New Crystal Dynamics 180 gallon Tank

[Cesteban721]

That's a beaut!!

Thank you, thinking the pictures they've sent wont do the tank justice when I finally get to see it in person!

 

[Reef370]

Looking awesome.....

 

[Cesteban721]

Tank is finally in route. Hoping it makes it here in one piece. Traveling from California to Texas. Below is the finished product prior to CDA crating the system. Been a long 10 months, but the wait is finally almost over.

 

[Reef370]

Can’t wait to follow the build thread... I don’t think you should have a problem with delivery... Mine was from California to Virginia and it arrived in perfect shape!

 

[Cesteban721]

Small update. Tank arrived last Tuesday in great shape. Haven’t done anything else besides finish the mixing station. Need to figure out how I’m going to move this thing.

 

[Billldg]

That is going to be a AWESOME looking tank. I am eagerly awaiting my 225 CDA tank.

Congrats!!!

 

[Reef370]

Looking good ! Can’t wait to follow the progress! @Billldg patience my friend!!! It will be here before you know it.... will you be ready???

 

[Pntbll687]

Small update. Tank arrived last Tuesday in great shape. Haven’t done anything else besides finish the mixing station. Need to figure out how I’m going to move this thing.

Looking good!

You should be able to move it no problem with three people. My father in law and I moved my 180, the only issue we had was getting it on the 41" tall stand, one more person would have been nice.

3 people x 3-4 pieces of pizza each + 3 beers each = 12 beers and 2 pizzas, should be the total cost for moving that tank.

 

[Gablami]

I’ve never moved a big tank without suction cups. I’d be kinda scared to do it without, honestly. With suction cups, easy job. I’m sure it’s possible without...just maybe more stressful.

 

[Tom Stevens]

I’ve never moved a big tank without suction cups. I’d be kinda scared to do it without, honestly. With suction cups, easy job. I’m sure it’s possible without...just maybe more stressful.

I would not skimp on help either. Always good to have too much just in case a hand slips. You don’t want your investment on the floor in tiny pieces.

I move my CDA 180 and there were six of us. Overkill maybe, but there were a couple of times I was glad for the help. I also kept the tank in the box and put on furniture dollys and rolled it close to the final location. That work great and took some of the stress factor away.

 

[Cesteban721]

You won’t be disappointed! Very pleased with how it came out. Once I move the tank in place, plan on taking pictures of everything in detail.

That is going to be a AWESOME looking tank. I am eagerly awaiting my 225 CDA tank.

Congrats!!!

 

[Cesteban721]

Looking good!

You should be able to move it no problem with three people. My father in law and I moved my 180, the only issue we had was getting it on the 41" tall stand, one more person would have been nice.

3 people x 3-4 pieces of pizza each + 3 beers each = 12 beers and 2 pizzas, should be the total cost for moving that tank.

Very nice, that’s what I’m thinking. Invested in 4 heavy duty suction cups and the beer is already been iced down!

 

[Cesteban721]

I would not skimp on help either. Always good to have too much just in case a hand slips. You don’t want your investment on the floor in tiny pieces.

I move my CDA 180 and there were six of us. Overkill maybe, but there were a couple of times I was glad for the help. I also kept the tank in the box and put on furniture dollys and rolled it close to the final location. That work great and took some of the stress factor away.

I appreciate the advice. Luckily the move from the garage to the final spot is about 20 feet. In theory, sounds too easy! My biggest concern is lifting it 40in to the stand. Furniture dollies are going to be used, unfortunately it’ll need to be pulled from the shipping crate. When I ordered the 30in wide tank,I accounted for my 32in doorway. Unfortunately the crate is too wide. Definitely over thinking it but I don’t want to be picking up glass shards on moving day.

 

[forestsofkelp]

I am eagerly following this thread since I am about to order the exact same tank, except as peninsula...and I have to move it down a 32 in concrete stairway that narrows to 30 at some parts, with dollies, probably remove some rain gutters along the way.

Is that the metal frame cover?

Congrats, that tank looks awesome I cant wait to see it built up!

