The Worlds Fastest Tank Build... (New Photos 1.26.2010)

[rstar]

Jan 26: New photos added to page 7, been a while since ive taken any, busy being a daddy!

Dec 2: No more bryopsis! New Photos added to bottom of thread!

Oct 10: Changed lights last week, new photos added last page

Ok so some of you may have read my thread a couple nightt ago about the bottom brace letting go, and leaning the tank problem. So without further ado, i give you the world fastsest tank build... maybe.

Here are a few pics of the old 90 with the trim cracking.

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/dfe81c74.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/7994d0c1.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/907d27b4.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/0065e349.jpg

My Saturday started with a desparate phone call to my LFS. At this point ive only had 3 hours of sleep.

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/75b3bc84.jpg

I have to say the LFS owner in Saskatoon went ABOVE and BEYOND for me. He came in from building his house just to give me a hand. The only tank he had in stock that was reef ready was a 120gal 48X24X24 with a right side center overflow. So off i went 100KM into the city to pick up this tank and everything i needed. I got into the city by 4:30pm. Picked up the tank, then had to go and get everything i needed to build a stand. Luckily my two brother in laws were with me as i have never built a stand.

We got back into Rosetown by about 10:30pm and got to work on the stand by 11:00 pm in my cold unheated garage.

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/6e689d64.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/694b5543.jpg

We based the stand off the one for my LFS' display tank. 2X6 Boxes with 2X4 risers.

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/c3fe51f1.jpg

[rstar]

Of course working in the col and REALLY late into the night we had to set up a coffe bar on the work bench in my garage.

This picture was taken around 2:00am

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/52c49066.jpg

The it was back to work on the stand.

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/560014e0.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/b6b5add9.jpg

We decided to put a sheet of OSB on the top of the tank with some foam board on top of that.

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/0a58c38b.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/8f61fe64.jpg

Finally at 4:00am the stand was complete and it was time to load test!

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/dd0cf756.jpg

We then moved the stand into the house and too a quick breather and got back to work draining the old tank.

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/2c7ce17d.jpg

I was really grasping at straws for anywhere we could keep the old water from the tank. so this process of removing everything took about 3 hours. All in all ive lost one fish to a rock falling in his hold tank. It was my recently purchased blue cheek trigger.

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/9d0f7a3a.jpg

[rstar]

This is just a quick shot of inspecting the new tank.

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/aabb5f94.jpg

So by about 8:00am We had the old tank drained and moved out with the new tank sitting in its new home.
We had to shim the tank stand as my floor as a slight slope to it, this was a frustrating hour of getting everything supported. I ended up using an extra panel of 8mm laminate i had kicking around.


http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/4d4f6496.jpg

I decided to turf all my old sand and go with one 40lbs bag of aragonite rinsed thoroughly. It was just enough to skim the bottom of the tank and i quite like it.

by 9:00 we were setting up all the plumbing for the overflow. This was frustrating as apparantly home depot no longer sells pvc under 4" We had to make so with what i had lie around and the few connectors my LFS gave me the day before when picked up the tank.

By 1:00pm we pretty much had the tank refilled and everything moved back into the tank.

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/65a03ab5.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/f73bc504.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/4665ec78.jpg

The Rock-Work is just pretty puch thrown together as we were getting REALLY burned out at this point. Though i really do like the cave on the side.

At 2:30 my brother in law and i passed out on the couch for a few hours and woke at 8:00pm tonight to a nice clear tank. all that was left to do was plug the skimmer in and go to sleep...

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/4ecb1435.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/03303148.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/4fbba9f4.jpg

So there you have it everyone a 24hr tank build!!

[Lance]

Wow! That's awesome. And it looks good too!

[Chaloupa]

WOW...it does look good...lucky you there is a very very happy ending..... AND a bigger tank! Nice work guys!

[lobsterboy]

looks good, nice

[sunce_22]

Congrats on the happy ending! We were following along and worried the whole way!

[rstar]

WOW...it does look good...lucky you there is a very very happy ending..... AND a bigger tank! Nice work guys!

I was very happy that is ended well. I can tank one fish loss over a whole reef. W are pretty pleased with the way it all turned out! Thanks for the compliments!!

[rstar]

Congrats on the happy ending! We were following along and worried the whole way!

