Innovative Marine EXT 170 Build

[*Ruffian*]

Time to start the build thread as the tank showed up today. A little bit of a workout drill pushing up the hill.

I work in the logistics business and I have to say IM packages their tanks extremely well. All arrived safe and sound.

Now the fun can begin!

 

[JumboShrimp]

Looks like great fun! Keep the photos coming at all major stages!

 

[Kalibur2]

Any updates?

 

[*Ruffian*]

Just a little update on the project as I was waiting for the SaltwaterAquarium.com sale to get a lot of the sump equipment.

GHL was very quick to ship the 3 7206's, KH Director with slave, breakout box for pump control and an extra power bar. Their consistent size should make for an awesome controller board. Still waiting on the ION Director.

Spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to mount the Mitras lights with the external overflow. The flex mounts GHL offers just won't work and the ceiling will not work for hanging. After several iterations and discussions with the better half on what would look good, I ordered some 80/20 to mount to the wall and have three arms that will extend over the tank. I hope it turns out as good as I picture it in my head. I will take good pictures.

Got 100#'s of Marco rock waiting to be assembled.

Going all Bashsea under the tank. Ordered a custom Bashsea SS36 sump, twisted skimmer, bio reactor, 2 media reactors and a waste collector. Very cool that they are customizing the setup for me to 2 1" drains to match the IM size. I will plumb the emergency drain into the sock or the middle chamber. Also added an additional set of probe holders. Upcharge was on $85 which I think is very reasonable. I just really like the look of the Bashsea equipment and other than no directions, everyone seems to like their stuff.

I have a Varios 4 to power the skimmer and a Varios 8 to handle the return and manifold. Here is my next big question or head scratcher. Do I hard plumb the return pump or use flex. I have seen both ways and just wondering if people that hard pipe the return have vibration issues? If I hardline I can run 1 1/4" pipe to power the manifold and returns. If it is flex it will be 1". My current thought is to have a mainline across the back of the tank that will tee off the return lines, media reactors and bio reactor. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I chose Maxspect Gyre XF350 dual setup for the waves. Was looking into controlling from the P4 but after reading a while, it seems better to power them off during feeding. People were saying the Maxspect controller is really good and would take a long time to duplicate in the P4.

Also have to support the floor from the basement before filling.

Quite the list but should see the Bashsea equipment right after labor day. Expect the 80/20 to show up next week.

Meanwhile the tank just sits in the garage waiting.....

 

[*Ruffian*]

Just a little update on the project as I was waiting for the SaltwaterAquarium.com sale to get a lot of the sump equipment.

GHL was very quick to ship the 3 7206's, KH Director with slave, breakout box for pump control and an extra power bar. Their consistent size should make for an awesome controller board. Still waiting on the ION Director.

Spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to mount the Mitras lights with the external overflow. The flex mounts GHL offers just won't work and the ceiling will not work for hanging. After several iterations and discussions with the better half on what would look good, I ordered some 80/20 to mount to the wall and have three arms that will extend over the tank. I hope it turns out as good as I picture it in my head. I will take good pictures.

Got 100#'s of Marco rock waiting to be assembled.

Going all Bashsea under the tank. Ordered a custom Bashsea SS36 sump, twisted skimmer, bio reactor, 2 media reactors and a waste collector. Very cool that they are customizing the setup for me to 2 1" drains to match the IM size. I will plumb the emergency drain into the sock or the middle chamber. Also added an additional set of probe holders. Upcharge was on $85 which I think is very reasonable. I just really like the look of the Bashsea equipment and other than no directions, everyone seems to like their stuff.

I have a Varios 4 to power the skimmer and a Varios 8 to handle the return and manifold. Here is my next big question or head scratcher. Do I hard plumb the return pump or use flex. I have seen both ways and just wondering if people that hard pipe the return have vibration issues? If I hardline I can run 1 1/4" pipe to power the manifold and returns. If it is flex it will be 1". My current thought is to have a mainline across the back of the tank that will tee off the return lines, media reactors and bio reactor. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I chose Maxspect Gyre XF350 dual setup for the waves. Was looking into controlling from the P4 but after reading a while, it seems better to power them off during feeding. People were saying the Maxspect controller is really good and would take a long time to duplicate in the P4.

Also have to support the floor from the basement before filling.

