400g system from scratch pictorial
- Thread starter pclausen
- Start date
WILDTHING
New member
When I set up my 200g I want to have a small school of yellow tangs so I have been doing some research on them lately and if you want more than one you need to keep them in odd numbers to help dissipate some of the aggression. 2 will fight till one dies or gets sick and then dies, with 3 you'll probably have one dominant and 2 that he chases around but the aggression should be at a level that would allow everyone to have his own spot and not be overly stressed. Also add all of them at the same time
colleen
colleen
LittleBlueGT
New member
pclausen
New member
Thanks for the tip on the number of yellows. 3 it is then. I think that will look great!
I got my new 1.5" CL manifold assembled. I feel much better about this one than the 1" one I did originally. I have a feeling this one will really move some water and the noise caused by the reduction of the pump outlet down to 1", followed by a sharp 90 will be eliminated. I'm also going to use 1.5" flex spa from the ball valve to the union on the back of the manifold for 2 reasons; I had to cut out the old rigid line to get it out, so I wouldn't be able to go solid again without emptying the tank and pulling it back from the wall. And the second reason is that I believe it will cut down on some vibration/noise issues I had before. The 2" inlet from the tank is already 2" flex-spa. So this means it will be easy to raise the pump slightly to add some carpet or what not underneath it to experiment with noise reduction in case the wife still complains about the noise.
Here are a couple of shots of the new manifold. I'm not sure if I'm going to paint it black like the other one since it will be completely hidden by the canopy. The 1.5" to 3/4 reducers that the loc-lines screw into rest on the lower lip inside the tank so it can't slide from side to side.
I got my new 1.5" CL manifold assembled. I feel much better about this one than the 1" one I did originally. I have a feeling this one will really move some water and the noise caused by the reduction of the pump outlet down to 1", followed by a sharp 90 will be eliminated. I'm also going to use 1.5" flex spa from the ball valve to the union on the back of the manifold for 2 reasons; I had to cut out the old rigid line to get it out, so I wouldn't be able to go solid again without emptying the tank and pulling it back from the wall. And the second reason is that I believe it will cut down on some vibration/noise issues I had before. The 2" inlet from the tank is already 2" flex-spa. So this means it will be easy to raise the pump slightly to add some carpet or what not underneath it to experiment with noise reduction in case the wife still complains about the noise.
Here are a couple of shots of the new manifold. I'm not sure if I'm going to paint it black like the other one since it will be completely hidden by the canopy. The 1.5" to 3/4 reducers that the loc-lines screw into rest on the lower lip inside the tank so it can't slide from side to side.
pclausen
New member
Albert, I think a big part of my problem was that I reduced to 1" before my 90 elbow to the manifold itself. I had to do it this way because I didn't have room for the union after the 90.
I went ahead and painted it black like the last one. Btw, Krylon Fushion is the stuff to use for painting PVC pipe.
Ok, I'm off on my tropical play sand expedition. I'm thinking of going ahead and picking up a whole pallet, especially if they will give me a discount.
I went ahead and painted it black like the last one. Btw, Krylon Fushion is the stuff to use for painting PVC pipe.
Ok, I'm off on my tropical play sand expedition. I'm thinking of going ahead and picking up a whole pallet, especially if they will give me a discount.
pclausen
New member
Success!
I scored 20 bags at the Carlisle, PA Home Depot. They have another 30 or so bags if anyone is looking. That store was very interesting in that is was rather small and I was like the only person in the garden section! A couple of the bags had mold inside them, so they have been there for a long time! I stopped at another one in MD on my way up, that was very busy. They had no sand like this at all.
I also scored a couple of buckets of IO for $31.99 each at PetSmart (had to show them their web price in order to get that rate).
All in all a very successful 400 mile round trip!
I scored 20 bags at the Carlisle, PA Home Depot. They have another 30 or so bags if anyone is looking. That store was very interesting in that is was rather small and I was like the only person in the garden section! A couple of the bags had mold inside them, so they have been there for a long time! I stopped at another one in MD on my way up, that was very busy. They had no sand like this at all.
I also scored a couple of buckets of IO for $31.99 each at PetSmart (had to show them their web price in order to get that rate).
All in all a very successful 400 mile round trip!
pclausen
New member
I hear you Beverly. I just missed one such opportunity by a couple of weeks. The PetSmart 31.99 rate sure beats the lfs price of 49.99 though. But I'll be sure to watch for the next group purchase.
I got the new manifold installed. Here are a couple of different angles:
This shot shows how scratched up the plastic frame was on the tank. Lfs gave it to me at cost though and the hood completely covers it.
And the revised CL plumbing with both the intake and return being flex-spa. I'm was careful to flush all the new pipes with tap water before finalizing the install. I'm also going to let the glue dry overnight before firing it up. I have a feeling it is really going to move some water now. I'll be sure to make a wma or something of the action.
Tomorrow is the big day. I plan to pull all the rocks and give them their final swish, drain out an additional 40g (for a total of 80g), then add the sand and put the rock back in. So my "major" water change will be about 20% since all I have is 2 44g BRUTE mixing vats. Doing large water changes w/ a system volume of 400g isn't very practical!
I think I'm going to use a shallow PVC rack that will basically just consists of 1" PVC laying flat on the glass bottom like a grill rack given the 4" sand depth. On the other hand, I might be able to stick some of the uninteresting parts of some of the larger pieces down into the sand and not worry about a rack at all. We'll see.
