Hustlers 300G Panzer Project (Up and Running)
 

Here is my 300 gallon panzer project....... I named her panzer as she is a great big rock solid tank :)

Its 8 feet by 2 feet by 30 inches tall 3/4" glass and Immovable lol made by the magician Mitch himself :)
Its been run as a freshwater tank the last year but is in the middle of her salt transition as I type :)
Im very excited to see how she ages and what kinds of things I can do with her in a marine enviroment.
she has dual overflows in the back corners with dual dorso's and a Monster pool/spa pump for the return as of now.
The skimmer, carbon/gro reactors and live rock are a week or two away so I will start here with my journal.
Any comments or ideas are more than welcome.... this will be a long journal

On the truck.
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1400lbs shipping weight all together..... still snuck it on the power tailgate with 8 guys and 2 flats of beer
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rough 100 gallon sump
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Direct plummed into the city drain for overflow emergencies
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Overflow guts quiet as can be with 60gpm flowing
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Nice, this is the exact size my tank is going to be with starphire front, sides & euro-brace.

This tank was by far the heaviest thing I have ever had to move by hand.....
3/4 glass is just silly..... And drilling.... Nerves of steel and budwieser ;)
I have a 320 in the shop im trying to find a good use for aswell..... maybe a frag tank???
its 80"x34"by27" Still dirty as i moved it in on friday and havent hosed it out yet but she has potential :)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...h1ca/004-6.jpg
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So will that drain remove water every time the tank shuts off or is the level shown already at shut off level? Got a p-trap on that drain somewhere?

Nice looking tank.

Its just a fail safe now for power outages, With the freshwater system it was a constant drip waterchange to that level. It definately has a P trap :)

scrubbed and drained.... being filled with ro water from my aquasafe unit getting excited :)
Installed a 140 gallon plastic reservoire in the laundry room for back up....
should be another week or two for the skimmer gfo and carbon reactor to get here then Ill have a post worthy of canreef lol

In through the window... lucky guy! Good luck with the flip over.

Luck had nothing to do with it.... wouldnt fit down the stairs and it took almost 8 welders at a case of beer each....and 2 missed work the next day LOL....
I think the person buying this house gets a free tank.....cus I aint moving it again :)

LOL I know what its like to move a heavy tank and be sore the next day :lol: If only I knew it was going to be my last :biggrin::biggrin:

Please excuse my autocad skills......
I have sketched up what I figure will work for the first run of filters on my 300.
beckett 12" by 30" skimmer, bio reactor, GFO and Carbon reactors all run on seperate pumps. New reefflow pumps to replace my pool pump LOL
ect.... maybe you have some imput? questions comments and concerns more than welcome.... And if your any good at playing with new toys and like to drink free beer Please let me know as I have a headache just sketching this :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...h1ca/004-8.jpg

Just a few thing that I notice to concider, not saying that I am 100% right but it what I would do since I have an 8' tank as well.

1. Try to keep your drain lines as close to the same length as possible.
2. If you are going to run Bio pellets you will not need a refuge or the light. The pellets will do the same as any macro algea, fill middle compartment with rock. Your bio pellet reactor output must be put as close to your skimmer feed pump as possible
3. Split your sump into 3 compartment making your return end the largest, the input to the sump the smallest. 2 baffles to divide first & second compartment, 3 baffles to divide second & third.
4. I am doing the same size tank & return pump. My idea is to run my skimmer, chiller & all reactors off my drain lines ( manifold system with control valves ) this way you don't need all the extra pumps, something to think about.

Remember this is simply what I would do.


Question about your skimmer? What kind did you get?

I went with a 12" by 30 bashsea twisted with a 3500 gph pump and an air injector pump...
Im going to try and piece out what youve explained there lol... its late and Im slow :)
The skimmer will be getting water right out of the first chamber where the tank initally drains into and the reactors will take water from where the skimmer will dump back to the sump.
Thats the way i figured it should go anyways???

Looks great so far. Using a manifold for reactors is great, I'd definitely suggest that. One thing you'll find you are fighting the most is heat in the tank, less pumps helps that a lot. also, rather than using a ball valve on the output side of the pump, use a Tee that drains back to the sump with a ball valve on it. This way, you are not pressurizing your pump to change flow, you're just dumping more back to the sump.

Look into filter socks as well, easier to clean imo. lots of people use pads, But generally the filter socks seem easier.

the last thing is make sure your ATO sensor is in the return chamber, that's where the water will fluctuate, make it adjustable if possible, i wish mine could move up another 1/2" right now to cut down on microbubbles :(.

