Maroun.c 400 G build thread

[maroun.c]

Time for some updates.
Build is still delayed by some woodwork on the cabinets from the inside that requires being in the tank so filling it is not possible yet. As well as some work on the ceiling with drilling holes for bolts to support the light rack which I still have to finalize as well.
Another DIY was finished and that is the reservoir for water changes. 28x16x23” (70x40x57 cm) holding around 43G (160L) so a bit more than 10% display water volume which will be the weekly or biweekly water to change.

 

[maroun.c]

Back to the Ceramics I received a while ago which had a few pieces break in shipping despite the excellent packing the had. Luckily with the amazing support of Suzanne and Wolfgang from Riff Ssytem this was solved. They even took the trouble to check my thread to see if I was able to fix the rocks and sent me emails to make sure all went well.
An important factor was the amazing quality ceramic cement they sent with the shipping which cured in around 5 min and was able to support floating structures in that limited time.
The bridge:
was the mot difficult one to find out where each piece went as there was no clear line of break.

The largest structure had a broken edge and a broken foot. had to support the floating edge for around 7-8 min before I was sure the cement was hard enough to hold it. the foot was an easy fix.

and another broken foot of a smaller rock

Must admit that it gave me a real feel of how hard those structures were to construct...
All fixed

And finally the small ones went for some curing in my to be fish Q tank. Still looking for a container that can fit the large one to cure it in and then can't wait to see how they'll look in my tank.

 

[maroun.c]

Couple of weeks ago it was time to break down the 150G in my parents place and move the fish and some of the rocks to my sump...
Was shocked to see the amount of detritus my sand and rocks trapped despite 50x tank volume flow.
Another shock was to not find a single bristleworm or critter in my DSB. Could this be the cause of my nitrates struggle lately? tank was only moved (sand cleaned 1.5 years ago)
Found 1 10 inches long Eunicid (sp?) worm in a big rock which could explain the multiple clams deaths.Decided to wash the sand with freshwater for a clean start in the 390 and placed the LR in a barrel with circulation after washing the rocks with aged tank water. Appreciate any thoughts on this. I only keep Snails for CUC and avoid hermits as I don't like them killing snails bumping things and tearing LPS... could that have lead to detritus accumulation? do have 2-3 wrasses but could those have decimated teh population of Bristleworms I know I had in the last tank move?


Was a sad day to take this tank down althouh It only ran since 2008 when I upgraded from my 8 years old 80 G and was moved again in 2009 so never had the chance to really mature.
The Start in 2008:

at its best around Jan 2011:

As of one week ago:

 

[bige]

You got some work ahead of you. Looks good. Won't be long before new tank looks like old one.

 

[maroun.c]

I'm hoping it won't take as long as the 150 did to look nice.

 

[maroun.c]

And another setback.
I took down the 150 G just before a 2 weeks travel and washed all the sand and kept the LR in a barrel with clean saltwater and good flow...traveled and after 3 days got the call from my parents that the barrel with rocks was sticking and the whole place smelled unbearable with water looking very dirty...
Flew back a couple of days later hoping it was just a small minicycle and that rinsing the rocks with saltwater would allow me to save it as it's 12 years old LR... upon going out to the balcony and smelling how bad it was depsite many fans blowing smell outside i realized it was a total loss. water was black and rocks smelled worse than the ugliest smell you can imagine, and was covered with black slime. I rinsed it in freshwater and got rid of the black slime but it still smelled bad so I realized there were some things still rotting inside the rock and as I ahd to travel out for 5 more days i didn't want o risk another week of bad smell at my parents place so I decided to risne it a few times and then soak it in diluted bleach for a week before I fly back.
it was the first time I examine my rocks from close and I was amazed with the amount of coraline and especially the multilayers of corlaine one above the other forming really thick coraline plates of pink, purple and orange color...
pics of the rocks after washing them to get rid of the black slime and before the bleach bath.

Luckily a few rocks were taken to the frag tank and its sump and to the 390G tank sump where my fish are so those will help in seeding the cleaned rocks and sand when the 390 is started but that will definitly make the start more difficult and increase the risk of a cycle... On the positive part I got to get rid of some aptasias I was struggling with still not a major issue as well as some nitrates in the rocks that the 150G was struggling with in the lates stages...
Not sure what was the cause of this as I made sure to take out any sponges on the rocks which can start a crash when they are exposed to air. all the rocks were rinsed in saltwater before being taken to the barrel and it had a good circulation in the barrel, wish I added some filtration to it though...

 

[skinz78]

Man sorry to hear about the meltdown on the rocks.:sad:

 

[bige]

I wonder what happened? Was the power head working? Seems like the water movement would have kept things going. Sorry for the loss. At least it was just lr. Could have been worse, I guess.

