tank.

Offline lazylivin

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #11 on: April 08, 2018, 23:57:45 »
 Congrats on the new tank Jeff !   Looking forward to see this build come along. How come you’re doing the pest routine are you dealing with anything or just taking a vantage of the situation?

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #12 on: April 09, 2018, 11:53:06 »
Congrats on the new tank Jeff !   Looking forward to see this build come along. How come you’re doing the pest routine are you dealing with anything or just taking a vantage of the situation?
I went through a fight with aefw several years ago. All my corals recovered and have been thriving. A couple months back I was having issues with one coral and found a couple larger worms on it. I treated that coral which has recovered nicely. With the thinking where there's one there might be more I am being proactive and going to do the full 6-8 week  treatment on everything.  I plan on a once a week dip for at least 6 week while leaving all the rock without coral fallow in the 55 gallon tank. Separating the rock out is the one thing I didn't do 2 years ago when I treated for aefw.
Jeff

Offline lazylivin

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #13 on: April 09, 2018, 19:30:39 »
Ah okay that makes sense. It is defintley the perfect time to do it.

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #14 on: April 20, 2018, 22:35:31 »
I decided that rather then modify my current stand to fit the new tank and having concerns if the old stand will be strong enough for the added weight I am building a new stand.  I used (11) 2x4's,(5) 1x4's and 2 sheets of plywood.  There is a diy build thread on reef central that I got my basic ideas from.  I built it so that I can use the doors off my old stand.  I plan on spray painting it an antique white and trying my hand at rubbing on brown glaze for highlights.  I also increased the height of the stand to 32in. My old stand is 28in and is awkward to view the tank without bending over some.  I may regret not going taller then 32in but didnt want to have to get a step stool to work inside the tank.
Jeff

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #15 on: April 20, 2018, 22:49:43 »
Ive  ran into my first real problem with my aefw treatment program.  Since I pulled most all of my live rock from my system my phosphates have skyrocketed.  tonight they tested at .47  Ouch.  started dosing lanthanum. Red slime going crazy on the sand bed and corals seem stressed.  Hoping the phos come down soon.
Jeff

Offline SweetReefOH

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #16 on: April 21, 2018, 08:15:04 »
Jeff, I think the new stand is a fantastic idea rather than trying to retro fit the old one. Your build looks great and just like my two stands. I used the same schematic from RC lol.

As for the PO4, are you feeding the corals? And are the corals in the same system as the fish?

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #17 on: April 21, 2018, 09:43:05 »
I as a general rule dont feed my corals, just lots of light.  I believe my home made mixture of frozen food I feed is high in phosphates.  I have to dose lanthanum  on a regular basis for phosphates.  I think I will do some experimenting with my food and put it in some water and test it for phosphates.
Jeff

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #18 on: April 28, 2018, 20:19:57 »
I installed the glass bracing and the glass patches for the holes in the bottom of the tank today.  Also cut the aluminum angle for the top and bottom frames.  Should get them welded next week and then off for powder coating. 
Jeff

Offline lazylivin

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #19 on: April 28, 2018, 21:43:48 »
Looking good :)

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #20 on: April 28, 2018, 22:48:46 »
Thanks Brian, Im gonna have to do a porch swing by for the clubs 63mm hole saw.  I am going with a synergy shadow overflow that I need to drill for.  Just thinking about drilling the tank makes me nervous even though everyone says it is easy.  My newest issue is the power supply for my leds that I just bought died yesterday.  Back to the 2 t-5 bulbs till I can get things sorted out.  Luckily most of my corals are in my frag tank that is still fully lit.
Jeff

Offline Keith92

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #21 on: April 29, 2018, 12:22:32 »
I have two black box LEDs that I'm not using.  You are welcome to use them as long as you need them

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #22 on: May 06, 2018, 22:48:41 »
Since my tank is temporarily  in the dark I decided to switch over my lighting into the new hood that I built.  My t-5 lights died on me yesterday, while I was switching things over today I found a burnt up bulb socket and the pins of the bulb basically gone.  I ordered a new light socket tonight.  Luckily most of my corals are in my frag tank which are still fine.  Planning on welding up the top and bottom frames tomorrow then off to powder coating.

