Aquastudent

That looks fantastic and exactly what I was thinking. I was also debating between doing bulkheads and silicone plate glass over it but I feel like getting schedule 80 bulkheads is better. Maybe I can even hook up a drain to it. Did you end up having to reseal the tank after cutting out the weird? Also, thank you so much for uploading the photos. It's a gorgeous tank and the visuals help!

I'm going to be moving my 150G soon which means I will have to drain the tank. Everything will be in transition which got me thinking of switching out the overflow system. The aquarium is an Oceanic 150G (5'x2'x2') with two overflow towers each with holes for two 1" bulkheads. The system was originally designed for one drain (durso) and one return in each overflow. The durso drains are far from silent driving me to find a better solution. Option 1: Keep the internal overflow and convert both overflows into herbie overflows. Drill 1 or 2 new 0.75" bulkheads in the back glass for returns (or run them over the trim). This is the easiest solution but in concerned with trying to balance between two siphons. Option 2: Remove the two internal intakes and try to not damage the seal silicone. Then patch the holes in the bottom with bulkheads and plugs. Drill the back glass for a larger external style overflow box and return bulkheads. A disadvantage with this option may actually be a benefit. In removing the towers, I may need to reseal the entire tank to get a good seal. The silicone looks to be in good condition which is surprising since I think the tank was manufactured in 1994. I don't want to fix something that isn't broken and induce new issues. BUT, I want to do it right the first time. I have resealed a large aquarium before so that's not a huge issue, just more of a potential roadblock. I would prefer having a beananimal overflow like on my reef tank and it opens up a lot more space inside the tank and looks sleeker, but would also mean I now have extra bulkheads in the aquarium. I prefer having the back drilled to minimize some flooding risk but since the tank is already drilled in the bottom, that point is moot. Thoughts?

Thanks all. Yes, I wanted to try and keep from introducing anything unknown to the system. I like the idea of soaking it in RODI for a couple days! I appreciate the bode of confidence! Means I can move forward too!

I've been looking to jump start my sump with a bit of clean chaeto. I've bend watching the page on AlgaeBarn but every time I check they are out of stock. Does anybody know why they haven't bend able to resupply it yet? (Or have I just been missing it) Any other recommendations for alternatives? I'm hoping to start fresh rather than from a used system if I can.

It's been a bit chaotic the past couple months. I had a water supply line on a toilet on the third floor of my house break during the night... and it caused significant water damage on all three floors. Thankfully, nothing affected the tank other than I'm having the wood floors refinished in the living room. I ended up moving the tank to the basement which gives me some ease of mind. The tank was dry (I moved the clownfish back to the original 20L) over the past couple months although now we're rolling again! Looking forward to getting this kicked into the next gear! The lights are winding down but wanted to give a FTS and a minor update.

That is a nice looking cube tank! Looking forward to it's progress. You cleaned up that acrylic nicely! Having the panel on the stand makes a huge difference in appearance. It's a nice looking sump but with that solid stand the setup looks so clean

Thanks for the tip Tpallas! The spray bottle worked well! I finished the rocks and got them submerged last week. It was much easier to get them through the opening that i anticipated! Glad there weren't any complications there. After getting salt into the system and letting it stabilize, I added some AragAlive Fiji Pink. I have a couple more bags coming to give better coverage of the bottom. The light has remained off. I'm going to try and get it through the "ugly phase" before turning the light on and adding corals. I added some live bacteria from a bottle and moved my clownfish over. I need to check to see that the cycle is being established because it's such a very small bioload... don't want to transfer any live rock from the old reef because I was having trouble with bubble algae. It's an option if need be. I hope to get another fish or two into the old tank to get the quarantine going... but it's almost better to put the first few right into the display tank. Overall, here's my stocking list Early stocking (< 3 months) 2x Oscellaris clownfish (currently have one) 1x Flame angel 1x Firefish Near future (3-6 months) 1x Tomini Bristletooth, Kole tang, yellow tang, OR purple tang (I love the look of the purple but that may be pushing it a little for this tank. Tomini is the top of the list) 1x malnarus wrasse 1x yellow wrasse Longterm (6+ months) Mandarin dragonet (need to get a refugium established) I also love the looks of royal grammas. There are also a variety of blennies and gobies that are eye catching! I would welcome your thoughts and ideas. I be searching more of the forums history to look for inspiration.

This is coming along nicely! I love the aquascape you did. Looks like a great combination of space for fish to swim and corals to grow. The purple paint also gives it that established look. Excellent job with the two-toning. It really looks much more natural! Improvement on the cable management part too! It'll be nice when you get together that full on board but I think getting it functional is an important step... more important than making it pretty at least. I just finished with some initial organization on my setup... Waiting for the RO/DI to drip away is brutal, isn't it? So excited for the next steps in your tank!

