Our Mini 425 Ocean

erics3000 · #1 07/16/2007, 02:47 PM

Our 425 piece of the Ocean

The system will consist of a 300 display 96x30x25. I will have 2 internal overflows at the ends. The display will have 2 low iron viewing panels. I have an old 75 for the sump and also a 55 for the fuge. I am going to try to squeeze a 30 or 40 QT in there also. I want mixed corals and a lot of fish.

Equipment wise I will use Dart return pump with an OM4. Not sure yet how I will handle the rest of the flow. I will run a Calcium Reactor, Phosban, and bed fluidizer filters. I am going to run some plumbing to a section in the garage for a water change, RO storage, and saltwater mixing. I would really like to make my own calcium reactor, skimmer, and reflectors for the metal halides. I am going to start out with 3 400w metal halides. I will probably wind up with an aqua controller. I would love a proflow but to much$$$

I am going to make a room at the entry of my house. I will use it for an office/fish room. You will be able to view the tank from the office or formal living and dining room.
I live in Florida so humidity and heat are definitely issues. I will add an ac vent in the new room. I will also have to move the return out of the room to the other side of the wall. Don’t want salt creep or the air from there going into my AC unit. I will put a ceiling fan in there and also an exhaust fan above the lighting area. I think I will hook the exhaust to some type of temperature switch. I might add some fans on the sump and lighting areas as well. I am trying to not have to use a chiller and keep down all the cost as much as possible.

Any ideas and thought are appreciated, good and bad.

I started building my walls and had to leave for a month of training in Ca. Here is what I have so far.

Well here is the start of my stand. My dog always wants to be around when working. If I am working on something he will get next to me and chew on his toy or whatever I am working on, or just take a nap.

http://erics3000.googlepages.com/Sta...tand1-full.jpg

FishyBiz · #2 07/16/2007, 04:20 PM

good start on the stand

You have a looooooooooooong way to go.

erics3000 · #3 07/16/2007, 04:46 PM

http://erics3000.googlepages.com/Sta...tand2-full.jpg

erics3000 · #4 07/16/2007, 04:48 PM

erics3000 · #5 07/17/2007, 12:30 AM

Sorry I had some trouble with the pics. Here we go. This is what I have done so far before I left for training.

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...ium/stand3.jpg

Here is the entrance to my house. I have my PC's setup with a little office. This where I am going to put the wall and enclose a room and make a office/ mini fish room.

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...struction1.jpg

The room will be about 10 feet x 12 feet

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...struction2.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...struction3.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...struction4.jpg
I am going to remove all carpet and put some laminate wood floors.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...strustion5.jpg
Here is a start of the framing. Next set of pics will be better
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...m/framing1.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...m/framing2.jpg
I finally got the french doors aligned. A little pain. I went back and added some extra beams for the frames and made sure all drywall butted up to a frame. Not to bad once I got the hang of it.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...m/Framing3.jpg
And a start with the drywall.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...m/Drywall1.jpg

NYCREEF69 · #6 07/17/2007, 04:24 PM

SUPER NICE TANK MAN

erics3000 · #7 07/17/2007, 04:45 PM

Thanks, When I get home I will post some more pics and get moving. Hopefully the tank will be ready when I get there.

erics3000 · #8 07/17/2007, 07:40 PM

erics3000 · #9 07/17/2007, 07:50 PM

padams626 · #10 07/17/2007, 09:52 PM

I'm a newbie here, but I'll be watching your progress. Looks interesting so far.

cbui2 · #11 07/17/2007, 10:05 PM

looking great Eric, what will you be using for interior walls?

hawaiianwargod · #12 07/17/2007, 10:28 PM

Very nice.....tagging along.

erics3000 · #13 07/17/2007, 10:41 PM

Thanks guys.

