stankyd July 13, 2012 Share July 13, 2012 Hello all, I just starting my research on a 300g acrylic setup in Springfield. The tank is 96w x 30d x24h. I wanted something not quite as deep as my previous tank because I want to cut down on power usage and did not want to go with metal halide. Strangely, the original owner for 1-2 months had fresh water fish in it and it has 3 overflows (not drilled). I would imagine its a considerable expense to have the overflows installed. Weird huh? I have a ton of equipment I brought from Florida when I broke down my old tank. Will probably be selling the left overs after my build is complete. For instance, my ASM G6 wont fit under a stand. Here are my 220 buildout pics from many moons ago. The plan is to use the 2 48" LED's that came with the new tank for lighting (nice extra huh?) 1 iwaki 100 (2000 gph)- http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem.aspx?idProduct=IK1123&child=IK1183 I have a 1hp chiller. Definitely needed it in Florida but not sure about it here. Anyways, I plan to hook it up and see if it kicks in. 55g acrylic tank for a sump, had it lying around. Will install a top off valve and will hook up my OCEAN REEF SIX STAGE RO/DI. I made a simple carbon reactor out of a PVC tube with water controlled by a valve. The only thing i have to buy other than pvc is the skimmer. Thanks to advice on WAMAS, I chose a tunze 9011, ordered and on the way. Here is the new tank's photo stream This is my 1st acrylic and I am scared to death of scratching it. Would you go sandless? or just a DSB in the sump? Im really torn here. I look forward to hearing your feedback and suggestions! Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stankyd July 13, 2012 Author Share July 13, 2012 Tank diagram, please forgive the crudeness. planning to gravity feed into the chiller, trying to decide to feed from 1 overflow or maybe 2. Have to check out the flow reccomendations for the chiller. To much, it doesn't chill, too little, water freezes. feedback welcome! Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tink July 13, 2012 Share July 13, 2012 I saw that tank on Craigslist, guy was trying to sell it for a while, yea? Good luck with the set-up, it's gonna be killer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stankyd July 13, 2012 Author Share July 13, 2012 I saw that tank on Craigslist, guy was trying to sell it for a while, yea? Good luck with the set-up, it's gonna be killer That's where I got it, I think he posted it 7/5. I got it last weekend. thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef July 13, 2012 Share July 13, 2012 Great looking plan.... so I take it you are going to drill it so the overflows have a purpose?lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stankyd July 13, 2012 Author Share July 13, 2012 Great looking plan.... so I take it you are going to drill it so the overflows have a purpose?lol True Dat! Time permitting, I will be drilling overflows and plumbing this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef July 13, 2012 Share July 13, 2012 Lol, time permitting... wish i could figure that one out...i started my build in may and im still not done... it seems like time does not permit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icecool2 July 13, 2012 Share July 13, 2012 Nice tank. When you say you are going to use the two 48" LED lights that came with the tank, you don't mean the two little ones in the picture do you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind July 13, 2012 Share July 13, 2012 80's Flashback...I had that same mirror over the basement sink of my townhouse in Alexandria. Very nice looking tank! If your going with LEDs then you will not need the chiller unless the tank is in a hot location. If you do use the chiller I would not feed it with a drain. I would use water from the return pump so it is clean and nothing can get inside the chiller to clog it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RicSG July 13, 2012 Share July 13, 2012 Looking good so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stankyd July 13, 2012 Author Share July 13, 2012 Lol, time permitting... wish i could figure that one out...i started my build in may and im still not done... it seems like time does not permit anxious to start the tank cycling! Anyone have an live sand for sale? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stankyd July 13, 2012 Author Share July 13, 2012 Nice tank. When you say you are going to use the two 48" LED lights that came with the tank, you don't mean the two little ones in the picture do you? yes, i mean the 2 48" fixtures on top of the tank in the picture. