180g peninsula tank build - First ever aquarium

[Milad]

So, about 5 weeks ago 3 gold fish came into our home because of Persian New Year. Well these poor goldfish were stuck in a little 3gallon tank. I decided that they deserve more!!! I embarked on a mission to find these goldfish a new home where they can swim free....

One thing lead to another and I bought a 180g tank.... SW tank... soooo ya, goldfish are still stuck in the 3gallon one! DOH!

Anyways, this is my first aquarium so I may be doing alot of things wrong so take my pictures and posts with a grain of salt (instant ocean salt)

Hardware so far:
180g tank
70g sump
6' coralife aqualight pro 150 watt with new 13K geismann's
2 tunze 6105s powerheads
1 tunze 6215 wavebox
PENAIR SKIMMER (Euroreef 250 copy) made by Pen-air Aquatics(8"body & 24"tall) sedra9000 pump with gate valve
SICCE 5.0 return pump
Marine Tech Calcium Reactor
1/4 Pacific Chiller
Neptune Systems Apex Controller

Livestock:
~250lbs live rock
2 cinnamon clowns
1 porcelain shirmp
1 yellow clown goby
1 green candy cane


Quick links:
Initial pictures of tank and sketch up model (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=513397&postcount=2)
Building the stand (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=513410&postcount=3)
Stand is done, tank is up on stand (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=515690&postcount=19)
Painting the back and adding new bulkheads (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=517115&postcount=24)
Electrical, Plumbing, Overflowboxes, Magnets (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=518693&postcount=27)
Filling with water - finished plumbing (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=520983&postcount=44)
First fish added (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=525157&postcount=59)
Mesh installed - Desk view (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=526455&postcount=60)
Automation setup (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=528133&postcount=68)
First Corals/Anenome (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=528135&postcount=69)
Full tank shots and Livestock update July 20th 2010 (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=536381&postcount=79)
Overbending wood to straighten it (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=536386&postcount=80)
Skimmer Silencer for gurgling noise from intake (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=548340&postcount=85)

[Milad]

The tank before I got my hands on it:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/IMG_0335.JPG

Here is a sketch up of what the final product is going to look like (But with fish in it!)... that is if I do everything right..
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/AQ1.jpg

[Milad]

I thought this was going to be the easiest part of this whole thing but it seems this is the hardest!! I wanted to stand to look really good. This aquarium is "decor" to me and needs to fit in with the rest of the house. Most of the pieces in the house are black laminate so I wanted to match this... simple right? sorta of

Turns out laminate shows ANY bump, dip, etc on the wood. So the first batch of wood I got was totally wrong. So I had to go back and cut two more 4x8 pieces of wood. The stuff that I really needed was plywood G1S (which stands for Good 1 Side). This stuff is sanded and free of bumps, notches etc on 1 side of the wood. Its a bit pricey but its nice. I bought 1/2in sheets. The sketch up diagram worked really well to get the measurements needed. I made 4x8 rectangles in sketchup and

The laminate I bought was called Fromica (sp?). 4x8 sheet of the stuff is $65 bucks but the store I was at had 2x4 sheets for $5 so I bought 16 of them.

Here is the stand with the crappy wood on top
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/IMG_0348.JPG

My carpentar buddy came over and laughed at me for buying the wrong wood but he came up with the idea of filling in and sanding the top half so we could save the big pieces of wood. Its gota be smooth for the laminate to go on. We used drywall filler because thats all we had at the time but the stuff that you are really suppose to use is called "Poly filla". Then we just used a sanding block to smooth it down.
Here he is sanding and filling.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/059.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/060.JPG

The laminate we cut with a table saw but you can use a laminate cutting tool which is really cheap ($6). Slapped 1 coat of contact cemant ($13 for 930ml - ended up needing 3 of these) on laminate, 1 coat on wood.... then you wait till you can touch it and it doesnt leave anything on your finger and you add another coat just to the wood (it soaks the first coat up). once you can touch it and it doesnt leave anything on your finger you stick the two pieces together. Kinda easy once you do 1 or 2. After that, we took a rotor to trim off the 1/8 excess laminate.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/063.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/065.JPG

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/070.JPG

This took us something like 6 hours to do.... lol.

[kien]

wow, there are some major tools being used in this build! :lol: Looks good, and I'm really jealous that you've got bamboo growing in your backyard!

[Milad]

Ya i got lucky i got a friend thats a carpentar.
Dont look at the yard!! it needs to get mowed and cleaned up but it keeps raining here.

[kien]

Ya i got lucky i got a friend thats a carpentar.
Dont look at the yard!! it needs to get mowed and cleaned up but it keeps raining here.

ya, that is just terrible! I feel so sorry for you poor souls.. it rains so much that your backyards become a disgustingly lush palette of green flora :P

[Milad]

btw kien, dont be surprised if you see some simliarties between this build and yours. All the sides of the stand are panels like yours and they are going to be attached with magnets

[Frenchie2]

What about these poor 3 gold fishies stuck in the 3 gallon tank?? Are they going to see a better day?

