My 240 Gallon Build Thread

[Picard's Lionfish]

I did an inwall for my 1st build. Hated working on it. TBS is nice. Used them on my last build

 

[justingraham]

Yes. I'm so upset right now. Originally in 3/23/2019 I ordered a 270 Gallon 84x24x30 but as mentioned previously that never came. The LFS then ordered a 96" tank and telling me it was 310 Gallons. He specifically told me 96.5 x 30.5 x 25 but obviously that's wrong.

I don’t know how to say this nicely as u are mad and u should be but I feel u should get something back the excessive money spent on an in wall stand and some of the weird choices in equipment and now the lie about the tank makes me think ur local fish store only has their best interest and bank account at heart and not ur build.

I would confront them and try to get something back as they are not giving u what they promised. And if not tell them there is other lfs stores that u would rather support

 

[LBReefer]

Pretty awesome build thus far and you haven't even gotten it wet.

 

[Bugsy_Barboza]

To my huge surprise and disappointment I went down and measured it instead of going based on the dimensions that I was told was purchased (which I should have done in the 1st place) I find the dimensions are 96" x 24" x 25" and not 96'5" x 30.5" x 25" like I was told. So I'm really glad you asked. So it's more like a 240 Gallon tank instead of a 310 Gallon tank. I'm so confused and frustrated right now. I'll have to figure out what happened.

Ironically I've been eyeing the 96in tank from planet that is a some what standard style tank thru my lfs. Been wondering if its 30in deep and 25in tall or vice versa. But idk if I want to take the chance thats whats going on. Enjoy your tank though. Its a good looking tank.

 

[Brian Drab]

I did an inwall for my 1st build. Hated working on it. TBS is nice. Used them on my last build

Good to hear about TBS. A little disappointed they never got back to me but we'll see.

 

[Brian Drab]

I don’t know how to say this nicely as u are mad and u should be but I feel u should get something back the excessive money spent on an in wall stand and some of the weird choices in equipment and now the lie about the tank makes me think ur local fish store only has their best interest and bank account at heart and not ur build.

I would confront them and try to get something back as they are not giving u what they promised. And if not tell them there is other lfs stores that u would rather support

Just trying to keep things positive at the moment. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Brian Drab]

Ironically I've been eyeing the 96in tank from planet that is a some what standard style tank thru my lfs. Been wondering if its 30in deep and 25in tall or vice versa. But idk if I want to take the chance thats whats going on. Enjoy your tank though. Its a good looking tank.

Thank you. A little less excited than I was but I still want to get it going at some point.

 

[justingraham]

Just trying to keep things positive at the moment. Thanks for the reply.

Well u do have an awesome set up that anyone would love to have so that shouldn’t be to hard to do
The set up is very clean and when full will be very nice

 

[Brian Drab]

Last night, just mixed about 100 Gallons of Saltwater, pumped it into the tank and heated it to 76 degrees. Getting ready for the Live Sand and half the Live Rock arriving tomorrow.

Also received my two 75 Gallon water containers earlier this week.

 

[Wen]

Last night, just mixed about 100 Gallons of Saltwater, pumped it into the tank and heated it to 76 degrees. Getting ready for the Live Sand and half the Live Rock arriving tomorrow.

Also received my two 75 Gallon water containers earlier this week.

Following your build, lookin good! I am interested in seeing your shipment from TBS, please post pics.

 

[Brian Drab]

And the 120 pounds of sand and half the rock (120 pounds) have arrived. Woohoo!!

 

[Picard's Lionfish]

Christmas in March!!

 

[JumboShrimp]

Now we’re talking!!

 

[Brian Drab]

Long....rough weekend. My muscles are aching from moving 810 pounds of stuff from upstairs to the basement and then carrying the water back up, etc. This is how you find out you are out of shape (smile). And the wife isn't too happy about the house currently smelling like fish and the ocean.

Here are some more pics of the sand and 1/2 the rock that got shipped and getting it into the tank, etc.