 

[Rrwilson1223]

Awesome tank! You are way more patient than I. Following along!

 

[Cesteban721]

I am eagerly following this thread since I am about to order the exact same tank, except as peninsula...and I have to move it down a 32 in concrete stairway that narrows to 30 at some parts, with dollies, probably remove some rain gutters along the way.

Is that the metal frame cover?

Congrats, that tank looks awesome I cant wait to see it built up!

Yes it is.

I am eagerly following this thread since I am about to order the exact same tank, except as peninsula...and I have to move it down a 32 in concrete stairway that narrows to 30 at some parts, with dollies, probably remove some rain gutters along the way.

Is that the metal frame cover?

Congrats, that tank looks awesome I cant wait to see it built up!

Thanks you. Unfortunately have had much to update yet. Have yet to lift the tank, but I have moved the stand inside. A peninsula in these dimensions would be awesome! Yes, it is the metal stand with the magnetic wood panel. In person, the panels look very slick and fit nicely against the stand.

 

[Cesteban721]

Big day yesterday. Moved the tank in place with 4 buddies and a material lift. Hard part is finally over. Should have it plumbed up over the next few days.

 

[Cesteban721]

Major Updates

Plumbing was completed on the 26th and the tank saw salt water on the 27th. Unfortunately I did not plan ahead and did not not have enough salt on hand to mix the roughly 170ish gallons I would need to fill the tank and sump. I only had enough salt to mix to 1.022. In the long run, this worked out since I planned on using Fritz Turbo Start 9000 to cycle the tank. The advanced method calls for lower salinity during the cycle.

Ran the system for a couple of days and proceeded to chase leaks on the overflow box. Finally sorted out the leaks around the overflow box and dropped 2 bottles of Turbo Start 9000 (8oz) in on the 4th of September. I used Algae Barns Nitrocycle as a food source for the bacteria and was skeptical on the amount of time it would take to cycle. The water turned a cloudy brown color from the bacteria taking over. Needless to say I was very surprised by the results.

The first reading on 5th of September, a day after adding the bacteria/nitrocycle and using salifert test kits for NH3/NH4, N02 and NO3, registered:

1.5 PPM NH3/NH4
0.025 PPM NO2
0.1 NO3

Daily test results were logged in Apex Fusion Measurements and are below.

NH3/NH4 have been undetectable since the 12th of September, however NO2 remained detectable until the 15th of September. NO2 was not detectable on the 16th, so I changed about 10% of the water volume, tested again and still showed 0. NO3 peaked at 25 PPM before the water change and dropped down to 5 PPM afterwards. The plan is to keep NO3 in the system from the start in an attempt to avoid Dinos. I experienced this plague in the first tank and my anecdotal experience found that bottomed out nutrients allowed them to take over.

The first test fish (4 small damsels) went in on the 14th of September and have been doing well. I started running the skimmer, Deltec 1000i, on the 15th for several hours a day via programming on the Apex.

The fish were eating well and I decided to add 2 more on 24th. I want this system to look proportional to a real reef, so the fish will need to stay on the smaller size and be colorful. I’ve always wanted Helfrichi Firefish, so I pulled the trigger and purchased 2 of them. They have been in the tank for a week now and everyone is getting along nicely. The firefish have yet to stake out individual territories and are acting like a bonded pair for the time being. They follow each other around the tank and are always out in the open. I know it’s only a matter of time before they drop the friends act.

Since the tank is 60x30, they should have enough space, with additional hiding area, to get away from each other. I realized once the tank arrived that I did not have enough rock in the system for the number of small fish I plan on ultimately housing and purchased more. I have one more piece of Vidarock due to arrive soon that will allow me to maintain the minimalist look for coral placement and while giving the fish space for territories.

I have been planning the stocking list for a while now and have come up with the following:

3 Yellow Assessors
1 Chalk Bass
1 TBD Basslet
1 White Tail Tang
1 Gem Tang
1 Circus Goby
3-5 Lyre Tail Anthias


So, fish additions are done for a little while. The next additions will be 3 yellow assessors in the coming weeks followed by a basslet. The additional basslet choice will be tough. Since it is a dream tank build, why not a dream fish? Reasonable me thinks Swales Swissguard basslet, however the idea of a Candy Basslet is hard to put aside. We will see which fish wins out. Tangs will show up once I turn the lights on and algae starts appearing. The Anthias will be last.

