P Sherman's ADA 60P

[Mikeymikemike]

i know this is getting into details but have you thought about mounting your light to cabinet rather than the tank, it will make it look like it is floating.

[P Sherman]

i know this is getting into details but have you thought about mounting your light to cabinet rather than the tank, it will make it look like it is floating.

 

That is a great idea. I am looking into upgrading eventually to an ADA 120P (I have the ADA 60P). I want to locate the overflow to one end. This would leave the front and back of the aquarium totally open for the typical nature aquarium look free of equipment like your tank. If I mounted my existing NanoBox Duo the way you mentioned and ordered a second to cover the longer tank it would indeed look like they were just floating over this super long shallow tank. That would look awesome. Great concept. I like working with Dave at NanoBox and I would love to be able to recycle my existing light into the next tank. Most of the equipment I have been purchasing will work well on a larger tank. I want to see if I can get this tank running like a fine Swiss watch and then take my experience from this starter tank and apply it to a bigger aquarium.

 

By the way I am in awe of your rockscape! I think the shape and height of your Oyaishi stone is perfect, I should make mine taller and with more angle to create more tension. Maybe when I get my rockscape in you can give me your opinion?

[ptboy6]

Great looking build! Looking forward to seeing more.

[P Sherman]

Automatic Water Exchange System:

So here is my take on an automatic water change system. I really liked this article written by Randy Holmes-Farley discussing water changes and so when I decided to build my aquarium I wanted to integrate an automatic water exchange system into it.

Water Changes in Reef Aquaria:  http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/rhf/

For the water exchange I am using two pumps; the LiterMeter III-G6 and a LiterMeter RPM-G6 (remote pump module generation 6). I am also using a topoff control module LM3-TCM-G6 that will serve as a safety shutoff if the sump exceeds a safe level due to too much water being added. This pump combo can be calibrated to perfectly match to allow for accurate exchange rates. This is also a 3-roller peristaltic pumps so no chance they will allow back-flow to create a syphon, also they can pump a very long distance 60+ ft of head pressure so you can locate them wherever you want. For the salt water storage bin I bought a 20-Gal Continental Huskee 20 Gal White NSF container with lid and rollers. I am going to use my EcoTech MP-10 as my salt water tank stirring/mixing pump. I originally bought this pump for the display tank but it was just way to loud so it has been banished to the basement for mixing duties. I bought the 20-gal cans at a local restaurant supply store called Wasserstrom, including the rollers and lids each set cost less than $40 each.

 

Here are two videos detailing my system the first covers how I set things up in my sump, the second covered the pumps and water storage in the basement.

 

Some pics:

 

[P Sherman]

Tank Update:

 

Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures... be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas.  So I added salt water yesterday and some Dr. Tim's bacteria and life has begun... It's alive! We shall see how this goes. 

I am using Dr. Tim's Ammonia so no dead shrimp in the tank.

[P Sherman]

I am going to use thread to post to keep track of my tank parameters as I grow my bacterial goodness.

 

Mar 18:

Ammonia (NH3/NH4): 1ppm

Nitrite (NO2): 5 ppb

Nitrate: (NO3): Not Tested

Temperature: 76 and increasing to 81 F

PH: 8.15

Phosphorus (P): 39 ppb = 0.120 ppm (PO4) 

 

 

[P Sherman]

Water Circulation System:

I wanted my system to be absolutely silent and very safe with no chance that it would ever flood. After lots of research I decided to use the Bean Animal silent overflow system. It has exceeded all my expectations. I lined my sump area with policarbinate sheeting rather than painting it, and with the red/white sump and the little IKEA cabinet led light, I can say that my sump is just as much of a show piece as my display tank. 

 

Here is a video showing the setup:

 

Here are some of the components I used:

Overflow: Synergy Reef overflow 16"

Sump: Synergy Reef CL-22 Sump Cross Laminate with 5 Gal ATO 

Red Schedule 40 Pipe: 1" for the drain, ¾" for the return from Bulk Reef Supply

Gate Valve: King Brothers NDS Gate Valve

Lilly Pipe: 17 mm pipe

Lots of small elbows and parts bought at my local Hardware Store

 

[P Sherman]

Avast Marine Vibe ZeoVit Reactor:

 

So I build and slightly modified my Vibe Zeovit reactor. I ended up having to make my sump 2" larger the fit everything in there but I really wanted to try using Zeovit and once I removed the ATO container I had the space. I love the kit from Avast Marine, they are great guys putting out a good quality kit that lets you modify it as needed to fit your particular needs and it is made in the USA so that is cool. I made a video showing how I changed mine but it is all mostly aesthetic. I will follow up on this as I use it and post my experiences with it.

 

[Rory282]

Man i really love this tank. Keep up the good work! 

[P Sherman]

Heating System:

 

I am using a a Johnson Controls A421 Digital temperature controller to control two Aqueon Pro heaters (100w and 50w). I have had very good results with water temperatures staying within 1 degree (80.1 - 80.9 F) for months. Here is a screen shot showing my temperature perimeters, I recently lowered the tank temperature 1 degree and you will see that on the graph:

I posted a video detailing my set-up and experience on youtube if you are exploring the same type of system:

 

[samnaz]

What ever happened to this killer tank?