Custom built marine tank project (pics)

paddy147

Decided to open a new thread with step by step posts and pics to show how we (myself and my girlfriend) get on doing this marine tank.

As some of you may know,Seahorse Aquariams are building a bespoke 300 litre marine tank,bespoke cabinet and bespoke sump too.The tank is being built at the moment and the cabinet will start to be built by Jim on Monday.Hes just waiting for the wood to come in.Seahorse will email us pics of the various stages of the build,so I will post them here,as I get them.:)

In the meantime,while the tank is being built,we have bought in the following items........


1 x Deltec MC500 Protein Skimmer
1 x FMR75 Fluidised Reactor and Pump
1 bag of Bio Pellets
2 x Koralia 4s turbine blowers
1 x V2 Vectron 600 UV Light Sterilisation System
1 x 5 staged "pumped" RO system.





The RO system arrived this morning.

I will get all the other equipement together later on and take a pic of it later on today.

Hope some of you get some enjoyment out of this,and if anyone has any ideas or advice,then please feel free to post and advize or tell us.:)

This is our 1st attempt at a marine tank.
We allready have the large 500 litre Discuss tank and a Tanganyikan tank too,so we have been told that doing a marine tank is the next and most obvious next step for us.

So lets see how we do and get on with a marine setup.........


Regards.:)

fungun

Looking forward to seeing this progress!!! :pac:

paddy147

fungun wrote: »

Looking forward to seeing this progress!!! :pac:

Heres hoping that we have the tank delievered to us in time for Christmass.

Both Jim and Keelan explained to us that the tank has to be left to rest and settle for up to 10 days,after its made,so that the sealant and clear liquid resin seals and sticks to the glass panels propperly.

Should have some progress pics emailed to me on Monday.:)

fungun

well better late and right than hurried and leaky!

paddy147

Well,we aint getting the tank delievered for Xmass,as there was a delay in the glass comming in for the tank.

Oh well.:(

paddy147

Another update after a phone call from Seahorse.

Cabinet will be ready to go on Friday,but tank wont be ready till end of the month or 1st week of new year,due to a delay in the glass company delievering the glass to Seahorse.

Ah well,no point in rushing things,especially when it come to a tank being sealed and water.

vibe666

hoping to have my little one stocked on xmas eve, assuming the water is okay.

nothing quite as grand as you've got planned though, just a little 55L one for a couple of baby seahorses and clownfish for my wife.

I've a larger tank lined up for when they get bigger too as they will no doubt outgrow that one before very long, but it'll do for now i think.

paddy147

vibe666 wrote: »

hoping to have my little one stocked on xmas eve, assuming the water is okay.

nothing quite as grand as you've got planned though, just a little 55L one for a couple of baby seahorses and clownfish for my wife.

I've a larger tank lined up for when they get bigger too as they will no doubt outgrow that one before very long, but it'll do for now i think.

Nice Xmass present for you're wife then.:)

The seahorses are amazing to look at,my girlfriend was facinated by them out in Seahorse Aquariams.

I really like the clown fish,I know everyone has threm and that they are a commonj fish,but they are lovely to look at.

Oh and comgratts on getting you're tank setup.:)

I must have been a bold boy for Santy this year so.:(:D

vibe666

i was in there again today getting some more live sand as i didn't think the 1st bag was enough to give the bottom a proper covering and i was thinking we might be getting something that would enjoy burrowing into it, so i figured it was better to get another bag and put it in now to give it a few days to settle and that it might even help speed up the tank cycle a bit to make sure it's all ready for it's new residents at the weekend (fingers crossed).

still, good things come to those who wait apparently, although i wouldn't know as i'm usually too impatient to find out!

paddy147

vibe666 wrote: »

still, good things come to those who wait apparently, although i wouldn't know as i'm usually too impatient to find out!

I know how you feel.....:D

paddy147

Well,I must have been good for Santy,because out of the blue I got a call from Keelan in Seahorse Aquariams to say the the cabinet was built,and so too was the marine tank and the sump tank too.
My girlfriend drove us down the M50 to have a sneak peek and take some pics.
Also bought a glass CO2 diffusor for the large Discuss tank.
This will replace the plastic diffusor that is currently in the tank.
The glass difusor sits lower in the tank and the Co2 spreads out better in the tank with this method.
Anyway,some pics............

300 litre marine tank (needs another week to seal up 100%).



120 litre Sump Tank


Wallnut cabinet with double doors on each side.




New Glass CO2 diffusor


Existing plastic diffusor.

godtabh

Very cool.

