It's on NOW!

[vinny73]

Would someone please explain what I have to do to post a pic. I just got back from Redondo Beach. I met a fellow reefer up there who was quite a humble and kind person. He sold me an extremely well built 39" tall stand and "VIRGIN" 240g tank. This tank has 0 holes and allmost 0 scratches. What a score. He tells me he made his stand with only a router and a jigsaw. All wooden joints are mitered and glued. Not a single nail or screw. This is a sometimes overlooked incredible way to build. I am wanting to start a new thread on my new tank. I have been looking now for about 5 months and just got serious the last couple. Thanks to all who keep their eyes pealed for me. Now tell me how to post a frickin pic and I will get this thing going. I figure 2 months to finish. This thing is gonna be trick. Hope you enjoy, Vinny.

[vinny73]

Excuse me but all joints are Dato'd.

[lucubrator]

Does this help?

And dato joints are beautiful, but so time consuming to make.

[kjsreef]

If you photos are too large (over 100kb) try the program Pixresizer from this guy http://bluefive.pair.com

[hybrid240]

hurry up foolio, I got to see what the hell your up to you SOB. HA HA HA!!!!!!!!

[vinny73]

Take a good look now! Cause later we're all gonna sit back and go "DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN!"

[gemini]

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaamn!

[WanaLeime]

DIZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMNNNN !!!!
Thats a BEAST!

[lucubrator]

All that and a big ol' skimmer.

[luistwentyone]

WHAT THE FU&% !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

that is sweeeeeeeeeeet

[Nigritude]

What was the selling the price?

[MustangBill]

NICE!!! What a monster! HUUUGE Protein skimmer...

[vinny73]

$500.00 plus 75.00 in gas. Thanks for the compliments. Gotta keep up with Mr Jones' Hybrid 240!! It was time! I need some advice on setting up an ocean motions 4 way for my tank. I will be doing 3- 2" bulkheads for my main drains. I will be doing 2-1" returns. I want to do a closed loop with a dart and I don't know if ocean motions will advize me on where to put them. I know Eric did a sweet job on his! How did you know where to put them? Should I contact ocean motions to see what they say or does someone have any ideas. I will post a pic of where I plan on doing them. If anyone has info please let me know. What I did was put blue tape on the locations and drew circles for the actual location of the drains, closed loop returns, sump returns and closed loop drain. Thanks, Vinny.

[nanoreefbro]

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmm mmmmm

[vinny73]

What I have pictured reads backwards but bear with me. I did this so that when I look at the front of the tank I can see the locations and get the BIG picture. D is for sump drain, CL is for closed loop return, R is for sump return. The small D in the center is the supply for the closed loop system. I have a drain on the left, center and right top. I have a closed loop return in 4 locations . The drain or supply for the closed loop is directly under the center sump drain. Hope this helps. Thanks, Vinny.

[vinny73]

Is it me or does this seem like a buttload of holes on one piece of acrylic. 10 holes. I know people do it but still, I don't want to do it wrong and pay later. For the plumbing that I have done for people on SDREEFS, I tell them, I may be able to plumb houses and HIrise buildings but that is totally different. Aquariums house living organisms that rely on your help. If your toilet doesn't work right, you can go to mickey d's and use theirs until it is fixed. Catch my drift? I wanna do this once. Thanks, Vinny.

[DaChrisDude]

Wow...impressive! Extremely clean tank and stand...sweet sounding return, swcd, everything! Can't wait to see how this turns out...

[XxMutedYouthxX]

the thing looks SlAMMiN! keep us posted man I think youll have a awesome tank there

[hybrid240]

Well there. I see the competition but it's reallynot a competition at all. It's just one of my best homies getting ready to outdo me. HAHA. Damn. It's all good baby, we already talked and you know were going to end up tearing mine down and redoing it as well. C'mon now, I can't get left behind. Then I have to try and keep up with the new Mr. Jones. YOU!!!!! Looking good homie.

[reef]

I want to do a closed loop with a dart and I don't know if ocean motions will advize me on where to put them. I know Eric did a sweet job on his! How did you know where to put them? Should I contact ocean motions to see what they say or does someone have any ideas. I will post a pic of where I plan on doing them. If anyone has info please let me know. What I did was put blue tape on the locations and drew circles for the actual location of the drains, closed loop returns, sump returns and closed loop drain. Thanks, Vinny.

Check out the waterpix section at oceansmotions.com. There are some good pictures of various plumbing methods used with the SS and 4-way. They also have a 1-800 to call for advice. Best customer service around.

http://www.oceansmotions.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=190

[vinny73]

Hey Hybrid, All the info will be community property. You know I wouldn't Have it any other way. Let's get our tanks plumbed the same and then... tank husbandry will be the true sign of who's doin' what right. I contacted OM and put a post up on their forum. I will let you know as soon as something pops. Hey reef.. good lookin out yo! Thanks, Vinny.

[jbvdhp]

sit back and wait? i'm sayin damn now...DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMNNNN NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

[Poacher]

Ok Vinnie,

Im over my bein jealous, I know this will be one sick tank and I know you will share with us your knowledge on how to plumb our tanks the right way!