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #23 on: May 08, 2018, 21:58:21 »
Finally cut and fit the aluminum angle to the tank frame today.  My boss is a very good tig welder and he welded it for me.  A little grinding of the welds and it will be off to power coating.  Next step will be drilling holes for my overflow and installing the frames after I get them coated.
Jeff

Offline SweetReefOH

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #24 on: May 09, 2018, 11:08:32 »
Moving along Jeff. Looking good!

Offline lazylivin

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #25 on: May 09, 2018, 11:59:38 »
That is really turning out great! What color are you going to powder coat?

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #26 on: May 09, 2018, 21:45:12 »
I thought about going with the standard black but I might just go with a chocolate brown.  I painted the stand and hood an antique white and put a brown glaze overtop of the white.  The brown would be something different then the standard black and would match the stand.
Jeff

Offline Agame43

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #27 on: May 09, 2018, 22:01:40 »


Looks great Jeff!

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #28 on: May 13, 2018, 21:32:52 »
Finished up the new stand.  Im pretty happy with the way it came out.  My old stand was a dark cherry and I think this one being antique white will brighten the look of the new tank.   I should have measured before I tried to take it down stairs.  I ended up having to remove the trim to get it through the basement door. 

Offline lazylivin

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #29 on: May 13, 2018, 23:05:25 »
Very nice!

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #30 on: May 13, 2018, 23:33:36 »
thanks for all the compliments.  The frames are at the powder coater, wont be ready till the end of this week.  I hope to get the tank drilled and the back glass painted this week while I am waiting on the frames.  Might actually be using the suction cups within the next couple of weeks if all goes well.  Tomorrow will be my 6th and final aefw dip.  I had hoped to have the tank ready by now but hasnt played out that way.  Most of my corals have lost quite a bit of coloration so I will be anxious to get everything back to normal.  so far only one loss which I am grateful for.
Jeff

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #31 on: May 16, 2018, 22:43:58 »
I am installing a synergy shadow ghost style overflow into this tank.  It requires drilling two 65mm holes towards the top of the tank.  Instead of the huge corner overflows this overflow only sticks out into the tank by 1 1/2 in and is 18 wide and 7 in tall inside the tank.  I drilled the tank today.  I wasnt as nervous as I thought that I would be.  The drilling went well, used plenty of water and went very slow.  The synergy overflow comes with a plastic template that is like corrugated cardboard and held the water perfectly.  I have heard nothing but great things about these overflows.  Ill be anxious to see how well this works once up and running.
Jeff

Offline SweetReefOH

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #32 on: May 17, 2018, 11:03:04 »
Jeff, I don’t know how thick the rim is in your tank but did you take that into consideration when you drilled?

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #33 on: May 17, 2018, 12:08:12 »
The frame I will be installing will come down about 1 1/2 in. With where I put the template and drilled, the water level should be about even with the bottom of the trim.  I put the template up to the top of the glass like the instructions say and the top of the inside box will almost hit the euroglass rim I put on it. . Either way, it's too late now. Lol
Jeff
« Last Edit: May 17, 2018, 12:15:05 by jjoos99 »

Offline Nbehnken

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #34 on: May 17, 2018, 16:28:27 »
The ghost overflows are a great addition to the build

Offline SweetReefOH

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #35 on: May 17, 2018, 17:09:19 »
I remember dry fitting mine for quite a while to make sure I’d be able to get the cover off but also make sure my waterline was high enough in the front.

With my 40B build I didn’t need an OF that big so I went with the eshopps 2 drain. Honestly, it sucks. I’ve had to modify the weir because the water level was too low and the OF is noisy. The synergy is definitely a better OF. At least in my experience with both.

The frame I will be installing will come down about 1 1/2 in. With where I put the template and drilled, the water level should be about even with the bottom of the trim.  I put the template up to the top of the glass like the instructions say and the top of the inside box will almost hit the euroglass rim I put on it. . Either way, it's too late now. Lol
Jeff

Offline JMM

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #36 on: May 17, 2018, 17:53:27 »
Running one on my 70 and 120 mixed reef and it is dead quiet. Like it enough I ordered two drilled for my 180. It can take a bit of fiddling to get it right but it’s worth it.

