New Tank Build Thread Roger from Tunze

[rvitko]

So, I have been working on this for a while. Finally, have something to show for it though. The gist of my build is we moved, and not planned or expected. My wife took a break from work to raise our kids, they are now school age and she worked hard evenings and weekends and got a degree in real estate and is now back to work. So, I always wanted to live in the country, she is a city girl, we found a place right outside city limits on 15 acres and jumped on it and it was not intentional looking, she happened to be searching for a client. I have had a 215 for the last 2.5 years as a reef. New house will get a 265, 7ft by 24" by 30". Most of the equipment is here or ordered, I just finished building my stand except the sliding doors. Tank and sump should be here shortly. Tank is being built by Reef Aquaria Design, sump is an iSump from My Reef Creations, custom made to hold all Tunze equipment, including a 3172 Calcium Reactor and 9430 Skimmer. Once the tank is done, the old guys will move over, it is the last thing at our old house.

 

[Ruben's Reef]

Stand looks nice and solid. Following>>>>

 

[GoVols]

Sounds good, Roger

Would like to tag along.

Freddie

 

[rvitko]

If anyone was curious, here is the skeleton of the stand, I left a big open spot in the back for the overflow box, I really hate things in my way when I am plumbing. The plywood is 3/4" maple and the back sheet is solid, just cut out in the middle for outlets and ventilation. To accommodate the wide open front the top front beam is a 2 *6 and a 2*4 with a 1.5" aluminum square tube, this should prevent any deflection. The doors will be 1/4" acrylic sliding doors, I am trying to find a kind of sea foam green and orange, we have an Ikea TV stand that is sea foam green and a rocking chair with orange upholstery, hence the color choices.

 

[Devaji]

Roger that...Roger...
sorry could not help my self.
that looks like one heavy duty build stand. got pic of the build process?

haha that is what I get for walking away mid replay.

 

[rvitko]

Roger that...Roger...
sorry could not help my self.
that looks like one heavy duty build stand. got pic of the build process?

haha that is what I get for walking away mid replay.

So, I don't have step by step, basically I watched 2 videos on you tube, I didn't even draw a plan, I did it George Lopez style and just had an idea I worked from and besides some scratch paper to work out dimensions that was it. I watched a video by DIY king on making a stand for his 500 and one from Mad Hatters. Everything is glued and screwed and I used these really heavy duty screws in most places- https://www.lowes.com/pd/FastenMast...erior-Structural-Wood-Screws-50-Count/3295058

 

[rvitko]

I think the most critical thing I did was at every step I checked that I was staying true and level, somehow I still ended up with one side 1/8" wider than the other side but it is level. I used a belt sander and 40 grit to work down any high spots and with straight edge checked that no points would put stress on the tank when finished.

 

[joseserrano]

Following, this should be very cool. Roger is very detail oriented. Roger, do you have any other equipment picked out?

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Following!! Can't wait to see what you do with this, Roger!!!

 

[rvitko]

Following, this should be very cool. Roger is very detail oriented. Roger, do you have any other equipment picked out?

