Nicks 220g Big Boy Build

[Nick James]

I held off as long as I could. The 220 is in my garage. We went and picked it up this morning. Moving it landed my cousin in the emergency room, he put out his back bending to set it down. Still waiting to hear the damage, hoping he is alright.

I have a 48x24x18 with starphire glass front as my sump. I cleaned it up and need to build the baffles and dividers still.

The 72x24x30 display will be in the main room of our basement rec room. It backs onto a large unfinished room which will house my sump, fish QT, coral QT, water mixing and making station, and fish only laundry tub. None of this stuff exists yet, I have to build it and will document the progress.

Next step, drill the tank for C2C bean animal overflow. Get glass measured and cut for overflow box and sump baffles. Frame stands, and move the DT down to the basement and on the stand.

I'll post some pics when I get back home.

 

[Nick James]

.. and to give a bit of background. I had a 90g display 8 years ago. Kept it for a year and sold it to renovate the basement, I didn't want to move it. It was fowlr.

Last December, I got sucked back in with a Biocube 29. Upgraded to Steve's extreme sps leds. The tank is all SPS, 30 different acropora and monti frags, growing out, a chalice, dendro colony, JF JOL Lepto, 2 branching cyphastrea frags of different colours, 2 brachiosaurus Blennies, 2 peppermint shrimp and a ton of life.

I got bit by the bug and need room to grow these peices into colonies. Not to mention I want some FISH!

 

[Nick James]

Fish wish list:

Zoster Butterflyfish (Hemitaurichthys zoster)
Pair of Bellus Angelfish (Genicanthus bellus)
Magnificent Foxface
Starry Blenny

Wrasses (depending on compatability)

Melanarus wrasse (Halichoeres melanurus)
Yellow Wrasse (Halichoeres chrysus)
Pink Wrasse (halichoeres trispilus)
Leopard Wrasse juvenile female


5 Tangs

1)Yellow Eye Kole Tang (Ctenochaetus strigosus) OR
Tomini Tang (Ctenochaetus tominiensis) OR
Square tail Bristletooth Tang (Ctenochaetus truncatus)
2)White Cheek Tang (acanthuras nigricans) OR
Powder Blue Tang ((Acanthurus leucosternon)
3)Blonde Naso Tang (Naso lituratus)
4)Yellow Tang (Zebrasoma flavescens)
5)Pacific Blue (hippo) tang (Paracanthiras hepatus)

I have to do more research on mixing halichoeres fishes.

Love to hear some insight or advice from experienced fish keepers.

 

[Nick James]

.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Awesome! I love it when a plan comes together! Following.

 

[Nick James]

Awesome! I love it when a plan comes together! Following.

Thanks! The fish list is a wish list, but I may not be able to get all 5 tangs, and I may chicken out on the dwarf angel due to the possible coral nipping. It will likely be predominantly sps based on what I have now but I will want some LPS and a BTA to round it out and create some "movement".

 

[Nick James]

Photobucket has been hit and miss lately.

Here is the tank pre-drilling

Sump tank

DT wall.. I will be building the stand and trimming it with the same wainscotting shaker style as the wall so it looks semi built in.

Plumbing will be through the wall and into this "fish corner"

 

[anit77]

Hi, I have the same DT with a 90 for the sump. Before you drill the glass take a look at @TaylorPilot's over flows. His website is exoticemarinesystems.com
I was going to build my own weir and build the box too but this is just to easy and the build quality is excellent. If you black out the back of the tank you'll never know it's there from the front.

And yeah, 5 tangs might be pushing it [emoji6] I've got a Kole in the DT now and a Yellow belly regal in qt.

 

[Nick James]

I'd say the blonde Naso and the regal are my top choices if I had to choose. We will see!

 

[anit77]

Here's a shot of mine. Excuse the wall, it isn't trimmed in yet. I used automotive film for the back of the tank. With the light off in the fish room you can hardly see the overflow. If it were solid black it would blend right in.

 

[revhtree]

Looking good!

 

[john.m.cole3]

This is going to be a fun build to follow. Tagging along!

 

[Nick James]

This is going to be a fun build to follow. Tagging along!

Thanks!

 

[Nick James]

Picked up two 32g brute cans for my mixing station. Thought about using a third can for waste water (after the mebrane waste) that I can use for rinsing equipment in the fish only laundry tub. Any thoughts on making this set up user friendly?

I planned on a stand with the ro/di on top, bulkhead with hose attachment for getting ato water and refilling the can below for saltwater mixing.

 

[Nick James]

I picked up some siporax, phosban reactors 550 for carbon and 150 for gfo. I am considering putting the siporax in a reactor and running the three reactors off of the return manifold.

Any advice for lighting a 30" deep tank? Or links to some beautiful 30" tank builds so I can research.

 

[Nick James]

Picked up this yesterday!

 

[Nick James]

Got the tank drilled..



Moved...



Stand built and put in place!



Due to furniture layout in the room I had to concede to my wife's wishes and the tank is located in another location. I still get my fish corner but no sump in the adjacent room, so I need to be more efficient with my space.

 

[FarmerTy]

Very nice setup Nick! I've been very happy with my 3 Ocean Revive fixtures with 2 T5s up front and 1 in the back, running blue +, purple +, and coral +. I also modified my OR fixtures and removed the red, green, and cool white diodes for warm white diodes.

I get 200-250 par on the sandbed directly under the LED fixtures, 350-400 in the middle of the tank, and 650-700 towards the top. Plenty of par for my tank that is roughly the same dimensions as yours.

I may have an ATI fixture in my future though but this setup is awesome and very cost effective.

 

[Reefmon]

Very nice setup Nick! I've been very happy with my 3 Ocean Revive fixtures with 2 T5s up front and 1 in the back, running blue +, purple +, and coral +. I also modified my OR fixtures and removed the red, green, and cool white diodes for warm white diodes.

I get 200-250 par on the sandbed directly under the LED fixtures, 350-400 in the middle of the tank, and 650-700 towards the top. Plenty of par for my tank that is roughly the same dimensions as yours.

I may have an ATI fixture in my future though but this setup is awesome and very cost effective.

That's hot

 

[Nick James]

Very nice setup Nick! I've been very happy with my 3 Ocean Revive fixtures with 2 T5s up front and 1 in the back, running blue +, purple +, and coral +. I also modified my OR fixtures and removed the red, green, and cool white diodes for warm white diodes.

I get 200-250 par on the sandbed directly under the LED fixtures, 350-400 in the middle of the tank, and 650-700 towards the top. Plenty of par for my tank that is roughly the same dimensions as yours.

I may have an ATI fixture in my future though but this setup is awesome and very cost effective.

Thanks for checking in. It's been slow going. I did pick up a used aquatechnics t5 fixture with 14 36" bulbs. So similiar to 7 72" bulbs. It was $100 with 3 month old bulbs included and I figured it will get me started. I probably won't move my sps into it until 6 months or so of the tank maturing.

I have a jabao rw-20 and rw-15 saved for me from local reefers. Both are the newest versions.

Now I need to get my 48" overflow built, plumbing parts and return pump. I also need to set up my water mixing station and plumb the laundry tub.

Moving at snail speed..