200G Peninsula Reef Tank - My Journey

[Spartanwarrior]

My Christmas Miracle Present to Myself!

So I'm in the process of upgrading from my 5+ year old (3yrs in my possession) 65G to a 187G custom eurobraced glass peninsula tank. I thought I'd share my build with the community here A - because I'm super excited and giddy B - because I'm super nervous I'm going to screw something up and looking for any & all advice C - because I'm a huge nerd - did I mention I'm excited?

The tank is being custom made with 1/2" glass panels (not starphire).
Dimensions 60Lx30Wx24H. Built in custom overflow 30" Wide, plumbed with 2 1.5" drains and 2 1" returns. Plan on plumbing a Herbie.
Built by a friend of a friend. I looked everywhere for this baby. Coast to Coast, TankMe, Glass Cages, etc etc...My guy is doing amazing work so far and very glad I won't be shelling out $2500+ for it. He will also be making a custom acrylic sump (48Lx20Wx16H) and 15G custom ATO container.

The plan is to have it divide 2 rooms in my house, with one side having a cabinet/canopy combo and the other side being a picture frame viewing window. I included a picture to convey my ultimate plan for the layout. Contractors are currently in the process of building up quotes for this massive endeavor.

I started this thread because I just received my first progress picture! And pickup is the Saturday after Thanksgiving!

Now on to cure some BRS Live Pukani and Fiji rock...

 

[Spartanwarrior]

Second Update

Started the process of curing my live rock. Going with a mixture of BRS Pukani and Fiji. Bought around 200lbs. At last count, I am using around 130 of it. Nice large pieces as 2 islands, tons of caves and bridges, and lots of open space for growth. Really like how the aquascape turned out.

Scrubbed the crap out of each and every piece, removed dead sponges and such with chisels, powerwashed again and then tagged each and every piece according to the placement I had mapped out previously with zip ties and plastic tags from Amazon. The tags, while tedious, will be abundantly helpful when I'm ready to place into the DT. Also, took a picture of each piece for reference. Tags are holding up well to the salt water.

Using 2 30G rubbermaids for the curing process, and a 44G Brute to transfer everything into and keep wet while I change out the water. Using a phosban reactor to remove PO4, along with Lanthanum Chloride to remove free-floating PO4 before its absorbed by rocks. Seems to be working rather well, and have done a ton of research on the method.
I have 3 pumps and 2 heaters running 24/7.
Its a pain to make upwards of 50G of RODI salt water every week or so, and drain the rubbermaids, but all in the name of successful reefing.

Picking up the tank Sunday, my new IceCap 48XL sump arrives Tuesday, and picked up a Varios 8 return pump at over 35%off retail. Thank you, Black Friday!

Tank and sump pictures to follow.

 

[vio]

Looks good.

 

[Spartanwarrior]

Looks good.

thanks Vio. I know you're a man to look to for advice. I just posted another thread on the silicone job on the new tank. Could you check my post out and respond? Thanks!

 

[thomashtom]

Looking good good luck

 

[Spartanwarrior]

Thank you, Tom. Gotta talk with you on the UV one of these days. Still interested just doing a bit more research.

 

[Spartanwarrior]

I have the tank in my possession. I have a few qualms about it (bubbling along some eurobracing seams, a missing eurobrace, some unclean silicone). Most issues will be addressed shortly, but for the price and with some good cabinet construction, I can hide the impurities. Leak test will begin after the brace is completed. And I have about 98% of the equipment. Just waiting on a few quotes from a few aquarium contractors for the in-wall portion of the build.

