Another 40B on N-R.com...

[jeremai]

Ok, so I'm upgrading my 5.5g to a 40 breeder. I know. Quite the jump

 

Let me post some photos and see where we end up, eh?

 

This is what all the plumbing stuff looked like when I got it from Marine Depot (friggin awesome people!):

 

And this is what it looked like an hour later:

 

I got the stand from Ikea in San Diego (ROAD TRIP!). I got a damaged floor model and saved about $135. Easy fix - just turned the entire bottom around, routed a new edge, and voila!

 

This is the end result of the plumbing inside the tank, and the in-tank fuge:

 

And the whole thing almost ready to go:

 

Whew. Special thanks to fluidimagery for setting me straight on a couple things (could you believe I wanted to shove that closed loop on a 15 high?!).

 

Questions and suggestions, people - I don't get offended, so do your worst!

[jeremai]

There is an interesting (and LOOOONG) thread going on ReefCentral.com right now about using rubble bottoms instead of sandy or bare bottoms. Someone mentioned a reverse undergravel filter, with the powerheads only set to run an hour a day, to push microfauna and detritus into the water column to be filtered or consumed. Sounds interesting. I'm gunna give it a go with this tank.

 

Also, it'll be stocked with a mated pair of tank-raised Banggai cardinals and a Diadema urchin, in hopes of spawning and raising the little buggers. Or, to provide food for some flashy fish I buy on impulse

[lgreen]

Looks good.

 

Your method sounds interesting. I am all for breaking away from the crowd and trying something different. Look forward to you showing us something new.

 

Good luck.

[jeremai]

Thanks, lgreen.

 

Ok, I'm at standstill till next payday, when I can get the lights and rock and fill it with real saltwater.

 

I'm still debating the RUGF, but I'm pretty much set on the rubble bottom. Anyone have any thoughts on either, things I may have overlooked? I have two weeks to iron out the theoretical kinks before getting to the real ones.

[Zapatista]

good luck with 40 gallons (320 lbs) on top of some cheap ikea particle board furniture....Id almost garuntee that is a recipe for disaster. This is coming from a guy who has real live experience with trying to use Ikea furniture as a fish tank stand.

 

I'd look in to buying a stand or table made of real, solid wood that can hold the weight.

 

Just my 2 cents

[jeremai]

good luck with 40 gallons (320 lbs) on top of some cheap ikea particle board furniture....Id almost garuntee that is a recipe for disaster. This is coming from a guy who has real live experience with trying to use Ikea furniture as a fish tank stand.

 

I'd look in to buying a stand or table made of real, solid wood that can hold the weight.

 

Just my 2 cents

 

Hehe, don't worry about this stand - the entire thing is solid pine. The top and bottom are 2" thick (real inches, not lumberyard measurements), and each of the four uprights are 1" thick, all solidly assembled with bisquited joints and stainless L brackets. The particleboard crap you're thinking of comes from Wally World.

 

Oh right, the tank, filled with rocks and water, weighs closer to 400 lbs. To test it, four of my buddies and I - about 1200 pounds - hopped up and down on the thing for twenty minutes, with not the slightest of wobbles.

 

Thanks for the constructive criticism, but like I said, no worries

[andykee]

i think the 40 breeder is becoming the new 29g. i wish i had done a 40 to begin with. now i'm stuck with a too tall 29 and planning a move to a 40. good luck!

[jeremai]

i think the 40 breeder is becoming the new 29g. i wish i had done a 40 to begin with. now i'm stuck with a too tall 29 and planning a move to a 40. good luck!

 

Thanks, buddy. Like I said, I'm moving up from a 5.5, so basically, starting from scratch. Should be interesting, with the rubble bottom instead of sand. When you upgrade, I'll be following along.

[fluidimagery]

Thanks for the call out, looks like you're off to a good start. I like the idea of the RUGF, haven't read anything about it, but it sounds like it would work great.

 

Rubble bottom sounds interesting too, definately a different look.

 

Did Marine Depot suggest the Pressurized mechanical filter? Hopefully it doesn't become a nitrate factory within a few months of use.

 

Have you thought about adding a sump? You could easily create something simple and just use HOB supplies. Sump would be logical since you can hide a lot of your equipment (heater, skimmer, etc)

 

I like the idea of the 40 breeder, you'll love the extra room. Good Luck!

[jeremai]

Thanks for the call out, looks like you're off to a good start. I like the idea of the RUGF, haven't read anything about it, but it sounds like it would work great.

 

Rubble bottom sounds interesting too, definately a different look.

 

Did Marine Depot suggest the Pressurized mechanical filter? Hopefully it doesn't become a nitrate factory within a few months of use.

 

Have you thought about adding a sump? You could easily create something simple and just use HOB supplies. Sump would be logical since you can hide a lot of your equipment (heater, skimmer, etc)

 

I like the idea of the 40 breeder, you'll love the extra room. Good Luck!

 

The filter was yet another freebie. It'll run empty most of the time (maybe a bag of Purigen or something), and I'll drop the filter in to polish it off. That's the plan, anyway. It was free, so I plumbed it in - we'll see what kind of use it gets.

 

As far as a sump, my roomie and I are working to making a custom one for the left compartment of the stand. I figure I'll get that siliconed and plumbed when I get a skimmer to put in it.

 

I went to my LFS yesterday (and the ones in Las Vegas are notoriously bad), and tried to explain the intermittent RUGF idea to the owner. He literally laughed at me. I'm going to start driving to San Diego for livestock, I think.

 

Nine days to go before I can put some water and rocks in this thing...