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #37 on: May 17, 2018, 22:40:37 »
My biggest selling point was having such a low profile inside the tank.  My oceanic tank had two huge corner overflows, 11X8.  Be so glad to get rid of them with the new tank.  After seeing Jessie's and watching videos online I was convinced to install one in this tank.
Jeff

Offline SweetReefOH

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #38 on: May 18, 2018, 07:16:59 »
It’s a great OF Jeff. You’ll be happy with it. And as JMM said, it’s dead quiet. Another suggestion I’ll give you is to buy the economy gate valve from BRS. I have the expensive Spears on the Synergy OF. I put the economy gate valve in the 40B and the economy valve allows more precise micro adjustments. The Spears, although sturdier, sticks and can be a pain to get adjusted correctly.

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #39 on: May 25, 2018, 08:37:30 »
Installed the frames yesterday.  Ended up with powder coating them gloss black so that it would match the silicone.  Ready to haul home and wrestle down the basement stairs.
Jeff

Offline mtamorrow

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #40 on: May 25, 2018, 10:03:26 »
Looking good Jeff!

Can’t wait to see it wet!


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Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #41 on: May 25, 2018, 12:04:46 »


Thanks
I'm getting real anxious to get some water in it. If all goes well I'll have my  180 hauled out of basement on Monday then round up a crew to manhandle the 210 down the stairs.
Jeff

Offline lazylivin

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #42 on: May 25, 2018, 16:44:55 »
That turned out really good, it should last for many many years

Offline JMM

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #43 on: May 26, 2018, 13:06:36 »
I love the powder coating idea. Did you do two overflows or just one?

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #44 on: May 26, 2018, 22:23:10 »
I love the powder coating idea. Did you do two overflows or just one?
I went with one shadow overflow.  I think it is rated at 2800 or 2900 gph.  I dont ever plan on going that high with my overflow and return.  I have 3 mp40's and 2 icecap gyre's available for flow in this tank.  I would hope that will be plenty if not overkill.
  I really like the way the powder coating came out.  It is a extremely glossy and smooth finish and at $80 for both top and bottom frames I didnt feel that was too bad.  I am sealing between the glass and the frames so I shouldnt have any water laying in the frame channels and hopefully never corrode from the salt water.
Jeff

Offline JMM

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #45 on: May 26, 2018, 23:45:06 »
I checked the website and they are rated for 2500 and that’s a lot. I am second guessing myself as I ordered two on my 180. I think part of the reason is the surface area they will cover.
 Powder coating is a great product. Very durable. Look forward to seeing you get the tank going.

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #46 on: May 27, 2018, 08:22:12 »
My bad on the flow specs. With two in your 180 you should have a ton of overflow skimming.  What are you planning for a return pump?
Jeff

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #47 on: May 27, 2018, 22:38:40 »
Well the fish are in jail for the time being.  I emptied the 180 today and will move it out tomorrow and move the 210 down stairs.  Wasnt really ready to move the tank yet but the guy that is buying the 180 is coming with his moving crew so I am taking advantage of them to move in my 210.  gotta thank Keith for the use of his black box leds to get me by with lighting.
  Been experiencing some stn and total deaths with several of my corals the past couple of weeks or so, really need to get things back up and running to get some stability for my corals.
Jeff

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #48 on: May 28, 2018, 23:05:30 »
Made a lot of progress today.  Six guys and the clubs suction cups and it was pretty quick work bringing up the 180 and taking the new tank downstairs.  I wanted to paint the back glass after it was in the basement.  Actually ran the wife out onto the deck with the fumes from the paint.  LOL glad she likes the heat.
Jeff

Offline lazylivin

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #49 on: May 28, 2018, 23:10:45 »
Excellent progress, won’t be long now

Offline Steve

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #50 on: May 28, 2018, 23:59:49 »
Looks really nice Jeff!

Offline Keith92

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #51 on: May 29, 2018, 07:41:02 »
Looks great Jeff. You did an excellent job on the stand

Offline SweetReefOH

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #52 on: May 29, 2018, 11:25:11 »
Jeff that is really nice looking. I am so glad you decided to build a new stand. Everything is looking fantastic.