[bauder1986]

What about these poor 3 gold fishies stuck in the 3 gallon tank?? Are they going to see a better day?

there are just gold fish hahaha they can live in anything really as long as its clearer than my morning coffee lmao

[blacknife]

they will need something bigger, just get a cheap 50 gallon and an aquaclear for them.. they will grow into it in no time.

nice build :)


I left my old 90 with my ex because after my showpice fish died while i was working on the road her 3 goldfish and 2 plecos got moved in. after being in there a year there was no way they could be moved to something smaller. if you keep the water clean enough to keep them alive they are almost indestructable.

[Leah]

Ya i got lucky i got a friend thats a carpentar.
Dont look at the yard!! it needs to get mowed and cleaned up but it keeps raining here.

It rains in NorthVan??? I do not believe you. :lol: Born and raised there. :wink:

Can't wait to see what you do with the tank. :mrgreen:

[saltynuts]

all your pics are gone. sounds like a fun build for you.
now you will have to pimp out that gold fish bowl!!!!

[no_bs]

Yes, nice looking build Milad.

[Milad]

Thanks guys! Its raining again so the last bits of the stand are on hold until next week.

Are the pics not showing anymore? Im using dropbox to host them, might need to change to photobucket.

As far as the goldfish go, if they are still kicking when im done with this build i'll find them a 30g.

[mseepman]

Looking forward to this one. My new tank will be a peninsula too.

[fiorano]

neat build. keep us all posted. im debating going to a cube or rimless peninsula next myself!

[Milad]

so last night I woke up at 4:37am with a brilliant idea on a water change system.
I quickly jotted it all down. So expect to see a automatic weekly water change in this build. And when i say automatic I mean I do absolutely nothing but put a couple cups of salt in (and ill find a way to automate that too).

Ill have some models up of it for feedback tomorrow night.

[Milad]

here is the thread for the automatic water change design if you guys want to give me some feedback on it.
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=514303#post514303

[Milad]

So today my buddy and I finished the top of the stand
Here are some pics
I used 4 small sheets of laminate on the top since its not going to show much

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/002.JPG


And the .5in styro
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/008.JPG


TANK IS UP!!!
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/010.JPG

Decided to also test out the lights
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/011.JPG



Im leaving the panels off until I get all the plumbing done
so what have I learned?
No way in hell would I ever make a stand again. That was the most labour ive done in years. My hands are a mess and im tired as hell. Next time im going to ikea, finding some panels, then having someone build a rod iron stand to match the panel sizes. I wouldnt recommend anyone making their stand. To much time/money.

[Milad]

O and here are the goldfish that started this build
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/001.JPG

[Zoaelite]

O and here are the goldfish that started this build
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/001.JPG

That's quite the jump, most people at least buy a biocube in between :lol::lol:. Tank is looking great, cant wait to see it up and running.

[kien]

No way in hell would I ever make a stand again. That was the most labour ive done in years.

:lol: That's funny. I thought that the stand was the easiest part of my build! 4 Legs, some deck screws, glue, paint, run to Ikea for some panels, done! :biggrin:

[naesco]

Nice tank. I see tangs in the future!
I agree with the earlier comment. Find a larger home for the goldfish or take them back to the LFS.

[Milad]

So while waiting for some hardware to get to my place I ended up painting the back of the stand where all the piping was.

I used some flat black latex paint to do the back. I took out the old bulkheads and decided to put some new ones in while I was painting. did about 5 coats and then sanded it down with a sanding "pad" that is used for drywall. The sanding pad actually worked really well.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Painting%20and%20Bulkheads/001-1.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Painting%20and%20Bulkheads/002-1.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Painting%20and%20Bulkheads/004-1.JPG


So everything looks great... all is well.. paint is dry. I go to remove the tape and the bulk heads and the paint starts coming off with them!!! it was like it was taped on paint! LOL. So I had to use a blade to seperate the paint and the tape I used.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Painting%20and%20Bulkheads/005-1.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Painting%20and%20Bulkheads/007-1.JPG

Now that I got the old bulkheads out, paint done, time to put in the new bulk heads. As you can tell from the previous picture I left some room to make sure the bulkheads touch all glass. The holes drilled in the tank arent the greatest so I decided to fill the gaps with silcone. I taped up the bulkhead threads as close as I could get to the glass so I didnt get silcone in them. I also taped the bulkheads to the glass on the inside of the aquarium to keep them in place.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Painting%20and%20Bulkheads/017-1.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Painting%20and%20Bulkheads/019-1.JPG

The trick I found to making the silcone look good is to use a plastic spooon to clean up the excess silcone. worked flawlessly! Combined with the tape I added in the previous step they seam looked very nice. I also taped up the wrench that I tightned the bulkheads with so it wouldnt scartch them up.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Painting%20and%20Bulkheads/023-1.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Painting%20and%20Bulkheads/024-1.JPG


Stay tuned, this build is starting to catch some speed. Most of the hardware should be in next week and I thought of some great ways to "recycle" a few things that I have at work..... Ill be posting some pics of the "recycling" tomorrow...

