JUST DO IT! Make your dreams come true.

[thomas_neil]

No experience but I do love the look, hopefully someone with one will chime in.

My biggest concern would be flow and maintenance. Could probably get a couple tunze 6105 and aim them down to take away dead spots. Would probably do bare bottom on the drop off and sand on the top main section.

Edit
Or i could get some of those tunze stream rocks to hide in the scape at the bottom.

 

[thomas_neil]

Well today is the day, I placed my order Midwest custom aquariums. Has about a 12 week lead time on the tank so should be plenty of time for me to finish prepping the basement. Very excited to say the least!

Ended up going 96x30x26. Went a little taller to make up for the space lost with the sand bed. It’s going to have an external over flow prepped with 3 1” drains, 2 3/4” returns, and 2 panels blacked out. The over flow is going to be on the end on one of the 30” panels. I want to try and the opposite panel of that clear so you can see down the entire tank.

Will probably keep updates coming on the basement and the fish room but very excited the tank is finally ordered.

 

[thomas_neil]

Feels good to have the basement done. Going to take a few weekends off then start the fish room and stand for the tank. Have until May for the tank to get here so have a little bit of time to get ready for it.

 

[thomas_neil]

Basement Thread Update!

Got the couch down and built over the weekend. Not sure if anyone else has used home reserve before but this was like a big jig saw puzzle. The frame is made out of OSB and each section needs to be built and then you put the covers on. Needs to be broken in but waaaaay better than sitting on the floor to watch the new tv.

Wife made a hobby lobby trip too and got some decorations. Shes mentally preparing for the tank. Decided to hold off on the stand and everything until we get the tank so we can make sure everything will fit properly. We're not in a huge rush to get it up and running, want to enjoy the ride before we get to the destination.

 

[thomas_neil]

Well, the tank shipped today, nowhere near ready. May have gotten the cart in front of the horse a little bit. Oh well now I'll have a goal to finish everything else. Haven't made any progress on the fish room or stand. Pressure tank went out on the house so needed to replace that then the softener stopped work so had to replace that as well. I did install 2 house filters though, a bigger sediment filter right after the well into the house and a smaller filter after the softener, so hopefully that helps make my RODI filters last longer.

Going on vacation at the end of the month so will probably pick up the tank project when I get back. Hopefully I'll be done with the project I'm currently on and on to a different one that's less time consuming by end of May.

 

[thomas_neil]

Today was the big day, got the tank in the basement. Didn’t get a lot of pictures as it was pretty hectic getting everything ready. Started the morning off with removing the wall by the stairs and building some ramps out of 2x6. It wasn’t as bad getting it in the basement as I thought. Had some furniture Dollie’s strapped under the tank and just rolled it down the stairs. Only tricky part was the lift over the ledge and when we got to the bottom of the stairs, bottomed out for a little bit but we got it. Thanks to the help of my brother my wife and my mom, me and my brother on the bottom of the tank and the girls steering from the top. Dogs pretty tired too from the move.

It’s currently sitting on a couple 2x6 in the side of our basement until I get the stand and the fish room ready. Definitely exited to get this project going but want to pace myself and enjoy the ride. This is probably going to be my last tank for a long time.

Final dimensions are 96” long plus 5” for the external overflow x 30” deep x 26” tall. Also had them black out the back panel and the panel with the over flow on it.

 

[thomas_neil]

Its been a while since I have done an update. We have had a series of unfortunate events. The pressure tank for our well went out, so we replaced that. Once I turned the water back on our water softener went out. Was just over flowing with water. :rolleyes: We got that fixed and a few weeks later our well pump went out. After having a well guy come out we found out our well was shot and we needed to drill a new one. Isn't being a homeowner great?

Anyways it's probably going to take a while to financially recover from basically installing a brand new water service in the house. Tank is probably going to be put on hold for a few months. Hopefully we can get back on track and get everything set up. Maybe it can be a nice winter project.

 

[legalizedreefer]

Sorry to hear about all your hurdles.

Following along!

 

[thomas_neil]

Getting some stand design done so the wife @porcupinepufflover can see my vision for the tank wall. Going to be kind of a his and hers tanks with the 20 being mine and the 300 being hers. she finally made an account on reef2reef so she can ask questions about both tanks and get info other than my own so she can have an I told ya so moment one of these days.

After I get the stands built I’ll have her make a build thread on the 20. Going to hook it up to my system so she doesn’t have to deal with the maintenance and can enjoy all the fun stuff. Going to let her make her own decisions on the fish and coral.

