450 96x36x30 Build

degrandfish · Feb 23, 2026

thelonereefer1 said:
Very exciting build thus far!

How do you plan on lighting this new tank?

The same lights Im already using just adding more. AI Hydra Edge 64. Then the Kessils I already have will go back on the 180. I have the AP9X and 4 of the 360X.

degrandfish · Feb 23, 2026

Added a Govee RGBIC strip for the fun of it and have yet to turn it into a status light. But something nerdy that I could do using Home Assistant and the Neptune API. And printed out a shelf holding a multi sensor that matches the Neptune color scheme. It's used for motion to turn the room light on when you walk in, and tells me humidity and temp of the room.

degrandfish · Apr 6, 2026

The new tank was just finished up this past Friday from Tsunami. Now for it to be shipped nearby to pick it up.

I got the stand done a couple of weeks ago.

We have also had a couple of 75 gallon tanks with some "quarantine" fish getting ready to move to the 180 eventually, once the 450 is operational, and we move most of the stuff from the 180 to the 450.
Here is the queen and emperor we picked up over a month ago now. They have been doing great.
There is also a Humu trigger, a marine beta, and a dwarf fuzzy lion fish in there with them. We did have a dragon wrasse but believe the lion fish had eaten him unfortunately. Thought it was big enough but apparently not due to its disappearance the next day and a full looking lion fish.

That Crusso Kid · May 27, 2026

Following along.

Jealous of all the space you have for filtration.

Anything new and different? Did you take delivery of the tank?

degrandfish · May 27, 2026

That Crusso Kid said:
Following along.

Jealous of all the space you have for filtration.

Anything new and different? Did you take delivery of the tank?

Quite a bit has happened I just didn't post anything as it was rather quiet around here.

We received the tank on April 10th at the terminal

And added in some inhabitants right away

That Crusso Kid · May 27, 2026

degrandfish said:
Quite a bit has happened I just didn't post anything as it was rather quiet around here.

We received the tank on April 10th at the terminal

And added in some inhabitants right away

You have to stay on top of feeding those frags. They grow like weeds! lol

Super happy for you that you got the tank!

BTW - where are you in Wisconsin?

degrandfish · May 27, 2026

The next day it had all the rock we had been working on from prior months installed and the canopy frame.

A few more days and it was full of water and begin to mix in the salt and get it up to temperature to match the rest of the system. I also moved some bio bricks we had established into the tank to start to seed it. Also picked up this scaffolding thing on Amazon which is an amazing help to reach all of the tank.

This was how it sat on April 24, it had been running with just a little submersible pump I had from years ago for turtles. You can see I added a couple vents to the doors. One of the HVAC ducts was behind here and I noticed it was trapping the heat in there at the time, now it would be the cold. But anyways it let the air escape. And the combination locks on the doors so the little ones can't open them. The first chance our 3 year old got to go in there he turned a valve and opened a drain up I wasn't expecting as it wasn't plumbed in yet to the piping I had at the floor. But I caught it right away.

degrandfish · May 27, 2026

That Crusso Kid said:
You have to stay on top of feeding those frags. They grow like weeds! lol

Super happy for you that you got the tank!

BTW - where are you in Wisconsin?

They sure do! The older one, Rayton just turned 3 in April, and the other, Asher turns 2 in July.

We are in Green Bay.

degrandfish · May 27, 2026

Also looks like the 3D printed Neptune sign was added after the last post, and also the second reef mat was added on. Both reef mats are using a third party 30 micron roll, so they last a bit longer with larger holes, and are also 150 feet long vs the stock 115. I put some kind of drain contraption together so not all the water has to be routed through the reef mat, and can bypass straight into the sump. So about half the water from the 450 is going through the reef mat.

degrandfish · May 27, 2026

And then into May where it's been flying along mostly due to the wife not listening and going fast. But as expected there was no measurable cycle or anything with addition onto a running system. I also experimented a bit and once the 450 was plumbed into the rest of the system, I opened the valves up to let water flow in and drain out for about 10-15 minutes each day and then closed it back off. This way I was trying to minimize the amount of effect it would have adding on all this water. I did that for about a week, getting a little longer each day. Just kept a heater in the 450 to keep it the same temp. I was totally amazed a single 300 watt heater had no problem keeping it at 77, I guess the insulation properties of acrylic is no lie.

