75 to 150 gallon upgrade

[Daddio]

Okay... I am finally going to start my build on Wednesday. Thought I'd start with where the rank is now. It has been 10 years since I pieced together this budget 75 system.

I'll take better photos as I proceed.

Tank from front now.

Tank from behind now.

Can't wait to get rid of these pain in the ***.

Existing sump.

 

[mike007]

Following along should be nice.

 

[jason g]

You have a nice tank and setup. I've always liked the in wall builds.

 

[Daddio]

Here is a list of what I am replacing all this with:

- 150 gallon deep dimension single overflow Marineland tank -no star fire glass but did get black silicone
- 47x18 sump
- CADLights TIA 1220 G2 skimmer
- 2 MP10 powerheads
- Jebao DC 900 return pump
- 2 G3 Radion LED lights
- Vertex Libra doser
- 2 Avast dosing containers
- AutoAqua Smart ato system
- 2 Marineland 300w heaters
- rebuilt my Coralife RODI unit - new membrane and filters
- 35 additional lbs of rock (cycling in existing sump)
- sand, RODI barrels, pvc, ball valves, countertops, etc.........

I tried to research everything as best I could but what started out as simply replacing the DT with a drilled tank led to doubling the tank size which led to not enough room for overflow in the sump to not a large enough skimmer to stand not large enough, etc. - this has ballooned out of control (which is totally fun!) but the funds have run out a long time ago (pretty much after just the tank purchase) - shows how much of a money manager I am.

But I do want to build something I can be proud of and have learned enough to know this is not a cheap hobby and you can always buy something better- so it is time to stop buying and start building. I know there is still a small fortune of building supplies left.

This will not be one of those over-the-top super-amazing builds. It will be fast and furious though. I have taken off from this Wednesday through Easter and need to try and get as close to complete by then as I can. I work a lot and have 4 kids so stringing this along is going to cost me a lot of dead live rock!

I would love it if anyone could chime in and let me know if I am making any major mistakes (I'm sure there will be many!)

Skimmer breaking in

Live rock cycling

 

[jason g]

I will be following this build as well. Look forward to seeing it up and running.

 

[Daddio]

Thanks... I am nervous...

 

[PCygni]

Following along.

 

[Daddio]

Okay... It starts tomorrow.

Had to get a new RODI unit today as well. Had a hard time finding a membrane for my old coralife unit that didn't cost $90. Figured that if I am spending that much, might as well upgrade that too. Found a BRS 5 stage in town and am already pulling 0 TDS water... Never was able to do that before!

Think I'll be happier in the long run but this build has spiraled way out of control.

I can't imagine the costs involved with some of the build threads I see here. The amount I've spent has easily tripled (who am I kidding-quadrupled) from what I originally intended to spend. I originally intended to reuse a bunch of equipment but I think the only thing I am repurposing is two heaters! Oh, and my live rock and even there I added an additional 35 lbs. Wish me luck because if I spend any more, I won't be posting here, I'll be posting on match.com

 

[Daddio]

Tired... Must keep going...

Took everything apart, cleaned everything, rock in bins, fish in temporary home, have half the stand tore down.... Want to have everything prepped to be able to start building tomorrow.

B

oring but it was a lot of work getting to this point. Oh, and I just figured out that both my Marineland heaters are not working properly, doh... More money...

 

[TrishW]

I replaced all my heaters with Jagers and I am happy I did. Check out Amazon as you can save a lot if you buy through them

 

[twistedfinn967]

Nice album art on the wall! Classics, every one of them! Oh, good luck with the new setup!!!

 

[Daddio]

Thanks, I lucky enough that my two youngest one think today's music sucks... They love classic hard rock.

Thanks Trish. I will definitely check them out. I think I had one about ten years ago that I broke when we moved to the new house.

Got the tank out, organized and cleaned up. Must sleep...

 

[Daddio]

Got wall enclosed and stand built. Doesn't look,like much but it was a long day.

Maybe tomorrow I can actually work on the actual tank!

 

[ReeferEric]

Nice! Lots of goodies to play with. Looking forward to the updates

 

[Daddio]

Today, got the countertops in and did the finish work on the stand. I also covered the back and two sides with limo window tint (thought I'd give it a try) - think it might be really nice. The tank is so deep, it will be nice to be able to see through a little.

Couldn't wait... Had to kind of mock up the sump.

Oh, and to make things interesting, I was straightening up and grabbed my algae magnet and the second side flipped up and caught the tip of my pinky. Tore a big flap and my wife Made me go to the emergency room to have the flush it out and make sure I didn't need stitches.

 

[Daddio]

Tank is in and filling... I premade as much water as I could but storing 200 gallons is not the easiest. I was going to try and save the old tank water but by the time I filled the totes to store the rock, the remaniing water was all yucky from being stirred up. Also, the new rodi unit is pulling zeros which is something I couldn't do previously.

Couple of smaller setbacks...

- Have small seeping leak on return line and need to rebuild that section.
- mp10s don't work on my glass thickness despite the LFS saying they would. They aren't open until Wednesday...

Other than that, everything is looking really cool. The tank is way larger in the space than I ever imagined. Can't imagine having something on the scale of a 300 gallon tank. This was overwhelming even at this size.

Very tired after 3 days straight... Not to mention doing yard work in the middle and having a massive allergy attack.

 

[1reeflover]

Great build guy! I'm in the midst of building a 150 Cube & man it's bigger & more work than I thought!!! Let me know what you do about heaters, I'm in the market & can't decide! Are you going with ( 2 ) 300 Watts? +1 on Trish's comment, will be looking @ Jager's! Hey just keep those fingers out of harms way... Hurts to much in saltwater!!! Lol

 

[Daddio]

I ended up getting a finnex - non controller version. I got the 500 watt model and it took no time at all to heat up the tank - from around 68 to 78 in about half an hour. I had to transfer everything to the tank. Lost a Bangai cardinal and my 6 line was looking pretty stressed.

Made an initial attempt at rock scaping and got the left looking good but the right side sucked. figured I had done enough today and the water is pretty cloudy with the new sand. I will try again tomorrow.

Will try to take better pics to see if anyone has any tweaks they might suggest. I am just happy to have everything back in clean water.

 

[Daddio]

Progress... First rockscape design. We'll see if I leave it but had to get what coral I have left at least right side up. Weird how short the rocks look in the tall tank. Also realizing how hard it is going to be to clean. I can barely reach the bottom. Played around with trying to reach the front corners and it is impossible with just my arm.

Tidied up sump area. Hopefully will try and set up my 2lf reactor with carbon on the manifold. Haven't tested that portion for leaks yet.

This is my view from the back. I used the black Gila window tint from Home Depot and it us pretty cool. I have a whole different view from the back. It is totally not permanent (like color forms) and looks completely black from the front.

 

[1reeflover]

Finnex 500... Ok will check it out! Looking real good! Keep us updated!!!