New LED powered 150g SPS Tank in TX

[olaggie01]

personally i would of went 1-1/4" tubing, but its a cube so i dont see much flex

Thanks nixer. I would agree that 1.25" would have been a little beefier, but 1" should be no problem.

Got the lights up on the tank yesterday and picked up the Snapper pump. Just need to finish the overflow box and pick up some 2" pvc to feed the snapper so that I can start on the plumbing.

Here is an iphone photo of the lights on the tank. As you can see, the iphone does an excellent job of picking up the brightness of the light.

Also, here is the layout again with the completed LED fixtures. I think I may need to widen it a few inches to accommodate the T5s.

For some reason, something is really slowing me down on this build. I wonder if I can grab a picture of it next time I see it.

Ahh, the elusive, time/money sink makes an appearance outside in the garage.

And a little more normal shot:

 

[skinz78]

Ahh a little cutie! how old?

 

[Rickyrooz]

Following along

 

[DallasJohn210]

Where you in Texas? I live in Las Colinas at the Byron.

How's the tank? Great local Aussie coral source if needed.

John

 

[gar732]

Nice build. I like the footprint of the tank. I like the lights also, I was thinking of doing something similar. Just a heads up on those ora mandrins, I picked one up thinking it was going to be easy to keep. Wrong. He wouldn't eat frozen like they claimed. I figured no problem since I have a ton of pods and I bought more just to be sure. I never saw him eat and he ended up dying. I'd just hate to see someone else waste there money. I guess its a pretty common problem. I'll be following along.

Oh, and where did you get that top off tank from? I'm looking for something like that.

 

[olaggie01]

Ahh a little cutie! how old?

Thanks. He was about 10 days old I. Those pictures. A month old now.

 

[olaggie01]

Where you in Texas? I live in Las Colinas at the Byron.

How's the tank? Great local Aussie coral source if needed.

John

Austin.

Tank is moving along. Getting some plumbing done today inbetween naps.

I'll pm you once I get water in the tank about the Aussie corals.

 

[olaggie01]

Following along

Glad to have you aboard

 

[olaggie01]

Nice build. I like the footprint of the tank. I like the lights also, I was thinking of doing something similar. Just a heads up on those ora mandrins, I picked one up thinking it was going to be easy to keep. Wrong. He wouldn't eat frozen like they claimed. I figured no problem since I have a ton of pods and I bought more just to be sure. I never saw him eat and he ended up dying. I'd just hate to see someone else waste there money. I guess its a pretty common problem. I'll be following along.

Oh, and where did you get that top off tank from? I'm looking for something like that.

That's a shame about the mandarins. I was really hoping they would accept frozen foods.

Ended up getting it at us plastics. I needed something tall and skinny and this works well especially with the top. Kinda glad it is black but wish it was clear to see the water level.

 

[olaggie01]

Minor setback today. Tried to move the tank across the yard, and figured that the grass was dry enough from the rain this weekend but I was wrong. Got the tank loaded up into the back of the truck and started across the yard, only to make it through the gate and have no traction.

But I did get the overflow re-siliconed and the background put on. I even moved the 40g over since the 150g will be in it's place, albeit on Sunday instead of today.

 

[bige]

Did I see some of this build on austin reef club? Your guest house looks familiar. What are the t5s for? Extra light?

 

[mizzoumed02]

Great Build Thread. This is going to be awesome once it's all done. I'll be following along on this one!

 

[Jcr's Reef]

Can't wait to see more

 

[olaggie01]

Did I see some of this build on austin reef club? Your guest house looks familiar. What are the t5s for? Extra light?

Yeah, I've got it on ARC. I was thinking about using the T5s for supplementation if the LEDs don't give me the color or growth I'm anticipating.

 

[olaggie01]

Great Build Thread. This is going to be awesome once it's all done. I'll be following along on this one!

Can't wait to see more

Thanks. Got a pretty big update coming shortly.

 

[olaggie01]

So with the help of some friends, we got the tank moved on Sunday. It wasn't too bad with 4 of us, with 2 of us it is a bit heavy.

And Rieston says "Yyyyeeeaaahh"

but one problem, not enough water yet.

And Rieston is unhappy again

So begins the time consuming water production in a cool winter evening.

Got some of the rocks into the tank and filled them with all the SW I had on hand.

Got the sump installed with the pump and drains

 

[olaggie01]

Here is the initial aquascape. This is looking from the top on the left side.

I have some LR that I'll be adding once I break down my 40g, but I like how it is so far. I have some other ideas about the back wall.

Got the LEDs up as well, hopefully today I'll have the profilux back running.

 

[skinz78]

Looking great so far!

 

[Troylee]

Pretty cool.... Coming along nicely... As a fabricator I would have used 1-1/2" sq tube myself on the stand 1" is a little iffy IMHO... It's prolly thin wall I'm assuming also??? Meaning .065 or something similar... I have never built a stand with anything less than 1-1/2" and 3/16" wall the price is only a few bucks different.... I wouldn't have brought it up but seeing all the posts about It I kept looking at it and that's got me wondering.... Looks good thus far thou just keep a real good eye on it... You got a 1000lbs sitting on top there I would try pushing on the tank while it is filling up and see if it feels solid or if it's swaying... You should be able to tell from that if it's strong enough.... Good luck...;)