New Tank, Up to date progress

[OUinLA]

I am planning on sharing pics, problems, tricks and getting advice from all of you as this project progresses. If you'd rather, then I can just wait until it's all done and post the pics from start to finish. Until I hear different then i'll keep going with an up to date "journal" so to speak.

Tomorrow I am picking up my new tank. It's a 30x30x20 glass cube (75 gallons) drilled for closed loop and with a corner overflow. Tank will have euro-bracing.

here is a rough sketch I gave the tank maker.http://d868052.u60.neureal.com/images/tank%20progress/Sketch%20for%20maker.jpg

The only change I made from that is hole #5. I realized (just in time) that the intake for my closed loop pump is 2" so I had to change that hole from 1.5" to 2". Holes #6 and #7 are drilled in the bottom of the tank and will have modified 45 degree pvc pointing towards the reef.

FLOW

For the closed loop I am going with the Sequence Dart. On a closed loop it will push around 3600 gph and only use 110 watts. It's also extremely silent at 8 decibles. This pump will be plumbed into a 4-way Oceans Motions www.oceansmotions.com and it will likely be coming out of 2 returns at a time. I could have it come out of #2 and #3 then switch to #6 or #7 and back to 2 and 3. Or it could go 2 and 3, then 3 and 6, then 6 and 7, then 7 and 3. I hope you follow that with the #'s i designated in the diagram.

For the return from the sump I am going to use something small like a Mag 7 or 9.5. I want to use it externally to avoid added heat but need it to be quiet as possible. I'm also considering a "Quite One" pump of about the same size. Recomendations are appreciated.

FILTRATION
I have a Southbay skimmer 6-1 w/ a Sedra 3500. Currently it doesn't have the needle wheel but I will add that in the future.

I will also have around 75 lbs of live rock and will most likely get it from Reefer Madness unless I find something just as good for the same good price.

I am also considering using the ZEOvit system but it's not final as of right now.

The tank will probably be a bare bottom. I am toying w/ the idea of adding some crushed coral just for looks. With the amount of flow I will have I can't use any find sand.

STAND and SUMP

As for the stand, it's going to be metal, but I will cover it with wood. Dave P is helping me build the stand. I still need to figure out how to get the wood on there and still look nice.
Inside the stand there will be a power center consisting of 2, 8 channel DJ powercenters and around 20 seperate outlets to plug things into.

I will make the sump out of acrylic and when that time comes i'll show pics and explain how I did it. I'm still deciding on exact measurements but I think it will be around 20"x24 or so and 18" high.

LIGHTING I have a dual 250 W PFO HQI ballast and PFO mini pendant w/ 10K BLV bulb right now and will add a 2nd pendant (same kind) after everything else is set up. I think it's going to be an open top (no canopy) but I might put a "skirt" around it to keep my 2 year old from throwing his crayons in the tank. I think that's about it for now. Stay tuned.

[Old Yeller Tang]

So when I connect the red dots, what's it suppose to be?:D

[OUinLA]

Originally posted by Old Yeller Tang
So when I connect the red dots, what's it suppose to be?:D

A lot of flow :)

I'm figuring it out to be about a 65.285714 turnover rate :). That doesn't include the volume of the sump or the volume of the live rock.

Speaking of live rock; I plan to have it go along the back wall and on the right wall of the tank. I don't want a lot, so I might not even use the 75 lbs estimated. I am hoping to keep the center as open as possible but have one decent sized island in the middle left. If I can control the flow in the bottom right to the middle than I want to make that a clam bed.

[Konadog]

Originally posted by OUinLA
I'm figuring it out to be about a 65.285714 turnover rate :). Madison, you better recheck your math, I think your off by 2 billionth's of a gallon :rolleyes: I'm not sure your SPS will appreciate it!

Nice tank, you better take pic's along the way.