It's amazing the support that members of thie site gove eachother. Thanks for the support!

[mark]

nice (and quick)

[golf nut]

Excellent!! now go back to bed.

[Pazil]

Great job on the build.... looks like a lot of thought went into it....:biggrin:

[Jason McK]

WOW the tank looks great. But kinda a cheaky way to get an upgrade LOL

I don't think I would have had the forsight to document it so well Great job

J

[fishytime]

A round of applause. Amazing how the thought of 90 gallons of water on the floor can motivate:mrgreen: Great job guys.

[digital-audiophile]

Way to gi't er done!

Amazing what can be done when we are really motivated.

Looks nice, I'm sure you will be very happy with the new tank!

[Snaz]

WOW the tank looks great. But kinda a cheaky way to get an upgrade LOL
J

Hmm..
"Honey the tank is in imminent danger of collapse and flooding your floors. I feel the best course of action would be to buy a newer, bigger tank. Today."

I see what you did there!

[Norstar]

Did you ever find out why the stand and tank rim were cracking??

[lastlight]

Now that's the sort of overbuilt stand I love! Nice work on pulling off an upgrade while you're at it. I can't get over how nice the rockwork looks for such a mad rush.

And about HD and pvc...I noticed here in Calgary at the Shawnessy location that they only have 4" and the stuff with holes in it. I had to go to Rona for pvc.

[brizzo]

Way to gi't er done!

LOL, at least I wasn't the only one to think that...

[Rbacchiega]

Looks great. Too bad about the Trigger but, as you've already said, one is better than all.

Lets see...the last night I pulled an all nighter there was big signs, bright lights and black jack...maybe I should try one when I get motivated to build the new setup.


Again...Well done!

[sitandwatch]

How come the stand is not painted? Run out of time?

Looks good I now know the secret of getting a bigger tank :biggrin:

[rstar]

How come the stand is not painted? Run out of time?

Looks good I now know the secret of getting a bigger tank :biggrin:

Its not painted because i picked up a cabinet making grade sheet of plywood to stain and skin the stand, im also going to build a new canopy with the same skin as well. I think that project ill take a little time on.

[rstar]

WOW the tank looks great. But kinda a cheaky way to get an upgrade LOL

I don't think I would have had the forsight to document it so well Great job

J

It was kinda cheeky but in all honesty i made sure the wife was ok with it, what with the baby coming in July and what not. Ecentially i just made sure she new well what would happen and then let her make the decision. :lol:

It was her idea to document it, she took most of the picture of us putting it all back together!

Did you ever find out why the stand and tank rim were cracking??

We really arent to sure. Im inclined to believe it was the trim letting go causing the tank to lean causing the stand to list. I know this because even with the tank leaning hard the stand was still level both ways. Im going to email the manufacture of the tank because its supposed to have a 5 year warranty on it. We will see how that goes :lol:

Now that's the sort of overbuilt stand I love! Nice work on pulling off an upgrade while you're at it. I can't get over how nice the rockwork looks for such a mad rush.

And about HD and pvc...I noticed here in Calgary at the Shawnessy location that they only have 4" and the stuff with holes in it. I had to go to Rona for pvc.

Yea we really put alot into that stand, i wasnt going to have the same thing happen. It was funny moving the old AGA stand out, it was WAY lighter than the new one. As for the PVC all HD had was the 4" with hold as well... weird.

Looks great. Too bad about the Trigger but, as you've already said, one is better than all.

Lets see...the last night I pulled an all nighter there was big signs, bright lights and black jack...maybe I should try one when I get motivated to build the new setup.


Again...Well done!

Thanks alot, and all i have to say LONG night, i dont even think i was up that long for my bachelor part.... ugh im still tired!! But all in all its was a great time! Not exactly the circumstances i would have liked to do an upgrade, but in the end its all the same :lol:

[Snaz]

Time to upgrade that signature mate. "120 Gallon - Fastest Build in the West"

[christyf5]

Wow thats just awesome! I mean sucky that you had to do it but man, awesome that you could! Talk about dedicated! And the tank looks great after all that. Nice work!! :mrgreen:

[rstar]

Time to upgrade that signature mate. "120 Gallon - Fastest Build in the West"

LOL Done and done, thanks for that!!:lol:

[es355lucille]

Great Job! Great looking tank!

