300 Gallon Reef Build

spanishearl

spanishearl

New Member
It was suggested that I start a build thread about my new tank, so here it is!
I have seen some threads move quickley, and others slow. I assure you that this one will be a bit slow. It will progress only as finances permit as I have recently had some major life changes occur (my 8 year old son moved in with me from his mothers, I moved, and I lost my job a few months back due to recession, worked several contracts, then finally started back at old job on the 14th of September. Needless to say, all of this has taken it's toll on me financially...
Please subscribe to the thread to make sure that you do get updates when they happen!
Now to start, a little background on this new aquarium. I recieved a call from a friend asking me if I would like a "HUGE tank", and I thought that he meant what most people think is huge. A 100 gallon tank. I was wrong. It was a 300 gallon (give or take) aquarium. Did I mention that it was free? That's right, the owner of the tank, needed it gone, had a new one, and couldn't be bothered. He paid over $6000 for it, and gave it to me. Now, I'll be happy to do some IT work for him. :)
I got the tank, stand, canopy, and stand cover, but no equipment. That I will have to get myself, but I'm not complaining, the most expensive part of the task is in my garage as I type this.

Here are a couple pictures to start us off!
The new (free) aquarium:

The canopy:

Mmmmmmm:


Time to clean! Yay for a big bottle of vinegar and a scrub pad:

Better!:


I also noticed that the latex paint was pretty well ruined on the back, and as I'm thinking hard about a foam back, I won't really need it....

That's all for now!
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
WOOOHOOO...You got some work done....Good luck
Didn't come with lights huh? That is going to be a BIG expense...start looking for used on all those lists out there
 
markw

markw

Member
Youre going to be in debt for a year for MH and LR for this baby. Cant wait to see how it turns out!

Mark
 
S

shrimpy brains

Guest
Wow! Nice job on the cleaning! Will be following along and try to help when I can! The build can be just as much fun as the tank, so you are in for a great ride! lol
 
spanishearl

spanishearl

New Member
Thanks! I'm really excited about this, and being a DIY kind of guy, I love the build part just as much! I'm scouring the other threads right now trying to see what others are doing, and how I can work things out for myself too!
 
V

vince-1961

Guest
By placing this thread in the "reef tanks" section, I assume you have decided to create a reef tank instead of a FOWLR. Good decision, but it'll make it a lot more expensive. A huge tank that size would make a fascinating FOWLR for larger aggressive fish though. I have a 200 g reef tank and was contemplating the notion of starting another 200g as an aggressive FOWLR, but I probably won't.
I posted a reply in the New Hobbyist thread you started regarding location of tank in house, household plumbing and aquarium plumbing. Since you've decided on a reef tank, it's time you started learning what all is required to keep the water pristine clean and stable. You need that knowledge in order to design the aquarium plumbing. It's easier to build from scratch than to modify an existing system, so after you've started learning, you'll need to start contemplating what you need to accomplish your goals.
For a reef tank, you'll need to "turn the water over" 20 times per hour. Translated that means that everything that moves water around should add up to 6,000 gallons per hour, so you are going to need some larger pumps and powerheads. Given such a high gph tunrover rate, you might be best served to have two external pumps, one for your sump and one to power a closed loop. Let's talk about closed loops.
A closed loop is exactly what is says, it is a loop of piping where water comes out of the DT and goes directly back to the DT without ever being exposed to any air and with no "open" places in the loop. The only purpose of it is to the create water flow inside the DT. With your drilled holes, you are already set to make one. All you'll need is some PVC, some pipe (flexible tubing is easier to work with than PVC, but there's nothing wrong with just using PVC), a strong pump and something to alternate the water flow, such as 1" SCWDs or an OM4. Do searches on this site and you'll find lots of info on those products. There are a variety of products you can stick on the ends of your return lines to make the water squirt in differing directions each time just to mix things up a bit.
A Reeflo Dart pumps 3,600 @ zero head. It's maximum capacity is 12 feet of head though, so performance drops off quickly after 8 feet of head. (8 feet = 1,800 gph for this pump.) If you can design your closed loop with only 3 or 4 feet of head, you'll generate about 2,700 GPH turnover if you powered it with that particular pump. It's a fairly quiet pump. Then you add SCWDs or OM4 to alternate water flow from one return line to the next and voila! You've got waves! With a 300 g tank, you might want to find a stronger pump, especially if you have a lot of head. You'll want to do about half of your turnover with your closed loop.
You'll need a bigger sump than most folks. My 200g DT has a 65g sump, powered by one of the largest Iwaki pumps. Iawki is a good brand. Lasts forever, but they aren't cheap. You will have fun designing your own sump. There's lots of threads here about that. All you need is 1/4" plexiglass and aquarium grade silicon and you can create as many baffles, sections etc as you desire in whatever cheap aquarium you can pick up for your sump ... or you could string a series of your existing small tanks together, connecting one to the next via drilled holes. You could even do two sumps, one for each corner of your DT, each one performing whatever function you like, but then you'll need separate pumps for each sump. That would be one way to get more GPH turnover, since your goal is 6,000 gph.
Then, you add powerheads inside the tank to get the rest of your turnover. Koralia has come out with a mega powerhead that has an incredibly high GPH. I think it's called the "mega" or the "8" or something like that. Put one on each side of the tank lengthwise and aim them at each other.
With your size tank, everything you do will have to be BIG.
Anyway, ask us as many questions as you desire, maybe create a thread for each question. The chemistry going on inside the tank is what sustains the life cycle. The chemistry is always the same from one tank to the next. The rest is personal preference. Read the "101 tips" in the New Hobbyist section.
You're about to become an electrician and a plumber. You might want to add another circuit to your circuit breaker and dedicate it to your tank. Be sure to use GFCI outlets. It seems every product comes with a plug for electricity.......
 
E

eric b 125

Guest
this looks like a fun project. you definately got my attention! i'll be following along for sure.
 
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