[OUinLA]

Ok, I picked up the tank today. I had to leave it at my friend, Henry's house (gooberz). Long story, but i'm picking it up tonight to bring it home. I'm very happy with the outcome but I wish the holes in the bottom glass were more towards the center. It would be easier to hide them that way, but I can still manage.

http://d868052.u60.neureal.com/images/tank%20progress/tank%20pics.jpg

It looks really small in the pic

[moonpod]

Madison, forget teasing us...get to some real pix of a plumbed tank etc...I want to see some PROGRESS!!!! Instead of hooking up the second lead on your PFO, look at some of the IC pendants for getting some focused areas of light ala the Japanese tanks.....just an idea.

[sberman]

madison the only thing i can say is i hope it is not a lee mar mine is still messed up

[OUinLA]

Originally posted by moonpod
Madison, forget teasing us...get to some real pix of a plumbed tank etc...I want to see some PROGRESS!!!! Instead of hooking up the second lead on your PFO, look at some of the IC pendants for getting some focused areas of light ala the Japanese tanks.....just an idea.

Chuck, it will be a little while until i'm up and running. I still have to build a stand and what not. I'll send you a link to this thread when the whole tank is done :)
I'd be very interested in learning more about the IC pendants, costs, wattages, colors, etc. I don't think i'll really get into that on this tank but it might be worth looking into a bit.

Also about the tank. I was expecting Euro-bracing. As you can see it's a completely open top (black trim) but I like that even better. The aquarium maker used 1/2" glass so it's pretty darn sturdy.

[OUinLA]

Originally posted by sberman
madison the only thing i can say is i hope it is not a lee mar mine is still messed up

Scott, that sucks about your misfortunes. I think I read where you said the replacement came with a chip in it, that you were going to live with. That's really too bad that such a reputable and expensive tank maker like Le Mar would give you so many problems. I hope everything works out for you.

This tank is not Le Mar. It's a company called Fujimoto out of Gardena. So far i'm impressed, but we'll see how it does over time. I got a quote for this same tank (dimensions not polished glass) through Le Mar and it was almost $900. My tank cost me $285 total. It was $225 w/ overflow and drain then I had an addition 6 holes drilled for $10 each. For that kind of price I can't complain. The overflow isn't the best of work. Looks like a table saw was used to make the slits instead of a router but it will still serve it's purpose and I might even try and clean it up a bit w/ a dremel.

[sberman]

at least u have it and are happy with it thats all that matters mine is on the floor and dont even want to look at it almost all my sps are in the sump i feed them and that is about it for now have lost all modivation

but have fun and take your time and set it up right --- from the start looking good so far

[nanocat]

Originally posted by sberman
at least u have it and are happy with it thats all that matters mine is on the floor and dont even want to look at it almost all my sps are in the sump i feed them and that is about it for now have lost all modivation...
Awww Scott, that's just messed up :( Is there anything we can do to help you get that excitement back?

[sberman]

well lucie now that u asked oh u mean about the tank sorry
think u can get lee mar to respond and fix thie tank all that money for a starfire eurobrace tank just upsetting

i am taking tha 180 down tommorrow and going to put the new no name worthless tank up and see if it leaks if it does not leak then i will see what happens after that

thanks for the offer

[eums]

looks freaking great !!!!! i need a tank now.

[OUinLA]

Not too much going on w/ the tank right now. Unfortunately, things are expensive, family, work, blah blah blah :)

I did paint the back of the tank yesterday. Of course went w/ black. I used Rustoleum flat black interior spray paint. I used about 3 or 4 coats but after the first one it looked pretty good. I put an old PC light fixture inside the aquarium to make sure the paint was going on evenly.

http://d868052.u60.neureal.com/images/tank%20progress/tank-black.jpg

Next i'll start working on the stand. I think i've decided to go w/ wood, instead of metal because of costs and time. More to come, hopefully soon.

[gooberz]

Madison,

That looks great! :) I want a tank that looks like that

[OUinLA]

Originally posted by gooberz
Madison,

That looks great! :) I want a tank that looks like that

Drill 4-5 more holes in yours and it will look like that :)

[David P]

Originally posted by OUinLA

Next i'll start working on the stand. I think i've decided to go w/ wood, instead of metal because of costs and time. More to come, hopefully soon.
crap! Sorry, I talked to my engineer and he has the drawing ready, but Ive been working at a labratory this week....

sorry!:rolleyes:

[OUinLA]

Dave,

not your fault. I should have told you already that i'm thinking about wood. I am thinking the metal stand might be too much weight. Plus i'd still have to buy all the wood trim so I might as well go w/ wood. Hope I didn't waste too much of your time, or anyone elses.

