winniebagel Posted May 9, 2005 Share Posted May 9, 2005 After a 14 month stint with an Eclipse System 3 (started on 3/04), I finally decided that it was time to upgrade to a SeaClear 30G long. I loved the E3, but there was a limited amount of room to work with and there had been heat issues. Bye bye E3, HELLOOO 30Gs! Link to comment
winniebagel Posted May 9, 2005 Author Share Posted May 9, 2005 For the SeaClear 30G, I've decided on a closed loop and a display tank -> refugium loop. I had originally planned on having a HOB siphon overflow to bring water from the display down to the fuge, but was talked into drilling the tank. The closed loop is going to be powered by a Mag 9, while the tank -> refugium loop will be powered by an Iwaki 40RLT. I'm pretty certain that the water flow made by these two pumps will be sufficient to keep SPSs happy. Here's my waterflow plans: Are there any flaws in my flow plans I need to know about? SUGGESTIONS WELCOMED! Edit: Forgot to mention that the flow outs from the top corners of the tank will have dorsos attached to flexible tubing, as seen in the helpful step-by-step instructions that Tigahboy had posted a while back. Link to comment
winniebagel Posted May 9, 2005 Author Share Posted May 9, 2005 Refugium for my 30G is a CPR Aquafuge Pro (31"L x 12"W x 14 1/2"H) which holds approximately 17G. Dr. Foster & Smith packaged this fuge with a 24" 65W Coralife Aqualight, so I got that. Even the fuge is much more roomier than the E3... lol Link to comment
winniebagel Posted May 9, 2005 Author Share Posted May 9, 2005 My Cost Rundown, thus far... ~$40 Materials for DIY tank stand ~$163 SeaClear 30G Long tank ~$400 CPR Aquafuge Pro + Coralife lights ~$600 AquaMedic 36" OceanLight 2x250W + 2x39W T5 ~$335 Iwaki + Mag 9 water pumps ~$200 Plumbing (Bulkheads, Locline, Ball Valves <- expensive...) ______ $1738 Total. Yikes... Link to comment
winniebagel Posted May 9, 2005 Author Share Posted May 9, 2005 As for the DIY tank stand, I'm still in the process of finishing that off. DIY FAQ should be coming along soon. Link to comment
chrissreef Posted May 9, 2005 Share Posted May 9, 2005 funny how a diy can become soo expensive hehe =) but it's customized... a ferrari can't even do that so it's worth ti =) Link to comment
Tigahboy Posted May 9, 2005 Share Posted May 9, 2005 nice. but don't use the threaded stuff I used for my 30g. slip pvc w/ pvc cement is better. how big are your bulkheads for overflow? Link to comment
winniebagel Posted May 9, 2005 Author Share Posted May 9, 2005 chrissreef - Yeah, it's kinda perculiar that a DIY project can cost about the same for a pre-made stand (well, albeit I can get a cheapy stand at Petco for the same price). But most of the cost for the DIY stand was for a gift card to a friend that had the woodworking tools. Link to comment
winniebagel Posted May 9, 2005 Author Share Posted May 9, 2005 Tigah- Oops, I ordered threaded/threaded for all the bulkheads from Premium Aquatics already. I guess the parts that are going to be attaching into the bulkheads will be threaded and then convert to a slip arrangement. That'll do, I suppose.. As for the size of the overflow bulkheads, they're going to be an 1" each. I figured that 1 1/2" bulkheads would drain too much from the display and would overflow the fuge in case the power went out. And that's not something I want to happen. Link to comment
Tigahboy Posted May 9, 2005 Share Posted May 9, 2005 hmm...is it possible to switch to 1-1/2? w/ overflows always better to go bigger. the real concern is not being able to keep up w/ the return pump and then overfilling your main display. Link to comment
winniebagel Posted May 9, 2005 Author Share Posted May 9, 2005 I suppose I could always up the size of the overflow, but that would mean I'd have to drill it pretty high up along the tank's edge so in the event of power outage, it won't overfill the fuge. I read somewhere drilling at the edge comprimises the stability of how the tank deals with the pressure exerted by the water...? ??? Link to comment
