mattyice Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 i know im getting my pumps through salty, if you are going LPS its not all about the flow with the controller, its about the randon flow it can give, you can have a more gentle flow that is better suited for LPS tanks Quote Link to comment
kinetic Posted October 9, 2007 Author Share Posted October 9, 2007 (edited) ELOS Sump Setup - [ 10/08/07 ] I spent the whole day setting up the sump. It took me the entire day, but let me tell ya, I'm basically done. This is due to the fact that I'm using all vinyl tubing now, rather than PVC. Just stick it in, clamp it, and go. So easy. The only thing I haven't hooked up is the Calcium Reactor. I still have to get the Co2 bottle filled, and the setup is a little confusing. I'll take this one slow. I also realized my pH probe is broken. So this guy will be on the back burner. No corals right now anyway =P Here are the pictures! ELOS Natural Skimmer: Stand's rear center brace removed: Sump in place: Equipment in place: And drumroll... A big fat mess of wires! I'm all ready! (minus Ca Reactor): The inside of the sump: Pumps (the quiet one 1200 will be moved so it's not touching, no worries =): Skimmer drain: GFO Drain: GFO Intake / Chiller Outlet: Aquacontroller mount: Edited October 9, 2007 by kinetic Quote Link to comment
mr.bearhasyourlady Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 wow,great job someday i hope to have a kick ass system like yours. Quote Link to comment
msn711 Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Nice. I'm not sure why people use PVC so much; flex tubing is so much easier! What kind of chiller did you get. It looks like I'm going to need one. You're going to run 2x250wMH right? Quote Link to comment
mattyice Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 i think people use the PVC for a cleaner look installation, a lot of times a cleaner installation can really help in the end if you have a lot of plumbing to do..IE my kalk reactor, media reactor, calcium reactor, 2 drains, 2 pumps, 4 returns, a skimmer...i have alot of stuff so im going to be doing alot of PVC, valves, and labeling to show everything being neat so i can use it for my custom installation examples Quote Link to comment
kinetic Posted October 11, 2007 Author Share Posted October 11, 2007 pvc is cementable, meaning it won't slip off as easily as vinyl tubing. Also given you glue it correctly, no leaks, and it will last a lot longer than vinyl tubing. After a few years you'll probably have to replace vinyl... pvc not so much.but goodness, it takes about 1/10th of the time, no need to wear masks and wait for glue and measuring so precisely how to cut and to get a big saw to cut the pvc...It is cleaner looking too, but only if you do it right. Also hard pvc you have more angles for the fittings, like elbows, even 45" and sweepers. While tubing you just bend it a tad. Flex PVC is pretty darn good too. What kind of chiller did you get. It looks like I'm going to need one. You're going to run 2x250wMH right?If you check the very first post on my thread, you'll see the brand name and specs. Click it and you'll see pictures =) Teco SeaChill TR10.The lighting, again, you can check out on my first post =) 2x175watt MH + 2x54watt T5 Quote Link to comment
kinetic Posted October 11, 2007 Author Share Posted October 11, 2007 (edited) Aquactinics Lighting Ordered - [ 10/11/07 ] The system build has been put on a halt for a few days. I'm going down to Camarillo, CA to help volunteer at the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. It helps support and fundraise for all the great services and support that ACS provides for those affected by cancer. It's an all weekend event, I'll be helping setup, organize, and cleanup, so it's going to be tough. Monday I'm taking the day off so I'll finish the stand and put the tank on the stand finally. I have to take everything back out and line the inside bottom of the stand with rubber and seal with silicon to keep water from seeping underneath the tank. Just a precaution, though I doubt I'll need it. It's always good to have redundancies. I also ordered my Aquactinics 48" Silver pendant today with the 175watt 15K Iwasaki Lamps and the ATI Blue Plus 54watt T5HO lamps. About $740 shipped, not too shabby for a great fixture. It should be here next week, so I'll have the light hung as well. By next weekend I should have everything plumbed and ready for water. I'll still have to wait on the Vortech's, I'll try to buy them next week after payday! I've hit my reef budget for this half month already =P After the vortech's are in, I'm going to refrain from buying anything... RAMEN for life! Edited October 11, 2007 by kinetic Quote Link to comment
mattyice Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 i agree with you kinetic but you dont need to wear masks or have a big saw, i use a standard PVC cutting tool that is like a little hang cutter that all you do is put the pvc in it and it shears it like a pair of scissors, the glue doesnt take long to set, within minutes it creates a sealed pipe that can have water flowing through it, the angles arent too tough to get just have to really be creative Quote Link to comment
