New 180 gallon LPS system

[checkerkitty]

Well, the mantis tank we had was a fun idea that didn't really end up working exactly like I thought it would. With no filtration and too many corals, it was time to upgrade. So Ace and I are building a system from the ground up. This will be an LPS only system. All of my micros, acans, and blastos will go in here as well as ALL the LPS from the main tank except for the big pink chalice. I'll be able to direct feed more easily and we'll have more room for everyone to grow. The tank will be 6 feet long, 2 feet wide and 2 feet tall with black silicone. Here's the glass in the back of the truck:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/glassintruck.jpg
glass in the house
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/glasss.jpg
bottom with bracing siliconed into place
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/bottomwithbracing.jpg
one side and one end in place
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/onesideandend.jpg
three sides
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/otherend.jpg
prepping for fourth side
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/missingoneside.jpg
completed tank - Still some cleaning left to do.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/allpiecesinplace.jpg
I'll update as we go. Today is stand and sump building. Water testing this weekend (fingers crossed, we're doing that in the house).

Christy

[erikharrison]

wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Y'all never cease to amaze!

[caferacermike]

Was building it yourself worth it? Did you save enough $$$ to do it again? What fun.

[brewercm]

All I can say is "GUTSY". Keep us updated.
Is this going to go in the place of the existing setup or are you going to have two large tanks now? I'm guessing from the building of the stand you are going with two.

[Dee]

NICE!!!! How much did that glass cost you? I'd love to build a larger one in the near future!!!

Dena

[LoneStar]

Very nice. Something I wish I could have tried doing. I'll be looking forward to updates :)

[Bill S]

I just got word from Mamma: "you are NOT allowed to hang around that place anymore. These people are a BAD influence. NO YOU MAY NOT DO THAT!".

I'd heard he was going to do this... And no, it won't replace the existing one.

[brewercm]

Didn't think so since it was going to be LPS. Yeh, pretty soon we'll all be banned from playing with Ace.
:lauging:

[erebus]

All I can say is WOW!!!

[erikharrison]

Didn't think so since it was going to be LPS. Yeh, pretty soon we'll all be banned from playing with Ace.
:lauging:

Tell me about it. ha. Where is this one going Christy????

[BIGBIRD123]

Ya'll must be skeered of your wives...I'm not...she's in bed...LOL!

S

[Richard]

If you're building an aquarium yourself on a dining room table that you built yourself while drinking a beer that you brewed yourself...you might be DIY'ers.

Looks like a fun project!

[erikharrison]

If you're building an aquarium yourself on a dining room table that you built yourself while drinking a beer that you brewed yourself...you might be DIY'ers.

Looks like a fun project!

rofl!

[cpreefguy]

...sitting in the chair you made yourself, playing the guitar you built yourself, basking in the glow of the stained glass window you made yourself...

[LoneStar]

the funny thing is that glass came from the sand box in the back yard.....

[BIGBIRD123]

colored by the melted crayons...

[RayAllen]

Love the bracing, reminds me of Glass cages. Nice pick with the black silicone to.

[brewercm]

Did you guys go with the Starphire/ Low E glass for this tank?

[checkerkitty]

we used regular glass - not starfire. we got it wholesale thru a friend for $350, but the cheapest we found it retail was $550

bad influence..... pfft :lauging:

we got the pieces cut for the stand and sump yesterday. built the sump last night while watching tv. hopefully we will get the stand and canopy built today. still have to build a skimmer, drill the tank and build an overflow, plumb it up, and figure out what to do about lighting. we are gonna use mostly t5 since this will not be an sps tank, but we got a great deal on a couple of 150 watt DE HQI lights, so they will be used as well.

here is all the lumber we will use in the back of the truck
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/lumber.jpg
here is all the acrylic we will use for the sump, skimmer and overflow
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/acrylic.jpg
the pieces for the frame of the stand
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/standframepieces.jpg
the pieces for the skin of the stand
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/standskinpieces.jpg
the pieces cut for the sump
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/sumppieces.jpg
gluing the first part of the sump
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/sumpassembly.jpg
sump water test this morning
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/sumpwatertest.jpg

[caferacermike]

That sump looks nice, and for some reason, familiar.

