65 Gallon Tall Reefs - Page 4

wakskat · #76 07/20/2006, 02:06 PM

Hey copps,

what kind of lighting are you using? Also what are you using for water flow and how much do you have in that tank?

Thanks

copps · #77 07/20/2006, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by clownfishman
Copps - All I can say is..."We're not worthy, We're not worthy!"

Wow! That is my goal for my future 65 gal! Do you have any old pics of your sump/fuge setup on that beautiful tank!

Thanks!

Here is a shot of the guts of that system... I built the setup and have always enjoyed a tank that sits higher (so you're not hunching over when looking at it)... the other benefit of this was that I was able to cram in most of the parts underneath the 40" high stand... Here's a look...

The tank also had a 20 gallon frag tank next to it as you could see in my wife and I's (that's bad english) old 1 bedroom apartment... I had a 54 corner in the corner that you could see too...

wakskat, here is a shot of the lighting I was running... two 250 watt DE 10k ushios with 3 95 watt VHO actinics...

The system was profiled in the September '04 issue of Reefkeeping Magazine and was TOTM here on RC... Many of the questions could be answered in this article ...

My wife was very understanding in that little apartment... even in the kitchen she had to del with my passion with my little 10 gallon kitchen nano

Luckily now we had our house built along with my fish room

I'm relegated to the finished basement

It's really just a matter of combining the artsy and technical sides of the hobby... People worry too much about things like whether their calcium is 450 (mine is always closer to 350), overlooking what causes 99% of failures in a system, like improper system planning and nutrient buildup. Many people point the finger to things like Ich for instance, when in reality it's a result of a seperate issue which brought stress on the fish making them susceptible to ich...

The 65 is just about the best production three foot tank there is...

rooroo · #78 07/20/2006, 03:13 PM

This thread was MADE for me! I've got a 65 tall too. I don't have any full tank pics that are recent, but I'll post a few of the residents and my lighting setup. I am actually moving the tank this weekend, but once I get it set up in its new home I'll take some pics and post them. I'll finally have room for an ro/di filter and I really hope things take off in the tank. It's about 1 1/2 years old but has been living on Baltimore city water that entire time. It did great for a year, the last 6 months some things have slowly died off. The remaining corals and fish look great though, and will certainly be happy in their new home.

My bi color angel.

The right side of the tank.

A couple more resident closeups.

The VHO lighting setup made by my dad.

Bkndsdl · #79 07/20/2006, 06:17 PM

Clownfishman, here's a full tank shot; I painted the stand/canopy and routed the doors to match the kitchen cabinets, down to the knobs and hinges:

Right now I'm using 2 03 Blue VHOs and one 175w blueline MH; that's the reason for all the blue. I'm about to add two more white VHO bulbs, and that should brighten it up a bit.

Here's a full shot of the sump/fuge:

Thanks for the comments!

clownfishman · #80 07/21/2006, 09:02 AM

Bkndsdl and Coops - Nice job on both of your Stands and Canopies! What type of fans and other ventillation are you using to cool your tanks? Bkndsdl - cool idea for your fuge! What type of container is that in your sump? Also, is that a 20L for your sump? Coops - can you give us more details on your sump/fuge config?

Thanks!

Bkndsdl · #81 07/21/2006, 10:45 AM

Clownfishman, I have one fan that I keep on low; it's a run-of-the-mill $10 fan without the base, and I mounted it to the back of the canopy.

You're right, the sump tank is a 20 long. I got it from a LFS for $15. The fuge is a laundry container I got from WallyWorld for $7. I used the lid that came with it and some pvc pipe to support it. Here's the link to how I built it; I made some mods to it to transfer as many pods as possible to the display, but it still works great:

First try @ sump/fuge

Thanks again for the comments!

clownfishman · #82 07/21/2006, 01:42 PM

Hope you don't mind a few more questions????

Bkndsdl and Coops - How much daily evaporation do you have? 1 gal, 2gal, etc. Do you guys have any vents in the top of your hoods to release heat - like a ridge vent or do you just suck the heat out with your canopy fans?

Thanks!

Bkndsdl · #83 07/21/2006, 03:49 PM

Don't mind at all.

I go through a 5 gallon jug in 5 days, more if I have to run the fan on high. The back of my canopy is open.

I'll try to get an up-to-date pic of my sump/fuge setup tonite.

copps · #84 07/21/2006, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by clownfishman
Bkndsdl and Coops - Nice job on both of your Stands and Canopies! What type of fans and other ventillation are you using to cool your tanks? Bkndsdl - cool idea for your fuge! What type of container is that in your sump? Also, is that a 20L for your sump? Coops - can you give us more details on your sump/fuge config?

Thanks!

Hey Clownfishman, here's a snipet from the article I wrote which pretty much sums it up... if you have questions beyond this just shoot... Thanks!

The 65-gallon display tank is a standard AGA reef-ready setup, with one overflow drilled to handle one 1" bulkhead and one ¾" bulkhead. I decided to use both of these as drains to maximize the amount of circulation through the sump. I used a Stockman type drainpipe to keep things quiet inside the overflow. The 1" drain goes straight to the sump, while the ¾" goes to a small refugium of about seven gallons before draining into the sump. The 20-gallon "high" frag tank also drains into the sump through a 1" bulkhead drilled into the back of the tank.