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #53 on: May 31, 2018, 23:29:54 »
Thanks for all the kind words.  I worked on the plumbing tonight.  I got the overflow lines run and the returns installed in place.  So far the biggest problem has been getting the tank level.  I had about 1/4 inch difference between the rt and left side of the tank.  I shimmed the left side with 1/4in pieces of wood under the two by four frame but had to work towards the rt side adding shims.  My main concern is having the weight evenly dispersed so as not to stress the tank seams. I will pick up another packet of shims and install them to try and make it as solid as I can between the tank frame and tile floor.  With any luck I should be adding some water tomorrow.
Jeff

Offline SweetReefOH

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #54 on: June 01, 2018, 04:56:52 »
Jeff, I’m not seeing a valve for your main siphon in the picture. Am I missing it?

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #55 on: June 01, 2018, 08:26:08 »
Jeff, I’m not seeing a valve for your main siphon in the picture. Am I missing it?
I installed a 1 in gate valve on the line going to my sump that is in the sump room behind the tank.  I was going to put it in the down line from the overflow but it was too hard to reach in behind the tank to adjust it.  My arms are too short :)
Jeff

Offline JMM

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #56 on: June 01, 2018, 09:50:36 »
Hope to see it with water tonight. One nice thing about the gate valve being in the other room is getting the tank a bit closer to the wall. Love the stand and it’s finish.
You asked about my return pump. It’s a reefflow if memory serves. Lots of volume but it’s going to run a 120 and 180 and a 100 gl. sump. Still, it might be overkill. Another issue I have yet to see is noise. I don’t want anything overly loud. I bought the pump 2 yrs. ago and have since learned it’s better to have patience and keep learning before buying major equipment.
Don’t know if you follow any threads on R2R but there is a guy over there with a very successful sps tank that uses potassium as his flatworm dip. Says it really knocks the tough ones out. Goes by Farmer Ty. Might be worth your time to look it up.
Have a great day and here’s to seeing the tank wet!🍻
Jim

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #57 on: June 01, 2018, 13:00:54 »
Hope to see it with water tonight. One nice thing about the gate valve being in the other room is getting the tank a bit closer to the wall. Love the stand and it’s finish.
You asked about my return pump. It’s a reefflow if memory serves. Lots of volume but it’s going to run a 120 and 180 and a 100 gl. sump. Still, it might be overkill. Another issue I have yet to see is noise. I don’t want anything overly loud. I bought the pump 2 yrs. ago and have since learned it’s better to have patience and keep learning before buying major equipment.
Don’t know if you follow any threads on R2R but there is a guy over there with a very successful sps tank that uses potassium as his flatworm dip. Says it really knocks the tough ones out. Goes by Farmer Ty. Might be worth your time to look it up.
Have a great day and here’s to seeing the tank wet!🍻
Jim
Lazy and I have actually bought from farmer ty.  Really great guy and easy to work with.  I hope after 6 weeks of back to back dips with Bayer I would hope that any pests will be completely gone.  It was a real pita treating, took almost 2 hours to get everything dipped and I think it was as stressful for me as it was on my corals.
I bought a used red dragon pump for my return pump last year and boy what a pump!!  Dead quiet and pushes an amazing amount of water.
Jeff

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #58 on: June 01, 2018, 20:58:20 »
I was able to get a good days work on the tank today.  I like to build rock columns inside the tank.  I start with a pvc pipe back bone and attach the rock to the center pipe using zip ties, building up to the top of the piping.  Most of the rock have small holes in them you can attach the zip ties to.  Several didnt have holes where I needed them so I took out the drill and masonry bit and made my own hole.  I put all the rock work into the tank except the pieces that are in the 55 gallon tank with corals on them.  Filled with the water that I had made up.  I had enough made to fill the tank about 3/4 full.  So far so good with no leaks.  I have the ro/di running to make as much as it will.  Hopefully by tomorrow evening I will have it full and running through the filter system.  I will probably give it a few days to settle in before adding the rest of the rock and corals.  Getting real close now.
Jeff

Offline JMM

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #59 on: June 01, 2018, 22:52:58 »
Be so much simpler if we could just use tap water, eh?! Back when I first did reef tanks that’s just what we did. Grew green hair algae real well. Looking great!

Offline Heinbaughb

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #60 on: June 02, 2018, 13:25:18 »
The way you're building the rock structures looks really smart. I may steal technique for future builds.

