erics210
NJRC Member
People have tanks for different reasons.
I was snorkeling in Maui, Hawaii and was chasing the Hawaii state fish, the Huma Huma Nuka Nuka Apua'a to get a nice photo.
Kept going deeper and deeper, finally he darted away I found myself 20 feet underwater wishing I had SCUBA gear.
A couple years later I was certified and went on my first open water dive in Fuji's noel's Wall just a 5 minute ride from the island we stayed for our honeymoon. It was AMAZING!
My brother in law had a tank at that time but with all the testing and water changes he did, it just seemed impossible.
While looking for a few pics of the tank that day I found a Word Document of my beginnings into Reefing...
Here is goes.
Eric’s 210 Gallon Reef Tank
Viewed Tank on January 6th, 2016!
Great 210 Gallon Oceanic Tank in the owners basement. Martin, the owner had rear tank access through washroom.
He bought the house with tank in place. his buddy convinced him to set up, but was not something he wanted to continue.
Included:
210 Gallon Oceanic Tank with dual intank overflows.
Had a center support brace and both glass lid covers.
Rescheduled for Wednesday January13th, 2016. COLD….About 30 degrees with snow on the ground.
Showed up at 3:30pm.
I removed the lighting while waiting for my team. my wife Jessica, my brother in law Joe, who had recently had a 12 hour back surgery, but was my only reef consultant, and Hernando without showing up at last minute, would have never happened.
Jessica arrived first around 3:34-4:00pm.
We lined new 32 gallon rubbermade trashcans with unscented trashbag liners and began loading about 20 pounds of live rock and enough salt water to cover the rocks.
Once we were finished doing this Hernando had showed up at 4:30pm.
He was supposed to be there to only help with the actual tank move upstairs.
He began helping me and Jessica bring the partially filled trashcans to the upstairs near the door. We wanted to leave the water at room temp for as long as possible.
Joe arrived at 4:45pm.
Being the Reef Tank Guy and my only source for any knowledge he surveyed the tank and walked through the plumbing and everything that was there….
He was great except for the fact he dropped my nice $50 Dewalt flashlight and battery into the sump….smh.
We brought out the lights, RO/DI, extra pumps and accessories and then for the big part.
Then we brought all the trashcans to inside the minivan and truck cabs.
We used a brand new harbor freight 1500 gallon per hour pump to shoot the remaining
Salt water up to the awaiting cans and tied the bags to prevent spillage. This took only 10-15 minutes.
As the water dropped we caught the fish and even freed one of the clowns stuck in the overflow.
Removed the sand and remaining water and were all set to TRY and move the tank.
It wouldn’t BUDGE!!!
We started dismantling the stand to try and get the tank in motion.
Still nothing!!!!
Then the owner, a large Check/Russian, decided to lend a hand and finally we were able to slide it so we got into position and began sliding the tank for our journey up the staircase.
BUT NOT SO FAST the tank said….
Immediate STOP.
Joe does not have a drilled tank and he didn’t realize he needed to remove the bulkheads.
Luckily the two bulkeads cracked instead of the actual tank bottom.
So we fight the tank up the stairs. The owner at the top and me Joe and Hernando at the bottom. After squishing the owner a bit we finally get it to the stair landing and then upright where we were able to slide it along the floor.
We get that loaded into truck bed #1.
At this point, about 6:00pm. we are ALMOST done.
Hernando parts ways and heads home to his wife and little baby girl.
THANK YOU MUCH!
The custom built in wood stand was the last item to go….and of course even harder than the tank itself.
Screws and anchor bolts, not to mention being literally cemented into the ground.
It would have been easy enough to just give up no the stand, BUT where would I put this Gigantic tank without a stand.
I have fish, crabs, live rock, and sand that need a new home ASAP.
So as I secure the loads in the trucks and mini van, they are finally able to loosen the stand from its secure location.
