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Matt's 11g Green Leaf Rimless


Clavius85

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This will be the fourth tank I have set up in my 2+ years of reefing. It will be the first tank I've ever had that will have a sump. The plan is for the Green Leaf 48-L to be the display tank with a standard AGA 10g tank as the sump. The 48-L will be drilled with a overflow on one side and a single return on the other. Here is the equipment list:

 

 

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DRILL IT! You should come check out my new 29... It'll completely convince you to drill! If you order glass-holes kit I have the drill bits! Hell I even have a 10 gallon tank too! It's actually currently lying in the middle of my bedroom haha.

 

I only have one return on my 29.... I think you would be fine with one as well. I guess it all depends on your return pump though.

 

As far as the moving thing. It isn't too much harder than moving a non drilled tank. I just have to unscrew 2 connections and then it moves as easy as an undrilled tank.

 

What optics were on that par38 of yours? You'd prob need a 60 degree if it isn't already. A decent option, would be to sell the par38 bulb and buy the pendant from aquatraders.com. Again let me know if you'd like to check it out, I currently have one.

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I'm definitely leaning towards drilling it and having a 10g sump. I just know nothing about plumbing... I'm trying to understand head loss and all that jazz. Trying also to figure out what pump I would need. I think I would like to have two returns with a less powerful pump because I have the Vortech to provide the flow.

 

My PAR38 has the 40 degree optics. I've thought about selling it and getting some other fixture. A guy locally has a 20" 70w Sunpod for sale that I may buy. Still trying to decide...

 

One thing is for sure though. If I decide to drill the tank and have a sump then I'm going to have to build a new stand. Not that big of a deal. It'll just take some more time.

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Well in that case get a 15 :D the dimensions are sexy! More room for coral!

 

Anyhow, If you are interested my setup should work for you as well. I am using the 700 gph glass-holes kit with a petsmart quietone 1200. The baffles in my sump are courtesy of a sheet of 1/4" acrylic from home depot. I've almost got Ryan convinced to drain his tank 3/4 of the way to drill it.

 

Also aquatraders.com has some cheap return pumps. I've been thinking of upgrading if you are interested in the quietone pump I have let me know.

 

Drilled overflow kits don't work on suction which means that whatever water is added to the tank is also removed. 100000000 times better than the PVC overflow I had that was based on suction.

 

 

And again... I have the drill bits if you do decide to drill it and can even assist if you want the help.

 

One other thing.... which may sound odd. Walmart sells a pretty decent stand, around 60$ that will hold a 30" tank and will also fit a 10 gallon in the bottom. I can provide pictures. I actually quite like the stand.

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Just let me know... Should save you a few $$$ on the overflow kit. I have the 1 1/2" bit and the 3/4" return bit.

How hard was it to drill through the glass?

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Not hard, just annoyingly slow. It'd be easier with a 10G though since the glass is thinner. I still say go with a 15 though. Wayyyyy better dimensions :D

 

Also if you went with a 15 you'd be able to utilize a 24" fixture, again like the odyssea one that is 4x24 for $64.90 shipped.

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Not hard, just annoyingly slow. It'd be easier with a 10G though since the glass is thinner. I still say go with a 15 though. Wayyyyy better dimensions :D

I like the dimensions of the 15g. Only problem would be finding one. That would allow me to go with T5's for lighting though...

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I bought one here locally.. Feeder supply in Louisville had at least 2 of them. Oh and they look sexy rimless ;)

 

I'm sure that Sandy's probably has one as well.

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You should defiantly drill it. It's really easy, just don't put a lot of pressure on the tank or it will crack. I used a dremel to drill my ten gallon took a little longer but still worked.

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As much as I would like to do the 15g I think I'm going to have to stick with the 10g plan due to my budget. I'm pricing out everything that I'm going to need and it's looking like it will be over $200, probably close to $300, for me to do this tank the way I want to do it.

 

I'm looking at getting the Glass-Holes.com "Super Nano con Dientes Overflow Kit" which is about $60. Then for dual returns with loc-line, etc. is another $40. Add in say $50 to build a stand. Then at least another $100 to come up with some sort of lighting solution. And we're at $200. Then another $20-30 for some base rock to add to the live rock I already have... it adds up fast. Sure would be a lot easier financially if somebody would just buy my Solana off of me! I can't believe nobody wants it.