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #61 on: June 02, 2018, 22:27:49 »
The way you're building the rock structures looks really smart. I may steal technique for future builds.
Help your self to the idea.  That is what this forum is all about, sharing, tips, advise, etc.
Jeff

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #62 on: June 03, 2018, 23:35:30 »
yesterday and today I moved all the rocks into the tank.  Today I moved the fish and corals into the tank.  Everything went pretty smooth getting everything moved over.  I still need to place the frags into position.  It been a hard 2 months on the corals.  I have lost several pricey reefraft corals and have some corals with stn damage on them now, hopefully they will stop and recover.  When starting up my lighting one of the section of whites are out.  I will deal with that tomorrow.  The worst thing was when I found a small puddle coming from underneath my 75 gallon tank that I am using for a sump.  The tank was a freebie with the top and bottom frames both cracked.  I scrambled and found another used tank down in hamiliton and picked it up tonight.  Tomorrow I will have to shut down the system and remove the bad tank, cut out the baffles, and reinstall them into the new sump.  Seems like this work is never going to be over.
Jeff

Offline JMM

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #63 on: June 04, 2018, 05:46:38 »
You’ve come a long way. Hang in there a couple more days and it will be complete. Looking forward to a full tank shot .

Offline erky

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #64 on: June 04, 2018, 13:13:40 »
yesterday and today I moved all the rocks into the tank.  Today I moved the fish and corals into the tank.  Everything went pretty smooth getting everything moved over.  I still need to place the frags into position.  It been a hard 2 months on the corals.  I have lost several pricey reefraft corals and have some corals with stn damage on them now, hopefully they will stop and recover.  When starting up my lighting one of the section of whites are out.  I will deal with that tomorrow.  The worst thing was when I found a small puddle coming from underneath my 75 gallon tank that I am using for a sump.  The tank was a freebie with the top and bottom frames both cracked.  I scrambled and found another used tank down in hamiliton and picked it up tonight.  Tomorrow I will have to shut down the system and remove the bad tank, cut out the baffles, and reinstall them into the new sump.  Seems like this work is never going to be over.
Jeff

I still have that option for you if interested.

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #65 on: June 04, 2018, 17:56:16 »
I have the new sump cleaned up and all the  baffles silicon-ed in place. I added extra corner and bottom silicone, factory silicone seemed pretty weak.  Just having to wait on the silicone to set up overnight.  Still running on the old sump.  It is a very small leak that I just can keep a towel down next to the tank to catch the water.  worked more on coral and rock placement after I finished up the sump.  I think my wife is getting tired of me being in the basement all the time:) She'll get over it.
Jeff

Offline SweetReefOH

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #66 on: June 04, 2018, 18:54:28 »
Wow Jeff, what a massive undertaking!

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #67 on: June 07, 2018, 22:28:25 »
Well the sump is now in place and everything is running just fine.  I didnt have any filter socks in the old sump and I was amazed as too how much detritus was built up.  I will be installing socks into this sump as soon as I am able to.  I have pretty much everything up and running and am slowly bringing up the lights to full strength.  I have a lot of small loose ends to tie up but I am happy with the the way things have come together.  Here are two fts, one shows the corals in natural light but the stands finish isnt correct.  the other shows the stand and hood in a more accurate color.
Jeff

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #68 on: June 08, 2018, 05:54:12 »
Beautiful Jeff!

Offline Keith92

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #69 on: June 08, 2018, 07:56:06 »
Looks awesome!
You should be very proud of your project

Offline Nbehnken

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #70 on: June 08, 2018, 07:59:05 »
Looks really good, awesome job!


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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #71 on: June 08, 2018, 08:14:18 »
Thanks for all the encouragement and support over the last 2 months.  I wish I could get a better pic, maybe Jesse can help with a better fts.  Keith I am done with your lights, appreciate the use of them. 
 thanks again
Jeff

Offline soldiers4christ50

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #72 on: June 08, 2018, 10:25:44 »
Absolutely stunning. Great job!!

Offline Steve

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #73 on: June 08, 2018, 12:10:01 »
Nice work Jeff! Love the stand and hood. I know your fish and coral are happy.

Offline lazylivin

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #74 on: June 08, 2018, 13:35:43 »
Looks AWESOME! love it

Offline JMM

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #75 on: June 08, 2018, 13:42:04 »
After all the hastle, all the labor and disruption, all the discouraging things that happened along the way you can finally sit back and just enjoy the beauty of it all. Well done!
Jim

Offline mtamorrow

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #76 on: June 08, 2018, 20:29:56 »
Beautiful! Way to hang in there and not give up!


