progress on the new tank, and questions

[mbierzyc]

i made a post a few weeks back about an all in one 29 gallon acrylic tank that i bought used.


i finally cleaned it up and ordered some parts for it.

today i did a test run with freshwater, i'll have it set up within 3 weeks after i'm in the new house.

my plan for the back is to drill a new hole in the false wall and have a mag 9 attached to loc-line as a return. any suggestions for the attachment at the end?

i also have the protein skimmer it came with attached to a maxijet 1200 with the venturi kit. anyone know if i should leave the twist on end peice on it? here's a pic, first one without it, second with it on.

i'm running it now and the bubbles don't come near the collection cup, maybe i'm doing something wrong.

here's a full shot of the back

the mag 9 is on the far left, the other return is on the far right. would it be safe to drill a hole right near where the mag 9 is and have a return there? that's probably my plan. i want a lot of flow in this tank because i'm going to have sps in there.

(the chamber near the left that you can see the waterfall in is very loud, what's a good way to damper that sound?)

on the way is a 24" outer orbit 150w hps with 2 65w actinic bulbs.

any suggestions for anything? oh i also need to find a stand for this. the tank is 24" wide and 16" deep. i'm thinking of getting the oceanic 37 cube stand, but i can't find the dimensions for it nor can i find it anywhere local.

suggestions appreciated,

matt

 

[softbal4]

first i think that a filter sponge on top of the egg crate will quite it down. 2nd you are not going to see bubble up in the collection cup until you have something for the skimmer to be pulling out of the tank. lastly i don't know the gallon size of your tank but i think a mag 9 is going to be wayyy to much flow for what appears tp be a 30 or 40 gallon tank. just my thoughts....but maybe a mag 5 would be good enough.

 

[rickyb]

Skimmers don't really work on fresh water. You may want to raise the water level to the suggested filter sponge above the eggcrate. Think about a way to make a random flow with the pump(s) you are going to use.

 

[mbierzyc]

yeah sorry about that, it's a mag7. rod at rod's reef helped me pick out my pumps, so i think it should be good, but i'll find out once i receive my loc-line fittings and put it to the test.

right now on the egg crate is a small peice of what i think is gutter mesh so that i can put chaeto on there once the sump is set up. from what i've read sponges are bad because they build up excess nutrients. thanks for your suggestion though, i may end up trying it out.

i'm also thinking of making more holes on the side of that partition so that the water level can be raised.

 

[mbierzyc]

i'd really like to get random flow, but don't have the cash at the moment to spend on a wave maker, unless there is a less expensive option. i'd also love to have an auto top off, but need to work on that as well.

 

[rickyb]

Here is what I would do in a budget,
Buy a couple or more of Hydor flows and split your return lines from the mag5 or 9, at ends put in the Hydors. (must be 1/2 tubing to work)
For top off use any plastic container that will sufice the evaporation and space contrains you may have, add a float valve in the filter / return area - use gravity to feed it.

 

[mbierzyc]

think 2 hydor flos would be enough coming from a mag 7, or should i keep that one a constant flow and use my maxijet 1200 to power one or possibly 2 hydor flos? i have one going on my 12 gal nanocube and it works well from a maxijet 1200, but not sure if it'd be powerful enough for 2.

think i should drill a hole for each hydor flo, or do it in the tank with loc-line? i'd think a hole for each would look much cleaner.


as far as the topoff, i just have to find out what the placement of this tank will be like, and if it will allow for me to have a plastic container above the tank level. hopefully i can find a way. gravity's cheaper and easier than a pump system.

 

[rickyb]

use the mag 7 and split into 2. I used one in a mag5 and worked non-stop. Drilling the holes is up to you, but it sure would look better. I'm not sure if loc line will work, still have to check that out myself.