150 Gallons of SLOW Parrot-dise

wazzifam

wazzifam

Member
Hi all, Im gonna start this tank the right way take what Ive already learaned and go Nice and Slow...
In fact she (the tank) isnt even in the house yet. I have a 150 gallon with a nice stand and canopy. We (Jon and I) brought the canopy only into the house (as both peices are sitting in the carport waiting to finish being refinished) to get a brain visual of the size of the beast. Marking wall height of future placement with push pins...I know pathetic, and back out she went. Wow its gonna have to sit in a strange place to get the most optimal viewing pleasure. I want to see 3 sides. The back of the tank is already painted blue unfortunatley. I would rather have nothing at all on the back, Jon said we could take it off but im wondering what a pita that would really be...scratches etc. But I really can't wait. We have refinished the canopy once already, the whole project got set aside, huricane season came and went and here we are again. Talking about bringing her in for good this time! LOL

This is a corner overflow tank. 150 gal. It is predrilled. We got the new overflow pipes in.
We are still in a decision process with alot of this. Nothing else has been ordered. We have argued amungst ourselves what to do about the filtration. I say make one out of the 35 gallon empty tank we have (otherwise it runs the risk of becoming a future tank, Im just trying to be fair and warn Jon in advance) and he wants to purchase one. He's looking at the mega flow wet/dry sump filter model 4. What do you think?????

Then I come to the next question. How do I determine the pump we will need. GPH Any suggestions....

Skimmers?!?!?!??! I know what one not to get. ROTFLMAO at my own expense...

Uv Sterilizers...

Lights... OH Boy... not pc's! LOL

Im sure this will end up being a mixed reef... I'll be putting alot of what I have in my 55 gallon into this. Son wants to turn that into a preditor tank. uh huh till he realizes how much he will have to do then it will be mine agian....

Come on people let me have it...I want DIY, Jon isnt into all that even though we are both FULLY CAPABLE!! Holly cow man

And yes I do have a tank up and going but it is a different beast. alot smaller and different equip.

OK now for some pics. Im excited but know its gonna be a slow thought out build... I hope.... Just gotta have patience and lots of Liquor J/K (since we quit smoking and this tank is the ultimate reward) ... I hope the 55 can handle the rath of waiting it out with me!! LOL
Our old cig. $ fund became my new tank $ fund. and at 3 packs a day... thats some tank change!! LOL wohoooo ahh Sacrafice....

ok here she is standing ready. LOL
with shorty (35gal) by her side and shorty would fit under cabinet...
emptybottomview.jpg


heres the cabinet
standbottom.jpg


Heres the open canopy in the house being sized up! LOL
opencanapyonfloor.jpg


closed canopy. Wow is that heavy. may need a handle or something on the front for us weaklings...
closedcanapyonfloor.jpg
 
Reddog170

Reddog170

Active Member
Nice. Only one problem, how well does it hold water like that? LOL Have you started thinking about what you are going to put in it? Seen a really cool black tang about a week ago. I will follow along and watch. Shaun
 
wazzifam

wazzifam

Member
Ok... No more excuses.
Feeling like a giddy new grandma... Im going to buy another gallon of black paint tomorrow, touch up the canopy minor scratches from sitting around outside, Seal it and start the wood work on the cabinet. Has some minor gouges then sand and paint.


Now.. first order of buisness....

Megaflow sump

or

Refugium?!?!??!?!

Im thinking I dont know what Im thinking.....:cry1:

This looks like decent deal... I could eat hotdogs for a week.
150 Gallon Aquarium Sump Refugium wet dry filter bioNEW - eBay (item 180318434361 end time Jan-11-09 12:56:29 PST)
 
Reddog170

Reddog170

Active Member
I am not sure about the return pump, I have a 55 and my return pump is rated at 800 gph and my overflow still almost outruns it. Other than that it looks ok. Shaun
 
faust

faust

Member
wazzi, your my hero lol
i have resolved myself to quit after i recover from this surgery. yes it woulf be better to do it now but i would lose my mind
 
wazzifam

wazzifam

Member
faust said:
wazzi, your my hero lol
i have resolved myself to quit after i recover from this surgery. yes it woulf be better to do it now but i would lose my mind
Click to expand...


You are so kind. I didnt say I quit coffee.....First recover, then...quit... you will need a strong body! Hope your road to recovery is a very fast one...
Heal well my friend...

3 weeks Nicotein free.... Wheeeee......
 
Jeremy0322

Jeremy0322

Active Member
If your doing a reef tank then i am SCREAMING Refugium! They are really one of the best ways to go for the long run, and the bigger you can go the better. Also, dont buy one, in my opinion the store bought fuge/sump combos are a waste of money. It is much easier to build your own, which would be about as good as any purchased one, for about 1/10th of the price.

You should also look into an Algae Tuft Scrubber, there is a thread somewhere on here and people are raving about them. Im considering setting one up but im not sure about that just yet.
 
wazzifam

wazzifam

Member
Jeremy0322 said:
If your doing a reef tank then i am SCREAMING Refugium! They are really one of the best ways to go for the long run, and the bigger you can go the better. Also, dont buy one, in my opinion the store bought fuge/sump combos are a waste of money. It is much easier to build your own, which would be about as good as any purchased one, for about 1/10th of the price.

