my 120 RR SPS tank

[DDiver]

Tank:

120g AGA RR 48x24x24

 

Sump:

Custom 30g Acrylic (Donated to me by an awesome chap over at AQUACO)

 

Lighting:

Giesemann Infiniti 2 250w DE 13.5k MegaChromes supplemented by 4 54w Actinic+

(currently being used on my 90g)

 

Equipment:

Tunze 9010 Skimmer (also currently on my 90g)

Next Reef MR1 media reactor for Zeolite

 

Circulation:

Closed Loop through a Sequence Dart

Returned by Mag9.5

 

I'd like to thank Mark(Chubakah) for taking his time to come over and help me get this tank all plumbed up... and what a great job he did.

 

Edited September 6, 2008 by DDiver

[Smoothtriqueter]

Nice beginning keep the pics coming, cant wait to see what it looks like!

[DDiver]

thanks...i'm filling it up with water right now..

[zoozilla]

Very nice

[fishcam]

thanks...i'm filling it up with water right now..

 

Man that is a great tank. I'd eventually like to get either a 90 or a 120 like that.

 

I notice on the bigger tanks folks put that pink foam stuff under them... It looks like you did that too... how come?

 

Thanks!

[MLazar]

Your tank is going to be lovely.

 

Your floor already is lovely.............aren't you worried about the water????

[Smoothtriqueter]

Man that is a great tank. I'd eventually like to get either a 90 or a 120 like that.

 

I notice on the bigger tanks folks put that pink foam stuff under them... It looks like you did that too... how come?

 

Thanks!

 

 

I have a 65 and have foam between the tank and stand... it helps disperse the pressure on the edges and your wood!

[davelin315]

I have always been amazed at how shiny and new tanks and sumps look when you first put them in! Looks good, but just make sure not to turn the ball valve on the feed for the closed loop. It will damage the pump if you restrict the water intake. Also, how much flow do you think you'll get from the closed loop? I'm very curious as to how it does in your system with the 3/4" return pipe and the eductors.

[DDiver]

Your tank is going to be lovely.

 

Your floor already is lovely.............aren't you worried about the water????

 

thanks..me and my girlfriend laid it down last weekend..i will just have to try really hard to clean up any spills right away..

[DDiver]

I have always been amazed at how shiny and new tanks and sumps look when you first put them in! Looks good, but just make sure not to turn the ball valve on the feed for the closed loop. It will damage the pump if you restrict the water intake. Also, how much flow do you think you'll get from the closed loop? I'm very curious as to how it does in your system with the 3/4" return pipe and the eductors.

well the water comes out through a one inch bulkhead down a two inch pipe which is hooked up to the Dart inlet and out to three 3/4inch outlets..we utilized the the two return pipes on the tank as returns for the Dart and the and then hooked up another pipe in the corner of the tank as the return from the sump...the 3rd Dart outlet comes out the middle of the tank which was teed off to each side..all in all i think it has pretty good flow, especially with those flow accelerator things i hooked up to both ends.

[DDiver]

Update:tank is filled,plugged in the dart and noticed a leak from the inlet..took me a frustrating 2 hours to fix and now i am mixing the water..

[davelin315]

well the water comes out through a one inch bulkhead down a two inch pipe which is hooked up to the Dart inlet and out to three 3/4inch outlets..we utilized the the two return pipes on the tank as returns for the Dart and the and then hooked up another pipe in the corner of the tank as the return from the sump...the 3rd Dart outlet comes out the middle of the tank which was teed off to each side..all in all i think it has pretty good flow, especially with those flow accelerator things i hooked up to both ends.

I'd be careful about that 1" bulkhead, I think you're asking for trouble restricting the flow like that. I would replace that with a 2" bulkhead.

[DDiver]

i think the dart could handle it...or at least i hope so..

[DDiver]

just added rocks and sand..will post picture as soon as the sand settles..

[Smoothtriqueter]

Can't wait to see!

[davelin315]

Not to be a naysayer, and I hate to keep on harping on this, but you may experience cavitation and pipe vibration from the intake bulkhead being too small. I would be very careful of this as it can damage the pump and also could cause problems on your bulkheads and plumbing, possibly even stressing the tank if the vibrations are too great. Also, if it doesn't cause problems, watch out for how strong the flow will be at the intake. You may find that your fish get sucked into the intake.

[yauger]

i think the dart could handle it...or at least i hope so..

 

nope, had the same issue, called the manufacture and they told me that you can restrict the output but never the intake... just drill another 1" hole and join it with the other 1" hole via a 2" pipe and that should fix the problem. Otherwise I would worry about burning the pump out within a month. $.02

[Brian Ward]

I run a dart with a restricted input on my FOWLR. If you're going to feed it with 2" plumbing, use a 2" bulkhead. If you're using the 1" bulkhead, feed it with 1" plumbing. You don't want to ever allow the intake to run dry. Also, if you restrict the intake, you MUST restrict the output, as you have done. The output must always be equal or smaller to the input or you risk cavitation.

All that being said, I'm unhappy with the performance I'm getting. I'm going to re-plumb everything to feed the dart with 1.5" (max size of the threaded input) and run 1.5" output to just before I go into the tank where I will reduce the plubing to 1/2" to match. That will allow me the most flexibility and highest flow.

 

btw: cavitation is a very destructive force and the result can be a hole in the impeller.

Edited September 8, 2008 by Brian Ward

[DDiver]

thanks everyone for the input regarding the plumbing..i will reconsider replumbing..problem is i just filled it up with water so i dunno how easy its gonna be to replumb this thing..

[DDiver]

Update:just got my reactor set up and running and in the middle of MicroBacter loading phase..

 

It took a few days for the water to really clear up since I added crushed coral..I will post a picure of the aquascaping when I get home tonight..

[DDiver]

here it is...what do you guys think?

 

[CHUBAKAH]

Looking good. Are you liking the amount of rock you have?

[Smoothtriqueter]

Like the scaping! lots of shelves to build up with coral, nice caves too. good job!

[DDiver]

Looking good. Are you liking the amount of rock you have?

yes i do...it definitely took up a lot of room considering it all weighs 75lbs total..i really like the fact that it is all very light and porous...

[dtfleming]

Looks good