New Tank Pics

[drfdisk]

I'm not a member of MTRC so I hope no one minds me posting pics of my tank here. Being from the boro and living in La Vergne this kinda feels like the right place.

I posted pics of the project when I first started it and the thread has been deleted but maybe some of you remember it.

Here are som pics as a refresher.

(I think the dog thinks she is a model and trys to get in every pic I take)

The stand itself still needs some minor touchups here and there, the moulding painted, and a few pieces of trim cut.

 

[drfdisk]

After a broken heat pump, Christmas, a new gas sipper car, and other black holes money falls in to I finally got my lights!!

They are 72" Current Outer Orbit 250W HQI/T5HO's...Say that 5 times fast! Guess I got lucky because UPS only broke one atintic. The people at Petmountain were very friendly and are shipping a new bulb tomorrow morning no questions asked.

Its amazing what 1080 watts of light will do! lol

You can see the bulb on the back left UPS broke.

 

[drfdisk]

Hopefully now that the big parts are out of the way I can get the thing together in the next few months and keep the thread going.

This being my first SW reef tank, if anyone sees me screwing anything up please by all means let me know! As it turns out Kaine lives about 2 blocks over from me and has been very helpful in answering my questions.

Next up I'm hoping to buy the return pump, two undergravel jet pumps, powerheads and plumb it all. I'm thinking like a MAG950 for a slow return and a pair of to be decided 600-700 gph pumps for the UGJ. Not yet decided on the PHs but thinking about a pair of MJ mods. Any thoughts?

Also I have been looking around at LR shops and was wondering where other people were getting their LR at a fair price.

 

[gsusfreak]

man, thats a nice stand....cant wait to see some water and rocks in there

 

[rsteagall]

Good job dood! I really do like the wood/paint on the stand. A great combo! I'll be taking note of this for sure It really made it look $$$ with that combo.

 

[drfdisk]

Thank you. I was going to put a canopy on it but with the new fixture I dont think I will be able to. It sticks out just past the edge of the tank plus I cant cover the end of it. Besides it would almost be a shame to cover up those lights. lol

And believe me, I want to see water and rock in it as bad as anyone.

 

[rsteagall]

On the sides, what kind of wood did you use? 1/4" something? Also, some pictures of your hinges might be beneficial.

 

[crumbletop]

Looks nice!

Re the return pump -- take a look at the Ocean Runner pumps. The 3500 is much quieter than a mag 9.5, uses less energy (means less heat) and costs less. I have an OR2500 for my 90 gallon and like it a lot. It is comparable to the eheims, IMO. The OR pumps are on sale at fosters and smith.

Re the other pumps, why undergravel?

 

[Angela Short]

I agree, My MAg 9.5 was kinda loud and put a ton of heat in the water.
Kain will be a great asset to have close by for sure.
I am also waondering about the UGFilter?

What size tank is that anyways? You may have heat issues with 2 250's so I would definetly look into getting an external pump. Also, for the money I love my 2 seio 1500's. I would think a modded maxi jet wouldn't be much cheaper (the mod kit is kinda pricy I think if you buy it) and may have potential problems. Some people have had some problems anyways. My seios push a great gentle blast all the way across 7 feet. I do bounce them off the front wall because they are so strong.

Looks good so far and LOVE the dog. OH look into getting used rock. Bigfish is selling out a compleat tank. For his asking price you would benifit just from the rock alone. 70 lbs @ $4 (cheapest on-line price) a pound is almost $300 and you would get a fully stocked tank to boot. I know he gave $300ish for one set of zoas alone recently. You could probably use tons of his other equipment and my freind would but the lights since you don't need them . Then just sell off what you don't need in the selling forum. Good luck getting it filled!

Another thing is make some cheap home made rock to put under your live as a base. I always hated burying nice shaped peices of Live rock under sand and as a base. I have about 50 lbs of it in my tank as a base or more along with the cheap base you can buy dry.

 

[pitbullpooch]

looking good. I also like the stand. is it a 125 gallon? thats just my guess since i know its 72" and judging by the difference in the weidth and height it looks like it would be a 125.