[David P]

no problem. It WILL be lighter than steel and less expensive too!

[gooberz]

Madison,

The Tanks do Look better with the Back painted.. I got the two inch bulkhead you need and if you need some lockline let me know.. I doubt you will use lockline :rolleyes:

Let me know whenever you want to borrow my dremel..

Henry

[Old Yeller Tang]

Glad you went with a black background. Never really liked the look of the blue ones. Reminds me of lfs' tanks.

[OUinLA]

Again, not much going on but i've been working on some sketches for my stand. Don't laugh, I only know how to use Photoshop, so these aren't the best sketches. They do tell me how much of each kind of wood to get and in doing them I realized a few things that will help me when building it.

http://d868052.u60.neureal.com/images/tank%20progress/stand%20diagrams-1.jpg

One thing I realized is that I will need to cut the "side to side" measurements down by the thickness of the plywood that I use on the sides. I'm not sure if i'll use 1/2" or 3/4" on the sides but I will subtract that thickness from the overall area.

One other thing I need to figure out is the exact size of a 2x4. I know they aren't exactly 2"x4". Something like 1.5x3.5, but I can't remember exactly. Maybe Roland or some other skilled craftsman can jump in so I don't have to run to the hardware store and measure :). Those differences will also need to be subtracted from the measurements.

After i'm sure about all the lengths I will make a list of all the exact sizes to help the construction process along.
Anyone feel free to give suggestions and advice, if you can make out my diagrams. lol

[OUinLA]

Oops, I already noticed one mistake. In the "Left Side" diagram where I said "3/4" ply, minus width of 2x4 (short side)" it should reall be (long side). That's exactly why I post this sort of stuff. That just saved me a little headache.

[AWExotics]

Originally posted by OUinLA

This tank is not Le Mar. It's a company called Fujimoto out of Gardena. So far i'm impressed, but we'll see how it does over time. I got a quote for this same tank (dimensions not polished glass) through Le Mar and it was almost $900. My tank cost me $285 total. It was $225 w/ overflow and drain then I had an addition 6 holes drilled for $10 each. For that kind of price I can't complain. The overflow isn't the best of work. Looks like a table saw was used to make the slits instead of a router but it will still serve it's purpose and I might even try and clean it up a bit w/ a dremel.

6 holes and a prefilter from Lee-mar would run you $141 plus the tank cost. Whoever wuoted you $900 was not giving you a fair quote IMO. I did a 30 x 20 x 24 with no holes nor prefilter at just over $200 for a customer. Add Prefilter and holes, and it would be between $350 and $400. Take away about $20 for the 4" in height. This is for a non flat polish tank.

Madison, I only post this cause I am shocked that they quoted you at $900. My 48 x 24 x 24 Flat Polish Lee Mar Euro Braced with a 3-sided prefilter and 7 holes would not cost but $7-800.

Either way... your tank is looking good and I am sure you will have a stellar reef tank and a lot of fun before it is all said and done.

Todd

[OUinLA]

I told you I wanted a quote but I never heard back from you. I assumed it was either really high, or you were just busy.

[AWExotics]

Madison.

Got your PM. and sent you one back.

I dropped the ball, man and I apologize. I re read the PM's we sent in early May about my camera and in there we talked about a tank for you. Unfortunately, I never wrote it down and forgot about it over the weekend. We never discussed it any further.

Very sorry. When I posted last night I actually didn't een remember about us talking about a tank. I was just shocked to see how high you were quoted.

Todd

[OUinLA]

No problem at all Todd. In all honesty I am on a tight budget and I don't think I could have found a tank cheaper than the one I got. I sent you an email, your pm box is full.