[groan]

OK, it's been 3 days...What happened to the recycling?

[Milad]

recycling is done
overflows made
overflows are in
reinforcement of glass is done
drains are done
return is done
electrical is done (I like what i did here btw, i think its slick)
leak tested last night

but i guess you guys want an update with pictures? Well i went and get a new camera too so the pictures are even slicker now. ill be posting them tomorrow night probably.

[Milad]

Sorry this took so long for an update but I did the plumbing, then got mad at the plumbing and have since removed it (picture show old plumbing) and I will be redoing it tonight I think. I also wanted to wait to get you guys pictures of the newest "design" i came up with and got someone from work to help me create. Im very impressed with it, its in the last pictures on this post (dont you dare skip ahead, read!).

I was sitting at work thinking.... "Milad, where can you get some better magnets to hold up the panels of your stand"
While I was thinking that.... these were sitting on my desk..
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Magnets/IMG_0551.jpg

Eureka!!
Hardrive have super strong rare earth magnets in them! Well when we decommsion a PC we destroy (physically) the hardrives for security reasons.
So here is a quick how-to to remove the magnets
First unscrew the side that has all the writing on it (should be about 7 screws). you need special screwdriver for these.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Magnets/IMG_0556.jpg
then just peel it open
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Magnets/IMG_0554.jpg
pry the magnets out (some are screwed in, others are not)
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Magnets/IMG_0557.jpg
And boom, two magnets (each harddrive has two, one upper and one lower)
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Magnets/IMG_0558.jpg

these magnets will tear skin so they can hold up my panels easily.


now off to the electrical and plumbing....

So what I went and did was grab a bunch of plumbing and electrical items from Rona (the how to people) and started installing away. I wanted to split the load of the aquarium between two breakers and it happens that where this aquarium is going, there are two sockets that are on different breakers! and after reading the thread on the GFCI thing I decided to throw two in for the fun of it.

These are just two GFCI outlets in a plastic box. This was probably one of the easiest things to do but one of the scariest to turn on because ive never actually done electrical wiring though my old days of car stereo installer and trailer wiring installer came in handy
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/025.JPG
The two wires are running through the gray conduit on the right. I ended up using 14 guage wire
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/027.JPG
used a tension reducing thingy at the end of the conduit, simple to install and only couple bucks
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/033.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/036.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/042.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/043.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/056.JPG

I needed some overflow boxes and I went through a bunch of different designs and ended up with one on the inside of the aquarium. One thing I hate about this is that it takes up so much room and looks ugly..... until I came up with a way to fix that (more later). I used bunch of 3/8 in glass for this. Was about 15 bucks per piece.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/017.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/023.JPG

This was my first silcone job and I think I did ok. I was surprised how strong the silcone was!

So one thing that scared me about buying this used tank is that the rim was brittle in one area and cracked. I dont want water everywhere so I read around and came up with a plan. First... try to seal it
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/013.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/014.JPG

I cant remember what I used for the seal but its for patching hot water tanks. I then decided that wasnt enough so i did the following:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/015.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/016.JPG

Clean eh? I thought so. Two 3/8in x 27 1/8in x 3in glass. I had 1/16in on each side to fill with silicone once I taped them into place. They came out really nice and I think they will add a bit of extra support to the tank to ease my mind.

Im not really showing the plumbing because I think I did it wrong so i ripped it out, but we did leak test it before i ripped it out
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/058.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/062.JPG

for some reason this fish didnt want to go in, hmmmm

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/065.JPG

tunze wave box thanks to mike olsen!
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/049.JPG

as you can see by the above picture I threaded them on the outside when I was suppose to slip them on the inside! not only that, i didnt use purple premier! doh

So now you are asking yourself why I had two overflow, well, this is a herbie setup so I pulled some strings at work and got my guys to cut me up some arcylic
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/066.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/069.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/076.JPG

Looks nice right?! WRONG!! I didnt like it at all. It looks two clunky, to much stuff, to many 90s. This is why i didnt want the overflows inside. UGH dammit
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But wait.. what did I say at the begining of the thread? In comes my co-workers with their
holy **** elite skills.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/078.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/077.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/070.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/072.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Electrical%20and%20Plumbing/075.JPG


now thats what im talking about!!! hope you like!

[Milad]

btw the reason the glass for the overflow wasnt taped up when I was putting it together was because I came home after drinking a few bevies while watching the canucks lose so i forgot I could tape it to control the silcone and make it look clean.

live and learn!

[bluface]

Is your wave box upside down?

[Milad]

Is your wave box upside down?
i dont think so....
is it?!

[bluface]

I thought those slits on top is for water entry. Don't they need to be in the bottom? Sorry for my ignorance. Nice build though. Best o luck!

[rjengen]

Ah...Someone else who drinks while they tinker with their tank! I'm not alone :lol: Hey here's a question for you...how did the silicone turn out around the bulkheads? I know it should work, but doesn't that defeat the purpose of the rubber gaskets? Just being extra cautious I would think eh? Oh well...nice job on the black back, and good score and the hard drive destruction man...who would have thought!