[fluidimagery]

Not to call your idea trendy, but this hobby is full of ideas that just haven't gotten to LFSs

 

Perfect example is a popular LFS that I buy my stuff at here on the island. About 8 months ago I walk in there and ask if they have any Acans... they look at me like I have 8 heads, absolutely no idea what I'm talking about. I walked in 3 days ago and there are about 18 different small colonies of them sitting in the frag tank along side some blasto wellsi. I say "I see you guys got some Acans in" they of course think they're the newest trendy item that's out and want $100 for a small 5 head frag of some red and gray ones. I just laughed and kept my mouth shut. Point is, news travels very fast around the internet community and takes much longer to hit the LFS.

[jeremai]

Point is, news travels very fast around the internet community and takes much longer to hit the LFS.

 

There is the ironic part - it would be in their best interests to keep up with us, especially since they're losing so much dry goods business to online suppliers. But, since I still cannot bring myself to buy livestock sight-unseen, I'm stuck with 'em...

[jeremai]

Ok, I got the light and skimmer yesterday, and I'm starting to develop a complex. I need to redo some plumbing, but that's not a big deal.

 

Here's the scenario: skimmers are ugly. I have a 5.5 AGA lying around - do sumps absolutely need baffles? I can't fit a larger tank in the stand, and I don't want to custom-build something just yet. I figure, overflow to the 5.5 where the skimmer is, then pump the water back up. Someone iron this out for me, please

[jeremai]

Ok, I got her plumbed, salted and sanded.

 

I'm seriously disappointed in either the pump (Quiet One 4000) or myself (for choosing it over an Iwaki). There is barely a trickle coming from the outlets - in fact, the little 52gph Rio that flows through the in-tank refugium has a stronger current. How draining.

 

So, now the sand (half and half mixture of Fiji Pink and Grey Coast Calcite - very sexy) is settling, and I'm still waiting on my base rock from HIRocks.com. At least things are starting to come together... now I just need to buy a bigger pump and switch it for the QO4K on the closed loop, and put the QO4K in the 20 gallon Rubbermaid sump I'm setting up. Good times.

 

As always, ask away.

[kyle102565]

we need pics, i want to see the sand mixture

[jeremai]

we need pics, i want to see the sand mixture

 

It's still really cloudy - the Fiji Pink was live sand, so I couldn't rinse it. I'll get some pics in the morning, when it's cleared up.

[GrizzleBee's]

does this mean your not doing the rubble thing?

 

Either way, this setup is lookin sweet

[jeremai]

does this mean your not doing the rubble thing?

 

Either way, this setup is lookin sweet

 

Still doing the rubble, just nixing the RUGF part. I'll have a pile of the base rock on one side, and then have the rubble form a crescent-shaped peninsula wrapping around the back of the tank to the other side, all on top of the sand. Or so I think, we'll see what really happens.

[ebin]

please post a pic of your plumbing from tyhe qo to the returns. did you reduce the 1" outlet from the pump to the tank?

[fluidimagery]

The sump idea probably isn't going to work. When the water from the tank meets the water in the sump, microbubbles will be created and will not have enough room to disapate, so you're going to have the microbubbles sucked back into the tank making it a bit unsightly.

[ebin]

The sump idea probably isn't going to work. When the water from the tank meets the water in the sump, microbubbles will be created and will not have enough room to disapate, so you're going to have the microbubbles sucked back into the tank making it a bit unsightly.

 

the buble thing is an easy fix. sponge.

[jeremai]

The sump idea probably isn't going to work. When the water from the tank meets the water in the sump, microbubbles will be created and will not have enough room to disapate, so you're going to have the microbubbles sucked back into the tank making it a bit unsightly.

 

If the water from the tank enters underwater (from the bottom of the tub, through a bulkhead) would there still be bubbles? I gotta figure out something, otherwise the Super Skimmer will never lose that new-car smell. I could always go back to using the 5.5 and adding a bubble trap, but I don't think there wil be enough room...

 

the buble thing is an easy fix. sponge.

 

Sponge where, on the intake to the pump, or at the other end, where the water goes back into the tank?

[ebin]

If the water from the tank enters underwater (from the bottom of the tub, through a bulkhead) would there still be bubbles? I gotta figure out something, otherwise the Super Skimmer will never lose that new-car smell. I could always go back to using the 5.5 and adding a bubble trap, but I don't think there wil be enough room...

Sponge where, on the intake to the pump, or at the other end, where the water goes back into the tank?

 

where the water drains from the tank is where you want it to go through a sponge this will help eliminate the bubbles. how many bubbles are there? a filter sock may help also.

[jeremai]

where the water drains from the tank is where you want it to go through a sponge this will help eliminate the bubbles. how many bubbles are there? a filter sock may help also.

 

Hehe, all this is preemptive, since the 'sump' is still sitting in the back of my Prius.

 

The pump isn't even working now - I figure it got sand in it from the settling, so now I gotta take it apart and clean it out. My roomie stole my camera, so I can't get any pics of the plumbing today. But you can see the main part in the pics on the first page: The QO is reduced to 3/4" right off the bat, then goes into the filter, then up to the tank. Four 90's before getting to the exit, which split in two (like lgreen's, but without the wierd loop thing). The calculator on RC gave me 417 gph from each output, but I'd put it closer to 417 total, about 200 from each, if that - Seriously, you cant feel the water coming out unless your hand is within an inch or so from the elbow. Well, when the pump is working, anyway.

 

Christ, this thing is becoming a nightmare. I miss my old 5.5...

[jeremai]

Ok, I got the pump working again - must have been a piece of sand impeding the impeller. It is slowly filtering out the rest of the suspended particles as we speak. In a couple weeks I'm going to trade the hard PVC plumbing on the closed loop for flex PVC, and upgrade to a real, grown-up pump.