[OUinLA]

Ok, I thought I would share this. I just ordered my moonlights. They aren't the ones I was originally going to use but for the price I can't complain. I paid $12 for 2 shipped. Each fixture contains 3 leds. All you have to do is wire them to a powersupply/transformer and you are ready to go.

http://autolumination.com/images/auto_bulbs/domeblue.jpg

The wavelength spikes at 470nm

the website is www.autolumination.com

These fixtures have an adhesive back, so those of you w/ canopies can just stick them right to the top of your canopy. I'm planning an open top so I have to come up w/ something else, but that shouldn't be too hard. I might make something that comes off my pendants and adhere it to that.


BTW, does anyone have 2 milk crates that I can use or buy from you? I need to get my tank off the ground for a little bit while I try a few things.

[AWExotics]

I have one you can have but then again I am in the High Desert.

Cool moonlight .. I need to do some reading about them.

Todd

[OUinLA]

Finally, some progress has been made. I got my moonlights the other day and they are cool. Once I figure out i'm going to mount them I will post that info. Secondly, I have started working on the stand. A big thanks to Roland (oldyellertang). He was a huge help and without him I would be up a creek.

The stand is 33" tall. It's roughly 31" wide and 31" deep. We used 2x4's for the support and covered it in plywood. Then Roland put extra support in all the corners. This is one sturdy stand.

Here's a pic that shows the fram and one side of plywood.
http://d868052.u60.neureal.com/images/tank%20progress/Madison's-stand-001.jpg

And here's one where i'm sanding the frame for the doors.
http://d868052.u60.neureal.com/images/tank%20progress/Madison's-stand-002.jpg

I would show you one wth the doors on, but Dat recommended some crazy kind of hinge and it doesn't work for the doors we made. Thanks dat:eek: I'll put the doors on either today or tomorrow and get a pic up.
I should also be ordering some of the equipment next week such as the oceans motions and the closed loop pump.

[OUinLA]

BTW, cost for the stand so far is about $85. I might decide to paint it but that will be cheap.

[dattack]

Hey I recommended the same hinge that Roland uses on his tank. Blame it on Roland but I said those blum hinges is a little more difficult to install. :) And I thought Roland knew where to find the hinges he used on his stand.
The stand looks nice BTW.

[OUinLA]

we couldn't find the hinges like Roland's. The problem w/ the ones we tried is that the moulding around the door gets in the way and it woudn't open all the way. I'm sure I can find some euro-hinges that will work, i was sick today, so tommorow i'll look for them.

[sberman]

madison it is looking good are u starting to get excited alot of work isnt it

[cali_reef]

Looking good Madison!!

You should put some stain and paint a few coats of polyurethane on it.

[OUinLA]

There's still a lot of work to do, so i'm trying to not get excited yet. Don't want to take any shortcuts.

Pierce, it's made of pine, and i'm not sure it will take a good stain. Definately will be sealing it. I still have lots of sanding to do first though.

[David P]

Madison, check out rocklers. http://www.rockler.com/ecom7/search_results.cfm?filter=blum+hinge

you can search them for either blum or euro hinges (basically same thing) You can also get some cool veneer to put on your stand. I personally like paduk and purpleheart...

[OUinLA]

Thanks for the link Dave. I'll either have to call or go in somewhere and talk to someone. All the examples I saw show a situation where the door doesn't have any molding/trim around it. I have a some molding and that was causing a problem when opening it. I'll call them though. I also liked the veneer, that is a definate option, but It woudln't match the molding i've already put on the stand. hmmmmm

[dattack]

You can add a prestain to pine to make the stain hold in better.

[saltyFISHscales]

OUinLA,
Looking good, have you purchased that oceansmotions yet? I was considering using that, because my current flow is too low... I have a seaswirl right now hooked to my MAG 12. Its set up in my 60 gallon cube, and that tanks is difficult to get the current in all the right places with just that one seaswirl... I wanted to see if anyone has used that 4port oceansmotions. Do u know which model youre getting? theres a $199 and the $279 model...

[OUinLA]

Originally posted by saltyFISHscales
OUinLA,
Looking good, have you purchased that oceansmotions yet? I was considering using that, because my current flow is too low... I have a seaswirl right now hooked to my MAG 12. Its set up in my 60 gallon cube, and that tanks is difficult to get the current in all the right places with just that one seaswirl... I wanted to see if anyone has used that 4port oceansmotions. Do u know which model youre getting? theres a $199 and the $279 model...

