My 68.8 gallon tank

[Travis]

Nice, I would have never thought to have mounted those like that!

[Sinistard]

Thanks Travis, Mr.Furious

[Sinistard]

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

 

 

Sorry I did not notice this question.

 

They may not have the part online but if you call them they can let you know what they have. They don't have all the fittings in black but they do have most of the 1 and 1.5" elbows and Ts in black as well as the pipe itself. A lot of the bushings and adaptors are only in white as well as the bigger stuff.

[Sinistard]

Here are a couple more pictures of my hood in progress.

 

 

 

I just need to fill the gaps and nail/screw holes sand and paint it. I hope to get that done tomorrow as well as get the plumbing finished and run some wires. Then I can start filling the tank:D

[reefer21]

that hood looks sweet!

[Sinistard]

Thanks

 

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Here is a picture of the hood mounted on the wall. It's not painted yet I just wanted to make sure it will stay and where I need to cut a whole in the wall..

 

I really like how it turned out and with the crown down it looks great.

 

The wires for the lights will be run back through the wall. Is it ok to cut the wire and extend the cord that goes from the ballast to the light.

 

[Cesar]

 

 

That is killer man. That's what I had in mind when I was thinking about doing my 60g tank into a reef tank. Those are the same lights I was going to use. I just couldn't figure how to drill those lights in to a canopy type of thing. Did you actually drilled those through the AquaMedic fixture? How deep does it go in?

[itswayner]

you could make your lights moveable front to back pretty easily if you wanted. Just use the angle stuff to reinforce in between the twp pieces you have already so the lights don't fall out. (kinda like a ladder). then you could add a strip of peg board to either wooded side strip and use then add a bolt to one of the longer angle pieces (sides of ladder). The bolt would fit in the pegs and keep it from moving. Then you have easily removable/movable lights.

 

super nice looking tank.stand.lights.everything.

[Sinistard]

That is killer man. That's what I had in mind when I was thinking about doing my 60g tank into a reef tank. Those are the same lights I was going to use. I just couldn't figure how to drill those lights in to a canopy type of thing. Did you actually drilled those through the AquaMedic fixture? How deep does it go in?

 

Thanks

 

I used the existing holes that are used for the hanging kit that comes with the lights. The holes are machined #10-32. I used machined #10-32 1" screws in my set up. It screwed in the screws around 1/3"

 

 

you could make your lights moveable front to back pretty easily if you wanted. Just use the angle stuff to reinforce in between the twp pieces you have already so the lights don't fall out. (kinda like a ladder). then you could add a strip of peg board to either wooded side strip and use then add a bolt to one of the longer angle pieces (sides of ladder). The bolt would fit in the pegs and keep it from moving. Then you have easily removable/movable lights.

 

super nice looking tank.stand.lights.everything.

 

Thanks for the idea, I may try that out. Although in my case once I have the front to back adjusted it will never need to move since I need it centered directly over the holes in my tank top.

 

Thanks again

[Christopher Marks]

Is it ok to cut the wire and extend the cord that goes from the ballast to the light.

Just make sure you use the same or better gauge wire.

[Sinistard]

Just make sure you use the same or better gauge wire.

 

Thanks, I plan to use 12 gauge if I have to extend the cords.

 

I'm still finishing my hood so I figured I would post a few pictures of the tuned overflow.

 

Here is what it looks like in the overflow box.

 

 

 

The one in the middle is the 1.5" main overflow that splits in the basement then goes into the fuge and the sump.

 

The ones on the left and right are the emergency overflows. If the main overflow gets clogged for any reason water will raise and go though the 2 1" pipes. I added the second one to handle the amount of water that my pan world was returning. I'm guessing around 1200gph

 

I have not finished the plumbing on the second e-drain so I have not been able to test it yet.

 

The height of the water in the overflow will be just below the overflow teeth minimizing the noise created by water splashing.

 

This type of overflow is very quiet, the only noise I here is the occasional splash of water in the overflow.

 

I thought about making one of the 1" pipes a bit higher and have it drain into a bucket that has a sensor in it to turn off the return pump and/or to make a buzzing sound to warn me that I have a good sized clog in the main overflow.

 

The bucket would then overflow into the sump so if it happened while I was gone I would not end up draining the tank.

[Sinistard]

I have everything done upstairs now. I plumbed the last emergency overflow and got the hood painted and mounted.

 

Here is a picture of the whole thing. I need to move the rug over around 2 inches and level out the stand before I add water.

 

 

Here is under the tank.

 

 

I put in one of the American DJ power strips under the tank and ran power cords (home made extention cords) to the basement that connect to the 2 pumps and the 2 MH ballasts. This way I will be able to turn off the pumps and lights from upstairs and I will not have to run downstairs every time I want to feed the tank or need to have the lights off for any reason. I ran the ballasts to the basement because the were kind of loud.

 

I also ran a GFCI outlet to connect the American DJ strip to. It's mounted on the stand behind the strip.

 

 

And a picture of the hood. It's on a hinge for easy access to tank. Now I just need to figure out a good way to prop it up while I am working in the tank.

 

That's it for now, I need to let the PCV glue dry then I will be able to run my last leak/flow tests. After the tests I can start adding RO water to the system which will take a while, my RO is only 25 gpd.

[Sinistard]

A few updates.

