SC Aquariums Owners Thread
- Thread starter OceanWolf
- Start date
texdoc77
New member
Tank Has Arrived
Tank Has Arrived
My tank arrived yesterday and I have done quite a bit of work over the last 24 hours. For some pix go look at my build thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=24702757#post24702757
Tank Has Arrived
My tank arrived yesterday and I have done quite a bit of work over the last 24 hours. For some pix go look at my build thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=24702757#post24702757
texdoc77
New member
It's a LOT of hurry up and wait. I've been in overdrive mode all weekend, we are heading out of town next weekend and I want to give the tank time to begin to cycle...
Galvanized conduit pipe at home depot in the electric isle, in that one section you will find everything you need to piece it together. The pipes are put together with screwed down couplings, I used an impact drill to get them very tight.
texdoc77
New member
My initial SCA experience
My initial SCA experience
So I received my aquarium from Steve at SC Aquariums. Overall I am very pleased. Make no mistake, than tank is the shining star of the package. However, I really, really like the stand as well. Good build quality. IMO one of the best values out there. And not in the cheap range either. Excellent quality that I would not have gotten had I spent more elsewhere. The shipping experience was good as well, though I did not get the call that the deliver driver was on the way, I did know to expect it in the afternoon. Also the canopy did not have the brackets to place on the tank and thus it would come all the way down. No biggie, I will just use a 2X2 and make some brackets myself, as I mentioned on my build page I will need to make some adjustments to the canopy anyway. Also there was no return pump. I'll need to contact Steve about this. I am using a different return pump anyway, but I can always use a good submersible water pump. I did use some of the green tubing and also the loc lines, but the durso drain was tossed. Here are some other musings I made from my blog.
1. The custom stand build quality is excellent, I highly recommend going with that over the MDF standard stand.
2. I am loving the sand. I chose caribsea ocean direct reef grade. I really like the particle size and the larger chunks are cool as well.
3. The neptune WAV powerhead are the real deal, if you have an apex, they are a no brainer. Too bad you HAVE to have an apex.
4. Plumbing is hard, glad I don't do that for a living.
5. The canopy that came with the stand will not go on if your stand and tank are flush to the wall. I will do a little wood working with mine to make it work and look nice. For safety reasons I did not want the tank off the wall, also I don't think it looks as nice. I am happy to customize the canopy to my liking for this.
My initial SCA experience
So I received my aquarium from Steve at SC Aquariums. Overall I am very pleased. Make no mistake, than tank is the shining star of the package. However, I really, really like the stand as well. Good build quality. IMO one of the best values out there. And not in the cheap range either. Excellent quality that I would not have gotten had I spent more elsewhere. The shipping experience was good as well, though I did not get the call that the deliver driver was on the way, I did know to expect it in the afternoon. Also the canopy did not have the brackets to place on the tank and thus it would come all the way down. No biggie, I will just use a 2X2 and make some brackets myself, as I mentioned on my build page I will need to make some adjustments to the canopy anyway. Also there was no return pump. I'll need to contact Steve about this. I am using a different return pump anyway, but I can always use a good submersible water pump. I did use some of the green tubing and also the loc lines, but the durso drain was tossed. Here are some other musings I made from my blog.
1. The custom stand build quality is excellent, I highly recommend going with that over the MDF standard stand.
2. I am loving the sand. I chose caribsea ocean direct reef grade. I really like the particle size and the larger chunks are cool as well.
3. The neptune WAV powerhead are the real deal, if you have an apex, they are a no brainer. Too bad you HAVE to have an apex.
4. Plumbing is hard, glad I don't do that for a living.
5. The canopy that came with the stand will not go on if your stand and tank are flush to the wall. I will do a little wood working with mine to make it work and look nice. For safety reasons I did not want the tank off the wall, also I don't think it looks as nice. I am happy to customize the canopy to my liking for this.
jemw
New member
Plumbing supplied by SCA
Plumbing supplied by SCA
Can't speak for others, but the green 1" tubing supplied with my system has been a problem. It's too rigid for proper installation for the return pump connection and it has a curve which is difficult to deal with. It would constantly reposition my return pump and move it in contact with the glass of the sump which is not good. I finally gave up on using it and ordered the White Soft Silicone Tubing from BRS. Just my 2¢.
Plumbing supplied by SCA
Can't speak for others, but the green 1" tubing supplied with my system has been a problem. It's too rigid for proper installation for the return pump connection and it has a curve which is difficult to deal with. It would constantly reposition my return pump and move it in contact with the glass of the sump which is not good. I finally gave up on using it and ordered the White Soft Silicone Tubing from BRS. Just my 2¢.
z3speed4me
Member
Super quick bulkhead question...assuming slip / slip
Which abs ones do we need??
