mflander Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Time to start the build thread! I am picking up the tank a week from today. I live in a townhouse with a full family, so space and usefulness of storage is of high importance with this build. I had a few requests from my wife when the freshwater tank came down and we started the plan for this build. First, was to put in some laminate flooring. Second, was to incorporate some storage space for toys and other things for the kids and her into the design of the tank area. The floor is done and looks great! We have also come up with a fairly decent way to incorporate storage, and to hide my controllers and top off water at the same time. Equipment: Reef Octopus Luxury T90 Tank/Stand Combination - Rimless 35.5" x 17.75" x 17.75" 48 gallon tank. Reef Octopus Small Sump - 24" x 12" x 16" Reef Octopus NWB 110 Skimmer Reef Octopus 3500 DC Return Pump Reef Octopus Biochurn 90 Int Bio Pellet Reactor Jager 200w Heater Apex w/ - WXM, PM2, LSM, ALD (2) Vortech MP10Wes (2) Kessil A160 lights w/ Pendants Smart ATO Fish: Flame Hawkfish Pair (Flynn and Fiona) Picasso Clown Pair (Lucky and Lucy) Chromis Pair (Minnie and Moe) Flasher Wrasse Pair (Penny and Perry) Orange Spotted Goby (Goober) Coral: Armor of God Deep water zoas (not sure what name) Green Rhodactis Mushroom (Hairy Mushroom) Inverts: Multi-Color Anemone Misc Hermit Crabs Link to comment
mflander Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 The Flame Hawkfish are what I really wanted in the tank. It will be interesting to build the clean up crew with these guys in the tank. I was planning on just one, but ran across a smaller specimen in one of my favorite LFS last week and decided to try and make a pair. So far, they are getting along well. Little bit of chasing the first day or two but now they are great. It is quite amusing to see the different personality two of the same species of fish can have. I had a Nanobox Quad on order, but wasn't sure if the tank was ever going to show up and thought I might switch directions yet again, so I canceled the order. The kessils were purchased for the QT setup and so I will use them on the main tank for now. Most likely will re-order the Quad from Dave again once the tank is up and running. I have changed my mind a million times during the setup of this tank. Even had 2 tanks in house and decided to go a different way. I went with the small sump because I wanted some extra room in the stand and knew that the skimmer/reactor were the only 2 things I was going to have in the sump for quite some time. If I change directions in the future I will most likely go with a different sump. I will post some pics of the QT later. I will also describe the water changing station I came up with. Link to comment
specore Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Great start. Apex is a terrific choice, love mine. Link to comment
mflander Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 Here you can see the before and after flooring pics. As you can see the tank will be on a concrete sub-floor. You can also see the giant crack in the concrete we had to fill in. Finally figured out where the ants were getting in from! You can also see we let the children color all over the carpet to be ripped up. They thought this was the greatest thing ever. The laminate was purchased from Menards. Very reasonable pricing and very easy to install. Hardest part was squaring it up. If I had to do it again, I would use quarter-round to re-trim after the floor was installed, instead of removing and re-installing the current trim. Other than that, not too bad of a project. Great start. Apex is a terrific choice, love mine. I had mine from my FW Planted tank. I spend a good chunk of time on the road, and I wouldn't be able to have tanks like this without it or something similar. Plus, it is just fun to play around with if your a geek who likes techie stuff, such as myself. Link to comment
mflander Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 Trying to make the best use of space and storage, I mounted the BRS 5 stage RODI unit under the kitchen sink. I added a 3 way valve so that I can make RO drinking water also(white hose). I keep my saltwater stored in the garage, so if need be I can run the line directly to it and leave the garage door cracked. Otherwise I just fill it up 5 gallons at a time. Float valves on everything, no water on my floors hopefully. I will also fill up my ATO reservoir directly from this. Link to comment
Coolhandreefer Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Can't wait to see it setup. Love those floors, wow. Link to comment
mflander Posted January 5, 2015 Author Share Posted January 5, 2015 Took one of the Kessils off the QT to hang for the new tank. Planning for this was tough because I think I am going to end up ordering from Dave and wanted to plan to hang a different light off the tank. I also wanted to make use of the area for a shelf for more storage(you can see the theme here). But I also want it to look good. So I ended up just using some utility shelving from Menards. $35 total. Doesn't look like much now, but I think it will look great when everything is in place. The tracks for the shelf give me a great way to run cords, and will give me versatility for hanging lights over the tank without having to use the ceiling. Overall I am pleased. Second pic is of Flynn the Hawkfish. He was watching me build his new home. Link to comment
