90G upgrade in the works - Page 2

ek9vboi · #26 09/04/2006, 01:12 AM

I am soooo jealous of your tank! Makes me want to upgrade.

good luck

TekCat · #27 09/04/2006, 01:18 AM

And here she is painted!

Don't know what cats find so magical about tanks...

.. but as you can see, eggcrate evenly distributes cat's weight

I've used black spray paint, 3 coats total. There are some spots that need to be touched up, but they'll have to wait until tomorrow.

Also, I put 4 baffles in sump dividing small fuge and return area's. Since this is critical area for micro bubble elimination, i've used pattern over-under-over-under.

My fuge is going to be only 8" long, 9" high, and 12" wide. I fugured that it is enough area to house chaeto. The rest of my 30 gallons sump is going to be intake area where skimmer, heaters, and filter socks will reside. I'll be loosing socks later, but for now I plan to have them

Liquid Hobby · #28 09/04/2006, 11:17 AM

Will you rasie the eggcrate with mesh on top to create an anerobic chamber?

msuzuki126 · #29 09/04/2006, 01:14 PM

Looking good!

druce · #30 09/04/2006, 05:25 PM

looks nice, I have the same stand

TekCat · #31 09/04/2006, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Liquid Hobby
Will you rasie the eggcrate with mesh on top to create an anerobic chamber?

No, eggcrate is there only to support LR and to raise them a bit so they wont be too deep in the sand. For anaerobic (plenum) type of setup you still need 4" + of sand. The problem I see with plenums (as being stated in many other threads) that junk, detrius, etc... will be accumulated in anaerobic area. So, unless it is a some sort of wasting plenum, I beleive I'll have more issues with it later on.
What I will do is set up a RDSB (DSB in a bucket) for nitrate reduction, this way, I can always replace DSB whenever I wish. Plus chaeto in fuge will be responsible for nutrient export.

Quote:

Originally posted by druce
looks nice, I have the same stand

I looked closer to the stand the other day, and noticed that it supports tank only on two sides (shorter sides that is). Do you think it's no biggie?

On another note, I am waiting for skimmer to arrive, and hesitate to put baffles in sump that will "define" skimmer area. From online specs for ASM G3 skimmer the footprint is 12"x11". I have 30 gallons tank for a sump that is 12" wide. What would be an adequate other dimension for a skimmer section? 14"? I don't want to make it too big at the expense of fuge area.

druce · #32 09/04/2006, 06:37 PM

wow, mine is supported on all 4 sides, is that an AGA stand?

the entire top is even

TekCat · #33 09/04/2006, 06:45 PM

yep, it is AGA stand. So, I wonder, is it ok? I am assuming that people at AGA know what they're doing, but I'd rather make sure that my tank wont leak because of inadequate support.

druce · #34 09/04/2006, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TekCat
yep, it is AGA stand. So, I wonder, is it ok? I am assuming that people at AGA know what they're doing, but I'd rather make sure that my tank wont leak because of inadequate support.

wow, not a clue.. now I wonder if mine really is even on all 4 sides.

I suppose you could email them...

anyone else with an AGA stand know?

druce · #35 09/04/2006, 06:50 PM

. I just looked at my stand, I think I see what you are talking about.

are you looking at the left and right sides and are seeing the little piece of wood going front to back and thinking the tank rests on that?

My tank sits on the very top of the stand - all for sides of the bottom are supported by the stand top.

there is no "lip" that the tank sits on or anything, just the very top of the stand.

TekCat · #36 09/04/2006, 06:56 PM

Ahh, I see. Since I never put my tank on, I assumed that these two lips are what actually holds the tank. Thanks for releiving me from many sleepless nights of running to the tank every 30 minutes and inspecting tank's seams for leaks.

In panic just wrote an email to AGA so they could explain to me how come tank wont leak if it is supported just by two shorter sides ... lets see if they're going to sweat trying to answer my question

druce · #37 09/04/2006, 06:58 PM

lol, no problem - would be interested to hear what they say

I have a 90 AGA like you, but it's got the megaflow return on it, offset to the left a little.

Nice tank, very happy with it so far, had it since April

TekCat · #38 09/04/2006, 07:16 PM

druce, do you have a picture of your aquascaping? It is too early for aquascaping for me at this point, however it's nice to know what other folks have done

druce · #39 09/04/2006, 07:26 PM

click my red house and look at my gallery and my blog

not the greatest, but it may help you.

