imisky's 30G custom system
- Thread starter imisky
- Start date
imisky
New member
I would vote this thread 1/5 stars out of shear spite and jealousy.
Sweet setup you got going there brother! Thanks for sharing. :thumbsup:
Christopher
thanks guys for tagging along, i cant wait to get this whole thing going..Im already at the stage where i think i got the rockwork figured out now just need to see if my existing pieces can do it or i have to get some new rocks. Its frustrating when you want to do something but have no time for it. But i guess i just have to be patient and go with the flow of things other wise im sure if i rushed it, something would go wrong.
victornator333
New member
Hey imisky, I have par 38s as well and Im looking for a good way to build a fixture. Any way you can describe how you put it together?
imisky
New member
Hi Victor,
Im not quite sure what you meant by building a fixture, my PAR38s hang with lamp sockets and i find them quite nice the way it is, if i was to make a fixture though i would simply just use a sheet of acrylic and bend it into a half circle and mount the sockets into the acrylic.
victornator333
New member
Ah, I mean how are you hanging the bulbs, or from what are you hanging them? Right now mine are just clamped on using utility lights. Not the most aesthetically pleasing set up lol.
imisky
New member
the light hanger right now is made with 3 pieces of 1/2" aluminum piping
2x 7ft length
1x 3ft length
2x 90degree PVC
the 90degree PVC goes onto the ends of the shortest piece, in my case this is the 3ft piping. and the 7ft length pipes go on the side of the tank. Once the pipes are installed on the side just slip the top pipe with the PVC over the side and your done.
I will be making a new hanger using pipe benders and it'll come from the back. Theres a tutorial floating about on RC about how to do that one.
victornator333
New member
Makes sense, sorry to bug you so much, but did you use the blue pvc glue to fasten the pipe and elbows together?
Also, how are the lights connected to the pipe?
Thanks a bunch for your help
imisky
New member
haha dont worry about it. I didnt use any PVC glue, they fit quite snug into the aluminum pipes. The lights are then strapped to the pipes via thin clear zapstraps
imisky
New member
and the tank switch over starts...exciting!
i guess first the system has to come down first haha. and so it does..well not much to shwo other then the fact that there was barely any room left for walking after i was done taking the system down. The inside of the stand had to be reworked as well to fit the sump in
with the messy part over i guess this is what ive been waiting for... the new tank!
I think its better if i let the pictures do most of the talking and ill just fill in the blank.
and the light hangers installed
after that the plumbing and figuring out where the sump, ATO, dosing containers are going to go...
and then finally the scape while i had fun doing it i used mostly knew rock, not 100% new as they've been curing inside a cooking container for a while they are new to the system.
with the scape done it was time to add the corals in...it took a while to get all the corals off the rocks from the previous tank and then secure them to the LR. But overall i think it went alright it didnt take too long and some of the corals were easy to place.
and then i plugged the skimmer in....20mins later this is what i got in the cup
and i guess to finish it all off waited a couple hours and this is what it looks like, a little cloudy still but will surely go away soon i hope.
i guess first the system has to come down first haha. and so it does..well not much to shwo other then the fact that there was barely any room left for walking after i was done taking the system down. The inside of the stand had to be reworked as well to fit the sump in
with the messy part over i guess this is what ive been waiting for... the new tank!
I think its better if i let the pictures do most of the talking and ill just fill in the blank.
and the light hangers installed
after that the plumbing and figuring out where the sump, ATO, dosing containers are going to go...
and then finally the scape while i had fun doing it i used mostly knew rock, not 100% new as they've been curing inside a cooking container for a while they are new to the system.
with the scape done it was time to add the corals in...it took a while to get all the corals off the rocks from the previous tank and then secure them to the LR. But overall i think it went alright it didnt take too long and some of the corals were easy to place.
and then i plugged the skimmer in....20mins later this is what i got in the cup
and i guess to finish it all off waited a couple hours and this is what it looks like, a little cloudy still but will surely go away soon i hope.
imisky
New member
Thanks, Im not sure if me making you get a rimless tank is good or bad, but hey another tank for you to play with is never a bad thing i guess.
