Wow....sweet diagram of the tank and stand. I agree that it's going to look great once it's finished. Should have a nice sleek, polished, look to it overall.

Looking forward to seeing the finished product, as I'm sure you are as well.

-Adam

Thanks, hopefully it translates well into reality.


I am really eager to get this thing together. The reno is taking more time then I expected as most people find when renovating a room built by previous owners. I tore the old paper laminated chipboard walls down only to find one hell of a mess with the framing (they used a lot of warped studs and shimmed the crap out of them) as well as with the electical work which had to be completely redone thanks to some idiot not following the code.

That aside, I have finished sanding the drywall and will be priming/painting/installing flooring/casing/door jams this weekend.

The tank should be running by Christmas. I am actually going to take a bunch of livestock from my Solana at work for this tank, and the rest I will pretty much rely on donations and very inexpensive frags. My goal with this system is automation and stability. I want everything to work well enough that I can leave for a month and not have to worry.

Should be good. Turns out I am going to probably do a sump system after all and ditch the tom. I need to do this right regardless, if it takes a bit longer because I am waiting for funds: so be it.

Ah yes...always nice to pull back the curtains only to find a mess that someone else made. At least you're doing the smart thing and getting everything up to par, if not better.



I definitely understand what you mean about taking the time to get everything you want from the get-go instead of just piecing things together. I'm on my 3rd tank now and I think my next tank will be pretty much exactly what I want. Not that I'm planning anything new now, it's just that you learn so much from previous tanks. Slow and steady wins the race....

I look forward to seeing and hearing about the progress over the next month or so. How is the office Solana doing?

-Adam

The office Solana is doing pretty good. Had to get rid of some livestock as I was running out of room. The two larger clams (teardrop maxi and crocea) were sold, as well as some of the SPS and other stuff. I will post pics on the Solana thread soon.




Got some more work on the aquarium stand done today! The room is almost done, need to finish the baseboards, hang the closet door, paint the baseboards and doors, and that is pretty much that. The stand will probably be finished later tonight less painting. Here are some shots to tide you over with till its all done.

The last pic is of a pair of large 36" tall pictures that have been in the family for a while. I managed to snag them away from my dad who has had them stored in a garage for far too long. Hopefully they will help set off the aquatic theme of the room along with some of Lani's photography!

TJ Myagi Your Walls Are Blue and Your Tank is empty... Wax on Wax Off.

Keep me updated with moooooo Fotos

Good Job & Keep up the Goord Work

You will soon be Certified PD Pimp

Some more progress on the stand. Still needs paint/stain and the plumbing cover to be rebuilt.













And the accent wall and pictures to be hung




Very close to complete! I can soon start putting the tank's guts together.

Awesome!!!

Let me know once your tank is cycled. I'm willing to donate the following:

Purple Death
Nuclear Green
Dragon Eyes
Sunset Horizons (AS MANY AS YOU WANT )
Black People Eaters
Japanese Deep Water Zoas (Two Varieties)
One small Frag of Green Nephthea

Can't wait to see your aquascaping!

NR Says, "We are Waiting for the Return of Our Masta"
TJ Miyagi Says, "Do you want to learn the way of the reef?"
NR Says, "YES"
TJ Miyagi Says, "Then I am your Masta"

That looks so nice bro!!! I wish I could do woodworking/carpentry!

Wow really? That would be awesome! Thanks
Hahaha you always crack me up with your freaking Karate Kid references...




It really isn't all that hard - could easily walk you through it some time. Thanks for the kind words though.

Wow....things are really picking up speed and the results are great. That stand and tank combo is awesome. I agree that your carpentry/woodworking skills are really great....nice and clean lines and it's going to look great painted/stained.

Is the part of the stand to the right/left of the tank to hide the overflow? If so, great idea.

-Adam

Thanks! Once I get the ball rolling I usually gain some momentum and stop procrastinating lol. I should have the stand done by the weekend's end.

...and you are correct, that box is to cover plumbing but will lift off to allow complete access.