Thanks for the comments.

I'll be using the $279 model (heavy duty) because of the amount of flow that I will have going through there. That is really the only difference between the two. I don't know what the limits are for the $199 model but I know my pump exceeds them.

DavidP uses the 4 port on his 120 and I think he's really happy w/ it. He also has the heavy duty model. I know if you call Paul at www.oceansmotions.com he is very helpful and willing to answer all your questions.

[saltyFISHscales]

cool, thanks... i'll give them a call!

[David P]

The HD has a beefier motor and it also comes with 2" in and 1.5"outs. The regular model has smaller ports.

[OUinLA]

I ordered my RO/DI unit today. I got a 6 stage 100gpd system from fellow maslac member Carlos (pucci). It's an unbelievable price at $189. I think he is going to have a few of these next week so if anyone wants one, I will be picking mine up this week and can pick up others if needed. Here's a pic and link to the unit.

http://www.xtremeaquatics.com/ROfront.jpg

and here's the link to his site w/ the RO/DI unit http://www.xtremeaquatics.com/newcoral.htm scroll down to the bottom to see it and all the info.

Now can someone assure me that I can connect the RO line to my refridgerator for the icemaker and indoor water features. I've seen it done but didn't know if it was only certain units that allow you to do this or not.

[David P]

yes you can, however I think you would really want to add a drinking water "can" between the ro and fridge. The tank has a diaphram that is pressurized on one side. When your ice maker says "hey Im thirsty" the can will be able to supply the water much faster than straight from the ro. Given the water is warm enough entering the ro and at a high enough pressure, your only looking at 8.3 gph or about 132 cups per hour. So lets assume you want a pint of water, that will take just under 1 minute to fill the ice tray. fwiw, sorry Im board....

[OUinLA]

so you're saying to get the storage container thingymajig.

When you use those, does it automatically start to refill when you take water out of it?

[moonpod]

yes.

[Triterium]

Very nice!!!!!!

[OUinLA]

Blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah, blah

Here's the stand w/ doors. Hinges were a pain in the butt, but they are working. I still have some fine tweaking to do to square up the doors better. I'll try and put the tank on the stand and grab another pic.


http://d868052.u60.neureal.com/images/tank%20progress/stand%20and%20doors.JPG

[moonpod]

blah, blah, blah, blah.

Hey Madison, I picked up a Sony f828. That thing is FAST. The Zeiss glass seems pretty nice as well. BTW, that's looking pretty good--I think Dattacks idea of prestaining and then staining again (or whatever) is worth while to see if you can give it a bit nicer color. Course nothing wrong with the natural look either.

[OUinLA]

Let's see some pics Chuck. Zeiss makes very good glass. That's why I like the Sony digitals. Zeiss is used widely in the film business as well, so that should tell you it's some of the best optics available.

I'm open to staining it, but my wife really likes the natural look. I have to keep her happy right now:)

http://d868052.u60.neureal.com/images/tank%20progress/tank%20on%20stand.jpg

Here's a crappy shot w/ the tank on it.

[Old Yeller Tang]

Looking good, Mad!

If you want to keep the natural look as much as possible, I know if you stain it golden pecan, it stays pretty light still. But I think it would have a richer look like Henry's stand if it were darker.

[Konadog]

Madison, you can also use the pre stain (like Dat said) which will bring out the wood grain, and then polyurethane it without stain. You should treat the wood with something before sealing it, it will look much better.

[OUinLA]

well it's been a while and not much has changed. I've been really busy with other things so I didn't get to make much progress. I did make the electrical board which will be inside the stand, on the right side. Each of these outlets will be independently wired to corresponding switches in 2 powercenters which will be mounted in the back of the stand. Anyway, here's a pic

http://d868052.u60.neureal.com/images/reef%20pic/electric%20board.jpg

I hope to get the old tank down this week or next week. Then i'm only a few items away from setting up the new one.