Infact we should start a "Large Tank Thread"

Seal the bottom of tank to keep in any water that might overflow from the sump

Plumb into the sump or tank to be able to drain "waterchanges" and add new top off water without major hassles

Try to use Black PVC to hide the plumbing from view

Put a lip around the tank to avoid drips from the top of tank

Plumb in a feeder line to feed the fish without lifting the hood

These are some of the things Im doin for my next monster tank

Phil

[Poacher]

Hey V,
Thats alot of holes for a CL system.

What pump are you using for it? GPH?

You should check out mine on my 180

I run a dolpin 3000 GPH using a total of 1 inlet, 2 major outlets into tank split into 4 jets in the tank..all hard plumbed

Might give ya some ideas.

Phil

[hybrid240]

Vince and I have been breaking our head trying to think of new and better ways of pumbing our tanks. What we have devised at this time is to continue with the same pump size that I currently have. It is a sequence barracuda that pumps 4500gph for the sump to turn the tank over. Then we decided to use a sequence dart for the closed loop system in which we shall use a 4 way oceans motions. (2) 2" drains for the sump with (2) 1.5"-2" hard plumbed returns and 1"-1.5" plumbing for the OM. Everything else is pretty self explanitory. We should have something to show off pretty soon!!!!!!!!!

[hybrid240]

I agree with Phil. We definately need to start a large tank thread. Kind of like how reef central has.

[vinny73]

Large tank thread would be cool. I think a workshop once a month would be cool too. Update. Paint on stand is stripped. I am going today to get my hardwood veneer to skin the stand. Maybe Mahogany or maybe oak. If oak, it will be stained with a cherry stain. Pics later. I like your ideas phil! I will let everyone know the answers as I come up with them! Thanks, Vinny.

[Poacher]

Dont forget to seal the sump floor area of the stand by covering the bottom and side walls withwith a waterproof laminate and seal the edges to create a protective water pooling area so no overflow ever spills over the stand to the rug. Its a great lifesaver for accidents and peace of mind

[lucubrator]

It's a bit of a waste of energy to pump 4500gph through your sump, and less through the closed loop. If the 4-way can handle it, it'd be better to switch the two. Your sump really only needs 5-10x tank volume/hour.

[FragCity]

Lookin' good Vinny, keep the pictures coming-we all wanna see the progress on this HUGE set-up.

[[G]h0s'][']

that's a great deal! nice job on the m.m.m.m...monster tank!

[vinny73]

Bit of a delay. I am borrowing a laminate roller from a guy at work so I will not be able to apply the veneer until tomorrow. O well. I have plenty of time. But I sure am getting excited to plumb. Hey LUC, I have allready seen and plumbed this setup on Hybrid's tank. I know what it needs. You can cycle your tank at 5-10x's but your results will not be the same as mine. Plus that large pump will be doing more than just cycling the water so... Thanks for the concern. I see your point. Would it be safe to say that flow is good? Would it be safe to say that surface movement is good? Would it be safe to say that I don't really wanna blast my corals? The dart will push enough pressure/water to the back side of my reef. The Hammerhead will cycle the tank and the 100g+ sump I decide to put in there. So, Add 100g plus the possible 190g in the tank plus the fuge and I think it comes out to about 14x and hour. A little more that 10x but the results can be seen on hybrids tank. HTH, Vinny

[481824]

Sweet tank and awesome setup. What type of reef tank do you plan on having SPS, LPS, Miked?? Do you have any concerns about getting light to your corals through the acrylic cutouts on top?? Cant wait to see the final product!

[vinny73]

Why would I have concerns about light getting through the cutouts. The tank will be mixed but segregated.

[481824]

I was only asking because I am faced with the same dilemna in ordering my new tank. I want to go acrylic or glass eurobrace to keep the top of the tank completely open but its so expensive. I have had in the past both a 125 Fish only acrylic and 90 gallon mixed reef acrylic tanks. The fish tank was fine with normal fluorescent lighting but I had problems with my 90 gallon reef tank under the top acrylic because the small cutouts. My 250 W DE ended pendants over my 90 reef never lived up to their full potential. The acrylic can cutdown the efficiency and effectiveness of lighting especially with the accumulation of salt etc... I am sure with creative aquascaping it might not be a problem for you since you have such a large tank.

[vinny73]

Well my son's and I got alot done today. Everyone pitched in and got the veneer put on the front, cleaned and painted the back of the tank and located all of the drain outlets. I was pretty impressed at the color we picked out. I think it looks pretty good. Here are a few pics of us gettin' 'R' Done!