[checkerkitty]

got the stand built and skinned, just have to make it look purdy tomorrow.

stand framed out - the three vertical braces in the back are not glued in, so we can remove them to put in the sump
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/standframe.jpg
skinned out - still have to cut notches in the bottom so it will fit flush against the wall. the tank will butt up against the vertical pieces in the back of the sides so none of the plumbing behind the tank will be visible.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/standskinned.jpg

[Bill S]

OK, you DO realize that you are taunting O'Reilly's Law (O'Reilly's Law: Murphy was an optimist)? If you don't set this thing up to allow the sump to come out, you WILL need to remove your sump at some point in the near future...

[hobogato]

i tried to tell her.....

nah, im just kidding. the 240 is the same way. shh - dont tell O'Reilly or Murphy please :)

[ismvel]

Ace what is the equipment list looking like?

[hobogato]

ill let christy give you the low down on that later :wink_smile:

[caferacermike]

Well Bill at least the sump is acrylic, if it ever springs a leak I'm sure one of them wil have some Weld-on nearby and know how to use it.

Oh and please don't jinx it, I've been running my sump like that for 2 years now and fully plan on a non removable one on the 400g.

[BIGBIRD123]

Are you kiddin' me? WHATEVER Christy wants...LOL!

S

[ckimble]

You definitely have the right equipment available to you. Having a kegerator within reach is key at all times... :thumbs_up:

Sweet work man... I love the idea on the edge pieces extending back to hide the plumbing.

Sometime when you get a chance I'd like to talk with you about your acrylic bonding technique. I was taught the "pins" method, and would like to see and hear a different perspective.

tagging along for sure!

[Mr_Cool]

Better hurry, Ace. School starts up again in like 10 days!

[erikharrison]

I think there should be a "Borrow Ace for a Day" raffle at the meetings! I second how good of an idea that was to be able to hide the plumbing without having to drill the tank...

[hobogato]

I think there should be a "Borrow Ace for a Day" raffle at the meetings! I second how good of an idea that was to be able to hide the plumbing without having to drill the tank...

the tank will be drilled on the back for a calfo - i wouldnt allow a non reef ready tank.

[erikharrison]

I meant the bottom :) and then hide it all underneath.

[checkerkitty]

made a little progress today. fabricated some molding. got the doors framed - still have to cut the frames with a router to improve the looks
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/fabricatedmolding.jpg
drilled the two drain holes - 2" bulkheads
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/drilling1.jpg
and the overflow built and installed
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/overflow.jpg
here are some pics of some of the equipment that will be used:

blue line return and skimmer pumps. the 100 will be return only, and the 70 will be split between return and skimmer (still have to make that)
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/bluelines.jpg
a couple of 150 watt DE HQI setups - we were going to go all t5, but these were too good a deal to pass up.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/150DEs.jpg
a couple of hydor #4s to add a little more flow in the tank - dont want too add too much since it will not be an sps tank.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/hydors.jpg

[KyleV]

This looks like a fun project!

[checkerkitty]

didnt get much done today. bought the rest of the plumbing parts (hopefully all of em) and prepared the back of the tank for the foam we are gonna use by applying a thin layer of silicone on the inside of the glass and all over the overflow. also got some of the molding done on the stand, still have to do some router work and add the crown molding and baseboard molding

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/standpartialmolding.jpg

[checkerkitty]

finished the assembly of the stand today, just have a little sanding, staining and finishing to do on it.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/standprefinish1.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/standprefinish2.jpg

[lhoy]

LOVE the stand. Turned out great. You got skills man!!

Lee

[greenmako]

amazing!! super nice job man.

[Bill S]

WHAT is in the glass???

I can't believe how quickly you get a project done. Wow.

[hobogato]

old peculiar clone home brew :D


WHAT is in the glass???

