First Timer with some ideas

[iairj84]

I luckily was able to pick up black bulkheads so I'm not too terribly worried about those. The locline is black so it won't be a problem either I don't think. But I do think I'll spray paint the glass for the overflow.

I'm using a toothless triangle type design as seen
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1240485
There, It seems to be a great design for smaller tanks and it gives plenty of surface area for flow.... Let me know if you guys think differently. I was going to go with a box that went the whole length of the tank but it seemed excessive and l thought it would take up too much space.

Does Krylon stick to glass as well as it does to plastic?

 

[Rysam]

glass is too smooth for good adhesion. the paint will flake off and look shatty in a short time. i like that overflow idea. it looks sweet and very low profile. i may consider it on my next tank.
go to wakefield glass or and get a couple pieces of dark tinted glass. it wont be completely black but it will be less obvious. if you give them the sizes they can whip it out easy.

 

[iairj84]

Sweetness! I have a glass cutter for my stained glass class (don't ask... GF ) and could cut it if need be but if they'll cut it that's even better.... I'll get the dimensions as soon as I drill the drain. I can't wait to get the hole saws!

Yeah the overflow design is nice and low profile which is good in my style tank as I don't have much space and want to maximize as best as possible and both people that have used it say it's quiet so I'll try er out!

 

[iairj84]

Well today I realized that my glass cuttting hole saw will get gummed up by the paint so I'll have to drill from the inside which should be a little more difficult... Either that or I peel off the paint in those parts.

 

[iairj84]

Well here I am again with some new ideas... The idea stemmed from the fact that I want a fuge and despite what everyone say's I'm going to try my best to figure out something that will work...This of course is only because my pump is too big and I have the desire to not have powerheads!

So here's my two designs. I think either should work, but I thought the last Idea would work.... This way the baffles should kill the microbubbles throughout. I could always add a powerhead to the fuge area if it needed more circulation..... So here they are.

On this second one I got the baffles on the right wrong... disregard the way they are orientated.

 

[Rysam]

do you have a skimmer? and other equipment? if you dont want the sump to hide these then just go straight fuge. in one side, fuge in the middle and return on the other. yeah it may be alot of flow,but if thats what you have to go with. with head loss on a 600 gph pump your only looking at 400-500 gph through it anyways which isnt a bad number. IMO, faster than is desireable for a fuge but still very doable. as far as the bulkhead scrape the paint away and do it right for a proper seal. then you can just repaint the area and it looks good as new. dont bother trying to be gumby and risk cracking your tank by drilling from the inside.

 

[iairj84]

I'll be getting a Aqua C Remora here within the next couple months. I will have a heater in their but that should be about it.... The straight fuge is what I was planning on from the beginning but it seemed that everyone concurred it would be too much flow. I'm more than happy to go that route, and at least try it that way. If it's too much flow for the fuge I can scrap the macro and go just sump... No harm no foul, just trying to find a way that would work best

Thanks for your input King!

 

[Rysam]

anytime. glad to help.

this is a sump i had.(the middle pipe was just a backup emergency drain.)in on the left, out on the right. The baffles are so far apart on the left because it started out as an oceanic model 1 sump. it worked well for me. you could easily exchange the skimmer for a fuge. the only downside is, that without an ATO the return chamber would always be low due to evap.. i was continuously adding water. after i hooked up an ATO it was good.

 

[iairj84]

Yeah an ATO is in my very near future. I'll be piecing one together over christmas break. the skimmer works as a hob so I hope to keep it on the drain side as to no skim out the good copepods that would grow in the fuge. I don't know if this really matters as I'm mainly just talking out of my rear

 

[iairj84]

Well I guess I'll add in that I cracked the tank today drilling it. I had my doubts that I would be able to drill 3 holes on the one pane of thin glass like I was trying to do, and it would've worked if I wouldn't have dropped my drill. When that happened the glass pane cracked and I was SOL.

Luckily Jody has a few 20's already drilled for the same size drain as the one I need so I'm going to buy one from him and set it up with the returns going over the top of the tank.... I guess It was too good to be true the other way. Anywho I'm picking up the tank tomorrow and will be siliconing glass into the fuge as well. I will start the plumbing and hopefully by thanksgiving day I will be giving thanks for my beautiful new tank set up and working well!

 

[iairj84]

Well I guess this has turned into a journal type of thing and I'll have to start a new one when I get the tank up and running... Or keep this one... either way it's a lot of random posts by me trying to figure things out. Thanks a bunch guys! I apreciate every bit of it.

