Pies Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 Well I’ve been thinking about using a large remote sump for some time. However I have decided that, for now, its impractical for what I am trying to do. So I have decided to add a small frag grow-out tank instead. The tank is 980L x 450W x 600D. I want to use some existing 3ft T8 fluro ballasts and end caps I have hence the tank being just over 3 ft in length. I am also looking to source a single 150watt (or 250 if the price is right) halide pendant for the tank. It has 3 holes drilled. 1 for the standpipe 2 for returns. I am going to run an SCWD for a return on an Ehiem 1062. This will help with some random current. I will also have a single 3000 litre an hr power head on the tank. The tank will be driven from my existing sump as the thought of having 2 ‘tanks’ to maintain is too scarey! So I figure 1 skimmer, 1 heater, 1 water parameter to worry about should be fine. My CA reactor is designed to run a 4000 litre tank, so no problems there. My skimmer a 1600 litre tank (1000 litre heavy load). The entire system will be close to 1050 litres not counting displacement. I also plan to reduce the water level in my sump slightly, removing about 60L of water, this will add a reverse siphon safety factor for spillage I don’t have at the moment. I will run a dusting of sand, no more than 1cm thick. It will have approx 25kg of live rock. 1 fish. I hope to grow xenia, mushrooms and softies in there. It will also house the corals that are messing up my sand bed in the existing tank. But mostly is will be just extra water for the system and a MASSIVE feeder refugium (as well as my sump/refugium). I will also have it reverse lit with the sump, helping maintain PH balance. So anyone with corals for my new system best get hold of me, cause its going to look VERY bare for quite some time… Pies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted March 10, 2004 Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 Hey pies, you might be surprised at the colour of my green sinularia, it is actually green, unlike a lot of those sacrophytons which are labelled as green, but really are just white with a touch of green, i'll send some up when we get around to a frag exchange. also got some pink sinularia, (different growth form from the green one) Both grow very quickly. I also have some pink/brown capnella, which aparently grows like a weed, but it's not doing to well in my tank, (neither does my xenia) maybe it's a lack of nitrogen? They seem to love higher nutrient systems. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted March 10, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2004 Sounds great, thanks! I will take anything Capnella grows well in my tank, have fragged it out a few times. In fact the same with Xenia, I grew a bit of Xenia from a spot of white smaller than a half a finger nail. Its not as big as 3 fists and has been fragged and given away to 5 people. I've been pretty lucky with corals so far with only 2 losses, 1 was a damaged trach, the other an elegance coral from a doomed batch, suffering from the exact problem as described by Eric Bourneman in his recent 'project'. Send it all, I have a home for it Or at least will when my have my overflow box laser cut (what are the changes of meeting someone with a perspecs laser cutting business that has 3 MASSIVE marine tanks? Pretty good as it turns out I don't think my system is high in nurtrients, its skimmed well, has little algae and Acropora growth is obvious and my colours are good (not great but better than many I see). Give the Xenia heaps of current, HEAPS, it loves it. As for the Capnella it seems to grow anywhere in any condition. Not sure, try some Natural Sea Water There is no going back once the tank has tasted the 'real thing'. Pieman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted March 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2004 Well the new tank is progressing well and everything is on track to have water in it this weekend. The last of the plumbing arrived and has been glued into the tank. I few joins etc still need to be finalised but I hope I have enough stuff here at home to finish it without making another trip to the plumbers! The last thing I was waiting for was the overflow box, which was made out of black 6mm perspecs and laser cut. I picked up the cut sheet tonight and the guy has done an AWESOME job, I mean AWESOME. I will get it bent tommorow and glued in tommorow night if I can find the time. The back of the tank is painted black, this will help hide the tank valve fittings and blend in with the overflow chamber. Reducing light into the overflow boxes is importand, and a mistake I made with the last take. Its not a big deal but would help if it was cleaner. Drilling the tank has some major advantages when it comes to being tidy. My next large tank will be swiss cheese The hole with the blue handled tap is the corner were the overflow chamber will be fitted, this is where water is returned to the sump. The 2 holes on the back are the inputs, a SCWD will be mounted between them and help with random current. The front of these fittings have '45 degree 15mm plumbing on them in screw fittings, this will allow me to angle and change the direction of water floe easily. I also plan to use a 3000 litre an hr power head. Depending on how things go I might plumb in my other Sea Swirl 2 as I think these devices are AWESOME. To keep the costs of the tank down I am trying to recycle as much stuff as possilbe. The only think I am NOT prepared to skimp on is plumbing, and anyone who has had major saltwater spills will know what I mean. The plumbing has so far been the most expensive part of the tank (more expensive than the new tank it and the lighting for it!!!). Pieman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted March 16, 2004 Report Share Posted March 16, 2004 MTS strikes again! Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted March 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Nah this tank is stricktly part of the 'grand' plan I always wanted 2 tanks, 1 'display' 1 refugium/frag tank. So this is it. Got the stand pipe built and the overflow box bent and attached into the tank. The standpipe over flow box looks AWESOME. And I mean AWESOME. Laser cut and folded perfection. This tank looks great. All I need to do now is finalise the plumbing which is easy, and get it plumbed into the sump, which is slightly tricky. Also access to salt water is a problem with this Wellington Weather. I can get it filtered or make my own from salt and RO but I would rather use 'RAW' natural saltwater if possible. Its been a real missions, thanks to EVERYONE who helped or contributed. Will post some photos of it in its final resting place. Now send me your corals to fill it up please. Pies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted March 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 Part of every new tank installation should include a fresh water test. Check for leaks etc. So here it is. Jane is there to provide scale, and because she loves having her picture taken... You can see the overflow box, and the brace around the tank. This helps strengthen the tank as well as proving a splash gard and giving me somewhere to rest my lights on. I didn't want a centre brace and felt it was unnessessary given the tank is only just over 3ft long and made of 10mm glass. Here it is: The tank is being filled by an ehiem pump from a bucket behind the tank. I am filling it to mainly check for leaks from the plumbing of the SCWD, which can be seen here: I chose to use 2 union taps because it will make maintenance easy and I want 1 tap for each of the 2 holes to give me plumbing control. Even though these taps are expensive, I have made some grave plumbing mistakes in the past and for piece of mind alone it worth a few more bucks. And a close up here: And finally here is a shot of the corner overflow box. Its not leaking which is great! It looks awesome and should work out great. What is an SCWD you ask? Its a T joint with water being pumped into the bottom of the T. There are some form of mechenics on the tank that 'switch' the water flow from 1 side of the T to the other. Its a good cost effective way of getting random (ish) currents into the tank without electronics or major cost. I had this one as a left-over from the main tank (which is still using one), and decided that it would be a great option for this tank. Although the SCWD are less usefull in larger tanks for smaller tanks like this one they are almost perfect. I did contemplate using 2 on this tank but for reasons I won't go into here I didn't. It will be driven by an Ehiem 1062 (3500 litre hr) pump. So almost there. I hope to have water in it tommorow, but will wait and see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 looks good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 24, 2004 Report Share Posted March 24, 2004 Looks like you've got 3-4 leaks in the bottom picture coming from the scwd and hoses in the back. Probably just the picture though. That the scwd you offered to sell me for something like $250 ages ago? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted March 24, 2004 Report Share Posted March 24, 2004 ira, i doubt that its leaking. it is just getting tested before it gets plumbed up to the main tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 24, 2004 Report Share Posted March 24, 2004 Yes, I know they're not actually leaks, just commenting it looks like it. Just looked close now and realized they're the ends of cable ties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted March 24, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2004 Yeah I have cable tied on the SCWD to the union taps. Probably not nessessary but cable ties are about 10c ea, so worth it for insurance. I have had some shocking plumbing incidents. IRA - Yes that was the SCWD I offered to sell you. I think I paid $100.00 for it and would have been looking for about the same (certainly not $250). However if you want to buy it for $250.00 you are welcome to make the offer, I would probably sell it. I am using 1 on my main tank too. They are great little devices, but I think better on smaller tanks not that I have the big daddy Streams in my tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted April 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 Well I lost momentum on this little project after starting it. The problem was that during this time I resigned from my job, found a new job, planed a holiday, am trying to buy a new house and went to Auckald for a week. So it was hard to stay focused. Initially I wanted to use an EHIEM 1262 to run the SCWD feeding the tank. Money has however stoped this from happening, I have a spare Ehiem 1050 (1200 litre/hour) so am using this. It does't pump through as much water is I would like, but my poor sump is working so hard I think it could do with a break. There is nothing wrong with the 1050 just doesn't stir up the tank as much as I would have liked. Water movement. A little confused on what to do for additional water movement for this tank. I would have liked to use another STREAM but it would blow this little tank