7 x 2.5 x 2.5 Aussie peninsular build !

mandy111

Active Member
hi all,
As I am new to this forum I thought I would share a recent new build that got underway in Dec 2014, so now just over 2 months old.
My husbnad & I had freshwater fish for about 18 months (loved it ) but walked into LFS saw our fist Tang (yellow) & was hooked.
We didnt want to spend a whole lot of money to start with, because we werent sure if it was going to be along term hobby. Reading forums etc, we saw so many people dropped out before the 12month mark. So we hunted for a second hand tank, with all the gear.

We found a 6 x 2 x 2.5 that had a lot of very expensive equipment, all under 6 months of age, guy had to sell because being transferred for work. So grabbed it.
Boy, was that an effort, took 7 people to move it over 5 hours transport and another 13hrs setting back up .

here is a picture of the day we got it

Tank week 1.JPG


Boy i was so proud of that, but over the next 12 months it changed lot, I didnt even know what mag cal and alk was.

Here is the tank exactly 12 months later (what a difference )

Fulltank.jpg



Hubby and I got talking and decided that the room was a little crowded and we would love a bigger tank, so hubby says, I know lets bash a wall down and make another room for the tank.
So we did, the work started on the 11th October, the wall that need bashing was directly behind the tank, so the boys had to be very careful.

photo 3 (3).JPG


Tank got ordered, work was completed and the we waited for the build to arrive,

We had an engineering company design and make the stand rated to 3 ton. Tank arrived,
Its a 7 x 2.5 x 2.5 peninsular with star fire glass 3 sides and end weir, boy was it a monster.

New Tank.JPG


We had never plumbed a tank before so decided to go with the Bean animal silent set up because the old tank had been magically quiet.
So hubby started the plumbing.
We want a it a little more organized and tidy this time, as we knew a little more about things, and what we did and didn't like.

Long shot under plumbing.JPG
Water change tap.JPG



So came to fill day, we had purchased a whole heap of cheaper pumps etc so that we were able to have both tanks up & running at the same time, This was critical to us. We left the tank running for just over 3 weeks and every 3 days we would take 250lt out of the old tank into the new tank, and then new tank back to old tank. This was planned so by the time we moved everything over water parameters would be spot on and a 100% mix of old and new for fish and corals.

Full sump long shot.JPG
Full tank long shot.JPG


3 weeks after filling we started the move over.

Well we started the move at approx 9am and still had not finished by 2am next morning

All rocks & attached BTAs were moved over successfully by 2am while all the corals and livstock remained happily in our still running current tank.
Thank god we were able to keep it running (skimmer and all) while moving, we just kept filling it up with NSW as the level dropped every time we removed rocks etc.
As all corals & fish are still in the current tank, threw in some makeshift rocks for them all to sleep in overnight, they are all very happy and normal next day.
All the BTAs are still alive and doing well, parameters in new tank are fine

All corals, fish and skimmer moved over the next 12 hrs of so. We only had the electrics left to day and that was going to be a day 3 job.

back óf tank.JPG


That was day 3 of the move, before we started the electrics. extension cords everywhere.
Water was really cloudy, only to be expected that soon i suppose, but being used to crystal clear water I must say we were a little disappointment

I think the hardest thing about this move was actually getting the scape to look nice on both sides of the tank, because we couldn't walk around darn thing, we had to go outside and through 2 doors it took forever to do,,,,hubby also forgot to bet some glue or putty for rocks, so we had to just stack and turn until something worked. Not easy I can assure you.

We woke up day 5 to a crystal clear water, which told me things were well on there way to settling. We were in the middle of a small minii cycle with ammonia being detected. I used prime and sability to combat that and we were over it by day 10 with no loses.
Water clarity on day 5 -
crystal clear 001.JPG



corals sulked for about a week after the move, but the fish seemed to settle in very quickly.

We added a few little tweeks to the tank this time, eg alarms for ATO water filling and emptying, Skimmer shut off when skimmer wast container too full, Heater controllers. level alarm if return section is too full or too low. etc. just a few little gadgets to make this tank a little easier to run.

We had a small diatom outbreak for the first few weeks but that went by itself without too much drams.
organized the power cords, moved into our new room and there you go our new build.
 

mandy111

Active Member
Here are a few pics of each individual Bommie on day 6 A lot of the corals are sulking at this point. And not actually in permanent homes yet either, trying to work out flow patterns and best placement will take a while yet.
Centre.JPG
Centre (2).JPG
Left Back.JPG
Left front.JPG
Right back.JPG
Right front.JPG
End.JPG

This is a full tank shot at week 10 now, all plumbing sorted, corals happily in there own positions, a few btas that split are still wondering around the tank, hoping they will settle very soon, its such a nuisance.



009 (2).JPG

1 week today 005.JPG

If you have any questions or things you want to know please just ask.