- slip x slip
- slip x thread
- thread x thread
- thread x slip
Edit: yea I wasn't thinking, obviously slip for inside the overflow, and slip for the pipes going to sump. (been a LONG weekend)
Which abs ones do we need??
- slip x slip
- slip x thread
- thread x thread
- thread x slip
Edit: yea I wasn't thinking, obviously slip for inside the overflow, and slip for the pipes going to sump. (been a LONG weekend)
Last edited:
ReefCowboy
New member
I got the standard SC150 gal with center overflow. Decided to get a 16" synergy ghost overflow, removed the original overflow tower and plugged the bottom holes with a piece of 1/2" glass.
Am contemplating getting a professional to drill the holes for the rear glass, although Ive drilled smaller tanks before. Im just worried drilling a 1/2" thick glass could be a tough task? Anyone has done this and could share their experience?
Thanks
Am contemplating getting a professional to drill the holes for the rear glass, although Ive drilled smaller tanks before. Im just worried drilling a 1/2" thick glass could be a tough task? Anyone has done this and could share their experience?
Thanks
texdoc77
New member
LOL Same. May end up needing to do this as well...
acer
New member
Yep, that is why I did the custom tank scenario ..... I felt the standard overflow was NOT the same quality as the tank or stand/canopy as it provides poor surface skimming for that large of a tank ( 150 gallons) , and in that little overflow area you had both outgoing drains and incoming water hose from the sump = too tight in there and the overflow can only handle so much water flow in thru it. Their glass/silicone tank production work is really good- but the overflow leaves much to be desired. Granted by doing the custom tank and paying more for a custom overflow made to my specs was more expensive. But, when one considers the overall expense of the full setup it is not that much percentage wise, and taking in consideration of the years of enjoyment out of it. Well , I hope I made the right choices.
ReefCowboy
New member
Last edited by a moderator:
texdoc77
New member
I actually don't have any major issues with the overflow size and since mine is flush with the back wall, the bottom drilled holes work for me. But I really like your system and see the value in a C2C overflow. Will check out your build thread soon...
Hi guys, I just pulled the trigger on the 66 gallon Labor Day special, so I'm getting the tank, solid wood stand, and sump filtration. I have been out of the hobby for over 20 years so take it easy on me 
. My ultimate plan is to have a small reef set-up, but we love fish so the emphasis will always be on the fish! I'd like to start with mostly fish, and perhaps some live rock, and then perhaps later transition to a mix of fish and corals, but nothing too crazy.
I have read through a lot of pages on this thread and others, and I have to say the information is a little overwhelming at the moment. I'd really like to take it slow with this build, step by step and (re) learning along the way. My fist priority obviously is to get the tank erected and the plumbing set-up, and then fill up with sand and water and some live rock and let it cycle.
While I have many questions, most of which I hope you guys can help me with, I want to start from the beginning and with the basics. So my first concern is the proper set-up of the tank. I will continue reading through this (and other) thread, but I would really appreciate a few hints or tips any of you may want to share regarding the set-up. The LAST thing I want to do is make a mistake and then have to end up draining the tank later on to fix it! I am also very concerned with potential leaks and I want to do everything I can to prevent them from happening. So here are my initial questions:
Plumbing - I have read about issues with the provided plumbing. Would it be better to replace it from the beginning with something better? I'll be going with a Herbie drain. BTW, I talked with Steve today, great guy!, and he said the plumbing provided now is all SCH40 so I will try to use as much of it as I can. I already ordered the gate valve for the main return line from Amazon. I guess I will just start laying it out and see what I can use and what I still need to get.
Return pump - I got Steve to take the pump out of my order and he recommended the Jabeo 12000. At first sight it seems a bit overkill but I see the merits of using a pump at 50% capacity or less and it lasting a very long time that way. Eventually I will probably want to take full advantage of the DC motor and use the pump in combination with an "auto-leveling" controller for the overflow. I have to read up on this some more but I am assuming this pump will be compatible for something like that...will it?
Lighting - Probably the hardest decision I had to make so far...I decided on a single Kessil A360WE for now. It definitely is much more than what I was willing to spend originally, but after seeing and reading about the awesome shimmer these lamps produce, I have to say I had no other choice!
Here a couple of things I will be looking at once the tank is set-up:
Starting the cycle process - Do I use live rock or dead rock and introduce cultures in a different way? What sand is best? - I would really like it to be coarse with lots of coral fragments in it.
