Project 300 is underway!!!
- Thread starter robchuck
- Start date
fishamajig
Member
maybe someday, but the tank, fishroom, plumbing , and all the livestock is amazing, my hat is off to you for a job well done. Reefers might dream for their whole lives for a tank like that. all i can say is wow 
ctgretzky9
Member
Yaaay! Looks awesome Rob! Congrats on all your hard work, it certainly looks like it was worth it. I wish you many years of happy reefing with that set up!
Beware of me picking your brain a year or so down the road when I move into our next home!
Beware of me picking your brain a year or so down the road when I move into our next home!
sw65galma
Active Member
Originally Posted by RobChuck
Here is the "obligatory internet message board tank progress thread, pre-plumbing project" photo.
Haha I have the same thing..
Do you hate plumbing now as Much as I do lol.
I haven't even finished my 2 closed loops..
I used 2 45's wherever I needed a 90...90's kill flow real bad..
You got any pics of your Light holder?
I just picked up a DIY 400W MH and I need Idea's on how to mount that with the 4 VHO's I have sitting on the floor.
Here is the "obligatory internet message board tank progress thread, pre-plumbing project" photo.
Haha I have the same thing..
Do you hate plumbing now as Much as I do lol.
I haven't even finished my 2 closed loops..
I used 2 45's wherever I needed a 90...90's kill flow real bad..
You got any pics of your Light holder?
I just picked up a DIY 400W MH and I need Idea's on how to mount that with the 4 VHO's I have sitting on the floor.
acrylic51
Active Member
Originally Posted by sw65galma
Haha I have the same thing..
Do you hate plumbing now as Much as I do lol.
I haven't even finished my 2 closed loops..
I used 2 45's wherever I needed a 90...90's kill flow real bad..
You got any pics of your Light holder?
I just picked up a DIY 400W MH and I need Idea's on how to mount that with the 4 VHO's I have sitting on the floor.
Are you looking for mounts for the MH's or the VHO's?
Haha I have the same thing..
Do you hate plumbing now as Much as I do lol.
I haven't even finished my 2 closed loops..
I used 2 45's wherever I needed a 90...90's kill flow real bad..
You got any pics of your Light holder?
I just picked up a DIY 400W MH and I need Idea's on how to mount that with the 4 VHO's I have sitting on the floor.
Are you looking for mounts for the MH's or the VHO's?
A
andretti
Guest
I hate to ask RobChuck, but how much has the tank cost you (not the cost of construction, drywall, framing, etc.) I too have a 300, but I do not have Co2 or calcium reactors, and I'm in over $8,000
I can't imagine what you final co$t must be. :notsure:
robchuck
Active Member
Originally Posted by obarrera
Very nice tank, any updated pics?
You should make a new video too.
The only recent pics I have are in the thread I started on the Multicolor Angel (https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/show...ght=multicolor)
I hope to make another video soon, I just need to find a camera to borrow!
Very nice tank, any updated pics?
You should make a new video too.
The only recent pics I have are in the thread I started on the Multicolor Angel (https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/show...ght=multicolor)
I hope to make another video soon, I just need to find a camera to borrow!
robchuck
Active Member
Originally Posted by Andretti
I hate to ask RobChuck, but how much has the tank cost you (not the cost of construction, drywall, framing, etc.) I too have a 300, but I do not have Co2 or calcium reactors, and I'm in over $8,000
I can't imagine what you final co$t must be. :notsure:
I can't pin an exact figure on the tank, as most of this tank comes from a complete setup that I bought (300g tank, livestock, LR, and most of the equipment). But, some components of this tank from previous setups, and there were a few things I bought new for the project (like the plumbing and the Wavebox). All in all, I'd say I have around $4,000 into the tank (minus construction which was 100% DIY and ran me about $400).
I hate to ask RobChuck, but how much has the tank cost you (not the cost of construction, drywall, framing, etc.) I too have a 300, but I do not have Co2 or calcium reactors, and I'm in over $8,000
I can't pin an exact figure on the tank, as most of this tank comes from a complete setup that I bought (300g tank, livestock, LR, and most of the equipment). But, some components of this tank from previous setups, and there were a few things I bought new for the project (like the plumbing and the Wavebox). All in all, I'd say I have around $4,000 into the tank (minus construction which was 100% DIY and ran me about $400).
obarrera
Member
Originally Posted by RobChuck
The only recent pics I have are in the thread I started on the Multicolor Angel (https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/show...ght=multicolor)
I hope to make another video soon, I just need to find a camera to borrow!
That's a beautiful fish, is it reef safe?
