My first big tank, 180 gallon build thread

[TARHEEL78]

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[JumboShrimp]

Nice 'stuff'... but can't wait until you work your tank magic on all of it. Lol. We love photos. :)

 

[TARHEEL78]

Nice 'stuff'... but can't wait until you work your tank magic on all of it. Lol. We love photos. :)

I highly doubt there will be any magic. I'm sure there will be a ton of stupid questions though. On a side note, I forgot to mention that I hated the stand the way it was so I tore it apart and widened it enough to hit an actual sump in it instead of a thin 30 gallon tank like the previous owner had. Here's a pic of the frame after it was widened.

 

[TARHEEL78]

Also, updated sump dimensions and brand.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Good move. You're going from scratch-- so take advantage of that and make it the way you "really" want it.

 

[TARHEEL78]

That's the plan, I've been thinking about a makeover for the canopy as well.

 

[TARHEEL78]

So no one sees any glaring omission from my list of goods? There are some things I'd like to add but they will probably come at a later date.

 

[Irishman]

Are you just going with one heater?

Everything else looks pretty good. Can’t wait to see it all come together. I just got done aquascaping my 180.

 

[TARHEEL78]

Yes, I'm in Florida so the heater won't have to work too hard. The 800 watt claims to be good for 200+ gallon tanks.

On a side note, I found out the new flooring will be here Monday so we did all the demo work today. I also picked up some damaged cabinets from Lowes for $15 each and I'm going to pirate the doors from the for my stand. More pics coming up.

 

[TARHEEL78]

I got 2 of the smaller cabinets so those 4 doors will be on the front and the 2 doors from the other will be on the sides.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Keep up the pix.you have almost my exact set up. the AI 26 may not be enough light. I run 3 of the 52 hd and ended up gettin an ati hybrid to mount them in.

I run mp40 but always wondered about the gyre, let me know how u like them.

I don’t run apex, but titanium heater with controller should be more than enough.

 

[RobW]

So, I've been helping my girlfriend out with her 75 gallon tank for a while now and I think she got tired of me constantly poking her to do water tests, changes etc. She finally had enough and told me if I wanted to mess with a tank I should get my own so I did. Long story short, I found a 72x24x24 tank with a stand and T5 retrofit canopy from a member here and picked up a few extras he had while I was there. Hopefully this build won't take forever but it will be several weeks as we just ordered new flooring and the tank won't be set up until that is installed. Anyway, here is a list of what I currently have or have ordered. I think most of what I want/need is covered but if you see anything missing feel free to leave a comment.

Marineland 180
custom DIY stand
custom DIY canopy with 4 T5 bulbs
36x18x18 My reef creations sump
NYOS quantum 160 skimmer
2 maxspect gyre XF250 with controller
Modular marine 1800 GPH overflow
3 AI hydra 26 HD
Neptune Apex with WIFI
Neptune COR-20 return pump
Neptune ATK top off
Neptune probe rack
Finnex 800 watt titanium heater
Marine pure 8x8x4 block
80#s CaribSea Dry Aragonite Special Grade Reef Sand
an unknown weight of Haitian dry rock, I may need more of this it's probably around 100#s
Loc-line pieces for return plumbing inside the tank

I think that covers everything I have now. Once the floor is in and the tank is drilled I'll get the rest of the plumbing pieces. I'm also planning to find a light of some kind for inside the stand and possibly a fan. There it is, hopefully this will start moving pretty fast after next weekend. Maybe I'll post some random pics until then to keep myself busy.

I'd stay away from the Neptune auto top off. That thing never works right. Your better off with a tunze Osmolator or using litermeters from spectrapure.

 

[TARHEEL78]

I'd stay away from the Neptune auto top off. That thing never works right. Your better off with a tunze Osmolator or using litermeters from spectrapure.

Too late now, already bought and paid for. If it doesn't work well I'll explore other options I guess.

 

[TARHEEL78]

Keep up the pix.you have almost my exact set up. the AI 26 may not be enough light. I run 3 of the 52 hd and ended up gettin an ati hybrid to mount them in.

I run mp40 but always wondered about the gyre, let me know how u like them.

I don’t run apex, but titanium heater with controller should be more than enough.

Do you run your 52s with T5s? I asked around and was told 3 26s with the 4 T5 bulbs would be good. Second guessing myself now.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Do you run your 52s with T5s? I asked around and was told 3 26s with the 4 T5 bulbs would be good. Second guessing myself now.

Sorry
They are, my bad. Just tired I guess. I remember even reading it twice and thought nice set up. Should be nice set up.

I would say grab a few extra bags of sand. I used 130# of pink and could have used 20 more. Can’t hurt buy buy extra and return if not needed. I rinsed the heck out of my sand before putting in. Saved a ton of cloudiness

Love the nyos. Works well.

Should be nice

 

[TARHEEL78]

Sorry
They are, my bad. Just tired I guess. I remember even reading it twice and thought nice set up. Should be nice set up.

I would say grab a few extra bags of sand. I used 130# of pink and could have used 20 more. Can’t hurt buy buy extra and return if not needed. I rinsed the heck out of my sand before putting in. Saved a ton of cloudiness

Love the nyos. Works well.

Should be nice

Great, thanks!

 

[Irishman]

Nice score at Lowe’s! I gotta figure out a what I want to do with facade on my build. It’s a steel stand so something that’s like so the magnets will hold it.

 

[RobW]

Too late now, already bought and paid for. If it doesn't work well I'll explore other options I guess.

Well, hopefully you have a good experience with it. I've never had one personally but, everyone I have spoken that has one says they are not worth it. Something about the sensors not really working correctly. Anyway, good luck with it. Let me know how it works out.

 

[Dub_G]

Looks good - can't wait to see your build.

 

[TARHEEL78]

The new flooring is finally complete, time to get back to work on the stand.

Also, this rock had been previously cured but it's been sitting for quite a while so I decided to give it a short 10:1 bleach bath, I'll probably do a vinegar bath, then water bath and let it sun dry before use.