Gucci's 120 Gallon Custom Rimless Starphire

[gucci17]

Hello everyone!

I hope you guys don't mind but I'm going paste my journal on this forum as well. I am finally losing my saltwater virginity. After my reintroduction into freshwater aquariums 5 to 6 years ago, I was bit with the salt water bug about a year ago. So, it's been about a year planning and studying to get to this point.

Without further ado, here is my dream....again, please forgive my direct copy and paste from my home forum GTAAQUARIA.

December 23, 2010

Well, the day has come and I can finally start a journal. Thanks for joining in!
It has been a long time coming with many many hours I have spent reading in the past year.
I think I am finally ready to cross over to the dark and salty side .
Please note that I am still learning as a salt water noobie so please be gentle!
I am very open to ideas and suggestions so feel free to offer your opinions.
Well that's the end of my prologue, grab yourself a drink and sit tight!

My original sketches:


Display Tank

• 48" x 28" x 20"
• 120 Gallons ALMOST Rimless (there's a brace in the back drilled for returns)
• 1/2" Starphire Glass
• Centre External Overflow

Stand

• [Originally, this stand was bolted together and partially welded using 1-1/2" steel tubing.
  I had it re-welded and powder coated white.
  I plan to wrap the stand with plywood using rare-earth magnets to hold it up.

Sump

• Dimensions: 36" x 16" x 15"
• Custom sump that is divided up into three seperate compartments.
• 50% is the Skimmer area, 25% is a fuge (I don't think I'm going to use a fuge) and the last 25% is for the return.

Controller aka 'The Brain'

• GHL ProfiLux Plus II EX w/ wlan (bought from a fellow canreefer )
• Will help me monitor temperature, salinity, ORP and PH.
• Control lighting, ATO, dosing, etc.

Water Movement

• Laguna Max-Flo 2000 will be the primary water source that feeds a manifold.
• (2) 1" Returns will be split into (2) 3/4" loc-line Y's for (4) separate 3/4" directional flow patterns.
• (2) VorTech MP40wES positioned on opposite ends for intank flow.

Lighting

• Undecided...Sfligoi XR6 or DIY LED?

Protein Skimmer

• Again, undecided...eagerly anticipating a Skimz SM161 or Bubbble Magus Hero.
  Both still unavailable at this point. May need something to tie me over until then.

Carbon Source

• I am going to experiment with Vertex Biopellets using a Deltec FR-509 Fluidized Reactor.
• I've got Vodka in mind if that doesn't work out...assuming I don't drink it all by then!

Dosing

• I just purchased a Bubble Magus BM-TO1 but now I'm thinking of buying a GHL Slave Doser instead.
  Anyone interested in a brand new in the box BM-TO1?!

Additives/Supplements

• BRS Two Part Kit
• Brightwell Aquatics MicroBacter7
• Brightwell Aquatics Lugol's Solution
• Tropic Marin Pro Reef Salt
• I may still use Carbon passively in the sump

RO/DI & ATO

• Vertex Puratech 3-Stage RO + separate DI Stage
• Tunze Osmolator 3155

Rock & Substrate

• Using a mix of Indo Live Rock & BRS 'Reef Saver' dead rock
• CaribSea Seaflor Special Grade reef sand and possibly mixing some sugarsized Aragonite.

This list will be updated as I go. Moving on now....

[gucci17]

I had originally planned to setup shop in this now empty storage room but because of the intense slope and uneveness of the floor it had to be moved out.



I really didn't want to move it out, not just the fact that I spent countless hours cleaning out all the personal belongings of my family and scrubbing the floors but because the furnace room was next door. It was the perfect spot to hook up my RO/DI and hide all my water storage tanks. Anyhow, I've now moved my operations to the main basement living area.

And this is were I am currently at...



My poor tank is all alone in the room because it's too wide to fit through the door because of the extra 7" the external overflow sticks out. I may try to use a piece of plywood and styrofoam to flip the tank on to and slide it out. Either that, or I can wait for someone to offer their muscles and help me move it!



Now back to the stand...with it being metal, I am going to have a hard time mounting any of my equipment, plumbing and wires. I think I will have to go with almost all hard plumbing and maybe zip tying my loose wires/cables onto the pvc pipe. That solves my plumbing and wiring problem some what but what about my powerbars and controller/doser? I suppose I could built some sort of makeshift stand underneath with wood for it to sit on but how to make it look good is the question? I am close to the point where I may just skin the stand with plywood and use rare-earth magnets to hold it up. That should hide it all...

Any suggestions?

[gucci17]

While I'm at it. Here's what Santa dropped off early for Christmas!
A couple boxes of goodies! Two from Bulk Reef Supply and one from Premium Aquatics.



I'm a little dissapointed with PA though. The box came poorly shipped with minimal fillers and one corner ripped right open. Keep in mind this box was worth over $1,500 USD. Atleast it looks like everything is there and nothing damaged. Just a few slightly squished boxes.