[vinny73]

Well, one more step is complete. I got the Red Oak veneer on all sides of the stand and finally DRILLED MY VIRGIN tank. I had to drill 9 holes. God it was fun. What a rush. I will have 3 drains and 6 returns. 2 drains are for the sump. 1 drain is for my closed loop. And 4 returns are for my 4 way. I came up with an idea for those who want to do a closed loop system. I am gonna use it. Put your returns from your sump on either side of your drain for your closed loop pump so that the closed loop is mostly recirculating freshly filtered and oxegenated water. In theory it should work sweet! We'll see. I am also trying a couple of other things that I didn't know about but am not willing to disclose them yet. If you go to custom aquatics.com and go to the bulkhead section....1" bulkheads have 90 degree elbows that screw right on the bulkhead so it saves room. I got them. From a plumbers perspective they SHOULD restrict flow but...... I am gonna have so much flow anyways that I don't give a .............. I am sure they were engineered with that in mind. Pics to come soon. I also found some switches so that when I open up my stand doors the lights on the inside come on just like our refrigerators. Things like that are why it is gonna take me so long to do this tank. I want this tank to be my best. I wanna take my time and take suggestions as well. When it is done I will have to sponsor a frag swap or barbeque at my home. I'm sure FRAGCITY is down!!

[vinny73]

Seriously!!!!!! Any suggestions as to what would make my tank user friendly and really sweet? Bring it on baby, cause, IT'S ON NOW!

[hybrid240]

What's up bro. No more pics. No more updates.

[WanaLeime]

faucet or hook up for EZ water changes =)

[vinny73]

:D I don't know what moore did with the original post. I can't find it. Here is an update to my new tank. I attatched all the standpipes for the return, drain, and closed loop. Tomorrow I will be getting all my unions and configuring all the remaining plumbing for inside the stand. I am putting unions on all outlets so that I can easily separate the tank from the stand when I put it in place. This tank is HEAVY:D I am waiting to receive my 4 way so that all points of return can be connected. I just purchased my awesome sump from Jared at the frag swap. I do believe this sump is gonna work. I am gonna need to do some work to the sump but that is okay. I am enjoying planning and executing the tasks that I create for myself. I am thinking of having a barbeque this summer to get some people involved in moving and stocking this bad boy. I really want to do the foam background but I do believe that Cubicus Maximus's owner should do the honors. Hint Hint:rolleyes: I am obviously taking my time. Money is definately a factor!!!!! Hope you enjoy and hope to post more pics this week. Thanks, Vinny.

[gemini]

wow 9 holesthis thing is gona be pretty crazy

ps it was nice meeting u yesterday!@the swap

[row12]

hey i got a standard 300 sps tank if you want to come over sometime and check it out. its been running for almost a year now so if you need some advice or ideas your more than welcomed to check it out. thanks, Roel

by the way i live in chula vista

[vinny73]

Gemini... The pleasure was all mine. I wish you could have stayed longer so I could have heard about your tank. Do you have some pics. Most kids your age don't have the nuts to do a reef tank. Good job! And Thanks,Vinny.

[vinny73]

Roel, that would be awesome! Please pm me your # and I would love to swing by and check it out!

[gemini]

um well i can get some pics soon ill go try to take sum

[tkang69]

Is it me, or does your tank extend past the corners of your stand?

[onad75]

WOW cant wait to see all the plumbing hooked up. Very nice set up i like the way you painted the tank wall matches the to the plumbing very clean. GREAT JOB..

[SanDiegoReefs]

:D I don't know what moore did with the original post. I can't find it.

Moore didn't do anything to the original post.

http://www.sdreefs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13889

Good ole SEARCH.

[vinny73]

No, the tank does not extend past the corners of the stand. I just have the tank pushed forward to provide a ledge to measure off for my pluming. I measured each outlet minus 2 inces from top of stand. That will allow my unions on all the pipes to still clear the the stand when I am ready to take the tank off and move it in place in the house. Thanks Onad for the compliment on the paint job. A Little anal but the tank will be viewable from both ends in my house and I wanted to dress it up a little bit. I have finally figured out how I am gonna run the pipeing for my tank and that will be worth seeing. For those of you who know what Unistrut is.... I am gonna get some pieces powdercoated and use some HydroCushion clamps to secure it all to the back wall! We'll see.

[DaChrisDude]

Dang Vinny!

Your tank looks awesome! It looks so professional, so clean, so...nice. Geez...the stand I'm working on looks like crap comparatively!

Real nice meeting you at the swap the other day.

Chris

[vinny73]

Thanks chris. This isn't the first one I've done. But from now on hopefully it will be the smallest!

[tkang69]

Thanks for the explanation. After I posted, I realized that it was just offset in the picture.

[SDFISHMAN]

This setup is coming along good.. Can't wait to see it in my garage:D .....

[vinny73]

Not til hell serves icewater justin! That reminds me, I have a tank that you can have back justin. You can put that one in your garage!

[hybrid240]

Looks grrreaaattt baby boy... Very nice plumbing but what else could I expect from the G that plumberd my big bad boy. I'll post some pics soon. I have done some changes.

[vinny73]

Bring it on YO! I did some more planning last night. I have figured out the plumbing layout. Now I gotta grow some nuts to start drilling holes in my precious stand to start running the piping. Some of the plumbing parts I ordered were back ordered. Luckily my wife is the head person at the supply house where I buy my parts. Cost BAby! Once they come in I will start executing my plan. I also need to put the sump in and see how much space I have left:)

[vinny73]

Come on guys. I need a sump so I can finish this bad boy! Plumbing is ready but can't complete it til I get that sump! Please help!

