Barely made the club but time for my 180 upgrade (Warning: Progress may be slow)

[SPotter]

I'm eating my heart out!!!! I knew a's soon as you got water in that baby I would want to start a bigger tank!!! It looks awesome but I really can't see the gaps you're talking about. I really like the tank blinders idea....lol.

Can't wait to see the lights turned on!

Nice job


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[nightOwl]

Time for a quick progress update...I am waiting for an order from BRS with my bulkheads and netting to finish my tank screen covers. I choose the 1/4" clear netting. I want to limit the fish jerky as mush as possible. No on to the updates.

Sump – Sump Construction Underway - Update

I finally completed the sump and it has failed two leak tests. Thank whoever created Weld-On 16 . I think it was my clamping the pieces together because both leaks were right in the lower corners. Next week I will try again and see how far I get before the water leaks. It is roughly 50" x 18" x 16" and I still need to add baffles and determine how big the areas will be for the skimmer, return, and refugium. I found a few layouts I like but just need to decide if the return will be in the middle or not. So far I am thinking (from right to left) Skimmer, Refugium, Return. My only concern is that the light from the refugium will cause that nasty growth on the inside of the skimmer. I also ordered bulkheads for the sump from BRS. The refugium area will also have a few extra pieces of LR in it along with sand when it is all said and done.

Sump before leak test




Skimmer in place

Tank – Tank Leak Test Underway - Update

Nothing every seems to go as planned but so far no leaks in the current water level. Due to the damaged bulkhead I was unable to fill the tank but so far. BRS was out of the bulkhead I wanted and I got tired of waiting and ordered a different type. They are supposed to arrive today, but the weather may be a determining factor. While waiting I got a little antsy and curious as to how the tank will look with some rock and sand in it. With that said please enjoy the sneak peak of the tank with water, rock, and lights.

The eggcrate and PVC standoffs will be covered by sand and not visible when the tank is fully set up. Once I play around with the aquascaping a little more I will cut away the excess eggcrate so the Blue Spotted Jawfish will have lots of places to dig. I think the current aquascape gives loads of growth for corals and also gives fish nice swimming lanes. It's hard to tell from the picture but there are 5 rock structures. Heavy duty zip ties make creating these structures a breeze. This go around I wanted to have less rock in the display tank and rely on my skimmer to be the workhorse.

Tank with lights on (old bulbs) - 3 x 400W Radiums - 20,000 K

[SPotter]

now you're talking!!!!! looks awesome and the sump is amazing. You saw pics of my new sump where the return is in the middle and I really love having the fuge away from the skimmer section. I can the water level higher in that chamber and slow down the flow rate thru that section as well. The baffle is black so it does a great job of blocking the light from spreading into other areas of the sump.

You are doing a great job and I dont know how you have the patience to wait for the bulkheads. I would have just gone and paid the extra money!

[nightOwl]

SPotter,
The blue glow of Radiums are almost eerie looking. Making this sump I see why people who do acrylic work charge so much. Making sure you have exact cuts is the main part and that can be kinda challenging at times. All in all I am happy with the way it has turned out. I think the black acrylic may be the way to go. Hopefully Krylon spray paint will do the trick. How much space do you have around your skimmer in the skimmer section? I want to give it about 3" on each side. Do you think that is too much? I will make a baffle jig to make the teeth look somewhat decent . I almost broke down and purchased the bulkheads locally but I could almost get two for the price of one if I waited so I chose to wait .

Updates - General

My bulkheads arrived but the glass drill bits are a little behind schedule. It looks like it will get them sometime next week. I ordered a set that will allow me to drill 3/4", 1" , and 1-1/2" holes for the corresponding bulkheads. I am thinking of increasing the size of the drain holes to 1-1/2" to get more water turn over in the tank. More updates in the coming days...

[SPotter]

Here's my sump and skimmer. My skimmer is a little smaller than yours and I have it on an angle because of where my filter sock is.



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[BowieReefer84]

Tank is looking really good man. Glad those heavy duty zip ties made your life a little easier. What type of substrate are you going with? Maybe 60/40 arroganite sand/crushed coral? The jawfish would love that haha. Tagging along.

[nightOwl]

SPotter,
Thanks for the pictures of the sump. I had a chance to play around with my sump tonight . I am in the process of building a filter sock holder into my sump. I cut a piece tonight and now I have to find a 3.3" holesaw for two filter socks to rest in.

BowieReefer84,
Welcome to the party . Those zip ties came in handy for sure . They worked so well I went out and purchased some more just in case.

I am going with CaribSea SeaFlor Special Grade sand. I have used it in the past with great results with jawfish. It doesn't fly around too much and they seem to be able to build with it pretty well. I crush up some shells and make a few places where they can "shop" for rock and rubble. It is so funny to see them "shopping" for just the right rock.

Updates - General

I was able to complete the tank screen covers. The clear netting looks pretty nice. The only change I might make is to paint the aluminum black.

