Cali Kid Corals

Leemar Starphire 290

Kmooresf

Kmooresf

Supporting Member
BARcard
Hi Everyone.

I officially put my deposit down on a new tank. It will be a Leemar glass tank. Starfire on the front and sides with Eurobracing and a double overflow centered on the back wall. Black back and overflow with an additional drain added for easy water changes. Dimensions will be 84" x 31" x 28" (315 gallons). The tank size has changed MULTIPLE times. LOL! Originally was going for a 96 x 24 x 30 (300 gallons) However it was really crowding my entertainment center. shortened it to 84 and made it wider, 32 / 30 tall (350 gallons). However at the very end I got a bit nervouse..........I have EXACTLY 32.5" of space to get the tank through the door. The stand is what I am most worried about, as it will likely be a bit wider than the tank. So in the end I dropped to 31" wide and lowered the height to 28 for easier cleaning.............the stand will be 36" tall.

Ordered through Neptune Aquatics, and I really like Robert there. He has been most helpfull. I LOVE when I find someone deserving of my business. I am a firm believer that all things happen for a reason, so when my AGE quote suddenly jumped by $2000 I found myself at Neptune (by the recommendation of a member here..."Treylane"...THANKS!!). The Leemar tank they have on display at Neptune is BEAUTIFUL, and mine will be very similar. It was WAY more affordable than pretty much everything else I looked at........Miricles in Canada.......AGE in Texas.........All Glass through a LFS...........The guy in Sacramento, also through a LFS. Now Leemar!

So the details of the build are not all finalized. The tank and stand are official. The sump is still in the works........as well as the skimmer and the primary pump. However this is what I think it will be at the moment (subject to change).

Kritter Tank built Sump.........60x 24 x 22 with massive Fuge! (approx 130 gallon capacity sump)
Reef Octopus 6000 skimmer with bubble blaster pump........not sure on the feed pump yet, might take if off my primary pump.
Reeflo Snapper / Dart hybrid primary pump. 1.5" outlet split into two 3/4" returns. (two 1.5" drains in the overflow)
Considering a dual pump setup for redundancy (maybe two waterblaster 5000)
Eventually I will add a Calcium reactor, phosphate reactor (or bio pellets) and a carbon reactor.
Lighting will be either AI LED's or the new Eco-tech Radion (major delay on these to save $$$$ for them. Will be the LAST addition)
Water flow will be two or 3 large Tunze pumps on a controller (probably going to be 3). I love the Vortechs, however my goal with the tank is SILENCE!!!
I will add an ATO system and will be buying an RO / DI unit as I currently and have always used the tapwater deionizer system.


The Skimmer, primary pump, ATO tank, eventual Frag tank and possibly the reactors will all be plumbed through the wall into the garage for added SILENCE!! I will have to show you pics when it gets going as I have a narrow space in the garage to work with, but a long space (about 12').

The goal for the tank is to have a true mixed reef. I have never really been serious enough to take on SPS......other than a birdsnest and some kind of encrusting thing I have growing in my tank now? So I would like to learn a LOT about them and see if I can be successful.
 
So the first thing that had to happen was to start re-arranging the tank room.

The new tank is going to replace three existing tanks. The largest of which is a 110 tall (48x18x29). We decided that for the best layout of the room......the entertainment center is going to be moved to where the 110 is sitting, and the new tank will be on the wall that WAS housing the entertainment center. I am getting Rotator cuff surg next week, so I needed to get this done ASAP.......before I am hobbled. :(

This is the original layout of the tank room..........although the TV got bigger 8)
IMG_0264.jpg

The furnature got moved down to the end to make room for the tank on the opposite wall.
IMG_1509.jpg

Tank finally emptied and ready to be moved. In order to move it myself I had to get creative. I didn't want to re-plumb the entire thing to move it 12', so I used 5/8" dowells and rolled it accross the floor. Sorry I don't have pics, but it worked VERY well. No floor scratches and tank and sump remained intact. Fish did very well, and I removed 8 out of 9 Anemone's, so the poor Eel doesn't get stung anymore. The Anemonies went CRAZY and took over the tank!
IMG_1515.jpg
 
So as always..........the rockwork had to be redone. I love getting a fresh look to the tank, and am really excited about how this version turned out. I ended up with this HUGE cave in the middle, and the fish are diggin it!

My fish swimming in a NICE formation! LOL!
IMG_1522.jpg

The cave!
IMG_1525.jpg

Turned out nice
IMG_1526.jpg


I am SUPER bummed though. I finished up pretty late moving the tank. All the anemone's but one came out nicely. Only one torn foot. I put them all in a bucket with a small heater and an airstone to keep a gentle flow in the bucket. Came down the next morning to a bucket of goo. The heater I used is one I use to heat up my water for water changes and apparently the thermostat was busted. Water must have been 95-100 degrees. Stupid move on my part and It's gonna haunt me.
 
Next was the entertainment center...........

