"OverKill" Reef - My Project

[Jcohen9999]

Hi All,

I started out as a member of this board by lurking for many months and then about 3 months ago I posted my plans for my first tank setup<< click here >> .

Basically my plans are the same except that I am going for MH lighting from the get go. Anyway, I have finally started the project and following in the footsteps of others I have decided to keep a weekly log of my trials and tribulations in this thread and maybe along the way get some hints/tricks/traps from you all.

Here we go....Weekend #1

Got my Rubbermaid sump and refugium tanks:

and started plumbing them by creating an overflow:

from the fuge to the sump:

and of course I had to start the plumbing inside of the cabinets before the counter top goes on:

Next week's installation will include the RO/DI unit, the closed-loop and the pumps.


Wish me luck and thanks for viewing my post. Any comments or suggestions would be most welcome.


Regards,
Jeff

 

[christsoldiers]

wow, that's a serious amount of sump for a 26 gallon tank! You'r gonna have like twice the tank volume in the sump! Lookin forward to seeing it all done.

 

[Jcohen9999]

Me too

But actually it should about 175 gallons total for a 26 gallon display....So here's a question that I dont have the answers to:

When I go to buy liverock do I buy for 175 gallons or 26 gallons?


Jeff

 

[xfactor]

175 - as long as you have a good sand bed, you don't really need rock in your sump, its really up to you.

thats nothing when I do my new setup in my basement I am going to have a 300 gallon sump

 

[Jcohen9999]

Oops....there goes the budget. Buying enough LR for 175 gallons is going to hurt.

But let me ask you for clarification: There is no way that 350 lbs of LR is going to fit in the 26Gal tank so I would assume that a lot of this rock is going into either the sump or the fuge. How does this mesh with your statement about not needing LR in the sump?



Jeff

 

[Wheeldog63]

I would put the majority of it in the 'fuge, with a little in the some if you want, that way the liverock will host a plethera of differant creatures in the 'fuge and you also get the filtering capabilities of the rock. Your filtering capabilities on this will be insane for a 26 gal display. Also, how long before you upgrade Since we all know you will want to in the near future, and will have the setup to do it.

~Kelly

 

[jon007]

I wish i had a basement so i could have a crazy sump / fuge setup like that. With such an elaborate / huge filtration setup, why not with a bigger show tank?

 

[reefjunkie3]

175 - as long as you have a good sand bed, you don't really need rock in your sump, its really up to you.

thats nothing when I do my new setup in my basement I am going to have a 300 gallon sump

Talk is cheap

 

[xfactor]

yah it is, but the price diffrent between a 150 gallon and 300 gallon tub is 30$ so BLEH! ;P

and depends on how much flow you depend on having in your sump, if its a wide and deep enough sump, I would turn the entire thing into a fuge like I will be doing with mine.

 

[BarryG]

Thatââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s a serious sump I wish I had a basement so I could have one. Good luckââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦.:thumbsup:

 

[xfactor]

yah hehe I got a finished basment that is the size of the foundation of my house, so I got room for 20+ of them if I really wanted to put some massive tubs in there.

 

[marine61]

You don't need that much rock as long as you don't put a heavy bioload in the main display. Of course more is better.

 

[Jcohen9999]

Thanks for the replies.

The plan is to eventually add another 100-150 gal tank sometime in the future so i guess you could consider this part of that plan but then again the situation worked out where what ever sump/fuge I was getting was going to be in the basement so the 2 100 gal stocks tanks still cost me less than a smaller acrylic sump/fuge and I did have the room.

Anyway, I am considering getting a "package" from TBS for a 40 gal tank as a starter and then add live rock from different locals as I go. Most of it would go in to the display tank as I don't plan on having very many fish (except for the required clownfish - bosses orders ) but I know about the benefits of LR in the sump so that's another reason it is so big.

I plan on updating this thread as I go so check back from time to time and make sure I dont screw this up

Regards,
Jeff

 

[Jcohen9999]

03/16/04

03/16/04

I got tonight a little early so I was able to drop the tank off to be drilled.

Specs for drilling:

I also decided to make my own internal overflow but the acrylic store was closed before I got there. I'll try again later in the week.


Any input would be appreciated....


Jeff

 

[Tarasco1]

Looks good. SCWD's are getting a bad rap at the moment, supposedly they cause a loss of flow rate. Some people are just going with T's. Keep us updated!

 

[Jcohen9999]

I know about the loss of flow rate that is why I decided to go for Mag18s for both the return (15 ft of head loss) and the closedloop (10ft of head loss and the SCWD). Should be enough for a 26 gal tank. If it turns out to not be enough for the sump then I could always add a PH in there.


Thanks,
Jeff

 

[Jcohen9999]

Big $$ Day

Big $$ Day

Just ordered the the following:

PF5517 .24IN ACROLIGHT:150MH+2X55WCF+PFO BLST
AS2141 SeaTesT Hydrometer
SFPR SALIFERT REEF PACKAGE TEST KITS
DN1115 Mag-Drive Supreme 1.5 140 GPH Water Pump
DN1131 Mag-Drive Supreme 18 1800 GPH Pump
3Q1111 SCWD - SWITCHING CURRENT WATER DIRECTOR
WB1127 WON Pro-Heat IC Heater 500 Watt
VA1123 ViaAqua VA300G Heater 300 Watt
FT1514 Plastic Hose Clamp 3/4"
FT1515 Plastic Hose Clamp 1"
SF1135 Salifert pH Test Kit
SF1129 Salifert Nitrate Test Kit

From MarineDepot.

Now I need to sit and wait for the UPS shipment....I guess I can spend sometime with the family for the next 5-10 business days



Jeff

 

[Jcohen9999]

w/e 2 - Got the Tank Back

w/e 2 - Got the Tank Back

I just got the tank back and it looks great!

Still waiting for my order from MarineDepot.


Jeff

 

[Jcohen9999]

End of w/e #2

End of w/e #2

This was a slow w/e without the order from MarineDepot but I did manage to get a few things done....

Painted the tank:

and built the stand for the fuge:

Thanks for visiting....and as always any input would be appreciated....

Jeff

 

[dubluv]

hey Jeff, your setup is coming along very nicely. an inspiration to us other newbies! btw, where did you buy the rubbermaid tanks? i was thinking Agway might carry them. (Hicksville) also, you can buy the sand at Homedepot, but they might not have it in stock because its a seasonal item. there are numerous places online to get your LR, which i'm sure you've discovered by now. i got mine from marinedepotlive. however, i wouldn't buy from them again, as the rock was 'too' cured. mostly dead stuff, but that's not uncommon with fiji rock coming across the country to the eastcoast. at least that's what i was told. i might try the gulf stuff (aqua cultured), or at least some of it to mix with other LR

steve