Orion November 16, 2013 November 16, 2013 (edited) I have been planning and saving up for this build for almost two months now. The dry rock has been cooking for a month and a half, and the sump is ready to go It began today with a trip to Quantum Reefs to pick up the tank, and return pump. This is an upgrade from a 30 gallon Innovative Marine setup. All livestock and corals will be transferred over once this is up and running for a bit. Custom stand to be made by Corsii Drilling to commence at 1530 tomorrow. Wish me luck! Shoelace is coming over to supervise the operation. So far.... Deep Blue Professional 57 Rimless 36 x 18 x 20 Glass-Holes 700 Overflow 3/4" Loc-Line Return DIY 20L Sump with Refugium Lighting TBD Dry Rock courtesy of Reefrocks.net SCA-301 Protein Skimmer Jebao WP-25 Pictures The tank! Sump (I don't have a completed sump picture, but I assure you it's done!) Rock Water test tonight, drill tomorrow, and if successful, another water test tomorrow evening. Plan is to paint the back of the tank once drilling is complete. Stand should be done in the next week or two. Once stand arrives, paint it, and then plumb tank. Still a lot more work to do. I'll see if I can come up with some aquascaping ideas while the stand is being worked on. Edited November 16, 2013 by Orion
sachabballi reef November 16, 2013 November 16, 2013 sigh...your baby merman pic tells me life is going by fast...how can he be just sitting up there already?!?!? off to a great start!!! tagging along...
smallreef November 16, 2013 November 16, 2013 lookin good so far...all these adorable kid pictures almost make me want to have one... in my tank...
YHSublime November 17, 2013 November 17, 2013 There couldn't have been a better follow up to Kim's statement, well played! Tagging along!
Shoelace November 17, 2013 November 17, 2013 Looking forward to working on it with you tomorrow, Ryan! Looks great, especially the tank's first inhabitant!
Orion November 17, 2013 Author November 17, 2013 Tank didn't leak overnight. Time to void the manufacturer's warranty today...
Orion November 18, 2013 Author November 18, 2013 Success! Drilling complete! A big thanks to Shoelace for his assistance!! The bulkhead gasket for the overflow is a tad too long despite Glass-Holes telling me I needed the Tall one due to the 1/2" thick glass. I'll email them to see if they will send me the short version, or if hacking off less than 1/4" of it will work... Stand is currently being made, and will be here in a week or two. In the mean time I'll paint the back of the tank black while I'm waiting for the stand to be done.
Shoelace November 18, 2013 November 18, 2013 Good times, good times. Thanks for trusting me on such a nice tank!
Orion November 18, 2013 Author November 18, 2013 (edited) As far as heaters are concerned I would like to get two heaters that are slightly undersized, and have them fit in the sump vertically. The sump is 12" tall. Will definitely get a couple of Eheim Jager's, but which two to get? Two 100w or two 125w? Here is the chart from Eheim - 3614 26-40 gallons 100W 12.2" 3615 40-53 gallons 125W 12.2" Edited November 18, 2013 by Orion
Orion November 18, 2013 Author November 18, 2013 Two coats of Krylon and she's done. Came out great. Me after all the spray painting was done..
smallreef November 18, 2013 November 18, 2013 lol looks good...i love painted back tanks...gives everything a nice backdrop to set against...
ronl November 19, 2013 November 19, 2013 Just sent you a PM about the heaters. I have two of the 100W Eheim Jagers that I used on a 58 gal for a couple of months.
Orion November 20, 2013 Author November 20, 2013 Starting to think about plumbing, and getting it out on a diagram. Need input from the membership if this will work, or what can be done better. The stand will be closed in the back, and I will drill holes with a hole saw for the plumbing to go through. For ventilation I will be installing two 120mm PC fans inside the stand. One pushing air in, and one fan pulling air out. I am trying to eliminate using any 90 deg elbows since you lose head pressure when you use them. Return pump is a Waveline DC 4000. Max Height is 9.85", and Max GPH is 1056 Keep in mind this diagram is 2D so you'll have to visualize where the plumbing will go through the back of the stand. There may be an additional elbow or two to get the PVC through the stand. Where it says "Union" just before the 3/4" return hole it should read "Bushing". I'll need to taper down from a 1" line to a 3/4" line.
