New Reef Tank

[KingSpade]

i forgot to post a log here on my progress of my new 125 gallon reef tank, so here i will post a few pics of the progress so far, it has been up for 3 days now. i have a 72" coralife aqualight pro 3x150w HQI 4 96w actinic and moons, 4 seio M1500's only 2 in there now, i dont hink ill put the other 2 in, they are monsters!! also 250lbs of bahama oolite sand, 40 gallon sump/fuge with an ASM G3 skimmer, and a mag drive 18 return, 180+-lbs of live rock.

 

[mwood]

Very nice. I like the look soo far. I also like the lights. What are you thinking about keeping, lps, softies, sps?

PS, I'd go ahead and add the pumps. On the back pointed forward and up at the glass.

 

[waverz]

Wonder how long the suction cups will hold......might wanna consider doing a mag mod on them, they can make one heck of a mess of the fall and bast sand everywhere. Everything else looks awesome!! A damn good start....let the fun begin!!!!

 

[KingSpade]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6820562#post6820562 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mwood
Very nice. I like the look soo far. I also like the lights. What are you thinking about keeping, lps, softies, sps?

PS, I'd go ahead and add the pumps. On the back pointed forward and up at the glass.

do you mean add the other 2 or move the 2 that are in there to the back? i Do plan the move the current 2 to the back once i get my rock where i want it. but do you think i should still add the other 2??

 

[mwood]

I'm up for more flow as long as the corals aren't in direct flow. I say leave the ones you have where they are and add two to the back.

 

[Lori M]

I have two Seio M1500s in my 125 and that's plenty of flow in mine! Your project is looking good.

 

[terryricke]

I agree with MWood (Wow did I just say that...). Add the other 2 pumps other wise you will have alot of dead spots in that long of a tank. It may sound like a lot of flow but its really soft and wide so it doesnt travel that far. Your coral and fish will appreciate it, everthing looks much happier at 40x turnover then they ever did at 20x. Plus I like the look of LPS and softies waving in the water. Only if you have a sand storm would I remove one.

I would also suggest the magnet Mod or you can use a combination of mounts to drop them over the edge using the swivel mount. If I had pictures of mine I would post them, I'm sure you can figure it out...

 

[KingSpade]

if i add the other 2 my turnover rate will be x57, is that ok or too much?

 

[KingSpade]

heres an updated picture, still waiting to put any livestock in, and i am battling micro bubbles, any thoughts on how to stop them? so far i think they are either being caused by my drains or my powerheads.

 

[Double-J]

looks awesome!!! I like the corner overflows.

 

[terryricke]

Looks like you added the other 2 power heads. 57x really isn't as violent as you might think. As far as the micro bubbles, unless your power heads are creating a vortex above them they shouldn't be the problem. Can you tell if any bubbles are getting past your baffles and to your return pump?

I'll make another suggestion, hang your pumps over the side. The suction cups will eventually fail an you will have a huge sand storm. If you want to see how I hung mine over the side and still use the adjustable ball mount let me know. I was able to use multiple mounts to get exactly what I wanted without drilling or glueing.


Looks great by the way, it really does.
Terry

 

[Covey]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6822320#post6822320 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by terryricke
I agree with MWood (Wow did I just say that...). Add the other 2 pumps other wise you will have alot of dead spots in that long of a tank. It may sound like a lot of flow but its really soft and wide so it doesnt travel that far. Your coral and fish will appreciate it, everthing looks much happier at 40x turnover then they ever did at 20x. Plus I like the look of LPS and softies waving in the water. Only if you have a sand storm would I remove one.

I would also suggest the magnet Mod or you can use a combination of mounts to drop them over the edge using the swivel mount. If I had pictures of mine I would post them, I'm sure you can figure it out...

I argee more flow is a good thing. I am at around 50X turnover right now and all the "low flow" stuff is still out.

Here is the SEIO mod mount I thnk terryricke is talking about.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=724613
It half way down the 1st. page good pic. I left the suction cup mounts on mine it cuts down on vibration noise if you leave them
Also a good thread for all things SEIO.

BTW love the tank.

 

[terryricke]

I was able to make my mounts from the parts in the box. No glueing, cutting or drilling.

Top view

Side View

That thread did get me to think about how I would do it though.

Terry

 

[Covey]

I did that minus the U part and I used PVC glue to glue it. I was nervous that it might vibrate off.

 

[terryricke]

I've been running this way for a few months now and they haven't moved. The silencer mount cuts down on the vibration noises as well. You could always glue them if you wanted.

Terry

 

[KingSpade]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6912736#post6912736 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by terryricke
Looks like you added the other 2 power heads. 57x really isn't as violent as you might think. As far as the micro bubbles, unless your power heads are creating a vortex above them they shouldn't be the problem. Can you tell if any bubbles are getting past your baffles and to your return pump?

I'll make another suggestion, hang your pumps over the side. The suction cups will eventually fail an you will have a huge sand storm. If you want to see how I hung mine over the side and still use the adjustable ball mount let me know. I was able to use multiple mounts to get exactly what I wanted without drilling or glueing.


Looks great by the way, it really does.
Terry

i did add the other 2 powerheads but i turned them to low flow, having all 4 on high flow was a sand storm, i had drifts like 8 inches high and was down to bare glass in the middle, going good so far on low, still a lot of water movement. also there are micro bubble getting past my bubble traps and into the return bay, how do i stop these??

 

[KingSpade]

terry, how do you get such good coraline growth?? that stuff looks crazy

 

[terryricke]

I keep my skimmer clean and in good working order, faithfully clean my filters and do 10% water changes weekly. It seems the growth has grown more intense in last couple of months, maybe my tank is more stable than it used to be.

If I had a sump and refugium I would probably skimp on the water changes but its only 5 gallons a week and i vaccum my CC pretty intensly while changing it out.

I am by no means an expert with sumps, probably not even a rookie. I only recently installed one for someone else so take my advice as such. When it comes to getting rid of the micro bubbles a few things comes to mind.
1. You could slow the water movement through your sump. That may give the bubbles time to rise and pop.
2. Put a sponge on one of the baffles. You would have to clean it to prevent it from becoming a nitrate factory.
3. If the bubbles are coming from your skimmer see if you can get the skimmer outlet futher away from the trap so the bubbles have more time to rise and pop.

Good luck.
Terry