250 Gallon Starphire SPS tank - Page 3

benonmsn · #51 08/17/2004, 09:35 PM

thats a pretty big diffrence...

surfy · #52 08/17/2004, 11:05 PM

Right on, good to hear it made it okay. Now the fun starts

majesticangelfish · #53 08/17/2004, 11:43 PM

Wow thats a NICE tank!

LittleBlueGT · #54 08/18/2004, 05:11 AM

Here is a picture from the top down. It shows the starphire bracing on top, as well as the 1 inch starphire trim. I guess the trim is for salt creep, and to keep splashes in. It would also work well if I ever used a Tunze Tsunami. (I'm not sure if that is what it is called, but that new wave maker that will be available in the fall)

LittleBlueGT · #55 08/18/2004, 05:22 AM

The last picture along with this one gives a view of the bracing on the tank. One of the mistakes Mitch made was not evenly spacing the braces along on the top of the tank. They are closer to the center then they should be. The bad thing is that will make it harder to work in the overflow. The good thing is it will make it easier to reach over the tank by leaning on the braces if I have to work on it once it is in the house. Also, Mitch centered the holes in the tank, not the overflow. I should have been the other way around. This picture of the back of the tank show all 9 holes. From the left: closed loop return, closed loop intake (slightly bigger hole), the 6 holes in the overflow; 2 for drains, 2 for sump returns, 2 for closed loop returns, last hole hole closed loop return. This just goes to show that a full drawing of what you wish, with all the specifics is a must. At any rate I am still satisfied with the tank. The silicone quality is better then some Oceanic that I have seen, but worse then my Oceanic 90 bow.

LittleBlueGT · #56 08/18/2004, 05:27 AM

Here are a couple of pics showing the progress on the stand. Feel free to make any comments, or constructive criticism. I still have to put in some shelves and cut holes for plumbing and electrical.

LittleBlueGT · #57 08/18/2004, 05:33 AM

Last pic for today is a pic of a massive sch 80 2 inch bulkhead. At least to me it seems huge. Any suggestions as to how to mount these things. With silicone or without. If the ones in the tank ever leak, it will drain the whole tank.

Then the WAF would go down considerably.

mixer911 · #58 08/18/2004, 06:42 AM

Very Nice!! Welcome to the Big Tank Club. Great planning always pays off!

littlesilver, remember when you asked me about the access to my center overflow on my 280. I have pics now where you can see the granite ledge I was talking about using to stand on to access the tank.

Pics here

surfy · #59 08/18/2004, 01:56 PM

One good thing about glass is the silicone, if you need to move the braces I would do it now.

benonmsn · #60 08/18/2004, 02:57 PM

i would not silicone them, have never had the need. remember the o ring goes inside the tank. remember lots of teflon tape of course.. i over do the teflon. 10 or so wraps works for me. but no, i dont think silicon is needed or helpful.

LittleBlueGT · #61 08/18/2004, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by benonmsn
i would not silicone them, have never had the need. remember the o ring goes inside the tank. remember lots of teflon tape of course.. i over do the teflon. 10 or so wraps works for me. but no, i dont think silicon is needed or helpful.

When you say, "10 wraps of silicone", do you use the thin white stuff, or the thick yellow stuff?

LittleBlueGT · #62 08/18/2004, 03:56 PM

Here is a cool picture that a friend took of my tangs eating. (He has a much better camera then i do)

surfy · #63 08/18/2004, 06:18 PM

What I meant by silicone is the glass braces being siliconed. All you have to do is cut through it, move the braces and re-silicone them in place.

On the bulk heads you want to use the white teflon tape, the yellow is for gas.
I always use the "plumbers goop" which is a paste and a much better seal than the tape.

LittleBlueGT · #64 08/18/2004, 08:13 PM

How long does plumbers goop take to cure? I'm assuming that you just put it on both threads and then tighten them.

mixer911 · #65 08/18/2004, 08:58 PM

I siliconed mine in. Personally I like that extra security. They are curing now. The rubber seals over a few years will start to deteriate and the you will get salt creep and salt sickels.

surfy · #66 08/18/2004, 09:37 PM

Yeah a little silicone can't hurt

Plumbers goop never cures. It just stays in a paste form, a very waterproof paste. I use it on all threaded fittings.
The paste (goop) is great for most pressure applications too.

Just lightly apply the goop on the threads so there are no gaps, tighten and wipe off excess goop.
I would hate to replace a bulkhead thats not in the overflow box. You may want to take mixers advice and silicone those in.

surfy · #67 08/18/2004, 09:55 PM

Oh yeah the "goop" is called rector seal. I believe there are quite a few brands/names for the same stuff.

LittleBlueGT · #68 08/18/2004, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Rector seal

Sounds like a doctor should use that stuff. That name is almost is weird as your Avatar. Just kidding

Thanks for the info.

LittleBlueGT · #69 08/18/2004, 10:34 PM

I ordered my Oceans Motion HD 4-way today. I like dealing with Paul. He is just a nice guy. Promptly gave me an e-mail confirming order. It's nice to deal with an individual that isn't just out to make money, but really cares about the hobby.

Thumbs up to Paul at Oceansmotion.

surfy · #70 08/18/2004, 10:50 PM

Or when you eat alot of spicy food

Have you ordered the doors to the stand?

LittleBlueGT · #71 08/19/2004, 12:08 AM

Yep, ordered them 2 weeks ago, should get them next week.

LittleBlueGT · #72 08/19/2004, 06:55 PM

The holes for the bulkheads are now cut. Also the holes for the electrical at the back of the stand, as well as an opening for the drains and sump returns on the bottom of the stand going through the floor.

mixer911 · #73 08/19/2004, 07:44 PM

I thought I had a lot of holes

.

Lookin Good

BpOC · #74 08/19/2004, 08:52 PM

hey littlesilvermax,
just got finished reading your thread...we have a lot in common,he he i also have a slightly modded 2k maxima.however the modding has taken a backseat since i began reefing...by the way your basement setup is sweeeeeet, looks like all you have to do now is prop the stand and tank right on top and your ready to go. i look forward to reading the rest of the progress as i just got a starphire 240gal from IA. i'm also thinking about using the oceans motion 4way...can wait to see it all set up seems like your moving fast i dont think i'll finish setting mine up for another 3-4months

...best of luck to you
angel

LittleBlueGT · #75 08/23/2004, 12:30 AM

Slowly working on the stand and the hood. Trying to make sure everything is just right. This first picture is one of the hood on its side. It is braced with double layers of plywood for rigidity and for mounting locations for lights (along with the eventual light mover)