tokendog Posted October 12, 2011 Author Share Posted October 12, 2011 Wow that is gorgeous! congrats. Thanks. I'm filling it up now and monitoring for leaks. It's going good so far. I am making RO/DI water and its taking a while. I figure I'll have her filled up by tonight and will begin having the water flow through the system to make sure everything is working right and continue to monitor for leaks throughout the day. I am using the supplied plumbing but will change it out to all PVC with ball valves in the near future. I want to make it so I can remove most of the plumbing with relative ease for cleaning and maintenance purpose. I just need to figure out how I want to approach it and then start piecing it together. The stock setup will work until then. Link to comment
rfalk Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Thanks. I'm filling it up now and monitoring for leaks. It's going good so far. I am making RO/DI water and its taking a while. I figure I'll have her filled up by tonight and will begin having the water flow through the system to make sure everything is working right and continue to monitor for leaks throughout the day. I am using the supplied plumbing but will change it out to all PVC with ball valves in the near future. I want to make it so I can remove most of the plumbing with relative ease for cleaning and maintenance purpose. I just need to figure out how I want to approach it and then start piecing it together. The stock setup will work until then. Can't wait to see it! Link to comment
tokendog Posted October 12, 2011 Author Share Posted October 12, 2011 I would steer away from mounting legs, it can really take away from the look of the open top tank! I would make a light bar, there are lots of DIY threads on here for light bars. Where are you located? my budy makes really nice ones! I live near New Orleans. I was thinking of going with the light bar. I am assuming you mean a bar that connects to the stand and then suspends the light over the tank? Link to comment
tokendog Posted October 12, 2011 Author Share Posted October 12, 2011 I am looking at the 24 or 36 Inch 6x39 Watt AquaticLife T5 HO Light as the lighting for this tank. Any opinions or suggestions? Link to comment
tokendog Posted October 12, 2011 Author Share Posted October 12, 2011 I'm also considering going with an AI sol. One for the time being and then upgrading to a 2nd in a month or so. I'm open to opinions so please share. Link to comment
Asureef Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 I am looking at the 24 or 36 Inch 6x39 Watt AquaticLife T5 HO Light as the lighting for this tank. Any opinions or suggestions? Depends, what do you plan on keeping? Link to comment
tokendog Posted October 12, 2011 Author Share Posted October 12, 2011 I'm aiming for softies and LPS. Link to comment
Asureef Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 I'm aiming for softies and LPS. 36" 4/bulb or 24" 6/bulbs, should work. Have any plans for aquascaping yet? Link to comment
jisham Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Don't want to hijack your thread again, but do want to thank you for the post about the stand. I got my setup this afternoon and it took about an hour to put the stand together. Mine didn't come with the skimmer or the shelf hardware either but that's cool as Eddie says he'll ship them out tomorrow. Otherwise, everything was packed very well. The plumbing kit for this is different than the 40 Long Artisans. I'll get a pic later to post. The LED lights look great but the white and blue LEDs share the same power outlet so there's no way to turn them on separately other than the remote or on the side of the lamp case. I had hoped the unit would have built-in timers for everything but I'll figure something out as I really like the look. Link to comment
tokendog Posted October 12, 2011 Author Share Posted October 12, 2011 Don't want to hijack your thread again, but do want to thank you for the post about the stand. I got my setup this afternoon and it took about an hour to put the stand together. Mine didn't come with the skimmer or the shelf hardware either but that's cool as Eddie says he'll ship them out tomorrow. Otherwise, everything was packed very well. The plumbing kit for this is different than the 40 Long Artisans. I'll get a pic later to post. The LED lights look great but the white and blue LEDs share the same power outlet so there's no way to turn them on separately other than the remote or on the side of the lamp case. I had hoped the unit would have built-in timers for everything but I'll figure something out as I really like the look. No worries. Feel free to contribute any time. I am happy to hear that your tank arrived in good condition. Please post pictures so we can compare the plumbing. The stand went together quickly once you sorted out the pieces, right? I e-mailed Eddie and told him labeling the pieces would do wonders - no instructions necessary, really. I have my plumbed with the provided pieces and so far no leaks. I am still filling her up and will start running water through the system in a bit. I'm not rushing it at all as I still have to figure out my aquascaping and am ordering stuff as we speak. I decided to go with the AI SOL, controller, and rail setup for my lights. I am going to add another AI SOL in the next couple of months as the tank cycles and is able to support life. Link to comment
Asureef Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 I decided to go with the AI SOL, controller, and rail setup for my lights. I am going to add another AI SOL in the next couple of months as the tank cycles and is able to support life. Sounds great, 2x Al Sol would look very slick on this tank. I've thought about it myself, especially with the fixture being white, it would totally match my stand. But, I'm loving the results I'm getting with my T5s. Link to comment
tokendog Posted October 13, 2011 Author Share Posted October 13, 2011 Sounds great, 2x Al Sol would look very slick on this tank. I've thought about it myself, especially with the fixture being white, it would totally match my stand. But, I'm loving the results I'm getting with my T5s. Yeah, your tank is inspiration for me. I have it opened in a tab right now actually. It helped me decide to go with the Artisan setup. Did you ever change your plumbing setup or are you still going with the stock equipment? It looks like the 50g got a bigger flex hose for the drain side. I'm not sure about the rest of the equipment but Jisham said it was different. Link to comment
Asureef Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Yeah, your tank is inspiration for me. I have it opened in a tab right now actually. It helped me decide to go with the Artisan setup. Did you ever change your plumbing setup or are you still going with the stock equipment? It looks like the 50g got a bigger flex hose for the drain side. I'm not sure about the rest of the equipment but Jisham said it was different. Thanks, I'm still using the stock plumping kit. I actually like the flexibility. Personally, I thought the 2nd chamber was useless, but now it houses a bag of carbon, purigen, and also a pump that feeds the chiller and gfo reactor. The only thing I don't like is the skimmer, getting the cup out for cleaning is a pain. Not the chore but physically getting the cup a part from the body of the skimmer is b**** and I go to the gym 4-5days a week. What return pump and skimmer are you going with? Link to comment
