Len's 160 gallon build

[Lenny_S]

Starting this build thread to chronicle the whole process from beginning to end. Feel free to comment or ask questions.
Equipment list...
160 gallon acrylic DT 60Lx27Wx24H (coming week of 10/12/2915)
60 gallon acrylic sump/refugium DIY 48Lx15Wx18H 3 chambers 13", 24", 10"
JNS U3 skimmer
AquaticLife EDGE LED Aquarium Light Fixture - 24 Inch (refugium light)
NextReef MR1 media reactor (for GFO)
Jabeo 8000 return pump
Jabeo 4 pump dosing system (Cal, Alk, Sr&Mg, ???)
MaxSpect Gyre 150
3x Hydor Koralia's
Neptune Apex Gold
Won Brothers 600 watt titanium heater
4x AI Hydra 26 lights
2x TrueLumen Marine Fusion 48" LED strip lights
160 lbs dry rock
90 lbs dry sand

Pictures so far...

Stand front view

Stand side view (made the left side removable to make getting the large sump in and out possible)

Sump

First aquascape group, will make a second larger one in a bit

I'll keep this up to date as I go along. Not sure how unique this is, but some of what I'm doing might help others with some ideas.

 

[Lenny_S]

Stand is finished, just need to attach the doors.

 

[Lenny_S]

Another step closer today. I moved the stand to it's permanent home and loaded in the equipment. Every inch of space is used.

Right side

Left side

Love the spot.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Looking good! Following!

 

[WilRams]

Looks like a sweet build! Considering a tank with similar dimensions myself. Who is making the tank?

 

[Lenny_S]

TruVu Aquariums http://www.truvuaquariums.com

Very reasonable prices, but much more importantly, excellent customer service! I expect my tank to ship any day now.
I'm really a pain in the a&& and the owner dealt with me directly and indulged all of my OCD requests.
Really couldn't be happier.

 

[Lenny_S]

Another step closer today. Tank is on the stand, and rock and sand are in.

Used 90 lbs of Bahama sand and 160 lbs of dry rock both from Marco Rock.
I am pretty happy wit the aquascape

Will be filling it over the next couple of days. About 200 gallons total volume with the tank and sump.

 

[marciomrqz]

Coming together nicely. I'll be building my sump and wish I had a 3ft plus length. Unfortunately I'll have to make it all fit in 24" width. Nice set up so far!!!

 

[Pinky88]

how neat lol - love how sleek it looks

 

[Radioaktivni]

Concept of stones are awesome!

 

[Lenny_S]

Water has been in the tank a week now, salt is at 1.026, pH 8.1, Alk 8 dKH... Finally pretty clear of all the fines from the sand and ready to start cycling.
Added 3 ppm of Dr. Tim's ammonia and Prodibio BioClean today. And away we go!

 

[GrndHog]

Great looking build!

No primer or a way of protecting the inside of your stand?

 

[Fin]

Looks pretty sweet! Tagging along for the ride.

 

[Lenny_S]

Great looking build!

No primer or a way of protecting the inside of your stand?

Thank you for the compliment.

The bottom built in tray is coated with clear acrylic sealer. The rest is just plain wood. But there is a good size cabinet exhaust fan for the humidity. Went back and forth on whether to coat the whole inside or not and ended up not. Figured it would be no worse than a basement.

 

[soggytees Verified Sponsor]

Cool! Following!

 

[Lenny_S]

Two weeks now since the tank was filled. I checked the floor again today and still no deflection, not too surprising with a load bearing wall directly beneath the front edge of the tank in the finished basement.
Fish less cycle is going well. Dosed 3 ppm of Dr. Tim's and Prodibio BioDigest & Bioptim a week ago. Ammonia dropped to 1 ppm, nitrite went up to 1 ppm and nitrate is at .5 ppm from today's test.

Doors are on now and keeping the tank covered until the cycle completes and the nitrate is under control.
Everything has tested out great, no leaks, Apex and programs all working, and all the float sensors and controls are in place.
Now just need to wait. [emoji3]

 

[Lenny_S]

Latest update is tank is pretty well cycled. Ammonia tests 0 nitrite 0 and nitrate is just about 8 ppm. I dosed another 3ppm of ammonia Monday and it was gone Tuesday. So stocking my fuge now. I grabbed some Chaeto from my nephew and ordered red Gracilaria and Hypnea Pannosa from live-plants.com (aka Gulf Coast Ecosystems). Very impressed with that company.
Shipment came in 2 days and expertly packed. Styrofoam and a hand warmer which by the way was still warm.

The bags were filled completely so no sloshing that would break up the macro.

And the specimens were excellent!

Very happy and highly recommend.

 

[Lenny_S]

New update on the build... Just got back from Italy and the tank has been up and running for 6 weeks now. I tested the biological filter with a hefty dose of ammonia (4 ppm) and it cleared out the ammonia and nitrite in less than 24 hours. 2 weeks ago nitrate had gone up to 40+ ppm, today it is down to 10 ppm (no water change, just dosing Prodibio Bioptim and chaeto + red gracilaria in the fuge). Figure I'm ready for fish, so I bought the first 2 additions last night, a pair of Ocellaris clownfish from my LFS.

These little guys will be going through tank transfer between my 2 QT's over the next couple of weeks. Here's a good link on the method. http://www.delvalreefclub.org/forums/topic/17121-tank-transfer-method/
I'll dose Prazipro every other transfer.

So far they are happy and eating and seem to be acclimated well to the QT. I'll post another update when I move them to the DT in a couple of weeks.

 

[BkReefBaby]

The tank looks great! i have a question how do you feel about acrylic? do you think its better than glass im planning on upgrading and i have glass now i just hear a lot of nightmare stories about how easily the acrylic scratches

 

[Lenny_S]

The tank looks great! i have a question how do you feel about acrylic? do you think its better than glass im planning on upgrading and i have glass now i just hear a lot of nightmare stories about how easily the acrylic scratches

I love the clarity of acrylic, but it scratches very easily. I've had them stay in excellent shape for years by being extremely careful. The other saving grace is if you do scratch it, it can be repaired. The outside is very simple, the inside can be repaired too, and even under water... But it is a more complicated and difficult proposition.
Starfire glass is very clear and harder to scratch than acrylic, but easier to scratch than standard glass. I'd say is a good blend of clarity and durability. However if you do scratch Starfire it is extremely difficult to repair and can't be done under water.