Thanks for reading this long ramble, I actually hope you enjoyed the build.
 

mandy111

Active Member
Stunning.

I have no other words.
Thank you. Can't wait for it to grow out a little & coraline to start growing again. Takes time I suppose. It's such an addictive hobby but we have also realised it's such an rewarding one too. Thank you
 

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
Gorgeous. These posts give me the itch to upgrade. Can't go that big I just don't have the space or the floor structure to support it. Trying to find a way to go to 125 gal. in the next couple months.
 

mandy111

Active Member
Gorgeous. These posts give me the itch to upgrade. Can't go that big I just don't have the space or the floor structure to support it. Trying to find a way to go to 125 gal. in the next couple months.
Just remember it's not the size that counts it's what you chose to do with it . Some of the most sensational tanks I have seen have been 90g. We just went big to feed my tang addiction. Lol
 

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
Just remember it's not the size that counts it's what you chose to do with it . Some of the most sensational tanks I have seen have been 90g. We just went big to feed my tang addiction. Lol
The tangs and other larger fish are the main reason I want to up grade size.
 

pegasus

Well-Known Member
Beautiful tank, mandy! Out of curiosity, what kind/color of lamps are you running in the ATI?
 

mandy111

Active Member
Beautiful tank, mandy! Out of curiosity, what kind/color of lamps are you running in the ATI?
OK, from memory we run
pure white
blue
pure white
purple
pure white
blue
pure white
coral pink

All geisman globes, they have a better life span with the ramping up and down, ATI globes were only lasting about 6 months the Geisman are lasing about 9 months. I know that ramping seems to just about halve there life span.
 

mandy111

Active Member
Agreed, this forum has so much knowledge and experience
I have to admit that this does actually seem like one of the more knowledgeable forums around, some you go to and get what I call "very poor advice". I think that's why hubby and I love this hobby so very much, we research, learn new things every day.
I am lucky though there is a small forum here in Australia, most are US based, that has become an absolute community.
Just one example, recently a member had some bad news with a medical condition, financially may have to shut her tank, a call went out on this forum for us as a community to help this member who not one of us had actually met.
Not only did she end up with a new skimmer, salt for 6 month, $1,200.00 cash but members who have donated their time to drive for hours to help her do water changes, install the new skimmer and help with daily tasks as well, she has help from members every weekend for the next 6 months. All from strangers. Thats what I call a community of like minded people.
I get the feeling that this community would possibly be the same ?
And thats what I really do love about reefing in general, great people.
 
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beth

Administrator
Staff member
This is beautiful tank and it sounds like you did everything right---patience at the top of the list of what was done right.

One little concern, you mentioned ext. cords? Those were temporary correct? Equipment to tanks is better with direct plugs to outlets, surge protectors, etc.

What will you do with the old tank?
 

pegasus

Well-Known Member
OK, from memory we run
pure white
blue
pure white
purple
pure white
blue
pure white
coral pink

All geisman globes, they have a better life span with the ramping up and down, ATI globes were only lasting about 6 months the Geisman are lasing about 9 months. I know that ramping seems to just about halve there life span.
Geisman bulbs are (or were) designed specifically for dimmable fixtures. Since my fixture isn't dimmable, it was a coin toss decision between ATI and Geisman bulbs. ATI won the toss. I may go with Geisman when it's time to change them out, as they're a little cheaper.

If you are using D-D Geisman bulbs, I hope you're aware that D-D and Geisman are no longer working together. D-D is the company that developed the special phosphors that Geisman uses in their bulbs, and the development for use in dimmable fixtures. They will continue making these bulbs, but it will be under their own brand. You can read about it here: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog/d-d-issues-statement-clarifying-the-recent-giesemann-powerchrome-t5-announcement
 

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
One of the reasons we upgraded was I am a Tang addict........if there was a tangs anonymous I should be attending promise you that. lol
I've been measuring my living room and figuring out what I can do to fit a 6 foot tank, actually the 18 inch depth is the bigger issue. One of my coworkers is taking all her tanks down because she just doesn't have time for the maintenance. I have been considering buying her 125. It would open so many possibilities fish wise.
 

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
I would li think that we are the same kind of people here in the US. However, since this is a national forum, our members are spread out over the entire US. I only know of two people who are even remotely close to Louisiana - where I live. Even then, it's about a 10 hour drive to people who are pretty close to me that I know on here. My state has a forum for people, but I am not a member of those forums for various reasons.
 

mandy111

Active Member
This is beautiful tank and it sounds like you did everything right---patience at the top of the list of what was done right.

One little concern, you mentioned ext. cords? Those were temporary correct? Equipment to tanks is better with direct plugs to outlets, surge protectors, etc.

What will you do with the old tank?
Oh yes. Extension cords were just to get us through the move. We have. 3 power boards each with their own clipsal safety switch installed acting independently from the house safety switches very aware that electricity & water don't mix. Lol
 
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