yauger

good point... I just got off the phone with Paul @ Oceans Motions and he keyed me into some changes in my design to maximize the potential of the 4Way... Since the intake for the Dart will be covered in rock I will more than likely put a tee on the 2" intake, this way I will have 50% less suction on each side reducing the off chance snails, fish, or anems getting sucked in... Also for the first couple of months I will run the 4Way without the drum so any sand particulates will not be an issue scratching the unit... Paul at OM is way too smart for this stuff I highly suggest someone consult him with questions on water movements within a system...

the plasma was a good deal at best buy... got it 2 weeks ago... it's a 42" plasma 1080P Panasonic... their best model....

These things rock!!! but man are they expensive...

Yeah I was thinking the same... 4 - 5" of sand in the display should be enough... If I have any issues with the main intake for the closed loop the best alternative would be to raise the pipe 6" into the water column to prevent any issues...

thanks gastone, things have been a bear with this project so far with $$ being the main delay in setting it up... needless to same there will be no other presents under the tree for me this year...

yeah I think so to, so for this week I will have multiple items coming in the mail: Sequence Dart Oceans Motions 4Way Gamma 40 Watt UV Heaters Chiller Great white cleaning magnet Salt (Instant Ocean 3 X 200 gallon buckets) 30 gallon breeder tank 2 media reactors ETSS Downdraft skimmer w/ Pan World pump TEK 8 X 56 WATT T5's Black Fixture 150 lbs of Marco Figi dry rocks... 2 large pieces the rest softball and base ball sizes US plastics 20 gallon container X 2 (these things are great take up 1 sq ft of space) 4 maxijets 1200 I still need to order another pump for the main return I just haven't made my mind up yet on which to buy... the list keeps growing but thats to be expected I guess... I will post some more pictures when the mail gets in... Christmas is early this year! no can't do that, I have based the tank design on a tank from RC.... completely 360 viewing... the intake will be built to prevent most things from going in... Sand is the enemy for me right now and I think the structure will take care of that, I will finish the intake for the closed loop this week and take pictures for you to see what I'm talking about...

Thanks JP... The intake for the Closed loop will be sectioned off with a 4" PVC pipe cut at 5" tall... I'm going to paint it black and silicone it in place creating a barrier around the intake preventing sand from flowing in... I'm also going to use pond foam to create a more natural look to disguise the 2" intake screener... After I place sand in the tank I will again cover it with live rock to create basically a neat structure to encase the entire intake to further prevent sand from getting in.... I will post some pictures of the work when I begin on Wednesday... As for the returns of the closed loop I might add another link to the lines just to get it off the sand bed but I don't know how tall of a sand bed I'm going to have just yet... so I will address that when the time comes... The overflow pipe still needs to be painted and shortened to make it presentable, I just put it in place to take the photos... I also will have to figure out how to turn the 45 pipe downward to create a dorso... Lots to do but it's getting there.... nope not bare bottom, thin sand bed likely for looks... I will most likely have a remote DSB for denitrification using a 5 gallon bucket, uniseals, and powerheads... Thanks man!

Hey Folks its been a while since the last update, so far have the tank in place with the top of the stand drilled with 7 holes for the closed loop and main drain & return. Just to give you an idea on how big this thing is it's 51"X29"X28" = 180 total gallons... Just want to add a shot of the almost furnished basement (just have to get the bar in with an additional couch for viewing the tank.. Heres some shots of the 4 returns of the Oceans Motions 4Way closed loop... All Drains/Returns has a true union ball valve..... Wanted to add some shots of the sump area... I painted the underside with high moisture paint and sealed it with polyurethane... if you can see the far right side the wall opens up to the back side of the laundry room where the skimmer and other reators are going to be housed... Also the RO/DI Unit will be mounted on the back wall with a US Plastics 20 gallon container for RO top off... The Drain PVC will be painted RED for quick color ID, and the returns Black... Any pipes feeding the skimmer and other equipment in the back room will be white.... The main over flow and return from sump.... Thats it for now but I will post more when the plumbing, OM4WAY & sump are installed