TWF's 340 Gallon In-Wall Build!

[twf0369]

I have been on the R2Reef Large Aquarium Forums for many years looking, drooling and dreaming of one day starting a 300+ gallon reef tank build. On November 20 of this year my wife authorized the new tank and in respect to the hobby and its members, I'd like to do my part and give back and share my build!

We are currently in the permit process of adding an addition onto our house; with that being said she gets a new kitchen and I will receive a fish room! Win/Win. Therefore, this build thread will be a somewhat lengthy process. I plan to ask a lot of questions and take a lot of pictures/videos along the way. I do hope that you join me on the journey of adding a fish room and starting a new reef tank.

My current tank was a custom 165 gallon tank built by Miracles. The tank is 72x24x22.

The upcoming tank is being built by Glass Cages, approx 344 gallons. This tank will measure 96 x 37.5 x 24.5 and have a coast to coast over flow. Tank should be shipping to me within the next couple weeks.

The only equipment I have for the new tank is the return pump, Reeflo Super Dart Gold Hybrid, and the sump I am using from the Miracles tank, 48x18x18.5. I have also purchased about 180lbs of Caribsea Life Rock (Regular and Shapes), 20lbs of Real Reef Rock and 40lbs of STAX Rock. All of the rock is in a 100 gallon brute container with saltwater, pump and heater.

I intend on utilizing this thread to keep track of my build and to serve as a place to ask questions and perhaps answer some questions.

Kevin.

 

[ihavecrabs]

Can't wait to see the build come together!

 

[408Dartfish]

Sounds like an awesome tank. Look forward to updates.

 

[twf0369]

Not much of an update, but an update. The rock that has been getting ready for the new tank. I am planning on following the BRS/WWC 4 month cycle the best I can. I am almost a week in of adding 2 caps of Microbacter7 each day.

Thinking about throwing in a large in-cooked shrimp tomorrow and start cycling. Do you think I should start the cycle before going in the tank?

 

[twf0369]

Started the cycle process last night by adding one large un-cooked shrimp into the rubbermaid. I'll take some tests in a couple days and post my findings. In the meantime I'll continue to add Microbacter7.

 

[twf0369]

Did my first test for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate today. I guess with the added Microbacter7 and having used Caribsea and Real Reef rock with bacteria I’m already cycled. Is this really possible?I will keep the shrimp in the tank just to keep the ammonia source going to feed the bacteria since I’m not ready to start the new tank. I’ll throw a new shrimp in there every few weeks.

 

[wom001]

Looking good, your aquarium pic is broken btw. Looking forward 2 the build! Fixing to do one very similar over the next 2 months.

 

[twf0369]

Tank is on schedule to ship next week. Here are some pics Donna at Glass Cages sent me.

 

[twf0369]

So the tank arrived on Jan 28. Overall impressions were wow this is a big tank and how will I move this thing!

There were a couple issues that I experienced but came to a quick/painless resolution with Glass Cages:

They siliconed 1/2" return lines with 1/2 inch loc-lines in the 1" return holes. I ordered and paid for a 1" hole drilled for return; no loc-line or plumbing at all. I have about 1/4" of silicone surrounding the plumbing in the hole that was cut out. 1/2" loc-line looked really silly in a tank this size. Remedy - They are sending me new 1" bulkheads and refunded me a minimum amount for my "labor". LOL.

The other issue is the black plastic piece for the overflow is not siliconed in place. There is a gap between the back glass and the plastic that would allow water to get between. Remedy - They are sending me a couple tubes of silicone to fix the issue.

Here you can see the gap between the back wall and the plastic overflow.


This shows from inside the overflow back into the tank. 1" 90 reduced down to 1/2".



Here you can see the 1/4" of silicone surrounding the 1/2" connection for the loc-line.


Showing the gap between the back wall and the overflow.


Overall, I am excited to get this going and happy with my purchase. The glass Coast-to-Coast overflow is very impressive and can act as a separate tank . I'm glad I went this route.

Since this post I have removed all of the undersized plumbing and gobs of silicone.

On a separate note...the contractors have started digging the footers for the addition so hopefully the tank is in place in a couple months.

Thanks for checking in...

 

[Blu]

Nice! You’re way ahead of me. Can’t wait to see the outcome. Are you happy with the 37.5”? I’m still up in the air between 37.5 and 30 wide.

 

[twf0369]

Nice! You’re way ahead of me. Can’t wait to see the outcome. Are you happy with the 37.5”? I’m still up in the air between 37.5 and 30 wide.

Very happy with the width of the tank. It should give a lot of good options when aquascaping. For an in wall build I highly recommend Glass Cages. I bought my tank on Black Friday and was just under 3k.

I look forward to seeing your build come together.

 

[twf0369]

A quick pic of how I'm envisioning the fish room. Thanks @ECreefer for the drawing and help!

 

[Blu]

WHAT!?!? How big is that room, 16x12?

 

[twf0369]

Very Close! 16x11.

 

[twf0369]

Very Close! 16x11.

 

[twf0369]

Very Close! 16x11.

 

[twf0369]

WHAT!?!? How big is that room, 16x12?

Close. It's 16x11.

 

[Blu]

Man, that’s awesome! I’m trying to cram everything in 11x11.5

 

[twf0369]

Well the tank has finally left my office building, where it has been sitting since December, to head home. I am very fortunate to have a family member with access to a forklift to assist because this tank is heavy - Thanks Terry! The below video is us leaving my office's dock and loading it on the trailer. Several Oh Crap moments.



Below are some pics of it arriving at the house.




I will soon take a video and pics of the construction of the fish room. The concrete and floor drain are in so they should be busting through the walls soon.

Thanks for stopping bye.

 

[dantimdad]

That is going to be beautiful!

I bet it's hard to roll on the carpet.

 

[saintsreturn]

Very excited about this build