Still in the design period of how I want to skin it but for the main structure I’m going to cut 3/4” plywood into 8” strips and glue 2 pieces together for the main structure and use 2x8 for everything else. I know that’s overkill but I want the stand to be solid. For the small tank stand I’ll just use 2x4s. Stand height is going to be around 34-36” high. I want the top of the main tank to be around 5’. I also want a tall enough stand that I can hide my mini fridge under the small tank stand, so I might make that one taller.

We’re currently in a race against time to save up enough money to complete this project before Feb. We’re expecting to have our first baby then and want to get some misc. project complete before the baby. Very exciting times! Wish us luck, we’re going to need it.

 

[thomas_neil]

Took advantage of the long weekend and got a little progress done for the tank. Probably would have gotten more done but needed to finish the nursery for @porcupinepufflover.

Got the framing done, the drywall, installed the new lights, and roughed in the electrical box for the water mixing station. Also built the sump stand but built it in the garage. Didn’t think about getting it into the fish room and into its final place under the stairs. Oh well, guess I’ll be taking it back apart and rebuilding it under the stairs. I made it 8’ long so I can have 3’ at the end for storage and future expansion.

Next weekend will probably be yard work but hoping to finish the fish room and start building the stand for the tank in the next couple weeks!

 

[thomas_neil]

Got some more done in the fish room this weekend. Got my mixing station all wrapped up, going to let the glue set and then do a leak test. Also finished the sump stand. Temporarily have a yoga mat under it but want to get some rigid insulation.

Want to get some shelving and build some new shelves to replace the ones that are currently in there for my QT setup and more storage.

 

[thomas_neil]

Still a lot of work to:
-vertical supports
-cross supports
-top
-shim to level
-seal it

I’m thinking some sort of clear epoxy maybe to seal the wood. Or just a clear oil based wood sealer then silicone all the joint. The skin will be trimmed out and painted so I’m not too worried what the structure looks like. Hopefully can keep making progress the next couple weekends and can get my brother over again to help me set the tank in place.

Also planning a smaller stand next to the large tank for @porcupinepufflover 20 gallon and to store the mini fridge for food and supplements that need to be cold.

 

[thomas_neil]

Brother came over and help me get the tank on the stand tonight. Got all the paper peeled off and man it looks a lot bigger on the stand than it did on the ground. Very happy to say the least. (Yes I had to take the generic photo inside your big tank)

Tomorrow will be finishing the bar that’s going next to the tank and then making the stand look nice. I got the plywood all pre cut so just need to cut the doors out and pin nail it to the stand. Hoping I can finish that tomorrow and get everything primed and make the doors.

After this weekend will be plumbing. Drains will be eqsy but still figuring out the returns. I know I want a manifold and need to figure out the UV. Have 2 return pumps so thinking one return will run the manifold and the other will run lower with the UV.

 

[thomas_neil]

Made some decent progress on the stand today. Hoping tomorrow I can swing the doors and get some trim up.

 

[Fishy Guy]

Looks awesome!

 

[thomas_neil]

Got a little more done on the stand this weekend. Got the doors on, finished up the trim, and got the bar top stained 5 coats of poly on it. I think next weekend I might start painting.

 

[thomas_neil]

Got some more done on the tank today. Got the stand painted (waiting to post pics until I get it put back together). Also started my plumbing. Need to order some more stuff off bulk reef supply (gate valve and adaptor for my roller) but it’s coming along. I haven’t glued anything yet, looking for some input on the layout before I glue it all up.

I know I need to add some supports and hangers. Going to custom make some and have my brother 3D print them for me.

Next weekend is going to be a much needed deep clean of the basement and probably glue everything up. I think I’m going to tear down my 20 gallon next weekend as well to start getting that ready to tie it in to the big system. Need to cut the rear chamber out and drill it for the drain and return.

 

[thomas_neil]

Been a while since I’ve made a post. Finished all the plumbing and dedicated circuit for the sump rooms. Also got all the rock and got the scape pretty much how I want it. Went a little more minimalist but have lots of arches and caves for the fish and coral. Might make a few smaller caves to glue to the side of some of the structures. Have 280lb of sand ready to go after I get salt in the tank, just going to mix it up right in the tank, will see how that goes. It’s almost done filling, been a long 3 weeks of only filling on the weekends. Have maybe 20 more gallons to go and I can fire up the return pump for the first time.

Will keep the updates coming, will probably do a long fish less cycle, we have a baby due in Feb. so very relieved I could get this project done before he got here. Will post more updates when I can!

 

[Tahoe61]

You made it happen after all that. It looks amazing. :-)

 

[thomas_neil]

Time to get the wife’s tank cleaned up and ready to be drilled! Cut the rear chamber off, the sides have some of the wrap on it but I think I might leave it. Thinking it might add some more depth to the tank.