I got the new manifold installed. Here are a couple of different angles:
This shot shows how scratched up the plastic frame was on the tank. Lfs gave it to me at cost though and the hood completely covers it.
And the revised CL plumbing with both the intake and return being flex-spa. I'm was careful to flush all the new pipes with tap water before finalizing the install. I'm also going to let the glue dry overnight before firing it up. I have a feeling it is really going to move some water now. I'll be sure to make a wma or something of the action.
Tomorrow is the big day. I plan to pull all the rocks and give them their final swish, drain out an additional 40g (for a total of 80g), then add the sand and put the rock back in. So my "major" water change will be about 20% since all I have is 2 44g BRUTE mixing vats. Doing large water changes w/ a system volume of 400g isn't very practical!
I think I'm going to use a shallow PVC rack that will basically just consists of 1" PVC laying flat on the glass bottom like a grill rack given the 4" sand depth. On the other hand, I might be able to stick some of the uninteresting parts of some of the larger pieces down into the sand and not worry about a rack at all. We'll see.
pclausen said:Success!
I scored 20 bags at the Carlisle, PA Home Depot. They have another 30 or so bags if anyone is looking.
Carlisle, Pa eh??? :eek2:
Cool, I'm from Harrisburg and have three brothers and my mom there!! I'm going to find out if they can score me some! Course, gotta figure out what shipping from there would be.
pclausen
New member
Good luck jarhed!
Turned the CL pump on this morning and boy does this one flow better than the last one! Not only that, but it's completely quiet! Wife is very happy and this will make it much more enjoyable to watch the tank.
Here is a 20 sec wmv of it in action. It sounds loud in the clip but that is just due to the automatic gain control on the camcorder.
Manifold in action!
Turned the CL pump on this morning and boy does this one flow better than the last one! Not only that, but it's completely quiet! Wife is very happy and this will make it much more enjoyable to watch the tank.
Here is a 20 sec wmv of it in action. It sounds loud in the clip but that is just due to the automatic gain control on the camcorder.
Manifold in action!
keefsama2003
In Memoriam
i had mine running last night after about 30 mins of tweaking and moping the floor i think i got it.
good thing the basement is unfinished because i had about 35 gallons on the floor before i got it right.
because of the poor quality holes drilled into the bottom of the tank before i got it the tank fills faster than it drains so i had to turn down the return some to compensate for the lack of drainage.
if i wasnt so nervous i would attempt to drill a hole in the back of the tank for a 3rd drain. and put a mini stand pipe in and plumb it into the fuge. im thinking i should.
any suggestions
good thing the basement is unfinished because i had about 35 gallons on the floor before i got it right.
because of the poor quality holes drilled into the bottom of the tank before i got it the tank fills faster than it drains so i had to turn down the return some to compensate for the lack of drainage.
if i wasnt so nervous i would attempt to drill a hole in the back of the tank for a 3rd drain. and put a mini stand pipe in and plumb it into the fuge. im thinking i should.
any suggestions
pclausen
New member
Keefsama, I had never drilled glass before I did the 3" one for my CL on this tank. 1/2" thick glass. I used a dremel and took my time. Having a helper with a spray bottle of water to keep things cool definitely helps. I drilled mine while it was sitting on the stand. Used a ball bit first to get through, and the a long cylindrical one for the outline itself.
keefsama2003
In Memoriam
o this is acrylic not glass.
im gonna go get a 3/4" bulk head and drill a hole for that and put it in the back of the tank a nd make another durso and plumb that into my fuge which is 90 and then that will drain int othe sump which is 90g.
what do you guys think.
im gonna go get a 3/4" bulk head and drill a hole for that and put it in the back of the tank a nd make another durso and plumb that into my fuge which is 90 and then that will drain int othe sump which is 90g.
what do you guys think.
pclausen
New member
Not going this year Albert. Hopefully I'll be up to speed by next year and hope to be able to attend.
400# of sand has been added to the tank. I started out carefully emptying one scoop at a time onto the bottom, but even that would cloud the water a little and it would have taken all day doing it that way. So instead I rinsed the outside of each bag, sat it in the tank, and flipped it over. Major sandstorm. However, I just hooked up a Filstar XP3 canister running nothing but 3 micro-filtration pads and the water is starting to clear already.
Here is a shot from when I fired up the canister filter:
And a close up of the sand. Notice the very fine sediment that has settled at the top. Should I mix the sand bed once things settle down so that this fine stuff gets mixed into all layers?
I saw this guy sitting on top of the first bag I opened, so you know this didn't come from some quarry.
400# of sand has been added to the tank. I started out carefully emptying one scoop at a time onto the bottom, but even that would cloud the water a little and it would have taken all day doing it that way. So instead I rinsed the outside of each bag, sat it in the tank, and flipped it over. Major sandstorm. However, I just hooked up a Filstar XP3 canister running nothing but 3 micro-filtration pads and the water is starting to clear already.
Here is a shot from when I fired up the canister filter:
And a close up of the sand. Notice the very fine sediment that has settled at the top. Should I mix the sand bed once things settle down so that this fine stuff gets mixed into all layers?
I saw this guy sitting on top of the first bag I opened, so you know this didn't come from some quarry.
