My Seven Footer

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12014929#post12014929 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RyanBrucks
holy crap that looks cool

hows it working out having the powerheads inside the rock islands? is it just the center island? everything look stable so far?
Click to expand...

Hey thanks! The center island blows water along the back glass to circulate around the corner rock structures right and left (tunzes 6100). The right corner 6200 blows out at an angle to hit the center glass on the front to "swirl" the water. This hits the opposite corner of the tank. When I need to, I will add a sea swirl and an additional 6200 in the back left corner.

I need to connect the wave timer (aquacontroller aquasurf).
 
I think I would make the exact same light holders out of copper pipe soldered together rather than PVC. I would worry the heat will distort the pipe enough to drop the lights in the tank. Heck PVC bends with boiling water.

But everything is just 1st rate!
 
FishTruck, so it it pretty much just the weight of the island, plus the weight of the sand holding the powerhead in place? have you noticed any movement or anything?

I'm thinking of hiding my emergency airstones in a similar way. I guess I'd have to take them out and clean them pretty often if theyre next to the LR
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12017544#post12017544 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dogstar74
I think I would make the exact same light holders out of copper pipe soldered together rather than PVC. I would worry the heat will distort the pipe enough to drop the lights in the tank. Heck PVC bends with boiling water.

But everything is just 1st rate!
Click to expand...

That is a great idea! The pvc was sort of a prototype to see how the whole concept would work. The copper would look sweet, and to a better job. I will start shopping for the parts next trip to home depot.

As long as the copper was not submerged in the tank, I would guess it would pose no chemical threat.

Right now, the canopy stays cool enough, but, heaven forbid my ventillating fan dies, the pvc melts and eccch! :eek1:

Ryan.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12017666#post12017666 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RyanBrucks
FishTruck, so it it pretty much just the weight of the island, plus the weight of the sand holding the powerhead in place? have you noticed any movement or anything?

I'm thinking of hiding my emergency airstones in a similar way. I guess I'd have to take them out and clean them pretty often if theyre next to the LR
Click to expand...

Right. There are pvc legs and eggcrate that hold up the rock stuctures. I had to really carve out the foam until they were heavy enough. I tested them to make sure they could handle the tunzes even without the substrate. The substrate helps, but, is getting carved out from under the rocks... (which makes neat little caves etc)... Overall, it seems to be very stable. They look like they rest against the walls of the tank. Although they do touch here and there, there is mostly about a 1 cm gap between the structures and the tank walls to allow circulation.

I also made sure I can pull the tunzes out easily for cleaning etc... You could do something similar with your airstones with rigid tubing and some type of plastic clamp near the surface.
 
Actually, (hijacking my own thread!), Ryan... you could make rock structures, put a pieces of pvc inside it (them). Drill lots of holes and leave it open at the top. Then, you could drop your airstone on rigid tubing into it. Sort of like those old undergravel setups. It would move water nicely, be invisible, and very easy to service.
 
Looks good my friend. I really like your rock work. I would get a wavySea over the sea swirl. I just got one and they are dead silent and I like that they are controlable. Plus if I feel I need more flow I could always mount a tunze of maxijet mod to them.
But looks great, you really are moving along.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12018378#post12018378 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JRaquatics
Looks good my friend. I really like your rock work. I would get a wavySea over the sea swirl. I just got one and they are dead silent and I like that they are controlable. Plus if I feel I need more flow I could always mount a tunze of maxijet mod to them.
But looks great, you really are moving along.
Click to expand...

Thanks man! Which ever one can hold a Tunze 6200 is what I meant. I have one sitting in the box that I planned to put in the back left... but... it doesn't seem necessary right now, since the 6200 in the right corner has created a bare spot in the back left!

Temp in the tank is 82 degrees with all four 400 watt lights on. I guess I will have to hook up the chiller this weekend and augment my ventillation system a bit.
 
"since the 6200 in the right corner has created a bare spot in the back left!"

what kind of subtrate are you using? sugarfine, or larger?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12018695#post12018695 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RyanBrucks
"since the 6200 in the right corner has created a bare spot in the back left!"

what kind of subtrate are you using? sugarfine, or larger?
Click to expand...

The bottom 3 inches is 1-2 mm aragonite. This is covered by 1 to 2 inches of 4-5 mm aragonite. Trying for a DSB that can handle high flow without turning into a sandstorm.

I have a RDSB in the sump with about 8 inches of sugarfine.

R
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12017544#post12017544 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dogstar74
I think I would make the exact same light holders out of copper pipe soldered together rather than PVC. I would worry the heat will distort the pipe enough to drop the lights in the tank. Heck PVC bends with boiling water.

But everything is just 1st rate!
Click to expand...

Well... dogstar... you were right. The pvc grab handle on the right bent yesterday. No lights dropped into the water.

So... off to home depot / menards to get some copper pipe and learn how to work with it!

This woulden't be any fun if something worked right the first time.:mixed: :mixed: :mixed: :mixed: :mixed: :mixed:
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12017544#post12017544 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dogstar74
I think I would make the exact same light holders out of copper pipe soldered together rather than PVC. I would worry the heat will distort the pipe enough to drop the lights in the tank. Heck PVC bends with boiling water.

But everything is just 1st rate!
Click to expand...

D'OH!

IMG_0783.jpg
 
Copper is very expensive!! Maybe you could use smaller pvc and put wood dowels, (cut up a broom handle). Or spin your hooks and just use the wood.
 
FishTruck do you have a link or can you tell me how to construct the cj standpipes. I need to use those instead of the dorso's for my 350 because of room in the overflow. I found it a while back but cannot find the link anymore. Thanks.
 
up and running!

up and running!

Well...

the tank cycled, so, two weeks ago I put in my inhabitants from my prior tank and broke down the baby pool. Two of the clams were stuck to the bottom of the pool. Fortunately, I had double layered it, so, I simply used some tin snips to cut the pool plastic around the feet of the clams.

I added my Randalls Goby who happened to be the first fish in my old tank.

Also, three new wrasses. Blue sided fairy, Micronesian Tail Spot, and Hawiian Balteatus.

I kept blowing fuses from the DC4HD neptune module to my chiller and for now am running on a 20 amp fuse (modded from the stock 15 amp). The circuit is protected by a 15 amp breaker and seems to be running fine now.

Parameters.

Nitrates: undetectable
SG: 1.026
Ca: 430
dKH: 8
pH: 79 - 80.1
ORP: 321

I also rebuilt my light handles out of copper pipe. I painted them to minimize oxidation. Consider this prototype #2. Seems to be working well!

I am running refflux 12k 400 watt x 2 on the right, and sfiligoli 10 k and 20 k on the left.

IMG_0918.jpg

IMG_0916.jpg
 
:beer:

cheers! looking awesome!! thanks for the nice hires photo too. really helps you get a feel standing in front of the tank, especially on a nice big monitor :D



that new light rack looks pretty sturdy, but I gotta ask... whats keeping the copper frame aligned with the hooks? is it possible to bump it off? or is there a tiedown I'm not seeing somewhere?


is that an elegance coral off to the right, by the hammer?

water params looking nice too
 
Wow! Love the whole look. Aquascaping and the cabinet are absolutely beautiful! Can't wait to see more.

~Dee~
 
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