My 180g peninsula build

Ortho281 · Dec 11, 2016

Great start! I'm a sucker for Peninsula builds as well. Following along!

Daniel Strickland · Dec 11, 2016

Ortho281 said:
Great start! I'm a sucker for Peninsula builds as well. Following along!

Thanks Doc, glad to have you along. I read your build thread as well from start till end so don't be to shocked when you see some of your ideas in my build!!

ourcoralreef · Dec 11, 2016

Following really cool
I never qt a cuc since parasites wont stick to them a rinse of same temp water should be fine
Add the cuc once your tank is finished its cycle
Make sure to feed them until they can survive on their own

Daniel Strickland · Dec 11, 2016

Making water...

Pretty much spent all day to paint my "water closet" and put my finishing touches on.. plus two trips to town for plumbing I didn't have.. (I live about ten miles from town).. but I got it done..

Daniel Strickland · Dec 16, 2016

Been a busy week, still waiting on the tank and stand to arrive but plenty to do to prepare.

First off I assembled my skimmer and got it running in water/vinegar.

Next, my wife picked up a tank for me from PetCo. Gonna try and use it for my QT system. Trying to cycle it with the Red Sea Mature Pro system. Going good so far.

Got my Rain 2 ATS in. Looks good

Pretty much have every major component in, all the plumbing, just need the tank!! Still lots to do as far as water change ATO, dosing, and other thinks I'm sure I haven't even thought of. But I am ready for a tank. Hopefully next week sometime.

justingraham · Dec 16, 2016

Nice build thread going on here

G8trBait16 · Dec 16, 2016

Definitely following along for the ride. It is looking like a great build so far!

Daniel Strickland · Dec 16, 2016

G8trBait16 said:
Definitely following along for the ride. It is looking like a great build so far!

Great to have you along..

justingraham said:
Nice build thread going on here

Thanks!!

Feel free to point out mistakes or make suggestions.. I am greener than algae at this.. 90% of my knowledge came from the people on this forum..

Daniel Strickland · Dec 21, 2016

Good news!! Go to pick up my tank and stand Thursday!!
Fish Pros Amarillo Tx. Anthony and John are great guys to work with.. Really helped me out a lot..

Finally pulled the trigger on lights........... AI Hydra 52's. 2 too begin with but will add a third soon..

Not a lot of work to do till the tank arrives but I have been "tinkering"

Had to add a booster pump to my RO/DI system..

Got the fitting converted to standard sizes on my roller filter..

And started playing around with stand ideas for my Rain 2 ATS...

ourcoralreef · Dec 21, 2016

Daniel Strickland said:
Good news!! Go to pick up my tank and stand Thursday!!

And started playing around with stand ideas for my Rain 2 ATS...

Awesome

I was thinking you can just cut a hole in the standpipe and soft tube through it to the algae scrubber

Daniel Strickland · Dec 22, 2016

TODAY IS THE DAY!!!

Unless there is a problem I should get to make the 300 mile round trip journey to pick up my tank and stand this afternoon...

And maybe have a steak at the Big Texan in Amarillo!!

Daniel Strickland · Dec 23, 2016

Nasty weather but got the tank and stand home!!

Also got the flooring completed today!!

Enough is enough tho. Going to bed. Better pics tomorrow..

Daniel Strickland · Dec 23, 2016

Got started tonight...so where do you start??? The beginning... the Thelieng Roller Mat.
I knew all along I didn't have enough height to put it over the sump but the drain has to be over 9 1/2 inches.
Now I'm not a guy that can "visualize" this kind of stuff, I pretty much gotta have it in front of me to lay it out and come up with a solid plan.. so I put the stand up on a bench and put the sump and roller filter in.

Did some measuring and decided on a 9" stand
Dusted off my fabbing skills and went to work.......

Been years since I have done any aluminum welding. To say I struggled a little would be a understatement...

But I got'er done...

And started planning the next step.. got to drill a hole in the side of my sump for the roller filter to drain into, but that won't be a problem..

Enough for tonight.. tomorrow is Christmas at the in-laws, but maybe can get a little work done tomorrow night..

Daniel Strickland · Dec 25, 2016

Back to the shop after a day with family..

Project for tonight... light rack..

I want a free standing peninsula style tank.. clean look, so some reinforcements are in order..

At this point I have pretty much decided I WAY over engineered this mount but I am committed so nothing to do but plow on ahead.. gonna be uber stout I am thinking..

Ok it's late enough. Gonna call it quits... for some help lined up for tomorrow hopefully get to move it all into the house and set the tank..

Merry Christmas all!!!

P.S. love this 80/20 but still think it is over priced........

Daniel Strickland · Dec 25, 2016

Tank is in the house and on the stand.

Wind was bowing like crazy today so we had a hard time getting things done. Had a bit of a disaster with the stand when the wind caught one of the doors

Can't make a omelette unless you break a few eggs right?? I'll call the cabinet maker Tuesday and order a new door.

Got the electrical all wired up but need some tie downs and a box cover.

Start plumbing tomorrow.

Now a question. The drains they shipped with the tank are durso style. Should I change to herbie style?? I am thinking I should but not sure if it's worth it or not.

tj w · Dec 25, 2016

Following along, very nice build here!

Daniel Strickland · Dec 26, 2016

tj w said:
Following along, very nice build here!

Thanks glad to have you along..

ourcoralreef · Dec 26, 2016

Daniel Strickland said:
Tank is in the house and on the stand.

Wind was bowing like crazy today so we had a hard time getting things done. Had a bit of a disaster with the stand when the wind caught one of the doors

Can't make a omelette unless you break a few eggs right?? I'll call the cabinet maker Tuesday and order a new door.

Got the electrical all wired up but need some tie downs and a box cover.

Start plumbing tomorrow.

Now a question. The drains they shipped with the tank are durso style. Should I change to herbie style?? I am thinking I should but not sure if it's worth it or not.

I like the herbie method with the backup stand pipe not sure if you want to be drilling another hole into the bottom of the tank
but i feel you get a quieter drain, less detritus in the overflow and adds controlled flow through the sump

Daniel Strickland · Dec 26, 2016

ourcoralreef said:
I like the herbie method with the backup stand pipe not sure if you want to be drilling another hole into the bottom of the tank
but i feel you get a quieter drain, less detritus in the overflow and adds controlled flow through the sump

Sorry guess I should have been more specific.. this tank has dual Durso drain pipes 1 1/4".. and dual return. So I could convert this to Herbie style fairly easily I am thinking. But is 1 full flow drain enough for this size of a tank?? How much added flow do you get from the overflow on a herbie??

ourcoralreef · Dec 26, 2016

Daniel Strickland said:
Sorry guess I should have been more specific.. this tank has dual Durso drain pipes 1 1/4".. and dual return. So I could convert this to Herbie style fairly easily I am thinking. But is 1 full flow drain enough for this size of a tank?? How much added flow do you get from the overflow on a herbie??

The stand pipe drain is in case the herbie gets clogged i wouldn't set it up without the backup since the herbie is low its prone to clogging anything can do it a snail a fish whatever
Flow depends on the return pump and how much you restrict the cutoff valve
Good flow is good (one of the reasons so detritus and other bad stuff doesn't settle)
but to much flow is bad (the point of a sump is to let the water go through algae bacteria skimmer or whatever else you have in there)