[hybrid240]

I sent you a message jack. I still have the first sump, remember it was to tall for my 30 in stand but not for your 39 inch stand.

[vinny73]

:cool: :cool: Okay guys and ladies. Here it is. The tanks plumbing is 90% done. I wanted to show you all the inspration that you have givin me. I have been trading the last two days with some people that are so nice. I dig what I get out of this website and this hobby. I am hoping to run water through it to test it on friday. I still have to plumb in my water spigots to drain the tank and to fill the tank. Someone else's idea that I am making work. I just open a valve and hook my hose to it and drain it. When that is done, I will hook my hose up to my return pump and fill it back up throught the hose in my water jugs. Pretty cool idea. I will show you all how it turns out in the next couple of days! Thanks for the coments, kind words and inspiration, Vinny!!!!!

[hybrid240]

very nice. Almost there huh. Soon enough it will be flowing. When are we getting the water? Let's fill that biaaaaa$%*!!!!!!!

[SDFISHMAN]

Looking good Vinny.. Set that tank up soon so we can check it out and throw a BBQ.......

[nitrogenbubbles]

Hehe, I'll bring the chips :D

[dhuynh]

Vinny,

Youe overflow has be kinda worried. If the guard ever gets clogged, you're gonna be mop the floor for a long long time. Also, with the way you have it, there's no way to adjust the water level in your tank. I would recommend putting an elbow in the overflow so you can fine tune your water level.

Also, one thing you might want to consider is the height of your dorso. You might have to extend it higher if you want to reduce the drain noise.

Clean plumbing.. nice setup!

[WanaLeime]

looks great Vin! awesome plumb job! fill er' up already!!! =)

[vinny73]

Ya danny. The overflow is going to have my signature notched 90. I put the screen on there to keep fly's, and bees out of it. Just temporary. But the one in the center of my tank for the closed loop has me concerned because of what yousaid. Any suggestions?

[dhuynh]

You don't have to worry about the center one too much. You won't have water overflowing if the guard get clogged. Your closed loop pump will just choke a little. I would however use a bigger guard. AW has these guards that will work better. It's threaded on one size and flat on the other. It's gonna be a b**tch to clean the close loop if you hide the intake.

My other suggestion is use a small return pump. Since you have a closed loop, you'll have plenty of water movement inside the tank. By using a small return pump, you'll get more skimmage from your skimmer. You basically only want to very top layer of surface water.

Also.. you might want to put separate ball valves on each of the return line. That way, you can adjust the amount of flow you want through each line. The way it's plumbed right now, you might get too much flow from the lower return lines and not enough near the top.

I can't really tell from the pics, but it looks like you have a check value on your return pump right? If not, invest in a good one, but just know that they will fail over time.


Ya danny. The overflow is going to have my signature notched 90. I put the screen on there to keep fly's, and bees out of it. Just temporary. But the one in the center of my tank for the closed loop has me concerned because of what yousaid. Any suggestions?

[vinny73]

Well the returns for the sump are the 2 lines one either side of the closed loop supply in the center. My 4way lines are the ones next to the overflows. What do you mean by cleaning the closed loop system? Are you referring to the actual drain? I am gonna run a sequence dart for the return and a sequence hammerhead for the closed loop. I am kinda worried that their might be too much water movement. I do have a union check valve on the return pump. I learned my lesson about 7 years ago on that one. grrrrrrrrrrrr If the tank does well, I am considering what you did with the fuge and skimmer and equipment and put it on the side of the house. I really like the idea of no noise. I am gonna go buy some anti vibration pads for my pumps and sump tomorrow. I don't want to leave any ideas out. Check this out. I am taking my time on this tank cause I didn't want to do it two times right? I talked to paul at oceansmotions and he told me of a new method of using the 4way. When you see it you will agree that the principal of pushing water from the bottom to the surface is much better than the opposite. Which is what we all do. Go to www.oceansmotions.com and click forums. then click water pix. Then click "Wuf's tank " something like that. Anyhow, read about how it works. Frickin GENIUS! I am so glad I found this AFTER my tank was plumbed. O well. Next tank. Next bigger tank.

[nitrogenbubbles]

it's ashame someone hasn't come out with an electronic solenoid valve made of all plastic that would work for drain and return lines:( Power turns on...gate opens...power goes out...gate closes and saves the carpet

[jacksandgo]

Yep, the Wuf's tank's closed loop design is great. I converted that whole thread to a saved .pdf acrobat file for future reference and inspiration. :) Your tank's looking great, too!

<snip> Go to www.oceansmotions.com and click forums. then click water pix. Then click "Wuf's tank " something like that. Anyhow, read about how it works. Frickin GENIUS! <snip>

[brandon0350]

blue pvc? i like it. hurry and fill it up

[SDFISHMAN]

My Vinny plumbing job has blue pvc too.. Paint....

[vinny73]

Ya know, it just looks so much nicer!

[SDFISHMAN]

Hey Vinny we should of taken pics of the candycane pipes you did on the 120...

[vinny73]

Russell! Show off them pipes on your tank bro!