So made with 2x6s and 2x4s and metal supports, it was just as heavy as the 3/4inch thick glass tank. BUT we were able to manhandle it a bit more.
Then the slow drive home.
30 miles or so.
So at 7:45 we all finally arrive at my house.
First thing to go in was the cooler with fish.
Then the stand and tank, and then sump tank and plumbing.
That takes about half an hour. Unfortunately the tank-stand was damaged beyond use as it stood.
Joe needed to leave so he grabbed his free case of beer and left me to deal with the tank, sump and plumbing.
I continued to unload the remaining stuff alone as my wife got the kids ready for bed.
I stayed up till about 4am that 1st day.
Skipped work to attempt to move the tank alone and rebuild the stand.
I was able to successfully rebuild it that day within 4 or 5 hours.
Painted the stand and lifted the tank into place ALL BY MYSELF.
Tank wasnt level.
Had to cut the damn door sill. Didnt wanna risk the tank breaking.
Then went on a hunt for new bulkheads while the paint dried on the stand,
Came home and got the stand, sump and plumbing in place and hooked up the plumbing.
***I didn’t know to check the overflows first!***
So I started filing the tank, then live rock and then sand.
Then more water.
Moved the fish to a more semi-permanent home with a Rubbermaid can, live rock heater and pump.
OH NO!
Leaks, from BOTH bulkheads on that side.
Honestly NO CLUE what I was doing!
Another road trip to get proper fittings and 6 hours later success.
Then I finished filling the tank and redid the plumbing and turned on the system.
ANOTHER leaky bulkhead. Are you kidding me?
This one was bad, because the position of the filled tank on the stand prevented me from securing the bulkhead nut properly.
So had to remove the fittings, empty the tank and cut out the wood near the fitting to allow the nut to be secured.
Since it had to be emptied, this was the time to PAIN the back!
Then the plumbing was FINALLY running leak free, so I thought.
The actual external return pump was leaking from the housing itself.
So I disconnected it and tore the pump apart and re-greased the sealed and put it back together and NOW…
FINALLY – running with no leaks!
Ran for a while but silt/dust wouldn’t settle as the sump is not set up adequately.
Emptied the filter sock, but wasn’t doing enough.
So added some cotton filter media to catch more particles and sure enough success.
While waiting for something to go wrong, I spent hours fiddling with the T5 light system. TOP OF THE LINE BABY!!!
Successfully got them all working by re-cutting and wiring every connection and adjusting location of the end caps as they were all out of position.
Took this time to hard scape the live rock into a more desirable arrangement.
So finally, my brother in law came back a few days later and brought his test kits and some supplies.
The original water was within expected conditions so we decided to acclimate the fish and inverts and set them free.
Fish are all alive and happy.
GO LIVE!!!
We ran the RO/DI system and added salt and heater and pump and added that to the tank.
As I mentioned my HM TDS monitor was broken so ordered a new one.
I want to verify the job the RO/DI set up is doing.
May need new Membrane and filters.
Purchased a thermometer and Instant Ocean SALT!
I have given up on the homemade light setup.
Purchased an eBay OddySea 4 bulb T5 with 2 Actinic and 2 bright white with 5 LED moonlight LEDs.
ALSO spent a Saturday to recreate the facade from the custom tank base wall.
Think it looks much better.
IGNORE MY $12,95 CONDYLACTIC ANEMONE. My brother in law said Clowns need anemone.
I was snorkeling in Maui, Hawaii and was chasing the Hawaii state fish, the Huma Huma Nuka Nuka Apua'a to get a nice photo.
Kept going deeper and deeper, finally he darted away I found myself 20 feet underwater wishing I had SCUBA gear.
A couple years later I was certified and went on my first open water dive in Fuji's noel's Wall just a 5 minute ride from the island we stayed for our honeymoon. It was AMAZING!
My brother in law had a tank at that time but with all the testing and water changes he did, it just seemed impossible.
