Fish's new tank

[podBoy]

LOL Actually the thought did occure to me.

 

Great photoshop skills!

 

- Chad

 

Thanks, those flames are shamefully crappy though. I slapped 'em on quick. I'm picky when it comes to flames. I went through this stage where I would draw flames on anything and everything. Good flames are an art form.

 

Gold is actually incredibly corrosion proof. From what I've read, it's the only metal that will look just as new as it did when it fell into the ocean.

 

Look forward to seeing this tank progress!

[GrandeGixxer]

Fish, what is the company that is going to build this tank for you called? I am looking to have a tank built soon. Can they cut holes in the Starfire glass? Thanks in advance, Joe.

[ninjafish]

Fish, what is the company that is going to build this tank for you called? I am looking to have a tank built soon. Can they cut holes in the Starfire glass? Thanks in advance, Joe.

 

 

The company that I have always used in the past is Inter American, based out of here in Calgary. Now however, I am considering going through a local aquarium shop for it... no problem with cutting holes. Any place that builds tanks in your aread should be able to do it out of low-iron glass and cut the holes for you...

 

- Chad

[Pili]

If only my budget could keep up to my plans... things wouldn't be moving along as slowly as they are. I guess everyone here can probably relate to that though tongue.gif .

 

Haha, aint that the truth.

[GrandeGixxer]

Thanks Fish, I will give them a call.

 

By the way, Your tanks are awesome!

[ninjafish]

Update:

 

Well, I took advantage of the brief warming to do some painting. I put one coat on the stand and one coat on the egg crate sides. Here is a comparison shot:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I couldn't be happier with the results. Not only is it cheaper to buy the white stuff and paint it, it definitely feels stronger and 'less brittle' than the regular black eggcrate. The krylon fusion paint seems to act like a flexible shell over the pvc.

 

- Chad

[ninjafish]

Here are some shots of the completed stand and sides. I still haven't painted the wood pieces so it doesn't look 100%. I thought it would be easiest just to buy a pint of paint and a roller, rather than using spraypaint on it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Side:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Front:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I came across some aluminum channel that would be perfect for the the eggcrate to sit in - still trying to decide what to use on the top to lock it down...

What do you think?

 

 

 

- Chad

[distantfire]

I like it a lot so far chad. The black eggcrate on the sides kinda reminds me of the grills that you see on home audio speakers. I'd also like some technical info. on the skimmer you got there. If you have any info. available please. And Thank you in advance.

[ninjafish]

distantfire,

Thanks! I'm glad you like it. The skimmer is a Coralife Super Skimmer (the one rated for 65gal systems). I picked it up second hand without really knowing anything about it but I have been doing some reading and it seems that it is a good skimmer for a decent price. I am pretty sure that it will blow the pants off anything I've used before.

 

- Chad

[distantfire]

Thank's chad I've been looking around for a good skimmer to try. On the new tank system that I've been puting together. Of course the tank's I'm messing with are on a much smaller scale than yours. And my new systems total SW volume is only 25 and a half gals. Plus or minus a quater gal. Depending on the wine bottles that I find to cut apart with my dremel.

 

But I do like how your skimmer looks. So I'll check out the other coral life skimmers that are available. Thank's again and keep up the nice work.

 

P.S. Did they tell you when your new tank will be finished. And when you can pick it up or are you having it deliverd.

[lgoins]

Fish, because I know this system will be beautiful, put the CSS 65 in the sump. I used mine as hob for a long time before it overflowed, but it did. So water leaked directly into a power strip which then tripped the GFCI. Luckily I got home within a couple of hours and the tank was fine. The skimmer delivers great performance for the price, but they do sometimes overflow. So to ensure you'll be covered in that area, put it in the sump.

[ninjafish]

distantfire,

 

Actually, I haven't even ordered the tank yet. I am still trying to decide what my overflow is going to look like. An internal or external box would be the safest/easiest, but I am trying to see if it is possible to do a zero edge overflow on one side....

I guess it's that old reefer dream of having a clean glass tank, visible from all four side, and a sump!

I was able to overcome that on the cubes - but I don't think they make a cannister filter big enough for a 40gal tank!

I think that I have bit the bullet and decided that I will need to have an external box on one of the short sides with returns coming up and over the edges. Not really the look I was going for but, as I said, probably the safest .

 

 

lgoins,

Thanks for the tip on the skimmer. Real estate in the sump was already kinda short, but I don't want to risk it. Cheers.

