Pies

Ummmm isn't that what the sump is for?

Chimera, I see some 'major problems'. How are you going to 'feed' the streams? The are sub-merseable (sp?). This CAN-NOT work. Remeber you will need to get the power cable out of the plumbing too. Take a good a look at a stream before getting these holes drilled, but trust me, its a mistake. If I thought you could do it I would be doig it for my new tank, you can't. Also consider how big ahole you need to run 2x streams, thats 24000 litres an hr... BIG hole. Return from sump. 1st I would suggest not drilling it and using a sea swirl. However if your not going to use a sea swirl then drill the hole near the top (say 5cm down from the water level). You need this for protection of power failure of the return pump. If the pump stops your tank will drain. Which makes the overflow box pointless too. The overflow box prevents the tank from draining through a failed return pump. Hope this makes sense. feel free to PM you number to me and i'll give you a call to discuss if you want. Its good that your thinking about this stuff before doing it, give a chance to catch the problems. Hope this catches you in time. Pies

Layton what do you mean about UV and metalwork? All you need is some coverglass and the reflector. Not much difference between the double and single other than no need for UV shield on the single (cause it comes with on, where as the double ended in 'nekid'). I was looking and double ended 'diy' but single ended is a LOT cheaper. In fact 400 watters are about the cheapest lighting out there. Layton is correct about the heat, the are hot hot hot, easily catch wood on fire, no problems at all I wouldn't think. Ventilation is the key. The lamp brokers are also worth a look, quality units all wired and ready to go, the do both SE & DE.

Not exactly... If your using a sump, you can put the end of the syphon into the sump, and then clean the gravel, and put the dirty water back into the sump, which ofcourse you run through lots of filter wool and carbon first. Works well. Pies

Uber. More photos! Looks awesome? Are you leaving the gab at the bottom of the concrete floor and the sides on purpose? Make it easy to hose out I guess. Nice work 10/10.

Hahahahahaha

Yes, I think this is a good idea. Pies

I am using T5s and suggest they will be fine and will resolve the problem of heat you may find with the halides (especially if you are usings a hood and not an open top). T5s need to be replaced every 6-9 months. If you want to do DIY lampbrookers do some excellent 'pre made' halides, with BLV bulbs, all certified and ready to go. They guy is really friendly and the units are top notch. If you want to go MEGA diy, use hydroponic ballasts and single ended bulbs, should be able to do these for less than $300ea including the bulb. I am going to use ballasts and bulbs from Radium, 400s. The pre made units are VERY expenive, but since you won't be able to see them, I am not bothered. There is so little difference between good ballasts and bad ballasts anyway, hard to justify the extra costs. Pies

Really? Alois - You do have holes in the back glass though, which is more dangerous than the bottom. I was originally going to drill through the sides, but was warned off it. Silicone is cheap as chips and both pieces will be siliconed together. The plumbing can be used to attach through 40mm wall so won't be a problem. My current tank has about 5 holes in it, and my grow-out tank has 3 holes, no of which have given me any problems. Sure there is some risk, but I think the benifit outweighs it

I'd sell my Bi-Colour, but you will have to catch him, he can usually be found eating my corals and flicking over rocks and corals around the tank. He also bites me whenever my hand is in there and likes to swin into my Stream Pumps. Great fish...

Hahahaha Chimera I suggest your read www.reefcentral.com, then assume everyone else reads it too. Old news...

Interesting, as most of us here (including you) already have holes drilled into the bottom of our tanks. How many is too many? 2 or less is not risky, but 2 or more is risky? How about 3, is that OK? To me makes no difference. 1 or 10. Once they are in they are in. The bottom of my tank will be 22mm thick (2 ply) so cracks are not really a major concern (check Annas tank construction pics on UR). As long as the bottom of the tank is level and supported it will not be a problem, 1 hole or 100 holes. The only reason I am not putting more in is the cost of the plumbing. If just streams was the best option, then I would use them, would be cheaper in my case, however I will get much better results using closed loop pumps. If you put pumps under the rockwork you can't remove them for maintenance without huge amounts of rockwork disruption. Got pumps in the tank, got to get the power cords out too. Streams are good, but provide no circulation throught the rockwork. Spray bars are the way to go, but on a large tank you need more than one, in my case I ave opted for 4. Chimera - use both, a closed loop is not a cheap substitute for a stream, its has a different application. If you are uncofortable with having holes drilled into the tank, then don't do it. Go through the hastle of sumerging a pump into the tank or just don't bother. Why is plumbing so expensive anyway? I suspect my tank will cost over $750 to plumb, thats a lot of money for 'nothing'.

