mogurnda October 2, 2011 Share October 2, 2011 I have been trying to set up a Caribbean reef in our office at home for several years now. Tried a 65 Tall, but it was bulky and overwhelming. Downsized to a 29 gallon with a 15 gallon fuge, but it was cramped. I think I may have finally got it right with a 60 cube I found a few months ago. The tank, a Marineland 60 with staind, as I got it from Tekken: The stand is very well made, and the tank is nicely put together. The overflow was a joke, though. It is too narrow to plumb effectively, and runs top to bottom for no reason. I wonder if the designer still has a job. I removed it and replaced with a horizontal overflow that runs halfway across. Time to get to work plumbing it. Used black PVC for as much as I could, to make it less obvious. Because the overflow intake is directly above the return, it was a little awkward, but the funny angles should not make a difference. A little flexible PVC helps smooth out the turns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda October 2, 2011 Author Share October 2, 2011 Because the space in the stand was a little tight, and I wanted to put sump, fuge and ATO in there, I used two 10 gallon tanks, with the fuge higher than the sump, fed by a branch from the overflow. The ball valve has been replaced by a gate valve. The idea is that, with the gate valve fully open, all water goes to the sump. Flow to the fuge increases as I close the valve down. Wet test. Found a few sources of leakage, and tweaked my ideas a bit. Set it up a few weeks ago, and moved the livestock last week. Will need to make a less jury-rigged way to suspend the lights, but it works for now. The ATO reservoir sits over the fuge (not installed yet). There is a float switch in the sump, connected to a solenoid pinch valve. A few shots under halides. Now I can sit back and watch the gorgonians grow, and not worry that they will stick out the top. Some specs: Lighting: 250W halide pendant, with Vertex e-ballast and Hamilton 14000K DE lamp. Ecoxotic stunner for morning/evening lighting. Mag 7 return pump, through Penductor Vortech MP-10 DIY ATO Will add fuge, and maybe a skimmer, over the next few months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surf&turf October 2, 2011 Share October 2, 2011 Nice Gorg's, how do you like the Hamilton bulbs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda October 2, 2011 Author Share October 2, 2011 Nice Gorg's, how do you like the Hamilton bulbs? Thanks. I started using them several years ago on my other tank, and have really liked the color balance. Enough blue for color, but looks natural. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k October 2, 2011 Share October 2, 2011 The overflow that came with the tank works perfectly as designed and is very silent. The fact that it is so low profile makes it blend nicely into the background. The drawback to the low profile is that the box itself is siliconed in place around the bulkheads. I also found that that bottom drain feature worked well to make sure there was even flow from the tank to the return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda October 2, 2011 Author Share October 2, 2011 The overflow that came with the tank works perfectly as designed and is very silent. The fact that it is so low profile makes it blend nicely into the background. The drawback to the low profile is that the box itself is siliconed in place around the bulkheads. I also found that that bottom drain feature worked well to make sure there was even flow from the tank to the return. You want to buy one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind October 2, 2011 Share October 2, 2011 Nice theme tank. What fish do you plan to keep? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda October 2, 2011 Author Share October 2, 2011 There is already a big, pretty African flameback I got from Carla. I will try to get a few juveniles to set up a small harem, if I can arrange it so he doesn't kill them. Not exactly Caribbean fish, but can kind of pass for it. After that, probably a pair of jawfish and a redlip blenny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind October 2, 2011 Share October 2, 2011 Well, the flameback wasn't a fish I was expecting you to list but at least it is a very nice looking one. It will look impressive to see a group of them together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surf&turf October 2, 2011 Share October 2, 2011 Thanks. I started using them several years ago on my other tank, and have really liked the color balance. Enough blue for color, but looks natural. I went with them this time as well, 14K DE. Really good color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda October 3, 2011 Author Share October 3, 2011 Well, the flameback wasn't a fish I was expecting you to list but at least it is a very nice looking one. It will look impressive to see a group of them together. Yeah, well, he was hard to pass up If you don't look at his tail, you could say he was Brazilian. I had a group of cherubs before, and really enjoyed watching them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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