# my 300 gallon tank pics, time lapse,warning 56 k



## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)




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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

c02 reactor








































c02 reactor


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

heres my milwaukee regulator,bubble counter, selenoid








heres my sms122








heres my digital temp gauge








heres my mag drive 24 pump








heres my float valve for my ro/di filter which is part of my automated water change


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

I still have to do alot of plumbing and other things as you can see on the sump filter along with plumbing the co2 reactors


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## JBN (Oct 31, 2005)

Crazy tank James, what do you plan to keep in there? All those equipment + the tanks must've cost well over 5k...or so.


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## Safado (Jul 10, 2005)

That is an an amazing tank! I am drooling!
/subscribed


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

Thank you thank you, i have been working on it for about 6 months now , i would have posted pics sooner but i just founf this site today. Yeah lots of money!!!!


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

And guess what i got another one to do its a 150









On my 300 its going to be heavily planted with wild discus, cardinal tetras and a pair of zebra plecos


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## medicineman (Sep 28, 2005)

jamesbrokman10 said:


> And guess what i got another one to do its a 150
> 
> 
> 
> ...


A monster tank... which I love...

Going for a Planted tank for that monster? welcome aboard!

Next thing would be proper lighting, which you will be needing much of it. Hanging metal halides with some PC supplements would be nice.


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

Ive got a diy hood with 8 f32 t8's that are 6500k and overdriven 4x each, each bulb has 1 4 bulb ballast, i think that should be good for light, so in other word that is 1024 watts minus loss in heat and etc so take off about 20% so that brings it down too about 800 watts and that is 2.67 watts per gallon


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## turbosaurus (Nov 19, 2005)

All of a sudden my obsession doesn't seem so bad... LOL

All I can say is wow, my envy is palpable.


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## toofazt (Jun 18, 2005)

Wow... Can't wait to see this! Is this your first planted tank? Good luck roud:


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

Yep its my first one


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## Ryzilla (Oct 29, 2005)

I love it, im jealous, and i hate you. Cant wait to see how it turns out


PEACE
Ry


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## m.lemay (Jul 28, 2002)

Holy cow :drool: ..... A tremendous amount of work has gone into this already, and you don't even have water in it yet. I can see that you've spent some time planning this out. I can't wait to see this thing up and running and planted. :icon_bigg .

Keep this diary going....It's always nice to follow the progress of a tank. roud: 

Marcel


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

I sure will, i will have more pics tommorow so stay tuned


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## donaldbyrd (Jun 8, 2005)

off to a good start... looking forward to seeing it planted and with those discus


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

Me too, about 8 months in the making, cant wait roud:


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## donaldbyrd (Jun 8, 2005)

are you going to have them shipped or are you buying the discus locally?


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

im getting them shipped,im buying them from majesticaquatic.com along with some cardinals, neons and blue rams


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## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

So glad you found the site, James! I simply do not have the space for such a thing yet, and it's important that you post more so that I can live vicariously through you. You're plumbing and electrical work look absolutely pro (especially, that reactor!). Carryover from your occupation, or self-taught?

I recommend you email a moderator and ask that your thread be moved to the journal section. You need to put this thread where folks can see it roud:. 

Also, run a search for threads started by "HOP". He's another huge-tank specialist on the forum.


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## Georgiadawgger (Apr 23, 2004)

MAn, not one monster, but two?!! Great looking hardware setup so far!


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## StUk_In_AfRiKa (Jan 30, 2005)

Wow *subscribes* I can't wait to see what this tank looks like when it's finally filled and planted.


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## kamla (Feb 17, 2005)

Holy cow… What a monster….

Thread subscribed…. 
I am goin to live out my dream tank through you … 

Please make sure you take lots of pics…
That co2 Diffuser look HOT….
How is it goin to work..


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

I definately will take as many pics as possible, i know how i love diy pics in a post so i will take as many as possible, i will post some pics when i am water testing so you can see how the reactor works, thanks jim roud: roud:


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## dissident (Oct 15, 2003)

Do you have a hardscape for it yet? Driftwood, rocks? A little update would be be nice :wink:


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

Well as right this second no, but tommorow i am going to pick up some awesome pieces of driftwood if the guy doesnt want too much money for them and i got some pretty neat rocks for the tank, just a few not a bunch, i like the driftwood better than rocks definately, i will get some more pics asap.


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## medicineman (Sep 28, 2005)

Hahaha... we just have to be patient guys...

That tank is a monster and is a PITA to set up. I can imagine hundreads of pots of plants and half a bedtruck of driftwood and rocks.

Nice work james, I love the way that CO2 reactor looks so factory-product of some custom work for tank shows. Elaborate plumbing... love that too. Perhaps I should take some of your pics and show them to my tank maker, so they can follow the good example (I have another 260gal+ that is on order).