Well the basement for the most part is completed. Most of my furniture etc. is down there, and I have very little left to do to the room (some minor paint touch ups etc.) other than get the tank going

I will through up som pictures tonight after I clean things up a bit. I can finally get the show on the road with the plumbing and hang the light! I have already ordered the black acrylic overflow panel, should be getting it in a few days.

Congrats on completing the reno of the basement, except for getting the tank going. Can't wait to see this up and rolling.

-Adam

Tagging along here. You have done a fantastic job so far. Well done!!!!

Thanks, I am really looking forward to getting it going as well.



Why thank you sir. Glad to have you here!




Here are some pics of where the stand is at now. Next photos should hopefully be pics of me getting some of the plumbing done. I have been working on the solaris a bit. The fans are functional, but not that quiet. Two of the four fans are starting to get a whine to them, and I don't feel like letting it progress, or listening to it at all lol. I am going to pick up some decent fans tonight, maybe some with blue LEDs for the "pimp factor" lol

On with the pics!
(the last pic is my collection of coral/clam skeletons that I have collected over the last 6 or 7 years)

Looks awesome man.

Man this is a sweet build!!!

Lookin' great TJ!!!

Thanks guys!



So I was messing around with the Solaris tonight, trying to see how high I am going to hang it etc. and decided to snap some shots of this sucker bleeding light all over my room lol. There is no water in the tank so I'm sure that isn't helping...







Lastly, the reason I put dimmer switches in my room:



Pimp'n ain't easy

It may not be easy but you my friend have it down to a science!!!! Well done!!!

you can almost make out something going down in the bed back there lol

Seriously sweet. When are you going to add water to this beast?

Hahaha, too bad they don't teach "Pimpology" in University/College. I could have had a future career as a prof!



I didn't think anyone would notice that...
Hahaha, funny.



Should have the tank cycling before Christmas if all goes according to plan.

NO NO DANIEL Sohn! Those who can not pimp, teach... You have much too learn young grass hopper...

I will say though you get the Official NR Pimp Slap Award.
Also I also give you some of my Purple Polyp Pink/Green Birdsnest that I saw you eyeing down lol... This birdsnest puts the extension on Polyp extension Awesome Pics!

UPDATE NEEDED!!!

Just waiting on the overflow panel before I get the plumbing started

I will update as soon as there is something worth saying!

Well, I picked up a couple of ultra/A grade croceas (acutally, not just saying that lol... Some people call every ugly crocea out there an ultra grade) for my tank. They are currently chilling out in the office Solana for the time being. Probably going to dismantel the solana once this tank is up and running. The one with the striped pattern on the bottom is the A grade, the one up top with full color (no drab mantle color shown) is the Ultra grade.

Hopefully they manage to stay alive longer than my last attempt at baby croceas. (not sure if you remember the two from the very beginning of my 40 breeder thread from Vietnam that got PM and died within a week)

Anyways here is a peak at them. *Fingers crossed*

Lovin' this build! Definitely tagging along! Sweet basement setup !

Wow, I was just looking at the old pics on page 1 of your 20g, and your 40g. Both were awesome tanks, I wonder if they could go into the archives to pick the totm?? Your tanks were both totm material.

nice couch


oh, and AMAZING build.

Thanks man, I really appreciate the kind words. To be completely honest, I don't feel my 40br was quite TOTM material, but I certianly was proud enough of my 20 to want it to have been chosen for TOTM. In my opinion, my 20 is still my best piece of work to date (when it comes to the actual display and corals).

My 40br just wasn't grown in enough to warrant TOTM IMHO. I am hoping that with around 8 months of constant and steady growth/collection of showpiece corals, that this 30br will trump my last two tanks. This will be, without a doubt, my most advanced system. It is going to be as automated as I can possibly get it to insure constant stability (which is the key to SPS for the record lol).

Seeing as it is actually the centerpiece of my room, It better look freak'n mint!



LoL - it works for now...

Ok folks,

I figured I would keep you updated with my current plans for the sump and some of the equipment I intend to use to automate the system.