brianemone Posted May 9, 2005 Share Posted May 9, 2005 where did you get the iwaki from at that price?? Link to comment
winniebagel Posted May 9, 2005 Author Share Posted May 9, 2005 I bought the Iwaki from Premium Aquatics.com. The Iwaki was $US 265 from them. The general consensus about the pumps was that it was really reliable and there were no problems w/ them running long-term. Link to comment
winniebagel Posted May 10, 2005 Author Share Posted May 10, 2005 Well, I'm switching out the 1" bulkhead to a 1-1/2" bulkhead to act as overflow. While researching at work today, I stumbled upon an awesome post by wetworx101 that talks about bulkheads + flowrates. Thanks Tig, for the input. Link to comment
Chronicles Posted May 10, 2005 Share Posted May 10, 2005 Tagging along, looks like it's gonna be a sweet setup! Link to comment
winniebagel Posted May 10, 2005 Author Share Posted May 10, 2005 Thanks Chronicles! I'm hoping it'll be a pretty neat setup by the time I'm done. Now, if only I would stop procrastinating on this project... it's been 2.5 months in the planning stages already, lol. Link to comment
malawi freak Posted May 10, 2005 Share Posted May 10, 2005 looks like its gonna be a good one! Link to comment
winniebagel Posted May 12, 2005 Author Share Posted May 12, 2005 Just received the first half of my shipment from Premium Aquatics. A couple other packages are coming in from PA and Marine Depot this Friday with the rest of the plumbing/lighting. Can't wait to start on tank plumbing this weekend. I should be taking lots o' step-by-step pictures. Fun fun. PS: Would anyone know where I can find some sort of FAQ on hooking up a 3-pronged plug to the power cable for the Iwaki? (it's circled in green on the pic). Not really much of a DIYer, so I know something will go wrong if I don't have instructions of sorts... Link to comment
winniebagel Posted May 12, 2005 Author Share Posted May 12, 2005 I'm also contemplating on switching out the two 1/2" diameter x 1-1/4" flare nozzles for two 1/2" diameter x 2.5" flare nozzles. The 1-1/4" ones just seem really small and not able to provide a wider area of flow that the 2.5" nozzles do... (These nozzles will be for the return from the fuge). What nozzle should I go with 'fer this? Link to comment
timb000 Posted May 12, 2005 Share Posted May 12, 2005 looks like its gonna be a nice setup dude. Man that cpr aquafuge looks complicated but very nice. =) Link to comment
winniebagel Posted May 12, 2005 Author Share Posted May 12, 2005 Thanks timb000! The aquafuge sure looks to be complicated in the picture but it is far from, actually. I think the fact that I have so much wires coming out of it gives it that vibe. It's an awesome fuge that comes with a built-in skimmer. Can't wait to put it into use! Link to comment
oogie Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 Wow you have one sweet setup! If you already spent that much money, I would go with OM Squirt rather then SCWD. I have used both and I just think OM stuff is much better! BTW, your tank drawing is awesome! Which program did u use? Thanks Link to comment
winniebagel Posted May 13, 2005 Author Share Posted May 13, 2005 Thanks oogie! I'll keep the OM Squirt suggestion in mind when my next tank upgrade rolls around (I can't believe I'm already thinking of another upgrade...) As it looks now, I don't think I have enough behind-tank real estate for the piping for one and this tank has taken up half of the dining room already. Next upgrade, I'm sure the OM will come into play! Thanks for the compliments on the drawing. It was all done in Adobe Illustrator using the copious amounts of downtime at work. Link to comment
Cloudy Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 I'm working on something similar to this... keep us updated on the SCWD... I wonder how well those thing work. -S Link to comment
winniebagel Posted May 13, 2005 Author Share Posted May 13, 2005 Will do, Cloudy. I'll be posting the general reaction I have to it once it gets set up and working. Link to comment
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