JK's - 300 Gallon Build

[siebertn]

I really like how your water flow will be in the tank with the 2 x FX5 returns flowing up and the sump's return blowing down to get all the nasty stuff into the "air".I am constantly fiddling with my intakes and returns to get it just the way I wan't it and as soon as I add another piece off driftwood I have to adjust the direction off the powerheads, intakes and outlets.

Wish I could help with the water marks but unfortunately I have never used acrylic tanks.
The build is looking real good

 

[JK47]

I really like how your water flow will be in the tank with the 2 x FX5 returns flowing up and the sump's return blowing down to get all the nasty stuff into the "air".I am constantly fiddling with my intakes and returns to get it just the way I wan't it and as soon as I add another piece off driftwood I have to adjust the direction off the powerheads, intakes and outlets.

Wish I could help with the water marks but unfortunately I have never used acrylic tanks.
The build is looking real good

The goal is not to have to use powerheads at all. I thought the returns through for a long time before drilling anything. I want the bottom looking clean as if it were bare bottom but have a deep sand bed. The bottom of the tank will be wide open since the driftwood is being mounted to the top of the tank. The sump is really only for circulation, heater stash and for the drip system. The dual FX5's should handle the tank no problem on their own but I can service them more often being over-filtered this way.

If you notice on the each end of the tank, there is a pick up for for an FX5 on the bottom and a pickup for the sump on the top. One thing I always hated about my 220 being 30" tall is it made mechanical a nightmare trying to get solids to the top of the tank. This is the best coverage I can think of with everything still looking clean.

 

[Michiba54]

B ) Have you made an progress with the scratches?

U ) What are you gonna stock that beast with?

M) Why are there always beer cans in your photos?
P) How hard is it to make cabinet doors? Make sure you can get your sump/box thingy in/out

aaannnnnd, My work here is done...

 

[JK47]

B ) Have you made an progress with the scratches?

U ) What are you gonna stock that beast with?

M) Why are there always beer cans in your photos?
P) How hard is it to make cabinet doors? Make sure you can get your sump/box thingy in/out

aaannnnnd, My work here is done...

lol Michiba!

B) No progress with the scratches.. I head to TAP this Saturday to get advice and hopefully some cut pieces of acrylic.

U) All of the SA cichlid stock in my 220g currently, not many would care about since it's not the usual gars, cichla, rays and aros... I have certain taste and have been keeping fish long enough to know what I like. I would consider a black arowana though if the tank were wider than 24". I don't know enough about them to know if one could go in this size tank for life.
x7 Geophagus Abalios (7"-8")
x2 Uaru Amphiacanthoides (7"-9")
x3 Heros Rotkeil (3"-7") (one will go when they pair up.
x1 Heros Efasciatus "Gold" (7")
x? what ever else I decide on keeping in the future. The larger tank = options down the road.

M) Beer cans are only there for size reference. I have to pay a full time team of people to drink them just so you guys have a visual reference. What a team player I am lol (don't drink beer and drill holes in big tanks kiddies!)

P) Doors are not hard at all. The sump actually slides in through the side of the stand because of the width of the sump needed. I overbuild the crap out of this stand so I limited my options on space. I would have never used 2"x6" since it's such overkill/not needed but the wood was free from my job so, meh, why not...

 

[Michiba54]

Challenge for you guys.. How to get rid of these hard water/salt stains? The tank has never seen marine salt since new but there are some serious stains that I believe are from general FW salt (bought the tank from a koi distributor). I'm reposting this pic to give you an example of what I am talking about. FYI, vinegar will not touch it.. I know I will have to buff the tank but was hoping to get this crap off first to prevent further scrathing.

Any thoughts of getting it off or just buffing it out? Will that scratch the surface further?
I will be visiting TAP plastics to buy the compounds for buffing tomorrow. Any suggestions on what has worked from your experience?

View attachment 511023

Didn't think of this last night, but you could almost razor blade alot of that off, just wet the surface first... not sure how safe that would be on acrylic however.

Also mixing vinegar and baking soda into a paste then rub it on with a scrubby, let it sit for afew mins, then wipe with a damp cloth. Use that on my turtle tanks.

 

[JK47]

Also mixing vinegar and baking soda into a paste then rub it on with a scrubby, let it sit for afew mins, then wipe with a damp cloth. Use that on my turtle tanks.

I never thought of making a paste. Are your turtle tanks acrylic? If so I will give that a shot tonight and let you know. Thanks man!

 

[Conner]

Also mixing vinegar and baking soda into a paste then rub it on with a scrubby, let it sit for afew mins, then wipe with a damp cloth. Use that on my turtle tanks.

+1 on this. Just be careful when you're rubbing it in, you don't want to scratch the surface with whatever your using to rub it in. This is a great cleaning aid for all sorts of things.

 

[DaveB]

Hey Justin, this all looks great!

If you get it young, you could definitely keep a black aro in there for a very long time. They don't grow super fast, especially if you're not a heavy feeder. My black has only grown about 2 inches in the last YEAR.

Any idea how much that tank weighs? I ask because my measurements and calculations suggest that I can fit a 96x24x30 in through my narrow hall and narrow/short doorway after all... having a window across the hall allows it if we're very careful with the tilting. But the tilting would have such a small margin for error that it could not weigh a ton (like my glass tank of that size did). I have no idea what an acrylic 300 might weigh... anyone have a ballpark figure for it? Ultimately, a 240 will do just fine I think, but I'm just curious.

 

[JK47]

Hey Dave! If I had to take a rough guess, I would say about 300-350 lbs. I can move it myself with just the help of one other guy. Thanks for the info on the black aro. Never kept one but have always kind of wanted to.

 

[DaveB]

You should definitely get a young one... maybe 6-8" or so, whatever is big enough that it won't be terrified of your other fish.