hatfielj's AGE Build

hatfielj · 03/31/2009, 09:16 PM

I'm happy to announce that I am now the proud new owner of a 162 gallon Starphire AGE Tank!
First some background,
I've been running my current system for less than a year now. Its a 36"X30"X20" tank with a 50 gal sump and 50 gal rubbermaid frag tank all spread throughout one room in our home. I realized earlier this year it was time to upgrade my display while at the same time getting rid of all the excessive clutter in the room. So, I convinced my wife to allow me to get a new, larger display if I promised to get rid of the frag tank and external sump I was running. This would "clean up" the room where the tank is and allow us to use our space more efficiently.

SO, I went with a 60"X26"X24" custom AGE with 3 sided starphire, external overflow box and acrylic euro-bracing. I also had them build a 40" tall steel, powder coated stand with plywood top and bottom.

I ordered the tank back in late January and patiently waited up until about 1 week ago when I received word that the tank was nearly ready to ship. I originally planned on just paying to have it shipped to my door, but it just so happened that my wife and I were on vacation the week that it was finished, so we decided to take a fun little road trip and pick it up ourselves! This also allowed me to get the tank a few days earlier than had I waited for it to ship which has given me time to work on it while I'm still on vacation. Plus we actually saved some money by not having to pay shipping and crating.

So, we loaded up the Honda Element and headed out of Cincinnati on our way to Garland, Texas!
It was a cold, dreary day in Cincinnati as we crossed the Ohio River on a ferry to Kentucky

We made stops in Memphis, TN, Little Rock, Arkansas and Dallas, TX before finally making it to AGE.
Tom was a super nice guy to meet and talk with. He and his crew helped us load the tank in the back of the Element (it just barely fit) and helped us tie the stand down to the roof!
I was a little nervous initially driving with that stand on top of the car, but it did fine and we made it back in one piece!
Here's a shot of the cramped quarters we drove back with!

More to come...

juniormc8704 · 03/31/2009, 09:35 PM

AWESOME JASON!!!

Cant wait to see it come together.

hatfielj · 03/31/2009, 09:41 PM

Thanks, I'm having some issues with my internet connection now so its taking me a long time to upload pictures. Hopefully I'll be able to get it fixed quickly!

hatfielj · 03/31/2009, 10:05 PM

Details of the new system:
160 gallon display with 65 gallon acrylic sump (48X18X17) ~200 gallons total
Will likely add a small frag tank at a later time probably bringing the total to around 230 or so
Skimmer: New Royal Exclusive Cone on its way hopefully soon!
Return: Mag 18
Flow: 2 Vortechs (I only have one at the moment) and return
Controller: Currently using a Neptune Jr., but thinking about upgrading to a Reef Keeper Elite.
Calcium Rx: Geo 610, probably will need bigger in the near future.
Lighting: Giesemann Spectra 2X250 watt MH with 4X54 Watt T5s
Will be using Radiums

First step was getting the tank in the house. This required the help of 5 friends. The tank is massively heavy. We had to turn it on its side so that the overflow box would fit through the door.

Here are some detail shots of the tank:
Starphire glass, PVC bottom, Acrylic Euro-brace

External Overflow with adjustable teeth (excuse the messy loc-line from my old tank!)

Long Views

Stand

Tank on stand

hatfielj · 03/31/2009, 10:13 PM

Next I had to begin dismantling the old tank. I started by transferring all of my livestock and fish into the 50gal rubbermaid tank.

Then I had to disconnect the old display from the sump and leave the frag tank and sump running alone.
Here's a shot of the mess I made in doing so! The old display is already gone in this pic, it used to be on the right.

Next I had to work on some plumbing from the overflow box. I really wanted to keep things simple with this tank. Just one drain and one return. No closed loops.

A better shot of the adjustable overflow and return plumbing. I'll be using a CJ Standpipe for the drain (not pictured)

hatfielj · 03/31/2009, 10:19 PM

Next it was time to hang the light. I just finished this today. My wife insisted that it be hung from the ceiling, so I had to spend a significant amount of time today figuring out how to do that correctly. It actually went surprisingly well and I was able to get it hung in pretty much perfect location in relation to the tank. I was very happy with myself for this!

I think at this point I'm just about ready to start filling it with water. I've got about 40 or so gallons saved from the old tank and I'll use the water that's in the frag system now too. After that's all in there I'll have to start making some new water which will probably take a couple of days to finish.

I'll post more when I've made some head way. Thanks for looking!

Volcano1 · 03/31/2009, 11:53 PM

Hat,
Very nice tank.