Grizz is right about not needing a refugium if you use biopellets, i do have both though, i think they complement each other, but that's just me. Biopellets don't produce pods, and my refugium is loaded with them. Your output from the biopellets should be close to your skimmer input, so try to line that up in there.

If you don't need the flow though I prefer to valve it back. Your pump will draw less power this way and it's no different than a bit more head pressure... not bad for the pump at all.

I would still run a refugium. Lots of bacterial and copepod benefits. I run a media reactor with bio pellets but still noticed a huge difference when running chaeto algae in the refugium. Greatly reduces algae on the glass.

Ok.... Im printing all this out to go over again and again well Im at work :)
If anyone has a pic to post please let me know.... I understand and I do already have a Tee fitting with a seprate ball valve to dump back into my sump so I would drill and tap it to fit the smaller pipes on the reactors?

Big day for me... Got me some Live Rock :) 215 lbs plus sand to start.... Now im looking for shelves and big branches while I get started on the sump and filtration setup.
Ive got 4 bubblers with a 3000gph pump and 1400gph powerhead in with the rock now just letting it cure ect.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...1ca/001-13.jpg

Quick update since I havent recieved any of my filter stuff yet....
Rock all seems good, All kinds of weird stuff in there I keep finding.... some coral stuff I have no clue what it is If you know please tell me lol :) But im happy, got a couple of clowns in there too so it "is" a fish tank :)
Most of it looked dead and slimy when I first dumped the rocks in there its nowhere near set up yet but this stuff started to look like stuff I shouldnt let sit at the bottom..... And now they look WAY better. Also loving the use of the camera again yay
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Did the liverock come with those favias (The giant red & green LPS), if so MAJOR score! Looks to be healthy and of very good quality, great pick on the rock its one of the most important parts of your system!

Whoo hoo :) Im super happy with the rock.... Took alot of time to find but it worked out perfect. Everything in there other than the clowns came with the rock :)
I figure it must be doing ok for being dry a half hour in transport as 2 days later it perked right up and is out and swaying now where it was limp and dull before

Very nice score, I have never been that lucky with LR hitch hikers.

looks good , prob a bit early for clowns any amonia from die off in transport of the lr or adding the sand can and prob will kill them, if by chance they do survive its still gonna be hard on them.keep an eye on your amonia and if it gets above 0.5 i would remove them or use something to get rid of the amonia.nice score on the favia's too:) cheers

So when everyone said.... get a pair of clowns to cycle the tank they lied? lol
Im doing periodic WCs as well as a bunch of turnover and really it was more of a tank move than a new setup as I got almost all the bio and i have next to nothing compared to the bio load it had.... Ive done this a bunch of times with fresh..... and in way worse scenarios never had a spike.... but I will keep you posted :)
they are the saltwater goldfish arent they? Jk

who would be everyone?? i doubt many people on this site said to use clowns for cycling??? fact is you dont need fish for cycling you just need to provide an amonia source, if your rock was out of water for any period of time it will have die off, when adding sand theres also going to be a small spike unless its sand that has never been in a reef aquarium.transfering a saltwater tank and a fresh water tank are not really simiular, theres organic dieoff that comes from rock and sand like bacteria,copepods,amphipods,sponges, polyps,crabs,snails you name it if it spends anytime out of the water they are going to die thus creating an amonia spike. even doing a transfer from one spot to another causes a small cycle how big the cycle depends on how established the tank was and how fast it can convert amonia,since your using a new tank and new equipment its not really a simple transfer.any detection of amonia is harmful or even fatal to fish. you would have been just fine to leave your rock alone and let it cycle naturally,if it needs a stronger amonia source or if you dont think it has enough bacteria on it to sustain marine life you can feed the bacteria a manual source like cocktail shrimp,pellets or flake or even a cultured bacteria source and then give them time to reproduce.you should wait untill you see a spike from the amonia and then wait for it to dissappear meaning its been converted into nitrates which can be manually removed.patience is the name of the game doing things to fast will most def result in disease ending up in your tank,wasted money on livestock,chemicals, and save yourself alot of frustration.300g is a nice size system to work with and youll have plenty of time for livestock but trust me your tank doesnt need live fish to start or complete a cycle in fact fish most times do not make it through a cycle of any size:) sorry not meaning to lecture just provide some insight:)cheers

And i thank you for pointing that out :)
Im sure there will be several walls I will run into with this salt conversion but cycling has always been one of my better suits....its the basics of the fish hobby salt or fresh.... with 4k in arowanas and starting a new tank with a simple dose of prime, stability and a good water change routine plus a seed... And they eat almost a pound of fresh seafood a day....I have never even experienced a loss of feeding nevermind illness.... Alot has to do with the ammount of water and flow mind you.... but still I can understand your concerns.... Feel free to PM me if there are any other things you may wish to point out on these subjects as this is my build thread..... and Im trying to keep it positive as it will be up here long after Ive mastered the reef ;)

This is some freshwater thinkin you gotta ditch. Whoever told you that shouldn't be trusted for future information either.