 

[maroun.c]

Powerhead was working. Not sure if it was some sponge that rottened and started the meltdown or what...

 

[maroun.c]

Light rack plan was finalized.

And after minor modification Light rack was finally done.

90 Degree crners used to fix the Lumenbrights in position

And a side by side comparison of the old Vs new reflectors

Should be back home in a week to suspend it and work on a pulley system to raise and lower the rack (Still not sure if I should automate or just keep it manual...) The good thing with Lumenbrights is that lights are already high from water level and allow you to work in the tank without needing to move them up each time unless you're doing extensive maintenance.

 

[bige]

Nice upgrade! Your gonna have some great lights.

 

[LegoZ81]

Really nice, any updates on the tank or how the livestock is doing in it's holding tank?

 

[maroun.c]

Nice upgrade! Your gonna have some great lights.

Thanks Bige.

 

[maroun.c]

Really nice, any updates on the tank or how the livestock is doing in it's holding tank?

Thanks.
Tank passed the fill test. Might be adding a 3 part 2nd bottom pannel for more structural strength and protection if any rock fell down. Tank did pass the leak test with no signs of stress though, I had to drain it for the woodwork on the cabinets to be finished as well as to stand in it to drill holes for bolts to attach the Light rack. Once the bottom pannel is added and the rack is suspended then its fill up time. tank sump and water change system are already filled and holding my fish. Corals and some more fish are in my frag system. Continued to lose some of the corals after the move as they were already struggling from high nitrates int eh last days of the 150 G but as of last month losses stopped and most corals are finally colouring up again.

 

[maroun.c]

Light Rack drilled and hooks installed to suspend it:

Will use Rubber coated steel cables for support and this rope and Pulley rollers for the Pulley system.Rollers are rated for 50 KG (around 100 pounds each) so much more than the weight I have.

When in normal operating height (Bulbs at 21" from water level for Lumenbrights) the pendants will be held by individual Steel cable from ceiling, and rack will be held by 6 Steel cables so no stress on the pully system. When/if I need more space for major maintenance or maybe when light acclimating the Pulley attached to 4 points on the rack will be of course supporting the complete weight. I'm notticing some beding in the rack du to missing support for the internal beam holding the MH so this will be corrected next week by adding additional supports so weight is better distributed.

The Additional opening on top of the wood cabinets makes it really easy to work with lighting from above, lift up a pendant for cleaning or bulb maintenance instead of reaching from below.

All pendants, Rack are attached to the cables and pulley rope by steel quick release attachement so the complete rack can be taken out in 5 min for maintenance. Just release the steel cables quick release, drop the rack with the pulley till its held on the tank bracing, disconnect Pulley quick release and then 2 persons can easily take it out.
Will be adding a couple of roll bolts in the wall with quick release attachement which will make raising the rack to a specific height much easier, thinking 2 fixed points one at mid height and one at max height, which should be more than enough for added accessibility if I need to go in the tank and well as for 3 step light acclimation...
And some pics from above

Still need to take out the rack and reinforce it for the slight bending I'm seeing, as well as add support for T5 supplemental lighting.

 

[bige]

Awesome! Your going to have a very nice set up. How much longer till its wet?

 

[Aquaph8]

Nicely executed Maroun. You always do top notch work, looks really great. What did you use for your finish on the metal?

 

[maroun.c]

Awesome! Your going to have a very nice set up. How much longer till its wet?

Thanks Bige,
I'm trying my best to have it running by christmas-New Year. Unfortunately had a very busy travel schedule lately and there were too many delays on the build.

 

[maroun.c]

Nicely executed Maroun. You always do top notch work, looks really great. What did you use for your finish on the metal?

Thanks.
The light rack was made with Aluminum. I had a choice between Silver, White, Black or brown. Went with brown as it goes best with the wood color and also would be the least one to reflect light when I'm taking top down pics...

 

[maroun.c]

Also started with the electrical. Had to go back to initial pictures to locate where plumbing and vent tubing passes in the wall as it's close to where I had to drill. Marked those with Masking tape on teh wall so I don't drill even close.
Installed a wood pannel on the wall which will make it easier to fix things instead of drilling in the wall each time as well as act as a sound absorber as I'm struggling with Echo inside the cabinets when I tried the vortech...
1st to go in are 3 Coralvue dimmable ballasts to go with the Lumenbrights.

Also gave my Hurricone Cat 1 a good vinegar bath to clean it up and it went to the sump where I'm housing around 10 of my fish.

should fly back home in a couple of days and hopefully finish the following by end of this weeks
Finish electrical
Take out te Light rack for adding support points to it and installing attacements for 8x 54W T5s.
Add sand and start dry scape