Did you get itto fit a space?

paddy147

godtabh wrote: »

Very cool.

Did you get itto fit a space?

Thanks.:)

It was built to our specific measurements.

Its going into a large open plan area in the house and wil be a "live" room divider with large 7 foot Kentia palm plants either side of it too.

The plants and tank will make a "live room divider".

And the tank can be viewed from both sides of the room.:)

Cookie_Monster

paddy147 wrote: »

The plants and tank will make a "live room divider".

And the tank can be viewed from both sides of the room.:)

great idea!

paddy147

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

great idea!

Thanks.It was my girlfriends idea.:)

Bought the 6 large 7 foot Kentia Palms in Ikea for 26 euro each.They should have been 50 euro each,but Ikea make a "boo boo" on the pricing of them.

I copped it and argued with Ikea that they should sell me them at 26 euro and not 50 euro.

I won the arguement.So it will be 3 Kentia Palms,then the marine tank,then another 3 Kentia Palms,and that will make the "live room divider".:D

P.S-These are usually around 65-70 euro each in most garden centres.

paddy147

Forgot to post some of the equipement for the marine tank setup.

Some pics.Some of the equi[pement is 2nd hand and some of it is brand new.

1 x Deltec MC500 Turbo Protein Skimmer
1 x FMR75 Fluidised Reactor and Pump
1 bag of Bio Pellets
2 x Koralia 4s turbine blowers
1 x V2 Vectron 600 UV Light Sterilisation System
1 x 5 staged "pumped" RO system.

godtabh

any updates?

paddy147

godtabh wrote: »

any updates?

Bit of work and painting being done in the house,and then we should be ready to have it delievered fairly soon.

chris139ryan

looks great so far cant wait to see it up and running

Phil dublin

thats looking awesome!! cant wait to see it when its finnished.

paddy147

Thanks folks.:)

All the walls/plaster have dried out lovely and smooth,and most of it is now painted.
Still have a small bit of painting and cleaning up left to do out in the kithen.It would be too dangerous to get it all delievered now,and then if something happened to any of it,Id be very pi55ed off indead,as would my girlfriend be too.

I better get on the phone to Keelan out in Seahorse and let him know that we havent forgotten about the tank.:D

godtabh

paddy147 wrote: »

Thanks folks.:)

All the walls/plaster have dried out lovely and smooth,and most of it is now painted.
Still have a small bit of painting and cleaning up left to do out in the kithen.It would be too dangerous to get it all delievered now,and then if something happened to any of it,Id be very pi55ed off indead,as would my girlfriend be too.

I better get on the phone to Keelan out in Seahorse and let him know that we havent forgotten about the tank.:D

I'm heading out there today. I'll let him know!

paddy147

We were out in Seahorse today.Paid for the tank,cabinet,and sump in full.

Keelan,and the staff of Seahorse were and are very understanding,and Keelan is going to arrange to deliever all the stuff to the house next weekend.

buzz

paddy147 wrote: »

We were out in Seahorse today.Paid for the tank,cabinet,and sump in full.

Keelan,and the staff of Seahorse were and are very understanding,and Keelan is going to arrange to deliever all the stuff to the house next weekend.

Looking forward to seeing pics of it all set up

paddy147

buzz wrote: »

Looking forward to seeing pics of it all set up

So am I,longest fish tank setup thread ever???:D

A chap off the Irish Fish Forum who is a professional kitchen fitter/carpenter is helping to finish off the remaining carpentry work,so that we can give Seahorse the go ahead to deliever all the stuff to us.

paddy147

Well after a long delay on my side of things,the custom marine tank has arrived and is ready to go.The wallnut cabinet has twin double sided doors for access to the sump on each side.

A MASSIVE thanks to all the staff in Seahorse Aquariams for building this for me and also delievering it and setting it up for me.

All I need now is some live rock,sand and water and we are good to go.

Pics.:D

fred funk }{

Very nice paddy. Looking forward to seeing it full of fish.

paddy147

fred funk }{ wrote: »

Very nice paddy. Looking forward to seeing it full of fish.

Thanks Fred.

With regards to stocking it......Some shrimp,a starfish or 2 and around 3-4 Clownfish.Oh and some soft coral too.

Thats about it.:)


Going to have a chat with Keelan out in Seahorse either tomorrow or Sunday about stocking it.

WIZE

looks awesome

how long will it take to cycle it or does it get cycled ?

paddy147

WIZE wrote: »

looks awesome

how long will it take to cycle it or does it get cycled ?

The live rock does alot of the work and the marine tank will be fairly quick to cycle.

