bubbles3660 Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 Hi Nanopeeps, Just starting to cycle my new money pit... 75 gal / 48" long. On top coralife twin 150 MH HQI with 2 actinics and four moons. 70 lbs live rock (I think I need a little more height.) plus seeded aragonite. The only addition to the display will be two koralia 4's on either side of the tank. (thanks Vic) My 30 gallon sump is in the base and that's my main concern because I was hoping to fit a Euro reef or octopus skimmer in it but I don't think I have the headroom for those 20-22" models. Any suggestions for something a little more squat that could handle 75 gallons? Denizens of my old overcrowded BC14 await. "So when do we get to move in?" --bubbles Quote Link to comment
eddie29 Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 how tall is the stand inside?? Most stands have about 28"ish of usable height inside the stand, so you could easily fit almost any skimmer inside there. Quote Link to comment
bubbles3660 Posted January 13, 2008 Author Share Posted January 13, 2008 how tall is the stand inside?? Most stands have about 28"ish of usable height inside the stand, so you could easily fit almost any skimmer inside there. My stand is only 23.5" inside and my sump height is 16.5" which leaves me very little wiggle room (6" clearance). I don't think I would be able to wedge a 22" in there - a 20" might give me cup clearance. My mistake for trusting the LFS's advice! Your oceanic looks gorgeous, btw. --bubbles Quote Link to comment
Capt_Nemo Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 (edited) You can get a Euro reef RS100 skimmer in there. it is only 20" high and zero clearance to take off the collection cup. Can I see some picture of how you do your pluming? do you have a reverso durso or something in the sump to help with the noise? Thanks Edited January 13, 2008 by Capt_Nemo Quote Link to comment
Esabasard Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 I got an Octopus in my stand. It has a zero clearance cup but even better, it has an output on the cup so that you never have to remove it. Quote Link to comment
eddie29 Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 My stand is only 23.5" inside and my sump height is 16.5" which leaves me very little wiggle room (6" clearance). I don't think I would be able to wedge a 22" in there - a 20" might give me cup clearance. My mistake for trusting the LFS's advice! Your oceanic looks gorgeous, btw. --bubbles thanks, but I really never got that far into it before I upgraded again. You see the newest part of it? As far as your skimmer goes, many skimmers have unions that you just spin off an require almost no extra clearance to remove the cup. I'd be more worried about trying to take the skimmer out for whenever you need to clean and service it. That being said, I would seriously consider an external skimmer so that you don't have to worry about removing it from the sump since that might be an issue with such a short stand. If you gravity feed the skimmer, just put a ball valve on the line to control flow. A good thing about this setup too is that you remove the feed pump (less electricity to use), and the skimmer pump isn't contributing heat to the system Quote Link to comment
bubbles3660 Posted January 14, 2008 Author Share Posted January 14, 2008 Capt_Nemo: "do you have a reverso durso or something in the sump to help with the noise?" Yes, I'm using a durso in the drain with flexible tubing into the center section of the sump. (fuge on the left, baffles then a RIO return pump on the right). Very quiet. My BC14 is noisy as hell compared to it. *** Esabasard: "I got an Octopus in my stand. It has a zero clearance cup but even better, it has an output on the cup so that you never have to remove it." Which model Octopus do you have? I was looking at the NW-110. *** Eddie29: "You see the newest part of it?" I eventually scrolled to the sump. Looks amazing. I probably should have gone pre-fab acrylic but it was a lot cheaper making it myself. An external skimmer is a good solution but I would lose space for a future calcium reactor and CO2 canister down the road. I may have to go that route though. --bubbles Quote Link to comment
bubbles3660 Posted January 19, 2008 Author Share Posted January 19, 2008 A week later. I've added two Koralia 4's to the sides. Alternating flow in 6 minute cycles using a Reefkeeper2. I used a dead shrimp to start the cycle. Readings were barely noticeable. A tribute to the cured live rock/sand or my crappy test kit? Who knows. I added some more live rock a few days ago to build up the wall. As you can see the brown algae is already starting to take over on the older pieces and the substrate. So far so good. Current readings: Temp 78F pH 8.01 Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate .5 Phosphates 0 kH 10 (179) Calcium 400 --bubbles Quote Link to comment
bubbles3660 Posted January 28, 2008 Author Share Posted January 28, 2008 Update on my 75 gallon ~4 weeks in. I went with the Euro-Reef RS100 skimmer in the sump. Bubbling away quite well. I am still fiddling with the skimmate consistency. The cup has JUST enough clearance to remove. A very tight fit - but it works. Fuge is on the left with two compact fluorescent bulbs from my old pico on alternate light cycle. Crappy pic of my moons w/ no flash. I need a tripod. That's all. CUC are in and doing well. Ammonia/nitrite/nitrate all at zero. --bubbles Quote Link to comment
frozenapple Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 the tank looks good i cant wait to see it's progress Quote Link to comment
bubbles3660 Posted January 29, 2008 Author Share Posted January 29, 2008 the tank looks good i cant wait to see it's progress Thanks. That anenome in your 40 gallon looks enormous. I'm thinking of getting an RBTA once my tank matures a bit. --bubbles Quote Link to comment
