Brian's 72G Bow Front Reef

[Brian Crook]

Hello everyone!

 

This project has been underway for a couple of weeks now, so I finally decided it's time to start sharing my experiences and tank plans.

 

I've had a Bio Cube 29 up and running successfully for over two years now. Throughout the two years of operation I have continued to upgrade the hardware and change the configuration of the Bio Cube to suit my more demanding needs. This ended up costing me a lot more money than I ever thought I would have been spending on this hobby when I first purchased the Cube.

 

So... This time around I have decided to try and get things right the first time to avoid costly upgrades down the road.

 

After about a month of browsing various aquarium classifieds, I stumbled on an old ad for a 72 gallon bow front. I contacted the seller and found out it was still for sale, but not only that, found out that the tank had never even seen water before! He was selling it with the stand, a return pump, a 29 gallon sump, among other accessories. I went ahead and made the purchase, and I am very glad that I did. I got it for an extraordinary price and the tank and stand are in perfect, unused condition!

 

The tank immediately after I got it home and set it on the stand:

 

My first order of business was to paint the back of the tank black using Krylon spray paint for plastics. I got the idea after seeing how well Todesengel's paint job looked. I brought the tank into the garage and began the painting process.

 

Tank ready for paint:

 

Tank during painting:

 

Krylon flat black spray paint for plastic and glass:

 

Tank after applying paint:

 

Overall I couldn't be happier with how the paint turned out. I went with the black paint instead of the blue paint to help match the overflow, stand, and soon the canopy.

 

The return pump that I purchased with the aquarium is the Little Giant 3MD-SC 700 GPH. I soon realized that the 29 gallon tank originally intended to be installed inside the stand would definitely not fit beside this pump, since the pump needs to be plumbed in-line and not submersed. Therefore I removed the existing plexiglass baffles from the 29 gallon sump and ordered a 20 gallon drilled tank that I would use instead.

 

Pump arrangement:

 

While waiting for this new sump tank to arrive, and after a lot of reading, I finally pulled the trigger and purchased the lighting system that I decided on. It came down to either the 6-bulb 48" Tek Light or two Aqua Medic 250 watt metal halide pendants. I decided on the Aqua Medic Ocean Light Pendants. After having a 150 watt metal halide fixture in my Bio Cube, I just couldn't resist the lovely shimmer effect of the pendants. Not only that, but I got them for an awesome price brand new. They come with the Aqualine AB 10000 bulbs, which have a colour temperature of 13000K. They arrived very quickly and were packed very well. They both tested well, and the magnetic ballasts are both very quiet.

 

Aqua Medic pendants unpacked:

 

Aqua Medic pendants powered up:

 

The next order of business was to figure out a way to mount these lights over the tank. They came with an excellent wall mounting kit, but honestly I just think it would have looked ugly having these lights hanging from the ceiling. I realized that having a completely closed canopy would not provide proper cooling for the lights, so I decided to build an open-top canopy that will fit the dimensions and curvature of the tank exactly. Currently it is being made for me at the metal shop so I do not have any pictures of it yet. It will be made out of black anodized aluminum and will have a few cross braces for added strength. It will have an aluminum brace going across the length of the tank that I will be mounting the pendants directly to. The height and location of the pendants will be adjustable as the braces should all be able to move up and down. It is being custom made for me at no charge through one of my father's friends from work. He works in a sheet metal shop and does awesome work, so I have no doubt this is going to look fantastic when it arrives. It will be 9" high and should be smooth black all the way around. Since the top will be completely open, I will be able to do basic feeding without having to touch or move the unit. The unit will be lightweight enough that I can simply lift the whole system off of the tank by grabbing on the main brace, and set it on the floor whenever I need to add corals or get my hands right in the tank. The cables will all be bundled up and ran neatly throughout the system to prevent anything from catching.

 

Pictures are worth a thousand words, so I'll be sure to post pictures of the canopy when I receive it. The only picture I have right now is from when I was tracing out the dimensions of the top of the aquarium and brainstorming the design of it.

 

Design for canopy:

 

Soon thereafter, my new sump tank arrived and I quickly began the process of inserting the baffles and once again painting most of the tank black. I will be using the center chamber as a refugium, so I wanted to help prevent any ugly light leakage by painting the back and both of the sides black. The first chamber will be used to hold filter materials (and possibly chemical components if necessary), and the last chamber will remain empty.

