Grahams tank of the month.
- Thread starter SeanT
- Start date
G-money
Premium Member
overflow (above water portion)....not much to see here.
So, no Durso, no nothing except the bulkhead and 1" PVC pipe. I had a "professional" (old LFS owner) drill, fit, and seal the bulkheads. In the outside plumbing pics you can see the side vent pipe which is necessary or you will have major "blub-blubbing". It needs to rise above the level of the bulkhead as well or you will have water flying out of it. I put a piece of sponge in them to dampen the slight woosh of water as well.
This method is not completely silent, but I have been able to get it very quiet. The tank is in the living room and it's in no way intrusive.
I don't have the overflows working at capacity though either, and if I increase the return pump's flow a bit, the overflows become considerably noisier.
Anyway, I find the main benefit (more tank room) to outweigh the main drawback (not silent) and it is an excellent option for tanks up to 120 gallons IMO. Personally, I would probably just do a regular overflow on anything larger than a 120...
Hope this is useful info...
So, no Durso, no nothing except the bulkhead and 1" PVC pipe. I had a "professional" (old LFS owner) drill, fit, and seal the bulkheads. In the outside plumbing pics you can see the side vent pipe which is necessary or you will have major "blub-blubbing". It needs to rise above the level of the bulkhead as well or you will have water flying out of it. I put a piece of sponge in them to dampen the slight woosh of water as well.
This method is not completely silent, but I have been able to get it very quiet. The tank is in the living room and it's in no way intrusive.
I don't have the overflows working at capacity though either, and if I increase the return pump's flow a bit, the overflows become considerably noisier.
Anyway, I find the main benefit (more tank room) to outweigh the main drawback (not silent) and it is an excellent option for tanks up to 120 gallons IMO. Personally, I would probably just do a regular overflow on anything larger than a 120...
Hope this is useful info...
Last edited:
reeftacular
New member
tank of the month
tank of the month
Graham;
Totally awesome tank dude!!! Tanks like yours are the reason I got into reefing! I bet you never thought you'd be so popular with your tank! I really appreciate as I'm sure the others do, your taking the time to answer everyone's questions. I am in the process of setting up a tank the same dimensions as yours. I basically want to keep the same corals as you so I am very interested in your success. I had the back of my tank drilled the same locations as yours planning on using them for returns as I had a overflow box, (yes I hated to waste the space!) installed in the middle back of the tank. I'm thinking of using one with an Ocean currents 'rotating pulser' to create the water havoc needed and attaching a spraybar to the other. what do you think? How many holes would you put in the spraybar and how far above the substrate? Also, I have a Rio 2500 (about 550 GPH) as my return pump in the sump. What other PH's would you include? I have been saving for this tank & it has taken me 1 year to get this far and I am just about ready to go. I have 2-250w MH's & 2-110w PFO's. I have a friend that is going to do all the electrical connections for me for free! Needless to say, I am using the time to make sure I have done everything right! I also am using a 10 gal aquarium tank for a refugium. any and all comments are welcome!
Thanks!!! :beachbum:
tank of the month
Graham;
Totally awesome tank dude!!! Tanks like yours are the reason I got into reefing! I bet you never thought you'd be so popular with your tank! I really appreciate as I'm sure the others do, your taking the time to answer everyone's questions. I am in the process of setting up a tank the same dimensions as yours. I basically want to keep the same corals as you so I am very interested in your success. I had the back of my tank drilled the same locations as yours planning on using them for returns as I had a overflow box, (yes I hated to waste the space!) installed in the middle back of the tank. I'm thinking of using one with an Ocean currents 'rotating pulser' to create the water havoc needed and attaching a spraybar to the other. what do you think? How many holes would you put in the spraybar and how far above the substrate? Also, I have a Rio 2500 (about 550 GPH) as my return pump in the sump. What other PH's would you include? I have been saving for this tank & it has taken me 1 year to get this far and I am just about ready to go. I have 2-250w MH's & 2-110w PFO's. I have a friend that is going to do all the electrical connections for me for free! Needless to say, I am using the time to make sure I have done everything right! I also am using a 10 gal aquarium tank for a refugium. any and all comments are welcome!
Thanks!!! :beachbum:
PGurns
New member
Great tank. Ironically I have almost the exact same tank setup including the temp and salinity parameters it is only about 6 months old at this point and I can only hope to achieve the results you have. Good work!
I have 2 questions first off do you by any chance have any pictures of your rockwork layout before the corals went in?
Secondly can you provide me some more details regarding the phyto setup.? I would love to do the same thing to feed my filter feeders and my Scleronephthya. A quick rundown and maybe any links that you found helpful would be great.
Thanks
Paul
I have 2 questions first off do you by any chance have any pictures of your rockwork layout before the corals went in?
Secondly can you provide me some more details regarding the phyto setup.? I would love to do the same thing to feed my filter feeders and my Scleronephthya. A quick rundown and maybe any links that you found helpful would be great.
