DuffyGeos

Thanks for the rhyming Dis. I need to do some cleaning up, then I will take some more pics and get them posted. I did not want to ask my wife to post any to my gallery since she will not be thriller till she sees my other tank shut down and out of the storage room, so I can put the shelves back in and clean out the rec. room.

Yea, she is not thrilled that I am pushing this to the limit. March 16th will be one year. Closing down my one 55g tank this week and moving fish over to the frag QT tank - which will be a temporary fish tank.

No skimmer? feeding 3 x a day? I hope there is a lot of chaeto.......

Very nice job, looks really clean.

Thanks, 24 hours in and looks like only one connection is a little damp, no real dripping, just can see my fingers are damp when I run them over that one fitting. Going to wait to see if it stops on its own once salt is added. No, actually Port last night. Our neighbors had a Portuguese dinner party last night so it was a late night. Still not feeling really good.

Isaac is now a light hanging master. Tank and light look awesome.

Thank you, can't wait to start cleaning up the basement of all the items that were not needed in the build. Should be able to start rock work, and time to order sand this week.

Yup, great feeling. I just got the grow out frag tank filled and it is running on the same system as the DT.

Thanks! Yes, one of those moments where you are relieved that nothing blows and water shoots out, but another step toward the main goal of enjoying my own small version of the ocean. Ready for some lights? If you are still interested....I know it has been a while. No salt just fresh, it will show any leaks quicker then saltwater which will clog them.

Watch out for small sleeping fish is what I have heard. As in small gobies and such.

Part of what took so long was the layout, dry fitting every joint, and dry fitting each section multiple times since many of them had multiply angles where one wrong 90 would effect the next ones.

Yea, a great feeling. We had two unions that were dripping, just had to tighten one, and double checked the O ring in the other and tighten a little more. Not too bad for 186 joints & connections!

WATER IS FLOWING!!! We got the last of the plumbing done for the main DT, drilled the sump, installed the pump, and filled it with water. Turned on the Hammerhead and everything looks great. Made some adjustments to the gate valves and was able to quite it down some for the amount of water that is moving through the system. Making more water to add the grow out frag tank into the mix. Just need to tie the skimmer, UV, bio pellet reactor, chiller, and calcium reactor into the manifold. Does not need to be done right away, since we have it all laid out. Will start rock work this week, my acrylic rods should have been here Fri. I am sure they are delayed because of the weather

The white will hide salt creep and reflect more light. Looks great!

Shoot!.......I paid the full price last week! Maybe I can get a refund....

LOL I just posted about the same items on Weazl's thread.

I have never drilled a tank, but there are videos out there on how to do it. The things I would look for from a construction perspective would be: -Tape both side where you are going to cut. -Use some plumber's puddly to build a ring about 10" wide, or as large as possible to hold water as you drill. -Add water to the circle as you drill for a lube. -Keep the tank on it's side, it is suppose to be easier to work on. - Use a wood block with a hole cut in the center as a template for the drill bit. Cut some grooves on the bottom side so water can get in. -Probably the most important would be to let the drill do the work, don't press down too hard, take your time. Good Luck! -

+1 72" x 24" x 17" or 18" = about 135 gal. A wider tank will give you more options on rockwork and swimming space.

The casters are fine, the issue was the plywood. 3/4" thick, but still warped. Added another sheet of plywood, screwed the two sheets together, primed and painted. Then attached ( 4)2" x 4" 's to the bottom. Works well, the nylon balls don't scratch my stained floor, and they will not rust down the road with the saltwater. I then remembered that I have 2 sheets of solid rubber mats that are a second layer on my gym floor (in some areas) and were left over from my old house. I cut one up and added that to the pullout sump platform. I will probably sell the other since it worked so well.

Welcome back. One option you may want to look at, that was not as popular 10 years ago, are the all in one tanks. There are a lot of different size tanks where all the plumbing is in a section in back of the main tank. Here is an example: it is an all in one 29g biocube. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=24537&cmpid=03csegpl&ref=6111&subref=AA&CAWELAID=1317704164&CAGPSPN=pla&catargetid=530005150000135623&cadevice=c

Why don't you get one Flasher and one Fairy? ....you will have enough space once that Foxface grows up to 7" and gets removed

Wow, what a great article! I am going to remove the Mystery Wrasse from my list after this read.

Flashers are nice, just make sure your top is very tight. Mine jumped out through a gap between the tank and a glass top on my IM 16g which was about 3/8" wide.

Great progress, tank looks good!

+1 I see a reef in your future! Nice looking set up. I like the side cabinet and all the open rock space.