Hell it seems to take me longer than that to make up some salt water and do a water change!!!!

Brad

[rstar]

Great Job! Great looking tank!

Hell it seems to take me longer than that to make up some salt water and do a water change!!!!

Brad

Typically me to lol, i had my ro unit just punching away to get this transfer done. By the time i ran out of old water and new water i had the level in the tank about 1 inch from the overflow. Then had to wait 3 hours for the rest to ro/di :lol:

[fishytime]

So......how are things looking?

[Myka]

That's awesome!! I was scoping out that tank last time I was at Bayside...I guess I don't have to think about it anymore!! :lol:

[sphelps]

Your stand is made from a small forest :shocked!: but I guess no more chances right? :wink:

Looks good, I bet you always wanted a 120 anyway.

[Leah]

If they replace the old tank does that mean your wife lets you keep both?!

[Snappy]

Glad you were able to save the day. Good luck with the new tank.

[rstar]

:wink:So......how are things looking?

Sor far so good, i still need to rearrange some of the rock work but i seems everything is doing alright. I take some more pictures maybe tonight. My powder brown tang appears to have gotten a big case of the ich. Other than that everyone is doing alright!


That's awesome!! I was scoping out that tank last time I was at Bayside...I guess I don't have to think about it anymore!! :lol:

Yeah i noticed it the last few times i was there as well, never thought i'd end up needing it though!!


Your stand is made from a small forest :shocked!: but I guess no more chances right? :wink:

Looks good, I bet you always wanted a 120 anyway.

Yeah Steve, my wife gets scared pretty easy so we built the stand like a tank, and she told me, "next time this happens you are done! So we built it like a tank! The last upgrade i did was under similar circumstances, when we were moving into this house the last thing to get moved was my old 33gal, when we were lifting it off the stand the drain elbow got caught and caused the bottom pain to crack. So NONE of my ugrades have been a slow and easy process! And say who doesn't want an upgrade :wink:


If they replace the old tank does that mean your wife lets you keep both?!

LOL i wish!! I have to make up the money for buying the new tank somehow! This was a VERY unexpected purchase, and with our first baby coming in July, im sure we will need the money!


Glad you were able to save the day. Good luck with the new tank.

Thanks Greg, this just means more room for SPS frags and another reef roadtrip to see you again in the future :wink:

[Myka]

Sor far so good, i still need to rearrange some of the rock work but i seems everything is doing alright. I take some more pictures maybe tonight. My powder brown tang appears to have gotten a big case of the ich. Other than that everyone is doing alright!

Acting like a typical "Powder" tang.

[Skimmerking]

nice tank man, i see your lighting is plain and simple just hang the pendants and a way you go its easier that way too.


love the rock work too....to bad you didnt have the tank like an island thou. viewed from 3 sides

[BoYd'O]

Well rstar it was a long night and on behaf of me and your other brother in'law, were just glad to help out, theres nothing like getting a phone call at 8am saying "MY TANK IS LEANING, AND I NEED HELP". Well i helped you place the 90 gal in there its only fitting that i took it out..lol I just wonder is james going to get the reefers bug like i did two years ago? Its looking great and i'm glad i was able to help. By the way... no more phone calls like that, i'm having bad dreams about my 75 bowfront lol.

BoYd'O

[rstar]

nice tank man, i see your lighting is plain and simple just hang the pendants and a way you go its easier that way too.


love the rock work too....to bad you didnt have the tank like an island thou. viewed from 3 sides

LOL thats my old canopy from the 90gal. I have all the stuff to build a new canopy that fits this tank just havent gotten around to it yet! Having the tank be a peninsula whould have been ideal however my living room does not allow the space for it.

[Myka]

How are all the corals doing? Any bleaching? Did you get a cycle at all?

[rstar]

How are all the corals doing? Any bleaching? Did you get a cycle at all?