[Bill S]

Sure looks like something I'd like...

[hobogato]

yep, old peculiar is my favorite bottled beer - you really should come try it as homebrew :wink_smile:

[BIGBIRD123]

what's the deal...the pix stopped coming...come on people...LOL!

Ace, everything's looking good.

S

[checkerkitty]

here's what we got done yesterday:

got the foam framework built for the fake rock in the tank and finished construction of the canopy.

canopy
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/canopy.jpg
some pics of the foam framework made of egg crate and plastic zip ties
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/foamstrucure1.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/foamstructure2.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/foamstructure3.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/foamstructure4.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/foamstructure6.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/foamstructure5.jpg

[checkerkitty]

we foamed all of the vertical pieces last night while the tank was on its back, then turned the tank upright and foamed the shelves this morning.

nine cans of foam later....
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/foamcans.jpg
it looks like this
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/foam3.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/foam5.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/foam4.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/foam6.jpg
and from the ends
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/foam1.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/foam2.jpg

[hobogato]

anyone feel like having a beer and moving a tank today?

[watson0720]

well ace i gotta say you got me, i was never even thinking of foam but i sure am now!!! i think i found my 210 so i will be calling you as soon as i get home for the sump and to see the new tank

[LoneStar]

anyone feel like having a beer and moving a tank today?


haha wish i could. looks great so far! lots of hiding places for the fish.

[ismvel]

Ace, if it is done early enough, count me in. I am free until about 12 - 12:30-ish..

[razermouse]

I can help at any time with a move of your tank. I need some help moving my 180 off my stand so I can find and fix a leak in my sump.

Call me on my cell phone when you're ready- 845-3828

[lhoy]

Wish I lived down there, would love to help to see that in person. Shelves and cabinet work look great Ace. Nice work.

Lee

[hobogato]

thanks to the help of my neighbor, ismael and steve, the tank is on the stand...pics when i get the canopy on it.

[ckimble]

sweet...

What's the trick to preventing the foam from lifting up and floating? Is the adhesion good enough that it will stay in place?

[Bill S]

I KNEW I should have checked the Forums this morning... Just been watching football all day! Wish you had callled...

[razermouse]

Man, that tank is heavy! Thank goodness 1. we didn't have far to go, 2. it fit!

[Darth-Tater]

Did you move the tank? If not are you moving it on Wed and what time. I can help.

David

[checkerkitty]

thanks to those that helped and thanks for the offers to those that missed it, but it wasnt too bad.

here are some pics of what we got done yesterday. today, we will be water testing the system.

pumps and sump in the stand and plumbed together - forgot to take pics of the drain and return plumbing before i moved it against the wall
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/sumpnpumps.jpg
pumps up close
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/pumps.jpg
tank stand and canopy together
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/together1.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/together2.jpg
assembling the skimmer - just have a little pvc work to do to finish it.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/skimmerassembly.jpg

[ismvel]

Looking good Ace, and in person, it all looks even better. Question I have on the foam backing:
I know pods, shrimp, and other little critters live and multiply within rocks in both the fuge and the display. How does that work in the foam (with the absence of crevices and little holes that rocks provide), will they be able to strive and provide a good population?

[Mr_Cool]

OK, you DO realize that you are taunting O'Reilly's Law (O'Reilly's Law: Murphy was an optimist)? If you don't set this thing up to allow the sump to come out, you WILL need to remove your sump at some point in the near future...

I built my stand kind of like this. (Of course, it doesn't look as nice!) I still have to finish the trim work, though.

I have the long verticle piece to hide the plumbing behind the tank. But, I put hinges on each side so that I could still access the sump and fuge from the side, and even slide them out if needed.

[erikharrison]

Looks great you two! Any pics of the s/c all opened up?

[hobogato]

well, it was one of those days - but it could have been much worse.

1. finished up the plumbing and around 1pm, filled the tank.