[Milad]

i didnt silcone were the rubber was, i silconed the gap between the glass... whoever drilled the tank before did a sucky job of it and it had some big gaps so i just filled them in.

[Dez]

I am very impressed with this build so far. For your first aquarium you are really doing the research which is the best way to go about it. Seems to me you are a bit of a "techi" - I like that. I like fancy stuff and gadgets, who doesn't. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the build. Do you have any idea what you want for livestock/corals? Great job thus far. I wish I knew people at work that could just fab something up for me :biggrin:

[Milad]

i havent gotten to livestock yet, lol. i know i want some clowns and lps

[Sebae again]

Great ideas! Thanks for showing us all the steps of your tank build . Keep the pics coming!

[4lti7ude]

That cover your friends made for you is soooooo clean.

[mike31154]

Fine work, looking great.

One thing I noticed in your post #27 though, a long one, you show plumbing and electrical work. Says you used 16 gauge wiring routed to your GFCIs mounted int the stand, correct? Difficult to get a complete idea from the photos of exactly how you wired this up, but I'm assuming you're using an extension type cord (16 gauge) plugged into a normal wall outlet and routing that to two GFCIs in the stand? If so, I'd highly recommend bumping the wire guage up to at least 14. That's the standard size for a 15 amp circuit. By the sounds of it, you have two wall plugs available on different circuits. Why not take your two GFCIs in the stand and replace the standard wall outlets with them? Then all you need in the stand is normal outlets or even a good quality power bar or two with heavy gauge wire.

[Milad]

i believe its 3 16guage wires (thats what the rona guy said was standard for bathroom GFCI wiring.)

I wired the GFCI under the stand just beacause if I ever move the stand i dont want to move the GFCI outlets, just made more sense to me. Plus they were black and my stand is all black.

There is going to be about 4 power bars under the stand. Two Apex controllable power bars and two standard powerbars.

now that im searching around for standard gauage wire for the bathroom everything is saying 14!? WTH, im going to go bitch out the RONA people

[mike31154]

Some of the folks at RONA & Home Depot etc. know what they're talking about, retired tradespeople working for some extra cash. But as you can see, you need to be careful with any advice from large box stores. Any electrical contractor or specialty vendor would have provided you with more reliable info. If you want a good book on electrical code requirements for the homeowner, get the "Electrical Code Simplified, Residential" published by PS Knight. Soft cover book, red in colour for BC version, around $20 these days I think and available at.... RONA, Home Depot.... etc.

If you're going to go with larger gauge wire, might as well get 12 if you can. I can sort of see your point about having the GFCIs in the stand, but moving a 180? How often do you anticipate doing that? Receptacles are relatively easy to change, whether in the wall or in the stand. One other advantage of doing the wall, is you potentially save yourself one plug/recepacle interface. Each time you extend any circuit with an extension/plug and receptacle, you add resistance and potential power loss. Small perhaps, but it adds up, especially with undersize gauge wire and a controller and timer or two thrown in! The more continuous wire you have the better. If you do the wall receptacles, you could get by with heavy duty power bars alone, saving at least one plug/receptacle interface. With the GFCI or regular receptacles in the stand you'll have an extension cord from the wall powering the receptacles in the stand. Then you add another plug/receptacle interface for any power bars you use and finally you have yet another plug/receptacle interface from the power bar to the piece(s) of equipment you wish to power. You're going to end up with a lot of junctions there. By converting the wall receptacles and using power bars directly you could save yourself one of those.

Final thought, I don't recommend any plugs in the stand whatsoever. Try to keep anything with a plug and receptacle outside the stand. Less chance of humidity of the salty kind getting in there and causing you grief.

[Milad]

well whats ****ing me off is i asked the guy, what i need to wire GFCI in a bathroom type environment to code. He then grabbed the readily available card that was by the wires and said, 16 3. So i bought 16 3. if that card is wrong, someone is going to get a ass whoopin when I get to the store. Stuff like this ****es me off. I just asked few people where i work, what gauage should be used for wiring and they all quickly said 14. Seems as though its a standard thing to know!!!

Btw as far as the humidity, the plugs are kinda sectioned off away from the water. And you are right, not going to move the stand but the GFCI is for the stand so it just made sense.

[mike31154]

No biggie, the main thing is you now know what's required and it should be a relatively easy fix. You can always use the 16/3 as an extension cord for other gear around the house.

[Milad]

the manager was nice and took back the 16guage wire and gave me 14guage!! and some money back since i bought less wire!

[Milad]

Welp! im excited! tank is filling up with water
Here is the finished plumbing i fixed up. not more chance of leak!!