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

[subscribe/]

thats one monster tank... and the electrical stuff looks really nice.... how heavy is this giant gonna be? i hope its in ur basement or something.....

this looks awsome... 

Fn


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

yep its in my basement, it will weigh a total of about 4000 pounds


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## AlphaExPlus (Jun 19, 2005)

Wow, thats is insane! Can't wait until this beast gets planted! Very cool . . roud: 

[ . . thinks about the weekly water changes . . ]


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

i got my list of plants that i will be putting into the tank, i will be adding more though this is just a start

jungle vals 50 plants 
glosso 120 stems 
hairgrass 15 pots 
java fern 10 plants 
corckscrew vals 20 plants 
tiger lotus need 8 
apongeton madagascar lace mother plant 
Aponogeton boivninanus mother plant 
Barclaya longifolia need 3 

will this list of plants even make a dent in my tank? or will i need alot more to get started?


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

also java moss and x mass moss


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## dissident (Oct 15, 2003)

50 jungle valls is a lot, my tank was planted with 20 (110x) and they sure take over with high light co2 and a good substrate. They will get over 4ft long, so unless you are looking to surround the tank as i did you wouldn't need 1/2 that.

madagascar lace has a dormet period where it will melt and stay dormet for a few months beofre it puts leaves up again but look very nice when it is in the prime of its cycle.

For starting a new tank i would put in a few more fast growing stem plants wysteria is a good one and inexpensive. This will help with excess neutriants and keep algea in check. 

In a 300gal a few swords would fill it in really nice. Amazon (very common), red reuben will add some nice color.


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

jamesbrokman10 said:


> yep its in my basement, it will weigh a total of about 4000 pounds


ooo good because if there was ever a leak......... ah! my 10 gallon was leaking in my bedroom on the second floor i lost like 2gallons of water (max) and my whole carpet was SOAKED! 4k pounds... thats alot how thick does that glass have to be? like an inch lol?

sounds like an unbelievable tank ill have to keep watch


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

1/2" tempered glass


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## Urkevitz (Jan 12, 2004)

The glass alone must be pretty heavy. How hard was it to get on the stand?


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

it took 6 big guys to get it on the stand, could of used a couple more


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

god i love rams, going to have about 10 blue and 10 gold rams in the tank


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## Buckeye_Robert (Jul 29, 2005)

I would Like to donate 10-15 corkscrew vals when you are ready 
roud: 
Very nice work over there!


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

have some more pics in about 2 hours, updated, i got some new stuff


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## BlueRam (Sep 21, 2004)

Rams are great but they can be difficult. Be sure to quarientiene as I have lost several batches. Neat tank!


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

*updated pics, 56k warning*

Here is my hood, i was testing all the light and etc to make sure everything was good








ballast wiring mess, notice one ballast is different but has the same part number, they are the same just in a different case, one is older

















after i mounted the ballast on the board that mounts in my stand








my new 10 pound c02 bottle, couldnt see spending another $70 on a 20lb








here are a couple of reactors that i am going to use on my tank, those awesome looking ones i built are not going to work out


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## MercuryShrimp (Sep 10, 2005)

WOW i thought overdriving my lights with one ballast was a lot of trouble.... looks like the tank is finally comming together with the lights ready to go  keep up the good work


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## kamla (Feb 17, 2005)

are those T-5's???
Looking nice... what happened to those slick look co2 diffusers.. 

keep them pics .. coming..
i cannot wait.... to see that bad boy with all the lights .... roud:


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## SnyperP (Dec 31, 2004)

It looks like you're monumentus project is finally coming together! I'm looking forward to your future updates.


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## Hop (Mar 27, 2004)

Wow,

Hey first and foremost, excellent work! I have to tell you that the building process on these monsters is my favorite part of the hobby. You have done an excellent job here and the attention to detail is impressive roud: .

Please take a few suggestions as food for thought and maybe just file some ideas away for future use if you run into some headaches.

I’ll start with your sump. It’s a little hard to figure out exactly how the water is going to be moving through it right now as where the pump is in the picture. First, you will most likely want to ditch the drilled PVC returns that are mounted in the sump. They could easily get clogged with plant debris and if your drains slowed down while you were away for a day or so you could have a major flood. As I’m sure you know the mag 24 does 2400 gph and being used as a submersible will definitely raise the temp of your water. I’ve read as high as 10 degrees on tanks a little smaller than yours, so maybe 3-6 degrees is a safe bet on your tank. You may think about running it externally for less heat transfer and better temperature control. Personally I love the sequence and blue line pumps. Next, the baffles in your sump are too close together. With 2400 gph flowing through your sump, you are going to want your baffles 2-3” apart. The closer the baffles are together; they loose their efficiency and literally suck the microbubbles through the baffles and subsequently into your display. My baffles are 2.5” apart with 3600 gph through the sump and I’m still battling a microbubble issue. 
The water height in your sump seems like it might be a little low. If you are going to be running an auto-top off you should be able to get away with it like that, but remember that it’s a safe bet to estimate you are going to lose between 4 and 6 gallons of water a day to evaporation and it all settles in your return section.

