Firetire's 74 Gallon Tower SPS Build

[mahindra.dev]

Following along. Very nice so far!!!

 

[firetire]

Following, looks like a great start.

Glad to have you following along!

This is going to be an intense build! Looking good.

Thanks!

Nice! Looking forward to seeing how you plum the tanks.

I'm getting all of the plumbing parts in by Tuesday, so hopefully next week, I'll have some time to do the plumbing.

Yay! excited to see how it all comes together

Thanks for the light suggestion!

Following along. Very nice so far!!!

Thanks! Love the quote in your signature.

 

[1WildBill]

Looks like your order from reefcleaners.com was better than mine. The Rock was very small, literally 6 tubes of rock epoxy to put it all together.

Score on the lights.

 

[firetire]

Looks like your order from reefcleaners.com was better than mine. The Rock was very small, literally 6 tubes of rock epoxy to put it all together.

Score on the lights.

That's too bad. I ordered 200 lbs, way more than I needed just in case that happened, but the pieces they sent were huge. I had to break some of them down.

 

[firetire]

Sorry everyone for taking so long to post an update. In addition to working on my tank, I am also remodeling my master bathroom by myself, and trying to get it done before we have guests over memorial day weekend. I have still managed to sneak a few hours in here and there to work on the tank. I built the stand out of 2x4s and 3/4 plywood on top. I will put some sort of skin on it down the road most likely. Then once the stand was built, I decided to play with the rockscape. Here's a few pictures of me trying stuff out. Sorry for the cell phone pic quality. I couldn't find my wife's good camera and she was asleep.

And here's some pictures of what I think i'm going to go with in the tank.

Yes, that is a green yoga "leveling" mat under the tank. Probably won't do anything.

So what do you think about the rockscape? Please feel free to give your honest opinions and criticisms, as you probably know more than me.

And do you think I should paint the back of the tank black? If so, what sort of paint should I use. Can't be spray paint, because I am not moving this back upstairs to the garage ;Dead

 

[1WildBill]

I went to Lowes and bought 2 pints of their sample paint in Black. I think it was 5 bucks total, then just rolled it on with a sponge roller.

 

[firetire]

Well, I changed my mind on the DIY controller. With a baby on the way, I didn't want the hassle of that aspect. Maybe I'll convert to a DIY down the road. So I bought an Apex. What really sold me on Neptune is the upcoming Trident. I will definitely be getting one when it comes out. For now, I bought the Apex system, the ATK, another FMM, a couple extra PMUPs, a couple flow meters, and a couple more optical sensors. I plan on using PMUPs for an auto water change system. If/when my Jebao pump craps out, I'll probably get a cor to replace it. I will definitely add a couple DOS down the road when my tank is mature enough to need it.

I built my sump last night from a 40 Breeder and some plexiglass. After lots of blood, sweat, and tears ...okay maybe just blood...I am pretty happy with it. I'll take some pictures and post them tonight.

I also got in my powerheads. I went with the new coral box RN-1. 2 of them to be precise. I pre-ordered them a few weeks ago, and they just got here.

Once I get them hooked up, I'll let you know what I think of them. I picked this one because of the relative low profile, and the wider flow. If these don't work out, I'm sure I'll need help choosing another option.

I hope to do all of the plumbing this weekend, and get the system wet so I should have a lot more pictures coming up.

 

[Kevin Jaako]

Any updates? I've got a large tower tank too and I'd love to see where you ended up!
KJ