As I wait, I'll begin to list some of the more important equipment I've gathered over the months

280LBS Caribsea Bimini Pink sand
~160LBs BRS Pukani and Fiji Live rock (still curing)

Skimmer - Super Reef Octopus 5000INT (new)
Sump - Ice Cap 48XL with 15G ATO chamber, refugium, 3x 4" socks, probe and tube holders - a few small issues here (cracked lid, cracked screw holding up water level adjuster) - bought through Amazon, so that's a plus.
Alkatronic Alkalinity Monitor - so excited for this to ship
APEX Gold with all Probes, (bought 2nd hand) ALD unit with 4x flat surface monitors (new)
JBJ Arctica Chiller 1/4HP (in use on current tank)
2 Mp40QD for main flow (1x used, 1x new)
1 Maxspect Gyre 130 for top flow and gas exchange (currently use)
Reef Octopus Varios8 return pump, Jebao DC12000 for manifold/secondary (both new)
Aquatic Life Hybrid lighting using 3 AI Hydra 52s and T5s (ATI Blue+, ATI Purple+,
ATI Coral+, Giesmann Tropic - unsure of my combo yet) (new, 1x Hydra used, 2x currently used)
Reef Octopus Biochurn 150R Biopellet Reactor (currently used)
Kamoer non-wifi 3 pump doser (currently used)
2x Eheim Jager 300W heaters (new)
Tunze ATO (new)
29 G Cube for QT, with MP10, AquaClear 50 Power filter (used, filter new)
OctoAquatics Lid and O'Reily Acclimation Box (new)
Tropic Marin Pro Reef salt
Plan on a Herbie overflow with 1.5" drain and emergency, 2 1" returns

 

[vincent]

Congrats! Can?t wait to see this tank up and running.

 

[Username Invalid]

Alkalinity monitor?awesome let me know how you like it.

 

[Spartanwarrior]

Congrats! Can?t wait to see this tank up and running.

ME TOO! It's taking forever and I'm impatient and I'm sure you know I'm slowly becoming cash poor haha

 

[Spartanwarrior]

Alkalinity monitor?awesome let me know how you like it.

will do Jay. Real excited for this Alkatronic. Didn't need to buy the new APEX for theirs to help control and Jonas is awesome at answering questions, providing feedback and seems to know what the hell he's doing, all for a nice price and compact unit.

 

[vio]

alkalinity monitor?awesome let me know how you like it.

+1

 

[Spartanwarrior]

Leak Test was a success. Over 5 days holding water with a powerhead and heater so it doesn't freeze in my coldish garage (besides me overfilling it at the beginning haha rookie mistake) Seams look great. No bowing.

Tank, for the price, is a nice piece. Not a showstopper at all. A good major upgrade tank with solid bones but ugly silicone work near the overflow. All in all, I'm happy because I can hide the ugliness with my cabinet/in-wall build. For the price, I was looking for a stable tank, not a Coast 2 Coast pristine 1% tank.

My contractor is ready to start moving on building the stand. Going with solid 2x4s (as seen in pic) and a sturdy construction instead of steel. I believe I am making an economical choice.

Leak test on the sump was also a success. This Ice Cap 48XL is a beast. Beautiful design for the contemporary reefer. 2 1" drains will be increased in size to 1.5" to match my overflow. Those overflow into 3 4" socks, underneath to a dual split to either the refugium or the skimmer compartment. Includes a 15Gallon ATO reservoir!!! All for under $550. Can't beat it. Coralvue has been great replacing a cracked lid and screw for the water level plate, damaged upon shipping.

Moving along, slowly but surely.

Rock curing is a pain in the *** btw. So many things I would do to make this easier ie drains on the Brutes. But I did add GFO and a HOB to both containers and I see the diatoms starting to decrease a bit. Ammonia levels still present.

 

[Spartanwarrior]

Almost 3 weeks of curing 2 separate batches of rock. The batch with the Large pukani pieces are almost ammonia free. The 2nd batch, not so much. On to battling a diatom bloom. Odd, its covered to allow for ZERO light. That is the batch with GFO running. 1st batch has charcoal and sponge filters. If only I had a control batch and I'd have a nice experiment going...

Will resume 5 day water changes on the 2nd batch. Slowing down 1st batch to biweekly.

Contractor is slated to start demo and framing on the 18th. Fingers crossed.

