First saltwater tank. It begins with lots of soy sauce...

[Wasteoftime247]

So I am finally taking the plunge as it were into saltwater. I have had freshwater tanks off and on for about 7 years and always wanted to go saltwater but was always too intimidated. I said screw it and put a order in for a Tideline Crystaline Premium Reef tank that measures 48"x24"x21" with a sump total gallons it is 140 gallons. You may be asking what is up with the soy sauce... Well I just scored two 55 gallon drums that used to have soy sauce in them to use for my mixing station. Got two of them for 15 bucks each. I being a tech nerd got al much automation as I could. I got the Apex Pro with a DOS and a 5 stage RO/DI. Starting out with a AI 39" blade for light. I got most of the things needed to start. Still need to get a skimmer and a felt roller but that can wait until I get the tank up and running. I have been watching so many youtube videos it's like drinking from fire hose with all the information out there. Anyway I would love to show you a picture of my tank IF I HAD ONE!!! I am still impatiently waiting on my tank to arrive so I can start all all of this. I am working on sistering the joists under my house where the tank will sit and also running the plumbing for the RO/DI system. I will have more updates as I progress. But I am really looking forward to setting all this up and also reading all of your amazing posts you have here. Let me know what you think and what noob things I am doing wrong. I'm sure there are many! Please be gentle, it's my first time...

At least its low sodium so my doctor won't get upset with me.

It's just another hole in the wall... This is where I will have my plumbing routed from my garage to my tank.

Here is the tank on a website and not in my living room...

 

[Sleeping Giant]

can't wait to see more. welcome to R2R

 

[Wasteoftime247]

It's not fun but it is part of the build. I was able to sister the main joist where my tank will sit (feels creepy to say that) As you can see the hose coming out of the floor joist because of course it did! It had 15.5 inches of space and the one place this wall sat was right over the floor joist! Anyway got the waterline ran into my garage. I will run another line from the tank to my DOS into a drain next. The only saddle valve I was able to find was for a RO/DI for thin wall drains under sinks so when it arrives I will rig it up to work with a 2" schedule 40 pipe for my RO/DI waste


And of course the joist has to sit exacly where I drill through the floor...



I got hose all up in this place.


Anyway still a boring not rellay fun part of the tank build but is necessary. Let me know what you all think!

 

[gbroadbridge]

It's not fun but it is part of the build. I was able to sister the main joist where my tank will sit (feels creepy to say that) As you can see the hose coming out of the floor joist because of course it did! It had 15.5 inches of space and the one place this wall sat was right over the floor joist! Anyway got the waterline ran into my garage. I will run another line from the tank to my DOS into a drain next. The only saddle valve I was able to find was for a RO/DI for thin wall drains under sinks so when it arrives I will rig it up to work with a 2" schedule 40 pipe for my RO/DI waste


And of course the joist has to sit exacly where I drill through the floor...



I got hose all up in this place.


Anyway still a boring not rellay fun part of the tank build but is necessary. Let me know what you all think!

Welcome!

You may want to check local electrical codes as to whether having plumbing that close to an electrical outlet is okay.
I know that where I live there has to be 24 inch separation.

Looking forward to the rest of the build.

 

[Wasteoftime247]

Welcome!

You may want to check local electrical codes as to whether having plumbing that close to an electrical outlet is okay.
I know that were I live there has to be 24 inch separation.

Looking forward to the rest of the build.

Oh I am sure you are right, I am going to swap out that outlet for a GFCI outlet. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Welcome To The Reef!

 

[Wasteoftime247]

Welcome To The Reef!

When did I say you could take my photo! This is an invasion of privacy! Also thanks for the warm welcome!

 

[1112-425XL]

Following along, and

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Best of luck!

 

[Wasteoftime247]

Tank Soy Sauce continues with some setbacks. I cleaned out the two drums and scrubbed them down with bleach and ran water through both of them. After that I cut two holes in the top and installed plumbing access panels so I can insert pumps and heaters in the tanks. After I got the tanks set up and did a bunch of plumbing under my house I turned my RO/DI filter on just to see the unit arrived damaged... The connection between the second and 3rd canisters broke and sprayed water all over my wall. That said at least the guys at Bulk Reef Supply worked with me and are sending me a new one. I am still waiting on my tank to arrive from the manufacturer so at least I'm not on a time crunch. FYI those two 55 gallon drums still smell like soy sauce and I think they always will.

 

[Wasteoftime247]

Update... My tank finally arrived. It's a monster and I am glad I decided not to go with the 60" as the 48" is just fine! My tank is currently sitting in the middle of my living room. Tomorrow it will be put on the stand. I also am currently making my own RO/DI water. Tomorrow I plan on getting all the rock and sand installed and if everything goes right I will start to fill it with water. I don't remember being this excited to do something in a very long time. What do you all think?

 

[Wasteoftime247]

Here is what I have come up with for aquascaping.

 

[Lebowski_]

Here is what I have come up with for aquascaping.

Videos never work on this site for some reason. I convert mine to gifs and post those instead.

Pics look great though!

 

[Wasteoftime247]

Videos never work on this site for some reason. I convert mine to gifs and post those instead.

Pics look great though!

 

[Petcrazyson]

Following along!

Everyone gets excited when you have a new tank!

It’s not a true Soy Sauce tank without you actually putting some Soy Sauce in the tank(and then cleaning it up)

Pretty nice start of a set up

 

[steveschuerger]

Videos never work on this site for some reason. I convert mine to gifs and post those instead.

Pics look great though!

I started doing what a lot of my R2R buddies do and put them into YouTube channel and the link them back . Works really well.

 

[steveschuerger]

And by the way Welcome to the R2R community! Looking forward to see how the build moves forward.

 

[TarheelGrey]

Just found your thread. Looks like a great start. That said, did you consult someone before sistering your joists or just google to find out the most common solution? Are you sure that is all you need for the extra 1200+ lbs water weight plus rock/livestock? I don't know either way... just asking the question. Im still in a 32 gal and haven't dealt with if my floor will support the hopefully upgraded tank down the road.

 

[Wasteoftime247]

That's a good question. I have been in construction for most of my life and seen what a sistered joist can carry. However I did ask multiple friends in the construction field their opinion on this subject. I installed a 6' run on each side of the existing joist and used construction adhesive and 3" lag bolts on those joists. It is a huge amount of weight but the weight is going to be distributed over a 4'x2' section and is right next to a load bearing wall. From what everyone has told me what I did was overkill but I would rather be safe than sorry!

 

[Miami Reef]

I like the intriguing title! Best wishes!