Again if I chime in here occasionally, please don’t take offense, I really am just trying to help. I just finished a 450-500 gallon system and stumbled through some of the same issues. Just thought I would throw some things out to help you over some of the speed bumps I encountered! This really is a fascinating project and I look forward to every new post


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

looks unbelievable ill have to keep checking this one! cant wait to see how those lights look on top with all the water in it..... .5inch tempered that nice! i just hope that nothing ever leaks,..... lol :icon_bigg 

lookin good 

fn


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## Goldfishcrazy11 (Nov 20, 2005)

I'LL TAKE IT! LOL :tongue: !

Man that's a nice set up! It's going to be nice with discus. Are you getting wild-caught or captive bred? I personally like the looks of captive bred better, but who wouldn't want a captive bred :icon_wink ? 

Somebody mentioned your 150 being a monster tank- I've seen pictures of somebody's HOME 50,000 gallon aquarium... Of course they had to dig through thousands of pounds of dirt to build their tank!

Good luck with your tanks. I wish I could have such large community tanks, but when I get my new tank I'll be putting my goldfish in it.


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

*got some new pics coming*

I have some updated pics coming in a little bit


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

*here we go*

Well here is the results from a long weekend of working on my tank
first pics are of my hood, well part of it that i put up , the bracing on the front is just temporary till i can get the wood for the rest of the hood, i will get that all cut and put in and all of the cabinet doors and then do the same on the stand and then i can fill it up
light on








lights off








here are a couple of pics of the plumbing, i got my co2 all installed and up and running, i still have a little work on the sump but thats no biggie, i have all the stufrf to do it but i am getting all of the major stuff done first


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

also i did water test the plumbing today, i just took the locline returns in the tank and pointed them back into the overflows so the water it pumps to the tank just goes into the overflows and back to the sump and all was well roud: roud: roud:


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## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

Powering your reactor with a different pump than your return line? Is the return line pump too powerful (due to such a large aquarium)? If so, why not give each reactor its own return line to the sump?


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

Yes my pump is a little too powerfull so i am using it to power the reactors and yes i am going to go ahead and run seperate return lines back to the sump and i have ball valves on the lines to the tank and line to the reactors so i can adjust the flow on them, i still have some work cut out for me still


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

a little off subject but 2,700 page views and only 5 votes for the rating?


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## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

jamesbrokman10 said:


> a little off subject but 2,700 page views and only 5 votes for the rating?


Yeah, that is strange. In fact, it's way above average . I have two photo album threads; both with about 15,000 hits. Each has 2-3 votes. Some folks don't think to vote, but I suspect that a lot are like me.....waiting. I, for one, am not voting until I see some plants in that beast .

*edit. Ahh, I see now. Someone prematurely stuck you with a low or mediocre vote. That happened to Steve (scolley) a while back when he started an enviable aquarium. Seems that some just can't be happy for others . So, I'll vote now.....but don't you disappoint me :hihi:.


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

*any ideas?*

Anybody have any ideas of what you would do with aquascaping in this tank?


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

And also i wanted to say when i turn all of my lights on i almost here the mail man coming with the huge powerbill and my meter spinnin so fast its smokin, well not really


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## Urkevitz (Jan 12, 2004)

Oliver Knotts got some nice large tanks for some ideas.

http://www.plantella.com/


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## Gmoney (Apr 13, 2005)

jamesbrokman10 said:


> And also i wanted to say when i turn all of my lights on i almost here the mail man coming with the huge powerbill and my meter spinnin so fast its smokin, well not really



Great tank. Love watching the process of tank building.

You might want to check out the "black helicopters" thread, since you'll probably have some circling shortly; what with the 1000+ watts of light and tons of water. :icon_bigg


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

black helicopters lol, ill have to watch for them, ill give em the ol number 1 roud:


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

darn photo bucket limits, sorry my posts are missing photos, they should be back up in a couple of days, i just signed up for a new free account, lol to post some more pics


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## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

jamesbrokman10 said:


> darn photo bucket limits, sorry my posts are missing photos, they should be back up in a couple of days, i just signed up for a new free account, lol to post some more pics


James, 

Could you elaborate on this. I have had a free photobucket account for a year or so, and have never ran into any "limits". Even when uploading 20+ photos in a day. You uploading 100's?


