YHSublime

I like the biocubes, but as mentioned, pc lighting without retrofitting them is a PIA. I have had no experience with them, but from what I've heard, Nuvo a good way to go. You know, or this.

I can't say anything that hasn't been said, beautiful tank, and that 180.... oh boy!

Which one do you want, jason, halfsies? :P

Nice! Congrats!

My guess is way off. I've seen it before though...

A long pulse stops for a bit which adds to the sway, before it starts pumping again, IMO. I tried them all when I first got it, and that was the one I liked the most. I didn't even know what it was called until I looked it up.

If you're ever down my way, I've got my MP40's hooked up to the back of the 150. There is some crushed coral lightly scattered about, and I tried out the different modes yesterday to see what kind of patterns it tossed the substrate in. Pretty cool to see, maybe I should make some videos... They certainly all do perform a different function. That being said, I just run my tank currently on the long pulse mode.

I have, and there is. Just more money. And also, my current sump is garbage without more play room inside the stand. I have 6" (realistically 5") of room in between the top of the sump and the bottom of the tank. Alan, that idea about raising it was good, but still leaves me with that tight gap, which really doesn't solve the problem.

Outside: Inside, from the right hand door, down through to the left hand side, just to give you an idea.

So I've done a lot of complaining and rushing and not much of any real progress here, so I figure I'd share a picture of my GBTA tonight and get back on the tank.

86 that, they are showing up fine now... before they were popping up as a _ZPS with a long mix and match of letters and numbers before it. Probably my end. My apologies.

Maybe not so crazy. The stand is already amazingly... thin. We were all surprised as to the amount of weight it was built to handle. If I took the trim off the stand right now, I could, in crazy theory, put the tank up on 10" square blocks of plywood, and match up some trim. The only thing I can think of that would get in the way of that, is the overflow holes drilled in the bottom on the back of both sides of the tank.

Picture links are broken! Looking forward to watching you plumb this thing. Seems like just yesterday you were taking your stair railing apart to get it down the stairs!

I started thinking about what I would want my custom sump to be, and I thought, man, if I made my sump a shallow 10", I would only need about a foot high sump. Then I could run it 4-5' and just have a long shallow sump that would be perfect. Then I remembered, half the reason our sumps have all that extra room from the water line to the top is in case the water comes back down.

That's sound information, thank you for sharing. I might PM him and see what kind of turn around time I can get, and at what cost...

Alan, good call. I forgot to subtract the 2x4's out from the 18.5". My sump is 36L x 16W x 18H. My current stand would be perfect if it wasn't so freaking low. The sump fits perfectly inside (I mean, sans the whole, it's not coming out unless the tank comes off first) but it only gives me 6" of room to work in it, which isn't enough to take my skimmer cup out, unless I pull it out from the side and out the other door. And it doesn't make sense, if the skimmer ever malfunctioned, I couldn't even pull it out without draining the tank, emptying the contents, lifting it up, and them getting the skimmer, or any other piece of equipment out.

Thanks! Very helpful. Thanks for the heads up about the ceiling. I think I will have enough room, at least in current location, to maneuver with a 40" tall stand.

So after much battling with myself, I've decided that I'm going to build my own stand. Part of what the non reefer in the family likes is the stand and hood, which means my craftsmanship will have to match the caliber of the current stand... and hood. Talk about pressure. I've never built my own stand before, and it's not the frame that concerns me, but the trim. Is that usually just board over the frame with molding attached? The frame that it is on now is nothing special. As a matter of fact, it's worrisome! I found this site that pretty much gives you a mock up of what you need and plans, and estimated cost, does it seem about right? Scroll through tabs 1, 2, and 3, in order to see all 3 stages. I put the height in at 40" which will leave me with 22" of play in my sump. Thoughts before I probably start this tonight? Anybody have a 72.5 x 18.5 x 28.5 stand lying around? Anybody want to build it for me real nice like?

Sounds about right. I don't know getting around it, some folks use their waste for laundry, watering plants, etc. just have to plan accordingly to save it instead of drain it.

Thanks. I needed that. I think the best, most economical solution at this point is going to be building a stand. I like the sump, and think that it's perfect for the tank, and I am putting the cart before the horse. I'm going to put this water back in the tank and clean up the living room. My next step will be drawing out a stand. I have toyed with the idea of a custom sump, but I think making something better suited for my needs will be more practical. Thanks for talking me off the ledge.

Ok. Heard. Next problem. Slid the sump in, and now realize that it's too tall. Should have followed the gut and just built a stand. Either that, or will have to cut part of the sump out, which is what I'm seriously thinking about, in order to access skimmer cup and the center area. It took me and my friend lifting the tank off to the side and sliding it through the top, so I have some serious thinking to do before adding the water back in. Ugh.

I think there may be a misunderstanding in the way I'm wording it. When I insert the bulkhead without tightening it with the nut, there is minimal flex room, but still some flex. If I were to tighten the nut on it, it would not slide around. Are you thinking I'm saying that when I tighten it, it still moves about?

Thank you! I'm learning all about plumbing... I'm also learning that I need to be better at measuring. The sump I bought was plumbed with a ball valve off the side for a Dart. It's about 7" out, which means I've got to pick this tank up and slide it through the top of the stand, as there is no other way it's getting in there. Yikes. It'll be a while till I get this right!

So was told they were 1" bulkheads, and they did fit in the whole. Threaded sounded nicer because I wouldn't have to glue, and at the end of the day, have a seal that wasn't water tight! The seal will be tight... but even with the 1" there is still tad bit wiggle room.

So Quantum Reefs was pretty sure my bulkheads were meant to be 1". I went with threaded instead of slip, as I didn't want to have to glue underneath and about. Should there be any wiggle room inbetween the glass hole and the bulkhead, or should it butt right up... I think I know the answer, and I should have gone with my gut on this...