Quite the list but should see the Bashsea equipment right after labor day. Expect the 80/20 to show up next week.

Meanwhile the tank just sits in the garage waiting.....

Plumbing showed up today. Bashsea did another mod to my order to hard plumb the different reactors. Two thumps up for them. I keep enhancing the sump and equipment and they make recommendations to make it even better. Can't wait to see those boxes by the garage door.

 

[*Ruffian*]

Tonight I built my light frames. I decided to mount an 80/20 bar to the wall that allows me to move the lights left, right, up and down. I can even add a fourth if necessary.

I went with series 10 vs 15 after looking at GHL's flex mount.

On the lights I used a spacer, M4 bolt and a 2 position plate.

The TNut is used to connect the top bar. My original idea didn't work because the M4 bolt head didn't fit in the slot. After experimenting with a few different ideas, I ended up using the bolt head to create the friction for a tight but moveable fit. I used a 1 slot on bar for a clean look. Need to find an end cap.


I used an anchor fastener for the top corner and an inside corner for support.



On the base I have a plate joining a short piece that will press against the wall to hopefully take some pressure off of the horizontal mounting bar.

When all assembled it will look like the below image. The wire fits nicely in slot and will be well concelaed.


I have around $150 into this setup and it works with the external overflow. I ordered all my 80/20 from tnutz.com. Took about 10 days for all the custom cuts came well packaged and much cheaper than other sites.




Monday will be an exciting day as I live close enough to pickup my Bashsea equipment from their shop. Hopefully I can get a look at their facility.

More pictures to come next week!!

 

[*Ruffian*]

Today I was able to pickup my Bashsea SS-48 sump, bio reactor, twisted skimmer, media reactors and skim canister!

Steve was really cool and showed me around his shop. He has a lot of custom sumps in addition to the standard equipment. We went over how how best to setup the sump and gave some tips and tricks with the plumbing. Told me to ask questions if I run into any issues.

I am lucky to be local so this beautiful equipment doesn't have to be shipped. I saved him some shipping materials by picking up (my contribution to green). A couple items were boxed and looking at how he packs them, there should be no concern with damage.

All connections were changed to be hard plumbed and added a probe holder. Going to be tight under the tank!

Now for the eye candy after two hours of unwrapping.

 

[ninjamyst]

Woah...how much did that sump and equipment cost you???

 

[*Ruffian*]

Woah...how much did that sump and equipment cost you???

Roughly $2,500 with the 4 pumps. I was going to run a manifold and started talking with Steve Bashsea on the best way to run the sump. I took his advice and switched to the individual pumps.

This is the main reason I didn't go with Waterbox because I knew I wanted to change out the sump. I really like the look of the Bashsea equipment.

 

[ninjamyst]

Roughly $2,500 with the 4 pumps. I was going to run a manifold and started talking with Steve Bashsea on the best way to run the sump. I took his advice and switched to the individual pumps.

This is the main reason I didn't go with Waterbox because I knew I wanted to change out the sump. I really like the look of the Bashsea equipment.

Here I am debating whether to just do a 40g breeder sump or spend $700 on a bashsea...hahah.

 

[*Ruffian*]

Got everything in the stand tonight. Hopefully I am not pulling these things out of the sump.

Thinking about a GHL tower in the front right corner.

Plumbing is going to be tight tight tight.

 

[*Ruffian*]

Today i supported the floor underneath where the tank will sit. Of course the tank has to sit parallel on the joists.. There was a lot of wondering on how best to do it.

Went to my local lumber yard and they took the weight, dims and where on the joist it will sit. Sketched it out and sent it to the LVL engineers to ensure it would support.

I sistered the joist with a 2×10 LVL board and supported them with the foundation and a new wall. I don't know why they can't make LVL the same dimensions as regular lumber. Had to rip 1/4" inch off each board. Used LOK Line screws to attach the LVL to the joist. Biggest screw I have ever used .

Doubled up the 2x4's so both the joist and LVL rested on a board.

Pretty happy with how it came out and I know I won't be wondering if my floor will fail.





Room has been painted, new floor goes in next week so hoping to have the tank on the stand by the end of the week!

 

[JumboShrimp]

Nice! Definitely a "better safe than sorry" situation!

 

[*Ruffian*]

Big progress today. Tank made it in the house. Used 4 suction cups and a couple lifting straps. The 4 suction cups would have carried the tank but the 4 people carrying it would have been strained.

