My New 185g Build Thread

So I decided to start a thread documenting my build for my new 185g. I currently have a 120g Oceanic that I'm going to be removing and replacing with a 185g. The good news is that my sump and most my equipment is in the garage, plumbed through the wall to the living room where the tank is. This means that I can pull the livestock, rock, etc., unhook the tank, set up the new and hook it back up to the sump.

Here is what I've done so far:

Tank: Deep Sea Aquatics 185g
Deep Sea are the old Oceanic guys and I love their quality, if it's a bit pricey. The thing is that the 185g is exactly the size I want (60"Long x 24"Tall x 30" Width) and for me to get a lesser quality tank of the same size custom made would cost only a little less. The price my LFS got me on the Deep Sea Aquatics tank was $1600 - ouch, but boy is it a great looking tank - and no middle brace. Tank ordered.

Stand: Custom Stand and Canopy
OK, so believe it or not, this is the piece I'm most psyched about. You're going to have to wait a few weeks for pics, but you have never seen a stand and canopy like this one is going to be. Currently in build.

Lighting:
I am going to be swapping out my Solaris LED and replacing it with:

- 2x250W Metal Halides - Radium bulbs, Galaxy Ballast
- 4x60" T5s
- Lots of blue LEDs

Skimmer:
I'm going to be selling my Octopus Extreme 200 with the Bubble Blaster pump and replacing it with a Super Reef 5000 (same pump). Just ordered.

Sump:
Unchanged. I'm going to continue to use my 45g sump

Fuge:
Unchanged. I'm going to continue to use my 20g fuge. The one thing I'm considering is fabricating a 60" hang on back fuge to supplement.

Main Pump:
I've currently got an Iwaki 40XLRT and I don't think it will be enough for a 185. I ran a 55 on my 180g and that was barely enough. I just ordered a Dart.

Circulation Pumps:
I've got a modded Maxi Jet 1200 and two Tunze Streams right now. To that I'm adding two Vortec 40s with a linked controller. I'm also going to be testing the new Sicce powerheads as they supposedly do not click on startup, making them suitable for wave makers. I'll let you know next week when they arrive.

Controller:
I bit the bullet and bought a new Neptune Apex. Not hooked up yet, but I'll probably get it running on my current tank.

Other:

- I bought a Precision Marine Kalk reactor and will be using Brightwell Kalk +2 in it. I'll likely hook it up on my current tank before the new tank is set up.

- I'm going to go with a BB display tank. Wish me luck.

- I've already got about 180lb of premium Tonga. To that I'm adding four amazing pieces. Just four you say? Well I got to cherry pick from a new shipment at a LFS that had some HUGE pieces. I got about another 100lb with the largest piece being about 35 lbs and really cool looking.

Pics when I get em.

 

sounds like a very interesting build thread rocketmandb

looking forward to pics

Steve

 

ya PICS please!!!!!

 

and the excitement begins. look forward to watching your progress rocketman

 

out of curiosity, why are you going away from the solaris LED lighting?

 

To answer that I need to go into a little about the Solaris. I really like the unit. The light color is great, the programming capabilities are wonderful. It also literally sips electricity and doesn't add heat, which is great. It has, however, a couple limitations. First off is that the light from the LEDs does not spread real well. It does ok, but there are definitely hot spots. Now I actually like this because it allows you to place different types of coral across the tank. The second limitation is that unless you put an SPS directly under the LEDs it won't get the light it needs. Additionally, in a 2' tank I don't believe it provides the necessary front-to-back lighting because of this.

I want to move to more SPS and I was pretty much maxed out under the LEDs. Now consider that I'm moving to a 60" tank that is wider than my 120g. Not only would I have not nearly the lighting needed along the length of the tank, but it would be completely inadequate front-to-back. So the fixture just wouldn't fit the new tank unless I pulled the led sets out of the existing enclosure and mounted them in my new canopy along with a bunch of supplemental lighting. I wasn't really willing to do that.

In short, I think the Solaris LED system I have is perfect for a 48" x 18" tank. Any wider or longer and you won't get the light coverage you need. My 120 is just a little under-lit front-back.

 

Great. Thanks for the information. I was just curious. Good thoughts!

 

Jealous. I can't wait to see it up and running. That DSA tank is the same one I want to move to. I have my 90g now and want it to grow out. When that is done, I want to move to the 185. My LFS priced just a regular one off the shelf at $1300. Ouch indeed. That is without all the extra work I want.

I was still going to go with my 48" fixture. I think two 250w MH will do, but I need more supplemental. Might try to do some custom hood type thing. Don't like canopies, but you need something to do retros. Really would just need new MH reflectors, and some T5 retros on some sort of rack or hood.

I figure most of my stuff would work and I can build my stand. Who knows, we will see.... but ya..... 60x30x24, what an awesome tank. And I honestly have no desire to go bigger. That is as big as I want.

 

what kinds of tank mates are you going to put in there

i wish i could upgrade to a 180 lol parents said the highes i can go is 90:-[

 

Well your LFS beats mine by a few hundred so you're getting a good deal (and I checked with a couple LFS for price)

Look at the tank in World Wide Coral's thread. It is really close in dimensions to the DSA 185g that we're both getting and they have a 4' fixture that combos T5s and two 250W halides.