And it begins!

Lorenz725 · 10/17/2011, 05:53 AM

Well after getting the tank almost 2 months ago I finally got it out of the garage and into its final resting spot! The only good thing about having to wait is I was able to collect just about all my equipment for this set up. This is my first reef ready tank and my first sump. This week I hope to get all the plumbing set up for the basement sump. I am also having my uncle come over and run some GFI boxes over to the sump area and up to the tank so they have there own breakers. Now for some details! 150 gallon RR tank, 3 250w MH with 20k radium bulbs, 100 gallon Rubbermaid tub, 40 B sump, 29 gallon refugium, GenX PCX 40 return pump, reef octopus pro 300 skimmer. Not to sure what I am going to do about power heads yet. I would like to go with tunze but not sure I can come up with that kind of money for a power head yet. Please feel free to give me any suggestions and feedback. Sorry about the bad pics they were just quick shots.

By lorenz723 at 2011-10-17

By lorenz723 at 2011-10-17

Getting my mangroves started for my fuge.

jacob.morgan78 · 10/17/2011, 07:02 AM

This is going to fun to follow... keep the pictures coming!

Lorenz725 · 10/17/2011, 07:15 AM

Thanks will do! I should be able to start the plumbing Tuesday or Wednesday and I will try and get a lot of pics of it. Now a problem I have that I have not been able to decide what i want to do is the lighting. The tank came with a stock hood only 8 inches deep. My MH reflectors fit in the hood but if i put the hood on the tank that only leaves me about 8 inches from the water to the bulb. I got the lumen bright mini reflectors and I should have them about 12 to 16 inches off the water. So I am thinking about mounting the hood to the wall above the tank. Make like a floating hood? There would be about a 6 inch gap between the hood and the tank. What do you guys think or you got any other ideas?

jacob.morgan78 · 10/17/2011, 08:04 AM

I use t5's but I've seen tanks with their hoods on movable racks that are very cool. You should look into that and see if it work for you.

Lorenz725 · 10/17/2011, 08:08 AM

I have seen some really cool ones too but I was trying to use what I had and not spend a lot of money since I am trying to save up for some powerhads. That is always something I can change up down there road too thanks for the idea.

jacob.morgan78 · 10/17/2011, 08:10 AM

I definitly understand... thought you might have been one of the lucky ones that doesn't have to worry about expenses... :-)

Lorenz725 · 10/17/2011, 08:17 AM

HAHAHA yeah I wish so far everything I have got has been used.

jacob.morgan78 · 10/17/2011, 10:06 AM

That skimmer looks pretty nice, what kind is it?

Lorenz725 · 10/17/2011, 10:17 AM

It is a reef octopus pro 300 skimmer it is 3 years old and came with a set up. The only thing that stinks is they dont make it anymore. They only made it for about a year and then there were problems with a copy or something like that. More info on it hear.
http://www.aquacave.com/reef-octopus...mmer-2227.html

Lorenz725 · 10/17/2011, 06:01 PM

Hope I dont ever need any parts or I might be in trouble.

MarineSniper · 10/17/2011, 06:36 PM

I picked up the same paint for the back, except in flat, yesterday. I'm glad I saw yours, it turned out great

Working on my sump issues now then moving some water and rocks from my current tank over. My son doesn't understand why it's going to be a few weeks yet...I hope. If using 40 gallons and about 100#s of rock from my tank doesn't shorten a cycle, it could be a lot more than a few weeks

It wasn't pretty when the wife came back from her weekend away and saw the new beast in the room!

Lorenz725 · 10/20/2011, 01:53 PM

HAHA oh well Jerry she will get over it and end up loving it in the end. (I hope)

Well as you can see from my lack of posting I have not got anything done this week. I have someone coming over Monday to help me do the plumbing and to add some electric to the area I need it. Good news is I was able to find a AC jr and a ATO for a good deal so that is now off the list. Looking at the instructions for the AC jr I am very intimidated I hope I can set up everything. I will try and get a lot of pics of the plumbing as it is going in.

Lorenz725 · 10/24/2011, 06:30 PM

Well got a full 5 hours of work in today on the tank and it does not look like i got much done. It is a pain having to run the lines behind the wall and not though the floor. But my wife and I dont plan on living hear forever and dont want to have to replace the floor if i put holes in it. I got about 90% of the plumbing done should be able to get that done tomorrow.

This the the 3/4" return line that will be T ed under the tank.