[vinny73]

Well, today should be the day! According to my tracking number, My 4 way will be here today. I am getting in some anti vibration pads for my pumps today as well. Once I get those I am gonna drill the sump and hood the remaining stuff up. Tonight might be a late night but...........IT'S GOING IN ON SATURDAY! Wish me luck. I want to cycle water through it tomorrow to get a feel for how it is gonna work, check for leaks, and just flat out watch my baby work. This is gonna be exciting.

[DaChrisDude]

sweeet! good luck! I can't wait to see it all up...

[liquafried]

Man, I had cut those pipes on my last move. Sure enough though, all the plumbing was a nice red and blue shade of candy cane. With white stripes of coarse.

[vinny73]

That's cause I plumbed it. Wanted someone who didn't know the difference to be able to tell the difference of supply and return.

[vinny73]

Well Folks, The tank is filling right now. I am filling it with the garden hose to check for leaks and pump efficiency. Keep your fingers crossed!

[vinny73]

Okay,Late night, plenty of beer and single overfill oversite. 1 leak at the bulkhead for the return pump. The closed loop with the oceansmotions 4way is out of this world. I am going to find a way to show you guys how cool it really is. The 4way is a little difficult to plumb in a tight space but it was manageable. I chose to make the final connection using flexible spa tubing so that the 4way has a little room to move. Also to deaden vibration sound. I also went an bought some antivibration pads for the pumps and for the entire bottom of the sump. Good idea because it works. A little expensive, but what single thing in this hobby is cheap. O yeah, someone elses advice. But then again, their experiences have been expensive. Anyhow, some parts didn't get painted, and a couple of flaws but I am human and I'm okay with it. Hope you enjoy, more pics to come, let me know if there is something I should change or improve on. Thanks, Vinny.

[vinny73]

Can't show any more pics til I upgrade my membership. Tank broke me, Anyone wanna sponsor me? A couple days I will upgrade and some more pics will be on their way. For now, drool on my 4way!

[crstjohn]

Awesome! Don't leave us hanging. Give Vinny more space so he can post more pics and we can enjoy his hard labor.

[crstjohn]

Can't show any more pics til I upgrade my membership. Tank broke me, Anyone wanna sponsor me? A couple days I will upgrade and some more pics will be on their way. For now, drool on my 4way!

Any space Vinny? I want to see the finished product!

[vinny73]

Send me your email address and I can do that OR if someone were to teach me how to use photobucket Icould do that too.

[vinny73]

The tank goes in the house tonight! Friday night Scripps. Saturday, 40lbs of live rock so far.

[BigAir]

Hey Vinny,
You have enough barrells to get water for that bad boy? I have a 55 barrell you can borrow if you want.LMK

[dvincent]

Hey Vinny,
You have enough barrells to get water for that bad boy? I have a 55 barrell you can borrow if you want.LMK

And I have a 35 gallon if need to borrow it. Darrin

[8pyzzazz8]

I definitely want to see your entire plumbing job. Please post pics soon. How exciting for you!

[vinny73]

I have 6 barrels allready. I am gonna do a partial on my 100 and take that water and seed my tank. I will have to do 2 trips but at 12am on friday night, I can fill up without any hassle. Plus having a firehose helps. I can fill and go in around 5 mins. My biggest hurdle is the cost of live rock. The sooner I can afford it the sooner my cycle time starts. I have 150lbs from my 100g that will go in. But I need another 100lbs for base. When I get it cycling on friday, you guys are more than welcome to swing by, drink a beer and ask questions or get ideas, or give some constructive criticism. I will be routing all the wires and hooling up my rk2. Still work to do. I also need to install some door switches so that I have light the instant I open up the doors. No manual switches. No more pics until I upgrade my membership. It would be nice if moore could merge the 2 threads I started.

[MrKrispy]

Dude, Sickest Upgrade of the Year!!!

[crstjohn]

Dude, Sickest Upgrade of the Year!!!
Slickest???

[vinny73]

Okay folks! Step right up and see the Now It's On tank of the year! I just got back from Scripps with about 260g of water. My poor truck! I decided as you can see, 1) I didn't like the location in my house so I moved it to where my 100g used to be. I kinda figured that it would be much easier once my tank is cycled, to transfer the coral and rock and sand from just across the room rather on the other side of the HOUSE! Plus, when people walk by they can see inside the front window and stare at such a marvelous display of .............Well, right now just water. Alot of my neighbors have asked me what the blueish glow is coming from my front window. I have allways had a tank there. I tell them to come on over and check it out. They used to think all the barrels that I would offload was for a Meth Lab. How far from the truth. AND how relieved they were!!!!! I am the only white person on my block and from time to time I get a little crazy and rip my dirt bikes through the neighborhood, OOPS I mean I have friends that do that! Anyhow, this kind of concludes my report on where I am at with the tank. Now, I have installed the Oceans Motions 4 way That FRAG CITY was so generous to hook me up with. You guys gotta hook your tanks up with those 4,8 way or revolutions. They ARE ALL THAT AND MORE! I would say that running a Hammerhead for my 4 way is a bit much. I am running a Dart for my return and I think I am gonna Uninstall the Hammerhead and put in another Dart! Thanks to Danny, He made me realize and put into use the importace of unions and union Valves!!!!!! I can take it out and put a new one in without shutting off my tank!!!!!!! Thanks D! I still need to make and install cabinet doors,and a hanging canopy. I am hoping that this WILL BE A WORK OF ART! Kinda hard to top CUBICUS MAXIMUS. Trying to think of everything to do is very nerve racking!!!!!!!!! But hopefully you all will take note and make yours better than mine. It's not really about size or flow, it's ,for me anyway, about how I enjoy all that comes with this hobby. Well, it's allmost 11am and my tank only needs another 60 gallons left to have it completely filled. There is still so much to do! I have to conceal all my wiring, install my phosban reactors, install my reefkeeper and probes and ............ there has to be more! Well...... here it is! Thanks for the support and compliments,Vinny.