I had never used Tunze pumps before, but tonight I got antsy still waiting for the drill bits and pulled the Apex out the box fired it up and connected the two Tunze pumps. All I can say is these things are sooooooo quiet. The amount of noise they make is much less than expected for their size. I could hear my MP10's across the room ramping up and down over the sound of two Tunze pumps. It was hard to tell how much water they are pushing but I could see the pumps working. I was only using the default settings on the Apex. I will have to do the real tweaking after I actually read the manual .

Sump – Sump Construction Underway - Update

Tonight I cut the pieces for the filter sock holder I mentioned above, the dividers, and the refugium separator. I have to make a tooth jig for creating the teeth.

[cilyjr]

is the finished side done? have you considered access to the front of the tank? when i built my 180 inwall i was advised by a friend that one should consider some way of getting at the tank from the front. i know this is late advice. i find the frontal tank access invaluable.

[cloons411]

This is an impressive build so far. Should turn out to be a beauty.

[nightOwl]

cilyjr -Welcome to my little build party. The finished side is done ;( I am hoping that mag-floats with the razor attachment will help keep the front of the glass clean and I will be able to reach the front of the tank with huge tongs should I need to access something in the very front.

cloons411 - Welcome to my build party and thanks for the compliment. I am hoping that in the end I will be able to sit down in the basement and enjoy my little piece of the reef.

Updates - General

Tonight I made a home depot run, but it was close to closing so I was not able to pick up all my items. The plumbing section can be such a distraction. I picked up a few plumbing parts but still need more .

I worked on my panel that will hold the my 3 ballasts. I mounted and drilled some holes for cord access and right now it will be temporary.

I need to order a rail to move the lights when trying to perform maintenance in the tank. I found out tonight I am limited to 4 feet of space to the left or about 4 feet behind the tank. If I were to move the lights to the left of the tank it would leave about 2 feet overlap when trying to work in the tank. If I set up the rail to move the lights behind the tank (away from wall) I think I will have enough space to use my step ladder and the lights should be completely out of the way. I need to decide fast either way as I almost put a gash in my head tonight while on the step ladder playing with the rock work.

Fish List - Update

Now that I can actually see water in the tank I am a little more motivated to nailing down my fish list. I have updated it slightly. This is now v1.2.

Currently Have

1 - Yellow Tang
1 - Mated pair of False Clowns
3 - Glass/Longfin/Blue eyed Cardinal

Want
1 - Blue Spotted Jawfish
1 - Mated pair Mandarins ?
4- Glass/Longfin/Blue eyed Cardinal (I will have a total of 7)
3- Wrasse -1 Male , 2 Female - Pintail (Attenuatus) flasher, Blue Flasher Wrasse (Paracheilinus lineopunctatus), or
Carpenter's Flasher Wrasse (Paracheilinus carpenteri)
3 -Dispar Anthias (Pseudanthias dispar)
1 - Bristletooth Tang
1 - Angel (Reef safe) if possible - Bellus Angel

[cilyjr]

the mag floats with razor do work quite well. i have found a few issues with them however. first off you cannot leave the razor in the water even though they are stainless they rust quickly. i take mine out when done using them and rinse with fresh water. also getting the corners and such can be tough. still with the finished side done it is surley the best option.

[myaerica]

Looks good. The one thing your going to regret is not making an access in the front. I to have an 180 in wall its been up for about 2 yrs now and I cant take it anymore im cutting an acess in the front.

[nightOwl]

cilyjr,
Thanks for the heads up on the mag floats with the blade attachment. I was wondering why the blades on the ones that came with the tank were all rusty and brittle. I think this hobby has taught me stainless steel will rust no matter what if the salt water is not rinsed off immediately. Hopefully the limited access will not have an big impact on the viewing.

myaerica,
Welcome the build party. Please post pictures of yours if you get a chance. What type of access will you be adding?

Updates- General

I stopped by a local fish store today and saw two new potential utility fish to add to my list. I had looked at the Copperband Butterfly initially for aptasia control, but after more research on it excluded it. From what I had read they sometimes slow starve to death once all the aptasia is gone. I saw a Kliens Butterfly (Chaetodon Kleini) today and plan on doing some more research but things are looking promising for adding it to the list. I have read they can be nippers but for the most part are model citizens. The other fish I saw was a full grown
Yellow Wrasse (Halichoeres chrysus). As a juvenile I was not impressed but the adults are flashy . I will have to research more on both of these. They are known to eat nuisance pests. One of my goals of the new tank is to have fish and other critters with specific functions to earn their keep not just look pretty...lol.

My drill bits were attempted to be delivered today and I missed them so tomorrow I will pick them up. Once I have them I can see if it will be easy to drill a 1 - 1/2" hole for the bulkheads or just use the 1" that are already on the tank.

[BowieReefer84]

If you want to control Aptasia get some peppermint shrimp for the tank. They are cheap, and DO eat it. I experienced them eating it first hand. The key is to not let the aptasia get out of control, or to large before adding the shrimp.

Yellow Wrasse are "with caution" fish on LA. To me this means "not reef safe." I would stay away from them personally, even though they do look good... Once added it would be very hard to catch in a tank of this size imo.

