Chris George Posted May 23, 2011 Author Share Posted May 23, 2011 Thanks! Other than the bulkheads, I'm ready to go. If I can offer one piece of advice: If you look at the pic of the inside of my stand at the top of this page, you'll see I have a 2x3 (yeah, I used 2x3's) running directly in front of the bulkheads. I did this thinking I needed the extra support, but what it's really done is made it near impossible to tighten the bulkheads. It's really hard to get my hands in there, and there aren't any tools that I know of that can really reach in there to tighten it any more. And what really stinks is I know it would have been stable enough without that extra piece. Without taking everything down and removing that support, I'm a bit lost. So leave that support out if you go with my stand design. I'm heavily considering using aquarium silicone on the bulkhead nut against the bottom of the tank to seal it. I really don't want to do that though. Link to comment
Lee Van Reef Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 I'm heavily considering using aquarium silicone on the bulkhead nut against the bottom of the tank to seal it. I really don't want to do that though. Really sexy tank! The stand situation sucks. I used silicone on my bulkheads when I sealed them out of pure paranoia and it has had no problem. I did, however, tighten them pretty good. Link to comment
jball1125 Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 This is going to be an interesting build? Who did you get the tank from? Link to comment
Chris George Posted May 23, 2011 Author Share Posted May 23, 2011 The tank is a Visio aquarium, by Advance Aqua Tanks. It's the same company that makes Clear-4-Life acrylic tanks. I'm very happy with the build. Very solid, with clean beveled edges. They're in the Los Angeles area, so it was a better deal for me than going with a place further away since there were no shipping fees worked into the build. Link to comment
Chris George Posted June 5, 2011 Author Share Posted June 5, 2011 I went ahead and used a thin bead of silicone to fix my leaks. A total bummer that it had to be done. On a very positive note: My lights came. AI Sol Blue. I'll start posting some pics when I have water running through the system and all equipment is hooked up and running. Link to comment
Arkayology Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 How many pounds of rock did you order? Link to comment
beau13 Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 I am in LA as well and have been looking for a good shallow cube like this. Did you custom order this or is this a standard one on their website. I couldn't find it. Also, could I ask how much it was? I'd love to get hold of one but my wife isn't always thrilled with how much I put into this hobby! Link to comment
Chris George Posted June 5, 2011 Author Share Posted June 5, 2011 @SoCalDude: I ordered 34 lbs of the Reef Saver rock from BRS. I think there's more than 34 in there though. I have two medium-sized pieces that aren't even in the pics. @beau13: This was a custom order through a shop in the SF Valley, called Reef Playground. The guy there is really cool. This tank ended up running $600, due to the size of the panels and being Starphire, plus I had them drill 4 holes at the bottom of the overflow. My original quote for a 26x26x12 tank with 3 holes was substantially cheaper. I think it was $450. Both prices included LA's ridiculous sales tax of 9.75%. Link to comment
Chris George Posted June 6, 2011 Author Share Posted June 6, 2011 I spent the afternoon hooking up my RK Elite NET. Looking forward to having my first system on a controller. I also added some shower liner to the base of my stand, just in case there is ever an overflow I have about 2.5 gallons in the stand before it will overflow out the front. Link to comment
e46slc Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Very nice! Subscribed to see the progress. One quick question, is 1 mp10 going to be enough random flow for the tank? Link to comment
beau13 Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 @SoCalDude: I ordered 34 lbs of the Reef Saver rock from BRS. I think there's more than 34 in there though. I have two medium-sized pieces that aren't even in the pics. @beau13: This was a custom order through a shop in the SF Valley, called Reef Playground. The guy there is really cool. This tank ended up running $600, due to the size of the panels and being Starphire, plus I had them drill 4 holes at the bottom of the overflow. My original quote for a 26x26x12 tank with 3 holes was substantially cheaper. I think it was $450. Both prices included LA's ridiculous sales tax of 9.75%. Thanks!!!! Not too bad for Starphire on three sides and the dimensions you wanted. An ADA would run me about the same and not have the dimensions. Link to comment
Chris George Posted June 6, 2011 Author Share Posted June 6, 2011 I think what made the price go up so much with the extra 2" panels was that they moved it up to thicker glass at that size. I felt the price was reasonable either way. It definitely wasn't a steal, especially after adding nearly 10% sales tax. Link to comment
phi delt reefer Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 I think what made the price go up so much with the extra 2" panels was that they moved it up to thicker glass at that size. I felt the price was reasonable either way. It definitely wasn't a steal, especially after adding nearly 10% sales tax. come to Ontario (Canada) - we pay 13% sales tax... plus close to 20-45% in income taxes Link to comment