The 8" suction cups I got off Amazon.



Got right to work on plumbing the drain and return. As it seems with every step of this project I come up with a new or better idea and that leads to another BRS order.

Need a few more unions, elbows and pipe to complete the project. Happy with the progress so far. Should finish the plumbing this weekend and be ready to start on the rock formation.




I can already see I need a light in the stand, another delivery!

 

[*Ruffian*]

Finished the plumbing tonight and being my first time I am pretty happy with the results. Lots of unions to easily break apart. Will start adding RODI water this weekend and hope nothing leaks!

There are no check valves on the system as I have a whole house generator. I don't think I would set up a tank this size without one. I lost a 55 gal years ago with a 5 day power outage.

The valves on the back are to regulate flow evenly to both sides of the tank. I also have a 1/2" valve off the main line for expansion.

The sump is all Bashsea and I need to get a light in there to show it off. From left is a 6x30 Twisted Skimmer, 6x18 Media Reactor (carbon), 6x30 Bio Reactor, another 6x18 Media Reactor (GFO) and a Varios 8 return pump.

Much of the inspiration for this design was taken from different people's posts on this site. Enjoy.

 

[*Ruffian*]

Finished my rockscape today. Purchased Marco rock: two foundation , two shelf and a hundred pounds of base rock. Busted up the base rock with a chisel and used gluemasters ultra thin. Bought two 8oz bottles and that probably would have completed the project had it not got cold.

I live in Michigan and when I started it was 60. The next day it got cold and the garage was in the 40's. Really struggled trying to get things to hold. Bought a medium viscosity thinking that might help. Just started.bracing and letting things sit.

This morning I put out the space heaters as the temps went back up over 50. Life was good again.

My thought is above 50 and in the garage or outside. The fumes are strong.

Pretty happy with the outcome. Wanted to create ledges for hiding and some loops to make it somewhat interesting for the fish to swim thru. Kept a few bigger rocks for islands of coral.

Drying tonight and into the tank tomorrow.

 

[*Ruffian*]

Finally made it to the cycling phase. Had a couple blunders on the fill. When I hooked up my Profilux, the probes had been sitting for around a month. I was using the Profilux reading for my salinity. At the time it seemed like I was adding a lot of salt. I just figured it was the sump volume. Nope, needed to calibrate the probes. Of course I figured this out after I added the Fritz turbo start. Had to dump 30 gallons. Mistake 1.

Mistake 2, I didn't realize I had swapped the connection for the Redox and PH probes. Read and talked with support. Said the PH probe needs to remain wet. Another order to BRS for Frtiz and a probe.

While installing the new probe, I realized the swap. The original probe works just fine and the Fritz is moving the cycle along.

What's another $100 at this point.

Started up the KH Director a week ago. Takes 4 or 5 runs to get synced up. So far I am off .3 from the Hanna reading. Bio reactor is up and running. Took a full day for all the material to start moving around in the reactor. Today i started the skimmer for its break in period.

Spent the last few days installing the profilux, cleaning up the wiring, hooking up the AWC and ATO, connecting the Varios return to the Profilux via breakout box.

Once the ammonia and nitrite drop, I will start the AWC and introduce my two clowns to their new digs. I will bring along a few snails and crabs just to keep them company. Coral will stay in the QT tank for a while until I get parameters stabilized.

Time to start thinking about the first fish to purchase. Would like to start with a small yellow tang, but we'll see the availability. Hoping the tank finishes its cycle after Thanksgiving.

 

[b2smoov]

Any updates on your build? I'm leaning towards this tank for my upgrade.

 

[*Ruffian*]

Any updates on your build? I'm leaning towards this tank for my upgrade.

Tank is a little over a year now and I have no complaints. The stand provides easy access to the sump area. The best thing I did do is keep the tank 6" off the wall.

Just working on water stability and getting into a consistent maintenance routine.

Any specific questions or concerns?

Steve

 

[b2smoov]

Tank is a little over a year now and I have no complaints. The stand provides easy access to the sump area. The best thing I did do is keep the tank 6" off the wall.

Just working on water stability and getting into a consistent maintenance routine.

Any specific questions or concerns?

Steve

Got any recent full tank shots. A side shot would be great. The front to back depth is what I really like about this tank. Thanks.