downhill_biker's 200g Marineland Deep Dimension Starphire

downhill_biker · Oct 7, 2009

I have been working on this build for a few months, and updating on RC and my local forum, but recently joined R2R. I didn't really come on here much, but decided to come here more and start my build thread.

Got the tank when I lived in Oregon. It was fun going up and down the stairs, should have waited till I got to Utah, but you know how it goes...you get excited.

Using the Large (22.5" x 22.5") Lumenmax reflectors. They are great!

Built the stand in two pieces, and bolted them together, that way they fit through the door. This is a temporary stand, since my location is only going to be for a few years.

Here is the stand, cut holes in the corners for the overflows and returns. Also put a piece of hard foam under the tank to take out any imperfections that may have been in my workmanship.

downhill_biker · Oct 7, 2009

Masked off and painted the overflow area, the back, and the side that is against the wall. Eventually I want to make it 3 side viewable, but right now the room is too small for that.

I went out to the desert with a friend to get sand and rock. Pretty nice stuff, oolitic sand and tufa rock are great, especially since they are free.

I kept playing with rockwork using the tufa rock, but it was just too round and was very difficult to make look how I wanted.

wishntoboutside · Oct 7, 2009

lets see the downhill bike. man i miss the good ol days of downhilling and shuttles runs.
welcome to R2R

downhill_biker · Oct 7, 2009

All of the plumbing is going through the vent in the floor to the basement. Works great having equipment down there where it stays cool, quiet, and where there is plenty of room.

The frag tank is down there, and the system is plumbed together and use a common return pump. Works great and saves a ton of electricity.

I used the horse trough for my sump/fuge. I didn't know how to baffle it, so I used buckets. The one closest to the camera is the drain/bubble trap, then it flows through the sump, and returns where the other bucket is. The bucket in the back determines the water height of the entire sump.

I went ahead and got an AC Jr. It will definitely be peace of mind for me. It works great controlling my temp. I have it set up for fans, lights, heaters, ect. all at different temp settings to maximize cooling, and allow for the system to run throughout the summer without turning the lights off.

I ran across someone that was tearing down their tank, and picked up a lot of their rock. It was super nice rock. The two big pieces in the back were so pourous that they only weiged like 2 lb each. I didn't buy them by the pound, bought them by the rock, otherwise they would have been $40/lb...lol.

downhill_biker · Oct 7, 2009

Here's a more current pic of the sump. Put some acrylic baffles in the sump to help control water movement and separate the algae section from the xenia section of the fuge.

Here is the most recent pic from about 3 weeks ago. Got the fish in there, the coral frags, and its all ready to grow. Most of the corals are LE, and I have too many to make a list...but maybe I will anyways, since I need to keep track before I forget.

downhill_biker · Oct 7, 2009

Here's a vid on youtube of my tank: Music is a little kick back for you "older" folk.

YouTube - 200g Marineland Deep Dimension Reef Tank

revhtree · Oct 7, 2009

WOW! That looks great! Glad you have decided to come to R2R more often!

downhill_biker · Oct 7, 2009

wishntoboutside said:
lets see the downhill bike. man i miss the good ol days of downhilling and shuttles runs.
welcome to R2R

wishntoboutside · Oct 7, 2009

wow i want to go ride my bike today for sure. thanks for sharing and your tank build looks great.

ReeferRob · Oct 7, 2009

1. Welcome you'll love it here
2. Great build, give us more.
3. Kick **** bike, I am a professional bicycle mechanic by trade!!

Russellaqua · Oct 7, 2009

Very nice tank!

El Camaron · Oct 7, 2009

nice tank and bike, i thought i hit ridemonkey for a second lol. Love the free rock.

downhill_biker · Oct 7, 2009

revhtree said:
WOW! That looks great! Glad you have decided to come to R2R more often!

Thanks. Glad to be a part of the community, and I will try to contribute as much as possible. I am a die-hard poster, and love to answer questions and help others. I also enjoy getting feedback and suggestions for my projects.

That bleeding apple scolly in your avatar is amazing. I want to get one, let me know when you are ready to frag it. :wink:

downhill_biker · Oct 7, 2009

wishntoboutside said:
wow i want to go ride my bike today for sure. thanks for sharing and your tank build looks great.

Thanks. What kind of riding do you do? What kind of bike do you have?

downhill_biker · Oct 7, 2009

ReeferRob said:
1. Welcome you'll love it here
2. Great build, give us more.
3. Kick **** bike, I am a professional bicycle mechanic by trade!!

Nice to see there are others out there with reefing and biking as their main interests. I love both. I will keep uploading and giving information as it goes. Coral is growing and I will give growth updates and FTS.