Spent an hour cleaning this up with zip ties........ugh!
IMG_1534.jpg

Ahhh, the future home of my 315!!! Can't help but think it looks small! LOL! I know it's not though.
IMG_1537.jpg

And we are ready for the tank!! I wanted to keep the new spot empty so I could imagine my new tank.....got out voted.
IMG_1548.jpg


That is all I got so far. Robert is designing me a sump so we can start tweaking it to what I want. CAN'T wait. There will be a delay though so my stupid shoulder can mend. WHATEVER!
 
Oh you are going to be so pleased with that purchase, congrats :)

Word of caution... penetrating the fire wall into the garage may be a building ode violation in your area. If you own, I'd look into it.

I did an install down here in Aptos and we had to build a new room with fire door for the fish room due to local codes.
 
Hi Gresham,

Thanks. I don't actually have a fire wall here. This house was built with a full......Unfinished garage / basement. One giant room. This tank room was built by the previous owner..........Not with permits. So I can't count it toward my square footage, however the wall I am referring to is DEFINATELY NOT a fire wall. I will have to look into what would make it a fire wall I suppose. So are you saying you had to get a permit to put in an aquarium?
 
GreshamH said:
Oh you are going to be so pleased with that purchase, congrats :)

Word of caution... penetrating the fire wall into the garage may be a building ode violation in your area. If you own, I'd look into it.

I did an install down here in Aptos and we had to build a new room with fire door for the fish room due to local codes.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure penetrating from a room to a garage is a building violation in any city. Jar (Jon) will know for sure. I had to install 4 fire rated doors just to make code...and it was a pretty penny !

Looking good so far Kris !
 
gimmito said:
GreshamH said:
Oh you are going to be so pleased with that purchase, congrats :)

Word of caution... penetrating the fire wall into the garage may be a building ode violation in your area. If you own, I'd look into it.

I did an install down here in Aptos and we had to build a new room with fire door for the fish room due to local codes.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure penetrating from a room to a garage is a building violation in any city. Jar (Jon) will know for sure. I had to install 4 fire rated doors just to make code...and it was a pretty penny !

Looking good so far Kris !
Click to expand...

I'm 99.9999% sure it is, but that .0001% had me word it that way :lol:
 
Kmooresf said:
Hi Gresham,

Thanks. I don't actually have a fire wall here. This house was built with a full......Unfinished garage / basement. One giant room. This tank room was built by the previous owner..........Not with permits. So I can't count it toward my square footage, however the wall I am referring to is DEFINATELY NOT a fire wall. I will have to look into what would make it a fire wall I suppose. So are you saying you had to get a permit to put in an aquarium?
Click to expand...

Well yah actually. Since the home owner wanted to penetrate the wall into the garage, we had to build the fishroom and that required the permit. It was more then we needed to do, but he wanted to really protect his Ferrari from the fishroom :) The owner didn't bat an eye, the cost was less then his jet consumes when it gets fire up initially :lol:
 
Well I suppose I will have to look into it. Not sure how I could do it though. Unless I build an 18" "room" along the side of my garage. LOL! (not really laughing. :( )
 
IMO if non permitted work has been done, I wouldn't worry about this as that would have to be corrected as well if inspected.

Are you worried about it?
 
IIRC, they make a fire-stop (wrong terminology) expanding foam for just this sort of thing.

That said it really sickens me if an entire area needs to be brought up to code just because he pokes a hole in the wall, make sure what you change is up to code sure, but to have to change everything? Disgusting.
 
GreshamH said:
Kmooresf said:
Hi Gresham,

Thanks. I don't actually have a fire wall here. This house was built with a full......Unfinished garage / basement. One giant room. This tank room was built by the previous owner..........Not with permits. So I can't count it toward my square footage, however the wall I am referring to is DEFINATELY NOT a fire wall. I will have to look into what would make it a fire wall I suppose. So are you saying you had to get a permit to put in an aquarium?
Click to expand...

Well yah actually. Since the home owner wanted to penetrate the wall into the garage, we had to build the fishroom and that required the permit. It was more then we needed to do, but he wanted to really protect his Ferrari from the fishroom :) The owner didn't bat an eye, the cost was less then his jet consumes when it gets fire up initially :lol:
Click to expand...
...my eyes batted alot ! :p
 
I would as well... but someone that started not one, but three networking companies and sold em won't bat an eye. I would make myself small every time passing by his cars. Heck, I didn't like walking on his rugs even :( and one got flooded out at one point (not my fault, I swear)
 
@ Gresham...........just something I hadn't considered. Not sure if I'm worried yet. LOL!

I'm with you Mike. My "home owners association" has to approve any plans to change the interior of my house. A bit much if I want to change the layout of my bathroom??

Jim, that may be my ultimate strategy! LOL! We'll see. It is definately something to think about though. I am fortunate to own my home, so sometimes ya gotta follow the rules to protect your investment. Better to know the rules and make an informed decision. ;)

This project is gonna be AWESOME no matter what! ;) ANY and all of your info / help is welcome and appreciated.
 
I think I see a "midnite tank move" in the not so distant future. ;)

Great seeing another "Big Tank" thread...maybe we can start a "180 gallon or larger build thread." :D
 
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