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It costs HOW much?!

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #77 on: June 08, 2018, 22:53:50 »
Thanks all,   I ordered a bad of sand today.  I have never been crazy about deep sand beds so I ordered a 40 lb bag.  With the 20lbs I got from Jesse I should have more then I need.  I just want enough to cover the glass.  I'm anxious for the corals to color back up and start growing again.  Then a trip to lazy's to replace the pieces that I lost.
Jeff

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #78 on: June 22, 2018, 20:48:17 »
Two weeks in and all is well.  Corals are slowly getting some of their color back and all stn has seemed to have stopped.  I have been slowly increasing the light intensity to bring the corals back up to full strength.  I love the new tank but it has been a real headache and the loss of corals has been quite a bit.  I thought that I would share some pics of my filter room.  The sump is a 75 gallon tank that I installed baffles and sectioned off.  First section is for my skimmer and socks, second is filled with live rock and cheato then my return pump section.  I picked up a awesome return pump that is feeding a water manifold that is splitting off the water to all my different pieces of equipment.  I control my alk and ca with a twin chamber mrc calcium reactor.  I have a sulfur reactor that I built from a geo media reactor for nitrate control.  I am also feeding a small frag tank from the manifold. I am thrifty with my reef money so all of my equipment was either purchased used or diy.  I control everything with an apex classic controller.  I really like the controller but hate to have everything controlled from one point and hate the idea of a component failure.
Jeff

Offline Wall_Tank

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #79 on: June 22, 2018, 22:47:49 »
I always keep a backup controller to mitigate the risk.


Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #80 on: June 22, 2018, 23:04:24 »
I always keep a backup controller to mitigate the risk.


Yeah I would like to find a decent price on just a controller
Jeff

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #81 on: June 23, 2018, 07:26:27 »
I know it was a struggle for you Jeff but WOW, that new setup is gorgeous! Very nice job and I’m looking forward to seeing how it matures.

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #82 on: February 20, 2019, 23:14:08 »
I thought that I would post up what I have been working on this past winter.  When Lazylivin decided to install new tanks and sell his old frag tanks I was able to pick up the 7 ft tank that he kept his grow out sps colonies in. I wanted to set it up in my filter sump room behind my main tank.  I had a small home built 10 gallon frag tank that I took out of service in place of this one.  The biggest hurdle was moving my sump from one side of the room to the other.  It involved running all my plumbing and wiring from it existing location to the other side of the room.  My room is only maybe 6 ft wide so I had to install the sump underneath the stand for the frag tank to allow any room to move around in the room.   It will make more sense from the pictures.   The plumbing wasnt as bad as all the wiring.  I had to extend all my probes wiring(temp, ph, salinity, orp, skimmer overflow switch) wiring for 2 heaters, skimmer pump, return pump and dosing lines.
Jeff

Offline Heinbaughb

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #83 on: February 20, 2019, 23:18:32 »
That frag tank going to be extremely useful to have. What are you planning to do for lighting the 7 ft length?


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Offline lazylivin

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #84 on: February 21, 2019, 00:05:46 »
You will love all the space. Plenty of room for growth, looks great

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: The nightmare begins!
« Reply #85 on: February 22, 2019, 11:46:57 »
I had to work out a way to service my skimmer with it being underneath the frag tank stand.  I was able to use the tanks stand and butt it up against my existing equipment stand at the end of the room.  I slid the tank so that it is resting on both stands which gave me about 2 ft open at the end of the tanks stand.  I cut the top so I could remove it and placed my sump with the skimmer directly underneath the cut out.  I can now remove the skimmer through this opening if needed and also make a small work space for testing and making frags.  I only have enough frags right now to use one of my lights but have plenty of room for more when the time comes.  I have a separate in sump pump that it supplying water to just the frag tank and the drain empties into the sump underneath.  With it set up this way I am able to use the same filtration and support equipment for both my display and frag tanks saving a lot of money in equipment.  I am guessing my total water volume to be around 350 gallons now.  I bought one of Lazy's old ocean revive lights and replaced the leds that were bad in it.  I purchased 2 new revives for whenever I get enough corals to need them.  After seeing the success that Brian has with his revives I felt like they were a good choice for this new system.
Jeff

 

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