Irishfist25 June 1, 2016 Share June 1, 2016 So i made the switch this weekend from my 75 to my new 180. i had a friend come by to help me move my 75 and move the new one into place, but then he left and i did it all myself. Holy *&#@, biggest cluster ^%$# i have ever been a part of. I have never transferred a tank like this and it showed. Friday night is was up till 2, getting everything i could ready for the switch. Saturday night i was up till 5 and got the new tank up with sand and rock and water in, but once i started all the pumps, i had leaks from the bulkheads. it was 5, i drained the overflow boxes and went to bed. Got up 4 hours later and started to fix the leaks. for every leak i fixed 2 more showed up. Finally got leaks fixed and the fish and coral in the tank mid day. I had my coral in a backup tank with powerhead and heater and then the fish in a 50 gallon tub with some LR, heater, powerhead and air bubbler. They were in holding for about 24 hours before going into the new tank. All fish have survived (for now) and more shockingly, all coral has survived and actually seem to be doing better in the new tank. i say shockingly because most of the coral took some damage in removing from old tank rock. fish and coral went in on sunday and all seemed well, until sunday night just before bed. I notice a bulkhead with a drop of water, i watched it for a while and it was very slow, maybe 1 drop every 10-15 minutes, i was dead tired so i decided to just put a container under it and go to bed and address it in the morning. Monday morning and its leaking much much more. The container is overflowing and the bottom of the stand is soaked. I tighten the bulk head a little more and it cracks. FML. So i drain the box, thankfully have another bulkhead on hand. I replace it and no leak. its now been about 36 hours and no leaks. All fish and coral are good and i love the tank. It was utter H-E-double hockey sticks getting it done. Hands are tore up, shoulders and back hurt, ass hurts from sitting on the tile floor for so long, but...... i sit back now, basement in utter disarray, with a beer in my hand and watching the new setup and its worth it. My wife, who thinks im an idiot and doesnt understand the love i have for this, even came to me, dodging buckets and trashcans and hoses, and tools and towels....lots of wet towels and said she was proud of me, she said most people would have given up or hired somebody to do it after all the *&#@ i went through. It felt good. Come tomorrow it will be "clean this mess up" but for now, i enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveS June 1, 2016 Share June 1, 2016 Haha you have now been officially indoctrinated into WAMAS! You are now part of a very special brotherhood/sisterhood of reefers. You are the elite of the elite. Not only do you have a reef tank but you did it all yourself. There are plenty of people who own reef tanks but you CREATED yours. You didn't buy it from a store (service company) and this tank is all because of you- warts and all. Ok, acknowledged there are some members who hire help and I'm not knocking that. I'm simply pointing out what makes most WAMAS different than your average reefer. Good or bad, many of us spend a lot of time and energy making things a particular way for the least cost possible. This occasionally results in what you have just described. Welcome to the group! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
22bfan June 1, 2016 Share June 1, 2016 Congrats, and thanks for sharing. I need some inspiration to get my 300 up and running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nextlevel808 June 1, 2016 Share June 1, 2016 Haha thanks for the story. I'm so glad you got it in and running now so clean that basement then sit back and relax till your wife wants you to do something lol. I'm in the process of moving a 120g tank from my old house to new while upgrading tank to a 220. I'm trying to make sure I get everything ready with a plan. Just one question I have for you. What or how did you make up the water difference from 75 to 180? Did you just add all new fresh mixed water? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irishfist25 June 1, 2016 Author Share June 1, 2016 Yeah, I used approximately 20 gallons of old water and the rest was all new. I bought 4 brute 32 gallon trash cans and I already had 2. My old waters parameters were good though, so as long as that's the case, you can use as much of it as you want. BTW, I'm returning 3 of the 4 brute trash cans to lowes to get my money back, they were only used to make water once Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami June 1, 2016 Share June 1, 2016 Hey, you can't harden steel without a little heat. As Dave said, welcome to the brotherhood/sisterhood. Now you've got another story to tell! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sethsolomon June 1, 2016 Share June 1, 2016 To me this sounds like a normal tank transfer. :P Normally 3-5 6 packs are also involved when I do tank transfers :P I have this coming up in my near future as I am moving and I am using my new 70g as my transfer tank. Welcome to the brotherhood/sisterhood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstContact June 2, 2016 Share June 2, 2016 What an adventure and sense of accomplishment! Plus a few beers. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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