Lbacha’s 310g GlassCages SPS build

[lbacha]

The tank is wet, or at least half wet. I wanted to try out the closed loops and they work amazing (tons of flow) there is a small drip every couple minutes coming from one of the vectra unions. I didn’t add any silicone to the O rings on them yet so once I drain the tank I will add some and that should solve the problem. Other than that no major leaks (knock on wood). I ran both at 100% and only a faint whir could be heard which is great I plan on running reef crest during the day maxing at 100% so it’s good to know it won’t be that loud. I will probably go with a lower setting at night.

 

[lbacha]

I added some accent lighting to the tank. my wife wanted a light background vs a black one so I went with a frosted background and Led accent lights

 

[lbacha]

Return plumbing is coming along, I like redundancy so I’ll be using 2 return pumps. I have an extra COR20 so for now I’ll use that along with the GHL versia. Eventually I’ll get another Versia so they will both be controllable. I built a crossover so I can pull a pump and still have one pump running both returns as well. I’m draining the tank as well after my test run and I decided to test pulling the closed loop pumps for maintenance and it was a breeze which means maintenance will actually be done on them lol. I’m glad I decided on a really large sump and a taller stand as there is so much room to work on stuff it will be great for long term maintenance and for upgrades.

 

[SaltyWalty]

Looks absolutely epic

 

[lbacha]

Looks absolutely epic

Thanks, hopefully the final scape and livestock live up to the equipment that has gone into this build. I decided to spare no expense so fingers crossed.

 

[lbacha]

The tank is going through its final leak test, so far no issues other than needing to tune the overflow a bit to quiet down the secondary drain.

 

[lbacha]

I did a little tinkering with the overflow so only a trickle is going over the secondary drain with my COR20 at 100% so maybe about 1500gph. It is almost silent now with the surface movement from the closed loops actually being louder than the overflow. I shut the return off a few times and restarted it and right back to silent each time (and as an added bonus I have a couple inches of room in my sump when everything is off so that’s good)

 

[oliverout]

Any new update?

 

[toi_ss]

Looks beautiful, I really love the depth front to back, my next tank will be at least 48" deep. Excited to follow this thread and see how it progresses. Also more on the lagoon tank for mangroves!

 

[lbacha]

Looks beautiful, I really love the depth front to back, my next tank will be at least 48" deep. Excited to follow this thread and see how it progresses. Also more on the lagoon tank for mangroves!

Thanks, just got back from vacation and the tank is in the process of filling with RODI (did a full change of all my filters today so nice 0 TDS water). The cycle should start in a couple days which will give me a chance to set up my GHL.

 

[lbacha]

Big milestone today, the tank is full and seeded with media from another tank. I dosed ammonia and now to let things settle in and get ugly.

 

[jackson6745]

This looks beautiful! Congrats!

 

[lbacha]

This looks beautiful! Congrats!

Thank you, I’m super excited at how this has come out so far. Hopefully the coral cooperate and I have a SPS garden in the next couple years

 

[RWReefer]

Took me way too long to realize that the vivarium wasn’t a window and you don’t live in the jungle. Thought you moved a window so you could place your tank lol. Setup looks great!

 

[lbacha]

Made screen tops for the tank, they are just window screen kits with 1/4” clear screen. I screwed plexiglass squares in the corners with stainless steel screws and it seems to have worked well. I’m considering getting g some custom lids made at some point but I want to make sure I know all the cutouts I’ll need so I figured I would wait till the tank was established and I know exactly what cutouts I’ll need. I’m actually considering making an acclimation box that will replace one of the screens and slide I to one of the openings.

 

[lbacha]

Not that I need to worry about all for a little while but I figured I would set up the KH director this weekend. It performed its first test and was really easy to set up and get running. This GHL equipment is really nice.

 

[lbacha]

Added a school of Kupang damsels to my QT. I have always liked them and they have always been model citizens

 

[Wiskey]

Nicely done Lbacha!! This is the exciting part, getting it all going!! You're going to love that extra foot of room you have over me, I love the depth that I have, but all that swimming room with big tangs is going to be great.

Whiskey

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Made screen tops for the tank, they are just window screen kits with 1/4” clear screen. I screwed plexiglass squares in the corners with stainless steel screws and it seems to have worked well. I’m considering getting g some custom lids made at some point but I want to make sure I know all the cutouts I’ll need so I figured I would wait till the tank was established and I know exactly what cutouts I’ll need. I’m actually considering making an acclimation box that will replace one of the screens and slide I to one of the openings.

Love the custom lid!

 

[lbacha]

Nicely done Lbacha!! This is the exciting part, getting it all going!! You're going to love that extra foot of room you have over me, I love the depth that I have, but all that swimming room with big tangs is going to be great.

Whiskey

Thanks, I’m super excited about it being 8’ as I have wanted one for decades. I was originally going to go with 7’ but when I started pricing out custom tanks a 7’ tank was more expensive than a 8’ tank based on extra cuts in the glass being needed and waste.