Well as I mentioned I picked up a painted and drilled 20 gallon from Jody at reef connections. He gave me a great deal too, thanks Jody! I spent about an hour or so peeling off the side paint as I want the tank to be viewable from 3 sides, not a big deal doing that. I also plumbed the tank today and spray painted my fittings and plumbing. It has the one inch drain and two 1/2'' returns. the returns are set up with threaded fittings for loc-line. I am picking up the glass for the fuge and will be siliconing them in tomorrow also. I have my aunt coming from LA wednesday evening and I would like to get the water, rock and sand in there by then as she's the one that got me into fish when I was younger.

I won't be adding fish until I'm positive my parameters are under control.. With adding the cured live rock I should be ready to rock and roll pretty quickly but I won't rush it as I don't want any livestock to suffer through any cycle I might encounter. the initial livestock will be a pair of clowns, probably true percs or possibly oscellaris. I would love to get a pair of misbarred percs but those aren't as cheap as the others and I don't want to make a mistake with more expensive fish. I am also planning on getting a Red bubble tipped Anenome per Jody's recommendation (not initally, after a few months of stable parameters.)

I predicted by thanksgiving, lets see if it works!! well technically it will be able to have running water by then... but running with live rock and sand!

 

[boviac]

Congrats on getting this set up!!! I too am in the process of scraping some of the side paint off a tank. only it's a 125 so there's a little bit more and my 2 yo daughter is taking up much of my free time. I know excuses... excuses.

 

[iairj84]

Thanks Boviac!

I got the tank and sump up and running with freshwater to test for leaks and make sure everything was working fine. I noticed the flow coming from the return wasn't too high so I will probably at some point reduce the diameter size of the tubing. I think I will have to add a powerhead as well. We'll see once I get the loc-line.

The tank has also been moved to it's new space on a new rack in the room. I've started mixing up saltwater with my RO water. I need to get the sand in place before I add the water to the tank. The sump seems to have great water height and plenty of room for a nice big clump of Macro, which if anyone has cheato I would love to get some from ya

Hopefully by thanksgiving I will have the liverock added. Keep your fingers crossed!

 

[Rysam]

remember:
bigger plumbing=more flow=less pressure=less velocity.
smaller plumbing= less flow= more pressure=higher velocity

i'll have some chaeto for ya at the next meeting. mine has exploded in the last couple of weeks since i took out the caulerpa.

 

[iairj84]

I'm not too worried about restricting the flow as I know that a smaller diameter tubing wouldn't restrict the pump any. The flow coming out is great for flow purposes but for using it with pressure isn't working too well. I'll get the loc-line for one of them and see what that does to direct the pressure and flow....

Thanks for keeping me in mind for the chaeto king (I will remember names when I get faces to go with it) I will definately give you a little cash for it if you want as I know the LFS charge for it.

 

[Rysam]

make it alot of cash and you've got a deal. seriously, its growing crazy fast in my fuge. i would rather give it away to someone who needs it than toss it or sell it.

 

[iairj84]

Sweet! I'll remind you before the club meeting...

In other news I got 20lbs of live pink samoa sand today and will be adding it to the tank tonight along with the saltwater.... Still on schedule!

 

[iairj84]

Well it's been about a week since I've posted and I figure it's probably about time so here she goes....

The tank is up and running! I actually had water in it and going the night before thanksgiving and was able to track down a leak at the bulkhead and ended up just replacing the bulkhead all together, no harm no foul. The live rock (and sand) have been in the tank for about a week now and have been eagerly awaiting some inhabitants (at least I hope they are haha) I will be adding livestock shortly as I find the perfect fish for it. I'm not overly picky I just want to get what I want the first time.

My girlfriend decided since she was initially going to get me the saltwater setup but didn't have the money, that she would buy me my first fish. I'm pretty stoked about that!

I'll try and get some pics posted sometime soon after I get some fish and livestock in there.

 

[boviac]

Are you testing for cycling yet? Congrats on the setup.

And Josh is right. Any fittings, pipe length, etc all cause flow friction -> increased pressure needed to overcome.

So depending on what pump you are using, you are going to put backpressure on a PH if you reduce the size of the conduit (pipe or tube). Some of the lower end PH chatter loudly and annoyingly if too much (read very little) backpressure is placed upon them.

If you've stated what you're using for a return pump previously I apologize as I don't recall.

 

[Rysam]

make sure the tank is fully cycled before you add anything living.
ammonia=0
nitrites=0
nitrates=low to 0

you wont have to "flush" as much money down the drain.
throw a couple cocktail shrimpys from the store in there for a few days just to make sure the cycle is kicked off. then sit back and wait for a few while it does its thing. even if you rock is "cured" or whatver the shrimps will guarantee it is.