312 Gallon new build direct from the factory

[wmatt140]

Alright, here we go....

When we moved into this house three years ago it was a hectic move. National transformer shortage delayed the house by about 5 months. In the meantime, our old house sold and I had to move my old 180 to work. That tank was of an unknown age and I wasn't comfortable moving it again into a new house. I would up going with a Neptunian Cube M180. Nice tank, but the actual volume is about 140 gallons and it was too crowded for my liking. Pic included.

I wanted an 8 ft tank, ~30 inches deep and ~25 inches tall. After months of back and forth, I settled on these drawings. If you think they are close to a certain brand, you would be correct. Some things could not be exactly replicated due to contractual agreements, but I'm happy with the results.

More to come.

 

[wmatt140]

The ordering process is more cumbersome due to the time and language difference with China. Overall, I was happy with the ordering and payment process. Now, the part where I was less happy.

My contract was door to door delivery. When the tank arrived in the US, the shipping company said due to the size, there would be an extra charge of $1.1k to deliver. I argued with the seller and shipper for a few weeks and the shipper knows they have you over a barrel. The seller agreed to reimburse me some part of the payment.

In the end, I said I'd pay if I could use PayPal, very important later! They agreed if I paid the PayPal fees.
Scheduled the delivery and this is how they showed up

One guy with a small lift gate and a pallet jack that wouldn't fit. The tank on the right with packaging is probably around 900 lbs. The packaging is about 100 inches long and the box truck is 96 inches wide. The lift gate was about 70 inches wide.

We talked for awhile and agreed there was no way he was going to be able to unload it.

He took it back and then the shipping company said I refused the order and needed to pay another $700+ to redeliver. More round and round and the seller worked out something with the shipper to deliver the tank again.

I wasn't going to tank any chances and decided to rent a forklift this time. Even though I only needed it for about 15 minutes, I had to rent if for the day since they have to deliver it and pick it back up. So another $845.

The Eagle has landed!

 

[wmatt140]

Now that I had the tank in my possession, I filed a complaint with PayPal. I had screenshots where they said the additional fee was to deliver the tank inside my garage. I sent PayPal the pictures and receipt of my renting the forklift and using my people to unload the tank. After PayPal did their investigation, they refunded my money

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along!

 

[wmatt140]

I’m impressed with the packaging. I like these inserts used to keep the sump and top off tank from moving during the trip.

Now the fun part. New tank is going where the current tank is. I don’t want to rush the new build, so the old tank will have to be drained, moved about 6 feet, and set back up.

 

[wmatt140]

I hired Aquarium Maintenance of Conroe to do the tank moves. I got one of those 100 gallon black tubs from Tractor Supply to move the corals to. I was able to get the majority of rock and corals in the tub and the rest into a Brute can. I also moved the fish to their own Brute can.

They moved the old tank and stand together inch by inch. I didn't take any pictures as I was too focused (nervous) on this part. You can see the old tank in its temporary home in the new tank pics.

The stand came in next. Cody and his crew spent a lot of time making sure the stand was perfectly level. It didn't need any major adjustments but there are a lot legs to micro adjust and the stand needs to be tilted to access the middle ones.

Next comes the tank and time to hold my breath again. At around 750 pounds, it is a beast. First pic, is the tank resting on the dolly. You can see them bringing in the hydraulic lift in the background.

 

[ddwmedic]

Sweet!

 

[smitten with ocean life]

wow! nice!

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

Following.

Great tip about PayPal. Did you add in the % to cover it as opposed to using F&F?

 

[wmatt140]

Following.

Great tip about PayPal. Did you add in the % to cover it as opposed to using F&F?

Yes, the shipper said it would be slightly more to use PayPal. I thought that was fair and worth it. Turns out it was definitely worth it!

 

[wmatt140]

Bigger tank means I'm going to need more rock. The rock I have now is very heavy so I want to find some Pukani. I find a guy that has a few pallets of mixed rock some of which is Pukani. I ask if I can buy the just the Pukani but he says he wants to sell it all at once. I get that, and he drops the price to $200. We agree to meet up and I understand why he wanted to get rid of it all at once.

That's a lot of rock! I'm curing about 20% of it.

 

[wmatt140]

Sand time. I got 240 lbs of dry aragonite sand. Tried rinsing in a 5 gallon bucket and it quickly became obvious that wasn't going work. Too much time and water. Tried a shallow storage container, same result. I then came up with this idea.

Drilled holes in the bottom of 5 gallon buckets and covered the bottom with a filter pad. Rinsed the sand until the water ran clear. Let it set over night and repeat the next day. The 3rd day we poured some RODI water through it and let it sit overnight.

The fourth day we put a tarp down in garage and spread the sand out. Used a dehumidifier from work and dried it for a day and a half.

Sand is dry and ready. Next step is to install the plumbing and start aquascaping this weekend.

 

[Imrahilwjz]

Interested!

 

[Fishfinder]

Following

 

[wmatt140]

Been busy with work but we're finally back to aquascaping. We're using BRS gel glue to hold the rocks in place and securing them with mortar.

I'm really trying to resist the temptation to add too much rock. I want to kept plenty of swim/flow space. If I under scape it is easy enough to add more rock.

 

[wmatt140]

The semi-finished rock. I want to get the sand in before any more rock gets added.

The mortar needs to cure overnight then it's time for some water!

 

[wmatt140]

UPS and Fed-Ex have been busy the last week.

Ultra Reef Skimmer

Also got some Hydros equipment and the Red Dragon return pump.

Water is in and circulating. I'm going with Dr. Tim's advice and will cycle at warmer temperatures. I just added Dr. Tim's yesterday so no skimmer for a few days.

 

[wmatt140]

Added a few more pieces to the scape.

 

[exnisstech]

Nice having a helper. All my Gal will do is watch lol.

Looks like a WB. Was there any advantage to buying the way you did instead of ordering from them? It sounds like it was a lot if hassle .

 

[wmatt140]

My wife is in charge of the Fung Shui I showed her Ryan's video from BRS about negative aquascaping and said "build me this".

Hassle, yes. There were times I didn't think it was worth it. Now that the tank is running, I think it was. I saved about $4k-5k. I was able to use those savings on equipment.

Another consideration is Waterbox doesn't offer home delivery on the 8ft tank. Shipping is to a local terminal and the customer is responsible for arranging delivery.

Nice having a helper. All my Gal will do is watch lol.

Looks like a WB. Was there any advantage to buying the way you did instead of ordering from them? It sounds like it was a lot if hassle.