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Filling%20with%20water/013.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Filling%20with%20water/014.JPG

I ended up having to chip some of the teeth off the overflow because not enough flow was happening! so kids, dont cut 1/8in holes for overflow
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Filling%20with%20water/015.JPG

And here is what its starting to look like
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Filling%20with%20water/011.JPG

Sump filled
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Filling%20with%20water/012.JPG

[Milad]

so RO DI went into my kitchen sink and live rock is in
I got bunch new equipment thats not been installed including
H & S skimmer, 1/4hp chiller, new sump, and marine tech calcium reactor

The tank is going to finish cycling before i start putting in the above equipment.

Here are some pictures of the RO DI
It was funny though, I had the waste and clean water hooked up backwards and spent 4 days putting in 4 inches of water in the tank!! lol

Before shots of my sink
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/RO%20DI%20and%20Live%20Rock/001.JPG

I went to clamp on the drain for the RO DI AND IT WOULDNT FIT!! the pipe was too big
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/RO%20DI%20and%20Live%20Rock/003.JPG

So after 5min of creative thinking, I came up with this:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/RO%20DI%20and%20Live%20Rock/007.JPG
Hot knife through butter
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/RO%20DI%20and%20Live%20Rock/008.JPG
Perfect fit
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/RO%20DI%20and%20Live%20Rock/016.JPG

i went to drill a hole for the top faucet and turns out i didnt have any metal drill bits.... so i started with a very tiny wood drill bit for about 15min, then to a 1/4 wood drill bit, then some needle nose pliers to widen it a bit. This wasnt the first time a hole was too small for me. anyways after a half hour it went in nicely
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/RO%20DI%20and%20Live%20Rock/010.JPG

I do have to say, this stage of the project was all about being creative since i didnt have the tools.

And now for the live rock
I think there is close to 250lbs of this stuff. (this was my first aquascape so dont be mean!!)
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/RO%20DI%20and%20Live%20Rock/018.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/RO%20DI%20and%20Live%20Rock/019.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/RO%20DI%20and%20Live%20Rock/020.JPG

feedback on aquascaping?

[no_bs]

Looking good so far Milad.

[Dez]

Aquascaping looks good for a fish only tank. If you are going to go with a reef tank I might consider putting some rock in your sump and letting the corals fill up the open water space. It's surprising how quickly corals grow. You probably don't want them touching the water surface right off of the bat. Right now the closest coral I have to the water surface is about 6" from the top of the coral (the coral itself is about 8" tall). This is just my personal opinion as I've seen beautiful tanks with rock piled really high as well.

[Milad]

thanks for tip, right now the sump is full of live rock to so until i put new sump in I have no room. you think the gaps between the rocks are too big in the middle?

[lockrookie]

when it comes to aquascaping milad its all about your vision. i think it looks good i wouldnt worry about gaps being to big or too small just be sure you dont have a rock slide and broken glass is my only concern. if you are happy and rock is secure... you are good to go:)

[Milad]

well the thing is I only have 150 MH so I wanted to get some height on the rock so I can put a few SPS in there. I can remove rock later right? When I get the new sump in Ill have more room to put rock in the sump.

Im also thinking of putting a small rubbermaid container in the sump to act as a refugium. Anyone think thats a bad idea? I dont want to put glass in, I was just gonna put the container in and drill some holes to let water slowly flow through.

[andestang]

Looks good so far, you'll have to do a pic when she's all cleared up.

[Milad]

One week in
Sorry i dont have one of those inside glass cleaners yet
lemme know if anyone has a suggestion on what brand to buy

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Tank%20with%20lights%20first%20put%20on/009.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Tank%20with%20lights%20first%20put%20on/011.JPG

[Black Phantom]

Sorry i dont have one of those inside glass cleaners yet
lemme know if anyone has a suggestion on what brand to buy

There's a lot of good ones on the market. Get something that floats for sure.
And the one thing I learned is bigger isn't always better.
Those super strong magnets are ok until you pick up a grain or two of sand under them, then it's scratch city.
The one thing you will want to buy for sure is an "Easy Blade Scraper Attachment". It will save you tons of time scraping that really hard stuff from the inside.
http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_pages/product-info.php?product_ID=cl-mrzebl

[andestang]

Did you mix your salt in the tank or add it right after you mixed it ? That what it looks like. Not to bad to do during like your water change, but for a complete tank fill thats what happens.

[Milad]

ya i just poured salt in the tank when i filled it up. why is that bad? I poured just a bit every few hours until i finished a bucket.

black phantom,
would you recommend http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_pages/product-info.php?product_ID=cl-mre03 or a mag float?

[Leah]

It is not bad at all.
From what I hear they are great. I use the Mag Float ones though.

[mike31154]

ya i just poured salt in the tank when i filled it up. why is that bad? I poured just a bit every few hours until i finished a bucket.

Have you checked/confirmed the current salinity? I realize a bucket of IO (if that's what you're using) is for 160 gals and the build is 180, but the rock and sand will displace a good amount of water. A bucket is probably pretty close the the correct level in your case, but confirmation by measurement is something you'll need to do before adding any livestock. For water changes in the future, you'll want a dedicated container to mix the solution for at least a day before the intended change. An extra heater and a couple of cheap powerheads will come in handy as well.

