Cali Kid Corals

Dave’s 230 Gallon Reef

Chromis said:
That’s a great looking setup, with that size tank you would be able to keep the bigger fish or large schools of smaller fish. Is there a reason you went with 29” instead of 30”? Sometimes custom MFRs have standard glass sizes they usually cut and it’s less expensive to go with one of their standard dims. Wondering if there’s a 30” doorway involved...
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Maybe he's superstitious with numbers? Maybe even more like me he had to minimize the space it comes out from the wall for wife acceptance? I definitely rocked the boat going from 24" to 30". I tell myself in the future I'd go 28" with external overflow. Maybe that's also due in part to buster posey (#28) tho...
Also, I'd like to go from 24" high up a bit. 31" would be absolute max, but for eases of working on things and the fact that I like it when depth and height are the same, I think 28" is about perfect for me.
The door comment sounds like you've considered this before though Liz!
 
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Chromis said:
That’s a great looking setup, with that size tank you would be able to keep the bigger fish or large schools of smaller fish. Is there a reason you went with 29” instead of 30”? Sometimes custom MFRs have standard glass sizes they usually cut and it’s less expensive to go with one of their standard dims. Wondering if there’s a 30” doorway involved...
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The 29” came from a railing that sticks out from the wall. I wanted to keep the tank flush with the railing.


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RandyC said:
Calcium reactor will not replenish all trace elements. You'll still need to keep up with water changes or dose trace.

I personally don't think I would set up a tank without a calcium reactor anymore except for maybe 20 gallons or less. Heck, I've even set up a carx on a 25 gallon tank. For a 300 gallon tank, there's no way I'd want to mix that much 2-part all the time.

I currently have two reactors set up on two different tanks. One a Vertex and the other a Geo. If I had another build to do, I'd go with a Geo again.

I just noticed we're neighbors; I'm in Castro Valley as well. Swing by sometime, you can take a look at my carx setups to give you some ideas.
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I would love to check out your carx setup. I will pm you in a couple of weeks. Thanks for the offer!
 
With the help of some great friends and BAR suction cups that ashburn2k delivered, the tank is now in my house! We couldn’t have gotten the tank onto the stand without the suction cups. Now it’s time to start plumbing.

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ddrueckh said:
With the help of some great friends and BAR suction cups that ashburn2k delivered, the tank is now in my house! We couldn’t have gotten the tank onto the stand without the suction cups. Now it’s time to start plumbing.
Dude that looks awesome

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sfsuphysics said:
Sweet looking tank, can't wait to see that sucker lit up
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Talking about lighting, my light fixture arrived yesterday. I’m going old school and will be rocking T5. It is an 8 bulb ATI SunPower fixture. These are proven to grow SPS. Down the road, I always have the option of adding a Reef Brite strip or a couple of Kessils for shimmer. I am still debating the best way to mount this fixture over the tank. It weighs about 30lbs. I’m not sure if I just want to hang it on wires or build some type of floating canopy. My ceiling is 13’ tall in this room.

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ddrueckh said:
Talking about lighting, my light fixture arrived yesterday. I’m going old school and will be rocking T5. It is an 8 bulb ATI SunPower fixture. These are proven to grow SPS. Down the road, I always have the option of adding a Reef Brite strip or a couple of Kessils for shimmer. I am still debating the best way to mount this fixture over the tank. It weighs about 30lbs. I’m not sure if I just want to hang it on wires or build some type of floating canopy. My ceiling is 13’ tall in this room.

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Well, you can’t go wrong with that many T5s. That’s a pretty high ceiling, maybe a wall brace like @Gablami ‘s canopy might do the trick?
 
Just a quick update. I hung my light fixture and started building a canopy. The top of the canopy will be open to let hot air from the light fixture escape. It will also allow me to easily feed the fish from the top. The canopy is easily removed by sliding it forward. I have the same brand/color stain that was used for the stand. I just need to practice applying it so the color of the canopy matches the stand. CDA applied the stain pretty thick to get the dark mocha color. I am not sure if they even wipe it off after applying it. I will practice on some scrap wood before applying stain to the canopy.

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Without the canopy, the light was too distracting. I sanded the canopy today, plan to add moulding to the top to match the stand and it will be stained to match the stand as well. When finished, I think it will look good. Stay tuned...
 
ddrueckh said:
Without the canopy, the light was too distracting. I sanded the canopy today, plan to add moulding to the top to match the stand and it will be stained to match the stand as well. When finished, I think it will look good. Stay tuned...
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I can relate. The open look is nice, but the glare is a real pain.
The canopy also hides the waterline as a bonus.
I was just going to comment that a bit of moulding would help...but seems that is the plan.
Should end up looking great.
 
I added moulding to the canopy and stained it. I still need to add a couple coats of finish. I also added an electric panel to the stand. My plumbing supplies will be here at the end of the week. Once plumbed I will do a water test. I also ordered a Life Reef Skimmer for the System.

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