Does the adjustable overflow use 2 nylon screws to raise and lower a piece of acrylic or go another rout?
Wanted to do something similar, by having teeth be adjustable.

polywise · 04/01/2009, 04:35 AM

hatfielj,
Cool set up. Do you have a link to the company you bought the tank from?

hatfielj · 04/01/2009, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Volcano1
Hat,
Very nice tank.

Does the adjustable overflow use 2 nylon screws to raise and lower a piece of acrylic or go another rout?
Wanted to do something similar, by having teeth be adjustable.

Yep, you guessed it! That's exactly how it works. Pretty simple, but very useful device.

hatfielj · 04/01/2009, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by polywise
hatfielj,
Cool set up. Do you have a link to the company you bought the tank from?

Thanks! Yes, I bought it through Chris B. at www.thefishgallery.com
Everything was done via email and it was a really easy transaction. I must have about 50 or so emails back and forth from Chris though! He was very helpful and friendly and made the whole process a breeze.
As you probably know A.G.E. doesn't sell directly to the public, but they will sell to ANY local fish store of your choice if you'd rather go that route. Plus, Tom was available via email on a couple of occasions to answer questions that I had. He's a super nice guy too.

hatfielj · 04/01/2009, 08:22 AM

Has anyone else noticed that everytime you type the word R E E F you get wreath instead? Hmmm... Could be april fool's day. Also, I think if you type S U M P you get Christmas Tree Stand??? HA!! Good one Mods!

That link above is supposed to say The F i s h Gallery dot com. (not the wreath gallery!)

Jflip2002 · 04/01/2009, 12:22 PM

Time to update your "current tanks" section! Thats an excellent sized tank. How long did your trip take to pick that baby up? I'll be following along for this..

hatfielj · 04/01/2009, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jflip2002
Time to update your "current tanks" section! Thats an excellent sized tank. How long did your trip take to pick that baby up? I'll be following along for this..

Thanks for reminding me, I'm going to do that now! It took about 15 hours each way, but we stopped overnight in Memphis on the way down and somewhere around Nashville on the way back, so it wasn't that bad overall.

juniormc8704 · 04/01/2009, 12:54 PM

Come on Jason! where is the mermaid shot!

mseepman · 04/01/2009, 01:15 PM

haha...I was thinking that you were talking in some kind of code that I just didn't understand.

Glad you pointed out the April Fools joke cause I was busy trying to figure out what a wreath store was!

hatfielj · 04/01/2009, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by juniormc8704
Come on Jason! where is the mermaid shot!

Ha Ha Ha! Well, I forgot about that! At this point she'd have to do an underwater mermaid shot because the tank is currently filling with water. I'll see what I can do, but don't get your hopes up!

Jflip2002 · 04/01/2009, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by hatfielj
Ha Ha Ha! Well, I forgot about that! At this point she'd have to do an underwater mermaid shot because the tank is currently filling with water. I'll see what I can do, but don't get your hopes up!

Hmmmm.... Thatd be a quick way to make "tank of the month"

kidding.... no, but really lol

BreadmanMike · 04/01/2009, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jflip2002
Hmmmm.... Thatd be a quick way to make "tank of the month" kidding.... no, but really lol

IIRC your wife is quite the eye catcher.

You should stick her in the cube.

juniormc8704 · 04/01/2009, 07:14 PM

no salt? play ball!

juniormc8704 · 04/01/2009, 07:15 PM

when you get it all setup, make sure you make the trip north. Ill hook you up with some frags and such...im running out of room...

hatfielj · 04/01/2009, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by juniormc8704
when you get it all setup, make sure you make the trip north. Ill hook you up with some frags and such...im running out of room...

Well, you definitely don't have to twist my arm for an offer like that! Thanks Paul!

Update on the build...The tank is currently filling with water, I'm probably about a third of the way there and I hope to have it ready for transferring everything back over tomorrow night sometime.
I'll post some more pics soon.

grundig5 · 04/14/2009, 12:43 PM

Great looking build, coming together very nicely. I'm glad to see you got the light hung safely as well, its nerve wracking hanging that thing up there.

I read about your ballast issues, i'm so sorry that happened! It wasnt a problem in my apartment, but the high pitched noise was. I confirmed the noise with a few others who own the same light and they got the noise using the g'man ballasts as well. Glad you took care of it

Must be some issue with the german electronics I suppose.
Best
Josh

hatfielj · 04/14/2009, 02:03 PM

Josh, yeah it was simply a matter of electrical interference with the smoke detectors. Luckily I had two Icecap ballasts from my old set up on hand so I just swapped them out. No big deal.
I LOVE the new light. It looks great above the tank and I am already seeing that I won't have as much trouble with heat build up now that I'm running an open top tank.
I'm going to be updating this thread with pics and progress notes soon. The transfer went well with no casualties and everything is looking great already.