[vinny73]

My 100g looks like a joke to me now!!!!!

[vinny73]

How long is it necessary to cycle live rock? Do I wait for the algae bloooms to subside? The tank is 100% scripps water. I cannot hook up my calcium reactor until my 100g is torn down. Do I skim a little wet while cycling live rock and a new tank? I am only adding 200lbs of LS and 100lbs of LR. Once that is in I will have another 100lbs of LR and LS that has been in my 100g for allmost 4 years. What steps should I take? and what time frames? Getting a little ANXIOUS!!!!!!!!!!

[onad75]

really nice, great job !
I used 100% scripps water to cycle my tank with 50lbs of dead sand, after a week i broke down my 50g and transfer all livestock into my 40g. and all LS, and LR and water into my 125g. All of my live rock i got are from stablished tank from friends and fellow reefers so it did not take long to cycle my tank. I wet skimm during the cycling period.,
I waited a month before i slowly trasfered my coral into my new 125g luckily i had no problem with cyno bacteria like i had when i cycle my 50g.

[DaChrisDude]

Dang Vinny!

[crstjohn]

Thanks for the update Vinny! Looks great. Makes my 65g look like a nano. Keep the pic coming as you progress.

[luisito1977]

Great job Vinny. I don't think my girlfriend would ever let me get a tank that large unless we had a huge house... (We are only renters... :( ) I really like the plumbing... Truly an inspiration!

[liquafried]

Right on man, I'm gonna have to swing by.

[vinny73]

Thanks for the compliments! When it is stocked, all can come by! Speaking of which..... Anyone ever talk to Ronberto? If you do, tell him to give me a call! I want to do a frag swap/ bbq/ tattoo party and his buddy might be the guest artist. I really would like to finalize it. I know he is a busy man. Just put a bug in his ear for me would ya! Thanks, Vinny.

[liquafried]

If that ink party is on, I'm there. My wife got art at the last one, but we still have the other half to do. Please, vinny lmk.
Thanks

[vinny73]

I just installed my Reefkeeper 2 that MDEZ so kindly hooked me up with! You guys should get one!!!! He's got a hook up for a group buy! I strapped a couple pipes today and started running my cable tubing to hide the power cords. This week is gonna be insane! Check this out! Tuesday, pick up new lights. Wednesday, pick up live sand and new chiller. Thursday pick up live rock. Then the true cycling begins. I need to find the time to aquascape. I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I still need to make my cabinet doors, and canopy! I think I am gonna be mostly excited about the canopy! The doors are just gonna silence everything! So there's the update. No pics till next weekend!

[reef]

Hey Vinny, did you get hooked up with that Rio 3100 you were after?

[vinny73]

No I did not!

[vinny73]

That was so long ago. I Can't even remember what I wanted it for!

[vinny73]

The tank is still in the midst of construction. Finally got the closed loop finished and the flow is incredible. I will hopefully get a chance tonight to get you all up to date on the tank with pics. So far I have about 100lbs of live rock and it seems that I have a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONg way to go!

[vinny73]

All right now. Here is a couple of pics of what I have done so far. I feel sooooooo far from done. Probably cause I am. I have slowly started pulling from my 100g and seeding the live rock I have just acquired. Maybe tomorrow might bring some new suprises! Huh? We'll see.

[Roger]

SIIIICK! Your first livestock is a rubber duckie:D Nice!

[vinny73]

Ya Baby! And is sqweeks too!

[WanaLeime]

Looking Good Vin!!! LMK when your ready for that rasta frag....

[DaChrisDude]

looking exciting Vinny.

What you planning on running as lights?

[vinny73]

First off, Life has been full of suprises! No internet, cell phone broke, long hours, super busy........ yada yada yada. O yeah, and this hobby is frickin espensive!!!!!!!! We are now fully stocked and up and running! I bought 207lbs of lr, and had so much left over. I bought 200lbs of live sand and must have 150lbs left over. My 100g is depleted and looks soooo sad. This has been such a fun project!!! I know several people have been trying to get ahold of me but my phone has been jacked up and no internet because of money. If anyone is looking for a couple rooms to rent tell them to hit me up! Here are the pics. By the way, I want to give props to FRAGS CITY, Hybrid240 for their inspiration and help! Frags City hoooooooooooked me up with ALL my live rock and ALL my fish and ALL the Pumps. Harold....... You rock dude!!!! If you think my tank looks sweet...... check out hybrid240's. I will catch you gus!!!!!!! So much crap to explain and so little time!!!!!! Here's the pics!!! By the way... My wife and I did the Aquascaping.

