andru24 Posted January 1, 2011 Share Posted January 1, 2011 Current FTS (3/2/2011): Original Post: Haven't been around in awhile. We moved back in May and my BC29 didn't survive it. What I could salvage went into my 20Long work tank (which I will be updating shortly). After 7 months of not having a tank at home I am getting the urge to start a new project and my 40 project is a bit over my current budget. I want to keep this project relatively small and relatively inexpensive... reusing as much of what I already have as I can. My initial plan is as follows - Reusing old 15G tank (have already cleaned and scraped off the spray paint I had on the back) - Reusing BC29 pump - Reusing old stealth heater - Using acrylic i had previously purchased for overflow/chambers/etc. - Stand will be a IKEA console table that we have behind our couch (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80176279) - BoostLED Par30 - Probably just hang the light from the ceiling with a basic socket - Haven't figured out the fuge lighting yet. What I am trying to figure out now is whether to send water to the fuge by T-ing off the return line from the pump and then giving it its own overflow into the chambers (this would mean that all evaporation would only affect the chamber area) or by just cutting slits/holes from the chambers to the fuge so that evaporation affects both. Thoughts? Link to comment
andru24 Posted January 1, 2011 Author Share Posted January 1, 2011 Just purchased a 3b 2w Par30 from BoostLED... pumped! Link to comment
andru24 Posted January 1, 2011 Author Share Posted January 1, 2011 First pics of build... Nothing is siliconed yet... trying to determine the best ratio of display to fuge area. Right now I am leaning towards around 6" for the fuge which leaves about 14" for the main display, 4" for the AIO chambers. Link to comment
InsideJoke Posted January 1, 2011 Share Posted January 1, 2011 Are you going to be painting the "filtration" section black or are you going to leave it as is? Link to comment
andru24 Posted January 1, 2011 Author Share Posted January 1, 2011 Are you going to be painting the "filtration" section black or are you going to leave it as is? Definitely painting it black... Don't need to be seeing pumps and filter floss, etc. I'll eventually build a cap for the middle section to cover it. Link to comment
Dasani Posted January 1, 2011 Share Posted January 1, 2011 Looks like a wicked build. I don't think I have ever seen a "double peninsula" haha Link to comment
andru24 Posted January 1, 2011 Author Share Posted January 1, 2011 Looks like a wicked build. I don't think I have ever seen a "double peninsula" haha Thanks... Hope it ends up as cool as I am picturing it in my head. Link to comment
Zeadon Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 really neat idea, i will keep my eye on ur build, hope it turns out nice. keep posting pics!! Link to comment
mbarton2010 Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 how are you going to fit 2 returnpumps? or are you going to split the return line? double return seems like it will have way more flow on one side than the other. just my .02c Link to comment
andru24 Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 how are you going to fit 2 returnpumps? or are you going to split the return line? double return seems like it will have way more flow on one side than the other. just my .02c One return pump with a split line. I want less flow in the refugium anyway so I will be putting a valve in to control the output into that portion. Link to comment
mbarton2010 Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 o ok. sounds good. you should make a DSB and have mangroves in the fuge Link to comment
andru24 Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 o ok. sounds good. you should make a DSB and have mangroves in the fuge I was planning on doing mangroves... do I need a DSB for them? how deep? Link to comment
mbarton2010 Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 no you dont but it helps. about 5" deep. my mangrove isnt even in sand lol Link to comment
pismo_reefer Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Very slick! I'm watchin'... Link to comment
andru24 Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 So I got it siliconed yesterday, let it cure overnight and got some water in it this morning to just test out if the different areas are water tight.... Everything looks good. Tested the old biocube pump into the main chamber (don't have all my fittings yet) and that pump seems way too powerful directly into the display. Good thing I am going to be splitting the return. Hopefully once divided between the main and fuge chambers the flow will be more reasonable. Also I suspect I'll have to fiddle with my overflow slits as they may not be deep or wide enough to put the water level at a good spot. It's hard to get that nailed on the first try so I am sure I will be having to bust out the dremel. Gonna wait until my fittings arrive before I do anything else. Link to comment
spanko Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Following along. Looks like a great project. Link to comment
andru24 Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 My Boost Par30 came in today. No water or live rock yet so I am not sure how it will look when i get it filled but looks pretty good over the empty tank. I am glad that it looks like it won't spill over to the fuge area when on. Some pics... Link to comment
pismo_reefer Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 sweet bulb! Is that close to real life color? Im thinking of picking one of those up sometime. Tanks is pretty sick, too! Link to comment
andru24 Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 sweet bulb! Is that close to real life color? Im thinking of picking one of those up sometime. Tanks is pretty sick, too! It's pretty close... A bit brighter in reality. Can't really make a recommendation until I can get some water and life in it. Link to comment
andru24 Posted January 8, 2011 Author Share Posted January 8, 2011 So it was a major pain in the ass but after a bunch of fighting with plumbing pieces and tube I finally got my pump hooked up and was able to test the flow. Works pretty much how I wanted though the water level is a bit high. Outlet on the left goes to the main display, right to the fuge. I had to cut down the outlet piece on the right in order to fit it. It was poor planning on my part, shouldn't have had the two outlets directly across from each other. . Water overflow to where the floss will be Link to comment
cruiZe Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Thats great !! From the video looks like its working well. Cool idea. Following. Link to comment
andru24 Posted January 8, 2011 Author Share Posted January 8, 2011 Dremeled the overflow slits a bit and got the tank painted this morning. Looks pretty good, I think. Didn't feel like carrying the tank outside into the cold and snow, so I just painted it inside. Now I am working on my rock scape... more pics soon. Link to comment
andru24 Posted January 8, 2011 Author Share Posted January 8, 2011 Light hung from ceiling. Will look better once the cord straightens out. Now rockscape options option #1 option #2 option #3 option #4 option #5 option #6 What type of scape do you all think would look most dramatic? I am thinking of going barebottom as well, so I may lean towards a scape with more open floor space for coral to encrust on. Link to comment
Dizzle21 Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 #6!!!! i love it! what kinda corals tho? hard or soft? i also like #2 as well but maybe add a small "island" rock in the front left corner to add depth Link to comment
andru24 Posted January 8, 2011 Author Share Posted January 8, 2011 #6!!!! i love it! what kinda corals tho? hard or soft? i also like #2 as well but maybe add a small "island" rock in the front left corner to add depth I want to put pretty much everything in here. Zoas down low, LPS and SPS higher up. Part of my concern with the scape is making sure i have enough areas to put all the corals I would want. Link to comment
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