just another guy going rimless

[johnanddawn]

well i got bored and decided to tear down my 15+ year old 125. i was having some issues due to the shape of the standard 125. i just couldn't do what i wanted as far as flow and lighting were concerned when i made the switch to SPS so i decided to try something else - a "greener" tank with some upgrades i had always wanted to do.

here is a pic of the 125 from about a year ago:

 

[johnanddawn]

so in dec i started the new tank

The stand:

almost finished:

the tank - 36 x36 x24 glass cages rimless 135:

The lights 8X T5 with icecap ballast and reflectors:

and the new skimmer octo 200 recirc:

 

[capture]

Cool... more photos and updates.

 

[johnanddawn]

I kept some stuff but am basically starting over

a few pics - sorry the T5's make everything blue on camera

a few F&S frags

a few zoas/shrooms/LPS for fun:

a couple club frags and LFS lawn gnomes

a FTS:

 

[johnanddawn]

next week i plan on doing some tax return shopping - maybe do some more DD stuff and one more stop at the local shop just to feed the addiction. i'll try some new pic then

 

[GSMguy]

that's tight, that slope is cool

 

[Stanley-Reefer]

Like you're quote!

You'd have alot of us as company!!!

 

[Joel A]

what's up with "lawn Gnome" is that some sort of april fools joke that i'm missing??

LOL

Nice looking tank man.

 

[dustinP]

lawn gnome= Coral on april fools day

 

[jbird69]

Awesome tank dementions! how many gallons is that?

Your light canopy only appears to service the back half of the tank. Do you get enough spill over to light the whole area?

 

[stevedola]

whats that 3x3x2?
awesome tank size, thats the tank size I wanted but couldnt fit.

 

[stevedola]

whats that 3x3x2?
awesome tank size, thats the tank size I wanted but couldnt fit.

 

[spleify]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14742145#post14742145 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jbird69
Awesome tank dementions! how many gallons is that?

Second post

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14740961#post14740961 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by johnanddawn

the tank - 36 x36 x24 glass cages rimless 135:

Awesome tank jbird, I like the size!

 

[johnanddawn]

thanks everyone - so far so good but only 3 months in a long way to go

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14742145#post14742145 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jbird69
Awesome tank dementions! how many gallons is that?

Your light canopy only appears to service the back half of the tank. Do you get enough spill over to light the whole area?

glass cages calls it a 135gal but that is outside glass so more like 120
yeah i really like the shape i considered going 48x36 but figuered i wouldn't gain much because then i would likely need two overflows and besides there is just something about being square that can't be matched and hopefully it will gain that "fullness" look we all seek sooner

the canopy I built is 30" wide with the bulbs concentrated in the middle where the light is needed - in that shot your refering to the tank is pulled away from the wall so it looks funny
i have 6" all the way around the tank - front/back/sides that has no rock to help facilitate the gyre flow so i have plenty of light spread with only 8 bulbs
and on the subject of flow - so far the gyre seems to be having the desired effect of moving the entire water volume in a nice upwelling sort of way keeping the detritus fully suspended. kind of hard to describe but the corals are bathed in water movement without directly aiming any of the powerheads at them

 

[stevedola]

how are the powerheads positioned?

 

[johnanddawn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14749436#post14749436 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by stevedola
how are the powerheads positioned?

i have 2 tunze on the bottom directly behind the rock blowing under it toward the front and 2 maximods on the bottom in the back blowing along the sides. the return lines blow straight down at them.

the idea is that all the pumps work together to move the entire water volume in a circle (gyre).
as the corals grow maybe i will have to do something else but it seems to be doing what i wanted

a new coral:

the sump

 

[johnanddawn]

well its been almost a month since my last update
so about 3 months into it and one tax rebate check later...

as you can see everything is doing fine - nice encrusting and some good growth tips

a blue tip stag

a pink lilli

and something new for the bottom

 

[volcom69]

Very nice lookin good

 

[jungliztkruger]

i like what i'm seeing

is that a kalk drip?

 

[plancton]

Refering to the going rimless topic, I want to make a new 50 gal tank and make it rimless acrylic. But in order to go rimless I guess it would have to be at least 3/4" thick.

I want to add an eco vortech MP40, I´ve heard from a lot of people that they don´t work well under 3/4" acrylic.

So by thinking on ways to solve this issue, it occured to me that I could do the following, don´t know if somebody has done it or tell me what you think:

Cut a square or circle on one side of the thick acrylic, the size of the vortech powerhead and replace that area only with 1/2" acrylic, what do you think?