The MP40s are a huge overkill but one thing that i kept in mind was how i can keep the noise level as low as possible while delivering the maximum amount of flow. The MP40s did that, the MP10s would have been just as good but having heard an MP10 on 80-100% drove me nuts. The MP40s on 30-40% barely gave out audible noise from 7-8ft away was something that i really wanted as i tried to make this system "noise free". Other than the noise factor im sure i could have gotten away with the mp10s but why change them if you already have them.
i'm having the same problem with my mp10. i had to experience the sound at 100% first hand and wondered why i didn't go straight for an mp40. ecotech should add this to their faq :lolspin:
any idea would the sound of an mp20 be as loud as an mp10?
imisky
New member
haha ya i hear you, the MP20s that I've played with are about the same, when you drive the MP40s to 55-70% they start to get loud. So my verdict would be that they'd be the same as the MP10s
imisky
New member
heres something fun for everyone whos interested on SWC skimmers.
today i dug out my trusty old dwyer airflow meter to see what this skimmer is actually pulling in terms of LPH. The manufacture spec says it does 580lph i wanted to see what it would pull in real life..as most of us know some manufactures tend to boast there numbers a little when it comes to these numbers. But to my surprise the SWC did this
the picture shows 600LPH but in real life the little black ball bounces between 10-11LPM so at any given time we are looking at 600-660LPH
I must say it is pretty impressive to see a skimmer "out perform" its spec-ed ratings, not that this is the first time it has happened but its just nice to know there are companies out there that doesnt boast there product to crazy new heights.
But it is not fair to give everyone who is viewing the exact parameters in which this was taken.
1. fully opened air valve
2. sits in 8" of water
today i dug out my trusty old dwyer airflow meter to see what this skimmer is actually pulling in terms of LPH. The manufacture spec says it does 580lph i wanted to see what it would pull in real life..as most of us know some manufactures tend to boast there numbers a little when it comes to these numbers. But to my surprise the SWC did this
the picture shows 600LPH but in real life the little black ball bounces between 10-11LPM so at any given time we are looking at 600-660LPH
I must say it is pretty impressive to see a skimmer "out perform" its spec-ed ratings, not that this is the first time it has happened but its just nice to know there are companies out there that doesnt boast there product to crazy new heights.
But it is not fair to give everyone who is viewing the exact parameters in which this was taken.
1. fully opened air valve
2. sits in 8" of water
imisky
New member
finally! a bit of a break. With the alloted time off to relax whats better to do then sit back and enjoy the tank right? So as i do that i pulled out the camera and started taking some pictures. It was only after that i shot the photos that i realized the ISO setting on my 5d was set at 1600. The photos are still pretty decent but if you look close enough you'll see the obvious pixels. So with the lazy state and desire to relax a little im going to say these are good enough. Enjoy guys
FTS: (this was taken...a few weeks back, some corals has been moved around.)
ponape: (recoverying from Super ULNS)
hawkins
orange fungia
wild acro i picked up
gold rim blasto
green slimmer
boreallis: (it RTN-ed 3x and this is the size it is at again)
field of ultra acans:
a super purple SPS with a repulation to grow slow, anyone want to guess?
FTS: (this was taken...a few weeks back, some corals has been moved around.)
ponape: (recoverying from Super ULNS)
hawkins
orange fungia
wild acro i picked up
gold rim blasto
green slimmer
boreallis: (it RTN-ed 3x and this is the size it is at again)
field of ultra acans:
a super purple SPS with a repulation to grow slow, anyone want to guess?
imisky
New member
perhaps, i'll keep it a mystery for now
spartanomega21
New member
:thumbsup:awesome. looking good as ever
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