[vinny73]

There is still sooooo much to do but it will eventually get there! I just jumped on and clicked new posts and it read like 3,256. Sorry, but can'[t read them all!!! RICK!!!!!!!!! Lost your number!!!!!!!!!! But I got a chiller for you if you are ready!!!! Hope all is dooing well!!!! Check back in a few days!! If anyone needs to get ahold of me call me at home and leave a message at 619-628-0411. Thanks, Vinny

[SDFISHMAN]

Looks good Vinny.. Give me a call when you have a chance..

[Chanas4]

Oh My! A thing of beauty.

[Ars3nal619]

Hey vin, I was wondering when these pix would show up....thx alot for the extra LR ...!!! Vin hooked me up with some great pieces. I saw this tank last week and I must say the plumbing itself is a work of art. I want vinnie to do my plumbing, he'd be done in 10 min on my 72g. great job man !!

[DiverDave]

Looks awesome Vinny. Just to let you know, I haven't forgoten about you. I'll be back from Korea next week and I've reserved a frag of the green w/purple rim cap for you (and about 7 other people). I'll let you know when I can come down for a look.

[rollinghead]

Dam Vinny, this is the first time i've seen the monster!!! Wow! congrats man.

[chilly05willy]

Looks freaking awesome, now go stock that thing up with corals!!

[[G]h0s'][']

Great Job Vinny! I cant wait to see more. :)

[WanaLeime]

14900

:)

[vinny73]

I am ready!!!!!!! Tank has been up for a few weeks now and is doing good. Will plan on getting some new pics up in the next few days!

[crstjohn]

Vinny:
I've PM'd you, called and left messages for you and still have not heard from you. Call me at 858-382-2782. Rick

[vinny73]

So much time has gone by and so much crap has taken place! I now have my own camera, Thanks for the advice Wanaleime! That man knows how to take pics! And I now once again have internet at home! And I have a premium membership!!!!!!!!!!! And I shall take full advantage of it too!!!! Post away baby! I just took about 80 or so pics today of my tank and fish. The ones I liked were of my Rasta Zoos, Acro collection, Dejardini Sailfin Tang, Bluejaw Trigger,and of course, The tank as a whole WITH T5"s BEEEEEEEEOTCH! See all that pink coraline and coral growth. All with t5s and moonlights. I am a firm believer in t5s and the use of moonlights.

[vinny73]

I also previously posted a little purple haze, my favorite pink milli, and now the rest.

[Reefbabe]

Sweet Vinny...glad to see the brain opened up. Now to get it's color back. ;)

Keep the pics coming.....wouldn't mind seeing another full shot of that giant system!

[vinny73]

:D and more.

[vinny73]

The brain is so awesome Missy! It has done nothing but do good! All things you gave me look great! I will have something for you in a couple weeks. You will be very happy! Thanks again Missy. Now the camera is up and so is the internet, pics will flow!

[vinny73]

O yeah, that blue jaw trigger is so fun to watch swim. She eats well and is great with the other fish and doesn't bother my corals. You folks should get one!

[vinny73]

I like standing at one end of the tank and watching her swim towards me. What an unusual fish. Quite fascinating!

[WanaLeime]

Vinny,
Try taking some PICs w/ the pumps off. your pics will come out super clear!
Nice PICS by the way. looks like your Rastas are starting to take off!!! How much did you get that BlueJaw for? I've been searching for one....

[onad75]

That pink Milli looks sweeet..

I picked up a nice frag from Roel can't wait to see it grow.

can you post some pics of your equipments?

[luistwentyone]

VINNY !!!

holy cheap sh*t ! I read through the entire thread and wow ! what a mission.

you have one heck of a tank, and talk about the plumbing, great job homey. I bet the putting everything together was the fun part.

you have one sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet tank, keep up the good work and keep the pics coming.

[vinny73]

Thank you very much. Yes it was very fun putting it together. I still have several final touches to make but that will come in due time.

[vinny73]