By lorenz723 at 2011-10-24

Theses are the 1" lines.

By lorenz723 at 2011-10-24

This is a pic of the lines running from the basement.

By lorenz723 at 2011-10-24

This is the pump all hooked up and ready to go. I T ed it off so I can open the ball valve and be able to drain the water for water changes.

By lorenz723 at 2011-10-24

Tomorrow I got to run the electric so I got the tank on it's own breaker. I also have to put in the jack and beef up the floor.

By lorenz723 at 2011-10-24

I am hoping Wednesday I will be able to start making RO/DI and miking salt.

jacob.morgan78 · 10/24/2011, 08:23 PM

How did you plan and decide on the beefing up of the floor part... I see myself needing to do this in the future possibly... Seems pretty intimidating

Nice update! I would love to have five straight hours to work on the tank... Hard to do with a six month old in the house :-)

Lorenz725 · 10/25/2011, 05:23 AM

Well that tank is only 18 inches wide so it put all the wight on one beam. I am going to just be extra careful. It also helps someone local was selling the jacks for $30 for both.

Well I only got the 5 hours because I am still healing my broken ankle and dont start work again till Monday. When I get back to work the time will be short. I bet it is hard to find any time to do anything with the tank with a little one!

rogermccray · 10/25/2011, 05:52 AM

Everything looks great so far!

Lorenz725 · 10/25/2011, 07:54 AM

Thanks! I am just not sure if my pump is going to be enough. I got it used for a good price so it will be a good backup if I have to get a bigger one.

rogermccray · 10/25/2011, 09:32 AM

Is the basement sump right under the tank?

There is a head loss calculator on the ReefCentral homepage.

sponger0 · 10/25/2011, 10:49 AM

Looking good so far

Lorenz725 · 10/25/2011, 03:36 PM

Well got the rest of the plumbing done today and got the electric ran. The only thing I am held up on is the jacks needed some mods they are to long for how I want to use them. I should be able to get them in tomorrow.

Left side under the tank.

By lorenz723 at 2011-10-25

Right side under the tank.

By lorenz723 at 2011-10-25

Tank on its own breaker.

By lorenz723 at 2011-10-25

Beefed up floor just need to add the jacks when I get them done.

By lorenz723 at 2011-10-25

RO/DI water going into the sump! I will be mixing my salt in the sump then just pumping it to the main tank. I should be able to pump my first batch of salt water to the main tank tomorrow morning. I am just not sure if I have the nerve to run the RO/DI all night.

By lorenz723 at 2011-10-25

I will get more pics when I get water in the tank. I still have to work on how I am going to mount my hood.

jacob.morgan78 · 10/25/2011, 05:56 PM

Unless you have a MONSTER rodi... I would think you'd be okay leaving it on with that big of a container...

However, it would make me nervous too!

Lorenz725 · 10/25/2011, 05:59 PM

Yeah it is a 100 GPD so I dont think I am going to be going anywhere fast.

Lorenz725 · 10/26/2011, 11:40 AM

Well I new things were going to good. Left the RO/DI all night checked it before bed and it all looked good. The water was over the bottom bulkhead in the bottom of the Rubbermaid so I was able to make sure it was not leaking. I went down this morning and sure enough water on the floor. It was only about half full but it was dripping at that bottom bulkhead. I pumped the water to the tank and all went good on that part. Took all the plumbing off the backhanded and was able to see it was somehow cracked. Went out got a new one and now making more RO/DI. I was also able to get my sand cleaned and in the tank also got the jacks up.

By lorenz723 at 2011-10-26

jacob.morgan78 · 10/26/2011, 11:53 AM

man! always something... could've been a lot worst though

was the bulkhead itself cracked or the tank?

Lorenz725 · 10/26/2011, 12:02 PM

It was the threads on the one inch bulkhead. It came used with the Rubbermaid tank I got and I should have replaced it. But I water tested the tank and had it full of water for 3 days with not on drop of water. It must of happened when I hooked up the pump. It was an easy fix just took about an hour to figure out why it was leaking and find the crack.