Use both, closep loops work out to be about a bit more expensive per each as a single 6100 stream. (pump, 2x taps, plumbing fittings, timer?, internal spray bar, strainer). Based on using an Ehiem 1262 for the closed loop. Closed loops through the rock work, streams to fire the current accross the corals. I use 2 streams in my 5ft and its fine, but I also have 2 closed loops and 1 sump return. My tank had good strong water flow. Your 5 footer will be smaller than mine by over 150 litres (mine is 740) so similar setup should workout fine. Pies

I am going to use Streams too! I belive, that to get good flow through the rockwork, and create more current options you can't go pass the closed loops. Streams for the corals on top. The advantage of the closed loops is you don't see them, and they are almost perfectly silent. Use both...

I belive its un-nessessary to build this in, pipes don't leak or 'pop off'. However, your diagram would prevent this from happening. A big advantage of using the closed loop is the ability of hiding ALL internal plumbing, using your system as pictured would mean that the inlets would be visible from the viewing area of the tank. Not ideal. IF your worried about pipes popping off, what if the yellow pipe pops off... I think all the extra piping you are considering will introduce more problems than it will solve. Here is some pics incl a diag of my closed loop locations (top down).

No joy with the clear glass. Bottom line, I didn't see it being worth the additional cost of $1200, which is what it was going to cost to do the front and 1 side in it. There was also an issue with the glass having a lower saftey factor than normal glass. I am already on the verge of my glass saftey factor for 12mm, didn't want to push it any more. Money scared me more than anything else. As for the beam, yeah if the tank was sitting on it I would have had no problems, but it actually sits about 3 inches to the right of it, and there was no way for me to extend the tank without putting it in front of a window. Pies

Well as you all know I am planing a new tank for the new house. One of the more important tasks that needs to be addressed prior to the tanks arival is the issue of floor strength. The new tank will weigh close to 2 tons, and although we didn't see an issue with the floor holding the weight, we felt it was important to be sure. So that being said we embarked on a floor strengthening plan. This is what we ended up with: Chris & tim putting the frame into place: The final frame, supporting the cealing via the uprights sitting on the concrete floors of the garage. Although it may not have been nessessary, we felt it was important to be certain. We are now confident that the floors are sufficiently reinforced and can continue with the rest of the project. For those of you interested, here is a pic of the reef 'as is' at the moment. Setup temp in the garage, oposite where the frame above is located. Pies

Pegasus - I think you will find it was put here on purpose. Bit of a joke you see. Because this forum is for breeding, and having a baby is breeding. Get it? Ahhhhhh its never funny when you have to spell it out As for feeling old because of the grand daughter, not much can be done. However I think its poor Tim thats more likley to have problems, 14yrs old and an uncle! Congrats Sarah & the rest of the Downs Family.

Pretty much agree. No point in pointing the fault and the shop, ultimatly you you take the time to research your purchases before you buy. We are talking about a live animal, an animal that will be 100% dependant on you to provide it the environment it needs to survive. Its not a trival purchase, but if you treat it as one, you will have these sorts of problems. fish = good. impulse buying fish = bad

Reality - LFS = business. Must sell all fish and equipment, regardless...

30-50k.

Would you have to be a millionare? I don't think so, but wouldn't hurt!

I wish I was in Queenstown now... Doesn't look like we will get a chance to get up for a ski this year

I was born and lived for many years in Christchurch, I know exactly what its like, hence I am here

Yeah that is very cool. 10/10. I like the 'quiet reef' too. 800 gallon is quite large, 2x bigger than Alois tank, 4x larger than my tank.