~sp0ok~ · 04/14/2009, 05:22 PM

NICE TANK

stunreefer · 04/19/2009, 04:09 PM

Awesome tank

... and light!

03/31/2009, 09:16 PM	#1
hatfielj Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 1,234	hatfielj's AGE Build I'm happy to announce that I am now the proud new owner of a 162 gallon Starphire AGE Tank! First some background, I've been running my current system for less than a year now. Its a 36"X30"X20" tank with a 50 gal sump and 50 gal rubbermaid frag tank all spread throughout one room in our home. I realized earlier this year it was time to upgrade my display while at the same time getting rid of all the excessive clutter in the room. So, I convinced my wife to allow me to get a new, larger display if I promised to get rid of the frag tank and external sump I was running. This would "clean up" the room where the tank is and allow us to use our space more efficiently. SO, I went with a 60"X26"X24" custom AGE with 3 sided starphire, external overflow box and acrylic euro-bracing. I also had them build a 40" tall steel, powder coated stand with plywood top and bottom. I ordered the tank back in late January and patiently waited up until about 1 week ago when I received word that the tank was nearly ready to ship. I originally planned on just paying to have it shipped to my door, but it just so happened that my wife and I were on vacation the week that it was finished, so we decided to take a fun little road trip and pick it up ourselves! This also allowed me to get the tank a few days earlier than had I waited for it to ship which has given me time to work on it while I'm still on vacation. Plus we actually saved some money by not having to pay shipping and crating. So, we loaded up the Honda Element and headed out of Cincinnati on our way to Garland, Texas! It was a cold, dreary day in Cincinnati as we crossed the Ohio River on a ferry to Kentucky We made stops in Memphis, TN, Little Rock, Arkansas and Dallas, TX before finally making it to AGE. Tom was a super nice guy to meet and talk with. He and his crew helped us load the tank in the back of the Element (it just barely fit) and helped us tie the stand down to the roof! I was a little nervous initially driving with that stand on top of the car, but it did fine and we made it back in one piece! Here's a shot of the cramped quarters we drove back with! More to come...

03/31/2009, 09:35 PM	#2
juniormc8704 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Michigan Posts: 891	AWESOME JASON!!! Cant wait to see it come together. __________________ Junior Click on the Red House to see my reef! Current Tank Info: 300 Gallon In-Wall display, 1000 gallon total volume under construction

03/31/2009, 11:53 PM	#7
Volcano1 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: North Central Illinois. Posts: 1,233	Hat, Very nice tank. Does the adjustable overflow use 2 nylon screws to raise and lower a piece of acrylic or go another rout? Wanted to do something similar, by having teeth be adjustable. __________________ . Current Tank Info: 420,96x36x28,100 sump,100 Cheato fuge,4 luminarc large x 400 se Radium 20k , wavebox x 3, 3 - 6105, 1- 6200, Volcano 1864, , Aquatronica Touch controller, Turbo Aquatics L8 Gen 4 ATS

04/01/2009, 04:35 AM	#8
polywise OLD SCHOOL-ish Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Somers, NY Posts: 889	hatfielj, Cool set up. Do you have a link to the company you bought the tank from? __________________ Jim C.

04/01/2009, 12:22 PM	#12
Jflip2002 Eagles & Tigers Fan Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 3,543	Time to update your "current tanks" section! Thats an excellent sized tank. How long did your trip take to pick that baby up? I'll be following along for this.. __________________ I hate cheap powerheads. Current Tank Info: 40g Breeder

03/31/2009, 09:41 PM	#3
hatfielj Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 1,234	Thanks, I'm having some issues with my internet connection now so its taking me a long time to upload pictures. Hopefully I'll be able to get it fixed quickly!