Will move my current tank about 7 feet over to allow for construction (taking out 60% water, sump and moving on pads) Wish me luck there. Last time I moved I moved 7 towns over. I'm more nervous moving 7 feet this time around haha

 

[Spartanwarrior]

Few updates.
FINALLY.
The tank is repaired, upgraded and looking beautiful. Glass Cages might be a nightmare in their customer service dept, but they make a quality tank for a great price.
The tank is now mostly LIG, and 200G. Eurobraced correctly. And the silicone seams are mint.
The in-wall stand build has also begun. Progress has been slow but its nice to see a contractor that is open to quick changes and really understands the original vision and adapts. Custom is pricey, but being a Red Sea reefer for 3 years, you learn quickly space is a premium, along with ease of access and general useability.
Stand is 4' tall, 5' wide aluminum. Wrapping in marine grade 3/4 ply and then stained/painted and poly'd 3/4"tongue and groove planking. Excited to show off this 100% original look created by yours truly. 8' vertical cabinet to the left will house the QT, frag tank and reactors. The opposite side will will bricked with a faux style brick from HD. 2 dedicated circuits have been wired so I don't blow the entire house with this mini-aquarium I'm building and generator hookup down the road.

 

[Username Invalid]

Looking good. How long until it?s wet

 

[Spartanwarrior]

Looking good. How long until it?s wet

thanks Jay. At this rate, and my skill at plumbing, probably mid April lol

 

[Spartanwarrior]

Things are chugging along here. Most of the structure is complete, walls are back up and ready for faux brick. I've coated all interior surfaces and exterior underneath the tank with
Kilz 2 paint (2-3 coats) and plan on putting a nice marine grade on the shelving and floor for quick cleanups of spills. The floor will also be covered in a shower pan liner for the "hopefully never" flood.
A vertical cabinet is also done with 3 shelves. Bottom for chiller and QT tank. Middle for frag tank gravity fed from the overflow box and draining into the sump, and top for storage.

I included a few pics. One of my mug being miserable adding a 3rd coat of Kilz to the 4' tall sump section.
The 2nd is a picture of the sheathing I created and will use to wrap the cabinet and canopy with. I added the third and final coat of Polycyrlic to them. About 120 linear feet of 3/4" tongue and groove pine. Water literally runs right off.
To acheive the look of barnwood without paying $8+ per foot, I decided on a technique with stains and a combination of watered-down paints and whitewashes. I am enjoying the process (long) but each piece has its own character and hopefully will look money together as a "barnwood" wall. The doors will incorporate a similar color pattern but with a chevron pattern in between shaker-style edging.

 

[trigger99]

Love the amount of work which is going into structure,,,,excellent patience

Started the process of curing my live rock. Going with a mixture of BRS Pukani and Fiji. Bought around 200lbs. At last count, I am using around 130 of it. Nice large pieces as 2 islands, tons of caves and bridges, and lots of open space for growth. Really like how the aquascape turned out.

Scrubbed the crap out of each and every piece, removed dead sponges and such with chisels, powerwashed again and then tagged each and every piece according to the placement I had mapped out previously with zip ties and plastic tags from Amazon. The tags, while tedious, will be abundantly helpful when I'm ready to place into the DT. Also, took a picture of each piece for reference. Tags are holding up well to the salt water.

Using 2 30G rubbermaids for the curing process, and a 44G Brute to transfer everything into and keep wet while I change out the water. Using a phosban reactor to remove PO4, along with Lanthanum Chloride to remove free-floating PO4 before its absorbed by rocks. Seems to be working rather well, and have done a ton of research on the method.
I have 3 pumps and 2 heaters running 24/7.
Its a pain to make upwards of 50G of RODI salt water every week or so, and drain the rubbermaids, but all in the name of successful reefing.

Picking up the tank Sunday, my new IceCap 48XL sump arrives Tuesday, and picked up a Varios 8 return pump at over 35%off retail. Thank you, Black Friday!

Tank and sump pictures to follow.[/QUOTE]

 

[Spartanwarrior]

Finally received an awesome package today! The Alkatronic! Unboxing intimidates me, but it is solid and easily the nicest piece of aquarium equipment I own. Focustronic seems to have really perfected their product in terms of sleek design. Excited to spend hours and hours setting this up in, o...4 months
Damn sideways pics...