The 120 is in Place!

[Mckitrick]

Well folks, the 120 is in place and full of water (tap water) to check for leaks. I'm going to leave it overnight and then empty it and re-level. I just need to shave a little more off of my acrylic shim. Argh. I thought it was level enough but "level enough" isn't going to cut it.

Here she is in place, being filled...

[Mckitrick]

Here she is half full.. To quote Dory "some would say it's half empty"..

[Mckitrick]

As I got past the halfway point, I noticed the acrylic overflow I made was starting to bow so I cut a piece of acrylic and wedged it in to help stop with the bowing.. I'd glue it in but I don't think it's going to be necessary. I suspect it will not interfere with my standpipes either.

The tank has two holes. Originally I was going to use one as a return and the other as the drain/standpipe. I think that with the PCX100 I picked up off of AJ, one 1.5" standpipe isn't going to keep up so I'm going to use two standpipes to drain and I'm going to run the return above the tank and strap it to the wall. The tank is pretty much right up against the wall so I wouldn't be able to run the returns up behind the tank. Everything is going to be piped out the side and into the next room where the pump, sump, etc. will be.

If you look closely to the first image you will see that I have a dryer hose there to suck hot air out and into the next room as well.

[Mckitrick]

Here's the front view of the overflow support.

[Mckitrick]

Here she is completely filled. Note the gab on the right side. It's not level "enough" ARGH!!

[Sohal Tang]

That is a gorgeous size tank Paul!
GET THE ROCK IN GET THE ROCK IN hehehehehe
Super!
Tim

[Mugster]

That'll look nice once it's setup. Have fun. :)


Kev :cheers:

[Mckitrick]

Next step is the sump! Hmmm. Or is it the plumbing? I guess they're one in the same really..
I'll let the tap water sit in there for a while anyway...
Then it's Southdown, Bomix and RO water... :D

[Red-Sea]

Hi Paul, looking great keep us updated with the progress...

What size is the acrylic you used on the overflow box that it's started to bow, I made mine out of 1/4" acrylic and didn't notice any bowing at all...

[Aaron]

Paul those tile look a little crooked.
Aaron

[Mckitrick]

Red-Sea - It's 3/16" Acrylic. I used the "tough stuff" available at home depot. It's supposed to be stronger than regular acrylic but watter pressure is water pressure. I'm not worried about it cracking though. I'm sure it will hold up.. The bowing was a little concerning but with the support there now it holds up fine.

Aaron - How's that new computer? :devilin:

:D

[Mckitrick]

Here's the Sump for this tank:
http://www.aquariumpros.ca/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=29124#post29124


Here's a Picture of where it's going:

[Mckitrick]

Where I'm putting the Sump, Pump, Skimmer, Ballasts, etc.

[novaboy]

Should be interesting....However is that a garage in the picture?

Good luck keeping temps ok in the winter months

Brian

[Mckitrick]

A garage? No. It's an unfinished basement.

[kentracey]

Keep us posted Paul. It'll be nice to see the tank as it progresses. I really don't think you'll have room for the sump.... better send it over to my place.

[Mckitrick]

Thanks Will. I finished the plumbing yesterday and had to silicone two minor leaks. I'll take some pics and post them tonight...

[Concept]

getting better by the day Paul

Tidy too

Paul

[Mckitrick]

Hmmm. Silicone didn't seem to do the trick. I think I need something with a more putty-like consistency. Anyone? Is MarineGoop any good? I just want to cake a wack of stuff on there and go with that. If that doesn't work I'll need to cut the drain, retighten the bulkheads and start over.

Here's a pic of the overall setup from beside the tank.

[Mckitrick]

Pump..

[Mckitrick]

Drain Plumbing (Left one leaks ever so slightly).

[Mckitrick]

Return - Left..

[Mckitrick]

Return - Right

[Mckitrick]

Cooling Fans - Front.

[Mckitrick]

Sump - Running the pump

[Mckitrick]

Sump - NOT Running.

