Neal's Barebottom SPS & ZOA System...

REEF SMAC said:
Man that sure sounds like a lot of work for a 4" shorter tank. Can't you just lower the light down 4" on the tank you already have for the same effect?
The overflow is that big eh?
Is it a prettier tank?
Click to expand...

Thats what I was thinking too! Man, this new tank must be GORGEOUS to go through all that work. Maybe youre just bored man? lol
 
Pallobi said:
I am actually down grading this coming week, or the week after depending when i can get the new tank drilled... i am picking up a rimless 65g breeder from a fellow local reefer on monday... the footprint is the same as the current 75g i have, however it is 4" shorter, so i will have greater light penetration and greater par at the lower levels of the display... there will be no overflow, as i will drill (2) 1" drain standpipes, one in each upper corner of the back wall, with a 3/4" return centered at the top of the back wall... im actually really excited given the sale does not fall through, which i am not expecting it to do... i will shorten the columns i use and lower each coral a bit... i will still be utilizing the pair of mp40's ES W's...

I am no longer planning on using the 180g i have, and it is being sold and picked up tomorrow...
Click to expand...

So u did give in to the thought . How'd u fair through the recent snow crisis ? I have never seen a 65 breeder with a 75 gallon footprint . Can't wait to see it . U got me a lil confused with your game plan but it's all good .
 
I agree with what others have said about your display tank looking like an art gallery. I have never seen anything quite like it. My favorite coral by far is this one:

Pallobi said:
<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/System%202011/?action=view&current=IMAG0408.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/System%202011/IMAG0408.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Click to expand...

You take minimalism to a whole new level. Very nice. :)
 
System Overhaul and Upgrade Time...

System Overhaul and Upgrade Time...

Well, here we go... I have gone back and forth on a bunch of ideas, and have decided on the following...

**********

80 gallon Reef Ready, Deep Blue "breeder style" display tank, 48 x 24 x 16 tall
60g rimless/braceless Glasscages sump tank, 48 x 18 x 16 tall
Custom Built oversized & welded tubesteel stand, 73 x 29 x 36 tall

**********

Over the next two weeks, I will be doing a good amount of work when I have the free time... here are some pics of my 3 main components thus far... the stand is my first project...

I sanded the rust spots off tonite, and put two coats of some decent outdoor quality black spray paint... I am off to Lowe's in the morning to get some more plywood for the top, and a large panel to be fastened to the back wall of the under area of the stand to attach whatever i feel the need... these surfaces will be painted black as well, and then finished with polyurethane to protect the wood...

I will also be filling the 60g sump to be with fresh water tomorrow, and adding a few gallons of white vinegar to dissolve the coralline and give it a good cleaning... i will allow it to sit for one full day, then thoroughly rinse it the next day...

I am really excited about my stand and all the space I am gonna have...

**********

all three of my main 3 components of my upgrade/overhaul... all pics taken before any work has been done...

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/?action=view&current=IMAG1585.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/IMAG1585.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

the stand... which again, i am in love with...

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/?action=view&current=IMAG1589.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/IMAG1589.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

the new display...

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/?action=view&current=IMAG1583.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/IMAG1583.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

and the, to be cleaned thoroughly, sump...

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/?action=view&current=IMAG1584.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/IMAG1584.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
 
vinegar bath time for my sump to be ;)

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/?action=view&current=IMAG1591.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/IMAG1591.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
 
and jus a little more info...

i will still use the same 48" (8) bulb teklight i am using now... i will be ordering new bulbs within a few weeks as these have hit the 10 month mark by mid december... I also plan on getting my own PAR meter to keep on hand so I may study my bulbs life and PAR throughout their use...

I am still going to use the same pair of mp40 ES W's i have now, plus i will be adding another pair of mp10 ES's to the lower back wall of the display... for a total of 4 vortechs... the sump will have (2) Koralia Magnum 6's in opposite corners on opposite ends for sump flow... I will also start utilizing a 7" felt filter sock with sock mount as well...

at this time, the only live rock i have is 3 large peices in my secondary tank which has always been plumbed into my system... i will now be using only 2 of them and they will be placed in the new sump from now on... housing the live rock in the sump, is one of the reasons i wanted a sump bigger than the 40g breeder i have been using... and I absolutely feel the tiles house beneficial bacteria also, as well as all kinds of other critters and small inverts that are now growing on them and have been for sometime... they also make a great place for pods of different kinds to cultivate between the tiles where the wrasse and whatnot can not get to them...

Hope this info gives everyone a little bit better idea of what i have going on and planned i'm pretty darn excited about the whole thing...
 
and a couple more pics... got home from Lowe's not too long ago, and started on the first coats of black paint on the wood panels that will be the top, the bottom shelf, the back upper wall underneath, and a small rail across the front, but on the back of the steel supports...

