New House and New 300 Gallon reef tank build w/ fish room

[scott11106]

Great build thread! We are purchasing a house (closing June 13!) and the basement will eventually be finished with the tanks (180 reef and 75 FOWLR) built into the plan.

Did you have a hard time explaining to the builders what you wanted as far as building the stand into the plans? I'm concerned that when we hire a contractor they might balk at this. I don't have any idea how to build a stand strong enough to hold a 180 gal tank, much less explain it to a non-reefing contractor.

GREAt !
just let me know if you have any questions as there is a bunch of details that i wish i would have done different or tweaked..
I used a metal stand from manufacturer but it would be easy for them to build it into the house with 2x6 framing. there is a bunch to think about now and i would draw it up so they can see what you are thinking as most contractors need a drawing to work from. one main thing is to determine how you want the floor to work? are you having a room with a floor drain? what happens if there is a catastrophe where will the water go? the other main thing will be power as you want a couple dedicated circuits and you may want to really think through where they will be. One thing i did not think through was that i was going to have an apex run all of the gear and to have things go on and off as i want, not to mention monitor power usage or problems they all need to be located together. also i needed to figure out how to get my 2 APC's so that they did not get overloaded as they only can run 900w through them.

wire management and cableing is a bear and i would think through all of that as i really was not sure and now i am trying to figure it out as we speak.
Having said all of that i am a strange bird and like to have my fish room as a display of sorts and most people dont want that so alot of the details might not matter that much to you.

good luck and let me know if i can help

 

[revhtree]

Killer build!

 

[scott11106]

Killer build!

thanks, still working on it but seems to be moving forward. my qt tank on the other hand is a problem child, moreover i think i made errors as i tried to add fish without cycling the qt tank, did not work out well. lesson learned and now trying to figure out the best way to do the QT tank. here is the thread on that SAGA
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/qt-tank-killed-all-new-fish.396454/

 

[jtietz]

I think we are all jealous

 

[scott11106]

I think we are all jealous

well thanks, i am learning as i go but i do not have the experience of you all and i am on a steep learning curve when it comes to a living aquarium and keeping it that way. i will have tons of questions and alot of help needed going forward...

but thank you i have really put time and research time in from the planning, purchasing and setup.

 

[scott11106]

ok, i have a ton of small particles in water column, they are not micro bubbles, i can dell if they are tiny pods or something or dust/dirt/stuff.

it does not seem to be affecting anything but the tank water is not clear and in the pictures if you zoom in you can see the stuff in the water. any ideas?

 

[scott11106]

could the issue with my chaeto dying off in refugium be the culprit of my particles in water? i put chaeto in refugium a while back and it is dying off for some reason (maybe water too clean?) anyway i have tried everything i know to get it to grow (see my post https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/why-is-my-chaeto-dying.399471/)

any ideas on this dilemma would be great

 

[hockeyhead019]

This build is epic! Don't beat yourself up about the wiring configuration, I think it looks real sharp. And you've paid attention to the key, separating power from data. Beautifully done fishroom. Can't wait to see this one move forward.

 

[scott11106]

well i could not figure out that all of the stuff in the water, im not sure but now there are tons of tine things on the glass so i assume it is some sort of spawning of pods or something... i assume this is a good thing

 

[scott11106]

good news that the things a was seeing was indeed a spawning as now there are tons of little critters...

water is now clear and tank is well on its way, added a couple shrimp and 4 new fish in the QT,,,

Also got the UV up and running and the CAL/ALK dosing is up and running also (not dosing CAL yet as it is good for now)

 

[Bruno516]

Sweet build progress from the beginning - love the CAD work you put into this. I need to hire you to design mine for my new home !

 

[scott11106]

Sweet build progress from the beginning - love the CAD work you put into this. I need to hire you to design mine for my new home !

thanks, not sure you would like the price but i am more than willing to help if you need anything, it was well worth the effort as it all pretty much worked as i planned. the only thing i did not do because i ran out of time was a wiring plan and i now wish i would have because i learned a ton and will have to re-setup due to all the wires and try and separate power and data..

 

[Reefin Dude]

How do you do this, and does it work for the older eb8 power bars?

sorry for the delay. not on Reef2Reef that much. here is the link i used to create a buzzer. as long as you have an open 24V port you can add a buzzer.

G~

 

[User]

sorry for the delay. not on Reef2Reef that much. here is the link i used to create a buzzer. as long as you have an open 24V port you can add a buzzer.

G~

So simple, thanks!!

Easily adapted by running one of those buzzers off a 12v wall wart plugged into an eb8 outlet. And with virtual outlets, I can program Osc commands to give me different sounds for different alerts.

Definitely will be going this- thanks.

 

[scott11106]

well i have been busy with fine tuning the system, i have had the worst time trying to get the chaeto to grow in the refugium, or should i say get it to stay in one piece and grow in refugium as i tried with no additional flow and it it was dying so i added flow and that helped so it did not dye but it kept getting pulled to the power head or to the grate going to return pump and it gets pulled apart. i tried to build up the rock pieces i have in there to stop this from happening but that worked a bit but not enough.
I still am trying to figure this out but i added a clear water cw200 algae scrubber and i am thinking this will take the place of trying to get the chaeto to grow and stay in one piece

sure would appreciate any input on this

 

[NY_Caveman]

Hey Scott, I have no experience in that specifically, but I would suggest starting a specific new thread to get more eyes on it. Maybe in the Macroalgae forum.

Good luck with the scrubber. I have read good things about them.

 

[roberthu526]

Following! My tank will be here in about a month and it’s also a 300G. I am going a little different route but it’s a dedicated fish room for sure.

 

[Mark Gray]

well i have been busy with fine tuning the system, i have had the worst time trying to get the chaeto to grow in the refugium, or should i say get it to stay in one piece and grow in refugium as i tried with no additional flow and it it was dying so i added flow and that helped so it did not dye but it kept getting pulled to the power head or to the grate going to return pump and it gets pulled apart. i tried to build up the rock pieces i have in there to stop this from happening but that worked a bit but not enough.
I still am trying to figure this out but i added a clear water cw200 algae scrubber and i am thinking this will take the place of trying to get the chaeto to grow and stay in one piece

sure would appreciate any input on this

I had the problem for awhile but it has gone away now, first it was my light just did not grow, then after I got the cheato to grow it started to break up, well it had pulled most of the nutrients out of the tank. Cheato need Iron for sure and Nitrate and likes phosphate if all are close to Zero I think that might be what's wrong

 

[EW_Fish]

well i have been busy with fine tuning the system, i have had the worst time trying to get the chaeto to grow in the refugium, or should i say get it to stay in one piece and grow in refugium as i tried with no additional flow and it it was dying so i added flow and that helped so it did not dye but it kept getting pulled to the power head or to the grate going to return pump and it gets pulled apart. i tried to build up the rock pieces i have in there to stop this from happening but that worked a bit but not enough.
I still am trying to figure this out but i added a clear water cw200 algae scrubber and i am thinking this will take the place of trying to get the chaeto to grow and stay in one piece

sure would appreciate any input on this

You need nutrients to feed the chaeto. You have a large system and doesn't look like its high stocked. I would just pull it till the time is needed.

 

[scott11106]

Yes i think you are correct and i am going to pull it for now, however i do have hair algae growing in display so they has to be some nutrients...