My 315 upgrade / rebuild

Rus · #1 07-12-2009, 03:17 PM

I had posted a pic or two in the full tank photo thread the other day and had a few questions that i was asked , so as to not wreck the thread and it's purpose I thought i would start a new one with a quick overview of my newish tank upgrade.

Just to catch you all up , i have been running a 225 gal reef for the past 4+ years .In mid February i came home from work to a rather large problem , the bottom seal on my tank had gone and my tank was down around 80 plus gallons....

Needless to say i spent the next 24 hrs or so cleaning up and trying to save all that i could.

A few days after , i decided it was time to press on and not let this get me down . ( although i was seriously considering a break for a while ) My new tank arrived around mid March ( thanks to Dan @ Aquatic Addictions ) The old fish room has been totally renovated including , new lino floor tiles , emergency floor drain *** ( very important for my marriage ) , repainted, new stand ,new cabinets and work area , new lighting setup , etc...

Equipment ismostly the same except a few new goodies.

Tank 72" x 36" x28" ( front panel starphire / external rear overflow)

*Skimmer Deltec 902
*Deltec Calcium reactor
*Deltec Kal stirrer
*Dart ( main pump on 2 seaswirls for return )
*2 vortecs
2 tunze 6100 ( controlled by aquasurf)
*Aq 3
*Carbon / phosphate reactors
* 200 custom gal sump

Lighting 2 - 250 ( hqi ballast ) 1 -400 ( vertex elec. ballast ) 4 t5 actinics. Halides are using lumineric mini reflector.

Tank is now into it's third month and other than a few minor issues seems to be starting to settle in nicely all levels are staying solid so far and colors are starting to slowly make there way back on a few of my original corals and some of the new ones.
Fish list is up to 22 so far with a mixture of wrasses , tangs ,clown and anthias , and a school of 10 Glass cardinals.

Here are a couple pics from the early part of the setup.up to a moth or so ago, I will try to add some up to date ones later on .

I

fishytime · #2 07-12-2009, 03:34 PM

Well.....that is certainly a great way to introduce the tank....Sorry to hear about your tank troubles, but great to see that you didnt get out of the hobby.

The tank looks great. Keep us updated.

banditpowdercoat · #3 07-12-2009, 03:48 PM

WOW, Im jealous

How noisy is that skimmer????

Rus · #4 07-12-2009, 03:56 PM

Thanks all.

The skimmer is one the best investment i have ever made ( not cheap mind you ) but almost zero maintenance other than emptying and wiping down the cup and for it's size fairly quiet, not sure i would want it outside in my family room but for my application it's perfect. It has been running near flawless for over 3 years.

Rus · #5 07-12-2009, 08:35 PM

Couple of updated photos of how things are looking as of now, also a pic or two of some of the new fish added including a mystery wrasse that i have always wanted .

I was trying out my 50mm lens on these to see if i could get a couple decent fish shots... still gonna need practice though. I have seen some awesome photos from a few people on this board so it must be possible.... more practice i suppose.

updated photo right hand side

scherzo · #6 07-12-2009, 08:39 PM

Looks awesome! I'm thinking of converting my in-wall FW to a salt tank. It is great having all of the equipment in the back away from little hands!

Do you run your 250W Halides on the sides and the 400 in the middle?
Also how do you get your water up to your ATO tank?

Rus · #7 07-12-2009, 08:49 PM

thanks Scherzo , yes I run 2 - 250 aquaconnects on the outsides and a 400 20k in the middle , this combo seems to be one of the best i have found so far for pleasing to the eye as well as to all the corals. Also keeps the heat down from running all 400's. The ATO tank is hooked up to my rodi with an auto shutoff that kicks in when it reaches a certain level . Again a great investment , as i use to do it all manually and you would not believe how many times i forgot to shut it off and came into the room with a few gallons of water on the floor , not really sure why i waited so long to get one.

Skimmerking · #8 07-13-2009, 02:49 AM

Rus you DELTEC WHORE, lol I have your 902's little brother the 851. and you must love that skimmer I love mine simple plug and play and wipe and cleaned for another 3-4 days

Haloreef · #9 07-13-2009, 03:25 AM

Hey Rus the tank looks great! If you and I can ever coagulate our feces, i'll have those acro frags ready. Maybe we should meet at the LFS one day or I can come over for a tour and take that sump off of your hands. I'm sure that would make your wife happy! Mine won't be happy to see, "ANOTHER TANK!" PM when you get a chance.
Keith.

Rus · #10 07-13-2009, 04:33 AM

asmodeus , i agree very happy with my skimmer as well , i remember having a bullet 3 skimmer and it would seem like like every couple of days i was fiddling with it to make it work properly , where as with Deltec it's almost like you feel you should be doing something to it , yet it doesn't need anything.

Hey Kieth , thanks man , as you can tell from the pics i have left some perfect spots for some frags from you. And yes moving the tank would make for a happy wife. Anytime works for me , let me know whenever it works, by the way when do we some pics of your new setup huh!