[Milad]

currently for water changes im using a 26 gallon Rubbermaid trash can i bought new

the gravity was 1.020 but im trying to slowly raise it to 1.025

[Milad]

I went to buy some more clean up crew and I came home with fishies!
dammit. They were so cute though, i couldnt pass them up

Bought 7 turbo snails, around 15 other snails, 7 hermit crabs, 2 cinnamon clowns, 1 yellow clown goby, 2 shirmp (not sure what they are but one of them had tons of eggs on her)

Here some pics! im so excited i got some clowns!!
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/First%20Fish/004.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/First%20Fish/009.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/First%20Fish/025.JPG

Turbo snails, i love these guys, they zoom across the rock
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/First%20Fish/026.JPG

My buddy came over and saw some hair algea on one of the rocks so he gave me some of his red algea to put in my sump
I put it right where the return comes (i still need socks on it)
hopefully it will help. I also got a bunch of brown stuff on the rocks you can see on the second picture. It wasnt there this morning!
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/First%20Fish/029.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/First%20Fish/030.JPG

[Milad]

Sorry I didnt get pictures of my building this mesh top but it was really simple. I bought the 1/4in poly clear mesh from http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/drygoods-sale-trade/51678-fs-1-4-square-clear-polypropylene-mesh-screen-tops-reasonable-price.html

EDIT: it now looks like you can get it from BRS too http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/clear-1-4-screen-netting-7-x-3.html

it was a bit expensive to get it to canada but I didnt mind. I went and bought some aluminum framing for window screens from Rona which cost about 50 bucks with all the tools need (you gota get the roller tool, so hard without it) and then just follow instructions.. very simple to do

I think it looks great
The main reason for it is so the fishies dont get away. I dont want a dried up fish on my floor! I didnt put arcylic/glass because i didnt want to trap the heat mainly.

BTW the fish feeder just sits on the top of mesh and drops pellets through the mesh. I didnt need to widen any holes. worked great actually.

Here are some shots of it on
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Mesh%20top/007.JPG


http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Mesh%20top/008.JPG

Here is what i look at everyday now while posting messages on this board...
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Desk/023.JPG

[Lampshade]

Do i see an alliance druid? poor guy. Nice tank though, good setup.

[Milad]

yup alliance druid, glad this season hopefully!

[Kevotron]

Heh I have an alliance warrior lol
we should all get together and create a guild :P

[Lampshade]

ooo, don't do that... I used to have an alliance pally (back when they where cool). 350days played of my life that i'll never get back :S. But.. good luck with gladiator, you guys should get together and be an OP 2's combo.

[Milad]

how about
We heart clownfish

[Lampshade]

Idea's... bored? yes.

<SleepsWithTheFishes>
<18lbCatfish IRL>
<MrPinchyAteMyClownfish>
<We Love Clams>
<RealClamsDontHavePearls>

[Kevotron]

lol so are we actually making a guild ? lmao

[Milad]

So I setup some of my automation.
I went with a neptune systems Apex controller (Very nice btw).
Got two EB8s (power bars) cost me like 600+ for the package but I really really like it.

So what did I get for 600?
Main unit (the brain)
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Automation/007.JPG

One of the EB8s that switchs power on and off to each plug
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Automation/008.JPG

Dispaly unit which I rarely look at but its on my desk:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Automation/010.JPG

What this allows me to do is control all kinds of stuff. I have it matching my water temepture with the paracel islands area tempeture year round. So if its 77 over there today, so is my water. The controller has a tempeture probe and PH probe that monitor the water. My chiller and heaters turn on depending on what the tempeture probe tells the main unit.

I also matched sun rise and sunset with my lights. I have 3 MH which go from east to west and when its sunrise over there, my east MH turns on followed 15min by central then west. Same for the moon, depending on the moon rise/set my led moonlights turn on. If the sun is not on, my sump light turns on (someone told me this is to help stableize the ph).

So far so good. only thing I must note is that if you buy this controller, DONT PLUG ANYTHING INTO THE EB8 right away! you have to plug the EB8 into the main unit to program it first. I thought everything was broke when I got it so I was really ****ed but turned out I didnt read instructions! I had to keep my mian unit unplugged for 1 hour before giving it power again.

I also found this user guide which is much better than the standard http://reeftech.webs.com/.

What I really like about this unit is that its web enabled. Its basically a mini web server. I can control it anywhere in the world from the web...
o and from my iphone!
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Automation/011.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Automation/012.JPG

People think im snazzy turning off my pumps when i manually feed. (they already turn off when my auto feeder starts to feed).

You guys can also monitor my aquarium vitals on your computer.
Just by clicking: http://www.reeftronics.net/milad/apex-status
or look at the history: http://www.reeftronics.net/milad/apex-history

[Milad]

Here are the first corals in the tank
Not really sure what they all are but they look nice

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/First%20Corals/022.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/First%20Corals/023.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/First%20Corals/032.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/First%20Corals/024.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/First%20Corals/025.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/First%20Corals/026.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/First%20Corals/028.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/First%20Corals/029.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/First%20Corals/030.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/First%20Corals/031.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/First%20Corals/015.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/First%20Corals/016.JPG

[kien]

Idea's... bored? yes.