You should also look into an Algae Tuft Scrubber, there is a thread somewhere on here and people are raving about them. Im considering setting one up but im not sure about that just yet.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your input Jeremy... I like the refuge thing too but hubby is worried its a whole nother tank to look after. Im trying to tell Jon to DIY...but...

and re the turf scrubber... have you been checkin up on my 55 gallon? lol Its having terrible algea issues... Its def. somthing that I will want to be covered on this larger tank. I do not want a 150 gallon pink reef...
thanks for your input. I'll be checking into all of this and trying to make the best poss. decision. I do like the fuge though...
 
yungreefer2410

yungreefer2410

Well-Known Member
fuges are very easy just have a slow amount of water going into them and a ph pumping it back out. just have a dsb and some cheato with a very cheap light fixture and your good to go
 
Jeremy0322

Jeremy0322

Active Member
Yea, tell him its not like looking after another tank, but more like making the one tank easier to keep if that makes any sense. For a fuge only you really dont need alot of flow. I have a sump/fuge combo and i run about 600gph through the sump because thats what the overflow can handle, but the fuge only gets about 200-250gph, which is provided by an oversized return pump that is t'd off to send some water back into the fuge.

DSCN0956.jpg


The picture should explain everything a little better.
 
JoJo

JoJo

Active Member
Hey Kim and Jon, lets see if i can help a little.

First, to determine the gph of your overflow you need to know what size bulkheads will fit the holes that are drilled. from there you can figure it out by looking at the flow chart (post #148).

Secondly, convince Jon that any money you can save by using things you already have is more money that that can be used to buy actual tank inhabitants. i would use the 35g as a sump for the heater, skimmer and return pump but i would also buy a rubber maid tub (that would fit in the left over space in the stand), have it sit several inches over the sump to drain into the sump. this will allow you to have a fuge as well, no extra pumps needed just T off the main drain.

As far as the skimmer, i like the Turboflotor. its economical and very effective plus versatile.

I believe T-5s would work great for you with a mixed reef. i've read they are strong enough to support just about everything MH do and you're in FL also so you'd reap the benefit of the low heat exchange. i'm building a T-5/PC retrofit but i wont be doing any sps.

here are a few spots to check out for cheap lighting.

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/greatlights4less!_W0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZQQ_mdoZ"]great lights for less[/URL]

[url=http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/mango277_W0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZQQ_mdoZ]eBay Seller: mango277: Home Garden items on eBay.com4 your aquarium[/URL]

Jon should know the fuge isnt going to make things more complicated, its going to make things way easier and i cant stress how much your tank will benefit from it. also the turf scrubber would be a win-win situation, after researching for a month or so and seeing results from my buddy's tank, i built one myself.

i hope some of this helps
 
wazzifam

wazzifam

Member
Wow JoJo thanks for the info. I am interested in the turf scrubber you built for sure. would like to check it out.

I appreciate all the links and advice. As you can see, this is the point we are at. I finally got all the sanding and filling of the wood done, and am considering adding a tile border to the top and bottom of the stand. I cant see how to make it work on the canapy.

100_5842.jpg


100_5843.jpg


100_5845.jpg


Painting to commence this weekend!!
 
wazzifam

wazzifam

Member
Ok Folks.... Tonight we start to paint!! Right oN! I can not wait.

I spoke to Jon about DIY sump. He isnt convinced about the refugium right now. another tank, more plants, another light etc. So how hard is that gonna be to upgrade later? I think He got scared when he realized that I was not joking about a 35 gallon frag tank. So he has decided to think about utilizing it before I get my paws on it!!

The back of this tank is already painted Blue.(UGHH) We are considering scraping it, but since its gonna be against a wall I may leave it.

We found a great DIY for a sump on YouTube by limpitsreef it was a 2 parter, what do you think of these?
YouTube - Reef Tank D.I.Y. Sump part 1
YouTube - Reef Tank D.I.Y. Sump part 2

now, What else is going to be required to run a cost effective efficeint reef? What else should we be considering here?

Im gonna have to custom a frag stand for this tank. Otherwise, since im so much smaller than this tank, hubby will be talking to the bottoms of my feet as my body will be upside down in the tank.... LOL

Have you ever seen a tank with a ladder on the inside for us smaller people to get outta there after cleanings!! LOL
 
wazzifam

wazzifam

Member
WoooHoooo Shes 1/2 way in. Canapy and stand are in place, tank is being cleaned out.

Now the questions begin! LOL

1.What is the best way to clean out this tank. It is a previously owned system.

2.There was also a small bucket of sand that came with this.
Is it ok to reuse the sand that is removed from systems?

3. Is there a process in which to clean sand? Its early and were gonna get going, so anyone with input feel free to chime in here!

150InHouse.jpg
 
JoJo

JoJo

Active Member
try vinegar and water first and lightly scrub with a cloth the entire inside of the tank with. i did that and was left over was scrubbed with a soft type of pan scrubber and that should do it.

i wouldnt use that sand, it could possibly cause problems in the future even after cleaning it well. you wouldnt want to invest alot of money and time in your tank for it only to crash due to questionable sand. i hope this helps
 
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