FarmerTy

No local fish stores I know of carry it but I've heard good things about it. Fishy business carries something similar called Smart Start or something like that. I've used it once but honestly unsure how it compares to Dr. Tim's because I've never used dr. Tim's.

I lined my stocking with a bag just in case Santa didn't plan ahead.

Glad you are getting some use out of that fireplace! Wait, don't you mean your hearth? Haha

He made a bunch of live rock himself so I'm sure the 25lbs is to seed the DIY rock once it cures.

Happy holidays everyone! Hope everyone enjoys some great times with their families and maybe some extra time to their tanks. I'm crossing my fingers that an Achilles tang shows up in my stocking.

Nice! Great DIY action there! Have you used DIY rocks in any of your past builds?

Looking good!

It's because I've been copying your every move!

I'm a big fan of this coral. Give me this over any of those crazy named SPS these days. Looks great man. I was using a grain size slightly larger than sugar fine but not that much more in my old tank. Wanted something that would stay in place better than my current sand as the powerheads blow it all over the place. That's why I went with the special reef grade.

Got 120lbs of special reef grade as well for my new tank. Uniformity looks great in the bag at least. I'll let you know my impressions once I clean it and put it in the new tank.

I recruited for the tank lifting party purely based on how much I think you can bench. Gig'em was the handsome fellow with his cute girlfriend there.

Thanks all! The journey continues... Didn't get a chance to rinse the sand but I did go buy all the parts I would need to plumb the tank and got moving on hard plumbing everything. Sump has been setup for now to cycle the new dry pukani rock from BRS while I plumb and fill the main display. I forgot how bad cycling rock smells! Went ahead and started the RO/DI drip in the main display so that I can start filling it up. Humble beginnings: 12 hours later: Planning on running this thing over night. This is definitely one of the slowest tank fills known to mankind.

No mer-people this time around but here's a picture of the new tank in its new spot. Pretty ridiculous that the new tank and new stand sits higher than my old tank with its canopy on. Awesomeness! A huge thanks to Woods, Gig'em, and Sascha for making it happen with very little notice. It's always nice to know your tank bro's got your back... or willing to save your back at least. It felt like an old-fashioned barn raising... if I knew what that felt like at least. Jaggedfire gets an honorable mention for starting the whole idea and offering to bring dollies as well! Thanks man! Gave it a good wipe down and removed any silicone residue where I could see it from the reseal. I'll snap a better picture tomorrow morning when I have some natural daylight again. Looking forward to at least attempting to get some plumbing done and maybe a bit of aragonite sand cleaning in before the day is over tomorrow.

I am feeling just as good about January myself! Good month to be watching tanks!

It begins!!! Might as well go ahead and order a CaRX and Apex now dude... you've got the fever!

Yowzers! I see why your tank was heating up now when you were running the two of them. At least you have a chiller for now until you downsize.

Alright, got Woods, and two of my buddies that are down for tomorrow morning at 10am. Probably feel better if another 2 people show up but I'm sure we can get the job done. If anybody else is free and wants to join and help, let me know. It will be much appreciated!

I'm running two Iwaki MD-40RLTs. That makes me feel a bit better as I was feeling the 40s might be too little flow.

Oh man, you guys sure are tempting me. Really, at minimum, 4 sturdy guys could lift it... its about 515 lbs off the tank weight calculator I ran. Remember, its 3/4" thick glass. If some people have like 1-hr to spare maybe Saturday or Sunday morning, I think that would do it. The tank is already on furniture dollies and in the fish room already so it would be as quick as 1,2,3 and lift. Then however long it takes to stare at it on the stand and do the standard tank talk time that automatically happens when you get a bunch of aquanerds in the same place at the same time. Maybe even take turns laying in the empty tank and take pictures... How about I throw out a time, like Saturday at 10am? Would some guys (or ladies, I won't discriminate) be available to help me lift my tank onto the stand as an early Christmas present? :-)

So, no reason I picked Iwaki's versus any of the other brands other than a great deal and that was what was available.

Just another external pump manufacturer. I remember something about one of the main designers left Iwaki and started another company like maybe Reeflo or something like that and made pumps similar to Iwaki's design. Only reason I am running them is because I wanted external pumps for my new build to lessen heat input into my system and also wanted something more heavy duty and reliable than my Mag pumps I have been using up to this point. You also get less head loss with heavier duty pumps versus the Mag pumps. Found a great deal for two used pumps and jumped on it.

We talking coral or fish here Niko? Or both?

Well before everyone thinks I abandoned the new build, alas there is progress! Had a bit of a delay as I miscommunicated some welding instructions and had to get the stand rewelded. Since I was done with everything else up to that point, that kind of put the project on hold until the work was done. So got the stand back and primed and painted the new welds. Got it back into the house and started playing with the sump setup. Got a 65 gallon tank as my sump and went ahead and added baffles. I didn't bother with bubble trap baffles as I never had a problem before with microbubbles so I went with single baffles to maximize space in the sump for the skimmer and frag section. Drilled all necessary holes in the glass for plumbing on the sump and ordered all bulkheads and plumbing necessary for the build with the last BRS group buy. My two Iwaki pumps lined up perfectly with the holes in the sump. I will be using one as a external return and the other will be used in conjunction with a manifold to run my various reactors and also serve as a backup return pump in case one should fail. I will place them on top of the same workout gym mat material that the sump is currently on to minimize vibrations to the floor. Already have my "new" old skimmer. Got the ASM G4+ off another member of the club. Its tried and true as I have been running my current system with an ASM G3 these past 3 years with amazing success... so I have no doubts that the G4+ can get the job done. Its a massive skimmer, bigger than my niece! Here's a nice overhead shot of the setup. You can see the gym mat material under the sump. Next step you ask? Getting that brick of a tank onto the stand. Might put out the word that a couple of strong guys may be needed sometime soon but with the holidays, may hold off for a bit until things get back to normal before I attempt that. I'll start cycling some dry rock in the sump for now and seeding it with some old tank water. Hopefully have some more good updates after the new year!

Is there a Ty birthday special? Do I get 1 minute to run around the store with a net and get to keep everything I catch?

PMed