Water - We have an RO system for drinking water and I plan on "piggy-backing" on it daily, transferring water to a storage container in the garage which I will then use for mixing in salt.
ATO - Here is where I would like some input, what would you guys recommend? The reservoir will be located in the storage space behind the wall.
Controls - I am a big techy and I love the ability to monitor and (perhaps) control systems remotely. I love the idea of having some sort of master control for all, or most, of the systems, and being able to control them from my phone. Therefore, do I need to be conscious of my particular choices of hardware I purchase from here on? - This is an area I really need help with. This includes pH, temperature, salinity, and any other parameters that can be monitored electronically.
I have a storage space behind the wall where the tank will go, so I plan to mount all the controls, gauges, etc on the inside wall of that storage space. I can also envision mounting a wifi security camera zoomed in on the controls to be able to monitor everything remotely should the "on my phone" option be to complicated and/or too costly.
Anyway, thanks in advance for any input guys, I am so excited about getting back into the hobby! My tank will arrive in about a week so I have time to do my research and decide on the best path forward.
-Kaigoss
. My ultimate plan is to have a small reef set-up, but we love fish so the emphasis will always be on the fish! I'd like to start with mostly fish, and perhaps some live rock, and then perhaps later transition to a mix of fish and corals, but nothing too crazy.I have read through a lot of pages on this thread and others, and I have to say the information is a little overwhelming at the moment. I'd really like to take it slow with this build, step by step and (re) learning along the way. My fist priority obviously is to get the tank erected and the plumbing set-up, and then fill up with sand and water and some live rock and let it cycle.
While I have many questions, most of which I hope you guys can help me with, I want to start from the beginning and with the basics. So my first concern is the proper set-up of the tank. I will continue reading through this (and other) thread, but I would really appreciate a few hints or tips any of you may want to share regarding the set-up. The LAST thing I want to do is make a mistake and then have to end up draining the tank later on to fix it! I am also very concerned with potential leaks and I want to do everything I can to prevent them from happening. So here are my initial questions:
Plumbing - I have read about issues with the provided plumbing. Would it be better to replace it from the beginning with something better? I'll be going with a Herbie drain. BTW, I talked with Steve today, great guy!, and he said the plumbing provided now is all SCH40 so I will try to use as much of it as I can. I already ordered the gate valve for the main return line from Amazon. I guess I will just start laying it out and see what I can use and what I still need to get.
Return pump - I got Steve to take the pump out of my order and he recommended the Jabeo 12000. At first sight it seems a bit overkill but I see the merits of using a pump at 50% capacity or less and it lasting a very long time that way. Eventually I will probably want to take full advantage of the DC motor and use the pump in combination with an "auto-leveling" controller for the overflow. I have to read up on this some more but I am assuming this pump will be compatible for something like that...will it?
Lighting - Probably the hardest decision I had to make so far...I decided on a single Kessil A360WE for now. It definitely is much more than what I was willing to spend originally, but after seeing and reading about the awesome shimmer these lamps produce, I have to say I had no other choice!
Here a couple of things I will be looking at once the tank is set-up:
Starting the cycle process - Do I use live rock or dead rock and introduce cultures in a different way? What sand is best? - I would really like it to be coarse with lots of coral fragments in it.
Water - We have an RO system for drinking water and I plan on "piggy-backing" on it daily, transferring water to a storage container in the garage which I will then use for mixing in salt.
ATO - Here is where I would like some input, what would you guys recommend? The reservoir will be located in the storage space behind the wall.
Controls - I am a big techy and I love the ability to monitor and (perhaps) control systems remotely. I love the idea of having some sort of master control for all, or most, of the systems, and being able to control them from my phone. Therefore, do I need to be conscious of my particular choices of hardware I purchase from here on? - This is an area I really need help with. This includes pH, temperature, salinity, and any other parameters that can be monitored electronically.
I have a storage space behind the wall where the tank will go, so I plan to mount all the controls, gauges, etc on the inside wall of that storage space. I can also envision mounting a wifi security camera zoomed in on the controls to be able to monitor everything remotely should the "on my phone" option be to complicated and/or too costly.
Anyway, thanks in advance for any input guys, I am so excited about getting back into the hobby! My tank will arrive in about a week so I have time to do my research and decide on the best path forward.
-Kaigoss
texdoc77
New member
Glad you have joined the SCA team. You will love your tank. My answers are in red below.
ReefCowboy
New member
Thank you Acer, following
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