Tsing's 180 - WIP

[SingAlongWithTsing]

Upgrading tanks so I might as well start a new journal here lol. Hopefully I get everything done by the end of the year.

Check List
[X] Build the stand
[X] Build the light cabinet / support structure
[X] Build the light shroud
[ ] Fit/affix the Black ABS wall
[ ] Build the sump
[ ] Plumb
[ ] Pull out control like the one from Redsea
[ ] Hardscape
[ ] Plant

Equipment List for the 180
- Hand me down 180 gallon acrylic tank with a blue background from my dad.
- Abandoned 60 gallon acrylic tank from my uncle. Will be welding acrylic baffles and turning it into a sump.
- ABS Black background, will be siliconed with ASI Black Silicone (they said it works on acrylics so it's a gamble)
- My old DIY CO2 Regulator
- My old ozone cone copy cat CO2 Reactors
- 3x Netlea AT6 Pro
- UNS Soil
- My old Jebao DCP 8000 as the main return pump.
- My old Jebao DCT 6000 as the CO2 reactor pumps.

Pics of the old 125





All the 2x4s (actual dimensions 1.5" x 3.5") we're ran through a tablesaw to cut off the rounded edges (bringing it down to 1.5" x 3") just to make things easier to fit.


Yeah I know I have a corner clamp but it cracked after like 8 years lol.


The rabbet cuts / detail will come into play later when the stand gets a final coat of BEHR Limousine Leather MQ5-05.

Cut out slots in the access boxes for the optional knitting mesh. The knitting mesh is just to block bugs from getting in to whichever box I'm not using






Hit up CKFishWorld last week for some wood


Quick 5 min scape

 

[SingAlongWithTsing]

100+ hrs total so far in terms of milling, sanding, cutting, and assembling. not sure how much went to painting cuz my dad volunteered for that lol




Tank is 72 x 24 x 24
Stand is 74.5 x 26.5 x 36
Light cabinet is 74.5 x 13.75 x 75.75
Ceiling is just really low

pre-planning the drains and yeah i know the box is reversed lol



Probably just bgonna re-use a bunch of the old return plumbing from the 125 and order replacement slip fittings for the cepex valves

3x Netlea AT6 Pro on 2x 72" x 1" steel angles. The angles are screwed together with 4x 1/4" threaded rods and and a couple of nuts



kinda regret going with 1 large central overflow box instead of 2 smaller corner ones but hopefully the black abs sheet will make it less noticable

 

[phreeflow]

Looks great!!

 

[wednesday13]

Super classy! Great work so far

 

[SingAlongWithTsing]

Welp decided to go with the weldon 16.

Black ASI silicone sticks to acrylic just as well as other silicones from what I can tell but it doesn't stick that well to ABS.
The weldon will melt the ABS and can possibly have a bit of runoff? (not sure what would be the correct word here) but it will bond it to the acrylic.

The ABS sheet was suspended to what the front of the tank would be with an old jebao wave maker and gyre I had laying around.
Ran the perimeter and the overflow holes and then some big x's and zig-zags with the weldon.
Removed the magnets and dropped the sheet down on to the back of the tank.
Used a couple of J-rollers to smooth out the sheet and then promptly laid the foam and bricks on top.

Sides have a bit of a gap, think I might use black ASI silicone to hide em. Hopefully it;ll act like a gasket that'll be enough to prevent any water from getting in the back in case I missed any spots with the weldon.





Check List
[X] Build the stand
[X] Build the light cabinet / support structure
[X] Build the light shroud
[X] Fit/affix the Black ABS wall
[ ] Build the sump
[ ] Plumb
[ ] Pull out control like the one from Redsea
[ ] Hardscape
[ ] Plant

 

[SingAlongWithTsing]

solo moved the 180 back to its new stand



buffed out what I could on the would be sump


baffle install




drilling for the plumbing





14hrs to do the sump (buffing, cutting, install)

had to route out a door on the side to get the sump in, didn't want to uninstall the center structural leg and reinstall


and yeah almost set the stand on fire lol, think the router got gummed up some caulking

plumbing install









+ another 36 hrs for cutting the side panel for the door and getting the plumbing right

 

[SingAlongWithTsing]

Getting the reactors in


Plumbing

Co2 Pump to Reactor 1, Main Pump , Reactor 2 to Main Pump

Splicing the Hydros Flow Sensors in


I decided to go with the 1" versions due to the min and max range. Rest of my manifold plumbing is 3/4"

Cable organization


Paneling and doors front the side of the light cabinet



Getting into the 10" space to tighten the bulkheads

and yes my arms were long enough to reach all of the overflow's bulkheads lol

FTS kind of


Techinically the tank is ready for water but I have to fight Fedex and eBay cuz my pumps got delivered to the wrong house.

Planning on building 2 48" x 18" x 75.75" cabinets to go on the sides of the light cabinet.
Not too sure about the 18" depth yet tbh. 15" Would be good enough to cover the light cabinet and the small gap between it and the back of the tank.

 

[SingAlongWithTsing]

Now for a PAR Reading of the 3x Netlea AT6 Pro

Test conditions


Approximately 36" (33" on tape + 3" from the housing) from the bottom of the tank to the bottom of the diffuser.

3/8" Acrylic center brace, with some scratches


Default settings from the factory


Result


Now to solve how much I lost because of the brace

Approximately 13" between light and the top of the brace. Approximately 517 PAR



PAR meter directly underneath the brace, approximately 397 PAR



397/517 = 0.7678916827852998

so approximately 23.21% loss from the brace lol

so maybe if someone had a similar set up with a braceless tank they'll be at 178 PAR at 36" ?

 

[SingAlongWithTsing]

Building the hardscape support

Weldon 16 + egg crate



Got the wood in the tank some how lol






Soil, about 2.5" in the front and back left, sloping to about 4" to the back right





Used the miniblower used for cleaning keyboards to get any aquasoil stuck in the crevices of the wood out


Transferring plants from the 125 to the 180








Need to do something about that mass of windelov javafern on the right.
Got some reineckii mini, chai, rotala jungle juice, mini trident java fern, and bolbitis heudelotti coming in the mail.
The chai is just gonna be an experiment

 

[SingAlongWithTsing]

Hardware stuff





CO2 reactor is close to silent, clanging is from the K1 lol