 

I added digital timers for my lights. I have not decided on a lighting schedule yet. They are digital timers from Lowes. They are nice because they are grounded and handle high loads.

 

 

I also got a dedicated RO/DI system for the tank. Before I was using our house RO which is rated for 25 gpd so we did not have any drinking water while I was filling the tank.

 

The new RO/DI is a Premium Reef Supply from Premium Aquatics. They people at Premium Aquatics said it was a good system for the money, close to or as good as the Kent's or Spectra Pure just without the name.

 

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/m...ode=Premiumreef

 

 

I also got a Kent float valve shut off kit. For now it's set up to fill the sump but eventually I will have it filling up a reservoir that will be part of my top off system. I also includes a pressure activated solenoid to turn off water to the RO system

 

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/m...y_Code=kentroac

 

 

I also installed the other American DJ 8 way switch. I plan to enclose the electric to keep salt creep and water away from the electric. I will add a back and side walls to the stand then seal the enclosure.

 

 

I also ordered my GEO skimmer. He is a bit backed up so it will be a few weeks.

 

That's it for now. The new RO system is filling the tank as we speak, although it will take a couple days. After that I can add salt.

[Msigler]

Intense! Cant wait to see it mature.

[andykee]

i absolutely LOVE the whole light mount. looks waaaay better than my pendant hanging from the ceiling. awesome!

[joshinjosh]

nice setup, do you plan to use cooling fans for the lights??

[Zapatista]

that is really a great set-up!! It definitely rivals some larger reefs on RC!

 

great job and good luck!!

[proraptor]

Nice tank....I mounted my lights pretty much the same way on my tank...But I used a piece of scrap 1X2 oak instead of the metal....Very nice I wish I could plumb my tank into the garage or something that would be sweet!

[Sinistard]

Intense! Cant wait to see it mature.

 

Thanks.

 

I hope to have water in the tank in the next couple days. It will be a while before I can add a lot of life to the tank. I was thinking about the cost of LR the other day and I died a little inside, LOL

 

i absolutely LOVE the whole light mount. looks waaaay better than my pendant hanging from the ceiling. awesome!

 

Thanks.

 

I really like the way it turned out. I don't like the big bulky hoods and the light hanging from the ceiling looks to modern/industrial. This was a very nice option, not as bulky as the hood and it still looks like it matches the stand.

 

nice setup, do you plan to use cooling fans for the lights??

 

Thank you.

 

I don't plan on it, the top of the hood is open so the heat will not build up. If it becomes a problem I may add a couple fans.

 

that is really a great set-up!! It definitely rivals some larger reefs on RC!

 

great job and good luck!!

 

Thanks, the project is taking way longer then I planned but I want to get everything done right the first time. I hope that once I add LR, coral, and Fish to the tank all my work will result in a healthy tank.

 

Nice tank....I mounted my lights pretty much the same way on my tank...But I used a piece of scrap 1X2 oak instead of the metal....Very nice I wish I could plumb my tank into the garage or something that would be sweet!

 

Thanks

 

I originally used a piece of wood and I'm sure wood would have been fine but I did not want it to warp or heat up to much so decided to go with the metal to be safe.

 

Plumbing into another room is so much nicer then trying to cram everything in under the tank. More room to work with and none of the noise from pumps and water falling.

 

 

I was on vacation last week so I don't have any real updates on the tank, I hope to have water in it in the next couple days and then I will start some LR in the sump to cure and get the cycle going.

[danskim]

Approximately how high are the lights above the tank?

Hopefully you won't have heat issues - but you have such a large sump in the basement, so you probably won't.

[Sinistard]

The lights are around 10" above the water line. I kept them a bit higher to try to prevent overheating.

 

Like you said with a large volume of water I should be ok. The lights are basically the only source of heat, both pumps are external and are supposed to have minimal heat exchange. I hope to avoid buying a chiller. I may install a exhaust fan in the basement to keep it cool.

[danskim]

I have an Aqua Medic Ocean Light 250w about 10" over my tank as well. It's a 30g Oceanic with 10g sump and 5.5g fuge. It is overheating, and it seems I will need a chiller... :|

[Sinistard]

Well it's been awhile since my last update. I have not had a chance to do much since the last update. I am at kind of a stand still until my skimmer shows up. It should be done some time next week and then I will be able to finish the plumbing and put water in the system.

 

In the mean time I decided to make a lid for the sump to keep evaporation down in the basement. I made it out of thin plexi from Lowes and some weather striping. I still need to brace it with something, it dips in the middle and breaks the seal of the weather striping.

 

I'm not 100% sure the lid is a good idea but I have seen it done in another setup. Any ideas are welcome on this.

 

 

 

I also picked up some LR. I got a great deal on it from a local guy that was taking it out of his tank. The rock looks great, no nuisance algae, it has coralline growth and there are some nice shaped big pieces. I got around 80 lbs of LR and I have like 50 pounds of base rock to add to it.

 

For now I have it in my sump with a couple power heads and a heater. I'm going to add the base rock to get it going soon.

 

 

 

That's it for now, I'll post some pictures of my new GEO skimmer once it gets here next week.

[Sinistard]

My new toy, they can't be to big right

 

 

It looks awesome, great craftsmanship. I can't wait to get it up and running. It will probably be next week.

[Sebea]

Oooh baby! How tall is it, and which needlewheel pumps are they?

 

I've heard nothing but good things about GEO.