tokendog Posted October 13, 2011 Author Share Posted October 13, 2011 Thanks, I'm still using the stock plumping kit. I actually like the flexibility. Personally, I thought the 2nd chamber was useless, but now it houses a bag of carbon, purigen, and also a pump that feeds the chiller and gfo reactor. The only thing I don't like is the skimmer, getting the cup out for cleaning is a pain. Not the chore but physically getting the cup a part from the body of the skimmer is b**** and I go to the gym 4-5days a week. What return pump and skimmer are you going with? I'm going with the skimmer that comes with it for the time being. It got good reviews so I figured it would save money on that. If it doesn't do the job, I'll upgrade it. It didn't come with the tank. Eddie said it was accidentally left out and should have shipped it to me today. As far as the return pump, I'm going with the Tunze 1073.4. Link to comment
tokendog Posted October 13, 2011 Author Share Posted October 13, 2011 On a side note, it's about 70% full. =P Link to comment
Asureef Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 On a side note, it's about 70% full. =P I hope you don't plan on doing the aqua scape with the tank full. It's much easier to aquascape when the tank is empty. Throw down some egg crate and put some rocks together. Then, add sand and then water. Link to comment
cruzH20polo Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I hope you don't plan on doing the aqua scape with the tank full. It's much easier to aquascape when the tank is empty. Throw down some egg crate and put some rocks together. Then, add sand and then water. +1 Link to comment
tokendog Posted October 13, 2011 Author Share Posted October 13, 2011 I hope you don't plan on doing the aqua scape with the tank full. It's much easier to aquascape when the tank is empty. Throw down some egg crate and put some rocks together. Then, add sand and then water. I've done it both ways, and never had an issue doing it with water in the tank. Aside from it just being easier, what problems might arise? I always put egg crate down to protect the glass, even if its tempered, and also to prevent rock slides. I usually do a light layer of sand, egg crate, then about a 3" sand bed. If I do aquascape a tank, I put it together outside of the tank, make sure it's secure, the exact layout I want, and then lower it in to the tank with the water in the tank. I shift it around a little bit til it gets to the egg crate, and then let the sand settle. It usually clears up in a couple of hours. I always leave the water level lower than I ultimately want it to be to compensate for the rock going in to the tank and then I top off the water afterwards. I mean both ways work, I guess, just your way has less "mess" but I don't mind letting it all settle. If I am missing something specifically, please let me know, but I've done it that way on a few tanks and never had much trouble. Link to comment
tokendog Posted October 14, 2011 Author Share Posted October 14, 2011 No major updates as I'm waiting on stuff to come in. I'm going with the AI Sol for lighting. I will do two of them and think that will be more than enough lighting. I am getting the controller for it as well. I am currently planning out how I am going to mount the lighting. I want it to be fully adjustable vertically and horizontally so that I have full control over where it's at over the tank, and I want easy access to the top of the tank for maintenance. I ordering my dry rock tonight. I was going to go with BRS Reef Saver at first, but now think I am going to go with Marco. I've used rock from BRS before and love it - the Pukani rock specifically - but want to try something new with this tank. I have a couple of leaks on the return hose but it's entirely my fault. I need to get new clamps for it as the ones that I am using are too big. I have two Eheim Jager heater units on order - I will see how this does and potentially add a third as a failsafe but from what I read two should be more than enough. I decided to break my routine of cycling the tank with dry rock / live rock and am going to go with Dr. Tim's One and Only process. I've read reviews of it and it worked well for everyone that I could find. I'll document that whole process and share my experiences with it. I think that's about it for now. On a side note, I will soon be getting a new macro lense for my DSLR so I can get some good close up shots of the stuff that goes in to the tank once it's cycled. Link to comment
jisham Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 So the stock plumbing worked out for you other than the return hose leaks? Link to comment
tokendog Posted October 14, 2011 Author Share Posted October 14, 2011 So the stock plumbing worked out for you other than the return hose leaks? Yep, pretty much. I had to shorten the return hose inside of the overflow box by about an inch but that is about it. I am still going to replace every thing with PVC in the future for convenience and reliability, but the stock plumbing works fine so far. Link to comment
iDream Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 What wattage heaters did you go with? Link to comment
jisham Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Yep, pretty much. I had to shorten the return hose inside of the overflow box by about an inch but that is about it. I am still going to replace every thing with PVC in the future for convenience and reliability, but the stock plumbing works fine so far. I actually bought both 1 inch and 1/2 inch bulk heads as I already have PVC pipe and fittings on hand but both bulk heads are slightly too small for the pre-drilled holes, which means I could probably use them but I'd have to use additional sealant etc. so I think I'm going to just use the supplied plumbing and call it a day. I will, however, add a 1/2 inch check valve to the return hose, and I also plan to add some type of elbow on the end of the drain hose so I can direct the water into a 4" filter sock bracket. The supplied drain hose is huge in diameter but I'd like to put a valve on it as well so we'll see if I can come up with something. Eddie shipped my skimmer yesterday (it's one of the new cone skimmers CADlights is now making themselves) so it's scheduled to deliver next Wednesday. Once that gets here, I can finalize the entire setup then start planning to move everything out of my Biocube 29 over to the new tank. Link to comment
Bill Nye Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Just posting to say one thing ....sexy Link to comment
rfalk Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Did you consider holding out for the AI phoenix?...by the time your tank is ready to roll it should be coming out. Link to comment
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