Jose, I will move over my existing chiller and UV, UV is a 50W Pentair, chiller is a Penguin 1/2 hp. Penguin it seems no longer makes aquarium chillers, but when I got it I was intrigued because it was made in the US, it is basically a converted window unit and has been reliable and it was cheap. I have 2 new 300W Eheim heaters, an Iwaki 20RLXT that will pair with my existing 20RLXT for my return, each return will have its own pump. I like Iwaki because they are virtually bulletproof and while they tend to be power hogs the small ones aren't so bad. Sump is being made by MRC and it will be possible to fully close it and it will have a 9430 skimmer and 3172 Calcium Reactor. I will use the Carbon Doser for CO2. MRC is building in a media reactor and 2 7" socks and probe/ dosing line mounts. Lighting will be 6 Kessil 360X in 2 3ft Aquatic Life hybrid fixtures with 2 XHO Reefbrite blues as well. I am not a blue light fan, likely because when I started reefing, the gospel was Sanjay's Iwasaki 6500K and VHO Actinics and other than that Ushio 10K and that is still my preference so I am hoping between all of those to find a combo that is 10-12K but still has the pop of actinic lighting. Flow I am still thinking, I had the tank built with the water line 2" below the top edge, it is a rimless, braceless tank, I am leaning toward 2 6150's and a Wavebox 6214. I have a lot of existing rock that is Real Reef Shelf and I have a couple hundred pounds of Marco rock shelf and mortar. I will probably mostly use the new rock, but my old rock is covered in micro duster clusters and I will definitely take some to seed the new tank. The main things I am still shopping are dosing and controlling. I would like to use the 7000 Smart Controller, but the new update likely won't be ready yet, I may just limp by with my older one, I am not a huge controller geek so I just need something to run the lights, pumps and CO2. My only other consideration is dosing, I am a big believer in carbon dosing and I make my own concoction of vinegar and denatured alcohol and vitamin c. I also am a big believer in Acropower and I dose hW Trace Tip 1 and 2. I am leaning toward a GHL doser and for that reason, I am thinking of a full GHL control set up vs getting the stand alone doser. I'll also probably DIY a larger kalkwasser reactor. Still, I have made it all this time just manually dosing everything and I generally prefer a hands on approach, automation often it seems can be more trouble than it is worth.

 

[joseserrano]

Doing anything new/different on this tank, versus possibly automating more?

 

[rvitko]

Doing anything new/different on this tank, versus possibly automating more?

Only real change is no Euphyllias, the latest Semilarvatus I got eats them, the one I had before did not, I love the fish and he is very healthy, so I gave away all the Euphyllias. LPS will be limited to lobos and acanths and favias, I will be doing a lot more SPS. I also plan to add some more fish, ideas include a couple pyramids, maybe a gem or purple tang and some sort of small fish, leaning towards some type of cardinal. I have also considered yellow headed jaw fish, they have always been a favorite. I also got a D&D screen top, it looks pretty nice compared to my old screen top.

 

[rvitko]

This is so awesome, I really nearly teared up. I asked MRC to make me a sump, they went above and beyond, the Tunze logo was just them playing around and making it special, nothing I requested. This is just an amazing sump! I have never had a real sump, I always had just the usual glass tank repurposed, home drilled and baffles glued in myself, this is just amazing! I cant wait to have it in my hands.

 

[GoVols]

Roger,
Your Tunze logo sump looks outstanding.

Super nice.

 

[rvitko]

A bit more progress, I built the stand so the sump would fit inside, but after seeing it, I was willing to cut through the wall and remove a shelf in the pantry and have better access to the sump. Like it never even happened, LOL. I used a 6" coupling to line the chase hole so the sheetrock isn't a crumbly torn up mess later. Sliding doors are in as well.

 

[GoVols]

Roger,
Love your sliding doors. Their color matches within your home's space.

Going into your pantry is just super, and it looks like a clean connection thru the wall.

Great job.

 

[Mark]

Subscribed! Looking forward to the build Roger!

 

[kireek]

Congrats on the move! Your stand is beautiful and looks industrial strength.Well done! I love that custom sump too.A perfect match!

 

[rvitko]

Thanks, well I have a mistake and after talking to Ben Johnson out of Houston, http://www.caecosystems.com, I need to make another hole. I got ahead of myself and he strongly advised I not try to make the drain line go down and come back up. I had thought with a vent and setting up a true siphon it could work but as he said, trial and error and bubbles don't work the way we would like them too and trying to turn this lemon into lemonade was not likely to pan out. I need to make a higher up hole for the drains to come through the wall. That gets tricky because of an outlet and wires in the wall. Just waiting on the tank now.

 

[rvitko]

Tank arrived last Wednesday, it was a bear to unload and bring in, it weighs 650 uncrated, all 3/4" and braceless. It was made by Reef Aquaria Design. We had a mishap and chipped the top right corner on the front door knob. It is cosmetic only, but it sucks. I am going to cover it with a trim strip and it should end up looking good, all you can do is adapt to the challenge. I started on plumbing and the screen top and hanging the lights between shows. Off to MACNA next week.