Crow's 300+ Gallon Dream Reef Tank!

[Crow]

I never thought I'd be posting in this section as anything larger then my current 90 gallon was out of my rage. But after finding a sweet deal online I bought this 2nd hand 300 gallon acrylic clarity plus.
The tank size is : 96x24x30. I was planing on upgrading or adding a 180 gallon tank, but during my search for the best deal for the 180 I found this tank for only a few bucks more then the 180 would of cost me, and it included the stand and canopy.




So begins my dream tank build...

[Crow]

I just finished added some jack posts under the tank for added support!

Thats all I need is a 300+ gallon system falling thru the floor!

[Crow]

Leak testing, I need to shim the tank as its about 1/4 inch off level.

Filling:


Full:

[Crow]

I thought since the tank was getting some overflows added, now was a good time to start making room in the basement for the sump,skimmer, etc.

We bought the house with this sexy yellow counter top and I hated to see it go, but my new tank comes first! LOL



Before Demo:



After Demo:



More pictures of the sump and other items coming as I get them..

[Crow]

1,000 gallons worth of salt arrives.

[Crow]

Just got this image from Steve, its from his cellphone, and its taken from inside the tank, the tank is on its back and the blocks of acrylic are to hold it down during the glue curing time.

[Crow]

Well I get my tank back tomorrow night.. I'm happy and excited, but I won't get my skimmer, Return pump, Sump, and piping, for another 2-3 weeks.

[Crow]

Well I got my tank back from Steve of Bashsea, and the overflows look great!

Unloaded everything:


Heres some of the pluming for the drains and return lines, and my return pump:


Since the tank didn't have overflows the stand didn't have any access for them, so here I'm modding the stand to accept the overflow pluming.

[Crow]

Well I got alot of work done today, but I still have tons left to do..
The images below show under my tank in the stand the return manifold and drain pipes on the sides, and the next picture is the pipes coming thru the wall into my sump area in the basement.


Return Manifold:


Drain and Return pipes in the sump room:


Tomorrow I hope to start working on the sump/skimmer/pump stand..

[Crow]

Finished the plumming of the return lines using Spa-Flex tubes and brute force to get them to bend as its a bit misleading with the word flex in there name... lol

Left Side:


Right Side:


Full shot:


More to come.....

[Crow]

Started on the sump/fuge/skimmer stand, I'm no carpenter, but it came out pretty good for it being my first time.. lol

The area not finished yet is where the return pump will be:


Another angle:

[Crow]

The sump stand is now about 90% done, the only thing I still need to add at a later date is the bottom decking for a 2nd shelf..

[fishtal]

Looking good! I liked the yellow counter top, BTW.

[Crow]

Looking good! I liked the yellow counter top, BTW.

lol, yeah I hated to see it go, but the tank comes first

[Crow]

The pictures below show my sump and skimmer base being built by Steve, I can't wait till its all done and ready for me to pick them up!

Sump:


Skimmer Base:


More to come....

[fishtal]

Looking great! I'm excited for you.

[Crow]

Looking great! I'm excited for you.

Thanks m8, I'm so excited to get this tank running..

[Crow]

Well my Bashsea Custom skimmer is done, I can't wait to get it running, I'll post a video of it running as soon as I get everything hooked up and its skimming!



Its a beast!!

[Crow]

YAY I got my Custom Bio-Fuge from Bashsea last night, I also got my Custom Twisted-Skimmer, so the better part of today I was running pipes and getting it all ready to get wet...

As you can see in this first pic, the pipes coming thru the wall are kinda close and it was a tight fit, but I made it work, yes its not going to win any awards, but it should get the job done! And who wants to look at piping when you have this awesome looking Bio-fuge monster with its mated skimmer?!?!?



Heres a front shot so you can see this beast!


Another front shot, with the fuge lights on..


Another angle..


Same angle as above, just with the fuge lights on!


Tomorrow I hope to run a water test to check for leaks, tho I don't plan to have any!

[Crow]

Just picked up my shipment of 470 pounds of substrate from Amazon Stingrays, Thanks Pat!



80 pounds of Crushed Coral
240 pounds of Special reef grade
150 pounds of Aragamax
----------------------------------
470 Pounds!

[fishtal]

Plumbing and new sump looks great! Have fun rinsing all that sand.

[cmpenney]

Just picked up my shipment of 470 pounds of substrate from Amazon Stingrays, Thanks Pat!



80 pounds of Crushed Coral
240 pounds of Special reef grade
150 pounds of Aragamax
----------------------------------
470 Pounds!

Now that is a pile of sand! Is that all for the tank?

[Crow]

Now that is a pile of sand! Is that all for the tank?

Tank, and my monster fuge..

[Crow]

Did some water testing, no leaks and everything came out nicely!

[Crow]

Just finished adding my substrate to both my display tank and the sump/fuge.

Display Tank:
60 Pounds of Crushed Coral
120 Pounds of Special Grade Sand
105 Pounds of Oolite Aragamax





Fuge/Sump:
20 Pounds of Crushed Coral
40 Pounds of Special Grade Sand
45 Pounds of Oolite Aragamax





You can see in the first pic, my RO/DI line in the top right corner filling the tank with water, its going to take a few days as my unit only does 100 GPD.