I am going to use dry wall on side where the door is, on the inside where the tank is I will use dry way at the top. Above and below the tank I am thinking of doing some cabinetry with doors. A little door to the right of the tank for the OM4 and big door to the left for the calcium reactor, QT, and other equipment. I am at training for a month so progress has come to a halt for a little. I am going to order a dart and maybe some www.marco.com rocks to make base rock pillars. I was going to take about 100lbs of live out of my 150 but I don't think I will. A year 1/2 ago I accidently put cooper in my tank for ich. Beginner bobo. I am afraid that some of it might be still in the live rock and don't want anything to leach into the new tank. So I guess I need to buy all new rock.

I have some pics that I uploaded from my camera and will put them up soon.

Glad your hear Bart. I am deciding about lighting. I have a 400w 14k that I think is a little too blue. I was thinking of putting it in the middle and running 2 250w 10k's on the side. The tank is only 24 deep. What are your feelings on that?

erics3000 · #14 07/18/2007, 12:14 AM

Here are the rest of the pics as promissed.

Here you can see how I doubled up on all the legs for the stand. Primed but will paint when I get back.

Here you can see the return that I will move to suck air from out of the room.

Here is the other wall where the return will be.

When my house was built I got the rounded wall option. It is a pain if you want to paint a room a different color but i figured I would keep it the same. I found the round piece for 2 bucks at Home Depot.

Here is the first coat of mud. That is as far as I got before my trip.

dandy7200 · #15 07/18/2007, 12:34 AM

I really like the location you chose for this. BTW, what is a proflow? Do you have the tank yet?

erics3000 · #16 07/18/2007, 02:39 AM

Thanks Dan. Your tanks are inspiring and your build is coming along nicely. Your corals are sweet. I can't wait to start getting some frags .

You can actually see my 150 from the street through the front window of my house. So with an 8 foot long tank viewable from the front of my home, I shouldn’t need a porch light anymore. Haahahah

Sorry excuse my spelling. This is the controller I fell in love with. One of my favorite features is a remote display that it comes with.
http://www.ghl-profilux.com/

My tank is ordered, it should be ready in August for me to pick it up. When I get back I have a lot of work, but should be fun.

Swimdog · #17 07/18/2007, 07:10 AM

Taggin along for the finish. BTW Dog and bike complement post well : )

cbui2 · #18 07/18/2007, 12:31 PM

great progress Eric, what type of finished will you be using on exterior walls?

erics3000 · #19 07/18/2007, 03:04 PM

Thanks Swimdog

Bart
I think I am going to rent the spray gun form home depot to have the same texture as all the walls in the house. It is like a $30 dollar rental. I want it to look exactly like it came with the house.

alpine · #20 07/18/2007, 09:26 PM

Great progress Eric,lookiong forward to some updates when you get back.I see we have some things in common,bikes,pits,reefs,and we both live in the sunny state of Florida.By the way thanks for the reply .

Jorge

erics3000 · #21 07/19/2007, 01:58 AM

thanks alpine.
I cant wait to get back and get inot the groove again. your indoor reef pons sounds very interesting. Your 75 pics were very nice to say the least.. Drop me a line to your new pond when you get going..

alpine · #22 07/19/2007, 03:21 PM

I actually am going to update the pond thing,had to put it on hold until our lease is up .Cant wait to get our own houseThe last place we lived in was on a slab.The new place is on pillars.I just dont feel comfortable putting that much weight on the house.I am however going to setup a 4 tank prop system,so that I can start to aquire,corals and giving them time to grow.I figure by the time we move into our own place next year,I can have some nice colonies and a large assortment of corals.

As soon as I get everything for the prop system I plan on starting a build thread in the coral prop forum.Hey Eric how far is Palm Bay from Jacksonville?

Jorge

erics3000 · #23 07/19/2007, 04:20 PM

That is a great idea. Like you said you will be able to transfer some nice corals to your new tank. As soon as I can aquire some corals I want to start populating my 150. I just want to get a calcium reactor. maybe I will just do the 2 part. You know everything adds up quick

It is about 3 hour drive.

NanoGurl · #24 07/19/2007, 06:55 PM

It looks really good! I also like the location a lot, I think once it's all done it will give you a beautiful view of your tank in a nice relaxing atmosphere. Def jealous of the FL living!

Tagging along for sure!

michika · #25 07/19/2007, 07:09 PM

Looks like its coming along really well!