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Coral Vue Hydros

Better than a 20L: My 33g long lagoon style


sayn3ver

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Well, i started my 40g breeder journal over at RC in the nano section. I only managed to get hardware for that (skimmer, lights, tank, 20L sump with baffles, starboard). Anyways that got burried in the forum and well, things have developed in a way that this tank, which i didn't have at the time, has managed to get done and in a few hours, wet before that project.

 

Anyways, after seeing Halophila's tank in the RC marine plants + macro algae forum (Halophila's awsome 4ft macro tank) I knew 2 things, i wanted a long shallow tank and that I wanted a macro algae and shoal grass in my tank.

i figured these two tanks would be the ying and yang of my room. The 40g breeder is going to be a bare bottom reef, over skimmed (DAS Ex-1) with a starboard bottom, no fuge, no sand, very sterile.

 

Well, I didn't want two of the same setups so this one is going to be skimmerless, fuged with cheato, sand, mud, pods, and all sorts of creepy crawly life. I know i want to keep a lot of mushrooms, maybe some soft coral and a clam (hell maybe an anemone).

 

Equipment

Lighting is a 4x54w Sunlight Supply fixture. Bulbs are 2x 6500k and 2x3000k right now(bought this for another project but decided to use it for this instead. not the best fixture, but the tank is only 12 inches minus depth of the sand bed...i have an ATI fixture for my soon to be BB reef :D)

Return pump is an ocean runner 2500 (aprox. 650 gph before head loss)

Tank is an All-glass 33g long (48x12x12) with a DIY 1/4in glas baffle installed with GE Silicone I (my seam skills need work)

I have a 100w visitherm heater right now, which is gonna need an upgrade for sure. But its all I have at the moment.

The fuge is a 15g all glass and the sump is a 10g all glass as well. I am hoping with the 2 1inch drains in the fuge that it will have minimal noise between the two.

Fuge light will be a 16w CF flood light from Home Depot in 6500k. I want to grow a mass of cheato in hopes of growing a huge pod population.

Drain from tank is 1inch and the return line is 3/4in. I wanted to use flexible tubing for the return but it was cheaper to pump hard pvc than it would have been to buy the tubing and fittings needed for the soft plumbing.

 

Goals

This will be my first salt water tank. I have kept fresh water planted for a year and 1/2 with frustration. I am unable to find a balance an have always dealt with algae problems (especially on my high tech 20g high i broke down a few weeks ago). I figure aiming for no nutrients (reef) will be easier than figuring out how much to add. BTW, BBA(black beard algae) is the devil and is the reason I am leaving FW...haha.

 

I want to keep things simple with this. Eventually i want to control both tanks with a reef keeper elite and until then will be keeping technology low (may add a tunze osmalator or some sort of ATO though).

 

I want to keep a red scooter blenny. This is the reason I have gone to great lengths to set this tank up. i realized it would be much harder in the BB 40g Breeder. I realized most people recommend large tanks. I feel though, that once this tank matures, and with dosing of proper live food for pods like phyto, and use of smart live rock design (pod piles and scaping to help them) this will be doable.

 

Other possible tank mates I want to keep would be 3 pajama cardinals, a clam and a CUC of snails and maybe some type of cleaner shrimp. My main focus was the red scooter blenny and other tank choices will reflect that.

 

I'd also like to include shoal grass and a variety of other macro algae in this tank. I always find the critter section and live rock bins much more entertaining in the LFS than the reef displays. I'd like this tank to reflect that.

 

I bought 2 30lb bags of sugar sized carbisea sea arrogate sand for this tank and have just stopped by the LFS and they were kind enough to siphon out a bag of silt from their LR curing tanks for me to seed the sand bed. I am unsure if i want to add any sand to the fuge, but i have a feeling i will end up with sand in there eventually.

 

current FTS

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PLumbing

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plumbing

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plumbing

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plumbing

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my linux box in relation to my lagoon

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the conduit light hanger with plastic end cap i found at HD. I still haven't filed the end and the cap isn't fully inserted in the pic.

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Bag of LR tank muck

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The mess that is my room at this current point in time. Admire the brown shag carpet. I know you are jealous

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My Dwarf Puffer tank that will be coming down soon but i need to find her a home first.

