Peninsular Build

Lesely

Reefing newb
7 x 2.5 x 2.5 Peninsular Build.
Our fist tank was a second hand tank and there were things right from the beginning that annoyed us . But decided to go down the second hand path to see if we actually were interested in sticking with this hobby long term.
15 months down the track and we are hooked.
So time to get a specifically designed tank.
We knew we wanted to go bigger than our 6 x 2 x 2 but didn't have the wall space or room. So hubby says "lets bash down and build some new walls "So that's what we did.
The difficulty was the wall that we needed bashed was backing onto our existing tank, builders had to be so careful. It was also the first time we actually saw the back of the tank. yukky !
So the peninsular was ordered and built.
We have so many corals etc its going to be great to be able to have them view-able from both sides of the aquarium and give our tang community so much more swimming space.
The big move/upgrade will be tomorrow.
We were lucky enough to have all the gear to be able to run both tanks simultaneously (except skimmer) so we have exchanged 1200lt of water between the two tanks over the last 10 days.
Parameters are spot on with both, so hoping this will make the change over easier for all the corals and livestock.
Will post pictures of the move over & hopefully the successful completion of this build.7 x 2.5 x 2.5 Peninsular (approx 1400lt)
Star fire glass 3 sides Euro bracing all round & 1 centre brace (all star fire)

5 foot / 5 chamber sump
Skimmer / chateau / live rock / chateau / return

1 ft Glass ATO - Tunze Auto Top off.

Stainless Steel powder coated Metal stand rated to 3 tonne / 950 mm high

Bean Animal silent plumbing - 2 downs 1 emergency
Plumbed for siphon water changes (250lt) through return pipes with 20mm click on hose attachment / pump water back in through same connector.

Will only be using NSW with this tank.

Flow - 2 x Maxpect Gyre 50w

3 x TLF reactors - Rowa phos - Carbon - Seachem posguard. Laguna 2000lt/hr pump


Marine Magic 3 channel Auto Doser - Mag - Cal - Alk

Lighting - ATI programmable 8 x 80w - 4 x white 2 x blue 1 x purple 1 x pink

Skimmer - Deltec TC 2060 internal Laguna 2000lt/hr pump

Return - Laguna 6000lt/hr - fitted with one way valve.

1 x skimmer auto cut off - waste cup reaches certain level will turn skimmer off till we get home (saves flooding)

1 x ATO & Return Level switch - when ATO is filled will sound alarm, if for any reason return section of sump gets below a certain level will sound alarm. Both alarms will continue to sound until problems are corrected.

1 X Digital Temp controller.- 2 x 300w heaters.
Preset required temp - controller will switch heaters on/off as needed.
Living in Australia we have very hot summers so will automatically switch on/off fans (located over sump) as required

.2 x Blue tangs
2 x Yellow tangs
1 x lLpstick tang
1 x Coral beauty
1 x Flame angel
2 x Ocs clowns
2 x Green spotted Dragonets
1 x Copperband
1 x Powder Blue Tang
1 x Abalone
numerous CUC.

Mostly LPS corals - torches. goniporas etc

5 x SPS acroporas
 

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Last edited by a moderator:
Hope the transfer goes smoothly! Following :)

Thanks for the best wishes.
Day 1 - 9am through to 2am following day only rocks & some equipment moved. All fish and corals still in old tank. urghhh !!!
Day 2 - corals & fish slowly moved over. Skimmer & reactors & hanging lights
Todays jobs - power boards, heater controllers, ato controllers, skimmer controllers sump light & dosing unit. Empty & remove old tank, sump and stand.
back óf tank.JPG
front of tank.JPG
 
Here is a really quick video of the new build.
Fish and corals seem to be doing well so far. They have all been in just short of 24hrs. The water is a little cloudy I believe after researching that may be the stability I am using to help withe the cycle we may get.
The old tank is being pulled apart as we speak so will be gone soon.
The house is a mess, trouble with peninsular you can see through, but its been a very hectic few days. Sorry !
The powder blue along with 2 x blue tangs were added yesterday with all the other, no aggression displayed yet !
Hubby is not 100% happy with scape, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated & hopefully any moves now will be little ones !
Hope you like.

 
I agree with Mario. I'd leave it exactly how it is.

Also, how are you liking the gyres? Are they as good as they are advertised, in your opinion?

Yes I like them a lot. It takes a bit of getting them set the way you want them ( swapping A & B paddles out to do different things) to create back & forth movement but certainly do the job. They are more aesthetically pleasing than the 4 tunzes we used & for the price point I think they are fairly good value. We always had trouble keeping sand bed clear of detritus with the tunzes but have found the water movement does now reach to the very bottom of the tank with these. I used to blow my rocks off every week & wow the crap that used to come off, I try to blow them off now and just about nothing comes off, so they do a good job.
 
Are you running both on the same side? Or opposite sides? I used 2 Wp-25s and 2 Wp-10s to create the gyre effect in my tank by placing all four on the same side towards the top and facing them right at the top of the water. They are quite bulky in the tank and diminish some of the aesthetic value in the tank, so I've been toying with the idea of getting one of these. If you don't mind, I'll probably nag you about how they are performing over the next few months. This way, I can have a reliable source on whether or not they are worth the investment :)
 
Are you running both on the same side? Or opposite sides? I used 2 Wp-25s and 2 Wp-10s to create the gyre effect in my tank by placing all four on the same side towards the top and facing them right at the top of the water. They are quite bulky in the tank and diminish some of the aesthetic value in the tank, so I've been toying with the idea of getting one of these. If you don't mind, I'll probably nag you about how they are performing over the next few months. This way, I can have a reliable source on whether or not they are worth the investment :)
In the video we had one either end because we hadn't set power boards up yet and were running out of plugs. But we now have them on the one end. Happy with the flow so far, they are reaching the far end without a problem and seem to be bouncing back to underneath themselves too. The corals aren't quite opening to their fullest yet (still sulking after move) so once they start extending properly I suppose we will be a much better gauge on how they are doing.
 
Woke up this morning with some amazing clarity in the water and the mini cycle over.
Nitrates have come down from 1ppm to 0.05 on their own in the last 24 hours so very pleased with that.
The clarity of the water has improved 100% also which suggest the stability has done its job well. While cloudy it is establishing the bacteria, when clear means its worked.
Cloudy tank yesterday - crystal clear today.
crystal clear 004.JPG
 
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