<SleepsWithTheFishes>
<18lbCatfish IRL>
<MrPinchyAteMyClownfish>
<We Love Clams>
<RealClamsDontHavePearls>

how about.. <SaltCreeps> or <SaltCreepers> :lol:

[Funky_Fish14]

Wow, terrific build thread! You are doing a fantastic job for a first tank ever!

Love the automation!

Cheers,

Chris

[chris88]

Looks like you have two green candy cane corals, red mushroom, green star polpys, xenia, a couple montipora digitata frags, and an acroprora frag or two. you have a mix of some of the easiest to some of the harder corals to start with. Cant wait to see how it asll turns out.

[Milad]

Quick update even though I know I should be doing a big update
here is the link to the live webcam stream
http://milad.homeip.net:5679

[Greenmaster]

I just went through your whole build looks great... Where is the FTS?
I like the webcam... but no lights on at 12:00 am where is the night viewing? I'll check back later :D

[Milad]

I just went through your whole build looks great... Where is the FTS?
I like the webcam... but no lights on at 12:00 am where is the night viewing? I'll check back later :D


What is a FTS?

[Greenmaster]

What is a FTS?
Full Tank Shot :D I asked the same question when I got into the forums... there is lots of abbreviations and I still ask some times.

[Milad]

Here is full tank shot, im still trying to figure out how to shoot good pics. as you can tell i suck atm.


http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/FTS/2010-07-14/007_filtered.jpg

[Greenmaster]

Here is full tank shot, im still trying to figure out how to shoot good pics. as you can tell i suck atm.

The tank looks good but the color looks off... the secret to getting the perfect shot is to take 10-100 shots just for one keeper :D

[Milad]

Here are some full tank shots and livestock update (i havent killed two many things yet)

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/FTS/2010-07-20/029.JPG

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/FTS/2010-07-20/035.JPG


http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Livestock/2010-07-20/003.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Livestock/2010-07-20/006.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Livestock/2010-07-20/007.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Livestock/2010-07-20/008.JPG


http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Livestock/2010-07-20/013.JPG

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Livestock/2010-07-20/015.JPG

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Livestock/2010-07-20/016.JPG

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Livestock/2010-07-20/068.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Livestock/2010-07-20/081.JPG

[Milad]

So while making my stand one thing that kinda sucked was the wood we laminated was severaly bent. So i couldnt put it on the stand with magnets because of the curve it had. My carpenter buddy was hoping the laminate would bend it back straight but it didnt.

So after talking to some more carpenters there turns out to be a whole school of thought on overbending wood! Some sort of "art". So i took a crack at it.

First step, get bent piece of wood
Second step, put some 2x4s or stack some other wood on a table somewhere
Third step, clamp it down until you overbend it enough without cracking it
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Wood%20Bending/043.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Wood%20Bending/044.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Wood%20Bending/045.JPG

As you can see, i had a trusty kitchen table that expanded which I used. I stacked a few pieces of small wood a few inches high then clamped down the ends to the table.

I let this sit overnight and check it the next night. I bent it a little the first night then really reefed it the second night and it straightned out how I wanted it. Its trial and error I guess, you might need to go two or three nights instead of one.

[piusma]

I noticed you've got 5 clowns (was there more?) in the tank. I wonder if you're seeing any aggression at the moment? Not sure if this can be sustained over an extended period as fish settles in and matures. Good progress so far and keep us updated on your tank progress!

Steven

[gobytron]

I noticed you've got 5 clowns (was there more?) in the tank. I wonder if you're seeing any aggression at the moment? Not sure if this can be sustained over an extended period as fish settles in and matures. Good progress so far and keep us updated on your tank progress!

Steven

of course it can.

[Milad]

You guys are keen on picking up the clown count. Currently there is 8. Yes I know too many. I was only going to keep 4 but I cat get 4 of the ones that I don't want of the tank so I left everyone in for now. I was expecting more aggression but after the first week it died down. The maroon doesn't let anyone near her anemone and owns about 1sq foot of the end of the tank. The cinnamon herds the occs and percs to the top opposite corner of the tank (doesn't bite but slowly just "herds"). The occs hang around my cleaning magnet all day long and the percs wander the very top of the tank.

I do want to remove 4 but I don't think I will happen until I expand the water volume a bit and move out some liverock from the main display.

I will be doing an update once I got this zeovit stuff on lock. Still trying to figure it out.

[lockrookie]

i have 4 clowns in my 90 they get along just great

[Milad]

Small update on building a Skimmer Silencer
I was having some gurgling noises coming from the intake of my skimmer. I posted on the forums and a few canreef peeps gave me some advice
orginal thread:
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=68009

Im going with the design elements of:
http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/4975/diysilencer22lw.png

i took their suggestions and altered to my liking. One think I didn't want to do is over extend the air hose longer than it currently is. So i tried to minimize the extension. I'm assuming the longer the 1/4 line is the harder it is for the skimmer to pull air.