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More updates to follow tonight i think. :huh:

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cool. Yea, i regret not getting two of these instead of the breeder. So easy to light. 4ft of swimming space to hold some non-nano fish. Seriously, I'd imagine 2x54w t5's with individual reflectors would be enough for everything besides high light sps and clams and thats only 110 watts of light. Easy on the electric bill for sure.

 

I forgot to mention i've had 20lbs of live rock i picked up from a local reefer about 2 months ago curing/baking in the dark in a 20g brute trashcan ready to rock. I got some nice pieces(i thought) and will be adding more to the sump/fuge, but am unsure how much I will have in the display, as i'd like to roughly have about 1/2 the tank scattered rock etc and the other 1/2 a shoal grass field but ofcourse all of that is subject to change.

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Update: only about 10 gallons away from being able to get her fully running i think. Just leak tested it and every thing is gravy. My only question is with bulkheads, do you use a wrench to tighten them down or do you do it by hand. I did my by hand so far and no leaks, but this is the first time I'm using bulkheads or a drilled tank so I'd thought i'd ask.

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I am for sure following along with this one. Reminds me of the system I am in the process of building right now. I may steal some ideas from you, but make sure to keep the pics rolling in.

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I bought a 33L from a store that was closing just a few weeks ago. I already have a stand for it so I was trying to decide what to do with it. For lighting I was planning either the 4x54w Tek or a 2x150w Sunpod HQI.

 

The biggest problem for me is finding a sump that will fit under a standard 48x12" stand, since there is less than 11" of width. How hard was it to drill the tanks? What kind of drill did you use?

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I did my by hand so far and no leaks, but this is the first time I'm using bulkheads or a drilled tank so I'd thought i'd ask.

 

Hand tighten only, no wrenches. I've also used a small dab of silicon on the the dry side. Some live by this little tip, others shun it. Your decision.

 

Great looking tank so far. I love the look of that 33L and the sound of a shoal biotope seems awesome.

 

How hard was it to drill the tanks? What kind of drill did you use?

 

It's very easy to drill glass. Any drill will work, the bit is the key. Diamond coated holesaw bits are what your looking for. Keep it lubed up with some water, and let the bit do the work. Piece o' cake.

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wow, what a response already and the tank is still dry. haha. :lol:

 

I myself would go for the 4x54w setup on this size tank. I've never used MH, but understand the in's and outs for the most part. A 4x54w T5 setup fits snuggly over the 33g long (length and width light coverage). You get a selection of bulb colors, and for 20 bucks a bulb(12ish for a 6500k and 300k GE bulbs), or $80 for the bulb every year(some push 1 1/2 years on their bulbs), it is much cheaper than halides (like $120 every 8 months roughly) and you don't have the color tweaking ability. You also will have a hard time fitting actinic supplementation with the MH. You probably won't need a chiller either with T5's.

 

Drilling was easy for me, although i was in a rush on the 15g fuge and have some chipping/scratches around one of the holes but it was a beat up old tank anyways that will soon be muck-a-fied.

 

As for the stand, i find its cheaper and easier to find a used 75g stand (48x18) and center the tank on that (i fastened a piece of 3/4 pine to the top and bottom of mine when i was refinishing the stand). That way you can use a 15g or 10g underneath in a AGA pine stand ( I could not get a 20L to fit nor a 20g high without removing the center upright brace which I was not willing to do) or custom make a sump out of acrylic.

 

 

I second the diamond hole saw. got mine off ebay. Although i need to order another 1inch for the next tank as the bit is a bit dull now.

 

i also want to apologize for my poor grammar and spelling in the original post. I will go back and proof read at a later date, but I have been trying hard to get as much done as i can on this tank and around the house as possible on my few days off.

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Water testing the bottom half.

 

Both of my bulkheads are leaking on my fuge. I don't know how to fix this. Everyone says not to use silicone but i've hand tightened them and they still dribble a tiny bit.

 

 

plum.jpg

 

 

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Water testing the bottom half.

 

Both of my bulkheads are leaking on my fuge. I don't know how to fix this. Everyone says not to use silicone but i've hand tightened them and they still dribble a tiny bit.

 

Silicone Grease will do the trick. NOT the sealant, rather the grease.

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Silicone Grease will do the trick. NOT the sealant, rather the grease.