2. as the pumps are started, a small leak appears on the intake line of one pump. also, christy now realizes how loud external pumps are compared to the submersibles we run on the other tank. also, one of the foam structures decides it would rather be an island than an underwater reef - will have to silicone it into place much better while the tank is dry.

3. when i get the return section of the sump drained and take the line off at the quick connect, i notice that the o ring is missing - well, that could be why it was leaking.

4. while talking on the phone with christy who is on the way to lowe's (stopped counting how many times either of us has been there at this point), she has the idea of running the plumbing thru the wall and putting the two pumps in the utility room behind the tank. so while she picks up the necessary stuff, i start cutting holes in the walls.

5. get everything back together and notice a couple of issues one of them being that the water is splashing over the side of the sump in the back - not sure it will do it when that section is full of LR rubble and the drains are down in it.

6. after an hour i start to relax a bit and eat some dinner when an interesting cracking noise sounded from the breakfast room where the tank is. then, another. and another really loud. at this point i am inspecting the tank for cracks everywhere with a flashlight.

then i find it. the bracing around the top is cracking because of the bow in the front and back glass.

so... i drain the tank and move it away from the wall to see if the back is damaged.

the good news - no damage to the actual tank or seams. tomorrow, i will order some glass to make a couple of center braces like i should have in the first place and we will try again in a few days :)

[erikharrison]

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. :( On the other hand, this is a tank built from the ground up, and for that, y'all deserve a round of applause! It sounds like most of the troubles are out of the way, just keep those fingers crossed. If you ever need an extra set of hands, or two, let us know. :)

[lhoy]

Ace - Ah man that stinks. I promise I haven't been anywhere near your house as that sounds like something that would happen to me.

I hope you get everything fixed easily and quickly. Just glad it didn't come apart on you completely!

Lee

[hobogato]

eh, in the famous words of farmer fran, "weh li ta pah anodda dey"

actually, i think i am going to make the center brace out of acrylic like troy did on his tank when his center brace broke.

[ismvel]

That stinks Ace....If you need help with anything shoot me a message....I am just down the road from you...

[RayAllen]

Any updates ACE, did you get the new brace on?

[LoneStar]

eh, in the famous words of farmer fran, "weh li ta pah anodda dey"

actually, i think i am going to make the center brace out of acrylic like troy did on his tank when his center brace broke.


That worked great. It allowed a third halide to be placed on that tank, without the center brace blocking the light.

[checkerkitty]

well, it has been much smoother since the other day. slowly this thing is coming together. here is the progress we have made up thru today.

this was the first filling - before the fun filled afternoon a few days ago
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/firstfill.jpg
here is how we used to have the drains to the sump - with over 2500gph coming in, there was some splashing over the back of the sump
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/olddrains.jpg
this is how we have redone the drains coming into the sump - seemed to do the trick.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/newdrains.jpg
here is the center brace made out of acrylic. since we will have three 150 watt halides, we had to leave the center clear - so i copied this design from another reefer - thanks troy!
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/newcenterbrace.jpg
here it is installed - notice the roughed up areas in the previous pic are where it is attached to the top bracing of the tank with silicone.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/centerbraceinstalled.jpg
here is the old pump area of the sump. since they made so much noise, they were relocated to the utility room on the other side of the wall.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/standnopumps.jpg
here they are
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/pumpsrelocated.jpg
finally, after running with tap water for 24 hours with no leaks or issues, we drained it and added RO/DI water and salt. here it is with two of the three 150 watt halides. btw, the foam structure on the left is the one that didnt stay put the first time - after about a whole tube of silicone, it seems to be behaving now.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/saltwaterncouplelights.jpg
the third halide reflector will be here tomorrow. the four 80 watt t5 bulbs will be here on wednesday. should be plenty of light for this tank.

[Texreefer]

Sweet!