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A 15 is like 15$ cheaper and doesn't have shipping! And you can yank the rim off of it. Just look at the thread of my 15. I am actually considering selling it since I am getting sent away for a month.

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I would go for a 15 as well. It's a wash price-wise with a 10 gallon. There's nothing you need for a 15 that you don't need for a 10, and a 15 is thicker glass so it's easier to drill. I have heard of lots of people shattering a 10 gallon's 1/8" glass. Get yourself a second par38, a glass-holes overflow kit, a small return pump like the QuietOne 1200 (you only need one return, two is a waste for such a small tank), and get the same amount of rock you were planning. Just because you have a bigger tank you don't have to put more rock or get more livestock. The added volume and space will be much appreciated in the near future, I promise. If you decide to skip the par38 and get something else 24" lights are much more common than 20" lights and lamp replacements will be cheaper for fluorescent.

 

Coastie, I would be careful with so many aquatraders.com recommendations. The prices are great, but you get what you pay for. I've heard of people buying their fixtures and replacing the ballasts and lamps with those of higher quality but if you look around you won't see too many experienced reefers plugging their equipment. I don't think they're as close to junk as some people make them out to be but it's definitely worth adding the grain-of-salt to your recommendation.

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I think I'm going to order the Green Leaf aquarium I linked to above. It looks really nice and has 5mm thick high clarity glass. I can get a used 20" 70w Sunpod locally. Do you guys think that would be enough light for SPS? I would sell the PAR38 here if I get the Sunpod.

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Coastie, I would be careful with so many aquatraders.com recommendations. The prices are great, but you get what you pay for. I've heard of people buying their fixtures and replacing the ballasts and lamps with those of higher quality but if you look around you won't see too many experienced reefers plugging their equipment. I don't think they're as close to junk as some people make them out to be but it's definitely worth adding the grain-of-salt to your recommendation.

 

While I will be the first to agree with you that it is no where near the best light out there. I will say that all of my coral seem to be just fine under the light. I was plugging their equipment pretty much solely based on the fact that it is cheap and it works., You can simply swap the ballast out later. He said he was on a budget and most people that I have recommended the aquatraders/odyssea stuff to have mentioned something of the same. I don't know crap about their T5 setup so I can't necessarily justify a T5 recommendation but the MH pendant is cool.

 

Matt,

If you think that you would be completely happy with it go for it. Again you will be the one looking at it and you know what you want. I'll still of course help you drill it.

 

In case you were toying with the 15 here's how mine turned out without the rim

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Do you guys think that would be enough light for SPS? I would sell the PAR38 here if I get the Sunpod.
Only in the center portion of the tank on the upper half of the rock. A 70w halide isn't as strong as you would hope. I personally would go for a second Par38. It will pay for itself in a year when it would've been time to replace that first MH bulb. Not to mention the electricity bill...

 

 

I don't know crap about their T5 setup so I can't necessarily justify a T5 recommendation but the MH pendant is cool.
I think they're MH is definitely better than their T5. Their t5 lamps are supposedly junk, the fixtures are mediocre though.

 

Nice Bass, btw.

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Only in the center portion of the tank on the upper half of the rock. A 70w halide isn't as strong as you would hope. I personally would go for a second Par38. It will pay for itself in a year when it would've been time to replace that first MH bulb. Not to mention the electricity bill...

Yeah, I wasn't sure it would be enough light... I just can't figure out how to mount 2 PAR38's over a 10g tank without it looking godawful.

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Yeah, I wasn't sure it would be enough light... I just can't figure out how to mount 2 PAR38's over a 10g tank without it looking godawful.
Get some track lighting or a nice two headed lamp.
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Get some track lighting or a nice two headed lamp.

I want it to be mounted to the rear of the stand somehow and I need the PAR38's to be adjustable height-wise.

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Any particular reason the overflow is in the middle? I think it would look better if you had the return under one light and the overflow under the other. Mainly for aesthetics but I believe having the return that close to the overflow might hinder performance... Basically catching the water that just came out of the sump and putting it right back in.

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Any particular reason the overflow is in the middle?

Because I'm slightly OCD and I like things to be centered. Ideally I would have two returns and it would look even. But since I only need one I'll just put it to the side and point it up at the waters surface to create some surface movement. At least, that's the plan at the moment. I may re-draw it and see how it looks with the overflow on one side and the return on the other.

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