 

20 Gallon sump tank while inserting baffles:

 

Sump with all baffles inserted, ready for painting:

 

Sump with all baffles inserted, ready for painting:

 

Above view of sump tank:

 

After the baffles had dried in place and the paint had dried, it was now time to bring the sump inside and install it inside the stand. Even the 20 gallon tank would still not fit through the doors of the stand, so I had to lift off the display tank and remove a cross-brace temporarily to lower the sump into place.

 

Sump tank installed:

 

Now that the sump was installed, I could begin glueing my PVC components together and finalize the plumbing. When I purchased the display tank, it had already came pre-drilled with a Mega-Flow overflow installed. It also came with a lot of plumbing components including a Durso stand-pipe and Loc-Line return pipe. I used teflon tape on all of the threaded connections and PVC glue on all of the smooth connections. The moonlights I had ordered from MeasureExplorer also arrived in the mail too. They work exactly how I had hoped they would, so I am very happy. They will also be neatly mounted at an appropriate downward angle inside the canopy once I receive it. I made sure to purchase the wide-angle LED's.

 

Overflow with inlet and outlet pipes installed:

 

Moonlights arrived! Not installed yet:

 

My RO water filter also arrived that week as well. I originally wanted to purchase a filter from AirWaterIce.com, but unfortunately they do not ship to Canada. I took a bit of a risk ordering this product because I was unsure about the quality of the filters and the construction of the unit, but I have to say that I am very impressed with it now that I have it up and running. There is no de-ionization chamber in this unit, but I may add one on later on. I basically used tap water for about a year of my old Bio Cube and things grew very well, so I imagine this is really going to help my new system. I ordered a four-chamber 75 GPD RO unit. You can view the unit by clicking here.

 

RO water filter arrived! Not installed yet:

 

Since then I have installed it under my bathroom sink and tested it for an hour. My TDS meter will be arriving later this week so I will be able to test the water. At this point though, all I can say is that it tastes fantastic compared to our regular tap water. I then finalized my sump plumbing by replacing the big heavy-duty inflexible clear tube with a PVC pipe and elbows from the overflow to the sump. The flex-tube was so thick that it was very difficult to work with and would not stay in place easily. I also added a 23 watt (100 watt comparable) power compact bulb and reflector to light the refugium. I put some bioballs in the middle chamber of my eggcrate shelf, but I don't think I will be using them once I put water into the tank.

 

Tank and sump setup, continued:

 

View of refugium light and flow pipe:

 

That is where I am at so far. I will continue to post and update my progress as I continue this journey. At this point I am waiting for my canopy to arrive so I can mount my main lights and moonlights. After that though, I will basically be ready to purchase live sand and live rock and begin the cycling process!

 

If you've read this far than I hope you've enjoyed my progress so far. Any questions or comments are welcome!

[Gerber77]

Thats soooooo sick man Im gonna be following along this tank is gonna be amazing. Good work.

[ls7corvete]

Nice build, why bioballs though?

[Brian Crook]

Yeah I'll be taking them out. I just had a bag of them laying around so I put them in the chamber to see how it looked. I haven't figured out yet what I will put on that shelf instead of them. Likely just some more filter material of some type.

[Brian Crook]

Moved to the Members Aquariums forum. A little more appropriate.

[Obi Juan kenobi]

Awesome so far

[BibleSue]

Great start! What a score! The sump looks great. The only concern I would have is the short walls in the fuge area. You may have a problem with floating chaeto bits getting into your pump. I have a high wall & still have to clean off my maxi-jet snail guard from time to time. Can't wait to see this tank develop!

[Brian Crook]

Yeah I know what you mean Sue. I think I may still put some eggcrate or finer mesh type material in there to stop any particles from going through the bubble traps. Ideally, the water level will be lower than the highest bubble trap baffle at all times (the second baffle from the left). But if the power goes out or something than the water level will rise over that baffle, in which case it would be nice to be sure that nothing else could get through that way too.

[BibleSue]

I see. Mine has to be pretty full because of the skimmer. You could always just add mesh to the intake of the pump just in case. Are you planning on a skimmer?

