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New house, new tank. 290 Gallon Build
My family decided we were going to build our new house and of course this would mean we needed a bigger tank. Ive had fish since I was a kid but the most complicated I have ever gone is cichlids in a 30 gallon. So I am going from a freshwater 30 gallon to a 290 gallon saltwater. :biggrin:
When we designed our house we kept in mind that we would be placing a tank somewhere. After deciding to put it in our family room we went from thinking around a 100 gallon to maxing out our wall with the 290. It is on the second floor which created some structural issues that we discussed with our engineer. The solution was to make sure that the concrete foundation was directly under the walls that would be holding the tank. Other than the tank there isn't any other load between those two walls. Extra floor joists were added to handle the weight and when my builder asked how much the tank would weigh, we decided to throw in a left over beam we had just in case. Anyways, after months of research I decided I would be buying my tank and equipment from concept. I ordered in July or August of 2014 and almost when I needed it in September. Only problem was that the eurobrace was cracked and the broken pieces scratched part of the starphire panels. Concept sent me a new tank with a replacement eurobrace that could be used to repair the old tank which was then sold to Dave (reefwithareefer). https://i.imgur.com/mIxuTc0.jpg |
So the new tank arrived about a month later but due to continuing construction, there were no proper set of stairs for us to actually use to get to the second floor. This required a flatbed with a crane which then lifted the crate onto the second floor balcony.
https://i.imgur.com/yj65AFf.jpg https://i.imgur.com/Fl9egNr.jpg |
Forgot to mention tank dimensions.
https://i.imgur.com/jy87vtu.jpg Place where tank is going. On one side is the family room/kitchen and the other side is the stairs/opening for entry. (Tank is the first thing you see walking up the stairs) https://i.imgur.com/Z90AdNf.jpg Hole on one side for a drain. https://i.imgur.com/qUFE0lA.jpg |
Tank in place
https://i.imgur.com/ygFXGnh.jpg Some of the framing is done and water test. https://i.imgur.com/tIcsCbO.jpg https://i.imgur.com/X0EMnQ0.jpg |
Very cool. A build from complete scratch like this is my dream. Build the house around the tank not vice versa :D
So it's going be open on two sides or three? |
Hey...That looks like the same tank I have...:)
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Keep us updated! I'm dying for the next set of photos...:redface:
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that's gonna look sweet when finished,..love photos:biggrin:
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Is all the gear have its own room too?
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Unfortunately not. All equipment goes under the tank. I thought about using some space in the laundry room but I don't think the rest of the family would be pleased. |
Eli over at fijireefrock hooked up the rock that came with the tank.
Heres all the big pieces I got. Also have another box full of rubble. Gave this rock a bleach bath and soaked in regular water for a couple weeks. Probably shouldnt have done that when it was below freezing outside as the water in the garbage bins froze. https://i.imgur.com/4VXxge7.jpg |
I guess I should have done a full equipment list to begin with but oh well. Here's everything that I have as of right now.
Tank: 90 x 24 x 31 tall (Starphire front and back, Eurobrace) Stand: 90 x 24 x 35 tall Sump: 60 x 18 x 18 Powerheads: 2 x Jebao WP-60 Return Pump: Aquaeon 6000 Heaters: 2 x Jager 300 Watt Controller: Neptune Apex Standard Skimmer: Vertex Alpha 250 Lights: 4 x Ecotech Radio XR30W Gen 3 Pro ATO: Tunze Osmolator Auto Top-Off RODI: Vertex Puratex Deluxe RODI - 100GPD (might test my patience) Have 80lbs of sand and enough rock to do some cool aquascapes. I think this covers everything. |
Once drywall was installed.
https://i.imgur.com/Fev0IQL.jpg https://i.imgur.com/Kwpr80c.jpg On the left there is a line for freshwater as well as a pipe that runs into the laundry room. The plan for that is to mix water downstairs and then pump it up into the tank. Other than that all equipment will be underneath the tank. Also, there are 8 wall outlets on top of the tank as well as 6 underneath which should be sufficient (2 separate breakers). You can see a hole in the ceiling for the ceiling fan (same as the washroom fans) which is to be controlled by a humidity sensor. https://i.imgur.com/E0jjdS3.jpg |
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Didn't like the fact that the cabinets had pieces of wood coming down which would hinder my access to the tank so I had them cut those out. RODI is set up temporarily beside the tank for the first fill up. After that it goes to the laundry room.