10/17/2011, 05:53 AM	#1
Lorenz725 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 942	And it begins! Well after getting the tank almost 2 months ago I finally got it out of the garage and into its final resting spot! The only good thing about having to wait is I was able to collect just about all my equipment for this set up. This is my first reef ready tank and my first sump. This week I hope to get all the plumbing set up for the basement sump. I am also having my uncle come over and run some GFI boxes over to the sump area and up to the tank so they have there own breakers. Now for some details! 150 gallon RR tank, 3 250w MH with 20k radium bulbs, 100 gallon Rubbermaid tub, 40 B sump, 29 gallon refugium, GenX PCX 40 return pump, reef octopus pro 300 skimmer. Not to sure what I am going to do about power heads yet. I would like to go with tunze but not sure I can come up with that kind of money for a power head yet. Please feel free to give me any suggestions and feedback. Sorry about the bad pics they were just quick shots. By lorenz723 at 2011-10-17 By lorenz723 at 2011-10-17 By lorenz723 at 2011-10-17 By lorenz723 at 2011-10-17 By lorenz723 at 2011-10-17 By lorenz723 at 2011-10-17 By lorenz723 at 2011-10-17 Getting my mangroves started for my fuge.

10/26/2011, 11:40 AM	#23
Lorenz725 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 942	Well I new things were going to good. Left the RO/DI all night checked it before bed and it all looked good. The water was over the bottom bulkhead in the bottom of the Rubbermaid so I was able to make sure it was not leaking. I went down this morning and sure enough water on the floor. It was only about half full but it was dripping at that bottom bulkhead. I pumped the water to the tank and all went good on that part. Took all the plumbing off the backhanded and was able to see it was somehow cracked. Went out got a new one and now making more RO/DI. I was also able to get my sand cleaned and in the tank also got the jacks up. By lorenz723 at 2011-10-26 By lorenz723 at 2011-10-26

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10/17/2011, 07:02 AM	#2
jacob.morgan78 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Farmville, VA Posts: 1,184	This is going to fun to follow... keep the pictures coming!

10/17/2011, 07:15 AM	#3
Lorenz725 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 942	Thanks will do! I should be able to start the plumbing Tuesday or Wednesday and I will try and get a lot of pics of it. Now a problem I have that I have not been able to decide what i want to do is the lighting. The tank came with a stock hood only 8 inches deep. My MH reflectors fit in the hood but if i put the hood on the tank that only leaves me about 8 inches from the water to the bulb. I got the lumen bright mini reflectors and I should have them about 12 to 16 inches off the water. So I am thinking about mounting the hood to the wall above the tank. Make like a floating hood? There would be about a 6 inch gap between the hood and the tank. What do you guys think or you got any other ideas?

10/17/2011, 08:04 AM	#4
jacob.morgan78 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Farmville, VA Posts: 1,184	I use t5's but I've seen tanks with their hoods on movable racks that are very cool. You should look into that and see if it work for you.

10/17/2011, 08:08 AM	#5
Lorenz725 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 942	I have seen some really cool ones too but I was trying to use what I had and not spend a lot of money since I am trying to save up for some powerhads. That is always something I can change up down there road too thanks for the idea.

10/17/2011, 08:10 AM	#6
jacob.morgan78 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Farmville, VA Posts: 1,184	I definitly understand... thought you might have been one of the lucky ones that doesn't have to worry about expenses... :-)

10/17/2011, 08:17 AM	#7
Lorenz725 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 942	HAHAHA yeah I wish so far everything I have got has been used.

10/17/2011, 10:06 AM	#8
jacob.morgan78 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Farmville, VA Posts: 1,184	That skimmer looks pretty nice, what kind is it?

10/17/2011, 10:17 AM	#9
Lorenz725 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 942	It is a reef octopus pro 300 skimmer it is 3 years old and came with a set up. The only thing that stinks is they dont make it anymore. They only made it for about a year and then there were problems with a copy or something like that. More info on it hear. http://www.aquacave.com/reef-octopus...mmer-2227.html

10/17/2011, 06:01 PM	#10
Lorenz725 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 942	Hope I dont ever need any parts or I might be in trouble.

10/17/2011, 06:36 PM	#11
MarineSniper Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Central Ohio Posts: 554	I picked up the same paint for the back, except in flat, yesterday. I'm glad I saw yours, it turned out great Working on my sump issues now then moving some water and rocks from my current tank over. My son doesn't understand why it's going to be a few weeks yet...I hope. If using 40 gallons and about 100#s of rock from my tank doesn't shorten a cycle, it could be a lot more than a few weeks It wasn't pretty when the wife came back from her weekend away and saw the new beast in the room!