jamesnmandy Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 watch out for the koralias on a wave maker, it kills them quick and i think you should find some nice looking dead rock, lace rock, whatever as long as it is natural rock from the sea, grab 50-75lbs of it and add to the tank, no cycling will occur and the existing live rock will seed the "dead" rock and will become live and add enough natural filtration and biomass you wont have to worry about things, it will almost be self maintaining within a year i would say other than occasional water changes Quote Link to comment
bubbles3660 Posted January 30, 2008 Author Share Posted January 30, 2008 watch out for the koralias on a wave maker, it kills them quick Yes, I am a little concerned about that. I use a Reefkeeper II with soft start so it cuts down on the clanking. I will lengthen the wave cycles as well. (And fortunately the Koralia's are pretty cheap.) --M Quote Link to comment
H20 Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 How many lbs of sand did you put in? Quote Link to comment
bubbles3660 Posted February 1, 2008 Author Share Posted February 1, 2008 How many lbs of sand did you put in? I'll have to check but I think it was forty pounds of arag plus fifteen pounds of live sand. Substrate depth varies from 1.5 inches to 2.5. I do have more of a DSB of live sand in my fuge - 3.5 inches. --bubbles Quote Link to comment
glennr1978 Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 watch out for the koralias on a wave maker, it kills them quick and i think you should find some nice looking dead rock, lace rock, whatever as long as it is natural rock from the sea, grab 50-75lbs of it and add to the tank, no cycling will occur and the existing live rock will seed the "dead" rock and will become live and add enough natural filtration and biomass you wont have to worry about things, it will almost be self maintaining within a year i would say other than occasional water changes If you add rock that was ever live you actually will see a cycle (atleast a small one). If you want to add more rock inexpensively check out marcorocks.com. They sell some really nice looking rock, but you will have to cure it outside your tank for a while first. So far your tank looks great. Why don't you run it completely open topped? Just curious. Quote Link to comment
bubbles3660 Posted February 7, 2008 Author Share Posted February 7, 2008 If you add rock that was ever live you actually will see a cycle (atleast a small one). If you want to add more rock inexpensively check out marcorocks.com. They sell some really nice looking rock, but you will have to cure it outside your tank for a while first. So far your tank looks great. Why don't you run it completely open topped? Just curious. I think I'm done with my rock purcha$e$ - that's what my accountant advises anyway. I actually removed the top centre rock to offset the "wall" look of my scape. It's amazing how one little change will make the esthetics look much better. I did have a few spikes during cycling before my params went to zero. I had a final nitrate spike followed by a green algae bloom that looked like this: The glass tops came with the package. Cuts down on evap and it's been so effing cold in my place lately that heat hasn't been an issue. It's not really visible in the pic but I took one panel off the back left quarter to accomodate my spraybar return and to help with surface gas exchange. I may have to get rid off all of them once summer hits. I've just installed an ATO. --bubbles Quote Link to comment
bubbles3660 Posted February 9, 2008 Author Share Posted February 9, 2008 (edited) All corals transplanted now... My green donut. Nasty torch has much more room now. Coralline encrusted rock from the old tank. Striking burgundy and green colours. Crocea. My new cowrie. [edited] --bubbles Edited February 28, 2008 by bubbles3660 Quote Link to comment
bubbles3660 Posted February 23, 2008 Author Share Posted February 23, 2008 Some new coral additions as of February... Yellow polyps from my old tank. New pink anenome. Green acropora. My first stoney. My much abused monti is doing very well now. Full tank shot. --bubbles Quote Link to comment
FateX9 Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 good stuff, but that snail looks more like a cowrie than a conch and why did you go with a condy nem? Quote Link to comment
bubbles3660 Posted February 25, 2008 Author Share Posted February 25, 2008 good stuff, but that snail looks more like a cowrie than a conchand why did you go with a condy nem? LFS listed it as a conch. I've never owned either before so I don't know the difference. And I liked the look of the condy - though I know it's not likely the clowns will host. --bubbles Quote Link to comment
Withers Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 LFS listed it as a conch. I've never owned either before so I don't know the difference. And I liked the look of the condy - though I know it's not likely the clowns will host. --bubbles Definitely a cowrie. Quote Link to comment
bubbles3660 Posted April 12, 2008 Author Share Posted April 12, 2008 Updating my 75 gallon project... A wide variety of macroalgae has sprung from the live rock... I've forgotten the name of this new sps - spirolina? The monti has been growing like crazy. A few days ago my condi started to deflate. Then it decided to squeeze itself through a hole in the rock. Dumbass! In ~ a month my green acro's growth went from this: To this: FTS - April 12, 2008 Dats all! --bubbles Quote Link to comment
bubbles3660 Posted April 14, 2008 Author Share Posted April 14, 2008 A few more new shots... Fuge plant life is starting to grow in. Mandarin on the pod prowl. After a nasty tangle with my torch these blastos have finally found a safe haven and are starting to return to good health. --bubbles Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.