Cobraden's 150 build

[Darbex]

Nice man. It was good to meet you yesterday too. Now you better make sure to post up pics of the tank as they set-up and you pick out their corals.

[cobraden]

Finally back at it...long update

Well sometimes life gets in the way of our best laid plans so it's been a while (over a year) since I really made any significant progress with this build but now I'm back at it.

Since the last update I've:
resealed the tank since the silicone looked really bad
added an extra 1 1/2" drain since it only had a 3/4" drain
I put in a new overflow box but will be doing a little cosmetic work given my routing skills were not that great.


Making a little bit of progress. I was able to fit almost everything under the cabinet. I think the only thing that will be setting on the outside will be the co2 tank for the calcium reactor. Due to some space constraints, I ended up putting shut off valve for the return pump inside the sump so that everything would fit. Only need it for when I do pump maintenance and I usually get wet doing that anyway so it wasn’t a big deal.


top view


I was also able to get the pieces for my new metal top brace cut and welded. It went the powder coater after I did my leak test. Pretty sure I won't miss that big ugly center brace.



Feels good to finally start making some progress.

Yesterday I started off by heading over to the powder coater and picking up my metal center brace.
They did a great job on it and it should stand up to the salt spray very well.

Then it was off to pick up some water so I loaded up my 100 gallon water storage container and went and picked up 100 gal of fresh water. Got home added salt and let it mix.

This go round I decided to try using egg crate under the rock to reduce rock movement when sand moving fish decide to relocate my substrate.


Now it was time to turn my attention to the live rock. I had a few pieces that I had let dry out since I broke down my other tank but I had just crammed a bunch of it in a 100 gallon tank and it has had light and decent water circulation. My nieces came over to help so we got to cleaning the rock that had been sitting by the patio and then it was time to stack.

we started with a piece of live rock I like to call "Tiny"
that piece alone probably weighs 30-40 pounds

Then we worked on the stack until we all came to an agreement.
Then I added water and stirred :o

The stack turned out as I had hoped with lots of places for coral placement and tons of caves and swim throughs for the fish. You can't tell from the pics but the fish will be able to swim completely around the rock in the center of the tank.

Right now I just have some powerheads circulating the water in the tank. I will add water to the sump tomorrow and get the system fired up. Things are starting to get exciting.

[semper]

Any updates?

[cobraden]

I am starting to think that due to the amount of flow that I want going through the sump, I will use something similar to "herbbie" method. Where the old box was, I think I will enlarge one of the holes for the 1.5" drain. The other hole will serve as the return line to my manifold. On the other side, at the back, I will drill one for the drain and the other will be the emergency overflow just in case something clogs my other drains. Thinking ahead, if I don't like the way the manifold works, I can always convert both smaller pipes to returns and go with durso's for the drain.

[Sea-agg09]

Looks like this weekend it may be time to try my hand at some glass drilling!

Just make sure you keep water on it to keep it cool, and go REALLY REALLY SLOW.

Where is the second set of holes going?

[cobraden]

My plans for the evening got rescheduled so...since I didn't really feel like going out I decided to make a little progress. I removed the old overflow. Ok baby steps. I was going to remove the centerbrace as well but havent quite figured out how I'm going to get it out. I will think about that tomorrow.

Stephen, the box is all yours if you still want it.

Before


After

[semper]

Sweet, good luck on the glass drilling

[cobraden]

Love it when I get new toys in the mail.



1 - 2 3/8" glass hole saw
1 - 1 3/4" glass hole saw
2 - bulkheads for my 1 1/2" drains

Already had the bulkheads for the returns.

Looks like this weekend it may be time to try my hand at some glass drilling!

[stephen]

that would be really cool

[cobraden]

Haven't picked out the reactor yet but I'm leaning toward the Nextreef one. I need to see what PM has to offer. I've always had good luck with their equipment.

Stephen, my brother still lives in the neighborhood. After I get the box out maybe I'll bring it by and see your tank. He's right off TC jester near cypresswood.

[soymilk]

From what I understand theres only 2 manfactures that produce Biopellets. I've messed around with 3 brands and they all look the same. After trying both, I prefer vodka. Always remember to start slow and you'll be fine.

As for Gfo, brs was the most economical. Setting up a tank is the funnest part, can't wait til it's up and running.

Btw did you pick out a reactor yet?

[stephen]

old oaks is across the street from me

[cobraden]

Sea-agg09

I don't remember the UV brand off the top of my head. I bought it several years ago for 110 that I have and I think I may have used it 24 hrs total. It's designed for ponds and is aprox 3 ft long and 4" in diameter. I need to go pull it out and make sure everything still works.

As for the GFO, I'm not sure what brand I will use just yet. That's going to be a whole different research project.

Stephen, I will let you know about the overflow box. I'm not totally sure it will come out in one piece I hope it does. The T5's should be just fine for coral growth. lots of people use them and with 6 bulbs, I should be just fine.

Looks like you are located very close to where I just moved from. I was in the Old Oaks Neighborhood, just behind the Northgate country club.

[Sea-agg09]

I'm still reading up on the carbon dosing. Not sure I can pour vodka into an aquarium. I'm not that good at sharing.

Yeah, vodka is kinda iffy... and you're royally screwed if you overdose.

Brightwell makes a carbon source for reefs, but that would get pricey in that large of a tank. I would also be interested to know if it is any different than a Flourish Excell...

There is only 1 retail importer of biopellets for the US, so the price of pellets is crazy right now. BRS has some biopellets on their site, but I'm not sure whether they actually have their own made, or they just repackage the current retail variety. Either way, I'm not totally sold on biopellets yet. I think it will be something all reefers use eventually, but the cost is just too high right now.

[stephen]

if there's nothing horably wrong with it i would like to get/buy it from you when the time comes that your ready to toss it. hey is that t5 fixture gonna be good enough to grow all kinds of corals under . just curious because i'm running m/h and power compacts and they're so bulky it really limits me to what i can do when i build my canopy.