hooligan_78 Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Updated 11/15/11: Upgraded the bulb in the HQI fixture to a 20k Reeflux, changed out the ballast for a Vertex 250w. Changed on of the PC bulbs so far to a UV PC-R 12Kish. Needed better lighting on the back of tank. Using the Bubble Magus Nac 3.5 Cone Skimmer, working great! FTS 02/23/12: So finally got the other half to consent. Got a great deal from a local getting out of the hobby. For 200 bones got the 40 breeder tank, stand, 250 halide fixture, 29g sump chipped on the side (not sure about), a loose 10g tank, a crappy trickle filter(getting rid of) and a Coralife Super Skimmer. Tank is horrendous though. Coraline algae all over and the thing has had some water in the bottom for awhile and reeks! My plans are get rid of the skimmer and get maybe a Reef Octopus NW110...thoughts? Also want to do a 20 long for sump instead of the 29, it feels too deep. I also might get rid of the halide and go T5s as that's what I run on my 20H. It's already drilled, but I need to change the overflow out. I'm also going to get a smaller return pump and borrowing an MP40 from a friend. I know, it's huge, but I'll keep it dialed down until I can get an MP10. I'll be transferring most of my 20H over to the new tank. Any other suggestions welcome! Here's a shot of the tank in it's current state, as you can see, I have my work cut out: Pic of the MH fixture: Link to comment
NewZealandReefie Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Out of curiosity, what are the dimensions of the tank? Although the halide fixture has supplementary bulbs, looking at it, I wonder (depending on tank length of course) if it will provide enough spread and not just 'spotlight' the mid section of the tank. I run a Reef Octopus NW110 in my Leviathan tank, it does a great job and IME it wasn't awfully hard to calibrate. Looking forward to watching the tank come together Link to comment
28g nano noob Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 id keep the mh save a few $ for somethig else Link to comment
hooligan_78 Posted August 4, 2011 Author Share Posted August 4, 2011 Out of curiosity, what are the dimensions of the tank? Although the halide fixture has supplementary bulbs, looking at it, I wonder (depending on tank length of course) if it will provide enough spread and not just 'spotlight' the mid section of the tank. I run a Reef Octopus NW110 in my Leviathan tank, it does a great job and IME it wasn't awfully hard to calibrate. Looking forward to watching the tank come together Typical 40 breeder; 36"x18"x16". I've already been thinking about a spotlight effect. I think I want to use t5s instead of this fixture. But, for now it will have to do...you have no idea how hard it was to convince my fiance to let me have this. Link to comment
disaster999 Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 a 4 bulb setup might be enough for you too keep anything you want, a 6 bulb would give you more color choices and let you keep anything anywhere. the nw110should be a good skimmer, have you checked out SWC skimmers? i would soak the tank in a gallon of vinegar and the rest with water and let it eat all that coralline algae and what ever is left in the tank, give it a good scrub. what pump does it come with, why do you think you need to get a smaller pump? sell all the equipment you dont need and put it towards other stuff you need Link to comment
hooligan_78 Posted August 4, 2011 Author Share Posted August 4, 2011 a 4 bulb setup might be enough for you too keep anything you want, a 6 bulb would give you more color choices and let you keep anything anywhere. the nw110should be a good skimmer, have you checked out SWC skimmers? i would soak the tank in a gallon of vinegar and the rest with water and let it eat all that coralline algae and what ever is left in the tank, give it a good scrub. what pump does it come with, why do you think you need to get a smaller pump? sell all the equipment you dont need and put it towards other stuff you need I'm thinking I'll keep my Quiet One 4000, should be about right after head loss. I really am considering the NW110, seems reasonalby priced too. I think I'll use a 20 long for the sump. My buddy has one laying around, it's pre-drilled in the top center, but I may put an elbow there and run a drain line the drain in my storage room in the basement. I've never had a sump overflow, but I figured that it couldn't hurt. Link to comment
hooligan_78 Posted August 8, 2011 Author Share Posted August 8, 2011 So got it all cleaned up, and moved into the basement. Still need to finish plumbing the return and drain. Going with a 1 inch durso for the drain, and 3/4" return line. Pic with the lights on. Link to comment
hooligan_78 Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 So got the durso done last night, sump is done, but need to go to Lowes and pick up some more vinyl tubing as mine is not long enough. Bubble Magus NAC 3.5 should be here today. Think I'll be able to start moving everything over tonight! Link to comment
