PeteStewardson
Member
The beginning.
Just under 2 years ago now we started to extend our home. The builders moved in and started demolishing, building, bodging and fixing and what was supposed to be a 3-4 month project turned into more like 10 months. It’s been a year since the builders left us after completing the extention work to our home but it’s taken me all that time on and off to get the house decorated. Just over a month ago it was the turn of the living room to get the redecoration treatment. The last room to do YAY!
The main issue to this being my old tank was in the way, especially as the carpet needs replacing, the wallpaper on the chimney needed changing, and the walls painting. So I spent an entire day emptying and cleaning the tank, and with help from Ed @ Windsor I got the tank moved into our dining area and then everything put back in it. Other than a short phosphate spike so far nothing has been lost.
Quick pics of the moved tank
As is the norm with us all, after moving the tank I started to get the upgrade itch badly. Except I only have the space for a 4ft long tank as the wall I was originally planning to be removed during our building work didn’t end up being removed.
So I set about planning my ideal tank for the space I had, now this was tricky. I didn’t want a braceless tank especially but I liked both the EA and Red Sea tanks. Hate the red sea plumbing though after having the Reefer Nano. Plus I find water splashing over the top annoying. The EA stand is really tall, and as I spend most of my time looking at the tank from the sofa, I like the stand a little lower. Also and this is a big issue with these tanks, they make running triton a real pain because of the sump layouts.
I’m not that tall so the current 22” tank height is really better than much higher, but the 20” width of my current tank is a bit restrictive. I also wanted a stand I could level properly as my current one has never been 100% level. So a metal frame was important.
Other things about my tank I wanted to change.
* The acrylic clad weir I’m not a fan of now I’ve had the Red Sea Nano as glass is much nicer.
* I want to push a lot of flow through the sump and so a weir comb that will allow more water through would be good
* My current tank has a solid panel on the right restricting access to that bit of the cabinet. This was mainly there for the cabinet my cockatiel cage sat on next to the tank, but he now sits on the other side of the room.
Just under 2 years ago now we started to extend our home. The builders moved in and started demolishing, building, bodging and fixing and what was supposed to be a 3-4 month project turned into more like 10 months. It’s been a year since the builders left us after completing the extention work to our home but it’s taken me all that time on and off to get the house decorated. Just over a month ago it was the turn of the living room to get the redecoration treatment. The last room to do YAY!
The main issue to this being my old tank was in the way, especially as the carpet needs replacing, the wallpaper on the chimney needed changing, and the walls painting. So I spent an entire day emptying and cleaning the tank, and with help from Ed @ Windsor I got the tank moved into our dining area and then everything put back in it. Other than a short phosphate spike so far nothing has been lost.
Quick pics of the moved tank
As is the norm with us all, after moving the tank I started to get the upgrade itch badly. Except I only have the space for a 4ft long tank as the wall I was originally planning to be removed during our building work didn’t end up being removed.
So I set about planning my ideal tank for the space I had, now this was tricky. I didn’t want a braceless tank especially but I liked both the EA and Red Sea tanks. Hate the red sea plumbing though after having the Reefer Nano. Plus I find water splashing over the top annoying. The EA stand is really tall, and as I spend most of my time looking at the tank from the sofa, I like the stand a little lower. Also and this is a big issue with these tanks, they make running triton a real pain because of the sump layouts.
I’m not that tall so the current 22” tank height is really better than much higher, but the 20” width of my current tank is a bit restrictive. I also wanted a stand I could level properly as my current one has never been 100% level. So a metal frame was important.
Other things about my tank I wanted to change.
* The acrylic clad weir I’m not a fan of now I’ve had the Red Sea Nano as glass is much nicer.
* I want to push a lot of flow through the sump and so a weir comb that will allow more water through would be good
* My current tank has a solid panel on the right restricting access to that bit of the cabinet. This was mainly there for the cabinet my cockatiel cage sat on next to the tank, but he now sits on the other side of the room.
Rather than the normal Triton under baffle between the skimmer and return, this is now an under-over set of baffles. There are 3 functions for this. One it gives a solid height in the skimmer section. Two it means bubbles escaping from the skimmer are less likely to end up sucked up by the return. The last one is the gap between the baffles. By making this wider, 40mm in this case, it allows you space to put heaters. So all the water moving through the sump, has to have passed over the heaters making them much more efficient.