http://i.imgur.com/uKG1ag8.jpg Giving the tank a nice scrub down. Over months of sitting around spiders and other insects decided to die inside the tank as well as the occasional nail dropped by the one of the many workers. http://i.imgur.com/0owb8zV.jpg What it now looks like from the other side. http://i.imgur.com/a08Lidv.jpg What it looks like from the bottom (entry/front door) https://i.imgur.com/PonhE7r.jpg How it sits right now. Tile installers decided the best place for them to mix their cement would be right beside the tank. Grabbed some plastic and wrapped it up before they could get it dirty again. http://i.imgur.com/HLqk9WI.jpg |
Currently having an issue with the amount of sound/vibration the return pump and one of my WP-60s are making. You can hear the tank throughout the entire house when its running. I was told to run the WP-60 for a little while to break in. Hopefully that solves that issue.
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It's looking awesome! This reminds me so much of my own build (I even did a 290 as well) and built the house around it. I like the design. You will love Starfire as long as you take care of it.
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Got bored today so I decided to play around with my rock.
Here is what Eli had done for me when they sent me the rock https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs4301O8p_0 Heres my attempt at something a little different. Just stacked them in whatever way they would stay in place. http://i.imgur.com/MYhiB5H.jpg |
Question. Is it ok to have a lot of places for fish to hide or does that just create dead zones where debris will collect.
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Wow very impressive set up. More pictures. :pop2:
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Finally got some work done. Figured I would wait a little while for all the workers to finish making their mess and the dust to settle.
https://i.imgur.com/Tl2l5zZ.jpg Just have a few pieces of rubble that I want to use to fill in some gaps and then ill probably fill it up. May also be putting up the lighting sometime this week. Want to use a pulley system to raise and lower them. Hopefully its not to hard to figure out. Meanwhile I have been without any fish for a while now. I was thinking about starting up my 30 gallon with some saltwater and throwing 2 clowns in there. I will probably be using that tank as a quarantine tank once I have the other up and running. I was wondering if I need to do anything special or will a heater and HOB filter be enough? |
Great build - tank & house. :biggrin:
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Ok. Back to this thread. Its been a while with no updates so here we go.
Lights are all set up. 4 x Radion Gen 3 Pros. Took a little while to figure them out but we got it. We bought a pulley system from Princess Auto and used 3 aluminium rods to create a frame to hang the lights off of. As a safety back-up we used 2 steel cables that are screwed straight into wood on top. The lowest the lights would be able to come is about 9 inches from the surface of the water. http://i.imgur.com/kGsHMBK.jpg This is what the finished cabinetry looks like. All the panels can be opened and taken off if needed. This would be the most viewed side as it is in the family room. http://i.imgur.com/sze1djL.jpg View from the other side. This is the side that is visible from the moment you walk inside the house. Still working on the water currents. Cant figure out a spot that doesnt make the sand blow away. http://i.imgur.com/FM1K6B7.jpg Still working on my cable management. Auto top off still needs to be set up. I didnt realize that the Tunze auto top off pump was missing from the box. I opened the box one year after purchasing it :neutral: $20 for a new pump from Tunze. http://i.imgur.com/YL7ncxh.jpg http://i.imgur.com/DbAKlyx.jpg Current tank photos http://i.imgur.com/JwBInDD.jpg http://i.imgur.com/UU9I8BU.jpg Current fish: 10 - Blue/Green Chromis 3 - Azure Damsel 2 - True Perc Clowns 1 - Foxface And I had a copperband but it decided to stop eating and died a few days ago:cry: |
That looks awesome!
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I have this white spongy looking stuff growing in my sump. Anyone know what it is?
http://i.imgur.com/SAYxWHO.jpg http://i.imgur.com/5cnuV4L.jpg |
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Nice build and rock work! Sponges + happy tank = Now go pick up some corals for that thing :pop2: |
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