disaster999 Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 everything looks good. Link to comment
CLR Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Looking good, cant wait to see how the tank progresses Link to comment
hooligan_78 Posted August 12, 2011 Author Share Posted August 12, 2011 Got everything moved over, many corals were mad at living in a tote for 3 weeks, not looking as good. I'm hoping they bounce back soon. My drain line is spewing bubbles like crazy into my sump, so I am getting some micro bubbles back into the display. Trying to solve that little problem. I also plan on upgrading the HQI ballast as I know this has to be an Odyssea fixture. Needs new bulbs bad, but I figured no new hallide bulb until I have a better ballast on it. Also need to figure out a way to raise my skimmer, BM NAC 3.5 as soon as I turned it on, immediately overflowed. I know it needs to break in, but I can't keep dumping the cup ever couple of minutes. Link to comment
hooligan_78 Posted October 19, 2011 Author Share Posted October 19, 2011 So it's all up and running. Equipment: 250w HQI fixture upgraded ballast to 250W Vertex, 20k Reeflux, true actinic PC, and a 12K PCR MP40 QuietOne 4000 Bubble Magus 3.5 Terrible shot from my cell: Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 i lol'd at the title, and then i at the 40b. that scape is awesome. Link to comment
hooligan_78 Posted October 19, 2011 Author Share Posted October 19, 2011 i lol'd at the title, and then i at the 40b. that scape is awesome. Title was lame, now fixed. Thanks, I wanted something with much more open space for corals to fill in. I need to get my actual camera as my phone keeps over dimming the pics even with brightness settings adjusted. Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 try focusing on a dark spot in the tank with the phone cam. that always gets mine to make things brighter. How's that Durso btw? I could never get mine quiet. Link to comment
hooligan_78 Posted October 19, 2011 Author Share Posted October 19, 2011 It took several weeks for the damn thing to quiet down to what I consider to be an acceptable noise level. The big problem I had was that it was pulling in so much air that it would make bloosh(?) sounds every so often from the sump. I made the air intake tube on the top longer, and I think that helped. When I get home tonight I'll snap some shots so you can see it. Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Yeah, mine did the same thing. Air would build up inside the piping and eventually get pushed out the bottom into the sump and make a big noise. I eventually got it adjusted, but it took forever. When I did my 40b build I went with a Herbie style instead. Link to comment
hooligan_78 Posted October 19, 2011 Author Share Posted October 19, 2011 Did you use flexible vinyl or hard PVC? I'm using vinyl and have the air bubble problem, my buddy's tank is hard plumbed and doesn't have the issue as much. Link to comment
Woogalie Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Hooligan, your new tank/scape looks ill gnar. Love the monti placement. Keep it up and... go with Christ brah Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Did you use flexible vinyl or hard PVC? I'm using vinyl and have the air bubble problem, my buddy's tank is hard plumbed and doesn't have the issue as much. Flex, but i'm not sure how that would effect it? Interesting observation. Link to comment
Poodges Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Tank looks killer...scape and coral placement is top notch. Well done. Link to comment
NewZealandReefie Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 It took several weeks for the damn thing to quiet down to what I consider to be an acceptable noise level. The big problem I had was that it was pulling in so much air that it would make bloosh(?) sounds every so often from the sump. I made the air intake tube on the top longer, and I think that helped. When I get home tonight I'll snap some shots so you can see it. What diameter is your tubing and what diameter is the intake on your overflow? Link to comment
hooligan_78 Posted October 19, 2011 Author Share Posted October 19, 2011 1" intake, 1" inner diameter on tubing. Link to comment
NewZealandReefie Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Try buying an adapter and making the intake larger, say, 1" to 1.25"? Do you have any kind of valve (eg: ball valve) to restrict the flow and allow the water to fill your overflow tubing? This helps a lot. I increased my intake so it was taking in 'too much' water. This allowed the tubing to fill up completely so there's no longer any air in it which stopped all the noise/air bubbles. Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 The key is to restrict the return line. Don't be dum like me and restrict the drain. That's a disaster waiting to happen. Link to comment
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