 

- Chad

[distantfire]

If it was a tank for just corals you could design it to overflow on all 4 sides at the same time. Using a starphire glass tank I think that would give you the really clean finished look your after. The water could overflow on all 4 sides into a hiden collection tray. Or into a larger tank hiden beneath your display tank. And then from there drain down into your sump/fuge. After that it could be pumped back up thru the bottom of your display tank. Of course that's just an idea and I don't know if it would work.

Using AGA tank's I've managed to hide the external overflow box. By cuting a section of the black trim away. And then cuting a single slot length wise thru the middle where the black trim was. Of course with your starphire glass tank. Seeing a narrow length wise slot near the top of one side of the tank. Just for overflowing water might not be very appealing to you.

Having all 4 sides overflow at the same time. Or having the overflow in the center of the tank. With LR surrounding and hiding the center overflow. Would keep your starphire glass tank looking the cleanest IMO. Anyway some of the coolest tricks I learned from you. So I'll shut up now and just tag along.

[ninjafish]

No those are great ideas. I had originally planned on having the end pane of glass a little shorter on one end than the other ones, and using that as a 0-edge overflow - having the water just drain over the side to a collection tray, and then to the sump. That would have given me the clean look I was going for but I still would have had to have the plumbing for the return water visible... even if I was able to hide the closed loop. Also, I want the tank to be 18" wide (like the stand) but I would have to narrow the stream of water so that it would clear the 2" of stand railing on either side as it drained. To do that, I would have needed to put some sort of channel on the overflow side and that would have detracted from the look too. It would have worked if I had a wider stand, but I don't really want to narrow the tank to only 14" just to fit the overflow .

You idea of a central overflow is a great one too. I think that fully enclosed canopies and rockwork that goes right to the top of the tank are best for that style though. I was planning on having an open top and a hanging T5HO fixture. With that design, I would have been staring into an open overflow all the time .

 

 

Even though there is nothing very neat about it, I am planning on having a tank built that is the full 36" length of the stand but having a black acrylic overflow wall at the 28" mark. Behind that I will have the bulkheads for my drain and the returns from my two pumps. I will split each return line from 3/4" into two 1/2" lines and have them come through the wall via naked bulkheads. I plan on painting the inside of the overflow box black so that you can't see the plumbing from the outside. The result will be a 28"x18"x18" starfire, trimless tank with an 8"x18"x18" black section at one end. The only visible plumbing will be the 4 return bulkheads in the acrylic wall. What do you think? It is definitely a comprimise over the look that I was going for, but it covers off some safety and salt-c-r-e-e-p issues that I was worried about (haha it edited out that word before).

 

- Chad

[distantfire]

LOL I was trying to keep the tank viewable from all 4 sides. Because I thought the stand was going to be in the center of a room. With MH or T5 lighting suspended above it. That's why I thought a center overflow with LR surrounding it might do the trick. Drilling thru LR is not hard to do. And you get some really nice ledges to put your corals on, after the LR is stacked up. Thank goodness for PVC pipe LOL

Instead of using black paint on the inside of the overflow box. For a change maybe you can find some very thin sheets of black arcylic to put in the box. Of course using black paint is a cheaper and faster way to do it. But a black arcylic lined box would look sharp and last forever. And you can use a thin sheet of glass to cover the box to keep airboune dust out. You only have to drill a hole in the glass cover big enough. To provide air flow to each standpipe.

I should have just said yes I like your idea for having only 4 return bulkheads visible. But that would have been to simple LOL. And I just pictured myself after scooping snails and fish all day. Out of a overflow box because one tank wall was a little shorter than rest. HaHaHaHa New ideas never stop when your building a tank from scratch. Here's another thought do a drawing of what you want your tank to look like in paint and post it here.

[ninjafish]

Ya, I know. I think the center overflow is an awesome idea - especially in a cube tank. Unfortunately, I wanted this tank to have an open top so the overflow would have been kind of unsightly. I also want to have the rockwork well below the surface - sort of a reef with open water all around...

 

I did think about lining the interior of the box with acrylic but I chickened out because from fear that some day a tiny leak might develop and some water would get between the glass and the acrylic - something like that would drive me around the bend .

 

I will try and do up a picture of what the tank will look like. Don't hold your breath though... my paint skills are not that good!

 

- Chad

[ninjafish]

Ok, here is a quick sketch that I did up in paint. Please use your imagination, it should turn out better than this... oh man, I hope it turns out better than this .

Also excuse my stocking list. All I could afford was three, uh, m&m's?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Chad

[distantfire]

I tryed using paint a few times. My picture's came out looking like a 5 year old played with a box of crayons. Most of the time I just get a idea and start building it. Then my family and friends get mad at me. Because I'm not spending enough time with them. So I just can't win no matter what I do.