This is how full it gets when the water flows back from the tank...
I'm going to double up the acrylic on the right side of the sump because I see some fractures (not leaking) but I want to be safe...

[Mckitrick]

Siphon Break...
I drilled a wee hole in one of the loc-lines just below the waterline.

[Mckitrick]

Overall Tank pic with return plumbing..

[Michael_Lambert]

Comming along VERY VERY nicely !

[Mckitrick]

Thanks TooLoud...

I ran the lighting today...

[Mckitrick]

The hole through the wall..

[Mckitrick]

The Ballast and timer/wiring..


Now I've got to drain it. Plug the leaks with some plumbers goo stuff I got today and then fill it with RO, Sand, Rocks, yadda yadda yadda.

Those are two 250W Ushio 10K's and Two 48" VHO running on a single Fulham ballast so I guess they're only running HO (If you believe the hype, Yo).
48" Super Actinic and 48" Actinic White

[Michael_Lambert]

Well i sure am Jealous..

Just wondering why you have a bucket under the tank? no leak i hope?

[Mckitrick]

Very minor leak on the left drain pipe. I could leave it (the water that collects in that bucket would evaporate before ever pooling) and actually have a petri dish under there since that would be enough but I'm going to drain the tank and put some plumbers goo on there to stop the leak completely. Again... Very minor leak.

I've got to drain the tank anyway to fill it with RO/DI water so it's no biggie.

[Red-Sea]

Paul very nice setup & sure it's coming along nicely, can't wait till it's up & full of livestock.

The good thing is about having the overflow box that you only drain what's in there to get the leak fix, imagine if it was a straight pipe without the box you would had to drain the whole tank to seal that leak... :cheers2:

[Concept]

getting better by the day...noticed some square holes in the wall.

is that your "fan club"

Paul

[Mckitrick]

You're right! Good point Dany.. That would SUCK! I mean, I'm draining the tank anyway because it's just got tap water in there but having to drain a whole tank full of RO to fix a minor leak wout be a pricey proposition..

Paul - I've got a BOX of 24V Fans... What I do Is I set them up all around my chair and then I sit in the chair so I can be surrounded by my fans...

[dangor]

Dude
It's been a long time coming, considering we picked up our tanks the same weekend
Dan

[Hark]

Oh sheet....i went to toronto the other day and totally forgot to get you those WH7's to replace the two you gave me.

I will order them tomorrow and have them shipped to work.....god dare it, my mind is going i swear.

PS...stop by to pick up that weld on anytime dude...

[Mineral]

Very nice Setup Paul_BB_Guy

cant wait to see it with sand and rock....
kinda similar to what ive got =)


:rockon: :rockon: :rockon: :rockon:

[McGillicudy]

Hi there.

I am just getting my 120 off the ground - and will likely be asking a lot of questions... but I saw s/t in this thread that prompted my first one.

I had NAFB in Scarborough drill a single hole with a top/bottom overflow in the corner of the tank (2.5").

Why am I posting this on this thread......

Because the overflow box is too small to fit a 1.5" durso type standpipe (the t/elbow won't fit in the box). I don't want to reduce it to less than 1.5" because I want to keep the flow high to my (40g) sump/fuge). I have an OR6500 return pump. I noticed in your tank two standpipes, but they did not appear to be Durso. They had some type of intake at the top I think. My primary concern is noise! I can't have the thing sounding like a toilet.

Can you please let me know what kind of standpipes those are in your tank and provide any other advice you like.

Cheers,
MK

[Red-Sea]

McGillicudy, the pipe that Paul is using called stockman pipe, you can read about it here & also have parts list & photo's.

http://www.rl180reef.com/pages/standpipe/standpipe-ken_stockman.htm

[Mckitrick]

Yep. That's the one. Bear in mind I modified the stockman to use a 1" square hole in the side of the pipe instead of several round holes drilled through the pipe. It has a much lower chance of getting clogged this way.

The Skimmer is built and plumbed into the place. The tank has about 120lbs of Southdown in there and the system is half full of RO water! :) I'm waiting for my RO unit to fill up my storage bins (I drained the Freshwater and Saltwater RO containers).
Pics soon!