apart so I needed something else. Sticking with quality equipment but wanting more random current I found a good qualityh (IKS i think) top loading electronic pump, second hand. 3000 litre an hr. I also brought the TUNZE adapter to run this on my TUNZE controller. These pumps sit out of the tank (above it) and only have a small piece of plumbing in the tank. More stealth than a power head and less heat transfer (because the pump is above the tank and out of the water). This is working well and swells the current nicely. Lighting. hrmmmm. Through the trade an exchange I ended up with an Arcadia series 3 pendant for the tank, with 1x 250watt MH & 2x 2ft T8s. The plan for the 3 ft tank was to use 2 exisiting Arcadia ballasts I own but in the end I got the Arcadia for a good price so what could I do? This unit looks great and works well. I am getting some intense glitter lines on this tank, it has a 14k Arcadia bulb running at the moment, which is bluer than my tank and slightly less intense yet still very crisp. Plumbing to and from the sump is provided via my new favorite kit, the 19mm black PVC irigation pipe. I am so happy with my laser cut perspecs overflows I had made. These are PERFECT and will be identical for my next tank, but I will make lids to keep the light out. Also I cut the standpipe a little higher than last time, this means less noise as the water doesn't splash into the overflow box the same. Stock. Currently a few pices of live rock and lots of coral scraps. This tank is a refugium/coral growout tank. It will have 1 fish and other than that just rock and coral. I am not going to put much rock in either, just a few bit pieces to help give the tank some dimention and something to attach a few soft corals too. It has a light dusting of sand (5mm-1cm max). Ohhhh and its full of glass shrimp right now. I have noticed a few spawnings in my tank latley, and I suspect its these shrimp in the refugium. Great live food for the coral and fish, so I am loading the system with shrimp. Ocasionally once gets sucked back into the tank, where a hawkfish chases it and eats it. Live food, GREAT. So thats it, the whole this is running from the existing sump, so other than adding more water I don't need to do anything differently. The thought of running 2 skimmers and watching 2 tank paramaters is a scarey one and I don't think I would have time to do that, so this works out well. Also the intention to not add fish to it means my system is being 'diluted & increased' which should help stablise my paramaters, reduce the need for as frequent water changes etc etc etc. Its all good I hope. A pic: Pies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted April 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2004 Overall I am fairly happy with the way this tank has gone. My tank is looking so much clearer now that I have removed small frags etc from the sand bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted July 18, 2004 Report Share Posted July 18, 2004 thought i'd reply to this simply to pop this to the top again (worthy of another read ) where did you get the perspex cut? was it a local wellies store or a national outfit? looks a good idea to let good flow through it. dunno if this is old or new but i'll post this site i found too. good site for general info http://www.aquarium-design.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted July 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2004 Was donanted and cut by a local reef keeper here. He works in a factory that has a laser perspecs cutter. Any perspecs supplier will be able to put you onto someone who can do it. Will cost a few bucks but it looks awesome and works perfectly (will do it for my new tank). Not seen a better system for internal overflow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted August 15, 2004 Report Share Posted August 15, 2004 Hey Pies, How's the new tank coming along? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted August 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2004 The lino floor for the tank to sit on is finished, all plumbing has been delivered to the tank maker, who I spoke to last week and said he'd start this week. I still have some things to do at my end, organise a sparky etc. I am moving failry slowly. Its a pretty expensive setup and I don't have a lot of money, so am happy to go slowly. I am away for a few weeks in Vanuatu for the first 2 weeks of September so don't want the tank until I return from that. I suspect things will speed along once I return. I will take a week to get the tank plumbed in once it arrives, build the reef racks things like that. From there it will get water in it failry quickly, but i', not looking foward to filling it. 1400 litres of sea water is sevral mega trips to the ocean! I'll post photos when there is something to see. Pies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted August 15, 2004 Report Share Posted August 15, 2004 You could always get a couple of boxes of salt Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted August 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2004 Yeah but I am afraid if I use NSW my cyno will dissapear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted August 15, 2004 Report Share Posted August 15, 2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted August 16, 2004 Report Share Posted August 16, 2004 pic's dude, PIC's!!! make sure you take some as I have been doing so we can see ya progress (albeit slowly, its still progress ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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