[Windsor]

A few updates to report...


Second-hand acrylic fuge.


Progress on the stand -- oak frame with Russian birch skin.



The tank!!! To be delivered THIS Thursday!!!

[BLKBRDTA]

Wow, looking great Windsor! Your tank looks awesome, those dual overflows on the back must tsunami the water down to the sump lol. Do you know how big the bulkhead is on both of those intake lines?

[Windsor]

They're 2 x 2" bulk head reduced to 1 & 1/2" bulk heads.

[BLKBRDTA]

I see, yea your going to have great flow going through there lol. What kind of return pumps are you running? I know the fish room is on the level below the display, how many feet of head is there to run from the sump to the display?

[Windsor]

14' from the basement, the return pump is an Iwaki 100RT-2, which provides 1,633 per hr @ 15.3' of head pressure. We'll also be adding 2 x 40MP vortechs.

[BLKBRDTA]

Very nice, looks like your going to have the perfect amount of water exchange from the display to the sump then back up again. Continue to update this thread with your progress, we love the pictures here! lol

[Windsor]

Thought I'd also mention that we've decided on an algae turf scrubber in lieu of a fuge. According to research, this will provide more copepods (providing they survive the return pump) and a better place for microalgae to live as opposed to the display.

[BLKBRDTA]

That is a wise decision, it does aid in the development of both, like you said, as long as the copepods can survive the journey through the system.

[Windsor]

I suppose it's about time for an update!

My father came down from Quebec to deliver the fabulous tank stand. Some of the rockin' features include a door damper, a mechanism which prevents the door from slamming, as well as knobs which are flush with the doors. You push the inner button which then pops out as a knob.

He also carved a shark into the side panel and an opening for our RKE. Thanks Daddy!!!







Did I mention this thread wasn't for those using dial-up?

[Windsor]

If I didn't mention it before, my very talented Dad is also a master electrician.



He and my husband also built this awesome fish room counter...



Notice the reef keeper data:

[Windsor]

Yes, our entire house is made of wood, glass and steel. There is not one stitch of drywall.

This is my Dad & Husband working on the basement fish room together.



And finally the tank arrived!!!





The plumber was here today to size up the job and he's returning Thursday to do the actual work. Can't wait!!!

[WhatReef]

woow your tank is going to look awesome when its done, im very envious of your light (i have an older model gesemann) and your ReefKepper Elite lol Im going to be ordering one this week and i like how your dad built it into the stand. When he's done can you send him over to finish my tank offlol but you guys are doing a bang up job and doing everything right before you start adding things so your tank with benice im sure of it anyways keep up the good work, oh and does your husband work for google? I noticed the google shirt.

[Windsor]

Originally Posted by WhatReef

woow your tank is going to look awesome when its done, im very envious of your light (i have an older model gesemann) and your ReefKepper Elite lol Im going to be ordering one this week and i like how your dad built it into the stand. When he's done can you send him over to finish my tank offlol but you guys are doing a bang up job and doing everything right before you start adding things so your tank with benice im sure of it anyways keep up the good work, oh and does your husband work for google? I noticed the google shirt.

I had to pay my own Dad to build the stand because he's so busy and I had a deadline! At the age where he should be retiring and taking trips to exotic hot spots, he continues to work like a horse. I don't know what he'd do with himself if he retired!

My husband works for a very large television station in Canada, they purchased a bunch of Google servers so they received a bunch of t-shirts with the shipment.

[Windsor]

Here's the octopus under the tank.



Once the plumbing was complete, we started to fill up the tank with tap water for testing.



The boys fired up the Iwaki MD 100RTL and that's when we discovered we had TOO MUCH FLOW!!!





The water moves so quickly through the baffles in the sump that the microbubbles don't have time to escape (1764 GPH @ 7 ft vertical). So now my husband is looking around for a BlueLine HD 55 / Panworld 50 PX-X to slow things down. Flow in the tank will be provided by 2 MP40's.

I really thought we'd have sw, rock and sand in the tank by the end of this weekend but it appears that's going to be delayed again.

[WhatReef]

are you buying cured rock? or dry live rock? cuase if i was you i would cure it for a month with out the sand and make sure you add at least 30% live sand as opposed to just new sand but you may know that already but im just though i would let you know as, do you plan on using the DSB method?