Now, the purpose behind the automation isn't because I am lazy and I don't want to do any work on the tank, it is simply to keep the tank as fluctuation free as possible. The less fluctuation you have, the happier your corals will be.

I intend to have the following:
-ATO
-Auto Dosing
-Dual Stage Temp Control (cools if too hot, heats if too cold)
-Solaris (Lights on a timing schedule to maintain circadian rythem)

I am planning to run all of these features (less the lighting) on a RKL. I am in the process of speaking with DA on the matter to make sure I get what I will need to have all those automations.

I am using glennr's Aqualifter dosing pump setup for the dosing as it is cheap as hell compared to any other method and will work just fine once dialed in correctly. I am just hoping the RKL can act as the timers for each pump (which is what I am currently speaking to DA about).

The sump is going to be fun - both the drain and return need to be at the same end; on top of that I also need to find a way to slow the flow in the fuge because I am running near 1200 gph through the sump. I will do a mock up of the sump design later today and post it up! (I think it will work well, just want to get some second opinions).

Anyways, that is it for now.

Here are the diagrams of the sump.

First is just a frame diagram so you can see it "transparent" - second is colored with arrows to show flow. The left chamber is the fuge. I am hoping that because it isn't directly inline that the water going through the fuge will slow down. If it doesn't slow down enough, I can through a half baffle in right where the water comes in from the drain side. This will act as a barrier to aid the flow to the next set of baffles and essentially bypass the fuge for the most part. The ATO and dosing pumps will be on the outlet side of the sump after the fuge, and the skimmer will be on the inlet side.

Any thoughts?

EDIT***
I have already found and corrected one small issue in that diagram
I won't post the new one just yet - want to see if anyone else finds it!

Looks good, but I think you'll have to do something with the sump design if you are going to pump 1200 gph through it. The way you have it set up the water will be moving very fast through the refugium.
I liked the thought of the dosing system. I've been thinking about trying something like that for a while now.

I figured that may be the case; here is a diagram of the remedy I described for that in my last post.

In the overhead (top) shot how does the water get from the lower left chamber to the upper left chamber?

If I am understanding your question correctly, you are asking how the water gets into/out of the sump, correct?

Basically the drain from the aquarium enters on the top left (back chamber) and the pump draws it out and pushes it back to the display on the bottom left (front chamber)

Diagram to assist

Thank you, did not picture it that way......

No worries,

It is a bit of an odd way to run a sump, but since my tank is basically a peninsula, and I need both the drains and returns on the same end, it think it is going to work better for me to run it in this U shape rather than inline.

So what size sump are you going to use? And what skimmer? I can't wait to see this up and running.

I like your design. I see no reason why it wouldn't work.

FYI on the dosing pumps, make sure you check the nozzles on the valves periodically. Ca & alk like to build up on them. I would just pull it off with my fingers then stick a toothpick up into the hole on the nozzle to get any build up that may be in there out.

The sump is a 30g 36"x12"x16"
Going to be using a Hydor Performer 400 as the skimmer.



Good call - I was also going to have the pumps run vinigar once every couple months or so to make sure there is no buildup forming internally as well.

Got the Solaris hooked up to a Coralife Aqualight hanging kit. Worked out pretty well I think. I may or may not build that fascia around the lighting mounts on the ceiling (mostly because there isn't much room with a 7' ceiling).

Looks pretty slick regardless

Looks very slick TJ!

Sweet!

I think you might be the only person left that's using a Solaris.

:thumbup: nice build!

Thanks guys!



This is quite possible lol... Or at least the only person to be incorporating one into a new build anyway. That's what happens when you find a wicked deal on something that is terribly overpriced and proven to mess up from time to time! At least I have spare parts!

Dude the mood in ther is f-bombing-electric! It looks like a porno studio mixed with a public aquarium on acid!

That's quite the quote.

Awesome job TJ! Loving it!

Just a quick update - I should be receiving my overflow panel from Saline Solutions tomorrow; plumbing photos will be following shortly!