My 300 to 294 build and fish room (1 Viewer)

[frankc]

The title of the thread looks a bit silly, but if you saw my "worst day ever" thread, you know my Marineland 300DD tank bit the dust, and I decided to go with a somewhat different footprint. I ordered a Planet Aquariums tank 84x30x27 and stand through Urban Aquatics. Unfortunately David, owner of UA, had a rough night and morning with other clients' issues, so this is as far as he got today - the tank is in the room and on the stand, but no plumbing has been done yet. It will give him something to do tomorrow.

The stand is really nice. It has side doors, and the canopy has both doors and is hinged so the front section flips up.



I got a slightly used Trigger Systems Tideline 48 sump at UA, and my Skimz Monzter SM251 skimmer fits just fine.



I am going to have an Apex system on this tank, so that will be a new learning experience, and I will finally be able to use the flow meter kit I won at MACNA last year.

I'm not sure yet how I'm going to light this tank. The 300 had Reefbreeder Photons shining through holes cut in the canopy, but I'm not sure I want to cut holes in my brand new canopy. I'm thinking about 3 Maxspect Curves mounted crosswise, but I need to figure out if they will fit under the canopy. It definitely will be LEDs of some sort.

 

[RobertP]

Very nice!

 

[RR-MAN]

Funny title...

You will be very happy with Apex - this is the first year that I really enjoyed my vacation away from the tank. The cost of apex is not bad compared to how much money we burn on fish/corals.

If you don't want to cut the top of your canopy - drill the two sides and add some good quality computer fans "old school".

 

[frankc]

Yay, we have plumbing and (some) water! David just left a few minutes ago - I don't know how he keeps up this pace.

Big thank you to reeftopia - David didn't realize my overflow required larger bulkheads, so the plumbing would have come to a halt except reeftopia (yes, I know he is also David) had some extras of the right size, so a quick trip to his house and Home Depot for another part, and we were back in business.

I went with schedule 80, both for the quality and the grey color which just kind of blends into the background.

With the overflow being black, it hit me that this would have stuck out like a sore thumb if the background was blue, so maybe it's better that it's black.

 

[RR-MAN]

Looks great Frank!

Make sure you have some room in the back just in case the external overflow leaks or something...you never know.

 

[Reefahholic]

Man...look at that beast! That’s gonna be a killer system once you get it running!

 

[Reefahholic]

I see he increased the size of the return plumbing. Is that 3/4” or 1”?

 

[Reefahholic]

Looks great Frank!

Make sure you have some room in the back just in case the external overflow leaks or something...you never know.

Yeah that’s a good idea. Mine was barely leaking today. Thank gosh the tank is small. I easily moved it and put about 1/8 of a turn on that bulkhead. Problem solved.

If you can Frank...give yourself some room back there. You’ll be glad ya did!

 

[frankc]

I see he increased the size of the return plumbing. Is that 3/4” or 1”?

I'm no plumbing expert, which is why I had David do it, but the O.D. is 1.25, so I guess that would make the I.D. 1"?

 

[frankc]

Yeah that’s a good idea. Mine was barely leaking today. Thank gosh the tank is small. I easily moved it and put about 1/8 of a turn on that bulkhead. Problem solved.

If you can Frank...give yourself some room back there. You’ll be glad ya did!

Yeah, I was a little concerned that it was that far back, but unfortunately I didn't think about it until the tank was half full of water.

 

[frankc]

What a difference some sand makes! It was amazing how, even with no lights on the tank, the brightness of the sand took it from looking like a deep dark cave to something more like a reef. The effect was more dramatic in person - the camera tries to compensate so the dark third of the tank doesn't look quite as dark in the picture.

I'm using the Tropic Eden Tonga Pink sand mostly, with some mini flakes mixed in for the top layer.

 

[Reefahholic]

Yeah sir! Make sure you stick some Spaghetti Worms in there with some Mini Stars. They will eat everything on the bottom. Of course Pods too. Baby Bristle worms are actually beneficial as well although I can’t seem to wanna add them.

Add some good snails and Urchins for the first 6 months at least to knock down any pest algae. If it gets out of hand in that thing it’s gonna be like try to fight cancer.

 

[frankc]

I know the bristle worms are supposed to be helpful, but I can't bring myself to wanting them either. They really freak out my wife, so I don't think she'd be happy if she thought I was adding them on purpose.

I'm hoping that the live rock I moved to the tub and the 90 will retain a good bit of the snails and pods, but I may need to supplement them.

I have had them as hitchhikers before, but I don't think I've ever seen spaghetti worms advertised.

 

[Reefahholic]

Here you go:

http://www.ipsf.com/reefworms.html

What I like about them is that they will multiple and really populate the sandbed. All you need is about 4-5.

 

[frankc]

Let there be light! I got three Maxspect Recurves, and they're pretty cool. They are basically a Razor with an LED strip added on each side, intended to simulate a T5/LED hybrid but with only LEDs. I need each one to cover an area 28" wide, and it looks like these will do it. Unfortunately the red channel on one of them doesn't work, so I'll have to send it back.

 

[oneasianguy]

Looking great. Can't wait till this tank if filled with all forms of goodies

 

[frankc]

We now have appropriate seating. We just picked up the new cushions for these old bamboo chairs today.

 

[FarmerTy]

We now have appropriate seating. We just picked up the new cushions for these old bamboo chairs today.

Is that butterfly reef safe?

 

[frankc]

Is that butterfly reef safe?

I think it will be ok. I'm more worried about the giant crab and lobster and where their claws are located.

Actually, the plan for the tank in the picture is to make it a Caribbean FOWLR tank with a jawfish or 2, a four-eye butterfly, puffer, and whatever else will work. I'd love to have an Atlantic blue tang in there, but I think a 90 cube is a little small for that.

 

[FarmerTy]

I think it will be ok. I'm more worried about the giant crab and lobster and where their claws are located.

Actually, the plan for the tank in the picture is to make it a Caribbean FOWLR tank with a jawfish or 2, a four-eye butterfly, puffer, and whatever else will work. I'd love to have an Atlantic blue tang in there, but I think a 90 cube is a little small for that.

Yikes! I didn't even notice the claw placement. I'll just stand... Thanks Frank! [emoji4]

Nice! Banded butterfly would be cool too!