joro
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Posts posted by joro
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I always use tape on threads pvc or not and I have the same barrels as you, no leaks. My RO water has to be degassed as well to lower the DI resin consumption so that barrel has silicone on its threads to prevent leaks (it is a 35 gallon rain barrel, never used for rain).
I ended up using a thread sealant - RectorSeal T Plus 2 - and no leaks since!
Awesome, thanks for checking it outI like your water storage video (Its Alive). It looks like a great setup.
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I finally got the tanks setup and the first part of plumbing done. I started filling the RO tank up (it has a nice ball valve to keep it from effecting the other plumbing I was doing and sure enough, it started to leak but at the bulkhead on the water container. I tried tightening it about 2 more turns but still had a very slow drip, drip leak. The bulkhead on the water tank is a threaded female, so I used a Schedule 80 threaded male. From what I understand, you're not supposed to use pipe tape or pipe dope on PVC to PVC threads but any suggestions? I'm draining it right now so I can inspect the threads directly as well.
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First shipment(s) received today and geez, the UPS guy must have been cussing at me as he unloaded every box! My first project is building a water mixing station for easy and/or automated water changes (no more lugging buckets!
). I got a great deal on two 65g water tanks from Blain's Farm & Fleet with free shipping! As you can see in the first post, I'm building a platform for these and it will be installed shortly once I have a chance to re-arrange some existing storage racks we have in this unfinished area. You never realize how small a room is until you start planning for a huge water mixing station and a sump!On one final note, the skimmer box is HUUGGGEEE
Bring on the skimmate!
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They may be able to tie into the existing foundation to support it which would be nice especially if it all tied together.
3' tall tank is going to look amazing! Looking forward to the aquascape.
I'll be interested to see what they come back with and hopefully it's not too outrageous.
I've attached a picture just to give you an idea of the setup underneath (which is fortunately exposed basement). Essentially the vent which is being removed is about 3-4" off the wall which the tank will butt up against. Given the tank's width, it will straddle two of the joists which are both 2x10s but again run in parallel to the tank vs. perpendicular which seems to be the ideal scenario. Back to building the mixing station for now 
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Wow great dimensions, how will you light it and what corals do you plan on keeping?
Planning on a mixed reef (though I've never had great luck with SPS) lit by 3x Radion XR30w G4 Pros
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This is going to be a massive tank and open up fish options for you like crazy. I'm sure you've already given it thought but that's a lot of water and a lot of weight. Are you adding support to the floor beings it's going on the second floor?
Structural engineer is going to be here on Friday in fact to do an assessment. I'm assuming we'll have to add 1, maybe 2, supports underneath given the weight but we'll see. The good news it that part of the tank will sit directly on top of the foundation, the bad news is that the rest of it is running parallel to the floor joists rather than perpendicular which is typically recommended.
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Good evening WAMAS, my name is Joel and I'm a reef addict
My family and I have been keeping reefs for years (though there was a few years between tanks) and we're proud owners of two reef tanks currently including a standard 90G and a Reefer 170, the former of which we documented here. For the longest time, I'm dreamed of owning a massive reef system and have never had the time, budget, or frankly space to make it happen. A few months ago a causal conversation with my lovely wife turned into the blueprint for creating this dream tank in our house. Yesterday we plopped down untold amounts of (presumably) fresh Benjamin's
for deposits on our custom tank and I can now officially say, the build has begun! To give you a little background on how we got here:
- We didn't want yet "another" tank, so we wanted a tank that was big enough to allow for us to consolidate our existing tanks into it and also give us the room to grow substantially - both in terms of corals (which my wife loves) and fish (which I love).
- I have been a big fan of peninsula style tanks both in terms of aesthetics and function. I also love the rimless design - thanks Red Sea - but quickly realized there were limitations to this style even in the custom designed arena.
- As much as I love our tanks and inhabitants, I hated the maintenance particularly water changes. So in the new tank I wanted as much automation as possible and, of course, never wanted to haul another 5G bucket up what in some cases was multiple sets of stairs.
Fast forward a few weeks/months and after getting quotes from three different custom tank manufacturers, we ultimately decided on Miracle's Aquariums based in Ontario based on price, lead time, and responsiveness throughout the process. So without further adieu, let's talk about the tank/setup:
- The tank is going to be a peninsula style, 72" long x 30" wide x 36" deep all glass aquarium with starphire (low-iron) glass on the 3 viewing sides bring us to approximately 336 gallons in the DT.
- The tank will be placed on our second floor and all plumbing will run down to a basement sump designed / manufactured by Synergy Reef. For those wondering, we chose their SS-48 model which is not listed on their website but is the same design as what was used for the BRS160 (which is a great series if you haven't checked it out)
There's a lot of exciting work to do in the next approximately ~10 weeks it will take to build / receive the tank including structural engineering, selection of equipment, and preparing the two existing tanks for transfer. As I did with the 90G build here, I want to document this journey, share my experiences, and hopefully gain even more from the wealth of resources / experiences that we have here on WAMAS.