When cycling a tank you are looking to get a population of nitrifying bacteria. These bacteria are found mostly in and on live rock in a saltwater tank. Thus, if you buy rock from an established tank your tank is essentially cycled the moment you put the rock in. Curing rock is the process where you deal with die-off either from "fresh" collected rock that you buy from the LFS or die-off from a move. If you see ammonia your rock is curing, if you don't see ammonia in the first week your rock is cured (no die-off). Get a SeaChem Ammonia Alert, and if there is any color change on there get on here pronto. Ammonia burn will permanently damage a fish's gills.

The ammo alert is in there now... has been since the salt... The rock came from a running reef and was maybe MAYBE 20 min in transport with very very little die off i can tell anyways from the black bottom i have.... corals and clowns are amazing and the ammo alert hasnt twitched yet and Ill still do WCs.... also adding prime and stability just incase.... that and I have a huge exxcess from my stingray days so its already here lol.
Myka thanks again for all the help.... I realize its a new world with salt but Im pretty sure the clown pair is in the safe zone either way seeing as ive probabbly spent more in safeguards while making the switch then the clowns themselves ;)

Oh I think the clowns will be fine too. You did jump the gun rather early there though, you will have to practice patience in the future as any mistakes you make will be big mistakes simply considering the size of your tank! :p And you're welcome for the help. I can't wait to see how your tank progresses, always interesting watching newbies.

Prime and Stability are not products you should be adding all the time. In the beginning few weeks it may not be a bad idea to help curb any cycle that may be happening, but you shouldn't use them long-term in a reef tank. Are you using tap water? I think you bought an RO/DI, didn't you?

I have the 5 stage ro/di from aquasafe... the big bugger...
But with the fresh i added every other week just to avoid any unforseen mishaps..... I guess its overkill with the ro system.....but I have like.....gallons of it still so... I though it wouldnt hurt :) Almost bought a doser for just that stuff with my stingrays but managed to do it manually and avoid it..... could have been my top off system :)

More pictures please :razz:?

If I were you I would remove the bio reactor, do a search on here or reefcentral you will find tones of mixed results. Personally for me it was good to start and then caused problems in the long run.

I'm going for a more natural feel, DSB with mangroves & macro is a much better filtering tool.

http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/6288/img2253uz.jpg

Any idea on your final lighting, aquascape or fish & coral comp? Looks like it's going to be a wicked tank, will be watching for sure.

Your clowns will be fine btw, look at how the favias are doing! Watch early morning or @ around 1:00am, lots of open mouths to be seen.

:lalala:

Well Im going nuts waiting for freight quotes to get my filters out of the US so in the meantime I did some redecorating..... :) went better than I thought it would AND i found a 2" crab while moving the rocks....
First... for reefwars..... :)
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gee ummm thanks lol any pics of the crab???

not being snotty :) they are in very good hands.... Im all over the test kits and everything else i can do just to keep it close right from the get go.
No pics of the crab...by the time I saw it I had stirred up so much crap a pic would be useless Now i cant find the bugger.... so many nooks n crannies in this rock

I also just scored a marineland 48" reef led fixture..... WOW.... with the shimmer and the AVATAR switch (actnic only bulbs)..... Im sold.... Going LEDs :)

What are you thinking for LED's? Manufactured or DIY?

I wish i had the time for a DIY as im crafty workin on all them grinders n welder power supplys during shutdowns lol....
But if i can keep hitting the 4 foot led's for a good price.... i think 4 of them with 2 4 foot 4bank T5s will do till i get some downtime and build my own.
Sure seems like a headache at full retail but slightly used.... Its the same as a few MH setups that I know ill be flipping in 6 months anyways

I couldnt believe how much more light gets to the bottom of the tank with led's vs T5s and even though it dosent seem brighter its way better to see everything if that makes sense.... Like fishing with polarized glasses you can see through the water alot easier

I still dont know what any of them are but they sure seem happy for being left for dead :)
Photos under the LEDs after 1 day...... lol
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1st pic looks like green paly's, 2nd pic is a favia, 3rd pic looks like some Kenya tree sprouts & 4th pic is some more favia & some red mushrooms.

Sweet bro thanks, Im going to google them...

5 min to 7pm.... UPS truck rolls up with all the boxes inbetween all the trick or treaters :)
Got my skimmer, bio reactor, media chambers and all the fixins :) now the real work begins..... I put a can of coke in the pic for size comparison
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