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

Well they go by photo views, ive had my photos viewed more times than allowed in one month time for the free account


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

there u go i didnt even think to rate it.... 5 stars.. its unbelievable.... how about getting a HUGE stump or two? for the two back corners that would look nice?:icon_roll 

but what are the chances u will find two nice stumps? well actually two nice quartor stumps...

Fn


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## Kyle (Jul 19, 2005)

I'm not rating till I see some fish!


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

i would put some in there if i could ever find some, anybody know how to acquire some driftwood stumps?


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## Hop (Mar 27, 2004)

From a good lake inlet or river/stream. Thats where I have obtained all my driftwood for my tanks.


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## Steven_Chong (Sep 14, 2004)

I've heard great things about manzanita bulworks. Manzanita's become the new fade for branchy-type wood.

Good luck with your tank. I also wish to rate after I see what you are capable of in aquascaping. After all this build up, and current rating, I'll be disappointed if it falls short of excellent.


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

Anyone who jumps headfirst into a 300 gallon planted tank, deserves five major kudos. Its a great effort that we all can all see. And not at inconsiderable expense. We are talking from zero to 300 on the first launch. I give him 5 big:thumbsup: Bob


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## medicineman (Sep 28, 2005)

Betowess said:


> Anyone who jumps headfirst into a 300 gallon planted tank, deserves five major kudos. Its a great effort that we all can all see. And not at inconsiderable expense. We are talking from zero to 300 on the first launch. I give him 5 big:thumbsup: Bob


You bet. I chicken out at first by trying out 25 galon tank. But not that I've not taken any risk in the big tank.
1. "Billboard" metal halides... alomost nobody tried but very few people that I dont even know (but turned out they worked very well at a bargain price! Just replace the bulb with more expensive one if you feel like 10,000K)
2. DIY freezer chiller... another mad idea (but turned out to work well and cheap!)
3. O2 hospital grade regulator on CO2 tank by adding nipple (because I ran out of luck finding aquarium CO2 regulator).

Btw I love your reactor james! any chance to modify it to work? Dont be afraid to do crazy things... sometimes they turned out well!


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## bpm2000 (Feb 16, 2005)

greenmiddlefinger said:


> I've heard great things about manzanita bulworks. Manzanita's become the new fade for branchy-type wood.
> 
> Good luck with your tank. I also wish to rate after I see what you are capable of in aquascaping. After all this build up, and current rating, I'll be disappointed if it falls short of excellent.


Me too, cept they are not returning my phone calls/emails very well here.. Hopefully you have better luck with them! (Maybe its cuz I wanted a nano-sized order)


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

Thanks everybody, sorry i havent posted much, i have been worjing 80 hours a week for the last 2 weeks, im getting tired of it, oh well on thursday the parking garage we are building opens and it will be done so hopefully back to the normal 40 hours and i can get back on this 300 gallon madness :thumbsup:


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

I bought some new stuff today, some 18'' aqua tongs for aquascaping and planting, all the wood for my stand and hood which i will finish on sunday and also some nice outdoor timers for the lights, hopefully all up and running on sunday


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 24, 2005)

Also, i cannot find manzanita bulworks anywhere, do they have a website you can order from?


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## turbomkt (Jun 9, 2004)

Try this... http://www.manzanita.com/

Otherwise, looking great so far!


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## Hop (Mar 27, 2004)

Been over two weeks... Any updates? Some of us have to live vicariously through you young folk:icon_lol:


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Hop said:


> Been over two weeks... Any updates? Some of us have to live vicariously through you young folk:icon_lol:


yeh me too but by the sound of things hes probly making up for sleep at the moment...:icon_roll 

cant wait to see new pics!

- fish newb -


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## Takechanmanus (Oct 9, 2005)

That's a crazy tank . . . 300 GAL ??  I thought my 30 GAL tank was too big to handle . . . 

Your tank setup is great. I love to see your update photos ! 

Tak


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## ching4ever (Feb 17, 2005)

no more update? i just found out this thread only, after seeing so many picturem make me feel so drooling....:thumbsup: that's really a crazy tank, i can't imagine if my house got a 300G tank....:eek5:


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

Probably one or two Red Tiger lotus will do you. They get insanely huge in no time if happy, and happy they would be in such a large tank.But they will cover the top of their area,unless you keep cutting them back alot. Goodluck. Must be broke after launching this baby!!:thumbsup:


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## Mustang5L5 (Feb 1, 2004)

Damn, i'd love to do a 300 gallon. 

I feel i've outgrown my 37g, but i'll stick with a 125-150g tank


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## donaldbyrd (Jun 8, 2005)

Any updates, do you have that tank planted yet?


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