Durso's 180 gallon in wall tank.

[original-reefland]

Update:

The tank has 135 gallons in it and its within .5 inch of the overflow teeth. The overflow chambers on these Oceanic tanks must sure displace a lot of water if the tank really does hold 180 gallons.

I moved one of my Won Pro II digital LCD heaters over. The heater has been cranking most of the day and its only upto 66*F. Water was 58*F when I first put the heater in.

Installed a Tunze turbelle stream 6100 with multicontroller. This unit moves 3175 GPH. I have it pegged on max and it really does move the water very well.

Started adding salt tonight. Since the temperature is still low, I'm only adding a little salt. I added about 1/4 of a Instant Ocean bucket.

Tomorrow I'll be calling up my LFS on getting the live rock ordered. I've always been a Fiji live rock fan - Jumbo Show Fiji rocks to be exact with about a 10% mix of Tonga branch for support structure in caves.

I see now there are about a dozen different types of rock. Anyone have recommendations? I need: 1) large rocks since the tank is reasonably big, stacks of little rocks looks horrible. 2) I don't want rock full of life. All the free stuff is horrible looking weeds IMO. I want nice bare, purple rock so I can mount what I want to keep. 3) I don't want rocks that look like dead coral heads. I've seen some that look like perfect table acropora with coraline algae. I like the irregular knobby look of Fiji rock. If there is something else like this, I'd like to know.

I'm also working on hanging the AB Aquaspace light. The halide bulbs have arrived. Still waiting for the actininc power compac units to arrive. Should be here in a few more days.

Still have to work on the plumbing to get the sump hooked in.

[LittleBlueGT]

I have half Figi LR and it is OK. I love my Haitian rock though, easy to stack, very porous.

[missing Linc]

Rich - What LFS do you use? Linc

[Jamesurq]

Rich - when I set up my 90 I wanted big rocks too - I ended up purchasing some "vanisi" (deepwater tonga) from Jeff (exoticfish.com). I asked him to pick out some large rocks. For 100 lbs I got 4 rocks. One of which was bout 30 inches long and weighing about 40 lbs. Might want to look into that. I think I paid $2.85 a lb.

[original-reefland]

Originally posted by littlesilvermax
I have half Figi LR and it is OK. I love my Haitian rock though, easy to stack, very porous.

Haitian??? huh, never heard of that. I'll keep an eye out for it.

[original-reefland]

Originally posted by missing Linc
Rich - What LFS do you use? Linc

I have some significant store credit at Reef & Fin in Stamford, CT.

Not exactly local, but a reasonable drive.

[original-reefland]

Originally posted by Jamesurq
Rich - when I set up my 90 I wanted big rocks too - I ended up purchasing some "vanisi" (deepwater tonga) from Jeff (exoticfish.com). I asked him to pick out some large rocks. For 100 lbs I got 4 rocks. One of which was bout 30 inches long and weighing about 40 lbs. Might want to look into that. I think I paid $2.85 a lb.

Wow! awesome size rocks. I'd think the UPS man would still make a box of rubble out of that.

Thanks for the tip.

[jeffbrig]

Originally posted by original-reefland
The tank has 135 gallons in it and its within .5 inch of the overflow teeth.

1/2 inch from the top and no pics? What a tease....

[original-reefland]

Originally posted by jeffbrig
1/2 inch from the top and no pics? What a tease....

Well I figured you could imagine what it looks like. I have to be careful as the salt I'm adding and the water warming up is pushing the water level up. Since I don't have the plumbing work done yet, if it goes over, it goes onto the floor.

As of this morning the water level was about 1/4 inch from the teeth and wave ripples are really close to going over.

[jthnhale]

now might be a good time to put the RO tube in a rubbermaid tub
unless you like living on the edge

[jeffbrig]

Originally posted by original-reefland
Since I don't have the plumbing work done yet, if it goes over, it goes onto the floor.

As of this morning the water level was about 1/4 inch from the teeth and wave ripples are really close to going over.

Now you're just cracking me up. I came very close to getting myself in the exact same predicament. I've been dying to start filling my tank, but so far I've had just enough willpower to hold off until the overflow box is plumbed.

BTW, what type of stand pipes are you planning to use....

[bad coffee]

Looks good so far!

BC

[Jamesurq]

Originally posted by original-reefland
Wow! awesome size rocks. I'd think the UPS man would still make a box of rubble out of that.

Thanks for the tip.

Oh - it's all about the airline direct shipment into LaGuardia for you man...

Forget that door to door in 5 days... Same day you got your smelly rock

[original-reefland]

Originally posted by jeffbrig
Now you're just cracking me up. I came very close to getting myself in the exact same predicament. I've been dying to start filling my tank, but so far I've had just enough willpower to hold off until the overflow box is plumbed.

Heh... I figure I can start the cure process without the sump hooked up just incase I can pick up some rock this weekend. I'll be working on the sump hookup next week.

Originally posted by jeffbrig

BTW, what type of stand pipes are you planning to use....

