my wall of tanks project

[sploke]

55 Before the move


After:





A few of the BNs from TTA


So thats where things stand right now. The 55 is still running the canister, after I move the brackish into the 75, the 40B will become the sump and the 55 will be moved onto that system. But, its a start. I'm at work right now and can't see any of the pictures, I pulled the links out of some other posts, hence no comments. So, if you have questions on anything let me know and I'll explain it or just comment on the pics when I get home.

[DirtyDawg10]

It's coming along nicely Sploke. It will look awesome when you're done.

[joephys]

Looks like the project is comming along nicely.

[Emg]

VERY nice Matt ! I like that access space behind the tanks ! That's going to be quite something when it's all done.

What a fun project !!!


..

[JinxXx0085]

Oooooo, the update is looking reallllllllllllllllly SWEETTTTTTTTTTTTT! You rock Sploke! I look forward to lottas more of updates!

[sploke]

Ok, another big update. This is whats happened over the past 3 weeks or so. The 40 gal brackish is now a 75gal, and I'm liking it a lot better. I got rid of the RFUG, and for substrate I'm using mostly sand with some CC mixed in. The tank is looking a little barren right now, but I'm going for a tidal/estuarine look. I am going to try and some some round fenceposts or something to simulate some pilings or a dock end to provide some more cover and structure in the tank, I think it will end up pretty nice.

The Emperor 400 is nice but its such a pain to get primed, since the water level is so low. Eventually I think I'll end up switching to a canister like an XP3, and move the emperor onto my 30gal. Anyway, picture updates.

Just for reference, this is what the tank looked like before, when it was the 40gal.




Currently - full tank/wall shots





Mollies mollies everywhere




Violet goby, who due to being way too thin, will most likely soon be moving into a QT for a while until I can get it fattened up again.


Mudskipper on her perch






A few bbg shots

[sploke]

Then, with the empty 150 moved into place (took like 3 weeks to round my friends up to help me lift it)

The brackish tank and the turtle tank below it. Finally got the empty 150 up above that. Also, my 10gal sw QT tank on the end there.



A few so so shots from the 55





Brackish tank, all cleared up



Turtle


30gal on the bottom left (housing the rams from Emg)

[sploke]

And finally a few full wall shots




So, the next step is going to be moving the fish in the 150 in the middle of the room, into the 150 in the wall. Then, the empty one can move into its new home, the last remaining space. You can sort of see the side of the 40gal tank that will serve as the sump, right to the right of the 30gal. I'm hoping its big enough. I think I'll be able to keep the water level relatively low with an auto topoff system so I don't have to worry about the pumps running dry. I have all the plumbing for the system, so thats the next thing to tackle.

[sploke]

And, new pics. Got the fish moved into the second 150. I also changed the gravel over, I like the way it looks a lot better now. The pics are pretty couldy, but the tank is pretty much cleared up at this point. I also moved the gold nugget pleco from the 150 into the 55 hoping that a) it will be more comfortable, and b) I'll see it more often.

This is the drain setup I put together to catch all the overflow from the 3 tanks, which then drains into the w/d.


And installed:




150 filled





I did run into one problem - There's not enough room over the tank to fit the HOB overflow box on. I was unwilling to accept this and cracked it trying to squeeze it on...oops. Luckily I held onto the crappy PVC overflows I built, so I can at least keep the tank running. I ordered a new one today, as well as one for the 55 so I can get that running on the sump soon as well. I'm going to have to cut a hole in the ceiling sheetrock behind the tank to get it on there...ah well. So yeah, space is tight.

[sploke]

So, thats pretty much a recap of everything done so far. My order from Big Al's came in today, so I get to play with that stuff tonight. It looks like I am going to be able to run the 30gal on the sump system, I'm just going to have to get creative with the overflow setup. My overflow boxes should be here hopefully tomorrow. The 150 has cleared up, and I'm really liking the new gravel - its sort of the color of Fluorite, but a bit less red maybe, and larger particles. Next big part is getting aluminum frames welded up for the other 150, then I can move that in place and start looking at drywall.

[DirtyDawg10]

Wow Sploke!! You've made some great progress. Everything looks fantastic. I love that Mudskipper...what an awesome looking fish!! How big is your Oscar?

[joephys]

Thanks for the update. This is a great thread to follow. Looks like a lot of hard work, but a lot of fun at the same time. Looks great.

[Emg]

Fantastic Matt !

Nice to see it coming along !

[wesleydnunder]

Wow. You've done a great job, Matt. I like the design of the drain manifold. Can you post some pics of the system when you get it running?

Mark

[sploke]

thanks all...yes I'll have a lot more pictures of the back after its all cleaned up...right now its impossible to follow anything, just a giant mess of cords, PVC, hose, and airline tubing. Once everything is neatened up I'll take a lot more detailed pictures. The oscar is about 8". Unfortunately I lost one of the silver dollars last night, found it on the floor. They haven't seemed to prone to jumping, but they get pretty excited about feeding time. There's not much space, about 1" gap along the whole back of the tank where all the equipment hangs in. So, I'm down to 5 now.

[sarcare]

Aww, sorry about the silver dollar! But the tank system looks AMAZING!!

[sploke]

Ok, a few updated pics. Not too much progress, just general organization. Got the last tank in the wall just to get it out of the middle of the room. At least everything's neatened up enough now that I feel alright about showing everyone... As the tanks go right now, From left to right: top row - 10gal violet goby QT, 55gal angels. 150gal SA cichlids. middle row - empty 150 (will be a planted asian biotope), 75 brackish, 10gal SW qt. bottom row - empty 20H (needs resealing, will eventually be qt/growout), 30gal blue rams, 40breeder sump/w/d, 200gal turtle tank.

[sploke]

Oh yeah, right now the 55, 150 and 30gal are all running on the wet/dry system, and it seems to be working out really well. Each one has its own pump to keep things simple.

[zanzimog]

Wow, what a structure. Love the idea of so much space.

The strips of outlets inder the overflows give me the heeby-jeebies, though.

[sploke]

Yeah, hasn't been an issue yet, but even so I think I might shim them out a half inch or so, so if anything drips down the back of the tank, it will be able to run underneath instead of into them.