40 Gallon Custom, looking for feedback...

djian said:
Awesome, cant wait to see it running
Click to expand...

Thanks! Just added 23 more gallons, just a little more to go then I can get her cycling...

gfk said:
got here a little early to see the thing stocked i suppose. great thread, gave me a ton of ideas on what i want to do in the future when i upgrade.

question for you. what tools do you have that you used to make this.

im guessing chop saw
router
drill/screwgun

anything else besides basic hand tool?
Click to expand...

Thanks GFK, the tools I used were a table saw, compound miter saw, router, belt & disc sander, drill, lots of clamps and even more patience... :)
 
The tank is now full of RO/DI (48 gallons with sump and overflow box).

My Q1 5000 is really loud for some reason, my Dad has the same pump for his CL and it's so silent... Might be sending this one back for a new one.

Salt will go in once I'm happy with the noise level, and then I'll try to get the sand added as soon as I get my butt to the store to buy some.
 
I have been hereing alot of negative about the new q1 pumps. I guess theres a problem with the shaft and impeller that causes some restriction on it turning making alot of the pumps loud!
 
Yeah, I called the retailer and they suggested opening it and checking to see if the impeller is loose... They are willing to replace it if I can't get it to quiet down, but like I said, my Dad's Q1 is absolutely silent so I know it's not to be expected.
 
I'll try to post some pics tonight! I've got the water in, the salt mixed, the sand bed 1-2 inches thick, and most of the sand cloud settled... I need to go through my rock that's been cooking for the last 3 months and see what I want to use. So I might have rock in there as soon as tonight as well.
 
I know it's been said, I just didn't expect my tank to get as hot as it does... Yesterday without the chiller running it his 87 degrees and when I turned the chiller on it got it down to 80 before it got heat soaked and started to heat the tank back up... So...

I'm thinking of pulling my chiller out of the stand, there's just not enough circulation for it with the doors on.

Anyone think if I move the chiller out, what I should/could put in it's place? CA Reactor? 2 part CA/Alk with dosing pump? Bigger Kalk Reactor? Refugium? Leave it empty?
 
Yeah, I was going to say, "I see in your pics that there's 2-3 square inches left in your stand. What are you going to fill it with?" But you beat me to it. :)

I've been lurking this thread for a while. It's a gorgeous tank and I'm really looking forward to seeing shots of it finished.

Andy
 
LOL!!! Thanks Andy, any ideas of what I could still use? I figure kalk should handle most of the CA requirements for a tank this small so a CA reactor shouldn't be needed... but pulling the chiller out of the stand just opens up some great realestate that I'd hate to not capitalize on. Anyone have an idea of what else I could use?
 
Hey Eric, great tank. I can't wait to see the new pictures with water, sand, etc... I just love stumbling onto threads like this once they are 6 months old. That way, I don't have all of the anticipation building up... I can just read through the whole thread in an hour or so and be satisfied. I love instant gratification! :)

Okay, as for the space where the chiller was... I would recommend a small fuge. I think you could build an acrylic box that would fit the space exactly, find a way to get a light over it, have 2 holes drilled for input and return, then just put a small power head in the sump and have it pump water into the fuge. The water would just return back to the sump using gravity. It would be a fairly simple design and you could grow quite a big ball of cheato in a fuge that size. :)

Good luck and make sure to take a few more pictures tonight for those of us with little patience.

-Scott
 
scbauer said:
Hey Eric, great tank. I can't wait to see the new pictures with water, sand, etc... I just love stumbling onto threads like this once they are 6 months old. That way, I don't have all of the anticipation building up... I can just read through the whole thread in an hour or so and be satisfied. I love instant gratification! :)

Okay, as for the space where the chiller was... I would recommend a small fuge. I think you could build an acrylic box that would fit the space exactly, find a way to get a light over it, have 2 holes drilled for input and return, then just put a small power head in the sump and have it pump water into the fuge. The water would just return back to the sump using gravity. It would be a fairly simple design and you could grow quite a big ball of cheato in a fuge that size. :)

Good luck and make sure to take a few more pictures tonight for those of us with little patience.

-Scott
Click to expand...

Thanks for the compliments Scott... I'm thinking a refugium as well, but I don't want it to take up all the room so I'll have to do some tinkering...

As promised here's some current shots:

DSCN1487.jpg


Don't mind the piece of PVC sitting there... I plugged the CL drain with it when I filled it with sand so I didn't get sand going through the pump. Haven't taken it out yet...

DSCN1488.jpg


DSCN1489.jpg


DSCN1490.jpg
 
Thanks...

I added some rock tonight as well... I'm not sure what to think yet. I've spend the last hour trying different ideas and maybe I just have the wrong rocks... Let me know what you think.

DSCN1511.jpg


DSCN1509.jpg


DSCN1508.jpg
 
How many lbs is that approximately? Maybe a few more base rocks? I like the way it looks, but I've learned that stability trumps looks when it comes to aquascaping. I don't know how many times I've been mounting a frag only to have my rock work shift. I would definitely make sure everything sits just fine.
 
I'd guess about 65 lbs... It's pretty stable right now, but I'll keep trying to test it's stability before mounting corals. Figure I need to do something for the next 6 weeks. :)
 
Hey Eric, congrats on the tank (I really like the rocks like that with the "tunnel" in the front) AND on post number 1,000 (well, if you respond to this it will be 1,000). :)

-Scott
 
Post 1000! Thanks Scott! Appreciate the comments!

I just ordered some 250W 14K HQI Phoenix bulbs for this and my Dad's tank. Are you happy with the color? I have a hell of a time getting the color right on pics with my current 14K bulbs, do you find the Phoenix color easier to capture?
 
Hey Eric, I forget to mention that I love the picture of your little dude in the tank.

As for the Phoenix 14K's, I do like the color, but I don't love it. I must say, however, I'm not using a true HQI ballast, but rather an IceCap 250W E-ballast. For this reason, the bulb is a little bit more blue than I would like. My understanding is that a true HQI ballast will overdrive the bulb (I don't know by how much, but that's what I've been told) so the bulb runs a little more white when using the true HQI.

Either way, I am happy with the bulb compared to the Ushio 10,000K that I had before. If you have an actual HQI ballast (which I believe you do), then you'll love it.

I'm following this thread more and more closely now that I realize how similar my new tank is to yours. Mine is actually used, but it is using a lot of the same equipment. I have the SLS ROIII+, the Phoenix 14K 250W DE, EuroReef ES5-2, Mag 7 return, Iwaki MD40 on a closed-loop, and I will get the OM SuperSquirt shortly. Can't wait to see how your tank turns out.

-Scott
 
can you snap a pic from a few feet back? I think its lookin awesome with the water and rock! how is the pluming and flow workin out for you?
 
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