I like your sketch and I like seeing your overflow box on the left side. It makes the tank look nicer than having it on the right side. But that's just my opinion. Your stand look's kinda tall and long in the pictures. That's why I first thought, you where going to be seting it up in the middle of a room.

But after seeing your sketch I belive now it would look sharp as a divider between 2 rooms. So that it can be viewed from all 3 remaining sides.

I wonder if some kind of dark window tint. Could be used on the inside of a overflow box. I got to thinking about window tint for trucks and cars. Because I have to do a faded paint job on the back of a 20H for my neighbor. My fingers are almost thawed out again after using acetone. So now I can get back to work. BTW how tall is your stand.

[ninjafish]

I'm glad the drawing turned out. Who knows what it will actually look like when it's put together though...

I am debating right now whether I want to black out the overflow area or leave it visible. The downside is that the plumbing will be visible, I guess it depends on how good a job I do at making the plumbing look nice....

I am talking with the tank builder right now to find out how narrow I can make the overflow area while still allowing room to hook up the 1" return lines. The way it is now means that that the overflow area could have as much as 8 gallons of water in it. That seems like a huge waste, considering it's more volume than my last two nanos .

The stand is 30" tall.

 

 

- Chad

[Pili]

why not just do like a stockman style overflow in one corner of the tank...just paint it black with some krylon fusion and i think it will look fine. Thats about as minimalistic as you can get i think with an overflow. Stand looks awesome btw.

[ninjafish]

That's a good idea Pili... and it would save me a bunch of lost space. I guess that the return lines would be visible then though. I don't remember this much of a dillemma with my cubes

 

- Chad

[Pili]

mm, two options i can think of...1st is drilling an additional one or two holes in the bottom panel and having all return through there and just use some locline to feed the returns in and out of the rocks. Only problem with that is that you are forced into relying on a check valve if your power goes out other wise your tank will drain (although you could do a double check which could be ok but still..)

 

Another option which is more expensive but could be almost invisible are Lilly pipes from ADA. Not sure how your budget is but i think these would would work well if you can fit them into your plumbing setup.

 

http://www.adgshop.com/Outflow_P_s/50.htm

[ninjafish]

Pili,

 

It's funny that you posted a link to the lilly pipes. I knew that Amano used them on his tanks, and had actually planned on using them in my system... up until I tracked them down and saw the price .

I would love to hide everything in the rockwork but I wasn't willing to risk it on a check valve. Maybe it's because I don't have any experience with them and all I have heard is reefer propaganda warning against them. Have you ever used them on your system? Do you know what the cracking pressure is on a typical 1" valve? My only concern about using them in tandem is that if the first one partially failed, due to build up etc, and allowed 'some' water to backflow, would it be enough water to trip the backup valve?

Cheers,

 

- Chad

[Pili]

Oh hmm, thats a good point about the second bulkhead not having enough to close. I think though, at least with the one i used, gravity was enough to close it if i remember correctly.

 

I do think that bulkheads get a bad wrap though. As long as you keep them clean and possibly have a replacement for the inside part if you buy one that is built into a union than you will be fine. And i would think that if one does fail, it will be a fairly slow leek that you would be able to get to before any major leaking occurs.

[ninjafish]

Pili,

I would not be suprised if you were absolutely right about checkvalves getting a bad rap. I have been tempted to open a thread on all of the little tidbits of information that have been passed around reef bulletin boards until they become gospel. Just a couple off the top of my head are: "cannister filters are not for saltwater", "trickle filters are nitrate factories" (that one's usually word for word), and "refugiums need low flow rates". I guess the last one is true if you are keeping sea horses or something in your refugium, but as far as LR and macroalgae is concerned, that stuff will be better off with a healthier turnover rate - just as it would in the display. Not to mention, in order to blast a 'pod off of the substrate and into the water collumn, you have to pretty much sneak up on it with a powerhead. Wet/dry filters? Well I'm sure that they do produce nitrates if not cleaned and maintained properly (just like any filter). What I don't understand is why are trickle filters on the watchlist but people are still using DSBs? . And to debunk the comment about cannister filters, I would refer people to my cube threads. A cannister filter provides the best opportunity to build an incredibly clean, and bullet-proof nano tank, and my design is really starting to catch on.

 

Anyways, I should hear from the aquarium shop tomorrow. Hopefully we will have made some progress.

Cheers,

 

- Chad