[McGillicudy]

Thanks for the stockman standpipe info guys. Paul - I will be watching you get setup with some interest. Thanks a lot for the play by play so far!

Michael

[Mckitrick]

Ok! I've got sand and about 150Gallons of RO/DI water in there (I shudder to think how much wastewater just went down the drain over the past few days).
The Salinity is up around 1.23.
Temp is around 78.
About 120lbs of Southdown
Nothing in the Refugium yet.
A couple of pieces of Rock from my other tanks.
I'll be seeding the sand most likely tonight..

More Pics!!

[Mckitrick]

Pic..

[Mckitrick]

Sump and Skimmer

[Mckitrick]

I put a piece of eggcrate along the trailing edge of the sump because it was pouring over so fast it ended up going right past the last set of baffles.

[Mckitrick]

Another view of the Eggcrate and Ebo Jager Heater

[Mckitrick]

Skimmer.

[Mckitrick]

Skimmer Injector

[Mckitrick]

Skimmer Riser Closeup.
I used a measuring cup to collect the crap although there probably won't be any for a few days. Rather than a proper collection tube, I just put this because it wedges in nicely and it was nearby. :)

[Mckitrick]

The Pump.
Note the overflow I put in the side of the sump. If for whatever reason it overflows it will go into that empty Kent bucket via the clear hose.

[Mckitrick]

Closeup of the pump.
I went out and bought some rubber feet today because the pump was starting to make some vibration noise. I also Tiewrapped the little junction box on the side of the pump because it was rattling a bit too. Mind you, I can probably take the tiewraps off now that I've got the rubber feet but...

[Mckitrick]

Skimmer side view closeup.

[Mckitrick]

Here's a shot of the inside of the canopy.
I thought this looked like a pretty cool shot.

And this, my friends, marks my 1,000th post!

[jastonataquapro]

very nice setup Paul. Congrats on 1000th. Just a note of caution, some CCD's (the digital camera photo taker part) burn under intense lighting like what a MH might put out. If it's too much for your eyes, it may be too much for your camera.

but, very nice.

[Chrismo]

Ya Paul, that is a really nice set up!

I want to buy a house just so I can have a cool fishroom too... Doesnt make sense to set it up while renting for some reason.

[Mckitrick]

Jastonataquapro - Thanks for the warning dude. I didn't know CCDs could burn from intense lighting. No more pictures of the sun for me.. ;)

Thanks for the compliments. I'm slowly pulling rocks out of my existing tanks and moving them into the 120. I think I need Mitchell to come over though...

[Mitchell]

yeah sure anytime

:whipit:

[Gujustud]

Originally posted by Paul_BB_Guy
The Pump.
Note the overflow I put in the side of the sump. If for whatever reason it overflows it will go into that empty Kent bucket via the clear hose.

Very very cool idea. I may have to incorporate something like that.

[Mckitrick]

I took Mitch/ORG's suggestion of Jutting out a couple of rocks. Excellent idea!

[Mckitrick]

Apologies for the cloudiness. I just did the rock movements a few hours ago. It should be clear by tomorrow.

[Mckitrick]

Cave Closeup (The cave is on the right side).

[Mitchell]

Paul

looks awesome

Oh and good to see you and Dan today

[Mckitrick]

Thanks Mitch!
Always a pleasure running into you dude. It was nice to meet Phil as well. I hope he understood that my "Dee, you let French guys in here?" comment was, of course, in jest. :)

[trigger]

You have planned your set-up well & it looks great !

Trigger

[kentracey]

WOW Paul, nice aquascaping!! That branch looks great in there. Nice job as always bud. Keep the pics coming.

[Sohal Tang]

Congrats Paul, looks wonderful! Excellent set up...super
live rock and placed in a very cool fashion...cant wait to see
it with the water clear....Post some more pics when ya can
of the progress will ya!
Thanks!,
Very nice!

