150 Gal SPS Tank Journal *Pics of New Lighting*

[viperfish]

Well here I go again. I figured after umpteen tank builds I should start a build journal, just as a means to track progress. For starters I currently have a new custom tank ordered from my buddy Kevin at Red Coral which should be done today or tomorrow. The dimensions of the new tank are 48"x30"x24"high. It's going to have eurobracing, herbie, drilled returns, yada yada, more detail when the tank comes.

This is the tank I am replacing, this had been a good tank but I outgrew it very quickly and between Zeo and dosing two part, my growth has taken right off, hence the need for the real estate.

I am putting this tank up for sale this week.



Right now I'm going to use as much hardware from my 90 as I can but we'll see about that as the build moves along.

Here is the plan as of right now:

Lighting: I currently have 2 x 250 Watt AquaMedic Oceanlight MH Pendants with Phoenix 14K bulbs on my 90. Options for the new tank are #1 Add a third pendant (already have it) in a triangular pattern to cover the 48x30" area. #2 Maristar MH + T5 250W with tank legs to get rid of the pendants. #3 There was no option 3 until I spotted the new TEK Elite fixture, but I'm thinking that myght be the answer.

Skimmer: Going to use my Eshopps PSK-200 Gen II for now, I will upgrade fairly quickly but haven't made a decision. I'll probably end up grabbing an Eshopps Snow Cone or jump on that Bubble Magus bandwagon.

Sump: Eshopps RS 300 acrylic sump

Return Pump: AquaMedic OR 6500 currently. Might go with external for this build.

Controller: Neptune Apex Lite(should be here this week) with temp and PH.

Reactors: 1 TLF for carbon and 2 TLF for biopellets, this is the configuration I have now but I'm going to pick up one of those cool Nextreef ones from Oceanic.

Flow Inside Tank: 4 Koralia Evo's set up as a wavemaker through the Apex. Return lines will have Loc Line for control of return flow.

Dosing: Bulk two part by means of two Drew's Dosers connected to my Apex. Also Zeo Amino Acid, Coral Vitalizer, Marine Snow, Pohl's Extra.

That's about it for the plan, let's see how much all of this changes!

[viperfish]

I just finished the basic frame for the cabinet. I know its a little premature since I don't even have the tank yet so let's hope the measurements are bang on! My original plan was to build the basic box, slap a bunch of trim on there and done like dinner, well that's not so easy when every dimension is about the same width as a door. I decided to pull out my router and finish the edges of the 2x6 and 2x4's, I am still going to add trim but it will be in removable pieces. Oh well its a start. I don't want to get too cocky and build too much until the tank arrives. I did leave some clearance just in case.

[cuz]

taggin along!

[viperfish]

I skipped a few posts on the stand build but all went well and it's finally done. Thanks Rick for helping me move this sucker, I swear the stand weighs almost as much as the tank! One thing to keep in mind on a deep tank build is the doorway it has to go through. I had a totally different plan for this stand until I realized the space limitations of the doorway and things had to change. Well here it is moved into place in the living room.



I had one of the Welders at work fab up a couple of hangers for the lights out of HSS steel tubing. I acouple of coats of Tremclad and they're good to go.

Instead of doors I had black acrylic cut to size and used 3/8" aluminum C channel and magnets to hold them in place.

I didn't want to drill into the steel hangers to hang the lights because of humidity and rust so I built a slide on hanger made from oak and HSS sleeves so I could screw into the wood instead. This also gives me room for adjustment, and pulling the entire assembly down is that much easier.

[viperfish]

Time to hang the lights. My light fixtures of choice are the Aqua Medic 48" 2 x 250w, 1 x 150w hanging fixture, and the Aqua Medic 4 x HO T5 Oceanlight.

First one to hang is the T5. I chose this fixture because the MH will barely cover the 30" front to back, if I threw more metal halides at it I would need a chiller so I opted for the T5's in the front and I'll place my less demanding corals there. here are some pics of the T5 fixture.



Individual contoured reflectors with moonlights!



The splash guard slides in and out without having to remove any screws.



Actinic



Daylight



Here is the hanging kit, it has the ratcheting style fitting and safety screw at the base.



Here is a shot of the metal halides and HO T5's mounted.

[viperfish]

Plumbing is as complete as I can get it for now. Simple Herbie overflow and inlet through two 3/4" bulkheads with Loc Line. Hopefully tomorrow I can start the big move.









For this build my Wife wanted me to leave the back clear. I am very skeptical but what the heck, considering her tolerance for my obsession with this, I'll humor her with one request. It has created quite a challenge with plumbing and wires. Worst thing is if I don't like it I'm going to have one heck of a time covering the back with everything in place. Oh well, we'll see how it looks when it's all done.

[viperfish]

A bit of a change of plans. The location I had my tank in was a little too unstable for my liking. I had the tank about 3/4 full of water and there seemed to be too much deflection in the floor so I decided to move it to the opposite corner where I had an exterior wall and main beam intersecting. My living room was full of salt buckets and one large rain barrel, not winning any points with the Wife for sure. I also decided to paint the back. It was bugging me not having everything hidden so out comes the Krylon. The rest of the setup went fine. Here are some pics of the progress to date. I still need to set up my dosing pumps and water change tank but everything else is fully functional.

[reefbyremote]

Looking good Rod! I like how the sump looks so clean and clearly well set up. I can see this tank is going to be great, and hard to imagine, nicer than your 90.

[Scubasteve23]

Wow..looks Great Rod, cant wait to come over and check it out when its almost done..or done..lol

[Stones]

Your build is coming along nicely. I really like the dimensions of your display tank.