Copperbands die in aquariums due to transport. Their long beaks become damaged, and this is the reason they are difficult to get eating. The key is to buy one from someone local that is willing to part with a healthy fish. That could be tough. Again, they are a very nice looking fish.

[nightOwl]

BowieReefer84,
I keep at least 4 peppermint shrimp in the tank at all times. I know one of the ones I have does not eat aptasia at all. I think they can be hit or miss sometimes just like fish. I agree with you totally about not letting it get out of control or too big. When I had the 65 gallon I let it get infested. I threw some peppermint in there and I could tell they liked the little ones because they were the first to go .

I saw the with caution on the yellow wrasse . I read that they can be bullies once bigger, but I am hoping that while he is small he will be a model citizen. I will have to wait and see if its worth it. He has a lot of benefits though. Thanks for the heads up on why the CBB seem to perish over time. I guess they are another fish you need to see in person eating and healthy before purchasing.

Updates- General

Tonight I finally had a chance to re-drill my drains. I can always throttle them back but they have gone from one inch drains to 1-1/2" woo hoo. I also purchased some more pluming parts tonight and started a dry fit of my manifold and the return lines to the sump. I also ran into some issue with the Apex asking for a password when I press the main button so I am now off to research that.

[SPotter]

less typing more plumbing

[nightOwl]

So I have been a little bit busy since my last post so lets recap and bring everyone up to speed.

Tank Plumbing - Update

The tank is still in the dry fitting stage. I need to purchase hooks to support my plumbing on the back. Both Home Depot and Lowe's have been out of the ones I want on my last two trips. Coupled with the fact I am on hold with the sump construction. I also started my manifold. It consists of 3 x 1/2" and 2 x 3/4" outlets.

Manifold

Fish list - Update

After more research the Banana Wrasse is out.

Tank Stand - Update

Since I made a weeeeeeeee bit of a mistake when gluing my sump together I am about 1/4" two wide. I weighed a few options and I then started to cut into my support legs. I will use the chisel to finish the removal and then cut a piece of plywood to fit the removed area.

Sump - Update

I was making great progress on my sump. I am now in a hold phase until my new can of Weld-On #4 comes in. For anyone working with this stuff remember to close the top completely each time and always place on a level surface. I did not close the top completely and accidentally knocked the can over and the stuff spilled out. I have added three baffles, and drilled my two return holes. One return from the tank and the other will run from the frag tank. I tried to router some teeth for the refugium section, but that just led to teeth flying all over the place so after chipping away 4 teeth and trying to to adjust I decided to just router them all away. I will use some white plastic mesh and just let the water run through that to stop any algae that may try to make the trip from the refugium to the return area. Monday my new weld-on comes so I can get back t construction.

Sump with baffles

Power Center - Update

I put the "brains" of the tank where I think it will be located. This should work for now. I still need to complete my plumbing to see how everything will be mounted.

The "Brains"

Frag tank

I drilled the frag tank and built a three tier frag rack. I eventually plan on putting a fish or two in it to that eat nuisance algae. The tank will have a single 250 Watt bulb on a spider reflector (that's all I have at the moment), and two VHO actinics for coloration. I already had a stand that use to be where I performed my water tests at so that will now be used to support my new frag tank

Frag tank


Frag rack

Wall Framing - Update

I finished framing the wall so that I could place my frag tank along the wall.

[nightOwl]

Light rail

I ordered on 2/14 and it arrived today (2/16) McMaster-Carr has some fast shipping! I thought I had a day or two to get parts but they shipped super fast. After a trip to Home Depot tonight I installed the rails and suspended the lights. After picking up some quick links, plastic washers, and hook and turnbuckles this is what it looks like.

Quick Link


Hook and turnbuckle


Out the box




Before rail


After rail

[SPotter]

Looking really awesome!!!!!


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[ScubaPrawn]

This is a great build thread. I like all the pictures showing off your hard work.

[nightOwl]

SPotter - Thanks

ScubaPrawn - Welcome aboard.

I will have some updates tomorrow hopefully. My shipment from Rideout Plastics came so I was able almost finish my sump tonight. I also made a trip to Lowe's for some plumbing parts.

[dave.m]

Do you have plans for sealing all that exposed wood and the backs of the sheetrock? The tank is going to produce a lot of humidity.

Dave.M

[nightOwl]

dave.m,
Welcome aboard...I guess I had not thought about the exposed wood. I know I have plans to get a dehumidifier and plumb it to the furnace drain or sink but I had not thought about the wood itself. The sheetrock I used is mildew resistant so I had thought about not putting just plain sheet rock around it. Any suggestions on the type of sealer or if a humidifier will be enough? Thanks for pointing that out.

[dave.m]

I would think that just a couple of coats of paint (spray if you're brave), an acrylic primer and then a coat of latex. Give it a Navy job.

Dave.M

[nightOwl]

dave.m,
I should be able to use KILZ® General Purpose Interior primer like in a tank stand right? I had planned on using that on the external drywall before painting the room to cover the mud and plaster. I guess I may need a few more gallons .