I didnt want to have it hanging inside the tank as the diagram would indicate. I also didnt want water to leak in and I didnt really want to silcone it and I didnt want to prime/seal it. So i made it backwards and a "L"

The basic Idea from what I gather is two tubes, inside a big tube so the sound gets trap inside the big tube but the air keeps getting sucked in

I used Hard 1/4 line that is used in RO/DI unit for the small tubes and 3/4in pvc for the large tube

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Skimmer%20Silencer/3.jpg

As you can see from the above picture its a nice L shape so it can hang on the outside of my sump.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Skimmer%20Silencer/2.jpg
Most other diagrams show air being pulled from the top down to the bottom but with my L shape I have it pulling bottom to bottom.
And below you can see how the hard plastic slips tightly into the soft plastic from the skimmer.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Skimmer%20Silencer/1.jpg

I was very shocked how silent it got. I was planning to stuff the silencer with some foam but it didnt need it.

[spoot]

If you put the two pipes on the inside of the chamber past each other, so the end of the bottom one above the end of the top one the silencer should be even more quiet.

[selekt]

Any updates on this build?

[Milad]

Any updates on this build?

You can check out my signature. I started a LED build which i have on pause right now but thats only new things happening with the build.

[janey]

How's the wave box working ???

I was thinking of doing the same as you ...

[Milad]

How's the wave box working ???

I was thinking of doing the same as you ...

The wave box is fine, the overflow ****es me off.

The only thing about the whole build I would change would be that damn overflow. I didn't take into consideration that the emergency overflow should have some holes in it so it can adjust itself. Ive made some holes in it but i think im going to put even more holes in it.


For the wavebox, you can even build in a glass wavebox in. the LFS was telling me about that. I think you can even just put in a tunze powerhead in and just connect the wave box controller to it so you dont need the full wavebox.

[Milad]

So its only been about 1.5 years since ive updated this thread. Lots has changed since then.

Basically the biggest change is that I built a fish room right oustide. Its basically a small shed that is 4x12 in size.

Here are some pics:

Outside
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Fishroom/DSC00861-001.JPG
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Fishroom/DSC00862-001.JPG

Inside

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Fishroom/DSC00863-001.JPG

Skimmer area- No more overflowing skimmer because the water level never goes under/over 8". rock solid because of holes drilled at 8"
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Fishroom/DSC00864-001.JPG

I kept the BRS reactors:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Fishroom/DSC00865-001.JPG

New Genisis system auto top off with the ability to add auto water change
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Fishroom/DSC00866-001.JPG

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Fishroom/DSC00867-001.JPG

This is the return area. I just cut up a bin and put some plastic mesh around it, the thick plastic filler material people use to seperate sump chambers and then some filter cloth ontop. Seems to work well. No bubbles make it to the DT
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Fishroom/DSC00868-001.JPG

Return into the 150g rubbermiad water trough. On the far left you can see the returns from the 100g thats just above it, on the right its the returns from the skimmer area and the DT
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Fishroom/DSC00869-001.JPG

This is the ATS (Algae turf scrubber) thats above the 150g inside a rubbermaid 100g tank. 72 hours in with LED system and its already dark brown on the screen.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Fishroom/DSC00870-001.JPG

Farther back look at the 100g. Its got a test fixture thats just placed inside a container to protect it. I had this up before the ATS because there are a couple clowns in the tank that need some light
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Fishroom/DSC00871-001.JPG

Farther back look at the whole system. You can see how the 100g is hovering over the 150g. One leg is held with a 4" PVC pipe that goes right into the 150g! There is also extensions (on the right) from the return that can be turned on/off to allow for me to add the water change system or a frag tank really easily.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Fishroom/DSC00872-001.JPG

And of course the new dosing system
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/Fishroom/DSC00873-001.JPG

So far im super happy with it all. There is almost no noise the living room that this system is in. There is no smell from the sump/skimmer. There is no heat from all the pumps or MH (just switched to LED).

Here is some full tank shots and the LED system over the DT
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/LEDGroupBuy/72in%20Full%20Spectrum/DSC008391.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/LEDGroupBuy/ATS%20Build/DSC00810-001.jpg


https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/LEDGroupBuy/ATS%20Build/DSC00811-001.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/LEDGroupBuy/ATS%20Build/DSC00812-001.jpg


As you can see the aquascape has dramatically changed. Ive moved so much rock into the 150g.

This is what it looked like before:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/FTS/2010-07-14/007_filtered.jpg


Big change eh?

[Xadieu]

Looks amazing! Keep us updated on your changes Milad.

[Milad]

The end of an era.... tank is now shut down... downsizing and moving to a condo

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2361330/Aquarium%20build/14232569_10157455297965370_8513778669638413337_n.j pg

[michika]

Will you be doing a new system in your condo?


Sent from space while riding a T-Rex.

[Milad]

on the fence
if it do it will be a elaborate automated rimless pico/nano

Will you be doing a new system in your condo?


Sent from space while riding a T-Rex.