new 300 gal build.

[newtonja2]

Hard to top the previous thread so I wont even try. Heres my attempt at the wow factor. This is the tank from craigslist for 300 I polished it with the help of five o and a couple other friends. thanks guys.
It didnt fit in the nitch where I wanted to put it so I had to tear out a wall and move it a foot and of course it couldnt be easy there was electrical and the original framer loved his nail gun. anyway its in now and waiting for plumbing and some water. what do you guys think?145146147148149

[newtonja2]

you can only post 5 at a time.

[newtonja2]

sorry

[Ghetto Reefer]

wow looks good

[bigronbo]

sweet john

[Narazbad]

Looks great. I love the black wall. Really makes the tank stand out.

[five O]

I cant believe how much you have gotten done since I was there 2 weeks ago. Your work on the wall looks awesome. You really polished out that tank nice. It looks like brand new. Now you know why ATM charges so much to polish. Not because its hard, just time consuming.

[newtonja2]

I cant believe how much you have gotten done since I was there 2 weeks ago. Your work on the wall looks awesome. You really polished out that tank nice. It looks like brand new. Now you know why ATM charges so much to polish. Not because its hard, just time consuming.

thanks but I dont know if Im satisfied yet. I was at ATM yesterday and was talking with one of the builders there about using the rubbing compound to polish out the tanks. there was some concerne about the chemical reantion between the compound and the acrylic. what do you think about this and is it safe for the inside of the tank? you know how it is when you try to do things yourself the shops want to put you down cuz they are ****ed they didnt get the job.

[five O]

Don't worry about it. I have been using car compounds for years. The compounds are pretty much the same as found in Novus or other plastic polishing compounds. Almost all polishing compounds these days are auto body shop safe which ensures they have less chemical and no silicone which can become air born. I have used it on all my tanks with not a single negative result. I just suggest that you clean your tank real well when your complete. I always use Novus last anyways which would remove any residue left by the previous polish or compound and will leave it nice and clear. If you are overly concerned, all you have to do is give the tank a vinegar soak. Just make sure you don't use glass cleaner, since it has a tendency to dry out the acrylic and can lead to crazing from what I've heard. I honestly would not be to concerned about what you used to clean or polish the tank, I would wonder what the previous owner used to clean the tank. Last but not least, don't sweat the small stuff/scratches inside the tank. It will go away when you fill the tank. Just ensure all the deep scratches are gone since they will promote algae growth, or at least give algae a good hiding spot.

[swooshjvm]

Looks sweet

[newtonja2]

Don't worry about it. I have been using car compounds for years. The compounds are pretty much the same as found in Novus or other plastic polishing compounds. Almost all polishing compounds these days are auto body shop safe which ensures they have less chemical and no silicone which can become air born. I have used it on all my tanks with not a single negative result. I just suggest that you clean your tank real well when your complete. I always use Novus last anyways which would remove any residue left by the previous polish or compound and will leave it nice and clear. If you are overly concerned, all you have to do is give the tank a vinegar soak. Just make sure you don't use glass cleaner, since it has a tendency to dry out the acrylic and can lead to crazing from what I've heard. I honestly would not be to concerned about what you used to clean or polish the tank, I would wonder what the previous owner used to clean the tank. Last but not least, don't sweat the small stuff/scratches inside the tank. It will go away when you fill the tank. Just ensure all the deep scratches are gone since they will promote algae growth, or at least give algae a good hiding spot.


I agree fully. I did use novus for the final polish. thanks for your help. I cant wait to get it up and running.

[fishman]

looking good be playing with the big boys soon

[guerrero929]

I can't wait to see what looks like after you have set up and running.
How's the burn on the Hand.... Lol

[newtonja2]

yea I cant wait till its running also. the hand is healing but it was worst than I thought.

[reefkeeper01]

Amazing job, the tank looks great.

[five O]

I have been filing my 300 gallon tank this week and I'm in the process of moving everything over my 100. You don realize how long it takes for the RO/DI to make that much water. I would start filling some barrels now. I have been going crazy waiting for water.

[Narazbad]

I wonder if there's anyone I can borrow water from when it comes time to fill my new tank..:P

[fishman]

Narazbad If you want I will give u a call when im cleaning and doing a water change? ;)

[newtonja2]

i figured it will take a week to fill my system.

[chuck robbins]

lookin good buddy, the wall came out niiiiiiice. if you wanna pick up some water on poker night just bring trash cans,buckets,etc. my holding tanks are full.

[newtonja2]

I hate trying to post pics on this new site but here goes. the first few are when the tank was first set up and the rest are about a month later.443444445446

[newtonja2]

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[newtonja2]

more pics452453454455456

[newtonja2]

more pics457458459460461

[newtonja2]

ok the last of them462463464465

[RickMartin]

Looking good. Didn't take long to fill it up with corals

[five O]

Do you have the chiller hooked up? I did see one in the pic's and I'm just curious how your maintaining your water temp with the sump in the garage. I'm also curious to what type of lighting your running right now. It looks awesome tho. Congrats on the new tank. I cant believe you already have that much coral in there, I'm a little jelous.

[Gyzpaz]

Sweet, You did it!!!!!!
Gian

[Gyzpaz]

Is that the big rock you had in the tub?????

[newtonja2]

Is that the big rock you had in the tub?????

yes it is

[newtonja2]

Do you have the chiller hooked up? I did see one in the pic's and I'm just curious how your maintaining your water temp with the sump in the garage. I'm also curious to what type of lighting your running right now. It looks awesome tho. Congrats on the new tank. I cant believe you already have that much coral in there, I'm a little jelous.

yes I have a chiller 1/2 hp but it was running all the time. Afraid of the elect bill I got 2 fans one over the sump and one over the tank. My temp stays between 78 and 80 all the time.
the fan over the tank only comes on when the lights are on and the fan over the sump stays on all the time. It seems to work good you just have to top off 4 gals every day. Im working on a ATO hopefully Ill get that done soon but there are problems with them too.
The corals are mostly out of my 150 and my bio cube I got rid of both of them and moved everything into the 300.

[Mikeeeee]

Looks good!! Do you still have the dwarf lion in the reef.

[newtonja2]

yes and hes fine accept when I added some blue green chromis. I added 7 now theres 3 left and I think hes been taking them out.

[Xcali1985]

A little off topic, but I am wondering, how do you feed your corals. I currently broadcast feed reef snow into my return section of my fuge it blasts the tank with it. I do this once every other day. Any other tips.

[newtonja2]

same as you