While looking for a few pics of the tank that day I found a Word Document of my beginnings into Reefing...
Here is goes.
Eric’s 210 Gallon Reef Tank
Viewed Tank on January 6th, 2016!
Great 210 Gallon Oceanic Tank in the owners basement. Martin, the owner had rear tank access through washroom.
He bought the house with tank in place. his buddy convinced him to set up, but was not something he wanted to continue.
Included:
210 Gallon Oceanic Tank with dual intank overflows.
Had a center support brace and both glass lid covers.
- Estimated 150 pounds of live rock covered with nice purple Coraline& later to be identified Aiptasia….I was even catching and saving them during the move. SMH...
- Estimated 80 pounds of sand
- Homemade T5 lighting system with 4 Artinic, 3 bright white and a red sunset bulb. Lights were non functional at the time of viewing.
- SeaChem RODI Filter (broken HM TDS monitor) & probably old or clogged filters.
- Drainage from the main display tank went through 2 inch PVC down to the sump.
- Large divided sump(approximately 30-40 gallons), passed down through a 4 inch filter sock, had Protein skimmer body- no pump, and some sponges to act as a large particle screen. Passed two heaters and then two bulkheads through the side glass for water return.
- One went to a pump directly to the returns, the second went through a fluval bio-filter and then to the return.
- Anchored custom stand and base which had to be destroyed to remove.
- Lastly were the live stock….
- 3 Clowns(two orange and white and a black and white & two blue demsels)
- Additionally 5 Hermit crabs (one large Blue Clawed Hermit.)
- AND found after the move a Tonga Nassarius Snail.
Rescheduled for Wednesday January13th, 2016. COLD….About 30 degrees with snow on the ground.
Showed up at 3:30pm.
I removed the lighting while waiting for my team. my wife Jessica, my brother in law Joe, who had recently had a 12 hour back surgery, but was my only reef consultant, and Hernando without showing up at last minute, would have never happened.
Jessica arrived first around 3:34-4:00pm.
We lined new 32 gallon rubbermade trashcans with unscented trashbag liners and began loading about 20 pounds of live rock and enough salt water to cover the rocks.
Once we were finished doing this Hernando had showed up at 4:30pm.
He was supposed to be there to only help with the actual tank move upstairs.
He began helping me and Jessica bring the partially filled trashcans to the upstairs near the door. We wanted to leave the water at room temp for as long as possible.
Joe arrived at 4:45pm.
Being the Reef Tank Guy and my only source for any knowledge he surveyed the tank and walked through the plumbing and everything that was there….
He was great except for the fact he dropped my nice $50 Dewalt flashlight and battery into the sump….smh.
We brought out the lights, RO/DI, extra pumps and accessories and then for the big part.
Then we brought all the trashcans to inside the minivan and truck cabs.
We used a brand new harbor freight 1500 gallon per hour pump to shoot the remaining
Salt water up to the awaiting cans and tied the bags to prevent spillage. This took only 10-15 minutes.
As the water dropped we caught the fish and even freed one of the clowns stuck in the overflow.
Removed the sand and remaining water and were all set to TRY and move the tank.
It wouldn’t BUDGE!!!
We started dismantling the stand to try and get the tank in motion.
Still nothing!!!!
Then the owner, a large Check/Russian, decided to lend a hand and finally we were able to slide it so we got into position and began sliding the tank for our journey up the staircase.
BUT NOT SO FAST the tank said….
Immediate STOP.
Joe does not have a drilled tank and he didn’t realize he needed to remove the bulkheads.
Luckily the two bulkeads cracked instead of the actual tank bottom.
So we fight the tank up the stairs. The owner at the top and me Joe and Hernando at the bottom. After squishing the owner a bit we finally get it to the stair landing and then upright where we were able to slide it along the floor.
We get that loaded into truck bed #1.
At this point, about 6:00pm. we are ALMOST done.