03/31/2009, 10:05 PM	#4
hatfielj Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 1,234	Details of the new system: 160 gallon display with 65 gallon acrylic sump (48X18X17) ~200 gallons total Will likely add a small frag tank at a later time probably bringing the total to around 230 or so Skimmer: New Royal Exclusive Cone on its way hopefully soon! Return: Mag 18 Flow: 2 Vortechs (I only have one at the moment) and return Controller: Currently using a Neptune Jr., but thinking about upgrading to a Reef Keeper Elite. Calcium Rx: Geo 610, probably will need bigger in the near future. Lighting: Giesemann Spectra 2X250 watt MH with 4X54 Watt T5s Will be using Radiums First step was getting the tank in the house. This required the help of 5 friends. The tank is massively heavy. We had to turn it on its side so that the overflow box would fit through the door. Here are some detail shots of the tank: Starphire glass, PVC bottom, Acrylic Euro-brace External Overflow with adjustable teeth (excuse the messy loc-line from my old tank!) Long Views Stand Tank on stand

03/31/2009, 10:13 PM	#5
hatfielj Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 1,234	Next I had to begin dismantling the old tank. I started by transferring all of my livestock and fish into the 50gal rubbermaid tank. Then I had to disconnect the old display from the sump and leave the frag tank and sump running alone. Here's a shot of the mess I made in doing so! The old display is already gone in this pic, it used to be on the right. Next I had to work on some plumbing from the overflow box. I really wanted to keep things simple with this tank. Just one drain and one return. No closed loops. A better shot of the adjustable overflow and return plumbing. I'll be using a CJ Standpipe for the drain (not pictured)

03/31/2009, 10:19 PM	#6
hatfielj Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 1,234	Next it was time to hang the light. I just finished this today. My wife insisted that it be hung from the ceiling, so I had to spend a significant amount of time today figuring out how to do that correctly. It actually went surprisingly well and I was able to get it hung in pretty much perfect location in relation to the tank. I was very happy with myself for this! I think at this point I'm just about ready to start filling it with water. I've got about 40 or so gallons saved from the old tank and I'll use the water that's in the frag system now too. After that's all in there I'll have to start making some new water which will probably take a couple of days to finish. I'll post more when I've made some head way. Thanks for looking!

04/01/2009, 08:22 AM	#11
hatfielj Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 1,234	Has anyone else noticed that everytime you type the word R E E F you get wreath instead? Hmmm... Could be april fool's day. Also, I think if you type S U M P you get Christmas Tree Stand??? HA!! Good one Mods! That link above is supposed to say The F i s h Gallery dot com. (not the wreath gallery!)

04/01/2009, 12:54 PM	#14
juniormc8704 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Michigan Posts: 891	Come on Jason! where is the mermaid shot! __________________ Junior Click on the Red House to see my reef! Current Tank Info: 300 Gallon In-Wall display, 1000 gallon total volume under construction

04/01/2009, 01:15 PM	#15
mseepman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: BC Canada Posts: 216	haha...I was thinking that you were talking in some kind of code that I just didn't understand. Glad you pointed out the April Fools joke cause I was busy trying to figure out what a wreath store was! __________________ Mark Current Tank Info: 290g Starfire Peninsula

04/01/2009, 07:14 PM	#19
juniormc8704 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Michigan Posts: 891	no salt? play ball! __________________ Junior Click on the Red House to see my reef! Current Tank Info: 300 Gallon In-Wall display, 1000 gallon total volume under construction

04/01/2009, 07:15 PM	#20
juniormc8704 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Michigan Posts: 891	when you get it all setup, make sure you make the trip north. Ill hook you up with some frags and such...im running out of room... __________________ Junior Click on the Red House to see my reef! Current Tank Info: 300 Gallon In-Wall display, 1000 gallon total volume under construction

04/14/2009, 12:43 PM	#22
grundig5 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Astoria NY Posts: 169	Great looking build, coming together very nicely. I'm glad to see you got the light hung safely as well, its nerve wracking hanging that thing up there. I read about your ballast issues, i'm so sorry that happened! It wasnt a problem in my apartment, but the high pitched noise was. I confirmed the noise with a few others who own the same light and they got the noise using the g'man ballasts as well. Glad you took care of it Must be some issue with the german electronics I suppose. Best Josh __________________ 48x30 shallow tank

04/14/2009, 02:03 PM	#23
hatfielj Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 1,234	Josh, yeah it was simply a matter of electrical interference with the smoke detectors. Luckily I had two Icecap ballasts from my old set up on hand so I just swapped them out. No big deal. I LOVE the new light. It looks great above the tank and I am already seeing that I won't have as much trouble with heat build up now that I'm running an open top tank. I'm going to be updating this thread with pics and progress notes soon. The transfer went well with no casualties and everything is looking great already.

04/14/2009, 05:22 PM	#24
~sp0ok~ Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 503	NICE TANK __________________ The great question... which I have not been able to answer... is, "What does a woman want? Current Tank Info: in the works

04/19/2009, 04:09 PM	#25
stunreefer Reef Hugger Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Submerged Posts: 3,253	Awesome tank ... and light! __________________ -Austin Make your animals Thrive, not just Survive.