Vegasfish 240 gallon build

Ya deff..Do it.

 

Man it is a lot of work and money doing this build. 180 to 240 would not be bad if you can use the pumps from the 180. if not get ready to spend some cash.

I did get the canopy painted today and added some molding. it came out really nice I'll get a picture up in the morning.

 

Cheers my friend! what a big tank you are getting in to, best of luck
the stand is looking great!

 

I can use the RM300 Sump Refugium, the Marine Pro 300 Protein Skimmer, all of my Koralias. My turbo twist UV sterilizer might even work. Of course the 200 lbs of rock, fish and coral will be close to enough. My 8x54 T5 fixture would be fine if coupled with another 8x54 T5 fixture if its the 240 gal or an 8x24 24" T5 fixture for 180 gal. I will attach the lights to a sliding shelf so I can move it forward and back and keep the heat from warping the top of the canopy. This is something I regret not doing on my 120 gal. So basically I'll have to buy the tank, stand, canopy, more live sand, a T5 fixture, a bigger sump pump and an automatic top off. Some odds and ends and some very strong guys to move it into place. $2500 to $3500 or so... cha ching! I'll wait until I pay off my new guitar and a few other things but you never know... Your dealing with a guy who is very impulsive.

 

I was able to work on the electrical box for my control switches. Here is the pic. Also I relized after getting my protein skimmer set in the bottom of the stand that I needed taller access to it so i removed the doors and cut the openings to 30" tall. I ordered new doors which will be here on the 30th. Then I'll have to paint and mount them.

I am also putting several coats of water proof treatment on all the wood. just to be safe.

 

Your getting there. You always have to measure ahead of time. You don't want to get caught in a bind because of it. It could have been worse, the skimmer could have been too high to fit underneath the tank altogether. I personally like a 34" or 36" tall stand for that reason. I also put a 6" electric light under the tank so I can see what I'm doing inside the stand. That $10 light gets a lot of use. I also screw all electrical outlets and timers to the inside walls of the stand so there is always slack in the lines and no chance of water getting in the outlets.

 

Oh yea. I like the idea about the light. I guess that means another trip to the store.

 

My new doors are here!!!!

I am so pumped. My new doors just arrived and they look great. I will paint and install them this weekend.8)

 

Everything stacked

I was able to get everything stacked together tonight.

 

Looks awesome! My friend was trying to talk me into a 240 tonight after I told him I'm considering a 180. His story is I'll only be adding 60 gallons from a 120 well yeah but a 180 is a 180.
I have a lighting dilemma that is puzzling me and it may take a while until I can figure it out. I may be better off with a 240 after all but I'm just so scared of a tank that big in a condo. Of course I'm on the first floor but even still. Anyway I have an 8x54 T5 retrofit and it's 12" x 47". How do I add proper lighting without a chiller? And at a somewhat resonable price. I paid $325 for the fixture and I bought new better bulbs for $154. If I sell my fixture with the tank, stand and canopy how much will I actually get for it? I'm using all the guts underneath (sump/refugium, Skimmer, timers and UV and all the fish, rock, coral, sand and pumps) So how much will that actually help me sell the remaining pieces. Lets say I can get $400 for the tank, stand & canopy. How much more would I get with the light fixture? Maybe $200-300? Maybe in this recession even less so I need to decide ahead of time whether or not to use it on my new setup and then there comes that dilemma again. Hey I'll figure it out but I'm spoiled with those new bulbs and they aren't cheap but then again nothing is. I'm open to suggestion...