10/20/2011, 01:53 PM	#12
Lorenz725 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 942	HAHA oh well Jerry she will get over it and end up loving it in the end. (I hope) Well as you can see from my lack of posting I have not got anything done this week. I have someone coming over Monday to help me do the plumbing and to add some electric to the area I need it. Good news is I was able to find a AC jr and a ATO for a good deal so that is now off the list. Looking at the instructions for the AC jr I am very intimidated I hope I can set up everything. I will try and get a lot of pics of the plumbing as it is going in.

10/24/2011, 06:30 PM	#13
Lorenz725 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 942	Well got a full 5 hours of work in today on the tank and it does not look like i got much done. It is a pain having to run the lines behind the wall and not though the floor. But my wife and I dont plan on living hear forever and dont want to have to replace the floor if i put holes in it. I got about 90% of the plumbing done should be able to get that done tomorrow. This the the 3/4" return line that will be T ed under the tank. By lorenz723 at 2011-10-24 Theses are the 1" lines. By lorenz723 at 2011-10-24 This is a pic of the lines running from the basement. By lorenz723 at 2011-10-24 This is the pump all hooked up and ready to go. I T ed it off so I can open the ball valve and be able to drain the water for water changes. By lorenz723 at 2011-10-24 Tomorrow I got to run the electric so I got the tank on it's own breaker. I also have to put in the jack and beef up the floor. By lorenz723 at 2011-10-24 I am hoping Wednesday I will be able to start making RO/DI and miking salt.

10/24/2011, 08:23 PM	#14
jacob.morgan78 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Farmville, VA Posts: 1,184	How did you plan and decide on the beefing up of the floor part... I see myself needing to do this in the future possibly... Seems pretty intimidating Nice update! I would love to have five straight hours to work on the tank... Hard to do with a six month old in the house :-)

10/25/2011, 05:23 AM	#15
Lorenz725 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 942	Well that tank is only 18 inches wide so it put all the wight on one beam. I am going to just be extra careful. It also helps someone local was selling the jacks for $30 for both. Well I only got the 5 hours because I am still healing my broken ankle and dont start work again till Monday. When I get back to work the time will be short. I bet it is hard to find any time to do anything with the tank with a little one!

10/25/2011, 05:52 AM	#16
rogermccray Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 1,050	Everything looks great so far!

10/25/2011, 07:54 AM	#17
Lorenz725 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 942	Thanks! I am just not sure if my pump is going to be enough. I got it used for a good price so it will be a good backup if I have to get a bigger one.

10/25/2011, 09:32 AM	#18
rogermccray Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 1,050	Is the basement sump right under the tank? There is a head loss calculator on the ReefCentral homepage.

10/25/2011, 10:49 AM	#19
sponger0 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 6,659	Looking good so far

10/25/2011, 03:36 PM	#20
Lorenz725 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 942	Well got the rest of the plumbing done today and got the electric ran. The only thing I am held up on is the jacks needed some mods they are to long for how I want to use them. I should be able to get them in tomorrow. Left side under the tank. By lorenz723 at 2011-10-25 Right side under the tank. By lorenz723 at 2011-10-25 Tank on its own breaker. By lorenz723 at 2011-10-25 Beefed up floor just need to add the jacks when I get them done. By lorenz723 at 2011-10-25 RO/DI water going into the sump! I will be mixing my salt in the sump then just pumping it to the main tank. I should be able to pump my first batch of salt water to the main tank tomorrow morning. I am just not sure if I have the nerve to run the RO/DI all night. By lorenz723 at 2011-10-25 I will get more pics when I get water in the tank. I still have to work on how I am going to mount my hood.

10/25/2011, 05:56 PM	#21
jacob.morgan78 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Farmville, VA Posts: 1,184	Unless you have a MONSTER rodi... I would think you'd be okay leaving it on with that big of a container... However, it would make me nervous too!

10/25/2011, 05:59 PM	#22
Lorenz725 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 942	Yeah it is a 100 GPD so I dont think I am going to be going anywhere fast.

10/26/2011, 11:53 AM	#24
jacob.morgan78 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Farmville, VA Posts: 1,184	man! always something... could've been a lot worst though was the bulkhead itself cracked or the tank?

10/26/2011, 12:02 PM	#25
Lorenz725 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 942	It was the threads on the one inch bulkhead. It came used with the Rubbermaid tank I got and I should have replaced it. But I water tested the tank and had it full of water for 3 days with not on drop of water. It must of happened when I hooked up the pump. It was an easy fix just took about an hour to figure out why it was leaking and find the crack.