Thomas Jones
New member
Looking Good Jason. Drilling a tank is always nerve racking. I bet it will look amazing once your done. Keep up the good work.
JT's Oceanic Ultimate
- Thread starter jthomps123
- Start date
jthomps123
Member
OK after much procrastination, other priorities, and general lack of time - i've gotten back on this tank!
Finally called and got the baffles cut and installed them.
My ghetto jigs...
Ugly and uneven seems. But they seem to be holding water, and since theyre internal im not too worried. 32 Degree weather will cause you to hurry.
Plumbing has now, for the most part, been installed. I kept it very simple.
The return:
And the main drain:
Next steps:
Figure out my what lighting i'll use.
Either 1x 250w MH on lightrail + 3x80w T5.
Or 3x80w T5 + 4x54w T5.
Any opinions? T5 only will let me make a much smaller hood. But I think the extra effort might be worth it to keep the MH on lightrail, i've liked that setup on my 75.
Finally called and got the baffles cut and installed them.
My ghetto jigs...
Ugly and uneven seems. But they seem to be holding water, and since theyre internal im not too worried. 32 Degree weather will cause you to hurry.
Plumbing has now, for the most part, been installed. I kept it very simple.
The return:
And the main drain:
Next steps:
Figure out my what lighting i'll use.
Either 1x 250w MH on lightrail + 3x80w T5.
Or 3x80w T5 + 4x54w T5.
Any opinions? T5 only will let me make a much smaller hood. But I think the extra effort might be worth it to keep the MH on lightrail, i've liked that setup on my 75.
jthomps123
Member
Chris I basically used the DIY stand plans in the DIY section of reefcentral. The stand is about 36" tall so I can look at it without bending over. I left out a couple of the inner anti-sway 2x4's as they seemed excessive. With the tank full the stand seems solid without them. Just make sure the faces of the studs meet up flush when you glue. Gaps will compromise its lateral strength.
jthomps123
Member
The return outlet is only about .25-.5" below the water level. I had to leave enough room in my sump for plenty of drainage anyway because Im using a Herbie syphon drain with just a standpipe, so i get about a 1/2" drain from the display when the return is cut off. This effective removes any chance of a return back-siphon. I just need to make sure that the return nozzle falls into the syphon drain zone - so to speak.
Here is the main drain. You can see the water level is about 3/4" above the top of the drain to create the siphon.
Here is a pic of the sump with the pump on:
When the return is turned off the display drains to about an inch above the baffles. Any siphon created by the return line is broken long before the display is even done draining.
Last edited:
Thomas Jones
New member
Looking great Jason. Nicely done. The sump looks great.
Lyfey
Member
Im interested in the way you plumbed your tank. Could you explain why you choose to do it the way you did over having an actual overflow box? How does your standpipe work? The way you did it would seem to me to be the easiest and less obtrusive method, what are the pro's and cons of the way you plumbed? Thanks, looking beautiful by the way, Im super jealous
-Chris
-Chris
jthomps123
Member
Little bit of progress. Got the the power switches installed:
And got the Tunze transformers and power supplies into the stand:
Can anyone give me their opinion on what bulbs you would use for this setup:
Im thinking a 14k hamilton on the light-mover.
And for T5's: 2x Blue+ and an actinic.
And got the Tunze transformers and power supplies into the stand:
Can anyone give me their opinion on what bulbs you would use for this setup:
Im thinking a 14k hamilton on the light-mover.
And for T5's: 2x Blue+ and an actinic.
jthomps123
Member
I chose standpipes over overflow boxes for the reasons you suspect - less visually obtrusive. Im trying to keep it as clean as possible. Using a siphon makes is completely silent. The loudest part on this tank right now is the QuietOne 4000 pump - which isnt very loud. The man disadvantage is the reduced surface skimming that an overflow provides. Not a problem for me because as i'll be running 2-3x Tunze powerheads and one Vortech MP40 - so surface agitation keeps anything from collecting. Another pro is how easy the plumbing was to install! No boxes to glue and install etc.Im interested in the way you plumbed your tank. Could you explain why you choose to do it the way you did over having an actual overflow box? How does your standpipe work? The way you did it would seem to me to be the easiest and less obtrusive method, what are the pro's and cons of the way you plumbed? Thanks, looking beautiful by the way, Im super jealous
-Chris
Lyfey
Member
Ive been running a Q.O4000 on my setup as well, its by far the loudest piece of equipment I have, but I still have work to do. As far as your T5's go, If you are going to run the Icecap660 ballast YOU DEF need cooling on those bulbs. If your not going to install cooling, go with the normal ballast.
CryptoFusion
New member
Herbie siphon
Herbie siphon
Not trying to hijack the thread at all but I'm unfamiliar with this setup -would someone mind explaining what it is and how it works? Thanks!
Herbie siphon
Not trying to hijack the thread at all but I'm unfamiliar with this setup -would someone mind explaining what it is and how it works? Thanks!
jthomps123
Member
If youre wondering about the drain i'm using the Herbie method. Its been out a while and im quite suprised that it isnt the standard.
Basically it involves putting a gate valve on the drain, and closing it down just enough to bring the display tank water level above the drain pipe - this effectively creates a siphon, and no air goes down the drain so there is no gurgling, nor are there bubbles on the other side to create the hot tub effect. You still get the same throughput of your pump because the drain water will flow just as fast through the smaller opening due to the siphon. So no adjustments are needed on the return pump side.
The one drawback is the need for an emergency drain - because you are matching the output of your pump to the drain any blockage will cause the display level to rise. Hence I have an emergency drain about 1 inch above the main drain to pour into the sump above water (so that if it gets used i'll hear it immediately). To me an extra drain is a small price to pay for silence.
Its discussed in length here:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=344892
phoenix001
Premium Member
So, I understand what your saying here, but I don't see the emergency drain in your pics. I see the 2 drains and the retunr, but not the emergency drain. Is that something you have yet to put in or am I missing something. Great job by the way.
CryptoFusion
New member
Ok, I see. Good explanation. I'll have to look into that some more. Thanks!
jthomps123
Member
Phoenix, there is only 1 main drain. The standpipe on the other side of the tank is the emergency. The drains are both 1.5" so even a single is going to be plenty for probably any flowrate I want to put through the tank.
phoenix001
Premium Member
Oh, ok - thanks for the clarification. So, the emergency drain sits above the water line and only comes into play if something clogs the main drain and the water level in the main tank rises? If so, what are your plans to cover the inlets to keep critters and debri out?
Thomas Jones
New member
It is coming along nicely Jason. I had a 29 set up like that about 11 years ago.(man I am old) It worked awsome.
Are you putting gutter guard on there for the little critters??
I wonder how much a one inch syphon will do compared to a one inch drain. Can not wait for some updates.
Are you putting gutter guard on there for the little critters??
I wonder how much a one inch syphon will do compared to a one inch drain. Can not wait for some updates.
Lyfey
Member
Would putting a threaded/slip strainer on top of the main drain effect flow/air bubbles?
Why did you put the emergency drain on the other side of the tank and this is a sort of modification from beananimals drain? Except beananimal doesnt use a gate valve on the main drain. What were the measurements of where the holes are drilled on the tank and what do you plan on using for the return plumbing? Im still jealous
Why did you put the emergency drain on the other side of the tank and this is a sort of modification from beananimals drain? Except beananimal doesnt use a gate valve on the main drain. What were the measurements of where the holes are drilled on the tank and what do you plan on using for the return plumbing? Im still jealous
Similar threads
