My 150 SCA Build

ReefSlice · Mar 9, 2019

This is where tarpon fishing was born, it's a very rich history with tons of anglers making the trek from all over the world every year. They're also the most frustrating beast in the sea.
Ha, yes I do have the worst hobbies. Basically I dump money into one to keep it afloat, and into the other to keep it submerged... But, this is what caused me to make fishing my living, I couldn't survive without all these silly fish. It's not an easy way to make a living, but it's very rewarding.

Dondante · Mar 9, 2019

Yes .Over the last few years I've been looking at their paths from gps tagged fish .It's amazing the distances they travel.

We live on unique water way. It's been called the Amazon of the U.S. Fresh water and the fall shrimp, crabs, Jack's, Sharks and even tarpon work their way into the rivers. Some to spawn and some to eat the creatures that come to spawn . It's quite the sight to be bass fishing with Gators all around and 6 ft jacks start busting the water eating schools of fish eating shad and shrimp . I absolutely love it .

ReefSlice · Mar 9, 2019

Yes we have some definite similarities. In the winter (dry season) the Jack's, snook, tarpon and even reds move well up into our rivers. We even have snook and tarpon in our golf courses around here! Never know what you'll find.
Back to the build, I decided I'm going to take down my 40 gallon and move it to another room before I fill this tank. It's just better to get it out of the way now, less hassle once the tank is up and running. Hopefully all goes well.

Dondante · Mar 9, 2019

Oh I forgot. Are those return bulkheads slip on the outside?

ReefSlice · Mar 9, 2019

Dondante said:
Oh I forgot. Are those return bulkheads slip on the outside?

Slip x slip, I wanted to screw locline in easily so I switched them out for 2 slip x thread bulkheads (threaded inside tank).

Dondante · Mar 9, 2019

Crap. Glad I asked. I need to order thread x slip. I have locline

Why-Me · Mar 9, 2019

Nice tank, great build, following along.

Matt Carden · Mar 9, 2019

ReefSlice said:
I am! I guide out of Sanibel island. It's truly paradise. Boat has been in the shop for 2 weeks now so I'm using the free time to wrap this tank up. Getting the boat back Monday, and then it's going to be 8+ hours a day of tarpon fishing til August.
Return plumbing is 3/4" bulkheads yes.

That is strange, I have the 150 sca internal overflow box and all 3 of my holes in the bottom of the tank are for 1" bulkheads.

ReefSlice · Mar 9, 2019

Yes the internal overflow version has 3 1" bulkheads because only one is for your return, this tank has 2 return bulkheads on the back of the tank so they went with 3/4".
Thanks for the compliments!

Dondante · Mar 9, 2019

Return lines on the back of a shadow overflow tank are 2 x 3/4 .I'm sure the internal is 1" since it's a single return .

ReefSlice · Mar 10, 2019

Whew, filling this beast has been giving me some anxiety, I won't lie, but I'm powering through! Tank is ~2/3 full, and the 40 was successfully relocated to another room. Nice and spacious around the tank now, and a little less anxiety ridden knowing it's just this setup in the room.
I heard back from BRS and my purple plus replacement is on the way. As for the fixture, they offered to replace it after I send it back or just take a 10% discount. It is pretty minor bending in the reflectors with no damage to the fixture body itself so I figure I will just take the discount and order new reflectors when I change the bulbs next year, as shipping this large of a fragile item always poses its risks. Anyone think this will really mess with my par? I'm not too worried about it, the thing with just 6 bulbs is BRIGHT

. You can see the reflectors in this photo here, they're crinkled just a bit in the middle. 2 are fine. Hopefully I cant start it up tomorrow or Tuesday. Picking up the boat tomorrow (FINALLY) so it will be a busy week.

SeahorseKeeper · Mar 10, 2019

Looking good!! Looking forward to seeing this come together!!

Dondante · Mar 10, 2019

Awesome .I'm prepping for new floors and currently painting walls .I'm so stressed. Mine should be here next week. So it's gonna be a minute before I can get it going . I'll have time to get my plumbing perfect.

ReefSlice · Mar 10, 2019

SeahorseKeeper said:
Looking good!! Looking forward to seeing this come together!!

Thanks! It's been a long process. Very excited to turn it on. Who knows if this stuff even works...

Dondante said:
Awesome .I'm prepping for new floors and currently painting walls .I'm so stressed. Mine should be here next week. So it's gonna be a minute before I can get it going . I'll have time to get my plumbing perfect.

Enjoy it, and do your research! This is my 5th tank and I'm really digging the way it's coming out. I still had to get crafty a few times. I really didn't like having my plumbing just hanging off my overflow box, but it isn't flush again the back of the tank so I couldn't figure out how to brace them. Couple hardware store trips later I had them nice and tightly secured. Framingtech sent me a bunch of extra screws and goodies and they've definitely come in handy!

Dondante · Mar 11, 2019

I've set up over 10 in my life and I've always threw them together. This time I'm going to make it nice. Got colored pipes and fitting ordered. Try and take my time.

ReefSlice · Mar 12, 2019

Well, it's alive! Just turned on my return pump and checked for power outage overflows. I messed up and took off some loc line when in reality I should have left it on so I could make a hump above the water, so I will have to remove the loc line and add the sections back on, but for tonight I will just leave it with the returns pointed up a little noisy and keep my eye on everything.
One picture with 6 bulbs on before I send the ATI fixture back tomorrow. Decided I want it perfect, I promised myself I wouldn't cut corners on this build.