I just about finished the electrical panel. Need to make a shelf for the power bricks and pick up the covers for the wire raceways.

Still need to get a decent ATO container, but the homedepot bucket will do for the time being.

That’s it for now. Will post again once the next fish arrive.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Major Updates

Plumbing was completed on the 26th and the tank saw salt water on the 27th. Unfortunately I did not plan ahead and did not not have enough salt on hand to mix the roughly 170ish gallons I would need to fill the tank and sump. I only had enough salt to mix to 1.022. In the long run, this worked out since I planned on using Fritz Turbo Start 9000 to cycle the tank. The advanced method calls for lower salinity during the cycle.

Ran the system for a couple of days and proceeded to chase leaks on the overflow box. Finally sorted out the leaks around the overflow box and dropped 2 bottles of Turbo Start 9000 (8oz) in on the 4th of September. I used Algae Barns Nitrocycle as a food source for the bacteria and was skeptical on the amount of time it would take to cycle. The water turned a cloudy brown color from the bacteria taking over. Needless to say I was very surprised by the results.

The first reading on 5th of September, a day after adding the bacteria/nitrocycle and using salifert test kits for NH3/NH4, N02 and NO3, registered:

1.5 PPM NH3/NH4
0.025 PPM NO2
0.1 NO3

Daily test results were logged in Apex Fusion Measurements and are below.

NH3/NH4 have been undetectable since the 12th of September, however NO2 remained detectable until the 15th of September. NO2 was not detectable on the 16th, so I changed about 10% of the water volume, tested again and still showed 0. NO3 peaked at 25 PPM before the water change and dropped down to 5 PPM afterwards. The plan is to keep NO3 in the system from the start in an attempt to avoid Dinos. I experienced this plague in the first tank and my anecdotal experience found that bottomed out nutrients allowed them to take over.

The first test fish (4 small damsels) went in on the 14th of September and have been doing well. I started running the skimmer, Deltec 1000i, on the 15th for several hours a day via programming on the Apex.

The fish were eating well and I decided to add 2 more on 24th. I want this system to look proportional to a real reef, so the fish will need to stay on the smaller size and be colorful. I’ve always wanted Helfrichi Firefish, so I pulled the trigger and purchased 2 of them. They have been in the tank for a week now and everyone is getting along nicely. The firefish have yet to stake out individual territories and are acting like a bonded pair for the time being. They follow each other around the tank and are always out in the open. I know it’s only a matter of time before they drop the friends act.

Since the tank is 60x30, they should have enough space, with additional hiding area, to get away from each other. I realized once the tank arrived that I did not have enough rock in the system for the number of small fish I plan on ultimately housing and purchased more. I have one more piece of Vidarock due to arrive soon that will allow me to maintain the minimalist look for coral placement and while giving the fish space for territories.

I have been planning the stocking list for a while now and have come up with the following:

3 Yellow Assessors
1 Chalk Bass
1 TBD Basslet
1 White Tail Tang
1 Gem Tang
1 Circus Goby
3-5 Lyre Tail Anthias


So, fish additions are done for a little while. The next additions will be 3 yellow assessors in the coming weeks followed by a basslet. The additional basslet choice will be tough. Since it is a dream tank build, why not a dream fish? Reasonable me thinks Swales Swissguard basslet, however the idea of a Candy Basslet is hard to put aside. We will see which fish wins out. Tangs will show up once I turn the lights on and algae starts appearing. The Anthias will be last.

I just about finished the electrical panel. Need to make a shelf for the power bricks and pick up the covers for the wire raceways.

Still need to get a decent ATO container, but the homedepot bucket will do for the time being.

That’s it for now. Will post again once the next fish arrive.

Really looking good! Love how clean it looks under the stand. You have a real show piece going on there! Kudos!

 

[MERKEY]

Looking real good!