I've been making steady progress. Today's project was constructing the aquascape. I used MarcoRocks and broke them into smaller pieces. I used a combination of super glue, accelerator, and crushed MarcoRock to construct the core scape. The accelerator ended up being the faster and easier method but the ground MarcoRock looks better by hiding the seams already. Because all the rock is pale white, the dimension doesn't show up well in photos. One challenge is that we built crossbraces into the top of this tank, which limits the size of pre-constructed scapes I can put in there. I didn't want to build it in the tank (even though after things start growing on it, the scape probably wouldn't come out in one piece). I hope my measurements and construction were within the limits! Tomorrow, if I still like the scape, I'll be mortaring it to lock it in. All I'll need is the RO/DI unit to be delivered and we can get cycling! I wanted to put a decent amount of negative space underneath the main scape. Also, I wanted to have a moderate amount of real estate as I'd like to try a variety of corals and learn more broadly about the hobby. I think there will be a wide range of lighting and flow levels with this setup. It's kind of funny... the part that I'm almost most excited about is the base rock up front i want to do a Zoa garden with! I ended up going with a Kessil AP9X because I liked the sleek design, built in capabilities, and coverage. My alternative was two A360 generation Kessils (or the Ecotech 15s) but I opted to not go with the double lights. I haven't dialed in the light yet. Wanted to see it above the tank though. I have completed the plumbing (and leak tested it). We're nearly there!

Just put in my order for an AWI. Happy to support a club sponsor. It's good to know that the units are relatively the same and it's the interchangeable filters that will be the big difference. Looking forward to making some clean water so I can get the new tank salted! Thanks all!

Haha! Yeah... finding the best spot to mount it is going to be an interesting one. I didn't think about the 10" interchangeability. That's a great point! I'm all for supporting club sponsors. I wasn't expecting multiple responses for the same brand that quickly. I have read good things about Fire, water, and ice elsewhere too

I'm a bit afraid this is going to start a firestorm. Didn't see anything in the forums on this topic in the past few years. I'm looking at RO/DI units and am getting a bit overwhelmed with all the options. I want to convince myself to spend an ok amount for reliability and functionality but it feels hard to spend $200 when there a unit for half that. What RO/DI unit do you use and do you like it? I've been comparing units like AquaFX Barracuda $180 Aquatic Life 75gpd $90 Ton of BRS ones ~$200 I have a 110G system. I think I want more than 50 gpd but I don't need something uber fancy. Would like something that will be well altered with getting replacement cartridges. What would you all recommend?

Those are some gorgeous tanks! There's so much vibrant color in there. I hope the BW new makes it too. That's an incredible looking critter!

Made some progress since the last update. Ifinished buffing out the micro-scratches and painted the back panel. I may also paint a border trim to cover up some of the reinforcement. Snowy day means time spent inside working on the tank. I've done 75% of the plumbing. I forgot I got a threaded bulkhead so I need to get another transition piece for the return. I wanted to put in more unions but there wasn't much space for more. I decided to put a large pipe off the back of the overflows instead of a short run to a union. I would want a union before the plumbing in the stand but I didn't see much of a need to replace the run down the tank. I have the beananimal pieces cut although I may make the primary drain a simple pipe instead of the two elbows. That'll free up more space in the box. Also picked up a protein skimmer and return pump. I decided to go on the cheaper end here. I'm not a fan of having to buy twice so I rarely do this but I've seen some decent reviews for the Jaebo return and Bubble Magus skimmer. Finished putting together the sump. I really like the FijiCube sump baffle designs. They are easy to put together and function well. I'm not sold on the filter socks. They clog so quickly. I may change it up to use polyfil down the road for mechanical filtration We're nearly at the point where I can check for leaks! My remaining major purchases are an RO/DI system, ATO, and lights. I live in a townhouse and am constrained on space for a mixing station so I'll need to get creative with it.

That's pretty neat! How has it been doing and have there been any new iterations of it?

Glad to see you back around. Hope all is going well! The looking forward to what you fill the tank up with.

+1 on the expresso machine. That sump looks awesome though! Good call on matching the stand to the other furniture. That'll make everything look like it belongs

There is so much color packed into that glass box! It's gorgeous! It reminds me of the crystal grow kits... but so much better! The photo with the Foxface is something you'd see on Planet Earth

Thanks guys! I'm definitely all for the "do it right the first time" camp... well, now that I'm on the second time. Glad Petco still has the Dollar per Gallon sale happening. I'll get that ordered and some new baffles.

