Dragon Slayer Reef-MRC Hybrid Aquarium 400g system

[Txdragonslayer]

Congrats on the new build! I must say I was very shocked as I read through your thread and saw that this was being setup in El Paso. Fellow El Pasoan here who is also a stickhead. Great to know locals here in town who are also into SPS. I will say that the local availability in our LFS for SPS is slim to none as you probably are very well aware of. Love your selection of equipment as I am in the planning phase of upgrading some of my equipment (sump and lights possibly). Let me know what you think of the Orpheks as I am actually looking at those in particular. Can't wait to see your tank filled.

@aherre07 I would love to meet up some time when all this Covid **** is behind us! It has been crazy as of late. Plus, we could trade frags too!! Message me if you want and we can text/chat!

I have been planning this build for at least 4-5 years, as my wife and I were prepping to purchase the house and then through the remodel phase. I agree the local shops leave much to be desired, a little story if you will: I tried to order this 8ft tank through a local shop, i will not mention them by name, but I wanted a planet aquariums 8ft tank and they wanted to charge me, what i paid for this MRC Hybrid aquarium! I am not putting down planet aquariums, it is just they have their prices listed online, and this gives the consumer a pretty good idea of what the tank should cost, and this shop owner about tripled it, so i was disappointed and started to look else where. That lead me down the road to MRC America.

Brandon from Exotic ocean is great to work with and i usually buy my fish from him, but will QT this time round for sure.

 

[BZOFIQ]

@BZOFIQ These, "pop" the panel into place and hold the doors in very tightly, i was pleasantly surprised. These are the little details you come across when you are planning for a while! lol I ordered them directly from https://www.framingtech.com, they are not on their website, but as I was discussing my stand with Anthony there, he told me that's how they attach the doors. They were a little pricey, around 5-7 bucks a piece, but they work on the 15 series and 40mm stands is my understanding. If you message me individually i can give you Anthony's email, i just don't feel right posting it in the public forum.

Thanks. I do have Anthony's email. Will reach out shortly.

My stand is out of 45 series and I'm about to wrap it next week. Was wondering about perhaps another option.

 

[Txdragonslayer]

Thanks. I do have Anthony's email. Will reach out shortly.

My stand is out of 45 series and I'm about to wrap it next week. Was wondering about perhaps another option.

Maybe it’s the 45 series that I was thinking of!

 

[Txdragonslayer]

Ok so the light canopy is painted and “finished “ for all Intents and purposes, so I will attempt to hang this today...wish me luck!!!

 

[Txdragonslayer]

Most of the morning spent trying to hang this, I like it so much better!! With a lil crown molding it will blend in perfectly to the kitchen!

 

[Txdragonslayer]

I added two old Kessil 160’s to the middle inbetween the orpheks, I think these will add extra shimmer that will make the tank look beautiful! Amazingly just two covered the whole tank from this high up ~16” I may also use them as moon lights, so I just ordered the module from GHL I need to help me do that!! One step closer!

 

[Txdragonslayer]

An interesting foot note is that the canopy has silenced the Orphek fans, they weren’t very load to begin with but I noticed that I can’t hear them anymore, so that makes all the effort worth it!

 

[Txdragonslayer]

You know you did a good job when your wife posts about it on FB!

 

[Txdragonslayer]

Well after my high of getting the canopy made, and hung, I have run into a snag.
I started drilling the holes for the closed loop into the stand, and when I went to screw in the fist bulk head, I realized that the bottom the tank (3/4 pvc) plus the 3/4” ply wood bottom made a 1.5” bottom, so I could not get the nut of the bulk head to screw Into the threads of the bulk head, so I need to figure out how to get the bulk heads to tighten for the closed loop

 

[aherre07]

One of the things I did before my reboot (old overflows with drains underneath) was to cut the hole in the plywood bottom big enough where I could comfortably tighten the bulkheads without having to worry about not being able to grab a hold of the nut on the bulkhead. Maybe you can cut a square with like an inch gap all the way around the bulkhead.

 

[Txdragonslayer]

One of the things I did before my reboot (old overflows with drains underneath) was to cut the hole in the plywood bottom big enough where I could comfortably tighten the bulkheads without having to worry about not being able to grab a hold of the nut on the bulkhead. Maybe you can cut a square with like an inch gap all the way around the bulkhead.

I have thought of that, but there is no way I can really move this tank in a manner to cut those holes. I have 4 overflow holes I need to do in the back corner, so I feel like I can move the tank enough to cut that back corner for those. However, for the other end of the tank I am thinking of Routing a 1/2 rabbit around the bottom of the tank and see if that helps. If I need to I can Rout another 1/4” on the pvc side, but I am hoping what I can route on the wood side will be enough. I will try this after work tomorrow. Lol wish me luck!

 

[kenchilada]

Yeah I have one of these Versacut saws that is small enough to cut around it (cut a square). I think I’d set the depth a hair less than 3/4”, then use oscillating tool to trim it free so I don’t cut the pvc.

 

[aherre07]

I used my dremel tool to take it slow on the holes where I could not get the tank out of the way.

 

[kenchilada]

I have thought of that, but there is no way I can really move this tank in a manner to cut those holes. I have 4 overflow holes I need to do in the back corner, so I feel like I can move the tank enough to cut that back corner for those. However, for the other end of the tank I am thinking of Routing a 1/2 rabbit around the bottom of the tank and see if that helps. If I need to I can Rout another 1/4” on the pvc side, but I am hoping what I can route on the wood side will be enough. I will try this after work tomorrow. Lol wish me luck!

Routers a good idea too. You could cut a template first and use a bit with a guide bearing to make clean holes all same size.

 

[Txdragonslayer]

Yeah I have one of these Versacut saws that is small enough to cut around it (cut a square). I think I’d set the depth a hair less than 3/4”, then use oscillating tool to trim it free so I don’t cut the pvc.

I Like this idea! I may go buy one of these to help, or i may just use my oscillating tool, i am trying to figure out what will be the best option.

I appreciate all the options and suggestions!

 

[Txdragonslayer]

Routers a good idea too. You could cut a template first and use a bit with a guide bearing to make clean holes all same size.

yea, this is kinda the route i was leaning, but will have to plan this out for sure!

 

[Txdragonslayer]

So I decided not to route the circles and just use the multi tool to cut squares around the holes, I only got half way through, as I burned through 3 wood blades just trying to get through my 1.5” ply wood at the edges. I still need to do the holes on the far end, but need to buy more blades first, lol

 

[Clayton Jessup]

@Txdragonslayer the tank looks amazing ! Absolutely love the hood on the ceiling it looks amazing ! Stunning craftsmanship !

 

[Txdragonslayer]

@Txdragonslayer the tank looks amazing ! Absolutely love the hood on the ceiling it looks amazing ! Stunning craftsmanship !

Thank you so much! I have noticed the Orpheks dimming through out the day, so I am assuming they are getting to hot, so I will need to add some airflow through the canopy. I just ordered some Amazon usb fans for this, I’ll see how I figure out how to I corporate them with out messing up the look of the canopy.

 

[Txdragonslayer]

I have been slowly working on the cabinetry as I await the roller mat, which is also delaying my plumbing, so for now I am taking my time on the wood working and enjoying my second hobby

Soss Invisible Hinges.

i will be installing frosted glass in these doors