300 gallon SA/CE community build thread!!

[Jc1119]

Awesome tank!! I love your plumbing. It's nice and clean and you'll love the herbie.

Thanks!! Yeah, the Herbie was probably the best call i made on the whole design. I thought about doing a Bean, but i really didnt want it out that far from the wall, so dual Herbies made the most sense for my situation. Completely silent. Ill take some pics in the daylight of the gate valve. i swear the thing is about 90% closed. Its amazing how much water can flow through such a tiny opening when you run full-siphon drains.

 

[frnchjeep]

Thanks! The aquacontroller was an interesting addition. I wasn't going to add one but I stumbled on an app for the iPhone that let's you control every aspect if your tank from your phone. Timers, fans, heaters, pumps, you name it. I can access all system parameters from my laptop and most from the phone. The thing actually will shoot me an email alerting me that its doing something to the system via programming that I set up to suit my needs.

I travel ALOT. And I mean really alot, like around 200-250 days a year I'm on the road. So being able to control from the other side of the world makes sense for me. If I were home all the time, I might have added it a year or so, but for my situation it only made sense to go ahead and do it altogether. I probably won't set he controller up for a bit though. I'm gonna work out all the kinks first, let it settle, then I'll add it. Probably going to eventually set up an auto water changer soon too. The aquacontroller can be set up to do it off a float switch. If I dan make it to where my wife does nothing but feed and watch, life is good...

Anyways, I have water and sand in it. Return side is done. Drain side has one small leak that I'm working on right now. Added more soundproofing on the inside of all the panels for the stand. So far, it's pretty damn quiet. I'll be posting lots if pics a little later on

Thats awesome. You'll be able to do water changes from your phone on the bus. The hobby has come a long way from 5 gallon buckets. Nice to see this project coming together.

 

[Jc1119]

Thats awesome. You'll be able to do water changes from your phone on the bus. The hobby has come a long way from 5 gallon buckets. Nice to see this project coming together.

Yeah, its pretty crazy how far the hobby has come. Might have to set up a web cam too. Fire up the laptop and watch as I do water changes from Australia lol
Its nuts.

I just setup an airpump, canister and reactor in the sump. As much as I love the benefits of airstones, I dont really like the look of them inside the display. So I'm gonna put it in the sump. Rena xp2 feeding a phosban 550 filled with purigen. Gonna play around with this setup quite a bit, but for now Im gonna just run sponges with the purigen and play with flowrates. Eventually, Id like to try to turn this setup into an effective nitrate reactor (Im not getting my hopes up, but I figure it's worth a shot and it'll give me something to mess around with)

Hopefully, Ill get some pics of the fish tomorrow. They all colored up in about an hour. They definately like the new digs!!

 

[NightStorm]

Hell of a thread and build. Subscribed.

Fedex Freight delivered the tank and stand?

How long did it take Midwest to build the tank and stand from the time you placed the order?

Thx.

 

[of1234]

Awesome tank, and getting better every post. Your plumbing is great, I learned a lot

Thanks for sharing

 

[Jc1119]

Hell of a thread and build. Subscribed.

Fedex Freight delivered the tank and stand?

How long did it take Midwest to build the tank and stand from the time you placed the order?

Thanks for the compliments! Midwest had both built in less than 3 weeks and freight took 4 days. Really depends on what they've got going on though, because when I first got my quote from them, the lead time was closer to a month. Took me awhile to get the funds, so by the time I actually ordered it, lead time was less because they had less on their plate. Chris was awesome to deal with even with me changing things along the way.

The pic of the tank and stand in the garage with the Fedx truck outside is getting framed lol

 

[Jc1119]

Awesome tank, and getting better every post. Your plumbing is great, I learned a lot

Thanks for sharing

Thanks so much. It's been fun for sure. Now I gotta deal with the controller. Should be interesting

 

[Jc1119]

Cute kid, tank looks great John! Congrats getting it wet. Any closeup pics of the skin for the stand? I would love to see it/do it myself one day.

Kinda spaced and forgot to post these close ups of the acrylic skin. Also a pic of the xp2 and reactor in place.

 

[Rayne]

Wow that acrylic skin is pretty pro. It looks amazing and so does your tank and plumbing work! I love the controller you got and is probably what I will do with my future monster that I plan on setting up. I love all things tech and to mix it with my fish keeping hobby is a natural progression for me.. haha! Is your controller the Apex Lite? What other modules did you get? It looks like you got the 4 & 8 energy bar's.. anything else? Also if you dont mind me asking how much was the tank and stand from Midwest?

 

[pacu mom]

I like the placement of your overflow boxes and the rectangular openings. Chris must have modified things (for the better) over the years. Our 300 gallon tank is nearly 6 yrs old, and the overflow boxes are close to the side wall, making it very difficult to clean the corners.