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My 68.8 gallon tank


Sinistard

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This is a continuance of my old thread in the members section. The size has changed so I figured I should start a new thread in the large reef section. If you want to see the stand being built and the existing plumbing check out this link.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=64777

 

Well it had been quite some time since I posted any new information in my old thread. This was mostly due to my reluctance to set the tank up with salt water and LR due to the noise that I was getting from my pumps and problems I was having with my overflow.

 

Over the last couple of days I have made or will will be making some major changes.

 

I have decided to move my sump and fuge into my basement. By doing this I will be able to solve my noise problem and will be able to implement a much bigger sump and fuge to fix any micro bubble problems or overflow issues both problems I was getting with my old set up

 

I managed to get a hole in the wall and was lucky to find a hole in the basement that I could use. It's not the prettiest hole in the wall but if I ever move the tank the hole is the right size for a double gang electric box so I can just throw a wall plate over the hole.

 

I have 3 lines going into the basement for now. One 1 1/2" and two 1" flex PVC lines. The 1 1/2" is for my overflow and one 1" is for my return and the other 1" is for my emergency overflow line for my tuned overflow that I got instruction on how to do over on reefcentral. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showt...threadid=344892

 

I plan to use the Panworld 200ps as my return from the basement. From what I have figured with about 15-20 feet of head I will get from 750-1000gph out of it. That's a bit higher then I wanted but I have the pump and if I have a bigger sump/fuge I don't think I will have to worry about micro bubbles due to the high flow.

 

I think I am just going to stick the fuge in the basement to simplify things. I will probably use the trigger systems fuge that I won earlier in the year and have my overflow split downstairs and basically do the same thing I did under the tank.

 

I am ordering a sequence dart to use as my closed loop pump and am going to keep it under the tank again for simplicity. From what I have been told and read the dart is quiet and should not be a problem in my living room. It is a bit more powerful then I wanted but I guess the manufacture says its Ok to throttle back using a valve on the return side.

 

If you have any ideas on what I should use as my sump of changes I should make let me know, I was thinking some type of rubbermaid tub.

 

I am very happy I decided to go this route. It has got me excited about this project again not having to worry so much about hating the noise I would end up living with with the pumps in my living room. Also having the plumbing get into the basement relatively easy is a big plus:)

 

Here are a few pictures of my new holes;)

 

Not the prettiest but it will work.

newhole1.jpg

 

 

newhole2.jpg

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Thanks evoracer, I wish I would have thought about the basement before I did all the work on the old plumbing/sump/fuge.

 

 

 

Here is my first picture of the new plumbing. I decided to stick the closed loop pump in the basement as well.

 

The overflow is not hooked up yet I need to get a couple new parts to make it work.

 

Looks like dr. octopus got stuck in my wall.

newplumbing1.jpg

 

I don't know if the big curves in the flex PVC are ok but it's really the only way it would work. I guess it will slow the pumps down a bit but they were both going to be stronger then I wanted anyways so I hope it will work out.

 

This is just a dry fit nothing is glued yet.

 

Oh and my Dart should be here tomorrow, I ordered it from http://www.saltycritter.com/ today and they are only a few hours away so even ground should only take one day.

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A couple more pictures.

 

I have not really done anything in the basement yet, just pulled the PVC through the holes. I have not decided on what to do as a sump yet, any suggestions would be welcome.

 

newplumbing2.jpg

 

I did get the dart today and the rest of the plumbing parts I will need.

 

dart.jpg

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Sinistard,

Holy crap! I'm happy to see some updates! You really have an awesome set-up. How much room do you have for a sump and fuge in the basement?

 

Koden, there is black schedule 40 pvc. It's the same as regular pvc, just black. :)

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Sinistard,

Holy crap! I'm happy to see some updates! You really have an awesome set-up. How much room do you have for a sump and fuge in the basement?

 

Koden, there is black schedule 40 pvc. It's the same as regular pvc, just black. :)

 

savko carries these? i can't find it! i only see pvc fittings in white?

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Sinistard,

Holy crap! I'm happy to see some updates! You really have an awesome set-up. How much room do you have for a sump and fuge in the basement?

 

Koden, there is black schedule 40 pvc. It's the same as regular pvc, just black. :)

 

Thanks Sebea

 

This has been a long.....project. I was looking back and my first posts were around 4 months ago. Oh well its been a fun experiace and I think I am getting closer now. I think we started around the same time, I can't wait to see some pictures of your progress.

 

I don't have unlimited space so I want to keep my aquarium stuff in around a 5'x5' space with 10 foot ceilings. My basement is my woodworking space, laundry room, storage and now fish room LOL. And it's not that big of a basement. I will probably hang tarps to keep dust out, I could build a few walls but I don't think it would be worth it.

 

I plan to have the fuge up higher over the sump and will use a trigger systems fuge I won at a local frag swap thats just collecting dust right now since it would not fit under my stand.

 

trigger3.jpg

 

As for the sump I was thinking some type of rubbermaid tub maybe 50 gal or so. I could look for a used tank around 55gal. I don't know what would be best.

 

Thanks again

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I got the closed loop and under tank plumbing all done and glued.

 

Here is a picture of the closed loop in the basement, pay no attention to the mess around it.

 

closedloop1.jpg

 

Basically I have the 2 1" drain hoses coming in on the left and combining at the 2" Y fitting and then going to the pump. I added a drain to one of the closed loop lines to do water changes as well as drain the tank if needed. The drain is on the lower left. I just cut it off the old plumbing.

 

For the return it's just a 1 1/2" pipe leading to a T under the tank and then it's split into 4 returns.

 

That's it for now, tomorrow I'm going to test the closed loop for leaks. The pump will be pumping up around 5-6 feet.

