The sickness continues

[FroMan]

So I picked up a new monster from Bob @ Cultured Aquatic Life two weeks ago. She barely squeaked into the back of the Subaru.

AGA w/ dual overflows 180 gal 72"x 24" x24"

Lighting: TBD, but it will be some sort of T5 setup. (looking for feed back on this)
Flow in the tank: 2x Vortech MP40W
Skimmer: Deltec APF600
Controller: Aquacontroller Jr or III. I haven't made up my mind yet.

Sump will be in the basement.

I'm looking for feed back on return pumps. I am currently considering a ReeFlow Dart or Dart Gold, or Iwaki pump. Overall return height will be ~ 10-12 feet with 4-5 90° elbows.

Thoughts?

 

[renogaw]

very nice the aquactinics constellation gets great reviews

 

[Kdocimo90]

I have a 72" constellation t-5 fixture and love it.. I would highly recommend it

 

[Reefer07]

Wow, I'm surprised you did get it into the subaru. Hope to see some more pics.

 

[ilikelps]

If you are really hooked on then t5 fixture then get it, otherwise I personally would go with a metal haylide fixture for the little bit more money. It will help your corals grow faster, and allow you to do all sorts of sps and clams with it.
Good Luck

Ben

 

[57vert]

Can't beat those Subarus!

My T-5 (5 bulb aquactinics on a 75 g) fixture has been great both growth and color wise.

 

[cato]

Dang, I can't even steal his license plate #.

 

[Kdocimo90]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13853925#post13853925 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cato
Dang, I can't even steal his license plate #.

lol i didnt even realize it was blurred out

 

[FroMan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13853247#post13853247 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reefer07
Wow, I'm surprised you did get it into the subaru. Hope to see some more pics.

You would be surprised what you can fit in the legacy.

 

[renogaw]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13853799#post13853799 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ilikelps
If you are really hooked on then t5 fixture then get it, otherwise I personally would go with a metal haylide fixture for the little bit more money. It will help your corals grow faster, and allow you to do all sorts of sps and clams with it.
Good Luck

Ben

certain t5's, such as the aquactinics, have no issues with sps and clams.

 

[FroMan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13853925#post13853925 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cato
Dang, I can't even steal his license plate #.

You think I'm going to make it easy for you guys to get your hands on my baby? She is quite unique these days since toyota started screwing up Fuji heavy industries two years ago.

2.5L Turbo, 250 hp/250 lbft, 5 speed, not to sixty ~5.5; 1320 in the mid->high 13's at ~100 mph trap depeding on how you abuse the clutch on the launch.

think of her as the big kids STi. :bum:

According to my dealer there are less than 500 LGT's wagons configured like the one I have. With ~ 50 in the dark blue.

 

[ilikelps]

My friend has teh t5 fixture on his 55 gal. with perfect levals and softies and lps doing well but his tank will not hold sps or maxima clams, maybe u just are getting a better fixture, but I always thought that t5's would not be able to suppot certain corals.
Perhaps someone who has had alot of lighting expierence could shed some light on this.

Good Luck with the 180
ben

 

[FroMan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13854897#post13854897 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ilikelps
My friend has teh t5 fixture on his 55 gal. with perfect levals and softies and lps doing well but his tank will not hold sps or maxima clams, maybe u just are getting a better fixture, but I always thought that t5's would not be able to suppot certain corals.
Perhaps someone who has had alot of lighting expierence could shed some light on this.

Good Luck with the 180
ben

The aquantics solar flare and constellation setups are capable of supporting SPS and clams. The issue is that they are pricey compared to other setups. They are nicely built and are growing in popularity. ITs just tough to swallow the ~1K a 72" constellation is running right now. Especially since it doesn't come with bulbs!

T5's are a compromise over having metal halides. The big item is the power savings.

That being said, I do have an SPS growing under power compacts right now.

 

[FroMan]

Drain line question........


So the 180 has dual overflows each rated at 600 gph, so 1200 gph cumulative.

Using the calculations that I made with the head loss calculator, a reeflow dart will be flowing ~1080 gal @ 10 feet of vertical rise. Based on that, I'm within the capacity of the overflows.

my question is about the drain lines to the basement sump that I'm planning. Ideally, I would like to run 1 drain and 1 return line due to space contraints that I'm dealing with. If they could both be 1.5" pipes, all the better for uniformity and planning.

Based on the drain line calculator on RC's front page, to achieve 1200 gph, I would need a 1.43" dia pipe.

Right now I'm thinking about plumbing both drain lines together under the tank stand and then running them down to the floor and through to the basement. There will be 2-3, 90° elbwows, but I don' think that this will slow the drain down too much (I could be wrong)

Does this make sense based on what you guys/gals have done and/or seen?

 

[erbgo]

I have t5 on my 220g 30" deep and I have done clams on the sand without any problem they only die when I screw up my water

 

[FroMan]

Hmmm... move the files to a new directory and you cant go back and edit the links.... DOH!

Old pictures of the tank just squeaking into the back of my Subaru.

 

[FroMan]

So progress on this build came to a screeching halt this winter/spring do to a whole bunch of stuff. The tank has just been sitting in my garage collecting dust, dirt, pollen, and the occasional spider. :rolleye1:

Now that the semester is over and house projects are being reduced (for now). I've taken the opportunity to get things rolling again.

Equipment list for the tank so far:
Skimmer - Deltec APF60
Return pump: Iwaki MD40
Power heads: a pair of VorTech MP40 w/ battery back up
Lighting: Current USA Nova Extreme Pro T5
Controller: AquaController 3 w/ standard pH and temperature probes, 2X DC 8, Dimmable Lunar Simulator w/ 5 LEDs

I had also won a calcium reactor basic setup at the CTARS conference, but it is on the back burner until the tank is alive and kicking.

During late January into early Febuary I installed a laundry pump down in the basement to take some load off the washing machine. I also added a sink at the same time so I would have a drain down there and a slop sink in the basement.

We recently started to paint the basement walls to make it look like less of a dungeon. Not that I'm going to be spending as many hours down there as I do in my office, but I wanted to make it a bit brighter. The paint made a HUGE difference in the brightness of the basement even with the simple incandescent bulbs that are down there (picture below is with a flash).

New lights will be installed when I start to work on the electrical. Home-do-pot has some 2 bulb T5 shop lights for ~$30 each. These seem to be pretty reasonable price wise so I will be picking up several of them to brighten the place up once we are done with the painting.

 

[FroMan]

Now the fun stuff ..... :rollface:

I took some time last week after work to get the stand's frame designed. This was a big help to start to work on the materials list. I'll be putting in an order to Kelly Fradet in the next week or so to get the materials on hand. Top and bottom frames are 2X6's for symmetry. Legs are 2x4's. Top and bottom decks will be 3/4" ply.

This week (time permitting) I'll start to model the facing and doors.

I also took a trip up to the Connecticut Wood Groups Hard Wood Outlet. Defiantly worth the drive up to Enfield if you are looking for wood. Absolutely gorgous pieces of wookd and an excellent selection of hard woods. I have not seen a warehouse like this in a long, long time.

http://www.cwghardwoodoutlet.com/

At the moment, I'm leaning towards using a cherry ply for the stand's facing and door inserts. With cherry boards for the door frames. I still have to cost it out though.

 

[FroMan]

double post :mad2:

 

[fishkid6692]

go with MH's!