Thanks
Paul
G-money
Premium Member
Paul,
Yes, I do in fact have pics. Can't remember if they are digital or not though
I'll check when I get home. I took some early ones with a regular camera. Also, the rockwork has changed a bit since the original layout, but for all intensive purposes it's the same. There is a little bit of vertical PVC support on the left side formation.
BTW, great signature! :lol:
Yes, I do in fact have pics. Can't remember if they are digital or not though
I'll check when I get home. I took some early ones with a regular camera. Also, the rockwork has changed a bit since the original layout, but for all intensive purposes it's the same. There is a little bit of vertical PVC support on the left side formation.BTW, great signature! :lol:
jcm1229
New member
Nice Tank and pics!! I'm going to convert a 75 FW to reef soon and am going to get the tank drilled. Any more details on the hole placement?? I know you havethem upper left and Upper right - but any more details - how far from top and side?? How close do you have the tank to the wall and any pics of the Pvc plumbing from the back??
Any help or pics on your setup will be helpful in my planning.
Thanks!
Any help or pics on your setup will be helpful in my planning.
Thanks!
J4Life
Premium Member
Graham,
Sorry that I haven't responded to the pictures of the sump. I have been out of the loop for a bit. Thanks for posting them I really appreciate it.
I really like the setup of your tank. I have a 75 gallon reef and it is the same dimensions as your 90 gallon minus the extra 3'' in height.
Hope to achieve the same good looking results as you have accept using VHO's instead of MH's
Thanks again and here is a couple of pics of my 75 gallon reef.
Hope you enjoy them,
Bill
Full Tank Shot
Left Side Close Up
Middle Close Up
Right Side Close Up
Sorry that I haven't responded to the pictures of the sump. I have been out of the loop for a bit. Thanks for posting them I really appreciate it.
I really like the setup of your tank. I have a 75 gallon reef and it is the same dimensions as your 90 gallon minus the extra 3'' in height.
Hope to achieve the same good looking results as you have accept using VHO's instead of MH's
Thanks again and here is a couple of pics of my 75 gallon reef.
Hope you enjoy them,
Bill
Full Tank Shot
Left Side Close Up
Middle Close Up
Right Side Close Up
PGurns
New member
Thanks, I can't wait to see them. I only have 2 very small coral frags at the moment so changing my rockwork around should not be too hard. I also have some pvc holding up my rockwork and although I was quite happy with it at first now I don't like it. From what I've read and heard though that is the nature of this hobby
can't seem to stop fussing with the stuff LOL. Well look forwared to seeing the pics and thanks a bunch.Paul
G-money
Premium Member
Sorry Paul, it seems those pics were on regular film. I can't find them on the computer...
My only advice is try to picture what types of corals you will be keeping and the available real estate. Try to imagine where you will put which type of coral. Obviously more horizontal surface area will allow you more placement options than using up your rock's surface area to build vertical formations.
I've found that a 90 gallon is actually not a very desirable dimension for aquascaping. The 24" height and 18" width kind of force you to use your rock upward instead of spread outward - especially if you don't want it to touch the tank's walls. I decided to support some of the rock with the walls of the tank and it led to nuisance algae growth in those areas.
My only advice is try to picture what types of corals you will be keeping and the available real estate. Try to imagine where you will put which type of coral. Obviously more horizontal surface area will allow you more placement options than using up your rock's surface area to build vertical formations.
I've found that a 90 gallon is actually not a very desirable dimension for aquascaping. The 24" height and 18" width kind of force you to use your rock upward instead of spread outward - especially if you don't want it to touch the tank's walls. I decided to support some of the rock with the walls of the tank and it led to nuisance algae growth in those areas.
PGurns
New member
NP, Thanks for trying. I guess I will leave mine alone for now. I am having a house built, which should be done around September, so I was trying to hold off adding any livestock until after the move. I just can't seem to stop wanting to change something though LOL. Thanks again and congrats on TOTM honors, from the looks of it you deserve it.
Paul
Paul
dwall174
New member
Congratulation on getting the tank of the month :celeb3:
Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m still in the process of setting up my system (check gallery) I can only hope my tank looks Ã"šÃ‚½ that good in a couple years! I agree with you about drilling the back! All my bulkheads in the system are through the back I used a modified version of the Durso system for (HOB overflow) to eliminate the slurping & gurgling sounds.
Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m still in the process of setting up my system (check gallery) I can only hope my tank looks Ã"šÃ‚½ that good in a couple years! I agree with you about drilling the back! All my bulkheads in the system are through the back
I used a modified version of the Durso system for (HOB overflow) to eliminate the slurping & gurgling sounds.
J4Life
Premium Member
Hey jcm1229,
I do have a sump tank. It pretty much is providing mainly away for water to circulate. I have it 20 gallon tank that has a 6" divider in it and on one side is a box that used to hold bio balls that have been replaced with some LR and on the other side I have a Mag 7 pump for a return sitting on about an 1 to 1-1/2 aragonite base that holds some smaller pieces of LR and a little bit of macro algae.
