jsawyers33 Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 Well, after about 8 years away from the hobby I’m jumping back in head first. I gave up 8 years ago after finally getting tired of moving tanks. Until about a year ago we would move every couple years and moving a tank so often just got to me a bit too much. Now that we are settled in I figured it was time to go at it again. About three months ago I ordered a tank and some equipment through Jeff at CNC. It sounds like the tank may have shipped last week so fingers crossed it will be in it’s new home soon. It is 66”X24”X24” low iron glass. Drilled for the synergy reef overflow. Over the last few months work hasn’t allowed me much time to prep for the tank, but I have been able to get a little done on the fish room. I saw a mixing station on here by SuncrestReef and I liked it so much I copied it (hopefully he isn’t mad I copied, it was just so well thought out). The fish room is in a section under the house. It only has about 6’ of headroom, but I’m not very tall so it works pretty well. I started by adding a couple designated 20 amp circuits and insulating the entire space. Next I covered the walls and ceilings with Plywood, then FRP panels. I added a sink for clean up, and finished up the mixing station. Currently my plan is to run an Neptune Apex with trident, ATT and dos. Along with 3 Echotech Radion Blue for lighting. For flow I will run at least two Vortech MP 40’s. I plan on having a mixed reef. , but still thinking about what all I want to put in. Well, so far so good. I just hope I don’t screw anything up. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higher Thinking Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 Great start so far! Looks like ample room in the fish room so that's pretty nice!Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash21 Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 (edited) Looks nice. One thing is bothering me. That the mono pour brackets are still in the footing/stem wall. You going to grind those off? Edited August 16, 2020 by Flash21 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kshack Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 Congtats on the new tank. I just sold my 250gal and have lots of equipment if you are looking for used. Things like MP60, skimmers, return pump, DOS, roller mat, etc, etc. Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsawyers33 Posted August 16, 2020 Author Share Posted August 16, 2020 Looks nice. One thing is bothering me. That the mono pour brackets are still in the footing/stem wall. You going to grind those off? Yes, the plan is to cut out the mono straps and I have a cover going over the top of the existing footing.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spectra Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 10 hours ago, Flash21 said: Looks nice. One thing is bothering me. That the mono pour brackets are still in the footing/stem wall. You going to grind those off? Leave it to a wood butcher to see that.................... Good to see another custom build going on................ when does the tank show ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gumby Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 Looks great! Looks clean enough to make some sterile surgeries on some coral. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsawyers33 Posted August 17, 2020 Author Share Posted August 17, 2020 Leave it to a wood butcher to see that.................... [emoji3] Good to see another custom build going on................ when does the tank show ?Jeff said it shipped late last week and he said it usually only takes a week. With Covid I anticipate shipping taking a little longer than normal, but I’m hoping to have it in about a week or two. Now I just need to finish up the plumbing to the fish room and I’ll be ready to go.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsawyers33 Posted August 17, 2020 Author Share Posted August 17, 2020 Looks great! Looks clean enough to make some sterile surgeries on some coral.I would like to think that someday I would be to that level, but that would be way down the road and after someone taught me how to not kill them while I try.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Nice clean build! Looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsawyers33 Posted September 4, 2020 Author Share Posted September 4, 2020 Finally got around to checking the plumbing for leaks. So far no water on the floor so that’s a good sign for now. I plan to run it for the day with this well water. Then I will drain the system, clean up any pvc pipe debris and be ready for rock scape and saltwater. The wife is finally getting exited for the tank . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 On 8/15/2020 at 8:52 PM, jsawyers33 said: One thing I just noticed is your use of brass faucets on your mixing station. I highly recommend replacing those with PVC so there's no chance of metal getting into your water. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxkenny90xx Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 Your set up looks amazing! I'm a huge fan of those tank dimensions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsawyers33 Posted September 4, 2020 Author Share Posted September 4, 2020 One thing I just noticed is your use of brass faucets on your mixing station. I highly recommend replacing those with PVC so there's no chance of metal getting into your water.Good point, easy enough fix. ThanksSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsawyers33 Posted September 18, 2020 Author Share Posted September 18, 2020 Well, it’s been a heck of a week. Have a few minutes and thought I would do a small update on the progress. Almost two weeks ago Brad from cuttlefish cape down and brought some rock. He did a great job on the rocks scape. He did in a couple hours what would have taken me all day. I am still waiting on lights, skimmer and the mp40’s but the aquarium is full and started to cycle. I was able to get some of the apex gear up and running, but that will take some time. Here are a few pics.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 Your color coordination makes me jealous lol! just a heads up, the DOS Reservoir is problematic with whatever you put into it shorting the circuit board and causing the optical switch not to register. Mine is out already and it’s only 6 months old. Debating sending it in for “repair”. You could probably open it up (screw on under side of top) and use some silicone to seal it better. Or a guy on eBay sells a wire only harness with no circuit board for pretty reasonable. Just something to look into. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsawyers33 Posted September 19, 2020 Author Share Posted September 19, 2020 Your color coordination makes me jealous lol! just a heads up, the DOS Reservoir is problematic with whatever you put into it shorting the circuit board and causing the optical switch not to register. Mine is out already and it’s only 6 months old. Debating sending it in for “repair”. You could probably open it up (screw on under side of top) and use some silicone to seal it better. Or a guy on eBay sells a wire only harness with no circuit board for pretty reasonable. Just something to look into.That’s good to know. I may start with the silicone idea. What a shame such a high priced item has such a major problem. As we all know apex products aren’t exactly inexpensive.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higher Thinking Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Well, it’s been a heck of a week. Have a few minutes and thought I would do a small update on the progress. Almost two weeks ago Brad from cuttlefish cape down and brought some rock. He did a great job on the rocks scape. He did in a couple hours what would have taken me all day. I am still waiting on lights, skimmer and the mp40’s but the aquarium is full and started to cycle. I was able to get some of the apex gear up and running, but that will take some time. Here are a few pics.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalkhttp://pnwmas.org.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/monthly_2020_09/IMG_4010.thumb.jpg.bd7a5458e6d61b1bc2ea8e22fef4d780.jpghttp://pnwmas.org.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/monthly_2020_09/IMG_4012.thumb.jpg.8e91cda9faf09c8e6a07affb1d4d3980.jpghttp://pnwmas.org.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/monthly_2020_09/IMG_4036.thumb.jpg.2b1d685722aafa3c73be0f17a5e6c529.jpgGreat progress. Excited for you!Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsawyers33 Posted November 30, 2020 Author Share Posted November 30, 2020 I just added some livestock this weekend and haven't updated in a couple months so I thought I would share a few picks of the tank with some life in it. Big thanks to Jeff at Cuttlefish for most of the great livestock. Sorry for the iPhone photos. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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