 

[Brian Drab]

So a quick recap of Day#1.
-I'd be lying if I didn't say I was a little disappointed that a couple more pieces of bigger rock didn't come.
-So I mixed the bag of brown bacteria and put it in the tank and kept the skimmer off for 5 hours or so.
-I also took out the filter socks (doing for 48 hours) and dropped in 16oz of Dr. Tim's One and Only Nitrifying Bacteria.
-I tested the Ammonia before I went to bed and it was already at .5 ppm.

Now I just need to focus on keeping the Ammonia below 1 ppm. Not sure my RO system will be able to make enough water in time for the water changes....

I have a lot of nerves right now to say the least but that's where I'm at.

 

[Picard's Lionfish]

That's a bunch of rock already. As for the ammonia, it will settle quickly. Not sure what kind of scape you are going for. Imagine 2 times the rock you have now. If you think it will be to much, try to have someone lined up to either give or sell to. Also get rid of as many undesirable hitchhikers as you can now. Gorilla crabs was all I had. I love the pistol shrimp. My tanks been up for 3+ years and I still find stuff. The urchins must breed in my tank. I started with at least 10 and I still have 9. The bristle stars he sends are cool as well.
To me, the biggest downfall to TBS is aquascaping. With it showing in 2 deliveries, you have no idea how to prepare for the better looking rock when it shows up.

 

[Picard's Lionfish]

So a quick recap of Day#1.
-I'd be lying if I didn't say I was a little disappointed that a couple more pieces of bigger rock didn't come.
-So I mixed the bag of brown bacteria and put it in the tank and kept the skimmer off for 5 hours or so.
-I also took out the filter socks (doing for 48 hours) and dropped in 16oz of Dr. Tim's One and Only Nitrifying Bacteria.
-I tested the Ammonia before I went to bed and it was already at .5 ppm.

Now I just need to focus on keeping the Ammonia below 1 ppm. Not sure my RO system will be able to make enough water in time for the water changes....

I have a lot of nerves right now to say the least but that's where I'm at.

How much water are you able to make and store?

 

[Badilac]

Sweet build. I couldn't imagine having my sump under my tank and my stand is 4ft tall. After my last tank I decided to never do that again. I also really dislike not having access to the inside of the tank from the front, I'm willing to bet you will hate that also.

 

[Brian Drab]

That's a bunch of rock already. As for the ammonia, it will settle quickly. Not sure what kind of scape you are going for. Imagine 2 times the rock you have now. If you think it will be to much, try to have someone lined up to either give or sell to. Also get rid of as many undesirable hitchhikers as you can now. Gorilla crabs was all I had. I love the pistol shrimp. My tanks been up for 3+ years and I still find stuff. The urchins must breed in my tank. I started with at least 10 and I still have 9. The bristle stars he sends are cool as well.
To me, the biggest downfall to TBS is aquascaping. With it showing in 2 deliveries, you have no idea how to prepare for the better looking rock when it shows up.

Thanks for the reply! Greatly appreciated. I don't really see any hitchhikers...not alive anyway. I saw a starfish, and one crab. That's it so far.

I agree twice as much rock will be too much. Right now because f what's going on in the world I think I'll just tell them to ship only 60 more pounds instead of 120 and just forget the rest. Would be too hard to find someone at this point I believe.

So on the 2nd shipment the rock is different? It's better looking?

Was most of your rock half in water and half out of water in the bags when you got it? They were 50 lb boxes so I understand it would be twice as heavy and twice as expensive for shipping to likely cover the entire rock but I just wonder if it really can have life on the rock when it's like this. This is all new to me so just trying to gather some info.

 

[Brian Drab]

How much water are you able to make and store?

5 Gallons every 90 minutes is how much I can make currently. As far as storing it, the LFS didn't hook up my 75 Gallon water tanks yet so I have lots of buckets and a tub and am currently doing everything manually.