my new 29gallon BB

[ctreefer]

Well, its been a long time in the making and its still brewing in my basement, but I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Just a quick summary:

I had a 29 gallon tank that I had purchased to downsize my 90 gal a couple years ago (being a new father meant my hobbies got less than they required). Lets just say I did a lousy job setting that system up due to lack of time and it never did well. I broke the system down, took most of my live rock (50 lbs + -) and have been cooking it since September. My corals went into my 10 gallon nano and into another Rubbermaid container and theyââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve been living such since September as well. My plan was to start fresh this time with a well thought out design (hopefully).

What sparked all this was browsing one day on reefcentral I ran across Impurââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s build of his external overflow 29 gallon tank.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=502320
I was sold!!! Thanks to you for the inspiration (and hopefully no cracked tanks )
:eek1:

Anyways, here's a pic of the full setup waiting to be finalized. I built the stand when I did my failed setup two years ago. I just finished the canopy this past fall.

 

[ctreefer]

I started the glass cutting several months ago and installed my overflow and water tested it for 1 month. Everything looked good so I started doing more research here. One of my other concerns was noise. Every tank Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve had has always had too much noise for my liking. (mostly from the sump). I think I found the perfect solution in Herbies design which incorporates a controlled overflow which eliminates all the splashing upon entering the sump with a backup overflow in the event that the main gets clogged. I havenââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t tested it yet, but from what Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve read it works like a charm. Thanks to all those on that thread, I hope to have completely eliminated the gurgle/splash sump syndrome.

 

[ctreefer]

Oh, here's the link that Herbie created:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=344892

 

[ctreefer]

My other big issue has been lights. This is probably what has made this project drag on for so long. As is typical with me I tend to do so much research I start to question everything Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m going to do to the point of putting off any solution for fear its not the best one.

I think from the very start I had decided this would be a t5 system. My delay came in deciding how many bulbs and if this would be enough. I had an Icecap 430 that I wanted to use and the general consensus was that these would only power 2 bulbs (T5). There was some conjecture that it might drive 3 24 inch bulbs, but no one had tried it. After a lot of thought I finally took the plunge and bought my parts from reefgeek(after I managed to scrounge up some funds). Sure enough, it works like a charm. If anyone decides to go this route, just make sure you use the heat sink that comes with the 430 to draw any heat away from the ballast as per Andyââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s suggestion. (note, Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve tested the lights several times now, but for no more than 10 minute stretches and the ballast remains cool to the touch. The lights require lots of venting to keep them from overheating and burning up earlier than they should so I have 2 40cfm computer fans aimed in on both ends to tackle this problem.

 

[ctreefer]

I wanted to make sure my hood was easily serviceable and likewise make sure I had easy access to my tank. I devised a drawer/tray that slides out on some aluminum extrusions I had lying around at work. The tray itself is made from Ã"šÃ‚¼Ã¢â"šÂ¬Ã‚ acrylic painted white and then silver to opaque the white. I mounted the endcap standoffs to this and the wiring is above the drawer. Eventually I plan on bending a sheet of aluminum when I have access to my buddies brake to cover the wiring.When I need to get into the tank I just push the drawer back and I have complete access inside.

 

[ctreefer]

here's another shot.....

 

[ctreefer]

My flow will be an eheim 1260 on a closed loop with 3 outputs. The two front ones will be from loclines while the back will be from a Ã"šÃ‚¾Ã¢â"šÂ¬Ã‚ pvc elbow and each controlled by a ball valve so periodically I can direct all flow from one output to stir things up a little. I had thought about using a sqwd, but was concerned with the maintenance longevity of it and the OM squirt was too costly for me at this time. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll have a return strainer not shown at this time. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m trying to figure out a way to make a nice clean looking return, or perhaps I can locate a manufactured one I can fit to my needs.

The other flow will be from my sump via a mag 3. I wanted slow flow through the sump since its so small to give the bubbles a chance to rise to the surface and not return to the tank.