Also have a Deltec MC500 turbo skimmer,media reactor and also a UV light sterilizer under the cabinet in the sump.

I will be having a chat with Keelan over the weekend about the live rock and getting RO water off him,to get the tank up and running.

paddy147

At least I havent managed to kill the Kentia Palm plants yet,my girlfriend is surprised that I have managed to keep the alive and healty so far.:D

Peteemax

Great thread Paddy, had an enjoyable read so far.

Cookie_Monster

Peteemax wrote: »

Great thread Paddy, had an enjoyable read so far.

you should dig out his old one, it's really good.

paddy147

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

you should dig out his old one, it's really good.

Thanks...This one?:)


http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=70056489

godtabh

If you dont mind could you post up the final spec of the thank ie dims, volumes equipment?

Also (again if you dont mind) what kind of money did it set you back in the end?

paddy147

godtabh wrote: »

If you dont mind could you post up the final spec of the thank ie dims, volumes equipment?

Also (again if you dont mind) what kind of money did it set you back in the end?

I will do.

The tank size/measurements increased from the original 200 litres up to 300 litres.That was down to me asking for a slightly taller tank to be made.

The sump is an old Juwel 120 litre tank that was modified and reglassed to make it into a sump.

That will hold around 70-80 litres of water underneath the tank in the cabinet.

I will update the thread with all the equipement asap.

I got a fair bit of the equipement 2nd hand from a well known fish forum.;)

If I bought everything new,then Id be looking at around 2000 2200 euro.

paddy147

Well I have the tank up and running,well temporarily anyway.

Bought a new low wattage 2500 lph pump and as I type this,the tank and sump are being filled up with fresh water.

I just want to test out this new pump,and also make sure the sump and the main tank are fully watertight.

The pump is only 30 watts,yet it pumps/flows 2500 litres per hour,and pumps to a height of 2 meters.So its perfect for my marine tank and its height of 5 feet 10 inches tall.

I will be getting the live rock and sand from Keelan in Seahorse Aquariams on Wednesday or Thursday next.

Happy Days......so far.:D

godtabh

paddy147 wrote: »

the tank and sump are being filled up with fresh water.

You dont really want fresh water in there!

paddy147

godtabh wrote: »

You dont really want fresh water in there!

Its only to check the tank and sump are fully water tight.

It will all be drained down/cleaned out tomorrow and I will be soon making my own salt water very soon by using RO Water from my new RO System and then adding/mixing in sea salt.:)

muckyhands

paddy147 wrote: »

Thanks...This one?:)


http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=70056489

First time I have come across this 'Money Man'. :eek:

Very enjoyable read indeed.

Have fun with your new tank. Cant wait to see what you do with it. :mad::D

paddy147

muckyhands wrote: »

First time I have come across this 'Money Man'. :eek:

Very enjoyable read indeed. :rolleyes:

Have fun with your new tank. Cant wait to see what you do with it. :mad::D

Thanks.

Looking for some ideas what to do with the new tank.

So,what would you do with it??????:D

WIZE

You need moon lights

paddy147

WIZE wrote: »

You need moon lights

Theres plenty of that.:D

godtabh

Any updates on this?

WIZE

have you started cycling your tank yet

vibe666

if he's anything like the test of us, he'll have spent so much on the tank, he can't afford to put any fish in it! :pac:

godtabh

vibe666 wrote: »

if he's anything like the test of us, he'll have spent so much on the tank, he can't afford to put any fish in it! :pac:

Or the girlfriend has kicked him out for spending to much time/money on the fish instead of her

declanon

Hi Paddy147, I'm thinking about buying a FMR75 Fluidised Reactor - what is your opinion, good or bad?

Thanks, Declan

suziek21

anyone know if paddy got the tank up, going and filled ....... would love to see the finish product. am new and about to start a 300 litre tank excursion :-) paddy loved reading your thread

Bebo stunnah

(Thought i posted on here, but internet must have died first)
Have to agree with the rest, very interesting read! It's nice to see a bit of thrift-fulness involved!
I have to ask about the custom stand. I can't tell if its made of real timber or imitation? Was wondering, as I was thinking of a self build (for a smaller tank, but was wondering about prices...

Sleepy

Bebo stunnah wrote: »

(Thought i posted on here, but internet must have died first)
Have to agree with the rest, very interesting read! It's nice to see a bit of thrift-fulness involved!
I have to ask about the custom stand. I can't tell if its made of real timber or imitation? Was wondering, as I was thinking of a self build (for a smaller tank, but was wondering about prices...

I can't see MDF supporting the weight of a 300l tank!