Hernando parts ways and heads home to his wife and little baby girl.
THANK YOU MUCH!
The custom built in wood stand was the last item to go….and of course even harder than the tank itself.
Screws and anchor bolts, not to mention being literally cemented into the ground.
It would have been easy enough to just give up no the stand, BUT where would I put this Gigantic tank without a stand.
I have fish, crabs, live rock, and sand that need a new home ASAP.
So as I secure the loads in the trucks and mini van, they are finally able to loosen the stand from its secure location.
So made with 2x6s and 2x4s and metal supports, it was just as heavy as the 3/4inch thick glass tank. BUT we were able to manhandle it a bit more.
Then the slow drive home.
30 miles or so.
So at 7:45 we all finally arrive at my house.
First thing to go in was the cooler with fish.
Then the stand and tank, and then sump tank and plumbing.
That takes about half an hour. Unfortunately the tank-stand was damaged beyond use as it stood.
Joe needed to leave so he grabbed his free case of beer and left me to deal with the tank, sump and plumbing.
I continued to unload the remaining stuff alone as my wife got the kids ready for bed.
I stayed up till about 4am that 1st day.
Skipped work to attempt to move the tank alone and rebuild the stand.
I was able to successfully rebuild it that day within 4 or 5 hours.
Painted the stand and lifted the tank into place ALL BY MYSELF.
Tank wasnt level.
Had to cut the damn door sill. Didnt wanna risk the tank breaking.
Then went on a hunt for new bulkheads while the paint dried on the stand,
Came home and got the stand, sump and plumbing in place and hooked up the plumbing.
***I didn’t know to check the overflows first!***
So I started filing the tank, then live rock and then sand.
Then more water.
Moved the fish to a more semi-permanent home with a Rubbermaid can, live rock heater and pump.
OH NO!
Leaks, from BOTH bulkheads on that side.
Honestly NO CLUE what I was doing!
Another road trip to get proper fittings and 6 hours later success.
Then I finished filling the tank and redid the plumbing and turned on the system.
ANOTHER leaky bulkhead. Are you kidding me?
This one was bad, because the position of the filled tank on the stand prevented me from securing the bulkhead nut properly.
So had to remove the fittings, empty the tank and cut out the wood near the fitting to allow the nut to be secured.
Since it had to be emptied, this was the time to PAIN the back!
Then the plumbing was FINALLY running leak free, so I thought.
The actual external return pump was leaking from the housing itself.
So I disconnected it and tore the pump apart and re-greased the sealed and put it back together and NOW…
FINALLY – running with no leaks!
Ran for a while but silt/dust wouldn’t settle as the sump is not set up adequately.
Emptied the filter sock, but wasn’t doing enough.
So added some cotton filter media to catch more particles and sure enough success.
While waiting for something to go wrong, I spent hours fiddling with the T5 light system. TOP OF THE LINE BABY!!!
Successfully got them all working by re-cutting and wiring every connection and adjusting location of the end caps as they were all out of position.
Took this time to hard scape the live rock into a more desirable arrangement.
So finally, my brother in law came back a few days later and brought his test kits and some supplies.
The original water was within expected conditions so we decided to acclimate the fish and inverts and set them free.
Fish are all alive and happy.
GO LIVE!!!
We ran the RO/DI system and added salt and heater and pump and added that to the tank.
As I mentioned my HM TDS monitor was broken so ordered a new one.
I want to verify the job the RO/DI set up is doing.
May need new Membrane and filters.
Purchased a thermometer and Instant Ocean SALT!
I have given up on the homemade light setup.
Purchased an eBay OddySea 4 bulb T5 with 2 Actinic and 2 bright white with 5 LED moonlight LEDs.
ALSO spent a Saturday to recreate the facade from the custom tank base wall.
Think it looks much better.
IGNORE MY $12,95 CONDYLACTIC ANEMONE. My brother in law said Clowns need anemone.