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Thanks Cesar, TIGERACE15

 

 

I am in the process of building my "hood".

 

It will be attached to the wall with a hinge and then the front will be supported with cables running back to the wall allowing me to lift the front up when I work in the tank.

 

I have not decided which way to put on my crown molding. Here are 2 pictures I photoshopped what do you all think.

 

The first option is with the crown on the bottom of the hood facing down, this makes it look more like a "pendent" and I like it because I think it will draw the eye more toward the tank.

 

top1.jpg

 

The second option is with the crown at the top facing up. With it on top I think it looks more like a piece of furniture, after all it's crown molding it goes on top.

 

top2.jpg

 

I like both ways for different reasons, let me know what you think.

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I'd go with the first one for sure. Like you said it draws the eye towards the tank and makes it seem like its part of it. I think the second one looks too much like a shelf and separated from the rest of the system.

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yeah first one!!

 

all your plumbing is telling me that when i grow up, NEVER get a tank that big =D

 

Your plumbing is tight!

 

Thanks.

 

I think I am going to end up going with the 1st picture.

 

I may have when a bit overboard with my plumbing B)

 

Speaking of plumbing

 

I have most of the plumbing done in the basement. The only thing left is to run the overflow line into the refugium. I did not have the parts I needed to finish. I may end up changing several things about the overflow down the road depending on how well it works as is.

 

I ended up adding a true union ball valve to the output of the closed loop pump and while I was at it I raised the pump up around a foot and shortened the return line. I hope this will lessen the head pressure a bit.

 

I got a 100 gallon rubbermaid poly tub to use as my sump. I added a schedule 80 bulkhead to replace the crappy one that came with the tub. Thanks RokleM and asnatlas from over at reefcentral for the recommendation to change it, I'm sure this will save some headaches.

 

fishroom4.jpg

 

Here is a picture of the overall area.

fishroom3.jpg

 

Here is the pan world pump that I am using as my return line.

fishroom2.jpg

 

Here is a reverse view. As you can see I added the trigger systems fuge to the system. Do I need to put foam under the acrylic fuge?

fishroom1.jpg

 

Any comments or suggestions are welcome.

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I have the system running now with fresh water in it now and I think I am happy with the flow. Using the ball valves on my closed loop I think I will be able to tweak the flow in the tank to accommodate most coral I want to keep. With the added flow from my sump return and the flow from the CL I hope it will be fine.

 

Due to my return pump being stronger I think I will have to add another 1" emergancy drain for my tuned overflow. If my main 1.5" drain were to clog the current 1" drain would not be able to handle the amount water being pumped back into the tank.

 

I really do like the tuned overflow, upstairs the only noise I here now is a bit of water splashing in my overflow box and a faint hum from the pumps that I can really only here with the TV off. I tested it with the stand pipe again to see if it would be ok as far as noise goes since the sump is in the basement and it was a ton louder so I went back to the tuned overflow.

 

I think I need to upgrade my skimmer now as well. I got the

AquaC Urchin back when I thought my tank was going to be 40-50 gallons and once I stuck the little thing in my sump I think it might be inadiquit for my now 70 gallon tank and 50+ gallon sump/fuge (I guess size does matter ;) )

 

I am trying to sell the urchin and am going to get a geo skimmer www.geosreef.com . He is working my up a price on a 8" recirculating skimmer and a 8" normal skimmer to match my system.

 

I will try to post a few more pictures of the system with water in it later.

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Very impressive. Having a quiet system will be very nice.

 

I say go with the first hood orientation, crown down.

 

Thanks

 

So far with fresh water in it I am very happy with the noise it is making, its almost as quiet as my nano cube.

 

I have decided to go with the crown down.

 

lol your sump is halarious!!! its nice!!

look how big it is!! you can literly swim in it

 

Thanks, in the winter I can just crank up the heater and have a nice whirlpool to sit in :P

 

A couple pictures of from the basement with the water running.

 

Not the most exciting but here you go.

 

fishroom5.jpg

 

fishroom6.jpg

 

fishroom7.jpg

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Thanks, in the winter I can just crank up the heater and have a nice whirlpool to sit in :P

lol!!! and when you fart in it, all the fish flip over! :haha:

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Nice, nice.

 

 

Thanks

 

I got some work done on my "hood"

 

Here is the frame of the hood. I plan to stick the crown molding on the bottom.

 

hood1.jpg

 

I added a 2x2 to both end on the inside of the hood and cut 2 pieces of angle aluminum that sit on the 2x2s.

 

hood2.jpg

 

Next I cut 2 pieces of 2" flat aluminum to use as plates for the 2 aqua-medic pendents. I drilled holes to match the mounting holes on the pendents, the spacing was different on the 2 pendents. I used machined #10-32 1" screws that fit in the holes for the hanging kit that come with the pendents, matching nuts, #10 washers and 1/4 lock washers to connect the plates to the lights

hood3.jpg

 

Here is the arrangement of washers and nuts that I used.

hood4.jpg

 

I stuck the 3 washers under the plate as spacers and the nut, washer and lock washer above the plate to lock the screw in place. Basically I screwed the screw in around 1/3 inch careful not to bottom it out and then tightened the nut while holding the screw in place. The nut and lock washer will keep the screw from coming loose.

hood5.jpg

 

The plate slides in between the 2 pieces of angle aluminum. This way I will be able to slide the lights left and right easily.

 

hood6.jpg

 

Once I get the lights where I want them as far as front to back I will stick screw though the angle aluminum into the 2x2s. This will keep the plates for falling out of the channels.

 

hood7.jpg

 

Next I need to add the crown molding and the hinge. For now I plan to keep the top open. Eventually I plan to add a couple t-5 lights to the hood.

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