The Corals are all doing great, i haven't had any bleaching or browning, still as colorful as they ever were. Ive never seen my clams do any better than they are now and my anemone is "happy as a clam". That being said this has been a devistating week for my fish. My PB Tang broke out in a massive ich infection. With a death a birth and a wedding in my family this past week i wasnt able to help him in time. He died and the ich spread like the plague, my lamrcks died, and yellow tang died, my blenny died, my goby died and one clown fish died. Its been a terribly sad week. The only fish i have left are a clown, a sixline wrasse and a damsel! :sad: The worst part about it is that i had to pull the rock work to get the tang and blenny out, they were both alive but too far gone. I had to have my brother in law come by and euthanize the fish for me. Ill post some pics tonight of the new rockwork and coral placement.

[Myka]

Ya, post some pics to relieve the pain! :(

In the future you can easily euthanize fish by putting them in a bag with just enough tank water to cover them, and put them in the freezer. One of the most humane ways.

[rstar]

Thats basically what my brother did, i just couldnt bear to do it myself. The two fish that were euthanized last night were my two favorite fish and the fish ive had the longest, going on 3 years!

[Myka]

Oi, that sucks!! :(

[rstar]

Here are some pics of the tank i took today. Ive been bummed out about loosing all my fish so i havent done too much to the tank, today i gave it a good thourogh cleaning so i figured id take some pic for you all. I re-aquascaped about 3 weeks ago so here are the new pics!

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/d15f1c49.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/4a8e625a.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/9eb14fdd.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/b54421b9.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/02a1a5b2.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/29f80650.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/2c2c8c54.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/ca256aee.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/20fa0b93.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/e4fe710e.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/d8484cb1.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/41725061.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/b777c328.jpg

[Myka]

Wow, looking GREAT!!

[fishytime]

Sorry to hear about the trouble:neutral:

[rstar]

Wow, looking GREAT!!

Thanks Myka, been a long time comming!

Sorry to hear about the trouble:neutral:

You win some you loose some, this is the nature of this hobby, but i do get to restock now with some of the fish ive always wanted!

[fishytime]

You win some you loose some, this is the nature of this hobby, but i do get to restock now with some of the fish ive always wanted!

Thats a great attitude to have. What are some of the fish you would like to have?

[rstar]

Thats a great attitude to have. What are some of the fish you would like to have?

I'm not entirely sure yet, i was thinking perhaps a different type of blenny, maybe a midas blenny. Different goby type. And id like to get a really nice tang maybe a Sohal. We will see what peeks my interest when the time comes!

[rstar]

well i haven't updated in a LONG time because i haven't been feeling like the tank has been worth an update. Between becoming a daddy, and a ongoing and non stop battle with bryopsis and some type of caulerpa ive had my hands full. Finally ive decided the tank is becoming update worthy so here are a few pictures! Don't worry the unicorn tang will get a new home when he grows a little bit, i just got him today to eat some of the algae i have growing, he is doing a fantastic job!

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/34809012.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/110b3747.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/36b6922a.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/b7a1428b.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/3826eef5.jpg

[BoYd'O]

Hey there ryan, the tanks looking great, like the new tang, as well as the fox face........lol. Keep up the good work with the tanks aswell as being a great new dad.
Niall

[Leah]

I just got a Midas blenny very neat fish. He is one of my favorite fishes very funny to watch.

[rstar]

I just got a Midas blenny very neat fish. He is one of my favorite fishes very funny to watch.

I still haven't picked out my blenny yet, im torn between going for looks or efficiency at cleaning the tank!!!

[Lance]

Tank looks good!

[rstar]

Hey everyone. My wife and i just bought an hd camcorder so i thought i would try it out on the tank. Here is a video i put together using adobe premiere! Enjoy!!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq_xibwAnA4

[Lance]

Nice! God job.

[Lance]

Er...........That should be: Good Job. :biggrin:

[lobsterboy]

Fish look great and Great polyp extension on the SPS.

Are you using a wavebox?

[rstar]

Fish look great and Great polyp extension on the SPS.

Are you using a wavebox?

Thanks, and yep i am using a nano wavebox, but i think its a little too small for the tank, there isnt enough displacment by the box. The wave is very easily eaten up by all the other flow in the tank. The biggest culprit is the overflow, with it off the wave looks really nice!

[Leah]

Loved the video and the music is perfect. How is mommy and the little one by the way?

[Myka]

I love your theme song!!! Tank is looking really good now. You have some great corals.

[rstar]

Loved the video and the music is perfect. How is mommy and the little one by the way?