Also in the sump is a CSS 65 for my skimming needs. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m a little concerned as to how difficult this will be to dial in, but Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m hoping for the best. I donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t have a lot of room in there.

Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m also going to have a 2 gallon container in that space which Iââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ll drip Kalk with. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m hoping eventually to either make a reactor or buy one of the MRC HOTââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s. Either this or Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll try a Kalk reactor.

My final project is to neaten up my electrical system. I plan on buying 4 GFIââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s and making a box for them that will be located under the tank well above the sump and arrange all my wiring neatly within that space. If anyone has any suggestions here I would greatly appreciate it as I need to find out the best way to house this electrical ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œboxââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ i.e. stock aluminum case or something similar.

Every other tank Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve had has always had a tangle of wires and I want to get away from this.

Again, thanks to reefcentral and all its members. This is a hugely valuable resource.

 

[ctreefer]

Thought I would update with some pics my 29. I'm realizing its been 9 months since the tank was started so below are a few of my progress shots.

This is the tank as of February 18th:

This is the tank as of August 18th:

And this is the tank as of November 11th: ( I need to thank Rene (the roon)) for this shot as I haven't taken any pictures in awhile.

 

[AVALover5498]

OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!GORGEOUS!!!!:eek2:

 

[CPT. MURPHY]

Great job!

CPT.

 

[ctreefer]

Thanks, it still has a long way to go. The colors aren't quite where I want them to be and I've got too many frags. Once I figure out which ones I really want to stay with I'll make them nice colonies and clear out the rest. (Who am I kidding, I'll set up another tank and move them into there.....)

 

[ctreefer]

Well, not much good has happened since the last update. I've been fighting a nutrient poor tank that is leading to low color corals and have been increasing feeding. As a result an invasive caulerpa (verticalata) that I thought I had eradicated via rock cooking over 1 year ago has decided to rear its ugly head again. Its now taking over the whole tank.

As a result I've decided to break down the tank and remove all the live rock and any traces of that stuff. this will mean I need to remove all corals from the rock as well which is really depressing. On a positive note, I'll be reaquascaping since I never really liked what I had before with some new base rock I picked up over the past several months. I've been "curing" it in some fresh RO water over the past 1.5 months to remove any organics that might be in it. Here's a pic of the new design:

I'm a little concerned of any cycle that will occur with the new rock and am hoping for the best. I'll post some pictures of the rock after the transfer. Not sure yet what to do with the old rock, but will try and drive some of the life (mini brittlestars and such) out of there with some hypersalinity dipping.

Wish me luck.

 

[z282z06]

thats ironic, I used to grow caulerpa intentionally in my reef tank. it was difficult and i had to add iron and other supplements to get it to thrive. have you thought of adding a few tangs temporarily to eradicate it?

 

[ctreefer]

Most tangs don't like this stuff. I've tried foxface, yellows, purples and they would nip and spit out. The only guy that kinda worked was a potters angel, but it unfortunately didn't make it in my tank. The tangs went back to the store.

 

[ctreefer]

Well, a couple good things have happened since the last post. I removed all my old LR and replaced with the stuff in the image above. I had a little cycle which actually IMO helped my colors that had been really washed out by low nutrients. I also just replaced 2 of my T5 bulbs. One was about 14 months old and the other about 9.

Anyways, here are some images. Sorry, they aren't the greatest as this is the first I've used photobucket and I'm still trying to figure out the best settings on my camera.

[/IMG]

 

[ThomasinKind]

The most recent pics are awesome. Nice job.

 

[Lpabsolute]

Nice looking tank/corals. I just started using T-5's and love them. Great color and no heat. I've always wanted to do a BB tank, just never got around to it. Tank looks good !!!

 

[icenine2005]

Nice recovery.... looking very good.

 

[gavij012379]

nice set up. looks real good. I like your carpentry. I wish I could do the same and had a place to do it.

 

[ctreefer]

Thanks everyone, here are some more pictures. I figured out how to change my white balance on my camera, so these are at least closer to what my tank looks like. The earlier ones were way too blue.

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]