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/?action=view&current=IMAG1593.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/IMAG1593.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/?action=view&current=IMAG1594.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/IMAG1594.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
 
You are very creative and a stickler for what YOU want, thats why I say that. You have the drive to see your vision through.

Now what in the world are you doing with all that gravel? Starting a 20,000 gallon freshwater tank?
 
lol, what gravel? haha... the stuff in the back of the last pic? its actually a ton of wood pellets for the pellet stoves :) to keep my heiny warm for the next month, lmao ;)
 
and here is the glasscages 60g rimless/braceless sump to be, after a 24 hour vinegar bath, all nice and clean :D

however, after finally seeing a glasscages tank up close and without water in it, i gotta say, its the absolute worst silicone job i have ever seen... PERIOD... my goodness, lol, how bad can one do with silicone? well, jus see a glasscages tank... unreal, lmao...

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/?action=view&current=IMAG1596.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/IMAG1596.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
 
ok, here we are with some more progress on the stand and overall new setup... i finished the poly coats yesterday, and now that they had 24 hours to dry, i thought i would do "dry run" with some things to give you all, and I both, a better idea of what is goin on, what is gonna happen, and what might need to be tweeked a bit here and there... here are some pics of both tanks in place so far, on top of both "shelves"... one thing i noticed right away, is it appears i am gonna have to anchor the top to the stand as it is warped a bit... probably jus anchor it with 4 bolts, one in each corner to keep it all flat, as the rain last nite, with the added moisture in the air, warped it a bit... no biggie, easy fix ;)

plz note, the stand still needs to have the front rail, which will be jus under the top where i willl attach my vortech controllers and dj strips, as well as the back panel, which will be up and under in the back, still attached... which i will have done either today before work, or sometime tomorrow in between the holiday festivities :)

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/?action=view&current=IMAG1597.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/IMAG1597.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/?action=view&current=IMAG1598.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/IMAG1598.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/?action=view&current=IMAG1599.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/IMAG1599.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
 
and here we are laying out where the sps will be placed, to give myself of better idea of where and how things are gonna fit together... with the ones already mounted to the columns, and the 6 i have that have been on a frag rack for months, i have 21 sps species all together that need their own spot... with what i laid out with the 4x4" tiles, which all the 2x2" columns will be placed on for better stability and hopefully growth, this is how the placing will look and be spaced out... the columns will be shorter as the tank is 5 inches shorter than the 75g i have been using, but i really like what i can see in my head so far... all of my zoas, encrusting monti's and chalices to be obtianed with the one sunset and miami hurricane i have now, will be placed in the blank spots you see now... so basically the entire bottom will be lined with tiles... personally, i think and know, its gonna be killer...

also, my 3 frag racks will all run across the back upper wall, about 3" below the surface...

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/?action=view&current=IMAG1601.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/IMAG1601.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/?action=view&current=IMAG1603.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/IMAG1603.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/?action=view&current=IMAG1602.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/IMAG1602.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
 
Pallobi said:
lol, what gravel? haha... the stuff in the back of the last pic? its actually a ton of wood pellets for the pellet stoves :) to keep my heiny warm for the next month, lmao ;)
Click to expand...

Wow I use a wood burner to heat all winter and it only takes a cord and a half. If u don't mind me asking what does that much pellets cost?
 
my two mp40s are going to be aligned at each end, directly centered over the 2nd row from the front...

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/?action=view&current=IMAG1606.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/IMAG1606.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

I will also be adding (2) mp10's, in which the propeller of each will be placed about 5" from the bottom of the tank, along the back wall of the tank, facing to the front... the one on the left will be placed centered in the pic, jus to the left of the far left tile you see in the back row, basically 1 foot from the left end of the tank...

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/?action=view&current=IMAG1605.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/IMAG1605.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

and the one to be on the right side of the back wall, will be placed directly between the far right tile in the back row, and the one jus to the left of that (2nd from the right of the back row)...

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/?action=view&current=IMAG1604.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/November%202011%20upgrade/IMAG1604.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
 
Can you post your parameters?.. If it was in there I missed it... What are you running everything at.... You are getting some awesome growth.
 
Mock said:
Can you post your parameters?.. If it was in there I missed it... What are you running everything at.... You are getting some awesome growth.
Click to expand...

typically, this is what i shoot for, and the typical readings i get upon testing a couple times a months... i use all salifert kits and a refractometer for salinity...

and your post reminds me, i wana check my alk ;) so thanks! lol...

*****

ph - who the hell knows, i havent checked it in over a year...

cal - 420 to 440

alk - 8.0 to 8.4

mag - 1350 to 1400

trates - 0

phos - undetectable

salinity - 1.026

temp - 78 to 82
 
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