Chris George Posted June 6, 2011 Author Share Posted June 6, 2011 20% income tax sounds like a dream! 45% not so much. I think I average a little over 30% after federal and state income tax here in CA. The reason I whined about it is that the vast majority of my tank purchases are over the internet, which are essentially sales-tax free if the seller is out of state. However, California has a section of the tax code which requires you to tell them how many dollars in out-of-state items you purchased so they can hit you with a 5% tax. It's ridiculous really, since the item wasn't purchased in this state. I swear there's nothing legal about that tax. @e46slc: I'm thinking since my tank is only 40 gallons I can get away with an MP10 for randomized flow. I'll probably need to add another pump (Koralia or something similar) in the tank near the back so that it doesn't get stagnant back there, but I'll just hook that one up to my ReefKeeper controller for on/off randomization. Link to comment
BillyMays Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 gotta love the reef saver rock! Link to comment
Arkayology Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 I hear ya on the sales tax. I only pay 8.75 in Santa Barbara County, but it is still ridiculous imo. It looks like you got a lot of rock for 34 pounds. Looks like good rock to stack for a tower/pillar type look which I am going for. I will be ordering 40lbs for my cube build. Thanks for the info. Link to comment
Chris George Posted June 7, 2011 Author Share Posted June 7, 2011 The plumbing is complete. The bulkheads do not appear to leak. Not one drip with the system running for over 2 hours. Letting it run overnight. Wish me luck! I'm very impressed with how quiet the system is. Herbie style overflows are excellent. With my stand door shut, I can barely hear the AquaC. For those familiar with these skimmers, you know the spray injection is quite loud. The entire system is about as loud as a running refrigerator. I also painted the back of the tank black today. I actually took a vacation day from work to do all this. Link to comment
Chris George Posted June 7, 2011 Author Share Posted June 7, 2011 The tank ran all night without as much as a single drop leaking out. As soon as my hanging kit for the AI Sol comes in, this tank will be fully operational. I still need to figure out a solution for a cover while I'm not at home. I can't have my kids throwing toys in the air just for them to land in the tank. Glass Cages makes some nice acrylic covers. I'd have to ask them to make a custom size, but they are nice looking and wouldn't detract from the overall look of my tank. Link to comment
phi delt reefer Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 The tank ran all night without as much as a single drop leaking out. As soon as my hanging kit for the AI Sol comes in, this tank will be fully operational. I still need to figure out a solution for a cover while I'm not at home. I can't have my kids throwing toys in the air just for them to land in the tank. Glass Cages makes some nice acrylic covers. I'd have to ask them to make a custom size, but they are nice looking and wouldn't detract from the overall look of my tank. you'll want the cover so it hovers over the tank and does not really sit flush with the top. That way the water can still evaporate and you wont have water droplets collecting on the underside of your lid. What you can do is have it so the lid is as big as the outside perimeter of your tank (so it fits perfectly on top). Then take two acrylic strips the length of the left and right panes and glue them in the same position below the lid. That way the lid has a gap in the front and back that allows air to flow through and just rests on the left and right panes. Link to comment
Chris George Posted June 7, 2011 Author Share Posted June 7, 2011 Great suggestion! Thanks a lot! I've only worked with acrylic once before to build a sump, and let's just say the results were less than attractive although totally functional. Any suggestions on getting pre-cut strips? I'd imagine even small acrylic squares would work that sat in the corners. The other option would be to glue some of the clear mesh screen from BRS onto a "frame" of clear acrylic. I don't want to do the black window frames since those will look awful on this tank. Link to comment
Chris George Posted June 10, 2011 Author Share Posted June 10, 2011 Thanks! Here's a big photo update: I pushed the tank from the wall so that I could finally paint the back. Masking tape applied. My painting materials After two coats. I left a window for the overflow in the back so I could check out what's going on in there if I have to. Also notice the blue water line coming from the wall into the stand. That connects to my top-off container that's stored under the sink next to the RO/DI. View from the front after painting. Still has masking tape. Underneath my kitchen sink. The blue line runs about 3 feet away from the tank through a cabinet and a wall to this old NURCE ATO unit. I'm not using the thing as an ATO anymore, since siphon ATO is unreliable. But this thing still makes a badass top-off container. It needs a really good cleaning though. You can see the blue line running through the cabinet's left wall behind the container. My dishwasher drains are also running there. My sump running! Ignore the tape holding up the PVC shower liner behind the plumbing. I'll find a much nicer looking way to do this soon. Also, the blue top-off line is extra long right now and looping around until I determine exactly how long I need it to be. I also need to make another baffle to trap bubbles. The skimmer releases plenty, and they easily find their way to the return pump with this setup. My super silent herbie-style overflow. This thing doesn't make a peep, and my stand is thick enough that the skimmer's sound doesn't make it out when the door is shut. So happy about that! And finally a FTS with everything running. Sorry for the horrible lighting and grainy photos. I promise to break out the DSLR when the lighting and aquascaping are both done. Link to comment
TAttel Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Love your setup Can you describe your overflow a little more? I am in the process of getting ideas for a similar setup? What size holes were drilled for the overflow/return? Link to comment
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