305 Gallon Build W/ 120 Gallon Sump

GoldFinger

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Apr 14, 2017
186
77
36
37
Ontario
Stellar job with your plumbing! Clean, not over complicated and no short cuts. Well done!
Thanks! I’m a plumber and pretty OCD so I really had no excuse to screw that part up. At least I can help members with plumbing related questions until I hone my fish skills haha.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DN328

GoldFinger

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Apr 14, 2017
186
77
36
37
Ontario
I almost forgot to give a big shout out to everyone who has helped me so far. There have been many members but I have received extra inspiration from these guys if anyone is looking for some wisdom:

Bigfishnut Bigfishnut JK47 JK47 Fish Tank Travis Fish Tank Travis J jaws7777 ragin_cajun ragin_cajun DN328 DN328
 

DN328

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Aug 14, 2014
2,416
1,097
164
Fish Tank
Thanks! I’m a plumber and pretty OCD so I really had no excuse to screw that part up. At least I can help members with plumbing related questions until I hone my fish skills haha.
I'm no plumber, but I can and do appreciate the PVC industrial art. I have the same depth and width tank, just wished I had enough room for the extra one even two feet length. Let the scaping begin.
 

Backfromthedead

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Jul 12, 2017
4,530
6,082
164
Fredericksburg va
Thanks for the kind words everyone. As far as stock goes I originally bought this tank in hopes of buying a stingray and Arowana. I have since changed my mind and am interested in the following fish (I haven’t looked into compatibility issues yet so please help if you can) :

Polleni Cichlid (paratillapia polleni)
Buccochromis lepturus
Electric Blue Carpintis Cichlid
Discus (variety of colours hopefully)
Boesemani Rainbow
Killifish

Need a snail or fish option for algae/sediment eating

I figured it would be more fun having a variety of fish to watch and let me daughter pick and name some etc.
definitely agree with your new choice vs. the arowana/ray. youve got a lot of options with that setup. gouramis, severums, acaras, definitely an array of bottom feeders and a big pleco too.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GoldFinger

Bigfishnut

Silver Tier VIP
MFK Member
Aug 28, 2016
1,638
1,716
904
48
Warren PA
Looks great man! Glad you took the time to do it right. One thing to consider...you may want to do a test fill/run before you do any scaping. You'll want to be sure everything works as planned and there are no issues. Judging by the attention to detail and the careful planning, you won't have any problems at all, but I'd still do it to be sure. Nothing worse than getting a build all together and discovering a change needs to be made!
 
  • Like
Reactions: GoldFinger

GoldFinger

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Apr 14, 2017
186
77
36
37
Ontario
Looks great man! Glad you took the time to do it right. One thing to consider...you may want to do a test fill/run before you do any scaping. You'll want to be sure everything works as planned and there are no issues. Judging by the attention to detail and the careful planning, you won't have any problems at all, but I'd still do it to be sure. Nothing worse than getting a build all together and discovering a change needs to be made!
AGREED. I will be filling the system this weekend if all goes to plan. It’s ok for me to pour the substrate in after the water is filled I’m assuming?
 

Bigfishnut

Silver Tier VIP
MFK Member
Aug 28, 2016
1,638
1,716
904
48
Warren PA
That works fine if the substrate is relatively clean. Sometimes sand will make the water really cloudy. Nothing a big WC can't cure though.
 

GoldFinger

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Apr 14, 2017
186
77
36
37
Ontario
What do you guys use for water when doing your water changes? Hard (tap) water, softened water with salt/sodium or potassium? I can do any of these as my house has soft water and a separate line of hard water. Could you elaborate on what products you use to treat the water? Lastly, what did you do for your initial cycle (fishless, water treatments or other)?
Keep in mind I’m a plumber so I can easily run any type of filtration that may be beneficial, even if it’s overkill.
 

Bigfishnut

Silver Tier VIP
MFK Member
Aug 28, 2016
1,638
1,716
904
48
Warren PA
I plumbed my tank right to the house plumbing and run it through a filter I installed in the stand to remove chlorine. My tap water is relatively hard and pH of around 7.8. Works fine for all my fish. As far as cycling my media...I've been keeping fish so long on such a large scale that I always have lots of cycled media on hand to jump start a system.1110172013.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: GoldFinger

GoldFinger

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Apr 14, 2017
186
77
36
37
Ontario
I plumbed my tank right to the house plumbing and run it through a filter I installed in the stand to remove chlorine. My tap water is relatively hard and pH of around 7.8. Works fine for all my fish. As far as cycling my media...I've been keeping fish so long on such a large scale that I always have lots of cycled media on hand to jump start a system.View attachment 1283665
Nice! I’ll get some filters to remove chlorine as well. Also I’ll do a pH test to see where I’m at.
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store