Tim
:rockon:

[Mckitrick]

Full Shot of Tank

[Mckitrick]

Don't mind the Mysis floating around...

[Mckitrick]

Right Side..

[Mckitrick]

Branching Hammer (From Aaron/Seanic)

[Mckitrick]

CandyCane (also from Aaron/Seanic)

[Mckitrick]

Galaxy (From Mitch)
This is an aggressive sucker!

[Mckitrick]

Green Star Polyps (From Daniel Schubert)

[Mckitrick]

Kenya Tree (From Daniel Schubert)

[Mckitrick]

Plate Coral (From Canadian Reef)

[Mckitrick]

Scroll Coral (From Norm)
This was in better shape when I got it from Norm but it wasn't doing so well under PC, no matter how close to the light it was. Now, under MH, it's bouncing back nicely!

[Mckitrick]

Sun Polyps (From Dee)

Not the greatest shot but when the lights go out, this thing BEAUTIFUL! It's actually on a clam believe it or not. If you get close to it (like when I'm feeding it), the two sides SNAP together. It's really something to see..

[Mckitrick]

Toadstool Frag I got from Daniel Schubert.
Again, it was doing "OK" under Power Compact but now under MH, the tentacles are coming out nicely. Can't wait to see this puppy grow.

[Mckitrick]

Ok, last pic for now! Thanks for all the positive feedback folks! It's very much appreciated.

Here's everyone's fave.. Zoanthids (From Canadian Reef). When I got this frag it had about 12 or so heads. Now I'm hoping it will spread onto the rock beside it... Not sure if I need to coax it but cutting and glueing a few heads but I'm going to let it spread itself for now...

[Asmodeus]

love the tank .
you should put a cover on the top of the tnak to hide the lighting

Mike

[Mckitrick]

Yeah, I've got my uncle making me a nice cabinet type thing so it will look like it's integrated into a wall unit. Hopefully it turns out well.

[Mckitrick]

Hi Gang,

I thought I'd update the thread. The tank has been up for 2-3 months now (bear in mind using established water, rocks, sand, etc.).

[Mckitrick]

I've replaced the DIY Beckett with an ETSS DIY project (I'll post details in another thread), and I've got a Tunze Osmolator. Next step is to mount a Litermeter on that same board you see at the top right and I'll use it to dose Kent A/B.

Note the Kalk Reactor is not yet in place...

[Mckitrick]

Rose Anemone:

[Mckitrick]

Candy Cane now..

[Mckitrick]

Green Candy Cane Frag (From Janine).

[Mike]

Coming along nicely! Looks awesome - thanks for sharing the pics!

[Sohal Tang]

Hey Paul! Coming along very nice,
Congrats
Tim

:rockon:

[Mckitrick]

Haven't posted to this thread in a bit so I though I'd add some more pix.

I've recently added a calcium reactor.

[Mckitrick]

Here's a closer shot of the reactor.
Note how I've Tie Wrapped the CO2 Cannister to the table leg to avoid tipping and ... well.. you know..

[Mckitrick]

Here's the cabinet my uncle made for me. It's really more of a facade but it does a good job of making it all look like a "unit".

I turned on the VHO's just for this shot. I'm sure I pissed off my inhabitants but it was only for a minute. :)

[Mckitrick]

Hmmm. That last pic came out a little crooked. It's late. Bear with me. LOL!

Here's the cabinet with the doors open (so you can relate it to the earlier pics).

[Aquadude]

Looks great Paul!

Did you get that reactor from Darylm by any chance?

[Mckitrick]

Yep!

[kentracey]

That looks awesome Paul. I have a feeling your uncle would stay busy with side jobs if he wanted them. Is he a cabinet maker by trade or just gifted?

[Aquadude]

You beat me to the punch Paul. I had cash in hand ready for it but between sending messages back and forth, Daryl went to the MASK meeting and I was unable to get in touch with him.
You lucky dawg! How's it working for you?