[Brian Crook]

I've been debating a skimmer for a long time now... To be honest I'm not entirely sure yet. I do have space for an AquaC Remora Pro to hang over the sump and the water level should be high enough since the pump can go right to the bottom of the tank. I just don't know if I want the added expense, noise and maintenance. At this point I think I will be going skimmerless, but I may purchase one down the road.

[Kylebeano]

Wow! That is a great set-up. Youre doing some nice work and peicing everything together very well. Cant wait to see it with some rock. Ill reference back to your build for when I upgrade to a 75!

[Brian Crook]

Thanks for the compliment!

 

So, my refractometer and TDS meter arrived today, which was nice to come home to. I also ordered some epoxy for rocks and frags, as well as a bottle of Purple Up since I've heard good things about it.

 

Refractometer and TDS meter arrived:

 

I finished plumbing my RO unit under my bathroom sink which works out well because it's maybe only 10 feet from the aquarium itself. The tubing is long enough to go right into the aquarium so it will make things easy when I start filling it up.

 

RO filter installed under sink:

 

After letting the RO filter break in for an hour or so, I performed a TDS test on both a glass of tap water and a glass of RO purified water. The results were really good!

 

Total Dissolved Solids (ppm)

 

Tap Water: 155

 

RO Purified Water: 7

 

~ 95% reduction in TDS

 

I'm really happy with the results so far. Hopefully the filters and membranes will last the length of time that they claim to. I may consider purchasing a DI chamber to add-on to this unit eventually as well.

 

Anyways, that's all the updates I have so far. Cheers!

[Khayman]

Hello

 

And let me say first off I am very very impressed. This aquarium is going to be amazing I can not wait to watch it develop.

[Brian Crook]

[Gerber77]

Watuh!!!!

[Brian Crook]

Alright, so it's been a few days. Time for a quick update!

 

I have now completely filled my display tank and sump tank with RO water (no salt yet) and have tested for leaks. After fixing a minor leak due to improper teflon tape application, everything was leak-free!

 

I then tested the flow of the system with my return pump. The flow was quite nice and the water travelled exactly as expected through the sump and return pump. However, my Little Giant pump was quite simply far too loud! I could hear it from the main floor of the house, and I need to sleep in the same room as this thing!!

 

So... Unfortunately I had to purchase a new pump. After careful consideration I settled on the Poseidon PS2 External Water Pump. Apparently these pumps kick ass and maintain a noise level of below 30 dB at the same time. I don't mind the added heat either.

 

Here is a link to the pump:

http://www.jlaquatics.com/product/wp-ps2/P...Water+Pump.html

 

So now I am waiting for that pump to arrive before I can proceed. Tonight I dissassembled my old Bio Cube and drained it out. I will now need to clean it and prepare to sell it. I brought some of my corals back to Big Al's and got some in-store credit for them (didn't want to go through the hassle of selling them privately), and Big Al's also agreed to hold my clownfish and my most prized corals for me temporarily while my new tank cycles which was very generous of them.

 

Disaster zone:

[Brian Crook]

Added salt to the display tank and got my salinity up to suitable levels! I went ahead and put my live sand in. 80 lbs of Ocean Direct live sand.

 

Live sand:

 

The tank is completely foggy, but I've got a couple powerheads and my heater in there to help keep some current going. I would like to add my existing live rock in today as well.

 

Tank after adding live sand:

 

As of right now, I'm waiting for my new return pump to arrive and I'm still waiting for my canopy to be made so I can finally mount my lights.

[Brian Crook]

My pump and canopy will be arriving tomorrow! A larger update and lots more pictures will be posted soon.

 

I also purchased about 50 pounds of Vanuatu live rock today so I will be starting my aquascape tomorrow as well!

[Brian Crook]

Time for an update.

 

As stated in my previous post, today my new pump and canopy arrived. The canopy actually arrived late last night but I was far too tired to start working on it. First things first... I've been looking forward to this new pump so I could finally start utilizing my sump tank since I had disconnected my old Little Giant pump. The new Poseidon PS2 pump puts out approximately the same gallons per hour, but is much smaller, runs much cooler, and makes absolutely no noise! I highly recommend this pump. I really wasn't expecting it to be this good.

