Goldy26's 150 gallon upgrade tank build!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[goldy26]

hey everyone! wanted to document this tank build as it's my first one (not first tank, but first new tank that i will be putting together from start to finish)! a little bit about the current set up first: 60 gallon SPS dominant acrylic tank (bought used), 2 gen 2 radions, 2 MP10's, bubblemag curve 7 skimmer, hang-on refugium, and it's heavily stocked (too much if i'm being 100% honest, oops). so i've had this tank for a little over 2 years and has been my "learning tank" if you will. found things that have worked wonderfully and some things that haven't. either way, i'm totally addicted and am moving this april so i figured this would be a good time to upgrade! i decided on a glass 150 gallon rectangle (48x30x24) sitting on a 40" stand with a nice canopy that has 2 doors to open or folds back for maintenance. i love the "depth" look in tanks and only have 52" of space for the tang in my home. also, a 36x14x16 refugium style sump. the tank has been ordered and should, hopefully, be ready in 2 weeks (i ordered it last week). i'm going to get 100 pounds of cured live rock to aquascape and am also adding 2 3' T5's. i've got a GFO/carbon reactor as well that has been ordered for the new tank, as i've read a lot of good reviews and think my tank will benefit from it greatly. i'll post pictures of everything as it starts to come in. i love seeing all the member builds coming together from a mess of boxes and empty cages to the beautiful reefs we all love so much! in the mean time, here's a question for everyone that i've been struggling with. i'm concerned about the flow within the DT. i've heard equal amounts of people saying that my 2 MP10's will be enough flow because my tank is only 4', but also others saying that an 1 MP40 and 1 MP10 would be better for the size (in gallons). any thoughts, theories, comments, or questions are appreciated! thanks everyone!

 

[goldy26]

quick update,

the tank is finally coming in this week (thursday to be specific)! pictures this weekend as it goes up. in the mean time i've been coming up with a fish list for this new bad boy. as far as tangs are concerned, how does everyone feel about a blonde naso? i know they get pretty big and need a lot of swimming room (especially in length) but i'm going to have 2 MP10's and an MP40 on this thing creating a lot of flow. part of me things this might work and the other feels like i should put the blondie on my wish list for another time. thinking about having a total of 3 tangs in the tank so i try to take that into account too. what does everyone think??? any input is welcome!


pictures to come this weekend!

 

[goldy26]

Thought I would post some pictures of some stuff I've been getting ready before the tank gets here tomorrow. Got 160 pounds of live sand, 100 pounds of live rock (adding another ~30 from my current tank later), and started making RO/DI to mix up using IO Reef Crystals. Also have my sump here, ready to go!

 

[goldy26]

If anyone knows how to make the pictures right side up, that would be appreciated. Haha

 

[goldy26]

Finally got the tank up and cycling. Ran into some minor problems in the sumo and wasn't able to finish the plumping so we just made a temporary drain. Also the canopy wasn't delivered so that is missing. Here's some pics from the instal.

 

[goldy26]

Here's a few more...

 

[goldy26]

Some more pics, added on the canopy with lights and FINALLY finished the plumbing.

The lights are 2, 36" ATI Aqua Blue Plus bulbs retrofit to save some space since I'll be adding 2 G2 Radions in a month.

 

[revhtree]

Nice hom and the tank is looking great too!

 

[goldy26]

Nice hom and the tank is looking great too!

thank you!

 

[goldy26]

quick chemistry update. finally got everything leveled out. Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia, and Phosphates are at 0 and pH is at 8.0. Ca is at 380, Mg is at 1000, and Alk is at 5.5 (used the RedSea testing kits). I expected the big 3 to be low, so I added some of each (using RedSea products again). in 2 weeks i'm going to get and add my refugium algae other organisms. question for all! having some issues with noise coming from the drain to the sump. sounds like water is rushing, very loudly, once every 30 seconds. i've heard some combined input that i should add a durso drain (right now it's just the bio balls) and that water can't flow properly because of the 90 degree turns in the drain. thoughts????

 

[Cleverbs]

Add more t5s! make yourself your own Hybrid fixture. I would run 4x t5s and your radions. Run 2 blue+ 2 Coral+ and 2 Radions and you will have nice killer color/par

 

[goldy26]

Add more t5s! make yourself your own Hybrid fixture. I would run 4x t5s and your radions. Run 2 blue+ 2 Coral+ and 2 Radions and you will have nice killer color/par

Thank you, I'll have to look into that!

 

[goldy26]

So tomorrow is the day that I'm adding my current tank to the new 150. Thought I'd put up some FTS of the 60 and some of the CC I got for the new tank. Enjoy! More pics to come after tomorrow!

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

Good luck with the move!

 

[goldy26]

So, a little late BUT the move went well. Everything is in the tank and settled plus I've already seen a lot of new growth! I did have a few fish loses which was a bummer. Waiting to use my buddies camera to take some really nice photos but I snapped a few with my phone. Enjoy!

 

[goldy26]

These are the last two for now! Question, comments, advice is welcome!

 

[rboutin111]

Take looks great. I see you went with the MP40. I used to use two MP10 on my tank then switched to the Gyre 130. Someday you should try one Gyre150 on your tank. It will replace both MP40 and give you better flow. The dimensions of your tank are ideal for it.

 

[goldy26]

Been a long time, but I had a major Ich outbreak . Killed 8 fish. That is finally under control and the tank has been symptom free for a month and a half. Anyways, I thought I would put up some iPhone shots of the tank. Still need to get an actual camera to take better pics. Enjoy these in the mean time!

Morning rays.

FTS

Zola garden in the making.

Right side of the tank.

Not sure on the name, but some really cool acans I got.

Green Apple cap.

 

[danangelo]

Cool great start

 

[goldy26]

just wanted to put up some pictures i took today with my phone. sorry, they aren't the best quality but hope you enjoy!

this guy is actually pink, yellow, and blue.

had to post up the Miami Hurricanes after that 8 lateral walk off kick return last weekend!

got this at RAP in OC, shape shifter chalice.

this is about 18 weeks after my last FTS. pretty content with my progress, considering i was battling bryopsis for a chunk of that time. here's to the next 18 weeks!