[Mckitrick]

Kentracey - Well, my uncle doesn't REALLY do the work. He owns a high end kitchen design/manufacturing company. He's loathe to do anything but kitchens because his staff is all geared for cabinetry. I'm family though so he puts up with my one-off requests.

Aquadude - Reactor is working pretty good so far. Oddly enough my PH has gone UP instead of down since installing it.

[Cellenzweig]

Looking great Paul! Keep the pics coming!

That candycane is awsome!

[Red-Sea]

Very nice Paul, everything is looking spectacular including the cabinet...;)

[Mike]

Very nice! Very professional looking!

[Mugster]

One word bud.....SWEET!!!

Lookin' good!!


Kev

[TJ_Burton]

LOVE the look with the Cabinetry done!!! Your tank is going to be amazing in 5 years when its totally overgrown with killer corals! Defenently a great start man!

Im so inspired to get my 200g going now its not even funny lol! I at this point am still leveling out the tank and re-inforcing the stand... I WANT IT FULL OF WATER! lol

Mitch you should drop by my place and take some shots like u did last time :) lol before the 65 gets torn down!

[Mckitrick]

Thanks so much for the kind words guys. I really like the idea of keeping this thread here on AP. I have sort of a centralized spot where I can log what's going on with the tank. Now that I've got the calcium reactor going, I'm just getting into SPS so I'll probably start hunting for nice frags soon. Dayne! Here I come buddy!

[Sohal Tang]

Awesome pics...awesome tank...for an awesome guy!
Congrats Paul!

Tim
:rockon:

[Mckitrick]

Well It's been some time since I updated this thread so I figured it was time..

September 2004 - I picked up an MTC Calcium Reactor
October 2004 - Some shots of the tank

[Mckitrick]

February 2005 - I've changed the backend quite a bit and some shots of the Oceans Motions 4-Way - Yay!

[Mckitrick]

February 2005 - The much anticipated Precision Marine Bullet XL1 arrives as well as the Reeflo Barracuda pump.

[Mckitrick]

March 2005 - Venmar Unit installed
April 2005 - Frag Tank installed

[Mckitrick]

Lighting is installed and fragtank plumbed in

[Mckitrick]

Won't someone give these poor orphaned fish a home? There must be a better place than my Frag tank! :king:

[fishboy]

Unbelievable, I don't think I have that much plumbing in my whole house. Hey, don't you sleep?

[Aquadude]

Looks even better in person! I would KILL for a fragtank/fishroom like that.

[Sirpentor]

Paul
That Is Very Meticulous Planing
She Looks Lovely....
U Should Make The Lovely Trip To Hamilton To Give Me Some Tips

[r3m1x]

the frag tank is one nice tank itself! is it customade?

[geoman]

Great use of space! Looks very nice!

Chris

[cpenner]

That's an awesome set up....

[Mckitrick]

Thanks for all of your nice compliments.

Fishboy - Yeah I sleep, just not much.
Sirpentor - While I can sometimes be found in Burlington, I don't make it out to Hamilton that often. As a matter of fact the last time I was down there was for Luigi's Meeting. :)
r3m1x - Yes, I made the acrylic frag tank and integrated a "coast to coast" overflow in it.
There are still a few things left to do such as Ozone and getting my Refugium hooked back in (The 120 Sump only has live rock in it for filtration supplementation).

[shepoutside]

This is a very wicked set up, and yes, It looks even better in person. Just a warning, I had my wife with me, and now she wants the HUGE set up too ( I guess that could be a good thing ) Thanks for sharing Paul, as it helps us newbies out so much :bravo: .... Kevin

[muligan]

wow man that is an amazing set up

[muligan]

hey man congrats on your win at ocean motion

[Mckitrick]

Thanks Mate! I'll probably plumb it into the frag tank. I never win anything! This is great!

[Hark]

Paul that is the ugliest, most useless fish room i have ever seen. I think you should get out of the hobby this weekend and bring all that CRAP over to my house for safe storage....


;-)

[IlikeTVO]

How is the LiterMeter working out?

Are you using it for top offs, and water changes as well as dosing?