kinetic Posted October 11, 2007 Author Share Posted October 11, 2007 i agree with you kinetic but you dont need to wear masks or have a big saw, i use a standard PVC cutting tool that is like a little hang cutter that all you do is put the pvc in it and it shears it like a pair of scissors, the glue doesnt take long to set, within minutes it creates a sealed pipe that can have water flowing through it, the angles arent too tough to get just have to really be creative I've done my share of PVC stuff, and yes, it does take a few minutes to seal, but the primer and cement can REALLY kill some brain cells. I almost passed out by accidentally sniffing some off the fumes in, even with my SARs mask on. Also I was using 1.5" - 2" pvc. The cutters usually only go up to 1" - 1.25" max, until you buy the $100+ cutters. Such that I had to bust out the miter saw. Angles aren't tough, but unless you're using flex pvc it's still hitting some hard angles. I'm all for flex pvc for the turns. Quote Link to comment
ezcompany Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 just went thru ur flickr pics, i think you need to come over and take pics of me as your model next time. submit them to playgirl or something lol love all of them, the oil was neat, and the fisheye on the honda wheel was great!! plus, i didn't know you were asianish! always thought you were white hahaha Quote Link to comment
kinetic Posted October 11, 2007 Author Share Posted October 11, 2007 just went thru ur flickr pics, i think you need to come over and take pics of me as your model next time. submit them to playgirl or something lollove all of them, the oil was neat, and the fisheye on the honda wheel was great!! plus, i didn't know you were asianish! always thought you were white hahaha lol ez you crack me up. I'm definitely not taking pictures of you for playgirl =P LOL Yeah I'm "asianish", though born and raised in the U.S. Still fluent in listening/speaking Chinese though Quote Link to comment
kinetic Posted October 12, 2007 Author Share Posted October 12, 2007 (edited) Tank on Stand! - [ 10/12/07 ] Today was a lot of fun working on the tank. I went to ACE and bought a piece of rubber matting. It has large treds, such that it will allow any stagnant water that somehow seeps under the tank to evaporate, while still providing even support on the floor. I then realized that the inside of the tank was already sealed, so I went ahead and put in a piece of 1" thick foam under the sump. The foam is anti-mildew and termite resistant, so it'll be great. 1" thick because I want to also deaden any vibrations. To do this I just cut the foam, but didn't want to take the whole sump out again... so what I did was lifted one end, put a 2x4 under it, slid it towards the chiller, then lifted the other side, and slipped the foam underneath! It took all of 2 minutes rather than dissasembling everything and then replacing it =) I then placed the rubber mat under the stand, and walla, I was ready to put the tank on the stand. My buddy came over and we picked it up and placed it on the stand. Perfect! The stand is about an inch longer, I guess the dimensions were a bit off... it's not bad though, but I think I'll try to get something to fill it. Probably wood or maybe black plastic. I'll see if Tap plastics can cut a really thin slice for me. The width is perfect, and the hole cut in the stand is spot on. I plumbed the return, and then the drain. The only thing that's weird is the return "nozzle" plumbing is a little loose. I'm thinking of adapting some 3/4" locline that I have to it instead. So all I'm waiting for now is my lighting fixture, and I'll be ordering my vortechs tomorrow. Here are the pictures: (kind of dark): Open stand: From the side, piano shot: Edited October 12, 2007 by kinetic Quote Link to comment
ezcompany Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 stop cheating and make your pics bigger!!! i tried being artsy like you and took a water shot, check out eziii lol Quote Link to comment
kinetic Posted October 12, 2007 Author Share Posted October 12, 2007 stop cheating and make your pics bigger!!! i tried being artsy like you and took a water shot, check out eziii lol If you click on them, the biggest dimension is 1000 pixels... you just need to stop using your 52" widescreen monitors!! =) Ooooho I'll go checkout your artsy shots. Quote Link to comment
kinetic Posted October 12, 2007 Author Share Posted October 12, 2007 (edited) I need some help deciding between a silver pendant and a dark brown pendant. Any ideas what may look better? oil rubbed bronze: silver: I kind of like the bronze, since it goes with the stand's color. The room is overall a warm color anyway. The silver I like because it stands out less against the white walls, but being so shiny, it may be a bit more distracting. EDIT: I'm going to go with the bronze color. I think it'll fit into the room, and since the tank is against the wall, it won't be distracting. The warm brown color will be nicer in the living room I've also purchased two EcoTech Marine Vortech's with the new Wireless Driver. With them I also got two battery backups. Apparently they last 30+ hours! Great for major power outages, I won't have to worry about putting in my Hurricane Category 5 battery air pump in. This set me back a little more than a grand... oi =( Worth it though, it'll help keep my tank healthy. Edited October 12, 2007 by kinetic Quote Link to comment
Uhuru Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 looking great! I'm a little surprised you went with that aquactinics fixture. I know the performance is great but I'm not a big fan of the design. Why didn't you go with a giesseman? Maybe it will look better than I am visualizing once it's over the tank. Very nice setup though! Quote Link to comment