Well the last ones I used were the original prototypes. I figured I could upgrade to a current model. Be nice to make a set for myself for a change. Plus I have a few tricks up my sleave for neat mods to reduce the air issue in the sump. Ideas I can't test until I have a sump.... with water.

Don't ask... can't share details until I know it works.

[original-reefland]

Originally posted by Jamesurq
Oh - it's all about the airline direct shipment into LaGuardia for you man...

Forget that door to door in 5 days... Same day you got your smelly rock

I called up my LFS left a message. We have to work out the rock exchange. When I took down my tank before I moved, I gave them about 250 pounds mix of Jumbo Fiji, Tonga Branch and a bunch of "Cherry picked" rocks not sure where from. Plus these things were loaded with corals and I gave them almost all my fish as well.

We never got around to the details of dollar amount, or pound-per-pound exchange, etc. Time to work that out.

They said they had about 300 pounds on hand and expect 300 pounds of more rock to arrive. I forget the name - didn't sound english to me. All I heard was a blur of P's and V's.

[missing Linc]

Rich - just wondering...do you like Reef and Fin better than House of Fins (in Greenwich)? Or why not get some rock from Dan at Reef Splendor? Linc

[original-reefland]

Originally posted by missing Linc
Rich - just wondering...do you like Reef and Fin better than House of Fins (in Greenwich)? Or why not get some rock from Dan at Reef Splendor? Linc

Well I'm friends with Chris and Laura, so I can get a decent deal on prices at Reef & Fin. Plus I have a lot of store credit to use up. That is the main reason I'm getting the rock there.

House of Fins is very nice, sticker shock for sure, but they always have a great selection. I don't know anyone there and the best I've been about to get from them is a 10% discount of listed price (which is about 2x what you would expect to pay).

I haven't seen Dan in a while. I hear you need a yearly membership to shop at Reef Splendor now if you do not purchase wholesale volume. A lot of my cherry picked rocks in my last tank was from Dan. If I didn't have to pay to shop, I'd go back.

[original-reefland]

Updated image:



This picture shows the tank full of salt water, 35ppt at 80*F. The water is ready to cure rock. The sump plumbing is not completed yet as I can finish that once the rock is added. I've left a few messages to Reef & Fin to work out the live rock. Nobody has returned my calls yet. I really want to get some rock into the tank by this weekend.

[original-reefland]

Updated Backroom Image:



The back central part of the display tank has been painted black. I did not paint the overflow chambers as it is important to be able to inspect the chamber regularly. Now you can't see items in the backroom when viewing the tank.

Since I was going to paint the tank black I figured I could make it useful. I decided to use Rust-Oleum brand Chalk Board writable-erasable latex paint. This effectivily made the back of the tank a functional black chalk board that I can keep notes or instructions. The glass took about 8 coats of paint applied with a foam roller.

Not sure if this is a first for reef keepers, but I don't recall seeing anyone else use this stuff.

The bulkheads have been installed and the return plumbing to the display has been fabricated. The mounting hardware for the AB Aquaspace light has been installed. Just need to replace the bulbs in it (has my old bulbs still) and get someone over to help me hang it over the tank.

Next items to complete include:

Getting the duct work for the ventilation system run (silver tube you can see in the background of a few pictures).

Slide the sump under the tank and work on getting the pumps, skimmer, etc cleaned and work out the placement.

Work on what I call a monitoring cabinet. I have a cabinet next to the tank that I plan on creating some kind of control panel of all the LCD displays for heaters, pH monitor, Tunze Turbelle Controller, etc. I plan on creating some kind of power switching system to be easily turn off selected items -- no more trying to trace cables to figure out which plug goes to which pump. It something totally not needed but I think it would be nice to have and add a professional look to it.

[Reef Addict II]

Your set-up is coming together very nice, keep the updates coming

I am about 10 days from getting my equipment, I am doing a 180 also.

Steve

[Jamesurq]

I see you have not installed any standpipes yet - any thoughts to which kind you'll be using?

[toonces]

just finished reading your whole thread. this is great stuff! what an awesome job. i'm hoping to buy my first house in the next month, and one of my priorities is having room for a large tank in the basement.

i'm just curious though...why did you go with 180 instead of something a bit bigger? seems like you have a lot of room there. why not go with 240 or more?

[Jamesurq]

You gotta draw the line somewhere.... If he had put in a 240 would you have asked him why he didn't do a 300?

[original-reefland]

Originally posted by toonces
i'm just curious though...why did you go with 180 instead of something a bit bigger? seems like you have a lot of room there. why not go with 240 or more?

I'm reusing equipment I already had from my previous house. Perhaps next time I can make a jump to a bigger tank. The problem is that larger tanks are not just a little more money to operate they are a lot more money to operate. If I went bigger, I'd have to reinvest in bigger pumps, different lighting system, etc.

Plus my electricity here is over 13 cents/kw which is on the high side. Affording this "small" 180 is hard enough

[original-reefland]

Originally posted by Jamesurq
You gotta draw the line somewhere.... If he had put in a 240 would you have asked him why he didn't do a 300?

I tell my wife the 180 will make a nice sump one day. She gets that look of death in her eyes.