[copperband]

thats awesome

[cpreefguy]

That looks beautiful

[checkerkitty]

quick update. sand's in the tank. the shelf decided it really did want to be an island. so we let it. it is an island on the back porch! there is going to be enough live rock from the main tank to make up for it, though. tomorrow we'll be putting sand in the sump and building a live rock mountain in the tank. hopefully the corals will go in the tank by this weekend. right now most of the lps are hanging out in the clam tank, happy as clams for the time being. although, the clams are probably ready to have the tank back. skimmer and media reactor full of carbon will go on tomorrow.

[erikharrison]

Are y'all going for a record? :bigsmile: This is probably the CLEANEST DIY tank ever. I am calling it for TOTY. :)

[cpreefguy]

I am calling it for TOTY. :)
You just wait until it's full of all of her acans and micros! Wowzers!

[checkerkitty]

well, it has certainly not been a walk in the park. after running about a week - the day before we were going to start adding coral, the remaining foam decided to join its island relative and tried to take the overflow box with it.

result: first flood from this tank :lauging:

got the overflow box reattached, filled the tank back up and started moving corals over. still had a microbubble problem until today. we checked every seam and hoseclamp in the plumbing but to no avail - bubbles galore. then we decided maybe it was the pumps (maybe the seams letting in some air). took the pump apart and found the problem - the impeller was nearly completely clogged!! upon reinstalling one pump and preparing to take off the second for cleaning, we got the second flood of this tank (much smaller this time). it seems that one pump is WAY too strong for one return line and the skimmer - we know this because of the tidal wave flowing over the front edge of the tank and the water shooting out the top of the collection cup of the skimmer. :D actually, we are running all three return lines and the skimmer with one pump - and FINALLY no microbubbles. it is really coming together now :)

the pile of foam after its break for freedom
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/foampile.jpg

most of the large LPS are in the tank, but not placed. we still have to move over the small frags of aussie acans, duncans, and micromussa - wanted to make sure all the bugs were worked out first.

tank from the end
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/tankend.jpg
tank from the front
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/tankfts.jpg

[apedroza]

Tank looks Gorgeous!!!!! I can't wait to see it in person. Good job guys, I wish I was talented (and brave) enough to take on a task like that.

[JeffCo]

Looks great!! All that work paid off. Do you have any closer shots?

[Bill S]

Lookin' good! I'm guessing you don't need the Chaeto anymore!?

[hobogato]

yes bill, i would still like to get some chaeto from ya. was hoping to come by this weekend, but i guess you will be out of pocket. lmk when it will be a good time please - i need to bring back your bucket of salt also.

[Bill S]

I HATE to miss this meeting... We'll be back Monday afternoon. If you want, I can also drop it by your house in the morning... Depends if Christy wants visitors at 8:30 am!

[BIGBIRD123]

Tank looks really good....but I have to say it....

FOAM---2
ACE----0

Still love ya though...LOL!

Steve

[RayAllen]

That bites but im sure once more LR is in and the coraline is growing you wont even know the back is clear.

[Bill S]

I got to see it in person this am... All I can say is WOW. What's REALLY funny is Ace refusing to go to a LFS, 'cause he's afraid they won't have any good SPS but might have some good LPS...

[erikharrison]

At least the setbacks are over with, time to enjoy the fruits of your labor!!

[RayAllen]

I got to see it in person this am... All I can say is WOW. What's REALLY funny is Ace refusing to go to a LFS, 'cause he's afraid they won't have any good SPS but might have some good LPS...

LOL, Kristi cant have any LPS with out Ace getting his SPS:lauging:

Nothing wrong with a little family competition. Hate to say, but the wife normally wins.:shades:

[brewercm]

Been there done that myself.

Ace I also have a mixture of macros that you are more than welcome to, just give me a yell. Actually they are going wild on my and will continue to until I get the new impeller in for my skimmer.


Tank looks really good....but I have to say it....

FOAM---2
ACE----0

Still love ya though...LOL!

Steve

[hobogato]

wow, a 180 gallon tank makes a pretty big waterfall when a seam comes loose - back to square one.

[RayAllen]

wow, a 180 gallon tank makes a pretty big waterfall when a seam comes loose - back to square one.