Thanks. That's exactly what I'm afraid of. Plus, if the chores are difficult, I'll be less likely to do it at the necessary points. Maybe I can find something on the sale threads.

It's about time I jumped into this hobby for real. I started with a Fluval Evo13.5 which I converted into a 20T. I've mostly been barely growing the few corals I have. I recently combined my two large freshwater tanks into a new 150G. That freed up a 100G acrylic tank that I think would look great as a reef. The dimensions are 44"×24"x24". I have been slowly accumulating the supplies to make the jump up. Major items procured: Tank and Stand Eclipse L Overflow Titanium Heater and Controller 29G with FijiCube DIY sump baffles Bullhead for return from sump Dry rock (foundation and bulk), super glue, mortar - I'm going to do a negative space aquascape Major Items still to procure : Lighting - Kessil AP9X Skimmer Return Pump RO/DI System ATO Current top priority on this list is the skimmer. My current tasks are buffing out the minor scratches in the acrylic display tank, drilling the holes for the bulkheads, and painting the background black. I plan on placing the overflow on there left 1/3 on the back wall and then putting the 1" bulkhead for there return in the upper right. Current plan is to step down the 1" return to 3/4" and use locline. I installed a 40B sump with the FijiCube baffles on the freshwater 150G and absolutely love it. First major challenge is the sump. I went with the largest standard size aquarium I could fit in the stand. Unfortunately, I may have gone too large as I don't have much room to work above the sump. Since i don't have a skimmer yet I can't test whether I could remove it for maintenance. There is a width of a 2x4 with of space above the bottom of the opening for some minor maneuvering. Should I step down the sump to a 20L for the extra headroom? I think it'll be large enough, it's just nicer to have the extra 30% volume.

Awesome Mattiejay. That's helpful to hear. I definitely agree that an AAV will be much easier to do. Thanks so much! It's incredibly helpful to hear this confirmation.

I'm looking to install a utility sink in my laundry room. It's a tight squeeze and limited on options but I want to see the feasibility of it. If anybody has experience and can recommend courses of action or has a recommended plumber in the Fairfax, Springfield, or Burke areas they would recommend that would be greatly appreciated. This install will help me maintain my large freshwater tank in the winter (as I don't have access to the hose for water changes and helps avoid the bucket brigade) and will enable me to expand my reef aquarium (and perhaps install an RO/DI unit). I'm comfortable with the install once a plan is in place, but am willing to hire a professional to ensure it gets done right. I haven't submitted for a permit yet since I don't have the plan finalized. Image 1 is the layout of the room. The only place the sink can go is unfortunately in the back corner. This is approximately 11 total feet to the drain. There's plenty of vertical space from the drain to the sink p-trap to maintain at least the minimum depression angle for the drain pipe. However, with the length of the pipe, it would need a closer ventilation line to prevent the p-trap from being cleared. I'm looking at either air admittance valves or extending the horizontal vent pipe behind the hot water heater and air handling unit and connect closer to the sink. Solid green are current installed pipes and dotted green is the notional drain line. Image 2 shows the current plumbing. The left vertical drain is confusing to me as I don't see it's purpose. If this is a drain line though, it is the closest location for the utility sink drain connection. The other option is to install a sump pump to evacuate the drain water. I'd like to avoid this option if possible. Any feedback or suggestions are welcome.

It's been awhile but I've been slowly learning and gaining new experiences. Learning what works and what doesn't work...sometimes the latter more often than former. My largest challenge over the past year has been combating algae. The first challenge was bubble algae. That's still lingering but mostly under control. The most recent has been green/gray mossy like algae. I do water changes of about 3-4 gallons every other week. I'm thinking it may be more beneficial to either do weekly water changes or kick up the volume a bit more. The corals that have made it this far seem to be doing quite well. I am still running stock everything on the tank. I am considering playing around with a mini refugium for growing macroalgaes in one of the "sump" columns. Inhabitants still include the picasso clownfish. I really like the pattern on this guy. I haven't added anything else stocking wise in the past year. I'm also thinking the CUC could use a refresh. I have some small starfish that came in on a coral last summer that have kept a small population going. There's still a few snails poking around as well. Thank goodness for green-star polyps. Definitely a great beginner coral. It's a great confidence booster. Photos with my downgraded camera phone! With the blues going. My camera doesn't quite have the dynamic range to pick it up well. I'll break out the DSLR eventually. backside

Thanks Sublime. I'm hesitant because I have such a small tank. I have a feeling a BTA wouldn't go well.