Siwelk's Slow but Steady 30g build - ETA 8/2008

[siwelk]

Well, after a 4 year hiatus from my short-lived FOWLR days, I've decided to dive back into the hobby headfirst this time. I've been researching these forums as well as those over on RC for a few months now, trying to absorb all I possibly can to prepare myself for my aquatic journey thats about to take flight. I've been trying to refamiliarize myself with the various concepts and ideas that encompass all that is reefkeeping. After weeks of staying glued to my computer monitor and going over hundreds of proposals in my head, I decided to take the plunge and went to my LFS to see about a new tank. I spent a great deal of time trying to decide on which size of tank would best suit me. After all there are a lot of things that factor into choosing the most vital pice of aquatic equipment. I knew that I wanted something somewhere between "nano" and "in-wall." Something big enough to be a centerpiece display as well as easily manageable in terms of time and money (although I know money will soon be a thing of the past.) :P I really started to like the dimensions of the breeder tanks but didn't want to be just another "40 breeder." So I started looking around for a 30 breeder, after a couple unsuccessful weeks I convinced myself that I didn't want a tank that was only 12" high (I'd really like to do a triple pillar style of aquascaping). So when I wandered into my LFS during their Halloween sale I decided on a Perfecto 30g tank (36"x12"x16") and matching stand for $175. Now as excited as I am I brought the tank home and put it in my office closet to collect dust until next summer. *sigh*

I'll be moving in July and I didn't want to have to tear down a tank and move everything right away. So I chose to suffer and start piecing my system together month-to-month. Turns out this can be a lot easier on the wallet though! :happy: I also wanted to take my time and do evertying right the first time around. I should have plenty of time to research each stage of my build and hopefully, make less mistakes. Buuuut, in the meantime I started to setup a new TOm Deco 3 to appease me while I'm at my desk. And hopfully serve as a small breeding ground for some rics and shrooms that I can migrate to my new tank in time.

I realize this will be a slow-going thread buy I'd like to share my build however far my DOB is away. I also want to concentrate most of my questions, ideas, and plans in one thread to keep my information a little more organized and easier to navigate. I welcome all who wish to tag along and would be very interested in any comments/suggestions/criticisms along the way. I know I can't leave without any pics so heres a few of my tank and stand and the few pieces of equipment I've gathered thus far. I'll also list my proposed equipment and livestock, so it can be critiqued at will. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I am in no way a professional photographer so I aplogize for the amateur picture taking skills. I'm also using my gf's 6MP sony cybershot DSC-H2, so please forgive me.


TANK: Perfecto 30g (36"x12"x16") and matching stand. I painted the back black with Rustoleum Textured spray paint. I thought it might hold up better than regular spray paint with any plumbing or equipment brushing up against it behind the tank.






Mag7 return (from the classifieds section :happy: )




ER CS5-2 (also classifieds section, on RC...still needs cleaned up a bit)




Skimmer and pump in 10g sump...will be replacing with 15H.

[siwelk]

I got bored yesterday so I went to Home Depot and got $25 of pvc pipe and fittings to try a return manifold design I had in mind. I think it turned out pretty good. It's all 3/4" piping with 1/2" reducer elbows coming off of the corners and will be fed by a Mag7. I really like how its sits. Its mostly hidden by the bracing. I will be painting the manifold black with Krylon Fusion spray paint once I decide if its going to be permanent.

[siwelk]

I think I may leave the plumbing exposed once it's painted black. I think it might give it a cool "industrial" look. Once my lights arrive Ill be swapping out the leg mounts and getting the hanging kit.


Equipment

-30g Perfecto tank (36"x12"x16")
-Black Perfecto stand
-EuroReef CS5-2 skimmer
-Mag7 return pump
-DIY 3/4" 4 output return manifold
-36" Nova Extreme Pro T5HO 6x39w fixture - should be arriving from drsfostersmith.com any day now


Proposed Equipment

-Lifereef 700gph overflow
-15H sump w/ chaeto
-5g RDSB bucket
-150w heater
-2x hydor koralia 3s (the new shipment in April, not taking chances with the recalled ones)
-Phosban reactor
-ATO from autotopoff.com or tunze
-2x American DJ powerstrips
-API test kits
-custom water sensor overflow with auto-pump cut-off & alarm
-refractometer
-2x 10g reservoirs for RO/DI water and saltwater storage
-reef crystals salt


Proposed Livestock

-Rock & Sand-

-30lbs mixed deco and premium corraline rock from FloridaLiveRock.com (formerly GulfView)
-10-15lb hand-picked tonga kaelini from Premium Aquatics (glad I'm only an hour away)
-40lbs Nature's Ocean Bio-Active Reef Sand

-CUC-

~20 blue leg hermits
~5 scarlet reef hermits
~3 halloween hermits
~10 astrea snails
~5 nassarius snails
~5 turbo snails

-Coral-

-assorted rics, zoas, and shrooms to start
-assorted softies (leathers, kenya tree, etc)
-some LPS after maybe 6 months (trumpet, candy cane, brain, bubble, frogspawn, hammer)
-SPS after a year if everything goes well (montipora, birdsnest, acropora)

-Fish & Inverts-

1- pair of black and white ocellaris (tank-raised)
1- Yashia White Ray shrimp goby & banded pistol shrimp
1- Vampire Pseudochromis
1- Dwarf Eibli Angel (maybe?)
2- Peppermint shrimp
1- Camel shrimp
2- Porcelin crabs




This is all subject to change so any advice/discussion is welcome. I often am second-guessing myself and would appreciate any input. Thanks!!


P.S.