 

[drfdisk]

Thanks for the info on the pumps. I was looking at the 9.5 because the flow/head was about right for what I wanted. I wish I could put an external return pump on it but the space restictions and the way the sump is set up I dont think I could do it. I will have to take a look at the OR pumps.

There MIGHT be a way to do an external but I would have to put a bulkhead on one end of the sump (the fuge side) and a bulk head in the fuge divider and link the two with a pipe or hose. That way water is running "through" the fuge but not. If that makes sense without a visual. There is no access to the sides of the sump, only the ends because of the tight fit. the sump is modeled after the type "F" on melev's site.

As for the undergravel it will be a jet system pumping water up from the bottom. I'm even thinking about adding the two pumps to a wave maker with the power heads and see how that works out.

And yes its a 125g long with a 48" 65g acrylic sump under it.

 

[drfdisk]

Here are some pics of the hinges, still need to touchup the paint. The hinges I bought at Lowes. I think they were just called surface mount french hinges. Some are meant to have a spot routed for the hinge to fit in so be sure you get the surface mount ones. If you pick up a hinge and say to yourself "W T F is this thing?" You got the right one.

BTW the sides are 1/2" sanded plywood and the top is 5/8" sanded. The doors are just 1/2" pine shelving board cut on a table saw and routed.

 

[fishdoc11]

As far as comperable to a Mag 9 and a much better pump an Eheim 1262 would be nice.

Chris

 

[SRT80]

looks great. Too bad you didn't have just one over flow on the right side to give a better view from the kitchen side. Would have been like Carls 150 gal. reef. If anyone wants to post that video link up...I dont remember the site it was on.

Steve

 

[pitbullpooch]

the video to carls tank is here http://www.reefvideos.com/ and its the video in the top right hand corner.

 

[drfdisk]

What about the Quiet One pumps? I have my eye on the 4000 that looks nice. If bgfsh would spilt up the 70g up for sale I would be in on the LR and pump.

I decided on the Rio 1700's for the UGJ. They seem to be smaller and less intrusive than anything else I have seen in that gph range. They will after all be inside the tank.

Yea one overflow would have been better for viewing. You know what they say about hindsight tho.

 

[fishdoc11]

I would stay away from Rio's ...to many horror stories and the RIO pumps I have bought crapped out after about a year.

Quiet One pumps don't handle head very well and you will loose more flow fighting head than some others.

 

[pitbullpooch]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9649436#post9649436 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishdoc11
I would stay away from Rio's ...to many horror stories and the RIO pumps I have bought crapped out after about a year.

agreed. buying a rio was my first newb mistake in this hobby, well one of my first lol

edit: what does UGJ stand for? Im wondering because i know UGF stands for undergravel filter so im lost on what the UGJ stands for. I even did a search first before i ask a dumb question but nothing came up on rc for it. thanks

 

[drfdisk]

UGJ - Undergravel jets. They help keep wastes from settling on the bottom so they can make there way to the sump and skimmer. Not to mention an added demension of up flow. As a matter of fact Kaine is running an UGJ setup in his reef tank.

Here are a couple of links I have found on them.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ug_jets.php

http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=161594

Here is a video of the above tank. Movie

I dont really like the nozzles the two examples are using but I think I may have an idea to make them better. Plus adding them to a wave maker to have independent up flow from either side of the tank at different times might be beneficial also.

The dependability of the Rios isnt really a concern right now as they are cheap and I'm not sure what the flow requirements will be. I might get them installed and find out they are too much or not enough and need to replace them.

 

[pitbullpooch]

thanks for the links. I have seen that type of setup before but the ones ive seen were ran off a closed loop. That is a great idea though and i may try it out in my tank since i dont want to drill it for closed loop since its already full. I was thinking of setting up a spray bar behind my rock work but this seems alot better. only question is will it work with sand since it is called "undergravel jets" :lol: kidding ofcource. maybe the reefers should call it USJ-undersand jets well good luck with the rest of your build and keep us updated.