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CUZ's 435g system
I've has my tank build posted on out local forum but have decided to move it over to canreef to try and get a little more input and feedback from a larger crowd of people. This was set up in Nov this last winter and I'm just going to transfer everything from one forum to this one till I get everything up to date over here!!
Till i get caught up it'll mostly be progress pics, but nobody wants to here me ramble anyways right!!:lol: |
After missing out on this tank the first time it popped up for sale again and I managed to get my name to the top of the list!! ( i snoozed and won!!)
The tank is 300 gal with a 135 gal sump totalling 435 gallons!! It measures 96l X 30w X 24h I did a little reading on moving these things around, downstairs, and hauling, some said heavy some said not bad, fellow selling the tank said no less than 6 guys!!! We brought 4!! First 2 guys i called were all over it!! Said the magic 2 words, big tank and road trip, both replied with: "I'm in"!!!!! Crew for the move was myself, Mike, Ryan, and Ginger. Four guys that will likely never volunteer to do this again!!lol ( Heck Ginger doesn't even know what a salt water tank is, all he knows is he's never helping me again!!lol) Its hard to pinpoint an exact weight but the average seems to be in the 800-1000lb range!!! easy enough!! Right!!! out the doorway and thru a field full of snow to get to the trailer!! It sucked!! but we gotter done!!! As we got closer to home the converstation in the truck got less and less as we all realized we were gonna have to unload everything plus throw in a trip down the stairs this time!! First things first, no way it was makin it thru the doorway!! Mike was on top of that!! http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...2428Medium.jpg first down was the sump, http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...2479Medium.jpg Then the stand, even after removing the door it was just not quite enough room but we just rammed it thru!!lol Other half doesn't mind she wanted a new door anyway!!lol http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...2441Medium.jpg then came the tank!! i don't know if we just had no fuel in the tanks or what but we had to set it down in the snow outside!! http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...2452Medium.jpg |
from there we were looking for the easiest way to get this in the house, turns out my kids were all out sledding today! lol soo......
we took 2 krazy carpets ( ) got them under the tank, and slid it right to the door!!! ! funny----yes worked like a charm tho!!!!!!!!! got it in and down the stairs no problem!!! http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...2456Medium.jpg Up she goes!!! http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...2462Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...2458Medium.jpg |
Took awhile but got things cleaned up and shiny!!!
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...2473Medium.jpg got the sump cleaned up and in. That really sucked by myself!!! http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...2482Medium.jpg And of course I had to try for the mermaid shot but got told where to go!!lol this is the best i could grab!! http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...2466Medium.jpg |
Here's the stand 6" higher, skinned the entire inside of the stand with 1" plywood. It really made everything solid, you've got to give it your all to even budge anything now!!!
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d012Medium.jpg Got the back and one side of the tank painted black. Then i ran the return lines down thru the stand. http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d019Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d020Medium.jpg |
Then i painted the inside of the stand. You can see the white return elbows poking threw. I left cutouts on each corner just in case i had to fiddle with the overflow plumbing way down the road.
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d024Medium.jpg |
i ended up removing 4 of the 6 baffles in the sump just to gain more room for this to be placed where i wanted it. I didn't have a beer can for size reference so my glass of root beer will have to do!
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d029Medium.jpg |
another busy day, its crazy how when you look at something and figure on maybe taking an hour or so it turns into an all daymission!!
I changed the herbie style overflows to durso's and added some baffles to the top of the overflows. Keep critters out for one but also wanted to raise the water level in the display tank. Previously the height of the overflows would have had the water level 1" below the black trim and that would have drove me nuts looking at it all day. I opted not to remove the existing glass for the overflows. http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d035Medium.jpg next i went to town with the plumbing. this would be alot simpler if a person would write down what they need and just double it from the start!! this shows how my backup overflows are plumbed together then down into the sump in case of a main drain clog. http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d033Medium.jpg |
picked up these today, 1 for each return.
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d050Medium.jpg they will be plumbed into these 1" lines once i can round up a couple bulkheads. http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d031Medium.jpg |
here's were everything overflows into the sump, after looking at this pic I ran downstairs to check how straightness of the middle pipe..lol..just the pic for some reason.
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d032Medium.jpg Also painted the back of the sump black just cuz!! http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d034Medium.jpg |
Made an egg-crate stand for the skimmer to sit on, this will put it in 10" of water to start out. We'll see which way it needs to move once it hits water.
