wspangler01 Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 I'll start with the pointless backstory. My previous 150 strung a leak in December. I purchased a used tank that also started leaking prior to every getting any life into the tank. I thought about seeling off what I had left, but cant imagine my life without my tank or the daily conversations with fish friends. I've met alot of great people and built some solid relations. I was met with a lot of what can I do to help, offers to hold coral, offers on free tanks other were not using, and was even sent $100 in the mail but a mystery person. A small group of friends got together and helped me frag up about 150 frags. One of them held about half of them for me. I set up a tank at the lear swap and raised the funds for this tank. The frag tank provided by one friend a light by another. I really could not have done it without help from friends. The tank was ordered mid March. When I placed the order it was backordered and projected to ship mid April. I expected some shipping delays due to COVID-19(the tank ships from china to CA, then CA to here), but was pleasantly surprised of none. The driver dropped the pallet in garage for me and the tank stayed there for a couple of days. Moving it into my house stressed me out. My household has taken the stay at home order very seriously. We have not allowed any visitors or went anywhere since probably two weeks before the order. I did have to seek help from two friends to get it into the house and onto the stand. This was obviously not the ideal time to set up a new tank, but the silver lining is time. I've had soo much time planning everything out, and so far most has went as planned. The tank and stand are new. All other equipment is being reused. The light, sump, skimmer, and return were purchased with the used tank in January. They are used, but new to me. Tank= Inovative Marine 150 INT Stand= Inovative Marine Black APS Lighting= 48" ATI 8 bulb dimmable + 48" Orphek LED strip Skimmer= Reef Octopus Elite 150 INT Return pump= RODC 5500(prior to Varios 6) Sump= 36" x 24"- can not recall brand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wspangler01 Posted April 26, 2020 Author Share Posted April 26, 2020 When pluming the sump I ran into an issue. It only has one bulkhead for the drain. The has a primary, secondary, and emergency.The emergency is just that so I was not concerned on which part of the sump it drained to. I just wanted it high enough above the water that you will hear it if in use. I want the primary and secondary to both drain into the first section( filter sock section). I was able to do this by teeing them together. It didnt take long for me to regret this decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wspangler01 Posted April 26, 2020 Author Share Posted April 26, 2020 This made it very loud. Luckily I was pretty good with my unions placement. I had extra pvc and 45's I was able to reuse some plumbing and only needed to buy one union( one side of it) and one 90 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wspangler01 Posted April 26, 2020 Author Share Posted April 26, 2020 I ordered some slotted trunking for cable management. I was looking at several options and didnt order the one in though. I was looking for something larger ( 2× 2 or 2 x 3) what I ordered is something like .75 x 1.25. I still plan on getting something bigger and building a control panel, but was able to find a good use for the smaller stuff. I lined the openings of my sump to keep all the cables coming out of the sump in order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wspangler01 Posted April 26, 2020 Author Share Posted April 26, 2020 I built this rockwork last year. I think in October or November. It was to add to the 150 I had then, but it leaked before I ever was able to move them over. That tank was 24" tall this new tank is 20". Its a little taller than I'd like, but itll work for now. Historically im pretty bad with my rockwork, or liking what I come up with. I had some very nice arches in a 125 in had years ago. The rock itself looked nice but didnt allow well for coral. It would have been a really nice FOWLR scape. I've recieved compliments before on a minimalistic scape, and while I do tend to like less rock than others, my prior scape was never finished. I always had plans on adding, removing, redoing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wspangler01 Posted April 26, 2020 Author Share Posted April 26, 2020 Currently the tank has been filled with water for 6 days. The rock in the tank was cycled since October or November in a 34 gallon brute. I added it to the tank a few days ago and used some fritz turbo start. I don't think this was necessary, but dont see any negative effects in doing so. Later this week I'll move some frags over from my stock tank to the 150 as testers. I'll wait a few days and as long as everything is doing well I'll move some more stuff over. Everything in the stock tank will move over. Itll be about 50% rock with well established bacteria and 50% dry rock cycled for 5-6 months. I only have 2 tangs so not a huge bioload. The bacteria and coral in the stock tank are able to keep my nutrients in check for the most part. I run a couple of tablespoons of gfo in a filter bag if needed, but do not run a skimmer on it.Once this tank is up and running and the stock tank out itll free up room for a frag tank. crimsonvice and AspiringLobophyllia 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 O wow! What an awesome set up. T5’s? Sweet! I like it. wspangler01 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 This is going to be one fun build. Following along. wspangler01 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crimsonvice Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 Nice! Following along. wspangler01 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muttley000 Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 What an awesome build, and knowing what your others looked like I’m sure it will be even better in time! wspangler01 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wspangler01 Posted May 3, 2020 Author Share Posted May 3, 2020 One step closer!Nitrites down to 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wspangler01 Posted May 3, 2020 Author Share Posted May 3, 2020 I changed my bulb combo on my stock tank. I've always ran blue plus coral blus 50/50. I bought a couple antinics to pay around with and really like what I'm seeing I'll probably at this point the plan is 4 x blue plus2 x coral plus2 x antinic. I have not install the orphek OR strip yet. After I do I may change it up again. XBoxxyX and aap15 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crimsonvice Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 Looks nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wspangler01 Posted May 9, 2020 Author Share Posted May 9, 2020 I put my first few testers in the other day. I added some more today. Assuming everything looks well on Sunday I'll add a few more peices. No3= 10Po4= .16Alk= 10.5 Calcium=480 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muttley000 Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 The pic a few posts back is the most impressive stock tank photo I have seen. Looks awesome! wspangler01 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wspangler01 Posted May 11, 2020 Author Share Posted May 11, 2020 I moved everything over yesterday. 24 hours in and the coral are looking really happy. Kcfitz78 and AspiringLobophyllia 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wspangler01 Posted May 11, 2020 Author Share Posted May 11, 2020 The pic a few posts back is the most impressive stock tank photo I have seen. Looks awesome! Thank you. The stock tank is all tore down now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanoreef13 Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 Love this tank!!! Can’t wait to see more pictures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wspangler01 Posted May 17, 2020 Author Share Posted May 17, 2020 The tank is doing really well so far. I added the Orphek 02 strip. I traded some coral with one of my buddy's. I finally got an OG bounce back! I had one years ago but sold it off all my high end corals. It's pretty cool too bc he got it from someone who bought a frag from me. I also got a frag of his Walt Disney, ECC hybrid watermelon, and some something else he wasnt sure of what it was. I have some other stuff lined up. I'm going to wait a couple more weeks before adding any more coral and probably a couple months before any more fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muttley000 Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 Nice pieces! Tank is looking super! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdman Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 I literally love all the color assortments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wspangler01 Posted May 31, 2020 Author Share Posted May 31, 2020 Some new stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wspangler01 Posted June 4, 2020 Author Share Posted June 4, 2020 Coraline algea is starting to take off on the new rock. Some other top downs. Top down veiwing was an absolute must on this tank. I'll get better with my pictures. I've have a decent camera I've never really gotten the hang of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muttley000 Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 Wow, looking very good! wspangler01 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted June 9, 2020 Share Posted June 9, 2020 Crazy color. Look amazing! wspangler01 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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