The only recent pics I have are in the thread I started on the Multicolor Angel (https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/show...ght=multicolor)
I hope to make another video soon, I just need to find a camera to borrow!
That's a beautiful fish, is it reef safe?
robchuck
Active Member
It's been awhile since I updated this thread, so I thought I'd let you all know what's going on with the tank.
I've experienced some growing pains since my last posting and am in recovery mode right now. The Multicolor Angel I added back in June developed a taste for SPS after being in the tank for just a few weeks. He chowed down on just about every SPS colony in the tank and I lost all of my SPS colonies to RTN or STN except for a turbinaria that's still hanging on by a thread.
I must not have handled the aftermath of the destruction too well, because I'm still recovering from a hair algae outbreak after the Angel's SPS rampage.
But on a positive note, the softies, anemonies, LPS, ricordea, star polyps, and zoanthids are doing better than ever. The tangs are all doing great and the angel is behaving itself now (I even started putting some new SPS frags in recently and so far so good). The clownfish pair love swimming from anemone to anemone (I now have six; started with two back in April). And the pair of Neon Gobies have set up a cleaning station that the tangs stop at from time to time.
The barebottom experience has been nice maintenance wise, but looks pretty ugly now that it's covered with coralline. I'm probably going to put down a small amount of crushed coral (very fine grade) up front to help with the asthetics.
I'm learning the truth about how well coralline grows on acrylic. I got very busy this summer and didn't clean or scrape the front pane for about two weeks. In that time, the coralline growth was so wide spread that it was impossible to see into the tank (I only saw shadows of fish swimming by). But fortunately, it was easy to scrape off with a Kent acrylic scraper in a matter of an hour; and I didn't even make any scratches! Regardless, I still have no regrets about aquiring an acrylic tank.
I've been busy starting a new job, so I haven't been able to snap any pics lately, but hopefully I'll have some time soon and post some recent pics here.
I've experienced some growing pains since my last posting and am in recovery mode right now. The Multicolor Angel I added back in June developed a taste for SPS after being in the tank for just a few weeks. He chowed down on just about every SPS colony in the tank and I lost all of my SPS colonies to RTN or STN except for a turbinaria that's still hanging on by a thread.
I must not have handled the aftermath of the destruction too well, because I'm still recovering from a hair algae outbreak after the Angel's SPS rampage.
But on a positive note, the softies, anemonies, LPS, ricordea, star polyps, and zoanthids are doing better than ever. The tangs are all doing great and the angel is behaving itself now (I even started putting some new SPS frags in recently and so far so good). The clownfish pair love swimming from anemone to anemone (I now have six; started with two back in April). And the pair of Neon Gobies have set up a cleaning station that the tangs stop at from time to time.
The barebottom experience has been nice maintenance wise, but looks pretty ugly now that it's covered with coralline. I'm probably going to put down a small amount of crushed coral (very fine grade) up front to help with the asthetics.
I'm learning the truth about how well coralline grows on acrylic. I got very busy this summer and didn't clean or scrape the front pane for about two weeks. In that time, the coralline growth was so wide spread that it was impossible to see into the tank (I only saw shadows of fish swimming by). But fortunately, it was easy to scrape off with a Kent acrylic scraper in a matter of an hour; and I didn't even make any scratches! Regardless, I still have no regrets about aquiring an acrylic tank.
I've been busy starting a new job, so I haven't been able to snap any pics lately, but hopefully I'll have some time soon and post some recent pics here.
robchuck
Active Member
This tank just celebrated it's 1st birthday last week! One thing I can say for certain: it's been a whirlwind of a year maintaining this thing. Since I last updated the thread, I haven't added any livestock (it's fun watching what I already have grow big and thrive), but I was able to get the best of the nuisance algae infestations. A big reason for that was the addition of a Euro Reef CS250 skimmer. The thing is a beast and pulls out a full collection cup worth of thick, dark skimmate every week. I also had an issue with 2 of the 3 400W ballasts and no longer needed that intense of light without SPS, so I took the opportunity to downgrade (or upgrade; depends on how you look at it) to 3x250W HQI Phoenix 14,000K. The change in lighting allowed me to remove the chiller and has saved me anywhere from $50-$100 a month in electricity between the change in lights and removal of the chiller. The fish are all thriving (Sally the Sailfin is now 11) and the softies and LPS look wonderful and are getting HUGE.
I have no regrets going with acrylic; the peace of mind has been great, and the tank hasn't scratched much either. The only thing bothering me about the tank as it is today is how quickly and thick the coralline grows on the acrylic. It's a large burden to constantly scrape and regrows quickly despite keeping my dKH and Calcium levels at the low end of the recommended levels.