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icecool2 July 13, 2012 Share July 13, 2012 It's hard to tell from the picture, but are those Marineland fixtures? If so and depending on what you plan on keeping, those are probably not going to be enough light for you to keep much other than low light corals like mushrooms and rics. Here's a link to the spec sheet for the light: http://www.marineland.com/uploadedFiles/Marineland/11078iMLLEDCharts.pdf You only get about 130 par 12" from the fixture and 64 once you get 24" away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stankyd July 13, 2012 Author Share July 13, 2012 (edited) 80's Flashback...I had that same mirror over the basement sink of my townhouse in Alexandria. Very nice looking tank! If your going with LEDs then you will not need the chiller unless the tank is in a hot location. If you do use the chiller I would not feed it with a drain. I would use water from the return pump so it is clean and nothing can get inside the chiller to clog it. That's very funny, I thought the same thing when we bought the house. Funny little wet bar right there but its kinda nice having water and a sink next to the tank! Maybe I wont plumb the chiller in after all. lets see what the temp looks like. Dave Edited July 13, 2012 by stankyd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stankyd July 13, 2012 Author Share July 13, 2012 It's hard to tell from the picture, but are those Marineland fixtures? If so and depending on what you plan on keeping, those are probably not going to be enough light for you to keep much other than low light corals like mushrooms and rics. Here's a link to the spec sheet for the light: http://www.marineland.com/uploadedFiles/Marineland/11078iMLLEDCharts.pdf You only get about 130 par 12" from the fixture and 64 once you get 24" away. Great questions. I am playing it by ear for now and balancing the benefits of increased fish selection if I don't go SPS versus the joys of SPS. My last tank was really SPS dominated and probably added $300 a month in electric bills! On the bright side (no pun intended) I have hundreds of pounds of coral to install so there will be light just a few inches from the placement of any SPS. I too am skeptical about the intensity and now am considering installing my VHO's because they are really good at eliminating shadows. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icecool2 July 13, 2012 Share July 13, 2012 Sounds like you've got it under control I'm gonna follow along and see how this tank turns out. Looks like its going to be a nice build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypertech July 13, 2012 Share July 13, 2012 Are you restricted in width for the sump? With a 30" wide display, it seems like there should be space for something wider than a 55 for a sump. Something like a 40B or even a 75 would be a better sump because the width would give you more equipment options and more room to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stankyd July 13, 2012 Author Share July 13, 2012 Are you restricted in width for the sump? With a 30" wide display, it seems like there should be space for something wider than a 55 for a sump. Something like a 40B or even a 75 would be a better sump because the width would give you more equipment options and more room to work. The only requirement I have is that anything I put under the tank can be removed without a complete breakdown/drain of the tank and the 55 fits the bill. I had the 55g lying around gathering dust. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stankyd July 14, 2012 Author Share July 14, 2012 So, after drilling the holes for the bulkheads in the teeny tiny overflow boxes and getting molten plexiglass in my hair, i realized that the tank stand i got with the tank's supports were exactly where the overflow holes and pvc had to go, meaning i would have to cut/move them. Flash forward 20 hrs and 400$ later (including cheap table saw), I built most of a new stand. Had to stop when 2 drill batteries drained. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stankyd July 23, 2012 Author Share July 23, 2012 Completed the plumbing yesterday, went pretty much according to plan except for the 4 trips to home depot. pics from right to left: next up: fresh water / leak test temperature test with pumps and lighting sand the rough spots and touch up paint. 160lbs of aragonite sand is in the mail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flooddc July 23, 2012 Share July 23, 2012 (edited) Looks like you are coming along. Looks good!! Edited July 23, 2012 by flooddc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind July 23, 2012 Share July 23, 2012 Is that skimmer big enough for the tank? I know space is tight, you might have to run two of those internal units. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stankyd July 23, 2012 Author Share July 23, 2012 Is that skimmer big enough for the tank? I know space is tight, you might have to run two of those internal units. Its a Tunze 9011, rated for 294 gallon so its slightly small when you factor in the sump volume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stankyd July 24, 2012 Author Share July 24, 2012 Well I was excited to do my fresh water test today. Can you say "Catastrophic"? full of water, running the pump and about to address a small leak somewhere and vahvooom! Busted like a 5$ crack *****. On the bright side, 1. I was home at the time. 2. the family was home at the time to help clean up. 3. It was up and running long enough to find a few problems with the setup. 4. found a missing one o-ring on the cut off valve on the output of my pump. 5. Detected the flooring was more slanted than i originally thought. Its really obvious when filling the tank. wish me luck in round 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Lazar July 25, 2012 Share July 25, 2012 Glad your disaster wasn't worse! Your chiller may struggle to shed heat with it installed in the stand like that, especially if you plan on having doors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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