Hehe! Momma and Baby are doing great thanks for asking! Here is a recent picture of her! Man do they grow fast!!


http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/9248b2f9.jpg


I love your theme song!!! Tank is looking really good now. You have some great corals.

Its taken a long time to get there and there is still a long way to go with the bryopsis! That stuff is the bane of my excistense!

[Leah]

Great Photo! I think you may have a future actress/model on your hands dad. Thanks for
sharing.

Is the Unicorn helping with the bryopsis at all?

[rstar]

Been a while since ive updated the thread with some pictures! I changed my bulbs out last week from my 1 year old xm 20k bulbs to some el cheap plus rite 14k's. Took some getting used to but i think they are really growing on me! I've undergone a slight algae bloom from the new lights, but its starting to come back under control! Enjoy!

Full Tank:
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/bd26afab.jpg

Chalice:
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/935f29ad.jpg

Pink Zoa:
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/c27d676f.jpg

Photosynthetic Gorgonian:
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/e56b537d.jpg

Orange Acan:
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/7c9fb589.jpg

Red Chalice:
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/b5b3ef3a.jpg

SPS Rock (Rainbow Stylo, Pink Birdsnest, Browned Tri-color Acro, Green Digi):
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/b13e6780.jpg

Green Slimer:
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/eea945be.jpg

Turquoise Birds Nest:
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/a9bd9a3b.jpg

[rstar]

Here are some new pics, i haven't updated for a while! I am FINALLY over my bout with Bryopsis its been a long battle! I think the clincher was me finally getting a lettuce nudibrach, and completely vaccuming the sand bed regularly with my water changes! I treated myself to a strawberry patch monti cap frag for finally winning!

Strawberry Monti
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/wmelon.jpg

Teal Birdsnest
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/tbird.jpg

Red Monti Cap
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/redcap.jpg

Pink Zoa
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/pzoa.jpg

Orange Zoa
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/ozoa.jpg

Hydno
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/hydno.jpg

Full Tank
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/ftank-1.jpg

[rstar]

Been busy with being a daddy lately so i havent updated in a long time. Took the time to take some pics this evening after a slight redecorations this afternoon. Enjoy!

Green Branching Monti
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/gmonti.jpg

Green Slimer Acro
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/greemslimer.jpg

Pagoda Cup
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/pagoda-1.jpg

Red Chalice
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/rchalice.jpg

T. Squamosa
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/squamy.jpg

Teal Birdsnest
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/tbnest.jpg

SPS Rock
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/sps.jpg

Full Tank
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/ftank-2.jpg

[BoYd'O]

Wow the tank is looking great, looks like the green slimer is taking off like a weed aswell as the blue acro behind the birds nest. Keep up the great work, tanks is looking great. The rescapeing looks nice.


Niall

[Leah]

The tank looks great! :mrgreen:
We need a baby update as well there, Dad! :wink:

[sphelps]

looking good, you got some nice pieces in there. Love the rock work, especially the SPS tower on the left with the anemone, very cool!

[rstar]

We need a baby update as well there, Dad! :wink:

Thanks for the nice compliments everyone, i really appreciate it! And here are some pictures of my little monkey Leah, man do they ever grow fast!

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/P1076465.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/P1076478.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/P1226553.jpg

[Leah]

Oh she is too cute! Yum peas!
Those eyes just made my day!!! :biggrin::biggrin:

Thanks for the great pics!

Leah

[Lance]

What a cutie! Those big eyes of hers are gonna break some hearts one day. :biggrin:

[freezetyle]

Hydno
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r302/rstar26/hydno.jpg


Wow great looking tank!

Are you finding that your Hydnophora is a problem with your other SPS? I love the look of them but have been hesitant to get one due to the fact that most people regret getting them due to there aggressiveness?

[rstar]

Are you finding that your Hydnophora is a problem with your other SPS? I love the look of them but have been hesitant to get one due to the fact that most people regret getting them due to there aggressiveness?

No i haven't found it to be too much of a problem. Actually it was sitting probably within 1/4 inch from the red monti cap for the longest time and neither seemed to be bothered with eachother!

[rstar]

What a cutie! Those big eyes of hers are gonna break some hearts one day. :biggrin:

Hehe Thanks Lance, those eyes already break hearts. Namely her parents.