TekCat · #40 09/04/2006, 07:40 PM

definately helps! I like the "open" area, away from rocks so the fish could "play" there and not worry about hitting a rock.... maybe I am speaking from personal snorkeling experience

LOL

druce · #41 09/04/2006, 07:42 PM

lol, the left has 2 more rocks now, and to the right of the colt is a huge tody

I need to take some updated pics...

PatMayo · #42 09/05/2006, 12:03 AM

Nice start TekCat. I'll be watching your progress.

Regards,

Pat

TekCat · #43 09/05/2006, 09:29 AM

Thanks Pat, I'll try not to dissapoint you

I am suppose to get some mail today. Pump, sterilizer, black vinyl tube, and other junk expected to arrive. It is going to be busy-busy.

I am thinking of scapping the idea of making a spraybar that goes behind rocks. The main reason it is going to be ugly looking, because the only way I can bring it in down and behind rocks is to run a pipe right in the middle of the tank from center return bulkhead. Instead, I'm going to make a "tray" from eggcrate that will be sitting behing rocks full with LR rubble. So the pods get to junk first.

PatMayo · #44 09/05/2006, 10:32 AM

I'm sure your tank will be swwweettt.

I agree. Keep it simple and with good asthetics. You will enjoy it more. The less complicated the better off you are.

I like it when boxes are on my doorstep. My wallet tends to empty a bit more but what can I say it's a disease?

Regards,

Pat

TekCat · #45 09/05/2006, 11:18 AM

It is a desease!!!!! I just starting out this tank, and already I've spent over a grand. Thank god that I've invested in lights on my 55G. They will work just fine for this tank. It is 48" long 8 bulb T5 fixture. I guess my bill with all the hardware will be close to 2.5 grand total. And then is where real spending begins: more LR, sand, corals, fish, etc...

-- edit --
on the other hand I'd probably trade for corals my 55G tank/stand, Remora Skimmer, pump, etc.... it is not going to be much, but I hope it'll count for something, when my "finance manager" sees some cool looking corals

chip721 · #46 09/05/2006, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TekCat
And here she is painted!

Nice job. The cat seems to saying, "When are you going to drop the fish in here?"

TekCat · #47 09/06/2006, 02:51 PM

Hopefully today I'll finish up the rest of plumbing and set it up for a freshwater test. Yesterday I received pump, but MarineDepot screwed up my order and sent me light fixture instead of UV sterilizer as I ordered.

.. I just rounded up my expenses so far.... $1334.95 to this date

Fmellish · #48 09/06/2006, 03:01 PM

Something I observed from the pics of your tank.

Your closed loop drain should be much bigger than your closed loop return.

Most "high flow" pumps work most efficiently when their intake is flooded with lots of water. I just mention this because it appears you only have one intake for your CL, and it doesn't look any bigger than your CL outputs.

This may not matter much at all depending on how much flow you want.

Also my personal preference in my experience is for 2-5x through the sump and then 15-25x in the display, (CL or PwrHd). Again, it depends on the type of coral you want to keep.

My 2 cents
Josh

TekCat · #49 09/06/2006, 03:58 PM

Josh, you are right. Here is my thinking: I plan to use OM-Squirt for current switching which takes 3/4" input pipe. I am going to be driving it with Eheim 1262 which should be ok with 3/4" inlet. Do you think I can get away with this?

Fmellish · #50 09/06/2006, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TekCat
Josh, you are right. Here is my thinking: I plan to use OM-Squirt for current switching which takes 3/4" input pipe. I am going to be driving it with Eheim 1262 which should be ok with 3/4" inlet. Do you think I can get away with this?

If you will only be using an Eheim 1262, then you will not be at a loss for input. Your CL drain is big enough. However I have to wonder if a 1262 is appropriate for closed loop applications.

I run (3) 1262s in my 120g, (skimmer, return, chiller). They are the best pumps you can get for that application, damn fine, I love them. However they do not make good closed loop pumps unless chained together simply because a closed loop is meant to produce a lot of flow.

You will be lucky to get 800 GPH from a 1262. I realize a CL should have 0 feet of theoretical head pressure, but given frictional losses due to elbows, joints, and your OM squirt, there is still a certain amount of pressure induced.

While your CL drain might be able to handle receiving 800GPH, (under pressure), I think you have to decide if 800 GPH is worth doing a CL? On a 90g tank that would be 8.5x flow. if your shooting for 30x total, that means youre going to need to come up with 22x flow from somewhere else. The norm is to do the inverse. Push 2-10x through your sump and use a CL for the remaining 20x.

For my 90g tank, (in progress), see little red house I will be pushing approx 3000 GPH through my closed loop using an Oceans Motion 4way and a Reeflo Dart.

Cheers
Josh