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I'm having big fun now...390 display +
Well, how do you start a build thread??? About 37 years ago Mom gave me a 10 gallon guppy tank and now I'm working on a 390 gallon mixed reef. As I build, PLEASE feel free to make suggestions. I KNOW THAT I DON'T KNOW IT ALL. The stand is 1.5 inch square tube 3/16 thick. It took 240 feet to build the stand, hood and hood supports. Welding was done by Jeff, a friend from work. I had it powdercoated white, moved it into the billiards room and assembled it. The tank is a Glass Cages 390 gallon glass, with three overflow boxes. In each box is a 2 inch and a 1.5 inch bulkhead. On the backwall are two 2 inch bulkheads. The three 2 inch holes in the boxes drain through 1.5 inch Durso standpipes into a manifold that will feed the sump skimmer section and the refugium. The sump will return through a Sequence Dart through the center box 1.5 inch hole and then to 4 Lock-line 3/4 inch fittings into the center section of the eurobracing. The two 2 inch holes on the back will feed 2 closed loops. Each will have a Sequence Dart and an Ocean Motion 4-way. The OM 4-ways will be fed from the pumps through the two 1.5 inch holes in the end overflow boxes. Each OM 4-way outlet will feed two 3/4 inch Lock-line fittings, which will surround the end eurobraced sections. There will be a total of 20 Lock-line fittings feeding the tank, with 16 from 2 separate OM 4-ways. The back wall is sprayed with black pond foam. I liked the way it looks on Sidewinder770's tank. The skimmer is a JDM Technologies dual beckett, sized to fit in my stand. It's 38 inches tall x 8 inch diameter with a 8 inch waste collector. I'll power it with 2 GenX PCX55HP pumps as recommended by the manufacturer. In the garage are two 65 gallon barrels plumbed through one pump and 2 pipes to the sump. One is RO/DI water for top-off and one is for mixing salt water for water changes. I'm a water change freak, so the simpler the better. I'll use dry sand, about 4-5 inches, and DIY GARF style rock. I have 344 lbs of it curing in the swimming pool. I need to make about another 150 lbs or so. I'll bring it to life with 65 lbs of GARF Grunge, and some live sand from some friends tanks. Lighting will be three 250 watt metal halide 10K and some T5 actinics. Electricity is supplied by four 20 amp decicated circuits. Also and yet to be purchased will bea calcium reactor, ozone generator and reactor, controller w/pc interface, phosphate reactor, and who knows what else. The sump will be DIY similar to melev model H. After some advice from a friend, I decided to wait to build it until I know EXACTLY how much space I have for the sump, since all equipment will be in the stand or hood. I have a 50 gallon quarantine for safety. Also, I still need a RO/DI unit. The stand/hood will be covered in Mohogany to match my pool table.
[IMGhttp://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p117/mflamb/DSC_2739.jpg[/IMG] |
#2
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More pics...
The small skimmer is a Coralife for the 50 quarantine.
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Click on my red house to see my 390 build thread. |
#3
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Man that thing make my 200g look like the guppy tank you started with...lol. Cant wait to see you start to fill it.
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Billy Take a step backward and do it right. |
#4
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Im tagging along on this one, cant wait to see it!!!
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looks like a good start to me!!! Good luck!.
Cheers.
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Steve Irwin, still my hero, and never forgotten. |
#6
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yep my 200 looks tiny LOL
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#7
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What is that stuff on the back? Looks cool!
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Equipment junkie. _______________ |
#8
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Quote:
mflamb - Looks Great!! |
#9
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you can get the foam at dr fosters for less.i think $7 a can.
looks awesome mflamb,cant wait to watch you progress.the back wall looks like something out of the predator movies.kind of alienesque! |
#10
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Man be careful with that tank next to the pool table. Balls are always jumping off the table, and someone could get wild with a pool cue.
Looks like an awesome tank btw! |
#11
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"...careful next to the pool table" is an understatement.
mflamb- its going to be awsome. I know the stories about the company you purchased the tank from- would you comment on the construction and quality of your tank? |
#12
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Looking Sweet!!
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A charitable man is like an appletree-he gives his fruit and is silent; the philantropist is like the hen. -unknown |
#13
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looking really good buddy. i'm definitely along for the ride on this one. give us lots of pictures. good job so far
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colin |
#14
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BrokeColoReefer...The pond foam is from Dr. Fosters and Smith. I used twelve 12 oz cans.
RevHtree...I have a piece of foam that hangs from the front of the hood and covers the tank when we play pool. Glove...Basically the tank looks very good after about 2 hours of silicone cleanup. It's braced very well. No chipping around the drilling. I'm pleased. Mike
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Click on my red house to see my 390 build thread. |
#15
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Quote:
i can contest to the glasscages tank,i bought a 240 cube recently that was made by them.other then the messy silicone,the tank is made like a tank. |
#16
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taggin along...looking great.
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Andy Dufresne: "Get busy living, or get busy dying" |
#17
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Quote:
somehow that statement sounds silly.but im sure you all know what i meant lol. |
#18
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gonna be folling this one looking good. so far
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#19
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mflamb,
Great start! Could you post the tanks dimenssions?
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"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will spend all day in a boat drinking beer." |
#20
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Craig Lambert...It's 96x30x31.
Mike
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Click on my red house to see my 390 build thread. |
#21
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What was the reason for the foam back? I am upgrading to a 60x30x30 and hate scraping the back and side glass (not a coraline fan).
I have been looking for weeks for something to put against the back....could this be it? Does it stay clean? Does it grow coraline? Do they have browner colors? Is yours black or grey? Does it last? Can you attach coral to it? Sorry for the questions, but I've never seen this before. Thanks
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#22
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Troll...No problems with the questions. Coralline algae will grow on it and you can attach corals to it. It is more black than grey. That's the only color that I know of. I learned of it from Sidewinder770. His thread is: http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=522988
He has several years of experience with it. Mike
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Click on my red house to see my 390 build thread. |
#23
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nice setup
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#24
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Awesome!!! Giant kudos to you for going against 98% of everyone else in the hobby by applying the foam to the back of your tank. I can't wait to see how well the coraling covers it in 9 months-1 years time.
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Remember kids....mud don't fling itself. |
#25
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Great setup! The stand, foam everything looks good so far. Can't wait to see it get wet!
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Click my Red House to check out my 120 in office reef (upgraded in Aug 06) Seeking therapy for my fish tank ADD |
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