WOW! Man im sorry to hear that Kristi and Ace. Are you going to rebuild? This project of yours sure has had its ups and downs. Good luck

[hobogato]

Are you going to rebuild?

yep, not the kind of guy that just quits.

[LoneStar]

Did the glass break too? Pretty bad water damage?

[hobogato]

no, one of the seams just pulled apart. gonna go buy a bunch of clamps and leave it clamped for a couple days when i put it back together. have to get it apart and cleaned up first tho.

no water damage, gotta love tile floors. only lost about 30 gallons i think. got all the corals moved over to the other system and the rock in water in my water storage barrel, so now i just have to get to work :)

[hobogato]

im also wondering if this was a delayed reaction from the trouble we had with the tank before the center brace was added.

[apedroza]

Sorry to here about the leak. You are persistant though I give you that. My wife would of had me and the tank out on the street. Good luck with the rebuild!!

[brewercm]

Missed you guys at the meeting but definately understood.

[LoneStar]

im also wondering if this was a delayed reaction from the trouble we had with the tank before the center brace was added.

Thats what I think the cause might be.

[hobogato]

at least we managed to get all the corals and fish moved over to our sps/clam setup, so we didnt lose anything.

thank goodness we were home when it started leaking, because by the time we got it drained, the middle third of the seam had come loose and the water was coming out pretty fast.

disassembled the tank, and just finished cleaning all the silicone off of all the pieces. noticed that it was pretty easy to get off of the glass - well, at least the black silicone was. the clear silicone that was on the back for the foam was much more difficult to remove.

so.... will be reassembling the tank tomorrow with clear silicone and lots of clamps that will stay on the tank for several days to make sure it is secure until it hardens. i think the previous mistake of not having a center brace also contributed to the separation.

we will probably still use the black silicone for the inside corner seals.

[Bill S]

OK, NOW I think of this... I've always noticed that black silicone seems to stick less-well than clear.

LMK if there's anything you need - I totally missed the leak part of this thread until now.

[beareef19]

I have heard that a full and complete cure of silicone will take 10 days to be at full shore strength (shore = amount of pressure or pull strength to remove or break apart sealants after a given amount of cure time )

Barry

[RayAllen]

at least we managed to get all the corals and fish moved over to our sps/clam setup, so we didnt lose anything.

thank goodness we were home when it started leaking, because by the time we got it drained, the middle third of the seam had come loose and the water was coming out pretty fast.

disassembled the tank, and just finished cleaning all the silicone off of all the pieces. noticed that it was pretty easy to get off of the glass - well, at least the black silicone was. the clear silicone that was on the back for the foam was much more difficult to remove.

so.... will be reassembling the tank tomorrow with clear silicone and lots of clamps that will stay on the tank for several days to make sure it is secure until it hardens. i think the previous mistake of not having a center brace also contributed to the separation.

we will probably still use the black silicone for the inside corner seals.

I cant imagine the obscenities that would have been coming out of mouth. Let us know if you need a hand with anything Ace.

[checkerkitty]

well, we reassembled the tank using only clear silicone, and it has now been running for a couple of weeks without incident. we still dont have everything placed where we want it, but everything is in the tank and happy as can be. here are a few coral pics from today.

fts - remember, lots of arranging left to do
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/DSC017202.jpg

random sections
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/DSC017182.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/DSC017192.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/DSC017212.jpg

some corals

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/DSC017242.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/DSC017252.jpg http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/DSC017262.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/DSC017272.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/DSC017282.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/DSC017292.jpg

[checkerkitty]

some more corals

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/DSC017302.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/DSC017322.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/DSC017332.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/DSC017342.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/DSC017352.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/DSC017362.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/DSC017372.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/DSC017382.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/DSC017392.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/PDRM34782.jpg

[checkerkitty]

last batch

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/PDRM34682.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/PDRM34692.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/PDRM34702.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/PDRM34712.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/PDRM34722.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/PDRM34732.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/PDRM34742.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/PDRM34752.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/PDRM34762.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/180lps/PDRM34772.jpg

[apedroza]

WOW those are awesome!!! Glad the rebuild went better. BTW aquadome had some awesome looking blastos today (hint hint!!!!)

