Carl

Wow. As I've said many times...I do not like powerheads. A large reason for me upgrading my current tank is to rid the display of powerheads and heaters and preskimmers... But, let me tell you, the amount of plumbing and wiring required as soon as you (me) add a sump, return pump, CL, OM and UV is unbelievable. The back side of the tank looks like a bowl of spaghetti. OMG. -Carl

Looking GREAT! I think this is the fastest build I've seen on a tank over 75 gallons!

Guess I missed the pictures...was on the bottom of the 3rd page...

Pictures ????

I'm curious how yours turns out...as I have both a Dart and a Barracuda...and have not turned either one on yet. With just my Dart on a 75, it will be approx 50x turnover...it seems a little high for me, compared to the 3 Rio 600's I have in my current 60 gallon.

I'm looking to attend...I'm trying to figure out how to work it around Saturday's ballet and karate and musical theater and volunteering at the dog shelter and my signifcant other...but so help me...I'm gonna figure out how to get there

I'm using flex pvc for most of the plumbing outside and behind the display tank...to me it seemed like the 1 inch MPT/slip fittings I screwed into the OM were way too flimsy. So, I upgraded those to 80. I also upgraded the pipe between the Dart and the OM. Everything else is flex pvc and 40. And the Dart...as of 2 weeks ago, the Dart was going to run two 1 inch outputs into OM with 2 of 4 outputs cycling on. It seems too much to run ~1800 gallons each through two lines coming up and over into the top of my tank...so I reworked it. I Teed off of the Dart BEFORE the OM, with a 1 inch line into 4, half inch outputs that will always be ON. These will be under the sand, pointing up and towards the back of the tank. So the Dart will now be running 4 outputs of 1/2 inch each from the bottom of the tank, and 2 of 4 alternating outputs through the OM into some size TBD this week...coming up and over the top of the tank.

OK...I didn't get everything I wanted done this weekend...but I did get ahead with the following: I put the blue RACEAPEEL sticker on the back of the tank. I drilled yet another hole in the back of the tank for an additional CL return that I just decided to do on the spur of the moment. I upgraded a few of the fittings to Sched 80 from 40...although I wasn't able to find everything in 80. I plumbed/dry fitted the CL. I ran into SteveOutlaw at BRK!! I'm looking forward to adding some water this week to see how much the Dart/CL puts out, and adjust accordingly.

Thanks for the info George. I've been to a few CMAS tank tours, and look forward to attending other CMAS events/socials. -Carl

Woo Hoo!!! Congrats!!

Thanks for the info...

You've been busy!! Hopefully you've got all the leaks fixed. Why are you warming it before putting it in the tank? Isn't this just a leak test you're donig?

Of course I agree with you, that the knowledge you get is well worth the $20. But a 2 speaker meeting at WAMAS with great raffle prizes for $0, is $20 better...or in WAMAS terms...a good frag. I am curious...do we WAMAS folks have more volunteers? more $20/year members? (edit) Thanks for the info Doug.

I'm curious why they charge their members $25 to attend...and when WAMAS has their event's, members get in free!! Why the big difference?

I chuckled at that response... The H&S Skimmer is rated at 581 gallons...and I've been told it's a conservative rating...Hopefully this is true...cause I plan to heavily stock the 450.

Dan - On a totally different subject, but related to putting the naso tang in my large tank....I'm looking over my skimmer... http://www.hsaquaristik.de/start_eng.php rated for 2200 liters/581 gallons. If I stuff my tank with fish...do you think I'll need a bigger skimmer? Is this skimmer easily modify-able....like I can add a 3rd Eheim pump, and it will increase its capacity? And of course the next question...is that something you can do? -Carl

I assume it would be good for the fish only 500 yes? Dan - Why wouldn't you get one? because you have a reef tank?

Anyone have a blonde naso tang in a 70 gallon (or smaller) tank? Does yours peacefully co-exist with a community of fish? Will it get too big for a 70? I'm considering getting one with Chip's BZA group buy. -Carl

I've never had cheato before...My question... Would the egg crate prevent everything from going through? or do I need some sort of a filter on the Mag5?

Yes, I have a Mag 5, so we'll see how that works out. I'm going to use the Mag5 to power the UV, Skimmer and the return. I'm not sure how I'll plumb it yet...I may run the skimmer directly from the overflow, and let the return to the sump pass through the skimmer. But as you said, with the current design I won't have much flow through the sump. The CL will be run off a dart - 3600 gph with no head. So the tank could be as much as 50x turnover/hour.

I've never had a sump before, so this is all new to me. My current design has a 7 inch tall glass between the return pump and the fuge in the 29 gallon sump. I have no idea what to expect after I get the pump going...and how much the sump will lower/fill with the pump on and off. I'll keep posting pictures and let you know how it's going. My goal for the weekend is to put the blue background on the tank, drill one last hole in the tank...and plumb everything for the CL, and test it. I probably won't get to plumbing the sump and return pump this weekend. And as you can see, I had no imagination when it came to my WAMAS name.

I am basically doing the exact same build you're doing. Look at this picture from Melev's Reef...I'm going to do something similar with the egg crate between the fuge and the pump/return area. This should allow more water in the sump. And I asked WAMAS the same question as you...is a fuge worth it. I got a resounding YES. Time will tell... I have some pictures in my thread on my design http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=17093 -Carl

I'M IN !!! I'll take 5 different ones!!

Things I've learned this week: 1 - With a good skimmer, my everpresent "oil slick" is gone, and the tank is brighter. 2 - After drying and baking my live rock on my driveway in the sun last August for 10 days, and after emptying my entire tank of sand and water...aiptasia and a brittle star fish both showed up this week 8 months later...seemingly both impossible to kill. 3 - It takes me 5x longer than anyone I know to design and build a tank.

Another thing I've learned after using the Shorty this week ... Without the "oil slick" in my tank...the tank is much brighter.