Spotter's long distance tank build...

[spotter]

I realize Im not as active on here as I was when I lived in NJ but some members have been asking for pictures and information about my new build. Instead of posting individual pictures I thought it would be easier to just create a slide show. Here's a little info about my system....

* 96x36x24 acyrlic tank built James Steele at Envision Acrylics
* Stand is wood and I built it
* Lighting is 3 x 250w 20k radiums with 8 x 54w T5 supplementation
* Flow is currently 2 closed loop systems each system has 1 drain and 4 outlets controlled by Derkroon Flowwolf diverters and powered by two Dolphin 4750 pumps. My goal with this tank is to not be concerned about how many times an hour I am turning over my display but to focus on random, chaotic flow patterns. I've had some minor issues with the flowwolf but I am very pleased with the outcome. I have also ordered the new Gyre pump and will possibly run that at night only and turn off the closed loop while the gyre pump is running.
* 80w Emperor Aquatics UV Sterilizer
* Since there are no basements where we live in SC I decided to turn almost half of my garage into fish room. I built a 12x7 room (should have built it bigger) where a 120g tank with nothing but live rock, a 90g sump, the Reef Octopus Regal 300ext skimmer, MRC CR6 calcium reactor and Natureef Denitrification reactor are located. This room is located approximately 26 feet away from the tank so I had to drill 5 holes in my hardwood floor, jack hammer a hole in my foundation and run 150ft of 1.5" thru my crawl space to connect the tank to the fish room.
* I used 250lbs of marco rock in the display and picked up 350lbs of live rock for the rock tank from a guy in Charlotte that was breaking down his system.
* Dolphin 6250 return pump

Here is where I left off back in June of 2013 right before Mike S bought the tank from me......



Finally, here is my slideshow of photos taken I started taking back in May...enjoy.

http://youtu.be/xzPbQ5Fm2oc

 

[mnat]

Wow. Loved the slideshow and the build was amazing. Thanks for posting.

 

[hans24hrs]

Great slide show and build

 

[Karenvas2]

Very nice!

 

[iTzJu]

finally! haha

looks awesome man! when are you inviting us for a club meeting? LOL

everything looks great man, growth and color is going to be great with those halides and t5s.

what was the SPS that you pictured last? looked like a crazy looking enchinata.

 

[spotter]

Wow. Loved the slideshow and the build was amazing. Thanks for posting.

Great slide show and build

Very nice!

Thanks guys! It took me a lot longer to get everything built than I had planned. Working in a garage, in SC during the summer is not fun! Temps in my garage would get over 100 degrees by 11 am so I would have to knock it out little by little.

finally! haha

looks awesome man! when are you inviting us for a club meeting? LOL

everything looks great man, growth and color is going to be great with those halides and t5s.

what was the SPS that you pictured last? looked like a crazy looking enchinata.

Thanks Judeo! Anyone who wants to take a road trip is welcome! That last coral is an echinata that I got a few weeks ago from JoeKnowsReefs.com. Funny thing about that piece is it arrived looking nothing like it looked in the picture and now that it has settled in and colored back up, it still looks nothing like the picture he had posted.

 

[asonitez]

Spotter my company is thinking of moving me down to Charlotte...I might be joining you soon. I really want to but im afraid of putting all my faith in 1 company vs all the other finance companies up north.....

 

[iTzJu]

everyone is moving down to the carolinas. is it really that less expensive?

 

[spotter]

My property taxes are 1/6th of what they were in NJ. I bought a bigger house, on a bigger piece of property for 25% less than what I sold my house in NJ. And the best part is they are going to do away with state income tax!!! Plus it's November and I'm still wearing shorts and swimming!

 

[spotter]

Spotter my company is thinking of moving me down to Charlotte...I might be joining you soon. I really want to but im afraid of putting all my faith in 1 company vs all the other finance companies up north.....

Charlotte is a good city for financial services banks. It would leave you with plenty of options. More importantly, the reeding community is huge there and there's a big club not far over the state line in SC.

 

[grink]

Amazing!

 

[spotter]

Cabinet maker is almost done with the face for the tank. It will be a wall to wall, floor to ceiling face with a total of 16 doors

 

[Mike S]

Wow the cabinetry will probably look great. Are you going to install doors to access the sides?

Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk

 

[spotter]

Yeah each side will have doors on it so I can access the sides of the tank. The cabinet maker just moved down here from Patterson. He knew exactly what I wanted when I started to describe it to him. Other local guys could only say "you want a what to go around a what???""

 

[Mike S]

Interesting... I still haven't gotten around to skinning the stand from your old tank. Mainly because I couldn't decide on a style. The tank is set back into a nook like yours with about 2 feet on either side. My wife actually suggested that I enclose the whole area. I'll be interested to see how yours comes out.

Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk

 

[spotter]

This was my wife's suggestion and after thinking about it, it made sense. Allowed me to put the uv on the side, easier to do the plumbing and put my electronics/ballasts on the other side.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Wow, wow and wow! The slideshow went too fast. But I liked everything I saw. Loved the pictures of what I'm assuming were the kids, you and whomever. Tagging along to see more.


As far as those commenting on moving to NC....I have a house down there (that I'm trying to sell...hint)...custom build on a golf course...with taxes less than 1K a year....yes, I said 1,000 dollars a year. It is, without question, considerably less expensive.....even the cost of the house....at least half the cost of what you'd pay up here. Tristan, move!!!

 

[spotter]

Wow, wow and wow! The slideshow went too fast. But I liked everything I saw. Loved the pictures of what I'm assuming were the kids, you and whomever. Tagging along to see more.


As far as those commenting on moving to NC....I have a house down there (that I'm trying to sell...hint)...custom build on a golf course...with taxes less than 1K a year....yes, I said 1,000 dollars a year. It is, without question, considerably less expensive.....even the cost of the house....at least half the cost of what you'd pay up here. Tristan, move!!!

Thanks for the kind words Paul. I sped up the slide show transition because originally it was close to 8 mins....I didn't think anyone would want to sit thru 8 mins of my slides....lol.

 

[Chrisgarrick]

Wow! It looks fantastic. Thanks for keeping the New Jersey crew in the loop. Very well done and excellent planning!! Congratulations!

 

[spotter]

Wow! It looks fantastic. Thanks for keeping the New Jersey crew in the loop. Very well done and excellent planning!! Congratulations!

Thanks Chris!