[JeffCo]

Nice, looks like it was all worth it. Is that a symphillia in the last pick? How big is it?

[thedude]

Christy and Ace the tank is looking good! What combo of T5's are you running over the tank right now? I've found my acans and micros to get more color and do better under much bluer light and use a 2 or 3 to 1 ratio of blue plus and actinic to aquablue.

John

[SABOB]

Can't believe I didn't see this tank Saturday,except for the fact you squeezed me in before you left for Austin.Thanks again for adding the extra thumb screws,no leaks!!!!!Even with the issues, Christy's tank looks good.

[MissT]

Got to be one of the best LPS collections around
Looks great you guys!

[razermouse]

Looking great!

I'll be working on getting my 180 up and running over the next couple of weeks. How many pounds of live rock do you have in your 180?

[checkerkitty]

sorry it took me so long to get back to this thread. Ace reminded me this morning. It's hard to remember what I need to to when all I can think about is what I need to do. In other words, dude, I'm busy!


WOW those are awesome!!! Glad the rebuild went better. BTW aquadome had some awesome looking blastos today (hint hint!!!!)

Yeah, Anthony, saw those. Wanted those. No $ for those. I had just picked up an AWESOME colony at of Blastos at Rivercity, though. I'll get pics up later.


Nice, looks like it was all worth it. Is that a symphillia in the last pick? How big is it?

Not too sure what kind of brain that is. We were thinking maybe Ouphyllia cripsa but I am currently rethinking that. We got that from Fin Addict a while ago. Felipe had never seen one like it. I haven't seen one like it before or since. It's about the size of my fist or so. Half of a medium grapefruit? Something like that.


Christy and Ace the tank is looking good! What combo of T5's are you running over the tank right now? I've found my acans and micros to get more color and do better under much bluer light and use a 2 or 3 to 1 ratio of blue plus and actinic to aquablue.

John

We are in the process of changing out some of the bulbs. We figured that out as well. We ordered 2 replacement bulbs from reefgeek. We'll be removing the 6500K and aquablue and adding in another procolor and actinic. Still a work in progress. The corals seem happy. But better color is always a plus!


Looking great!

I'll be working on getting my 180 up and running over the next couple of weeks. How many pounds of live rock do you have in your 180?

Gosh, I don't remember. I'll guesstimate that we've got 150 to 200 pounds in there. After the Great Foam Failure of 2008, we had to make a quick trip over to Ed's place and I don't remember how much we picked up. Ace may remember, though. Ace also gave me a bunch of pieces from the main tank, clam tank and sump. And of course my sump is full of chunks and bits.


Got to be one of the best LPS collections around
Looks great you guys!

Thanks Misti! It's coming along. I'll be rearranging starting today. Nothing is glued in except one colony of Duncans. They are glued in due to a fight they were having with a chalice. The Duncans lost. One head to be exact. Then two days ago I found a pink chalice frag eating some of my micromussas. That was an expensive meal. Luckily they only got two or three.


LPS are addictive. Especially micromussas. They are so small and so colorful you can have lots of them in a fairly small area. Now I found this guy. Mama like. Mama want.

http://www.reefdoctormicromussas.com/

Christy

[hobogato]

Gosh, I don't remember. I'll guesstimate that we've got 150 to 200 pounds in there. After the Great Foam Failure of 2008, we had to make a quick trip over to Ed's place and I don't remember how much we picked up. Ace may remember, though. Ace also gave me a bunch of pieces from the main tank, clam tank and sump. And of course my sump is full of chunks and bits.


Christy

we got 100 lbs from ed and about 100 more from the main tank :)

[razermouse]

I just ordered 210 pounds of live rock from Tampa Bay Saltwater. The rest of my rock and sand in my 28 gallon will go in the display tank and the refugium.