Here are some photos of some things that were transferred over from the 180 or new stuff.

We tried to leave this rock in the 180 but the Queen Angel in her new home quickly starting eating it by the next day. So it was moved immediately and the black spots were gone in about 2 days and looked like nothing happened. We have found the Queen will eat just about anything. We even tried rock flower anemones and she killed most of them off already. We were able to get one out, but at least 2 were picked at to death, and another one wedged so far into a rock we couldn't get out. But there is one in there still doing fine that is untouched.

The Queen as been getting a lot more yellow in the 180 after spending about 2 months in QT. She is a stunner!

And taken just last night about 10 minutes before the lights were completely out.

That Crusso Kid · May 27, 2026

degrandfish said:
The next day it had all the rock we had been working on from prior months installed and the canopy frame.

A few more days and it was full of water and begin to mix in the salt and get it up to temperature to match the rest of the system. I also moved some bio bricks we had established into the tank to start to seed it. Also picked up this scaffolding thing on Amazon which is an amazing help to reach all of the tank.

This was how it sat on April 24, it had been running with just a little submersible pump I had from years ago for turtles. You can see I added a couple vents to the doors. One of the HVAC ducts was behind here and I noticed it was trapping the heat in there at the time, now it would be the cold. But anyways it let the air escape. And the combination locks on the doors so the little ones can't open them. The first chance our 3 year old got to go in there he turned a valve and opened a drain up I wasn't expecting as it wasn't plumbed in yet to the piping I had at the floor. But I caught it right away.

Great updates!

Rayton The Valve Tester. I love it!

I know a number of people that use the site below for their filter roll needs. I have heard nothing but raving reviews on them.

https://preconfilter.com/
Green Bay, you say? Green Bay proper or a surrounding city? I may, or may not, have once had an office in Ashwaubenon and lived on the peninsula. We had a little 40 acre "hobby" farm. I have some good friends who are in Stangleville, Algoma, Sturgeon Bay and further up the peninsula. Funny but true; my very good friend, Herman the German (he's 1/2 German and 1/2 Native American) family has been on the same farm, outside of Stangleville, for more than 160 years. They are still sometimes referred to as "the new family" by the neighboring families.

degrandfish · May 27, 2026

That Crusso Kid said:
Great updates!

Rayton The Valve Tester. I love it!

I know a number of people that use the site below for their filter roll needs. I have heard nothing but raving reviews on them.

https://preconfilter.com/
Green Bay, you say? Green Bay proper or a surrounding city? I may, or may not, have once had an office in Ashwaubenon and lived on the peninsula. We had a little 40 acre "hobby" farm. I have some good friends who are in Stangleville, Algoma, Sturgeon Bay and further up the peninsula. Funny but true; my very good friend, Herman the German (he's 1/2 German and 1/2 Native American) family has been on the same farm, outside of Stangleville, for more than 160 years. They are still sometimes referred to as "the new family" by the neighboring families.

That’s where I got the rolls from. I was only getting about 2 weeks out of a factory roll on the original reef mat. These ones are lasting longer and 3 of them for the price of 1.

And yes we are in Green Bay!

degrandfish · Jun 10, 2026

Some more recent images of the 450

degrandfish · Jul 2, 2026

The 450 is about 2 months old now. I got a new camera to play around with to make videos and pictures. It's the Lumix S1RII.

And did the same with the 180 as well last night.

cwerner · Jul 2, 2026

Your tank is obviously going to be something special, but wow your basement setup is an inspiration. Those ag tubs are such a cheat code for huge sumps. I'm a couple hours south of you in Beaver Dam. Go Pack Go!

degrandfish · Jul 7, 2026

degrandfish · Jul 8, 2026

Playing around some more with the camera. Shot this one in 5.8K ProRes 422HQ for some huge file sizes. However obviously massively downscaled for the YouTubes but still looks pretty good!

That Crusso Kid · Jul 9, 2026

degrandfish said:
Playing around some more with the camera. Shot this one in 5.8K ProRes 422HQ for some huge file sizes. However obviously massively downscaled for the YouTubes but still looks pretty good!

I don't recall you posting about it but what camera(s) are you using?