Not to mention getting ripped off for the exchange rate, insane shipping price using USPS instead of UPS hoping I don't get dinged on brokerage/taxes and then getting a bill for $150 from Canada Post! Nice!

Savings just went down the toilet.

Then we have Bulk Reef Supply and a small order of $300 USD, I get TWO boxes noticeably bigger plus more packaging peanut fillers than I need in a lifetime. Ok, I'm exaggerating but still, I had a hard time even finding the stuff I ordered.

I think I am going to send in a complaint. Even if I don't get any type of compensation, hopefully they will treat other orders better than they did mine. Makes me wish I just supported a Canadian retailer instead...

[gucci17]

Well, I thought I would keep up with my updates so here we go...

Some progress was made today!

My back will be sore tomorrow but it was worth it. I think I deserve to sleep in tomorrow.

A buddy came by today to give me a hand. We went by Home Depot first to pick up a few things and cut a new piece of plywood because the ones I had were warped due to being left outside.

Got back to my place and we drilled some 2x4's underneath my stand so I can use as mounting mounts.
This is how it turned out -


Once that was done, we used white duct tape to tape the edges of the foam and plywood to give it an all white look. Which turned out ok.

I had to level the stand which took us awhile...which has now become one of my top hated things that has to do with aquariums. With the stand finally level, we moved the tank out of the old room and performed a power clean to get the tank on the stand because the damn stand is so high. My bad back can't handle it anymore. Once this is up and running, I made a vow that I would get back to the gym lol.

Anyhow, I took a couple more pics to share the progress with you all. I picked up a ProfiLux Doser from ORG on Boxing Day which means I will have to put up my brand new in box Bubble Magus doser that I just ordered. Anyone interested?











So...plumbing tomorrow? We shall see....

[Skimmerking]

Looks good man , your off to a great start. the tank under your controller is that for a top off or are you splitting that up into 4 arts and using that as your baling tank.

[lastlight]

Looks great so far. Very nice tank was that built by Miracles?

With your return manifold like that you'll find that the vast majority of your flow will exit the far left and far right outlets. I suppose you're not going to want to compromise the clean look up top but perhaps you can incorporate valves into the design to tune each.

Looking forward to more. And my vote is for the XR6!

Edit: Oops looks like you cut out the previous owner's sch80 manifold and are only using the corners. Good call.

[gucci17]

Originally Posted by Skimmer King

Looks good man , your off to a great start. the tank under your controller is that for a top off or are you splitting that up into 4 arts and using that as your baling tank.

Thanks Skimmer King! The controller and doser were just there for looks. lol

That little tank is my ATO but I did consider splitting it up for dosing. Then I realized how much work it would be to keep it clean lol. I think I'll stick to some empty 4L plastic vinegar jugs until I can scrape up some cash to have a few acrylic containers made. There's no rush since I don't plan on dosing for some time.

Originally Posted by lastlight

Looks great so far. Very nice tank was that built by Miracles?

With your return manifold like that you'll find that the vast majority of your flow will exit the far left and far right outlets. I suppose you're not going to want to compromise the clean look up top but perhaps you can incorporate valves into the design to tune each.

Looking forward to more. And my vote is for the XR6!

Edit: Oops looks like you cut out the previous owner's sch80 manifold and are only using the corners. Good call.

Thanks lastlight! The original owner had the tank built by Aquarium Obsessed several years back before they went under.

I did hack off the return manifold ontop of the tank...I felt that it detracted from the 'clean' look I was aiming for. I do have the option of the returns either in both corners or the two other holes closer towards the centre. Still deciding on that one.

I decided to go with the XR6 for now and see how the coverage works out for this tank. I didn't have a stud finder and my buddy and I tried to wing it but no luck. Just a bunch of holes in the ceiling now . I may just gamble and pray my drywall holds up with these -


These anchors are supposed to be able to hold in excess of 100+lbs. Now the tedious task of positioning the fixture perfectly . Any tips?

[gucci17]

A quick update before I hit the sack....

Thanks to Michael from Aqua Digital, I have in my possession one of the very few first models of the Skimz KONE E-Series in Canada!

Skimz KONE SK181 Protein Skimmer


I don't know if it comes pre-assembled like that because I think Tom from ORG actually put it together before I got there.
I have to say, it looks SWEET and I can't wait to fire this baby up.
I'll post a few more pictures so you guys get a better idea of it's actual size.



I will be following up with a more formal review once I have it up and running.

[mseepman]

Very cool skimmer. I'm looking forward to seeing more on this build. AO always seemed to make very nice looking tanks.

[lastlight]

Those anchor bolts always scare me. They hold x number of pounds but raising and lowering a light how many times...when you bring it down you're putting more than the light's weight on the ceiling each time I'd imagine. Those make me nervous and you've got a lot of money floating over an open top tank. I'd invest in that stud finder, install a wood strip and mount to it!