Fishfreak218 Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 so, where are you ordering your light from? I havnt found anyone who offers it in silver.. Quote Link to comment
kinetic Posted October 14, 2007 Author Share Posted October 14, 2007 looking great! I'm a little surprised you went with that aquactinics fixture. I know the performance is great but I'm not a big fan of the design. Why didn't you go with a giesseman? Maybe it will look better than I am visualizing once it's over the tank. Very nice setup though!It was the only fixture that gave great performance and is a 2x175watt SE with T5 supplements. I think PFO is the only other company that has such a fixture/pendant combination. I don't want to use 250watts because my tank is only 20", I think it'd be overkill plus I want to be more efficient. I almost went with the Current Outer Orbit with the 4xt5's and the dual 150watts, but then I heard of the PAR monster, so I wanted to go with 175watt fixtures. The only one was really Aquactinics. plus Tom and Scott are amazingly great to deal with over at Aquactinics / Aquarium Specialties.so, where are you ordering your light from? I havnt found anyone who offers it in silver.. there's only one left. you just have to ask Tom. If you buy it from Aquarium Specialty etc. they just get it from Tom. He only has one more MH/T5 in 48" that's silver left. Just ask for it. Quote Link to comment
Fishfreak218 Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 I dont need the 48" i need a 24" TX5 .. its ok though.. i have recently changed my mind on the light thank you though cant wait to see this tank up.. its looking rlly nice! Quote Link to comment
Uhuru Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 It was the only fixture that gave great performance and is a 2x175watt SE with T5 supplements. I think PFO is the only other company that has such a fixture/pendant combination. I don't want to use 250watts because my tank is only 20", I think it'd be overkill plus I want to be more efficient. I almost went with the Current Outer Orbit with the 4xt5's and the dual 150watts, but then I heard of the PAR monster, so I wanted to go with 175watt fixtures. The only one was really Aquactinics. plus Tom and Scott are amazingly great to deal with over at Aquactinics / Aquarium Specialties.there's only one left. you just have to ask Tom. If you buy it from Aquarium Specialty etc. they just get it from Tom. He only has one more MH/T5 in 48" that's silver left. Just ask for it. The Giesemann Spectra is an SE fixture w/T5 supplements. It can be ordered without the MH ballast and you can just hook up your own 175w ballast(s). Quote Link to comment
kinetic Posted October 15, 2007 Author Share Posted October 15, 2007 (edited) The Giesemann Spectra is an SE fixture w/T5 supplements. It can be ordered without the MH ballast and you can just hook up your own 175w ballast(s). ... now you tell me Too late now, it's ordered an on its way =( I just looked around, I don't see any of the usuals carrying any spectra's. Edited October 15, 2007 by kinetic Quote Link to comment
aquakevem Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 So fresh an so clean setup Kinetic. Kev Quote Link to comment
kinktao Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 What do you mean by PAR monster with the current light fixture? Also, is there any benefit over a SE over a DE? Quote Link to comment
kinetic Posted October 15, 2007 Author Share Posted October 15, 2007 (edited) What do you mean by PAR monster with the current light fixture? Also, is there any benefit over a SE over a DE? "PAR Monster" was referring to the Iwasaki 15K 175watt Metal Halide Lamp. It's a single ended lamp that puts out as much PAR as the best 250watt metal halide lamps, meaning it provides as much lighting as a 250watt, but with much less wattage. It also exceeds the PAR levels of 250watts if driven off of an electronic ballast like the IceCap. It's a breakthrough lamp, using less power provides even better lighting. Efficiency / technology / research at its best. That's why I went for the 175watt. Also DE HQI lamps are usually just overdriven... sometimes (mostly actually) their lifespans are not as long, though it's probably not enough to notice too bad unless you're running hundreds of these lamps in a growout farm SE also have glass that's already UV shielded, while all, except one, HQI DE lamps are not shielded from the glass they're in, thus the extra UV shield we add onto our HQI fixtures. Kind of reduces PAR to a certain extent... negligible but then it's overdriven, so I guess it makes up for it. There is a new HQI lamp, name escapes me, that has its glass UV shielded now. Edited October 15, 2007 by kinetic Quote Link to comment
Uhuru Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 ... now you tell me Too late now, it's ordered an on its way =( I just looked around, I don't see any of the usuals carrying any spectra's. Premium Aquatics sells them, but they are special order and it takes about 3-4 wks shipped directly from Germany Or you can contact Slovan on RC he has an Elos tank and can tell you where he got his. I know, too late though... I'm sure your tank will look sweet with the Iwasaki's. They produce such a clean bright light and with that glass it's going to be awesome. Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.