Tank Downsize/Upgrade

[Ryan Hunter]

Now that I have everybody confused by the whole downsize/upgrade thing let me explain. Current setup is a standard dimension Oceanic 135 gallon starphire front 72" long 18" front to back full SPS that has been running for about 7 years.

I have had pretty good success over the years but I have never really been happy with the tank mainly due to the 18" depth that when you add in two internal overflows doesn't give you much room. Combine that with townhouse living and three kids and I decided it was time to downsize.

Now for the upgrade part. I ended up finding an amazing deal on a 36" long, 24" deep, 18" high custom built rimless tank with an external overflow on the rear. So while I am downsizing in overall capacity I am super excited about the dimensions of the new tank, especially the 24" depth and consider the change to be an upgrade.

First item of business was to build the stand. I'm sticking with the old tried and true 2x4 skeleton and then will be adding solid wood panels stained to match the furniture and attached with french cleats for easy removal.

I built the stand 6" longer then the actual tank to give myself am small work area/place to set things down when fragging, feeding, etc and also built in a separated compartment to house all of the apex gear.

I test filled the tank everything looked good so I added a jug of vinegar, let it sit for a couple of days and then went to work scrubbing off all the old gunk. Previous owner did not appear to be very enthusiastic about cleaning the glass as the entire tank was coated in thick dried up coraline. Once clean the tank was filled with a combination of new slat water and water from the current system.

For now the tank will remain in the garage until I can get the old system broken down and out of the living room. Hopefully tonight when i get home all parameters match between the current system and new system and I can start moving things over.

 

[kanders87]

Following. Interested to see how the new tank comes together

 

[Ryan Hunter]

Got everything transferred into the new tank today so I can start and tear down the current setup.

 

[Ryan Hunter]

Picked up this beauty so today’s project is finalizing plumbing and then moving the tank to its final home in the living room.

 

[Ryan Hunter]

Guess I need to change the thread title now to tank restart. I spent all last weekend getting the trigger systems sump in and all plumbing finalized and got the tank moved to its permanent home in the living room. Came home from work on Wednesday and the tank had crashed. Not really sure what happened but needless to say 7 years of effort and growth on some of the colonies are down the drain. Lost all corals and a couple of fish. Not much I can do now other then get over it and start from scratch.

 

[boozeman27]

Wow! So sorry for your losses. Any idea what happened so quickly?

 

[Ryan Hunter]

Wow! So sorry for your losses. Any idea what happened so quickly?

No idea what happened. All levels appeared to be normal prior to the crash. The tank transfer went relatively smooth and everything was happy in its new home. The day it happens the water was extremely cloudy and the smell was unbearable. Two days later after a 40% water change, pulling all the dead coral and running some carbon everything is right back to normal and you would never know anything was wrong.

 

[Ryan Hunter]

Now that I have come to grips with the fact that I am starting from scratch I figured why not do it in a big way and make some hardware changes. I am a long time Apex user and am excited about some of the things coming down the pipe like the Trident so I am going to upgrade my classic to the Apex 2016. I have also always drooled over the ATI Hybrid fixtures so just placed an order for a 8x39w Hybrid WIFI Power module. I will post up pics once the packages arrive.

 

[Ryan Hunter]

Christmas came in March. Should keep me busy for a while.

 

[1WildBill]

That sucks about the tank crash. Looking forward to seeing the new tank.

 

[Ryan Hunter]

I am so glad I went with the ATI hybrid. Never have I been so excited to open up a box.

 

[Ryan Hunter]

Reactor manifold and Aquamaxx reactors mounted up. Came up a bit short on blue pvc so temporarily the outlets are white.

Transfer from Classsic to new Apex has been smooth and problem free. Still have to switch over the water change station, DOS and ATO and finish up all the cable management/overall organization.

 

[Ryan Hunter]

Been pretty quiet lately as the the tank settles. Stand side panels are finished and the front doors will be in the next couple of days. Also have been playing around with the aqua scape.

 

[Ryan Hunter]

Stand doors all buttoned up. Hardware wise everything is done so now all that’s left is to start stocking up on sps.

All water parameters check out over the last week so this guy went in sort of as a test before I pull the trigger on some high dollar items.

And a current full tank shot.

 

[FredsNJReef]

So sorry about the crash!! I hope this new tank come out even better than before.

So far, it is looking great!

 

[Ryan Hunter]

So sorry about the crash!! I hope this new tank come out even better than before.

So far, it is looking great!

Thank you. The crash sucked but starting over has it's benefits as well.
Everything seems settled in, Nitrates are a touch on the high side but dropping day by day. The acro I added the other night is happy so I should be good to start stocking up. I'm looking to get some of the more high end SPS but being in Canada poses a challange.

 

[FredsNJReef]

that's great news! Do the acros like a little nitrates as well like the softies do?

 

[Ryan Hunter]

that's great news! Do the acros like a little nitrates as well like the softies do?

I can't really say one way or another but my aim is always stability. I never worry about the level of nitrates or phosphates themselves and never chase a specific reading (i.e. 0) I always just try and keep everything stable.

 

[FredsNJReef]

That’s smart !

 

[Ryan Hunter]

Not a heck of a lot to report as of late but should have some updates this weekend as some nice frags are on the way. I am also thinking about adding some fans to the stand. On the old tank the stand was open back and the salt mess left on the wall plus equipment noise drove me nuts. When I built the new stand I did closed back but I think it is too closed as the temperature and humidity in the stand is rather high.