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d047Medium.jpg |
took 4 1/2hrs but its filled and running now!!! Had 1 leaky union on a 2" valve but a quick trip to canadian tire of new o-rings and all is good!!
I drilled a 3/16 hole just below the water lines on the returns for a syphon break but i think I'll fill them in. Alot of pressure is being lost thru the holes!! Enough that if i don't have the lids on when turning everything on I can hit the wall across from the tank!! ooopps!!lol I'm thinking I'll just keep the flex hoses in the tank at a safe enough height to break things before the sump is topped off. |
Craig and Nora found me a new toy today!!!
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d081Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d083Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d085Medium.jpg |
got no pictures yet but the stand and side cabinet are done minus hanging the doors. I'm hoping to get into the breakers tomorrow to run my 2 new 15amp circiuts to the tank. Then Friday night/Saturdat will be finishing off the canopy and tying it into everything else.
Biggest problem ahead is what color to paint everything!!! |
got some new toys, some lights, fans, base rock.
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d098Medium.jpg started drilling and stacking rocks last night made it about halfway before calling it a night. Its hard to tell in the pics but these are fairly large pieces!! http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d101Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d099Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d100Medium.jpg |
got the stand and side cabinet painted and the electrical ran from the breaker into it, just need to wire the gfi's. Mind the mess!!
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d103Medium.jpg Here's the top shelf of the side cabinet, It houses the 4 MH ballasts and the 2 T5 ballasts. http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d111Medium.jpg This ones still abit messy till i get the plug in's all wired. But in the end this will be the junction box for everything electrical http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d112Medium.jpg |
This is the moonlighting running, 12 leds
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d114Medium.jpg this is the antinics, 4-4ft t5 ho's http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d115Medium.jpg Its hard to get a good fts with the halides on, they tend to get a glare from every angle i try!! http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d118Medium.jpg |
here's the finish product of 2 weeks woodworking!! Granted a pro could've been done quicker!!lol
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d107Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d110Medium.jpg |
So.. I finally got my frag tank transfered over to the sump of the new tank. Took awhile but everything got a quick dip just for kicks and moved on over!!
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...0048Medium.jpg |
Here's a few pics of some of the new rock structures with a few pieces looking for a new home.
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...0049Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...0051Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...0050Medium.jpg And of course the Naso that makes it his personal mission in life to torment the heck out of snails and block every pic i try to take!!! http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...0067Medium.jpg |
Not the best pic at all but I wanted to keep it as a reference for a couple months down the road.
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...0075Medium.jpg |
picked up a few new pieces, Most of the transfered stuff is starting to come back around
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d175Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d173Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d171Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d162Medium.jpg |
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Nice build! Gonna look wicked when all those frags mature. Just the one fish?
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found a couple new chalice' for the tank today, they're still getting used to things but looking good none the less.
Any body have a good ID guess for me?? http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d190Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d198Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d188Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d185Medium.jpg just for size reference, the tang's swimming at the top of the tank and the chalice is 2ft below him!!! http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d200Medium.jpg |
Got a few new pieces, which caused a mini re-scape of things just to keep everyone happy.
Must have taken over a hundred pictures tonight but still cant get a shot that I like!! Makes me wonder how people took pics before digital cameras came around!! Having to take a roll of film in to be developed to find out all the pictures turned out like stink!!!lol http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d357Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d266Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d256Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d270Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d235Medium.jpg |
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another 100 pic's for 2 that turned out "medium". lol
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d329Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d328Medium.jpg |
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So i noticed the other night that 2-3 of my frags had obviously been nibbled on, probibly about a 1/4" here and there.
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d423Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d424Medium.jpg I new there was a fairly large crab in there somewhere from the tank swap but he'd never cause to many issues in the past. (other than catching and eating a clown). Grabbed a small net and a set of chopsticks run through the pencil sharpener. I really wanted to spear him gladiator style but thats not as easy as you think!! Its as if their shells were deside to deflect harpoons!!lol, in the end i just netted it then proceeded to chace all my kids around the house!! http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d430Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d432Medium.jpg |
tried to take a few more pics tonight.
here's a few zoas http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d526Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d527Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d516Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d525Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d517Medium.jpg |
this chalice is growing like crazy!!
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d522Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d496Medium.jpg any body have a good guess on an ID for this one for me???? http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d499Medium.jpg |
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d566Medium.jpg
changed my frag rack around a bit, so far everyone's loving the new rack!!! http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d453Medium.jpg and the same old end shot for reference!! http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d539Medium.jpg |
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few new pieces, few new pics of old ones...
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d817Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d810Medium.jpg http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/v...d816Medium.jpg |
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