AgentSPS' 300 Gallon ***DreamReef***

[stunreefer]

Man 'o' Man Im sooo excited for this!!!

I started re-reading Edwards' thread the other day (never really read it, more like subconcious drooling the whole time )...I'm kinda planning a mini-version of what he had going on, less "mixed" though.

I cannot wait to see what you have planned Erik, regardless its going to be sweet! Congrats again, and keep us posted!

[tgunn]

Awesome! You're planning on setting up the dream tank I hope to set up one day. I'll be very interested to see how this looks as the aquascaping sounds similar to what I'd like to try.

Tyler

[Itaysworld]

This will be a great thread to follow. I'm happy to get 'on board' this early and not have to 'catch up' through months and months of progress, like I have done with so many threads on ReefCentral.

Can't wait to see your plan unfold!

Regards,

[mindytoy]

subscribed!

[Jim_S]

This is going to be a great tank! I look forward to following along

[mcliffy2]

Sounds like you will be doing Edward's tank justice.

One thought if you are trying to save energy - why not sell the Geisseman and chiller and go T5?

[mcliffy2]

Sounds like you will be doing Edward's tank justice.

One thought if you are trying to save energy - why not sell the Geisseman and chiller and go T5?

[hatfielj]

You got a great tank and I'm sure for a great price considering how much that stuff is worth brand new. I'm Jealous!

[AgentSPS]

Originally posted by mcliffy2

One thought if you are trying to save energy - why not sell the Geisseman and chiller and go T5?

Yes good point but to quote myself,

"With power becoming so expensive here in CA, my goal is to keep it as efficient as possible without sacrificing performance or quality"

Halide is the only way to go in order to acheive what I am going for. Much of the rockwork and corals will be towards the bottom of the tank for better top down viewability. I still have worries that 250W halides are going to be sufficient. We'll see...

[clownnrnd]

I think w/ the 250w water clarity will be a absolute must. Have you tried the coral snow by KZ? Do you know how the spread is out of the g-mann?

I see you are running 2-controllers. how will that work? just wondering

Chad

[AgentSPS]

Hi Chad-

I am not familiar with coral snow. Do you have a link?

I was waiting for someone to ask about the two controllers. I was thinking I would just plug everything into both and just let them fight with each other





















































































Okay JK. Basically what it comes down to is that I prefer to use the Profilux as it has way more features and I only recently acquired it too. Not to mention it cost me $$$$! The BioMatix, however, looks super cool built into the facia of the stand. My thoughts were that I could possibly just hook up the basics such as temp, PH, ORP and use it as an expensive monitor. I would not control anything with it. One thing I will say about the BioMatix is that their SAAS (software) blows the socks off Profilux. Check it out:

http://www.biomatixsystems.com/services/

Alternatively I could remove the BioMatix and have some sort of plaque or insert made for the hole.

Final option would be to look into the remote display for the Profilux. If the dimensions were smaller than the existing hole, I might be willing to do some sort of retrofit.

[mcliffy2]

Originally posted by AgentSPS
Yes good point but to quote myself,

"With power becoming so expensive here in CA, my goal is to keep it as efficient as possible without sacrificing performance or quality"

Halide is the only way to go in order to acheive what I am going for. Much of the rockwork and corals will be towards the bottom of the tank for better top down viewability. I still have worries that 250W halides are going to be sufficient. We'll see...

I would not worry about the performance of T5s, IME they put out more than enough light top to bottom. BUT, I do have to agree that for top down viewing T5s are far from ideal, I wasn't even thinking about that. The large bulbs reflect off the top of the surface making it hard to see anything top down - I went with MH for my frag tank for this exact reason.

As far as spread - you could try using blue plus bulbs instead of actinics to get PAR out of the T5s - with 2 T5s on either side, that might give you a little better spread.

[invincible569]

Erik,

Im glad to see things are going well for you! I cant wait to see what you come up with. Also, this was my dream tank too.. but i guess I finally woke up?? LOL.

I will be in touch and most importantly, back into the hobby sooner than I expected.

[clownnrnd]

sorry on my phone don't know how to link. Coral snow is kz/ zeo product. I've heard it will help bind things for easier removal by skimmer which helps clear water.

Chad

[RyanEG]

Subscribed.

Invincible awesome to hear that you are going to be back in the soon!

[FISHSTICK745]

I've seen this tank in person and it is an amazing tank...waiting to see it up and running.

[plankton]

Erik - gunna post move pics? Still can't believe that tank fit through your patio door and onto that high stand in your living room. BIG TANK!

Scott

[moo0o]

Originally posted by RyanEG
Subscribed.

Invincible awesome to hear that you are going to be back in the soon!

+1, also, get ur squaresoft website back =)

[Mike de Leon]

"

[orientalexpress]

you crazy


lapsan

[FURC]

What up Lap aka coralkiller

[AgentSPS]

ARRIVAL

Ready? Here we go….

So I mentioned in my intro that I would discuss freight. I figured it would be appropriate for the Large Tank Forum. Hopefully sharing my experience can save some people a lot of headache. For those who don’t know, the tank came from TX and I am in CA. It was not as simple a just showing up with a truck and hauling it away (though it did cross my mind). The first challenge was finding a company that had experience crating such large and fragile items. I was given the number of a local UPS Freight rep who put me in touch with a company called Craters and Freighters. This is who UPS uses so they had to be good right?

Speaking with C&F, they were definitely competent and were asking me all the right questions. A few things that were particularly attractive to me:

1) They handle EVERYTHING. I pay one check and have one neck to choke
2) C&F picks up all items, crates and packages appropriately
3) They offer 3rd party insurance through Firemen’s Fund. I used to have Firemen’s Fund for my insurance and they are reputable.

Admittedly I almost had a heart attack when I got the final estimate!! For anyone who plans on buying a large tank, don’t neglect to budget for the freight! I did but had to adjust my freight budget by about 200% in the end!!!

Okay so here goes the visual stimulation…..

Wood crate in back is tank. LARGE box in front is the stand. Long box closest to the car is the Spectra light fixture. Chiller, ballast box, and accessories are on top.





Stand weight including packaging:



Tank + Crate:



Popped the top to see if everything is in one piece. Even got a SSSB (super shallow sand bed). Also note 2� styro all around!!






Okay that should be enough to hold you guys over….

[Jim_S]

Very nice car dude

[AgentSPS]

Thanks Jim. She was not too happy about having to share the garage.

Even more ****ed when I had to give her the boot!! 100+ degrees that day!

[AgentSPS]

Originally posted by Jesus
Yes, it fit and it was heavy.


jesus

Jesus-

Thanks again my friend for organizing the move!! I owe you big time!!

Erik - gunna post move pics? Still can't believe that tank fit through your patio door and onto that high stand in your living room. BIG TANK!
Scott

Scott-

Thanks for all your help and helpful guidance!! Sorry we kept you guys all day!!