Im so jealous of your lighting im saving up some money to get one as i nee more T5's over my tank as the older giesemanns only can with 2 tubes instead of 4

also if you want to lesson your flow have you tried attaching a valve to the return pumps return line that way you can control to flow and not have to looking around for a small pump, just a thought its also good if your doing maintenance and shutting the tank down for a few minutes.

Im guessing you guys are going for that glass look on top of the water? becareful not to compromise flow just for that look as reef need ALOT of flow.

[Windsor]

We've had 100lbs pre-loved live rock curing in a garbage can for over a month. We had 200lbs of live sand in a Rubbermaid bin with a powerhead and heater but the friggin' thing busted and left us with a bit of a flood in the basement so now it's in buckets without a heater or powerhead. I expect to see a bit of a cycle from that.

We drained the freshwater from the tank on Saturday then started the very, very slow process of filling it from our RO/DI system. My husband also purchased 50 gallons RO water from the grocery store to speed things up a bit. The water finally reached the overflow this morning.

Our plumber is coming over tonight after work to swap out the pump, we'll then start mixing the salt. Rock and sand Tuesday or Wednesday!

Man, this has got to be the slowest build in the history of aquaria!

BTW, we're adding two MP40's for flow in tank.

[WhatReef]

Originally Posted by Windsor

We've had 100lbs pre-loved live rock curing in a garbage can for over a month. We had 200lbs of live sand in a Rubbermaid bin with a powerhead and heater but the friggin' thing busted and left us with a bit of a flood in the basement so now it's in buckets without a heater or powerhead. I expect to see a bit of a cycle from that.

We drained the freshwater from the tank on Saturday then started the very, very slow process of filling it from our RO/DI system. My husband also purchased 50 gallons RO water from the grocery store to speed things up a bit. The water finally reached the overflow this morning.

Our plumber is coming over tonight after work to swap out the pump, we'll then start mixing the salt. Rock and sand Tuesday or Wednesday!

Man, this has got to be the slowest build in the history of aquaria!

BTW, we're adding two MP40's for flow in tank.

those MP40's will give you a ton of flow for sure, no rush take your time lol some of the nicest reefs out there have taken years to com together so if you do everything slowly and right the first time it will all be good in the end but so far you guys are doing a great job keep it up.

heres the link to my build thread
http://www.reefbuilders.com/forums/r...-finish-9.html

[WhatReef]

Also quick question about your Digital Aquatics Reek Keeper Elite/net

when you bought it did you order the elite with net unit and im just trying to get a handle on what comes with it as on the site they tell you what comes with it but there wording for some things is over my head so im just trying to figure out what exactly i would get for $490 so if you have time could you show me what you got thanks

[Windsor]

Originally Posted by WhatReef

Also quick question about your Digital Aquatics Reek Keeper Elite/net

when you bought it did you order the elite with net unit and im just trying to get a handle on what comes with it as on the site they tell you what comes with it but there wording for some things is over my head so im just trying to figure out what exactly i would get for $490 so if you have time could you show me what you got thanks

We bought the RKE second hand so purchased the net unit separately directly from Digital Aquatics.

[WhatReef]

oh nice wish i could find a used unit you got lucky

[Windsor]

We already have an MP20 on our 40g cube. We just received the upgrade kit to turn it into an MP40 so when we tear down the old tank, we'll just transfer it over. We have another MP40 on order in a group buy.

I'll check out your build thread from home when I have more time!

[WhatReef]

Originally Posted by Windsor

We already have an MP20 on our 40g cube. We just received the upgrade kit to turn it into an MP40 so when we tear down the old tank, we'll just transfer it over. We have another MP40 on order in a group buy.

I'll check out your build thread from home when I have more time!

kool wish i was in on the group buy

[Windsor]

I don't see why you couldn't be in on the buy, I'll pm you with the info...

[Windsor]

Plumbing kinks have been ironed out. 100lbs rock and 200lbs sand are finally in the tank, now we wait!

Front


Left Side


Picked up a pair of green clown gobies which are currently in QT with a big ball of cheato filled with pods. They aren't eating frozen yet...

[WhatReef]

looking good, the aquascape looks good too i think i will be changing mine around as well but your tank is going to be a real nice tank.

On another note i contacted that guy about the group buy and he emailed me and i told him what i wanted but i never heard back from him?

Here's a pic of my tank (180tank/65sump)