 

 

I realize this. I posted this in the beginners forum under its own topic, but i cannot locate the grease locally until monday (gunk makes the silicone plumbers grease and the only store local who sells it is closed on the weekends)

 

still waiting on the results from trying an olive oil suggestion, then i will try regular silicone on the outside under the nut smear on the glass.

 

Edit:

So only one was leaking afterall. The left hand side BH has been good for awhile now.

 

so i reinspected the other bulkhead, and i overlooked something. The inside piece that mates with the gasket had 2 casting marks that were not smooth by any means along with a set of 4 tiny dot like marks that were raised as well. I sanded everything smooth, applied some EVOO oil and snugged her up. So far so good (about 8-10 minutes).

 

All this over some crappy casting marks ::crosses fingers::

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Thank you Ace hardware. They were closed last night when I stopped by. I called today and low and behold they had the plumber's silicone grease. It looks to be a repackaged version of the Gunk brand item.

 

Problem solved. I could not believe, i called around to every hardware store and plumbing supply place and no one carries this item. :angry:

 

Should have salt and sand and rock in by dinner.

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haha. pics of what?

 

I added sand water and rock to the tank about an hour ago. It still uh, hazy to say the least. i am about 6 gallons short so i am waiting for the RO unit to churn out some fresh water to make up a batch of SW then i'll post a white cloud for you to peak at.

 

I havent done any scaping yet as I can't see so the rock is just kinda put in every which way. I don't know if i'll be adding anymore to the display, (pound wise) but will be looking for interesting pieces locally.

 

I want to order 50lbs of rock for the 40lb and the sump/fuge of the 33g from marco rocks but have other things i need to spend money on first besides this tank. :mellow:

 

pics in a few hours i promise.

 

Things to do list

-Buy larger heater

-clean up my room

-level the damn tank (carpet is a real pain).

 

My parents both thought the tank was a lot larger than it is and were concerned about the weight until I told them its only 33g and they were like whew... Its deceptively large. This is in my bedroom on the 2nd floor, thus their original concerns.(I live at home and commute to college).

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leaks were fixed via plumber's silicone grease. Just needed a little. I also think sanding down the casting marks on the bulkheads helped the most though.

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Today: So it finally cleared for the most part. Still a have I need to wipe off the glass, but I will probably be adding more sand. I only added 1 and 1/2 bags of sand, thinking I may not need or want the extra and that I'd throw it into the bare bottom fuge that is underneath.

 

I also swear that the rock in the following pictures was placing randomly in the muck last night and has not been touched since. I kinda like how it came out am think i will only be tweaking it a little bit in a little bit.

 

 

FTS.jpg

 

move.jpg

 

random.jpg

 

rock.jpg

 

rock2.jpg

 

 

Now time to go play. Btw, does anyone use a HFG (hofer gargle buster)? They way I have it tweaked to be quite is have the water level stay constantly above the outer rim almost to the top of the pvc cap. I couldn't find any other way of minimizing noise and or gurgling. the water level is below the top of the cap where the hole and airline tubing are, but not by much. I feel this in incorrect. I also am regretting not drilling for 2 drains so I could have a backup. 30g doesn't sound like much until you lug the water up 3 flights of stairs and realize maybe I did need that backup drain just in case so i don't flood the house. haha :lol:

 

Thinking of just adding a t right above the drain bulkhead and plumbing a second, higher stand pipe as a safety measure. The bulkhead and drain pvc go straight down beneath the tank so i highly doubt anything could get obstructed there, but I could see something getting lodged into the top of the HFG.

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i rescaped it anyways. And I am glad I did. As soon as it clears up (tomorrow) I will post some upgraded pics.

 

Oh and i gone done had to try to mess around with the drain again and now I can't get it as silent as I had it. :angry:

 

Edit: I fixed the overflow sound issue. But the damn oceanrunner pump is making all sorts of racket. It was silent in FW but it has gotten loud over the last 24 hours. The pump itself is quiet but the impeller is making sound close to that of the aquaclear HOB filters (kinda of a higher pitch noise, like the impeller is rattling...it is a rattling sound and i want it to go away. if it doesn't quiet down soon, i will be replacing it with an eheim that i should have bought from the beginning.

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