New 3-20 Gallon Long tank setup.

[clittrell]

I am starting a new project to simplify my life and to have the proper setup to QT livestock before entering the DT. I am just about done with an 10 week hospital treatment for ich and want to have the setup to do it right. I also want a constant water supply for the 58 gallon DT.

The plan is this...

3 20 Gallon long tanks.

The tank on the left is a water makeup tank. RO/DI water will stay in the left compartment (~5 gallons). Water can be transferred to the left and mixed and heated (~15 gallons).

The tank in the middle is a fish only QT tank. It will have a built in overflow with a heater, pump to circulate water, Bio Balls for media and PVC pipe for decorations. (want to be able to use copper for treatments).

The tank on the right is an invert / frag tank. It will have a built in overflow with a heater, pump to circulate water, LR in the sump area, and tray for Frags. I may add another bulkhead for a fuge.

Lighting will be T5s at first but will eventually become a 4' 36 LED DIY project when funds become available. Tanks are only 12" deep so do not need a ton of light.

Maintenance should be easy, based mainly on water changes. Drain 2 gallons on water from the tank add 2 gallons of water from the Mix Reserve 2 or 3 times a week. 15 gallons of salt water should be perfect... 4 gallons a week each tank and 5 gallons for the DT. Larger Change on the DT monthly.

Any Suggestions?

Images from Google Sketchup...

 

[tank o tang]

Nice. If you stack them it would give you the ability to drain the make up water into either of the other tanks or a hose line.

 

[clittrell]

Re: New 3-20 Gallon Long tank setup.

I might raise the tank on the left but the space does not work right to stack them all.


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[RTMA]

Make sure the copper water doesn't go any where near the inverts / frag tank. I'd seperate them with the r/o reservoir in between...

 

[clittrell]

Make sure the copper water doesn't go any where near the inverts / frag tank. I'd seperate them with the r/o reservoir in between...

Good point... I was thinking of that. I'd have to make 2 lights then... But that would not be the end of the world, cost a little more. Maybe need 1 more driver. I was also thinking I could make a light stand / splash guard between the two tanks.

BTW SketchUp is a great program.

 

[RTMA]

It's also the little things that you must be diligent about, for example if you use a turkey baster to feed your QT copper fish, don;t use the same baster to spot feed your LPS frags...that type of stuff...

Other than that, looks very cool. Can't wait to see it implemented. Also, your won;t need anything too glorious for the QT, a regular light should suffice. You could focus the build just for the frag tank.

 

[clittrell]

New 3-20 Gallon Long tank setup.

Tanks got to bob's today. Should pick them up Friday or Saturday. Got the drill bit and bulkheads from bulk reef the other day on the group buy! Plan to build the stand / bench Saturday. I'll post some pics.

 

[clittrell]

I have the tanks and I built the self. Need to seal before I get it wet. I temporarily placed the tanks and they look good. Still collecting some of the hardware to outfit the tanks. I have pumps and plumbing on order, should be in Monday and Tuesday. I hope to post a picture this weekend.

 

[clittrell]

New 3-20 Gallon Long tank setup.

The stand. Always looks better in the plans. I had some flooring left over so I made a cover for the plywood. Will be easier to wipe off.


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[clittrell]

New 3-20 Gallon Long tank setup.

With the tanks in place. Fittings should be in Tuesday from flexpvc. They have a great selection.


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[RTMA]

Looking good so far

 

[clittrell]

The pumps are here along with all of the fittings. I hope to drill the tanks Saturday morning. Then I just need to build the bulkheads before I can add some water. If all goes well might start making water Sunday night.

 

[clittrell]

Going a little slower than planed (what else is new) but I did get the drilling done. Much easier than I thought. Have never drilled glass before. Will try to make the bulkheads this week.

 

[clittrell]

Quick update. Installed the baffle and plumbing on the mix up tank. Filled with ro/di water. This is going to make my life much easier. More to come next week!

 

[Wheel of Time]

Have it all up and runnign now? Id love to see some completed shots and one of your tank

 

[clittrell]

New 3-20 Gallon Long tank setup.

Not up yet. Should have some progress shots Sunday.


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[clittrell]

Ok it has been too long since I last posted but here is the current state.

The mixing tank is working well. I add 1650 grams of Seachem reef salt and hit 1.025 each time.

The middle tank has water and is up and running. I added a RKL to control lights and temp, also cycles a pump in the mix tank once a day. Water changes are a snap. Open valve take out a gallon of water and replace with water from the mixing tank. I put the a sponge filter from the old hospital tank in there to speed the cycling. I added a pair of Cardinals that have spawned before to see if I can get that to happen again before I move them back to the display tank. Never had any luck collecting the fry.

The third tank has water but I have not done anything with it. Will work on that after vacation.

More to come.

 

[clittrell]

The far tank is mixing tank. Will end up being QT. Closest will be frag.

 

[clittrell]

QT being used to maybe get lucky with some breading.

 

[clittrell]

Saltwater mixing tank and rodi water reserve.