DJ404's 80G Build Thread

[DJ404]

Hi All,

Heres my build thread for my 80 Gallon I just purchased recently. I am new to the forum as well as the saltwater hobby. I have had freshwater aquariums pretty much my whole life, usually having Oscars, Jack Dempseys, Parrot Fish etc.

My plans for this tank is to do a reef tank with a few fish. Will be going for mostly soft corals and maybe a few SPS/LPS's. So here we go!

1. Heres the 80G when I first picked it up from a guy on CraigsList, got it set up doing a leak test on it.

2. I really didn't like the oak trim on the tank so decided to do some painting. Here it is masked up, ready for paint.

Half way painted.

And done :)

Stand arrives on Monday and more goodies arriving shortly after that, stay tuned and thanks for checking it out. :)

 

[BL1]

Before you get it all setup and everything, I would fill it up to do a leak test. And while the water is in there, I would test for copper. You never know if the guys from craigslist treated the tank with copper prior to you buying it. Looks good so far though!

 

[DJ404]

Before you get it all setup and everything, I would fill it up to do a leak test. And while the water is in there, I would test for copper. You never know if the guys from craigslist treated the tank with copper prior to you buying it. Looks good so far though!

Haha you read my mind, I did a leak test before I painted it (see first pic) but just finished doing another one just in case. All seems to be OK, I will definitely be doing a copper test before I start though, thanks for the advice!

 

[Smitty]

It's looking good so far, I can't wait until you have that bad boy filled with goodies...thanks for sharing, we love pictures.

 

[reeffreak]

Black trim definitely looks better.Congrats on the new system.

 

[dcantucson]

The black looks really good. You might want to keep an eye on it and watch out for any paint flaking. Good luck; can't wait to see it up and running.

 

[DJ404]

The black looks really good. You might want to keep an eye on it and watch out for any paint flaking. Good luck; can't wait to see it up and running.

I think I should be ok with the paint not flaking, I used the krylon fusion which is meant for plastics and also wetsanded each coat with progressively higher grit sandpaper.

 

[AdeptMrSniffles]

Awesome paint job. Looking forwards to seeing more progression. Also, I'm sure with your past aquarium experience you know your better off using RO instead of tap. Just wanted to make sure. :Cheers:

 

[DJ404]

Awesome paint job. Looking forwards to seeing more progression. Also, I'm sure with your past aquarium experience you know your better off using RO instead of tap. Just wanted to make sure. :Cheers:

Thank you :) I am planning on getting a RO/DI unit that I can hook up to the faucet, since we live in an apartment and can't mess with the plumbing at all.

 

[AdeptMrSniffles]

Do you have a washer/dryer unit? The guy at my LFS mentioned hooking up an RO/DI unit to the washer line.

 

[DJ404]

Do you have a washer/dryer unit? The guy at my LFS mentioned hooking up an RO/DI unit to the washer line.

We do but unfortunately thats not an option, the washer is located in a basement that I have to go outside and around the house, down the stairs to use. My plans are to get one of these I think, Pure Flo II RO Units

 

[AdeptMrSniffles]

nice, have you checked purewaterclub.com. You may be able to find a better deal on that unit. I know a lot of members here have used them and are happy with the units.

 

[DJ404]

nice, have you checked purewaterclub.com. You may be able to find a better deal on that unit. I know a lot of members here have used them and are happy with the units.

I was looking at them but a few things turned me off, 1 thing is some of their stuff doesnt seem straight forward, like what adapter from them is needed to hook up to the faucet? They don't really say, also I had read a couple of posts here that people had issues with leaking units and poor customer service.

 

[AdeptMrSniffles]

Very true. I think most problems were fixed with an O-Ring or something of the sort. If your good at trouble shooting and you can save some $$ I'd go for it. JMO. On the other hand it is nice knowing that your buying from a company that isn't afraid to help an unsatisfied customer, if it were to come to that, and that your buying from a reputable dealer.

 

[wontonflip]

We do but unfortunately thats not an option, the washer is located in a basement that I have to go outside and around the house, down the stairs to use. My plans are to get one of these I think, Pure Flo II RO Units

That's funny...My washer/dryer are in the 3rd floor, and my tank's in the basement :D Just this morning I was thinking of ways to get waste water up to the washer...even considered moving the RODI to the 3rd floor, and letting it rely on gravity to get the water down to the rodi reserver container :)

Love what you've done to the trim! Can't wait to see it up and running.

 

[DJ404]

Well I came home all excited that my stand had arrived today from Foster and Smith, greated at the door by this:

and open it up to see this:

The door is completely cracked off and there is about 4 other cracks in the stand itself.
So I called Foster and Smith, they inform me this stand is discontinued, so I have picked out a different model that they are shipping out now and I have to return this stand, I will be credited the difference. Overall I have to say they were very good about this whole situation and I will definitely be ordering from them again.

 

[Smitty]

Oh wow!!! That is so uncool...sorry about the set back.

 

[Bifferwine]

That sucks! But luckily they are fixing the problem. Hopefully your next one arrives in one piece.

 

[Leslee]

that really sucks about the stand! I am glad they are getting you a new one! What a bummer!

As for the RO/DI unit, I ordered one from purewaterclub, this is the one I bought: 0PPM Portable 50GPD Reverse Osmosis RO+DI Water Filter#PO-4B-50
[PO-4B-50]$61.99

I have it hooked to the kitchen faucet, then I just dump the waste water in the washer when I am doing laundry. I had NO problem with the company and I was able to hook everything up based on the instructions they sent with the filter! I would reccommend trying them out!

 

[DJ404]

that really sucks about the stand! I am glad they are getting you a new one! What a bummer!

As for the RO/DI unit, I ordered one from purewaterclub, this is the one I bought: 0PPM Portable 50GPD Reverse Osmosis RO+DI Water Filter#PO-4B-50
[PO-4B-50]$61.99

I have it hooked to the kitchen faucet, then I just dump the waste water in the washer when I am doing laundry. I had NO problem with the company and I was able to hook everything up based on the instructions they sent with the filter! I would reccommend trying them out!

Thank you Leslee, I decided I will be trying them out. I'm considering getting the 100gpd unit which is $100. Seems like a good deal to me. :)