I was using a CPR bakpak protein skimmer, but have been skimmerless for about 2 months and every thins is doing just fine.
The DSB is made up of 3-1/2" to 4" inches of plain old play sand that had been in the tank for almost a year and seeded with lots of stuff from IPSF.com. I recently was able to get my hands on 5 bags of Southdown and added two of them on top of the old sand and now have a beautiful bright white layer of about 2-1/2"inches deep. Love the stuff. Wish I had it sooner, but the regular old play sand did just fine.
I do not have a calcium reactor and probably never will. I just add Kents Tech CB in the mornings and top of with a gallon or so of fresh RO water and my PH, Alk, & Calcium are always where I want them to be.
HTH's,
Bill
I do have a sump tank. It pretty much is providing mainly away for water to circulate. I have it 20 gallon tank that has a 6" divider in it and on one side is a box that used to hold bio balls that have been replaced with some LR and on the other side I have a Mag 7 pump for a return sitting on about an 1 to 1-1/2 aragonite base that holds some smaller pieces of LR and a little bit of macro algae.
I was using a CPR bakpak protein skimmer, but have been skimmerless for about 2 months and every thins is doing just fine.
The DSB is made up of 3-1/2" to 4" inches of plain old play sand that had been in the tank for almost a year and seeded with lots of stuff from IPSF.com. I recently was able to get my hands on 5 bags of Southdown and added two of them on top of the old sand and now have a beautiful bright white layer of about 2-1/2"inches deep. Love the stuff. Wish I had it sooner, but the regular old play sand did just fine.
I do not have a calcium reactor and probably never will. I just add Kents Tech CB in the mornings and top of with a gallon or so of fresh RO water and my PH, Alk, & Calcium are always where I want them to be.
HTH's,
Bill
1bad_e46-bmer
New member
Hey Graham awesome tank!!! I was wondering if you were satisfied with the detrivore kit from ISPF? I am thinking about ordering one myself!:rollface:
G-money
Premium Member
1bad_e46-bmer said:
Thank you.
Yes, I was completely satisfied with IPSF's detritivore kit. I ordered it in late Novermber and when shipping to MN, that means it's cold! Every single thing arrived alive and well-packed, although this was 2-1/2 years ago...When I move this summer, I will be ordering from them as soon as the tank is set up again.
percula99
New member
Hey Graham, absolutely top notch reef you've got. I'll bet you can sit there and watch it forever.
Thank you for taking the time to give so much useful feedback to everyone who has posted. I hope you can do one more.
I have a brown gorgonian. like the one in your tank. I have had mine for about two months now, and last week it closed up completely. It only partially opens now, and only for limited amounts of time. Nothing has changed in the tank recently, water parameters are all perfect, except KH (Carbonate Hardness) is a little low, 6, but within acceptable range. I am buffering to get it back up, and watching my PH as I do. Everything else is at perfect readings. My lighting is three MH 250 watt 6500K, on for 12 hours, two VHO actinics on for 14 hours. All other corals are doing well. There is moderate current where it is located. The gorgonian moves a little, but is not bent over due to excessive water flow.
Any ideas. I attached a picture from your tank just to make sure we are talking aboout the same coral.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts you might have.
Thank you for taking the time to give so much useful feedback to everyone who has posted. I hope you can do one more.
I have a brown gorgonian. like the one in your tank. I have had mine for about two months now, and last week it closed up completely. It only partially opens now, and only for limited amounts of time. Nothing has changed in the tank recently, water parameters are all perfect, except KH (Carbonate Hardness) is a little low, 6, but within acceptable range. I am buffering to get it back up, and watching my PH as I do. Everything else is at perfect readings. My lighting is three MH 250 watt 6500K, on for 12 hours, two VHO actinics on for 14 hours. All other corals are doing well. There is moderate current where it is located. The gorgonian moves a little, but is not bent over due to excessive water flow.
Any ideas. I attached a picture from your tank just to make sure we are talking aboout the same coral.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts you might have.
G-money
Premium Member
percula99,
Thank you for the compliment!
It's hard to say what the problem is. My gorgonian has closed a portion of one arm in the past, but that was because it was rubbing on the Monti. cap above and to the right of it. Mine also gets a good deal of current, so I don't think that's the issue...unless you have a direct stream shooting at it.
Maybe look for a fish or other animal that may be bothering it. I would think that other corals in your tank would act up due to any water quality issues before the gorgonian. Sorry, I don't know what else to tell you...
Thank you for the compliment!
It's hard to say what the problem is. My gorgonian has closed a portion of one arm in the past, but that was because it was rubbing on the Monti. cap above and to the right of it. Mine also gets a good deal of current, so I don't think that's the issue...unless you have a direct stream shooting at it.
Maybe look for a fish or other animal that may be bothering it. I would think that other corals in your tank would act up due to any water quality issues before the gorgonian. Sorry, I don't know what else to tell you...
