My 180 SPS Kingdom

[Acro maniac]

Over the weekend i worked on the doors. I splined the panels into the frames for the 2 center doors. If had not run out of glue i would have built the 2 side doors and installed the 4in tongue and groove on the doors. I will be finishing the doors up soon. I did get the front doors hung.

The 2 center doors and the ends will be framed tongue and groove. The 2 outside front doors are louvered for air. Left side will house a chiller. I also installed the petitions to seperate the chiller section from the sump, and the sump from equipment.

 

[Acro maniac]

with yhe petitions in and the doors hung on the front.

(The 2 center doors are bifold to allow plenty of access to sump area.)
Here is another angle showing the equipment cabinet

Ill be finshing the doors for this side and the other side soon enough.
Sence i was out of glue i figured i would use the opportunity to cut and fit the starboard. So that its done and behind me.

Looks like the rock is shippex and will be at my door step tonight. Ill need to reread the acid, bleach and rinse process again. To refresh on the how all that should be done. Ill post up some pick when i see what i get.

 

[Acro maniac]

Its been a couple weeks since i have updated. Life is a strain on things enjoyed. I have had some issues trying to stablize my alk consumption after dosing interceptor to remove black bugs. It seems like the consumption of alk was pretty eradict. Which lead to a couple swings. Not really sure why probably a combination of things. What also didnt help was that I was not getting accurate readings from my test kit. So my existing tank has commanded more time then normal.
I have been able to do some work on the build in my free time.
I did recieve the rock from BRS and it looks good.

Pretty good size pieces . This is just a quick stack to see what im looking at.
Roughly 20in deep x 12in height x 60in length

It will allow for lots of area for corals.
Im debating on weather or not to acid bath it. Not sure yet i really dont want to loose the size by 5-10%. I will bleach to remove organics and the rinse etc etc. If anyone has any opinions on either let me know.
I also was able to skin all my cabinet doors. Ill take some picks tonight they currently have weights on them.
I removed all the petitions in the cabinet and got all the interior painted with kills. I will also take some picks of this as well tonight.
Hoping to stain the outside this weekend. I went with a charcoal looking color once i get the depth of color i desire ill be finishing with 2 coats of clear.
Sorry about the lack of picks ill upload them soon

 

[najer]

Very nice selection of rock.

 

[Acro maniac]

Very nice selection of rock.

Thanks najar, BRS did a good job picking out what i asked for. 100lbs of 12x12x12 and make up the total with larger size. It worked good i have 2 pieces in the 15, 16in range.

 

[najer]

I love playing with rocks, can't wait to see what you come up with.

 

[tsav87]

Sweet build! Tagging along!

 

[Acro maniac]

Sweet build! Tagging along!

Thanks tsav87, Its been alot of work but the end product will be everything ( I think) I need to make reef life more enjoyable

 

[CastAway]

I rinsed my BRS pukani in tap and used it. Whatever organics were present, if any, only served to help begin the cycle IMO.

The whole bound P thing is bunk IMO, as the pH required to make it an issue is way below where the tank will run. Not a popular opinion, but....

Did you say sand or BB?

 

[Acro maniac]

I rinsed my BRS pukani in tap and used it. Whatever organics were present, if any, only served to help begin the cycle IMO.

The whole bound P thing is bunk IMO, as the pH required to make it an issue is way below where the tank will run. Not a popular opinion, but....

Did you say sand or BB?

Bb.
That is good to know i really didnt want to do a chem rinse and dont mind not being popular. I also dont want to deal with elevated po4 for the first 6-8 months.
This is the first time im using dry rock, last tank that i started from scratch i used fiji live ( the latest and greatest at the time) now i dont want the hitchhikers.
What did your po4 levels look like? How long did you let it soak? Or did you literally just rinse it?

 

[CastAway]

Literally just a rinse. I don't think I checked PO4 until I was a couple mos in.

 

[Acro maniac]

Literally just a rinse. I don't think I checked PO4 until I was a couple mos in.

Thanks i was looking for a reason not to chem dip

 

[Baker Co.]

Things are looking good!

 

[Acro maniac]

Things are looking good!

Thanks Baker Co.
Im planning on staining the stand this weekend. Trying to decide on spraying the stain or wiping. Will see where i end up.

 

[Acro maniac]

Here is a picture of the all the doors now that they are complete and waiting for stain.

With the doors removed i took the opportunity to paint the inside with kills. Heres a couple pictures

I have decided to spray the stain because of the louvered doors and other challenging areas to have to get the stain consistant. Ill be staining tomorrow.
Also kicking around the idea of painting over the kills with a grey latax paint. I like the bright and clean look off the white but i think white will hide salt creep. I would rather see a leak early to resolve it. Ill update after staining.

 

[Acro maniac]

I finished up all the woodwork on the stand and got it all sanded out.
Saturday i sprayed 2 coats on the stand and doors with ebony colored stain. I let it sit overnight and this morning i went out and sprayed the clear. I ended up putting 3 coats of clear

I was kicking around the idea of painting the inside of the stand grey so it isnt so bright and to be a little more revealing if i end up with a leak or spill. Another reason for paiting over the kills is it really never fully cures like regular latax. Anyway i did paint the inside grey. Ill have to take pictures when i install all the petitions. Heres a pic with the doors installed and you can get a glipse of the grey interior.

With all the drying down time i broke into the box of rocks. As ive posted earlier i purchased 100lbs of dry pukini rock from brs. I was trying to come up with a plan to clean it up. Acid? No, bleach? No, i ended up just blasting it with a pressure washer letting it dry out a little and ended up piling it into a 35 gal bin with rodi water and a few powerheads

I tested tds at 138, po4 at 0.03 and no3 at 5. After circulating for about 3 hours i rechecked tds and it went up to 392. I am going to check again tomorrow. I will probably just use the city water from here until the tds come down because tds at the sink is 216 and we havent shown any chlorine when i have tested. Instead of using up my di and ro filters ill wait until tds is around 230-240.
Has anyone ever just used fresh water to expell the unwanted nutrients from rock? Im sure im not the first. I also have alot of time before the tank will be setup. We are looking at November to be moving. It should be good by then.
Kind of a big post thanks for reading.

 

[MarylandTang]

Your stand is really well done! Most 2x4 constructed stands don't turn out half as elegant as yours. Nice work on the doors -- looking forward to seeing it filled.

 

[Acro maniac]

Your stand is really well done! Most 2x4 constructed stands don't turn out half as elegant as yours. Nice work on the doors -- looking forward to seeing it filled.

Thanks MarylandTang, alot of time spent sorting through the select 2x6 and 2x4 and a little help with a planer.

 

[Acro maniac]

Tonight when i came home from i tested the tds in the bin of rock. 566 tds thats alot more then twice what get at the tap.
I ended up draining the bin and refilling with tap water. When i geta a stable reading close to that ill switch back to the rodi water. The fresh batch tds reading is 223. Ill check it again tomorrow after work. Here a picture of all the detritus and unwanted organics that settled in the bottom

Lets see what we get tomorrow.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Looking good so far!