To start this off right, here's a few pics of what we've done in the past few days including a picture of the ultimate location (it's going to be a room divider between our front door and dining room), a picture of my son helping paint the stand which will house the water mixing station currently under construction, and my son also "vanna white-ing" the first shipment which was primarily supplies for the mixing station!
Looking forward to sharing the journey with my fellow reefers!
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Welcome to the forum and we're also in Lake Ridge, glad to see more people from the neighborhood!
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Looking good and a hamster ball? Might have to try that out, I've been having issues with my chaeto overflowing to the return section of my sump on the Reefer 170 which you've seen
Any issues with chaeto growth in the hamster ball? -
Welcome to the club!
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Just to add my .02 - I've had this Aussie EC for around 3-4 months and it's done very well at the bottom of the tank, slightly shaded, and what I'd consider low(er) flow. It's even survived my DWG who insisted on making his den right next to it
Good luck with the one you got, they are definitely beautiful! 
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A CopperBand eating algae?!?!
Foxface for sure, he seems to enjoy nothing more than tearing through "exotic" algaes in our experience -
I realize you already got something but just in case you need "egg crate" later, here's the link to it on the Lowe's website. It was stocked away in a weird part of my local store and the employees were not helpful as usual when trying to find it
- Link: https://www.lowes.com/pd/PLASKOLITE-7-85-sq-ft-Louvered-Ceiling-Light-Panel-Common-24-in-x-48-in-Actual-47-75-in-x-23-75-in/3280904
- Description: PLASKOLITE 7.85-sq ft Louvered Ceiling Light Panel
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Just a suggestion, I had the hardest time reading the API kits (even when my wife gave them glance as well). I have the Hanna Checkers (digital readout) and the Red Sea Test Kit (standard color readout) and have had much better results, at least results I could interpret. Might be worthwhile to take a look at as I can totally relate to having a hard time distinguishing between shades of yellow and/or orange to read this test
I have the Hanna Checkers for Calcium/Alkalinity and the Red Sea for Ammonia/Trites/Trates. The Red Sea Marine Kit also does pH and Alkalinity however I've used those as spot checks (for the Apex and Hanna respectively) rather than actual readings - both have been within range FYI.
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The second picture almost looks like an Elegance Coral
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I saw this today and definitely great news for the hobby and conservation!
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It's so cool to look through the progression of the hobby in this/your lens, so to speak. Thanks for sharing and looking forward to the next 40+ pages
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I used CaribSea Arag-Alive Special Grade Reef Sand on my 90G and it's been great thus far. I ordered 5x 20-pound bags (so 100 pounds total) and found I could have probably made due with just 4 bags (80 pounds total). Depends of course on your rock work but may be worth starting with 4 and then ordering a 5th if you need it. I also ordered on Amazon - Prime none the less - for roughly $15/bag less than I could get it anywhere else. Not sure if it's still available but might be worth looking!
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No problem at all and actually that's what the recommended action is to reduce the drain noise by most manufacturers / reefers
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Welcome to the club and I've just down the road in Woodbridge!
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Quantum Reefs had two mantis shrimp in a few weeks back, they may be able to special order specific varieties!
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For what it's worth I have the Gyre 150 on my 90 and love it, I have it setup via an IceCap box and only run it at a max of 40% during the day and it has great flow on both sides of the tank for a variety of corals.
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Welcome aboard and there's a wealth of information available here that has helped us tremendously in setting up our new 90G. Happy reefing!
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QT is ready for some new fish. Any recommendations on where to go locally so I can pick them up. Prefer someone that does some sort of quarantine before I buy. Also I "MUST" be able to visit the location.
I've had good luck with Reef Escape in Fairfax, they also QT for 2 weeks prior to being available for sale.
JORO's 336G Dream Reef
in Dedicated Tank (Build) Forum
· Edited by joro
Going to call it quits for today but made some pretty good progress which I can share! I got the RODI unit moved into it’s new location, a third DI canister and three-point TDS meter installed, and everything re-plumbed (without leaks!) I also used the opportunity to put fresh DI resin in the existing two canisters to ensure all the new water is 0’s across the board. On the control panel front, I got the cord raceways installed and drilled a few holes for larger (e.g. power plugs) fittings underneath the Apex unit. I still need to clean up a few wires hanging down and the RO lines but pretty much in a holding pattern – on the control panel – now until the sump arrives. The wife and I also paid a visit to one of our favorite local shops, Capital Aquarium, and picked up a few cool pieces for the new tank. We’ve put these in our Reefer 170 for now but I suspect it’s going to quickly become a holding tank for all things coral given it’s better light compared to our 90 Gallon.