I figured it was time to update my tank post! T5's went BYE BYE! Work great but no shimmer effect! I have now upgraded to 3- 250w hqi 14k Pheonix bulbs and 4- 110w super actinic VHO's. What a difference!!!!!! Such shimmering! Such Heat! Such a huge chiller! But worth it! Last weekend, I came home and opened up my stand and found about 3 inches of water in it! Good thing my stand was built to hold about 80g of water before it flows on my floor! My double union check valve had a crack on one of the union nuts! Sooooo.... Since I am a plumber and I planned my plumbing soooooo wellll........ mmmmmmmmmmbull****! I had to plug my returns on the inside of my tank because I didn't put a valve on the inlet and outlet side of my return pump! The bad part was the union nut was on the outlet side of the check valve! A 2" Clear double union check valve runs about 30 bucks! And of course...... that awesome store aquatic warehouse didn't have shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!!!!!!! I took it apart and superglued the crack in the nut and put it back together! So far so good!!!!! Until........... Next day, Barometer came by to check out the beast and see my corals. How embarassing it is to be a professional plumber and have a leak!!! Cause guess what? The other union nut cracked!!!!!!!! DAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Could things get worse? DUUUUUUUUUUUH! Yeah they can! I bought a huge 10" clam from Hybrid240 at the last meeting and noticed it wasn't doing so well!!!! What's wrong? I also noticed my lps corals were doing sooooooo good and my sps were browning out, my newly acquired favorite GARF Bonsai that was GIVEN to me from a dear friend was STN'ing. I Fu@&'n hate MURPHY! I immediately did a 49g water change! Then I looked everywhere for that damn phosban reactor I used to kill most of my sps last time cause I didn't know you are supposed to only add a tablespoon of rowaphos at a time instead of the whole damn jar that treats an aquarium that's half the size of mine! I never found it! I think I smashed it! Anyhow, I found a mesh bag and put in one tablespoon of Purigen from SeaChem. I tied it to the end of my chiller return and so far my sps is looking sooooooooooo much better! I also took one of my prototype calcium reactors and bought some sulphur for nitrate removal. I filled the reactor half with sulphur and half with ARM to buffer it a little before it return to the tank and HOOOOOOOOOOOOLY SHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET! 3 days have gone by and I showed my wife the difference it has made and I myself have pink milli's that are now turning yellow and a different pink that POPS in the light. My lime in the sky sps is coming back to yellow again! And My GARF Bonsai is coming back tooo!!!!!!! I thought that feeding our corals every day would boost the growth but instead it did more harm!!!!!!!! My corals LOVE my homemade food but in moderation! Just when you think things just suck............. Go back to the basics! As my Homie's once said..... K.I.S.S.! Keep it simple STUPID! This isn't rocket science! Just take things in moderation, ask questions, and do water changes! Perfection is impossible. To strive for perfection is NOT! Keep trying because when the coral you bought at the store that looked so killer, that now looks like ass in your tank, looks that way for a reason. I think I figured it out now! Thanks for all the advice and support! Vinny!

[barometer]

damn Vinny, you've had quite a week. I can't believe murphy didn't leave you be after you discovered that second leak while I was there, lol :rolleyes:
Glad to hear you're back on track. Can't wait to see what happens with the future SPS cube :D

For anyone who hasn't seen this setup, you MUST. Vinny's awesome and his tank reflects it. :)

[Noob]

OMG what a NOOB.. everyone knows you gotta ditch the crappy skimmer you got.......yeah bro.. go head an attach a cpr bak pak 2... and DONT FORGET THE Mj1200... tank that size could use the extra help..:cool:

[vinny73]

Hopefully the pics come out okay. I reaquascaped last saturday after being inspired on friday at Tim's house. I have added the Enductors to the outlets and the flow is so much better! It appears as though the corals are much happier too! Enjoy!

[Chanas4]

Still beautiful!!

[vinny73]

I am still playing around with the pic resizer on the mac. The previous photos were 200x200 pixels. And only 56k. So gonna try 400 pixels and see what we get. Here are some pictures of the corals I have been keeping for quite a while!

[iVgOnMaD]

hey vinny, I wanted to see if you could help me plumb my 240 when I get to that point :D LMK

[vinny73]

Yes sir I can! Pm me some more details as to what all will be involved. Ex, 4 way, custom fuge setup....... Would love to help. Hopefully not too soon though. Really booked at the moment! Just finished another sweet tank yesterday. 5000gph circulation on a 125g!

[SDguy]

5000gph circulation on a 125g!

Eh, not bad....


:D

[vinny73]

Peter,MASTER OF FLOW! The customer wanted dual iwaki 100's. I tried talking them into dual Hammerheads but no bite. I think when I redo the plumbing on the tank this summer, I am gonna do a Hammerhead in place of my Dart. 1st things 1st. Gotta get rid of these halides and put back my T5's. Just added a fan to my canopy and by 7pm I normally would be at 82 degrees which would shut off my lights. Now, I maintain 76 degress 24/7. My corals couldn't be happier without all the fish!!!!!! Started dosing iron and coral frenzy. O MY GOD! What a difference. I don't recommend the iron to anyone who doesn't own the proper test kit, but I like my results in my lps!

[SDguy]

Cool! Glad to hear the corals are rockin'!

[vinny73]

Plus Peter, these people don't have as much room under their tank as you do!!!!

[ssrolln]

GOT digga de DDDDDDDDDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMNN

Outstanding!!!

[SDguy]

Plus Peter, these people don't have as much room under their tank as you do!!!!

LOL! Yes, so spacious.... :D
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p5/SDreefguy/Equipment%20cleaning/Equip5-0001.jpg

[DaveMorris]

Yes but look at how clean it is under there now!

[vinny73]

Sue, thank you! The tank is finally, after 2 years, starting to come together.
Dave, peters stand is very immaculate. I need to take some notes. I have so many wire just hanging around! You saw the mess!

[vinny73]

Bump for those looking for pics on my setup.