Halloween crab pumping iron in my Deco 3

[Devtech]

nice tank cant wait to see it once its all done, ima ctually building my tank as well!. any FTS for the Deco? and nice Halloween crab! the picture sold me i needs to go order one hehe

[siwelk]

thanks!, ill post a FTS of my deco after i due a little algae cleaning. i really wanted the halloween crab, even though i figured he was too big for my tank. hes like a mini-bull dozer.

[siwelk]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...71#post11363871

^ check out my new lights

[siwelk]

went to home depot today and got some more pvc fittings and some primer and cement. came home and put the tank in the tub to get a general idea of how much flow i could expect out of the mag7 driven manifold. i wanted to see if how things looked before i started cementing it together. due to the cramped space i wasnt really able to plumb it well enough to get a good idea of the flow so i guess ill just wait a while until i get more equipment so i can plumb it completely and then decide whether or not to keep the design permanently.im not really sure how you use the RC head loss calc. when implementing a manifold design. do you add up all the length of the perimeter manifold and input that for horizontal length?? im not sure but what i plugged in got me roughly 400gph. which would be about 100gph from each output. keep in mind this is not for a CL. this is just my sump return so im looking for low flow. i thought the manifold design would be a good way to allow the mag7 to run wide open, yet reduce enough flow to efficiently filter my water in my sump and RDSB. also, the manifold should allow for decent surface agitation resulting in less scum as well as good gas exchange and it allows me to introduce freshly skimmed and filtered water to all corners of the tank.










btw, that union isnt permanent. that was just put there to plumb for the bathtub test. the finished design will have a ball valve before the union.

[cp3823]

Keep the pictures coming. I'm actually coping your design but for my 20 long tank. few suggestions or ideas i'm thinking:

1. I'm using 45's in the tank instead of the 90 degree elbows that way it will hopefully give downward flow.

2. i'm using 3/4" inch return line but then the 45's are 1/2" inch.

3. I"m going to be using a mag 5 so I dont have crazy flow

4. I'm not going to glue the 45's thats way I can direct flow when and where I need too. They pressure fit together pretty darn well.

5. Since you t'd off your manifold behind the tank what are you going to do for a overflow?

6. Have you considered using a scwd? to make flow alternate?

[mikellini]

Very nice. The only thing I don't like is having a weir overflow as opposed to an internal one. Other than that, looking good so far!

[siwelk]

1) i chose 90s to get more surface agitation, but 45s should get you the angled flow you want.

2) i have 3/4" return line as well, with 90 split t reducers to 1/2"

3) im going with the low flow principle too. i want to create all my flow via 2 hydor koralia 3s

4) thats a good idea, i am also doing this, though i have threaded 90s

5) Custom Lifereef with the necessary dimensions. they make custom sizes for euro-bracing and non-standard applications.

6) i had originally planned on using a scwd but once i started putting the manifold together i decided that it would just restrict too much flow. even though im going for low flow (<10x) the scwd would have made it considereably less.

good luck with your 20L. i love those tanks. they look much bigger than they actually are.

[siwelk]

quick experiment with mounting the lights on top of the manifold.



they actually sit surprisingly well. im gonna fit them with a couple zip ties for good measure. i originally wanted to hang the light but this could be an option now too.

[siwelk]

well i have good news i suppose. ive recently been weighing the pros and cons of moving when my lease expires this summer and today ive decided that the cons have triumphed, therefore my ETA for cycling has been lifted from its previous August 2008 constraint. now i still have the $$ constraint, but it looks safe to say that we could be looking at a spring '08 blossoming reef tank.

the funny thing is that one of the main reasons for not moving was because i have a closet in my office that ive been wanting to use to build my tank into. its has built in shelving and the clothes hanging fixture is almost too perfect to hang my light from, also the dimensions of the closet are ideal to keep my tank and house my RO/DI water and premixed saltwater reservoirs, as well as keeping all my other equipment. once its finished the tank should appear to be built into the wall. im on my way to home depot now to start pricing all the wood and hardware to make it happen. once i get the digi camera back from my gf (who jacked it from me yesterday while i was sleeping) ill post some pics of the closet to give you guys a better idea.

[cp3823]

looks great. I love that light.

[siwelk]

thanks!

[Felix1021]

tagging along

[EWC88]

tagging along as well..looking good so far

[siwelk]

thanks guys. im much more motivated now that ive generated a small following

[siwelk]

thanks guys. im much more motivated now that ive generated a small following

[siwelk]

sorry for the double post

[racksteris]

What plans do u have for your sump.....

[siwelk]

well, im currently trying to find out if a 15H will be big enough to house my ER CS5-2 and Mag7 retrun. with baffles in between. im hoping that i wont have problems with micro bubbles. the biggest tank i can fit for a sump in the stand i have now is a 15H. i was planning on using that as well as a 5g bucket for a RDSB. if someone can chime in and give me some advice on this, i may end up having to build a stand so i can fit a 20L or 29g for the sump.

[jjdude18]

I'm currently running a sump approximately the same size as a 15H. with a mag7, protien skimmer, heater, and a few pieces of LR rubble, its cramped but i have no problem with micro bubbles at all.

[siwelk]

do you have any pics of your tank/sump setup? id like to see how you are achieving this. that does sound really crowded in there. im really on the fence about just getting a 15H and calling it a day, or having to build a custom stand and closet enclosure if im going to need something larger than the 15H. Thanks

[siwelk]

youre also the second person thats claimed to be running a skimmer and mag7 return in a 15H with no microbubble issues. im starting to think its entirely possible for me too.

[siwelk]

Originally posted by jjdude18
I'm currently running a sump approximately the same size as a 15H. with a mag7, protien skimmer, heater, and a few pieces of LR rubble, its cramped but i have no problem with micro bubbles at all.

are you using a sock on the drain line??