10 salty gallons.

C

cableguy69846

New member
It is about time I got a saltwater tank. I have been looking at them and reading about them for a few years now. I have been doing freshwater for a while and originally wanted a salt tank. I finally have one. Got the LR and salt water today. Still need to get more for it, but it is started.

It is a 10 gallon tank with about 12 lbs of LR in it. It has a 170 GPH powerhead in it that is going to be replaced with an AC110 fuge and smaller power head in the future. Right now, the lighting is 2 10 watt 6500K CFL bulbs in a dual incandescent hood. They will be replaced with 50/50 bulbs soon. Then I can think about some more powerful lighting. I got 1.5 lbs of live rock, and 12.5 lbs of dry rock, so this tank is going to sit for a while while it all spreads. I am also going to add a sand bed. That will be soon as well.

IMG_4777.jpg


That's all for now.:fish1:
 
Looking good so far. May I suggest the Koralia Nano 240 for the future powerhead. I also would wait on the sand until your rock is done "shedding".
 
HaKs310 said:
Looking good so far. May I suggest the Koralia Nano 240 for the future powerhead. I also would wait on the sand until your rock is done "shedding".
Click to expand...

Thanks.

I was thinking of that powerhead today actually. Just didn't know the name of it. As for the sand, I am going to take your advice and wait on it. I can't do any thing to the tank until next payday anyway and that is two weeks away. At that point, I think I am going to do the AC110 fuge. After I do that, I can do the other stuff.
 
I have been a busy dude. I got an awesome deal on a 15 gallon tank that is drilled for a 1" drain and 3/4" return with a stand, 10 gallon sump, return pump, and bunch of live rock. I jumped on it. Once I got it I set it up and ran it. The plumbing was not pretty but functional. I decided to change it. The 10 gallon sump was not modded in any way, so I decided to change that too. I also modded the stand so the entire back of it would be open.

IMG_4853.jpg


I also decided I didn't have enough room in the sump for a fuge, so I am going to pipe in a 2.5 gallon tank to do that.

Ok, down to the details.

I split the sump into two sections.
IMG_4854.jpg


On the left is the 3" pvc rock rubble stack where the water will enter the sump. It is on an eggcrate riser so the water will flow out of the bottom and blow any detritis out.
IMG_4857.jpg


The first section of the sump is going to be jammed with live rock and later a skimmer. Probably going to be a Coralife Super Skimmer rated for a 65 gallon tank.
IMG_4860.jpg


The second part of the sump is the return. Right now I have a return filter from a BioCube 29 but am going to replace it with a Mag Drive 3 in the near future.
IMG_4858.jpg


The return is 3/4" pvc and the drain is 1" pvc. The drain is going to be split so I can drain into the 2.5 gallon fuge and the sump.
IMG_4856.jpg

The drain to the fuge is 3/4" with a valve on it so I can shut it down.

IMG_4855.jpg

The fuge is going to be drilled for a 3/4" drain to the sump and be sort of slow flow. I have a 10watt 6500K mini CFL lamp in a 12" hood for it.

Ok, on to the nitty gritty. I had all the plumbing and all that mocked up the other day when I noticed the drain had a small leak in the bulkhead. Silly me tried to teflon tape it and crank the nut down which resulted in it breaking. The new bulkhead won't be here until late next week. So, I am sort of stuck until then.

On a more minor note, I made an eggrate top for the display tank.
IMG_4859.jpg


On the list of things to do, I still need to paint the back of the DT black, and get the plumbing taken care of once the bulkhead gets here. After that, it is going to be flooded and everything else will get taken care of while it is up and running.

To do list:
Drill and plumb fuge
Purchase skimmer
DIY LED fixture for DT
Set up ATO system
Paint back of DT
Glue plumbing
Purchase Hydor Koralia Nano powerhead(s)
Purchase Mag 3 return pump

After all of that, I should be good to go. This is going to take a while though. The good thing is this, I don't really have to get any more live rock though.

My original 10 gallon is stacked with it.
IMG_4863.jpg


That is all for now. I know this post was a bit all over the place, but I hope you get the idea so far.
 
Got the back painted. Need to paint the eggcrate top, get the bulkhead installed when it comes in, and glue all the PVC together and this thing will be ready.

IMG_4864.jpg

IMG_4866.jpg

IMG_4867.jpg
 
Thing looks way bigger than a 15g in those last pictures?

Why paint the light diffuser? It would look nice in black but I'd be concerned about it absorbing light.
 
HaKs310 said:
Thing looks way bigger than a 15g in those last pictures?

Why paint the light diffuser? It would look nice in black but I'd be concerned about it absorbing light.
Click to expand...

It does look bigger. I think it is the angle.

I am worried about it reflecting too much light. But I can try leaving it white for a while and see what happens.
 
Bulkhead is here and installed. Plumbing is glued and curing. Now I need to break the 10 gallon down into buckets so I can do some minor furniture rearranging. Other then all that. I need to let it cure for a few hours.

IMG_4870.jpg


IMG_4871.jpg


I still need to get a bulkhead for the 2.5 and drill it for a 3/4" drain. And I need to paint the back and one side of it black. After that, just some upgrades left.

Upgrades planned

2x Hydor Koralia Nano 240's to replace the 2 existing powerheads
Mag 3 to replace the Oceanic return pump
Some loc-line to replace the existing

Then I need to figure out some permanent lights. Probably going to do LED's but I may do a T5HO fixture. Not sure if I should do 2 bulbs or 4 bulbs for the T5 though. Any thoughts?
 
Tank and stand are in their spot. Here it is all lit up. Cable's Lagoon lives!

IMG_4872.jpg


Not the final lights for the DT, but that is the light for the fuge.
 
The bulbs in the fixtures I got need to be replaced.

Both fixtures on.
IMG_4890.jpg


Rear fixture on.
IMG_4891.jpg


Front fixture on.
IMG_4892.jpg


Both fixtures have a 10,000K and Actinic bulb in them. You can see how far gone they are.

And this tank needs to clear up. ASAP.
 
I snapped a couple of pictures before work but did not get to post them as I got called in early. Pretty much answered the phone with my arm in the sump. Ruined my night.:lol: Any way, here they are.

Not sure how I feel about the scape and I think I could use more rock. Then again, maybe I should just fill it with corals.:D
IMG_4896.jpg


Had quite a bit for the sump, but I think I want some more.
IMG_4897.jpg


That is all for now. Need to see how badly my salinity swings overnight and throw together an ATO.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
Gph for 32 biocube
Replies
1
Views
333
griss
griss
G
Back after 20 years - cycling advice
Replies
4
Views
161
Guygettnby
Guygettnby
S
200 Gallon Mixed Reef - Rock Questions
2
Replies
20
Views
582
wvned
wvned
S
Tank is not cycling
2 3
Replies
44
Views
944
wvned
wvned
T
How to calculate head pressure through Python hose?
Replies
5
Views
145
wvned
wvned
Back
Top