So it begins, part two (120G)

Thanks, I will keep that in mind as I'm running the drains for the 30G.

I would have done them already but I got sidetracked. I'm learning, nothing is easy. I don't think I can change a cup of water without spilling a gallon. Also, I happened to notice my priciest frag fell down in my rock work and is now lodged beneath a rock. I don't think I can get to it without removing all my rock. The thing just started to encrust and I figure it is dead now. I'm starting to wonder if the hassel is worth it.
 
Hey them's the "rules". Most cared for or priciest is the one that's gonna be your biggest worry/PTA in the tank.
 
I hope to fish out the missing coral tomorrow as I finally found it. Not sure I can get it or not but I think it is worth a try.

I got my new bulbs installed today. Whoa buddy what a difference! First off the glass was much dirtier than I thought it was, so that is a lot of par lost to start with. All the bulbs were 16+ months old so the new Pheonix must kill the old ones in terms of par. Then on the T5's I had no idea what my old bulbs were. I found out today they were D&D Pure Actinic which happen to be one of the lowest par bulbs you can get. According to the par numbers taken by 'The Grim Reefer' those put out 157 each. My new bulbs put out 311 and 330 so that smashes my old ones.

I cannot give much opinion of color difference yet because I have the light moved up 12" higher than normal in attempts to acclimate eveything, plus I think it could change a little bit as they get broken in. I do notice the orange cap is much much brighter most likely due to the Fiji Purple bulbs.
 
Tank09-10-19TankUpdate003.jpg



Updated photo of the tank. Not much new but the algae seems to be under control and my corals seem happy.




Tank09-10-19TankUpdate004.jpg



This is how my plumbing lines will be looking between the two systems. I still haven't finished them but sized most of the pipes. I will then paint the PVC to match the walls to help hide it some. After that, I'm going to build some small box to put in the corner to help hide and sort my power cords. Balling them up in the floor just doesn't seem like a good idea. :)



BTW, both photo's are with my T5's only. The Halides have already went off for the day.
 
This is getting embarrassing but the 30G is still not in operation. My excuses are a newborn in the house and a very very sick dog. However, I'm sure I could have completed this plumbing before now if I completely set my mind to it. :(


The was the bad news. The good news is that I do have 75% of the plumbing done so it shouldn't be too much longer. Also, my corals are doing better than I previously reported. The Turquoise Stag & Green Spongodes that I thought were dead are coming back for me. I found the Aurora Montipora Confusa but I'm not sure it made it. If it has polyps they are very tiny. I'm not going to give up yet on it yet. Otherwise, the tank is still looking healthy. Since not much has changed I'm going to hold of on posting pics until the 30G is running.
 
Plumbing essentially completed today. I have just a few I's to dot but that is all. By this weekend, I hope to have tried it with SW to check for leaks and noise levels. If all is okay, it will be drained so I can add the Sand and Rock. I will not put on the return pump while the water clears, but hopefully by the end of this coming weekend it will be online. I will post some pics at that time.
 
Woot progress finally :bounce3:
The way it was shaping up I thought we'd beat you getting our new setup running. ;)
Unfortunately lack of time has slowed our progress to a slow crawl too.
 
30GPlumbing.jpg


So, now I can say the plumbing is complete and ready for testing. I have about 20G of water ready now and plan on making more as soon as I can. If all goes well, this tank might have rock and sand in it by next weekend!

I was thinking about this earlier. I got the tank itself about a year ago, light about a year ago, and stand back in about May. So I have had all the major pieces since then but I just keep getting delays after delays. Finally I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm just crossing my fingers that the plumbing will be no louder than the 120.
 
Patient or lazy. LOL


So just a few minutes ago got the 30G online for its initial test run. I have a small drip at the bulkhead of the overflow. I'm going to try and tighten the nut down a slight bit more. The noise isn't too bad. A little extra noise is now coming from the sump but I think I can get it to quit down a bit with some minor alterations. If I can get this drip to stop, I will consider this a success!

(edit)
I believe I got the drip fixed with some Teflon tape.
 
Last edited:
Tank has been running with no live stock. No leaks so all is well. I was holding off to add the sand and live rock until after I got a generator. However, after thinking about it the livestock would probably fair better in my house without power than it would in my garage without power. So I will probably drain and add sand/rock over the weekend.

I started work in hooking up my Osmolator and Kalk Reactor. This didn't work as planned because I keep getting backflow from the Kalk reactor into my FW reservoir. I'm needing to find a small check valve or something before getting this back online. Nothing is easy.
 
Glad to see it up! I like the rock work. I dont remember do you have equipment in the 30 gallon stand?

Are you planning on adding more water flow to the 30 or just using the return?
 
Thanks. My ATO and Kalk reactor are stored in the stand hence why I took so long to get those running.

Additional flow will be needed as I'm not getting much from the return line, but it makes for nearly a silent overflow. :) So, I had been planning to make it a softy tank but now I'm thinking a mixture of softies and LPS. Corals such as zoos, rics, acans, hammers, etc. How much flow should I shoot for? I been thinking about the Vortech MP10 but with the way my rockwork is built up I'm thinking I might be better off with something on both sides. Would 2 Tunze 6025's be too much flow for the coral or create sand storms? I used the Seaflor sand so it is larger granuals and I have about 1.25" deep I guess.
 
Glad to hear you have a nealy silent overflow :D

I dont think it will create a sandstorm with the 2 6025's. I got a heck of a deal on a vortech mp40 and have that running in my cube along with a modded tunze 6025 and the eheim 1260 closed loop. I do have the vortech turned down though. Anyways im not getting a sandstorm and our sand looks similiar other then mine is only about 3/4" deep and only in the front half of the tank.

If you are planning on lots of lps id start with a single 6025 and see how it looks. Never used the mp10 but it does look interesting.
 
Looks great...finally :celeb2:

I managed to beat you by a week moved the live rock and corals to the 56 last Sunday.

56bata1003.jpg

Then again it's on a temporary stand, not plumbed or aquascaped.
It's also in the diatom stage. :furious:
 
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