 

Little Giant pump (top) VS Poseidon pump (bottom):

 

The canopy is made out of two pieces of black annodized aluminum. The first piece fits the three straight sides of the tank, while the second piece is form-fit to the bow of the front of the tank. The two pieces have been welded together and are supported in the middle by a cross-brace. A removable bar can be fastened in at varying heights depending on how high I would like my lights to be above the water. It obviously travels across the length of the frame and adds additional support. I drilled a 2" hole through the left side of the back of the canopy for all of the cabling to go through.

 

Canopy arrives!:

 

Adjustable height bracket:

 

Above view of canopy and light-bar:

 

I drilled the holes for the metal halide pendants and bolted them in place. I used three of the four LED moonlights that I had ordered previously, and mounted them at the sides and in the center of the bar, underneath the lip. They cannot be seen in these pictures (or in person for that matter). Currently the cabling for the pendants and the moonlights is also being run through the lip of the bar. I am unsure as to whether or not the heat from the pendants will melt the wires at this proximity so I'll be keeping an eye on them for the time being.

 

Mounting the metal halide pendants:

 

Canopy is finally in place!:

 

All of the lights are functioning properly which was a nice relief. The wires have all been strung through neatly so that the canopy can be lifted off easily for maintenance. I still need to purchase a little bit more live rock to fill out the center and right sides of the tank, but overall I am already very happy with how things are coming along. The inside of the aquarium glass is still very dirty from the live sand.

 

Lights on:

 

The moonlights are much brighter than they were in my Bio Cube. The below picture makes them seem extremely bright, however, it's just the camera. They are a little more tasteful in person (though they are still bright as hell).

 

Moonlights:

 

Current status of the sump tank:

 

Electrical area:

 

I also reinstalled my float sensor for the JBJ Auto Top-Off inside the sump. I have purchased a bin to use as a water reservoir, however it is not up and running yet. I screwed the float sensor into my old mag-float cleaner so that I could easily mount and adjust it. (Got the idea from StevieT's aquarium thread). I've also added sponge material in the middle chamber of the sump eggcrate shelf where I originally had bio-balls in the earlier pictures.

 

That's about everything up to now! *phew*

 

It's been a long day and I am ready to get some sleep. My tank is now properly beginning it's cycle so I will begin monitoring the water quality levels.

 

If you've read this far, thanks for your interest! As always, questions or comments are welcome.

 

G'night!

[akabryanhall]

This is gonna look sweet!!

[Brian Crook]

This is gonna look sweet!!

 

Thanks! I hope so too.

[Brian Crook]

Update:

 

My Durso standpipe and sump drain were making a LOT of noise. I tried every adjustment out there, and though I could quiet the overflow itself, the sound of the water crashing down the pipe and into the sump was extremely irritating. I slept through it one night but had to fix it immediately. I settled on Herbie's method and went out and purchased all the parts that I needed. After draining the overflow, removing the old standpipes and redoing the entire plumbing setup, I am proud to say that I have completely removed the noise. The tank is absolutely silent!

 

Besides that, everything else has been running smoothly. I have reconnected my JBJ auto top-off unit and float sensor, and have now set up a reservoir to hold the water. It's just a plastic waste bin though, so it doesn't look very nice sitting beside the tank. I will probably be building a wooden box similar to the aquarium stand to enclose it.

 

The water has cleared up completely now and the temperature is sitting around 81 degrees. I suspect this tank will be running consistently warmer than my old Bio Cube because of the powerful lighting. I can basically just sit back and watch the tank cycle at this point. I would like to purchase some more live rock still to fill out the center and right side of the tank.

 

Here's where it's at so far:

 

Herbie's method of standpipes:

 

Drains to sump:

 

Auto top-off controller:

 

Float sensor:

 

And lastly...

 

Front tank shot!

 

That's all for now!

[wimby]

looks nice

[twelve volt pro]

All I can say is "wow." I have been lurking here for a little while checking out members' tanks, and this is among some of the best builds I have seen IMO. Ill be watching this one!!

[Brian Crook]

All I can say is "wow." I have been lurking here for a little while checking out members' tanks, and this is among some of the best builds I have seen IMO. Ill be watching this one!!

 

Thanks a lot!