specore Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Took one of the Kessils off the QT to hang for the new tank. Planning for this was tough because I think I am going to end up ordering from Dave and wanted to plan to hang a different light off the tank. I also wanted to make use of the area for a shelf for more storage(you can see the theme here). But I also want it to look good. So I ended up just using some utility shelving from Menards. $35 total. Doesn't look like much now, but I think it will look great when everything is in place. The tracks for the shelf give me a great way to run cords, and will give me versatility for hanging lights over the tank without having to use the ceiling. Overall I am pleased. Second pic is of Flynn the Hawkfish. He was watching me build his new home. That's interesting how you attached the gooseneck to the shelf, hadn't seen that before. Link to comment
mflander Posted January 5, 2015 Author Share Posted January 5, 2015 I had them, figured why not use them. I can adjust in and out that way and at the same time adjust height. Link to comment
mflander Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 Well the tank was delayed again. Looks like it won't be here until next week. Due to my work travel schedule over the next month this may change my plans significantly. I am growing to really love my Flame Hawkfish. I am contemplating keeping the 20 gallon up for the clownfish/chromis and make it an anemone tank, and turning the T90 into a hawkfish species tank. Flame hawkfish in the wild are typically associated with stylophora and pocillopora corals. Both of which have many cultured varieties for sale that seem to be fairly easy to keep SPS. Could be a cool tank.... Link to comment
mflander Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 My wonderful wife has blessed my plan with permission. The 20 gal can stay after the T90 is setup. I'm thinking my hawkfish pair plus a Splendid Dottyback. Can't have shrimp anyways because of the hawkfish, and I'm certain my hawkfish will hold there own against an aggressive little dottyback. Especially if I let them stake out some rock first. Plenty of time to decide but this may be a fun choice . Link to comment
mflander Posted January 13, 2015 Author Share Posted January 13, 2015 Well the tank finally arrived yesterday. Got the stand setup. It is built like a brick #$%& house. No Question this thing will hold the weight. I am however displeased with the hardware package. Several of the screws didn't even have the threads machined into them. A few of the threads were painted over on the boards and took quite awhile to clean up. There are also a few scratches here and there. For the price you pay for the cabinet I would have expected better. However, I am still quite happy with the setup as a whole. The overflow system is nice, and the tank is gorgeous! I am going to dissassemble and glue the overflow system tonight. Also need to silicone the stand and covers for the hardware. Sad day at our house on Sunday morning as I discovered our smaller hawkfish(flo) had leaped to her death overnight. The 20 Gallon is hard to cover because the skimmer sits up above the rim. Regardless, I assembled the screen top for the T90 last night. Link to comment
Slowtwitch Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Sorry to hear about the fish. Hope you can find a replacement for her and continue with the plan for a species tank. Link to comment
mflander Posted January 15, 2015 Author Share Posted January 15, 2015 Filled with water, added sand, started aquascaping. I will say that with working on this tank and maintaining my other one over the week, I am second guessing keeping two tanks up and running. I like my tanks immaculate, so I am always cleaning and tinkering, and doing that with two tanks might not be in the cards right now. I am going on an ice fishing trip this weekend so I will use that time to contemplate the choices . If I transfer everything over from the 20 gallon, I will have an anemone to contend with in the tank. This might limit my ability to focus on the SPS needed for the hawkfish. Decisions, decisions.... Link to comment
FishFrog Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 I love flame hawkfish but can't have one, so I will live vicariously through this thread. Looking good so far! Link to comment
mflander Posted February 26, 2015 Author Share Posted February 26, 2015 Well I have been traveling quite a bit over the last month or so. Finally was home for a weekend so I moved everything over from the 20 to the 50. Looks like I was successfully able to pair up the hawkfish also! First attempt did not go so well, returned the fish. Second attempt is working out great! I have updated post #1 for the current equipment, corals, and fish. I also added some fish this week. Fish list is now: Flame Hawkfish pair(Flynn and Fiona) Picasso Clown Pair (Lucky and Lucy) Chromis Pair (Minnie and Moe) Flasher Wrasse Pair(Penny and Perry) And last but not least, Goober the Goby. I have attached a lights off pic I took this morning on my way out the door. I will take some better pics of the control setup, etc. this weekend and post them. Now to start adding the stylo and pocillio! Link to comment
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