Origami November 20, 2013 November 20, 2013 Just a few thoughts. Leave yourself room and set the plumbing to allow you to put in a filter sock & holder in the left chamber. Install a piece of egg crate just on top of the baffle to the far right (between the return pump and center chamber) so that it can act as a flow-through screen should you put chaeto or some other macro algae in the second chamber. Isolate the return pump from the hard PVC plumbing with a short length of vinyl hose (connected with a barb adapter) to keep pump vibrations from traveling up the hard pipe. If the return pump doesn't have vibration-isolating feet, then put a mouse pad under it.
Orion November 20, 2013 Author November 20, 2013 (edited) Just a few thoughts. Leave yourself room and set the plumbing to allow you to put in a filter sock & holder in the left chamber. Install a piece of egg crate just on top of the baffle to the far right (between the return pump and center chamber) so that it can act as a flow-through screen should you put chaeto or some other macro algae in the second chamber. Isolate the return pump from the hard PVC plumbing with a short length of vinyl hose (connected with a barb adapter) to keep pump vibrations from traveling up the hard pipe. If the return pump doesn't have vibration-isolating feet, then put a mouse pad under it. Tom, As always thank you for your input. Due to my travel schedule I won't have the time to use filter socks. I know they are excellent at catching detritus, and keeping the water polished. But I can't ask my wife to change those out while I'm out of town for a week (sometimes I am out of town for longer periods of time). They are just another item to maintain, and they add the risk of overflowing if they get clogged. I plan on getting a couple of pieces of egg crate to do exactly as you mentioned, and also a piece to go along / across the top of the sump to the 2nd baffle from the left. The vinyl hose idea is great. I'll make note of it in the drawing. I'll check the pump when I return home to see if there are feet that come with it. I haven't even opened the box yet. Edited November 20, 2013 by Orion
sachabballi reef November 20, 2013 November 20, 2013 wow the mouse pad is a great idea...I didn't realize that you could use one and it wouldn't somehow disintegrate from the water...
Origami November 20, 2013 November 20, 2013 Tom, As always thank you for your input. Due to my travel schedule I won't have the time to use filter socks. I know they are excellent at catching detritus, and keeping the water polished. But I can't ask my wife to change those out while I'm out of town for a week (sometimes I am out of town for longer periods of time). They are just another item to maintain, and they add the risk of overflowing if they get clogged. I plan on getting a couple of pieces of egg crate to do exactly as you mentioned, and also a piece to go along / across the top of the sump to the 2nd baffle from the left. The vinyl hose idea is great. I'll make note of it in the drawing. I'll check the pump when I return home to see if there are feet that come with it. I haven't even opened the box yet. There's a Hang-on filter sock holder that holds a sock lower than the edge of your sump. If the sock fills, the water just spills over into the sump. Jenn, most mouse pads are made of neoprene and are safe for underwater use. You may want to peel off the cotton / poly cover but it's not necessary.
Orion November 21, 2013 Author November 21, 2013 Per Tom's suggestion I installed a piece of egg crate to hold in macro algae. I also made a top for the sump to set the light on for the fuge. I should get the correct gasket in the mail tomorrow, and I'll install the overflow kit this weekend. Stand will be done by next weekend.
Orion November 21, 2013 Author November 21, 2013 Two PC fans arrived today with a power adaptor for a 4 pin molex connector. I'll use these for ventilation inside the stand.
corsi1330 November 21, 2013 November 21, 2013 Looking good Ryan. Really like he tank! I will post a couple of pics of the stands progress throughout the next week.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now