The biggest piece of news to report though is that this tank will soon be coming to the end of it's life as a reef. My wife and I are expecting our first child at the end of the summer, so not only will my schedule become strained with learning parenting duties, finances will be EXTREMELY tight due to some personal choices my wife and I have made (the maintenance of the tank and electricity needs didn't come anywhere close to fitting our new budget). Plus, I'm now spending an insane amount of time removing coraline from the tank on a regular basis and would gladly reallocate that time to being a dad.
So, in a few weeks, the 300g will become a low-tech FW planted tank (I've been playing around with these for some time now and look forward to tending a large yet low maintenance tank). The selling off of reef equipment and livestock will help a little in the short-term, but more importantly, will drastically reduce our electrical use and monthly reef maintenance expenses. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is giving up the care of the Sailfin. I've only had her for a year, but it's still exciting caring for an 11 year old tang.
I won't totally be getting out of reefkeeping though. My old 65g is currently being revived as a low maintenance and low electrical consumption mixed reef, where some choice pieces of rock and corals will go, along with the smaller fish that I can't bring myself to part with. Plus, we will also put my wife's 12g JBJ Nano Cube that she keeps in her into the nursery!
I have no regrets going with acrylic; the peace of mind has been great, and the tank hasn't scratched much either. The only thing bothering me about the tank as it is today is how quickly and thick the coralline grows on the acrylic. It's a large burden to constantly scrape and regrows quickly despite keeping my dKH and Calcium levels at the low end of the recommended levels.
The biggest piece of news to report though is that this tank will soon be coming to the end of it's life as a reef. My wife and I are expecting our first child at the end of the summer, so not only will my schedule become strained with learning parenting duties, finances will be EXTREMELY tight due to some personal choices my wife and I have made (the maintenance of the tank and electricity needs didn't come anywhere close to fitting our new budget). Plus, I'm now spending an insane amount of time removing coraline from the tank on a regular basis and would gladly reallocate that time to being a dad.
So, in a few weeks, the 300g will become a low-tech FW planted tank (I've been playing around with these for some time now and look forward to tending a large yet low maintenance tank). The selling off of reef equipment and livestock will help a little in the short-term, but more importantly, will drastically reduce our electrical use and monthly reef maintenance expenses. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is giving up the care of the Sailfin. I've only had her for a year, but it's still exciting caring for an 11 year old tang.
I won't totally be getting out of reefkeeping though. My old 65g is currently being revived as a low maintenance and low electrical consumption mixed reef, where some choice pieces of rock and corals will go, along with the smaller fish that I can't bring myself to part with. Plus, we will also put my wife's 12g JBJ Nano Cube that she keeps in her into the nursery!
aw2
Active Member
First off, congrats on the new baby! Give your wife the best, for me...and say hi to that crazy dog of yours. Hopefully, he'll keep chewing on his socks and not on the babys feet.
The minute you decide to sell anything, from that tank, you'd better keep me in mind. Without even having to think about it, I'll take any and all equipment, the live rock and that gorgeous Sailfin!
-Andy
The minute you decide to sell anything, from that tank, you'd better keep me in mind. Without even having to think about it, I'll take any and all equipment, the live rock and that gorgeous Sailfin!
-Andy
robchuck
Active Member
Andy,
Thanks for the kind wishes. I'll be breaking this tank down pretty soon (I need to get the 65g back up first), and most importantly, I'll need to find a good home for the three tangs, especially the Sailfin. I'll get in touch with you in the next day or two and let you know exactly what will be available.
Thanks for the kind wishes. I'll be breaking this tank down pretty soon (I need to get the 65g back up first), and most importantly, I'll need to find a good home for the three tangs, especially the Sailfin. I'll get in touch with you in the next day or two and let you know exactly what will be available.
wangotango
Active Member
sorry about loosing such a nice reef, but congrats on the baby. that tank would be awsome for a heavily planted angel and discus display
which IMO are the most beautiful freshwater fish.
robchuck
Active Member
Originally Posted by npp02c
Why does it seem that everytime I really want to see pictures on the good threads, the pictures do not show... What gives?
Most of the pictures in this thread are towards the end of the thread. SWF.com changed something with the message board last year that caused all of the old pictures to disappear, even though the old posts are still there. That's why some of the posts in this thread mention something about a picture, even though no image is attached.
Why does it seem that everytime I really want to see pictures on the good threads, the pictures do not show... What gives?
Most of the pictures in this thread are towards the end of the thread. SWF.com changed something with the message board last year that caused all of the old pictures to disappear, even though the old posts are still there. That's why some of the posts in this thread mention something about a picture, even though no image is attached.