The circulation for the entire system is provided by two Gen-X MAK4 external pumps that each generate 1200 gph at 0' head. To keep things simple, I decided to use just one return pump from the sump to provide a return for both the display and the frag tank, while providing more flow to the display via a closed loop. Alternating flow is important at such high volumes, especially in a smaller than average SPS system. I decided to utilize two well-known devices that accomplish this goal: the Switching Current Water Director (SCWD) and the Sea-Swirl. The first MAK4 is fed from the 20-gallon sump and 'tees' off to the frag tank and the display. The display side discharges to a ¾" Sea-Swirl in the center of the tank. The frag tank side goes through a SCWD that alternates through each side of the 20-gallon. Ball valves are located throughout the plumbing so that I can regulate how much flow each outlet receives. The remaining MAK4 feeds from a 1" intake drilled into the back of the 65-gallon and goes through a second SCWD that 'tees' off to either side of the 65-gallon display.

The constant switching of both the SCWD and the Sea-Swirl operating independently of one another provides very chaotic water movement, never allowing any stagnant areas in the tank for long. Many reefkeepers who have seen my system comment on its high amount of flow, and I've also noticed that many of my SPS corals grow thicker branches than normal as a result of the increased flow in comparison to other systems. While this may sound a bit complicated, the general theme is lots of flow provided in the most chaotic way possible.

Quote:

Originally posted by clownfishman
Hope you don't mind a few more questions????

Bkndsdl and Coops - How much daily evaporation do you have? 1 gal, 2gal, etc. Do you guys have any vents in the top of your hoods to release heat - like a ridge vent or do you just suck the heat out with your canopy fans?

Thanks!

I had on average about 1 1/2 to 2 gallons a day of evaporation... I had a 5 gallon reservoir of topoff water that I would refill every few days. This was enough to carry me through a weekend, while at the same time not too much... in case the float switch failed it was no big deal... my sump could handle the five gallons and the salinity would drop a negligible amount... The canopy was very high and cooled by two 4 inch computer fans. Also, I ran the frag tank lights overnight to keep the system cool...

Copps

tsmitti99 · #85 07/22/2006, 06:35 PM

I too have a 65 gallon breeder that I am going to post some pics of in a few minutes, once i take them...gread thread

tsmitti99 · #86 07/22/2006, 06:52 PM

not sure why the image is so blue, not very good at picture taking, but this is it, just started it a few months ago

the light is a maristar, w/ 2 250 hqi 14ks(about to replace with 10ks), and 2 t5s for actinic supplement

nemo g · #87 07/22/2006, 10:54 PM

ts,

play with the "white balance" settings.

remember, the aim of this function is to get the light "correctly" rendered to white. photographers, traditionally, used filters or "corrected" film to get "white light.

however, for our purposes the "correct" setting is the one that displays the color of light to that we see, which more often than not is not white.

so, play around with the different settings to get as close as you can to the actual color of the lighting.

if you have a camera that produces "raw" images, this is ideal. this way, all you have to do is open the image up in photoshop, or the like that has a raw editor, and then manually adjust the color temperature.

figured i post some useful info for you or anyone else that finds the white balance funtion confusing

tsmitti99 · #88 07/23/2006, 08:08 AM

not to get off topic, but i just bought a new macbook pro, and macs in general are suppose to be graphics machines, so i'll see what i can do in one of it's programs, and repost a better pic.

tsmitti99 · #89 07/23/2006, 02:18 PM

ok, edited...tank needs work, i know..

masterqaz · #90 07/23/2006, 05:48 PM

i see a lot of people have rose BT's now days. I cant seem to find them anywhere and if i do there quite $$$ pricey.

tsmitti99 · #91 07/24/2006, 05:54 AM

i got mine for about $30, and the thing split within a week, looked awfull for a month, and now both of them are getting huge, and i want to get rid of one, so difficult to remove though. the marroon clowns love them though, the female stays in the left one, and the male in the right..

clownfishman · #92 07/24/2006, 08:29 AM

tsmitti99 - Tanks looing sweet! Do you have any pics of your sump/fuge? Interested to see how you set it all up.

Thanks

tsmitti99 · #93 07/24/2006, 08:56 AM

i'll snap a few as soon as i get out of class. simple set up, in the process of moving my tank, so it's missing the refugium, which normally hangs on the side of the tank

clownfishman · #94 07/24/2006, 03:11 PM

Anymore 65 gal tanks out there??? Please keep them coming!

tsmitti99 · #95 07/25/2006, 08:03 AM

here is the sump pic

clownfishman · #96 07/25/2006, 09:35 AM

Nice sump tsmitti99!

Can you give me a quick walk thru of what I'm seeing - looks like you are running your return thru live rock and then returning to your main aquarium. What pump are you using? I'm still trying to figure out what I'll need for my future sump.

Thanks again!

Kirin1 · #97 07/25/2006, 09:42 AM

I've been working on my 65gal AGA for around a year now, and it's still a $900 pile o stuff in the corner. Someday....

Tagging along for encouragement, great tanks all!

tsmitti99 · #98 07/25/2006, 09:55 AM

Sure thing,

The tank is bottom drilled as you can see, so the water gets excellent aeration, it flows up and then through a tray on the top with a mesh filter, it then runs over the live rock, this section originally had bioballs in it, but i replaced them with the rubble from my liverock order because it is a far more natural platform for the aerobic bacteria to work from. The bag is carbon, my gf insists on putting it in so i do as she wishes. The skimmer just sits in the center of the sump, snugly and dumps the return into the same location. It runs through a sponge on the right to trap any bubbles, but there are never any, and then to the return pump. The only complaint i have is the noise from the return pump. i don't mind the water trickle as it is a fish tank.

I hate pvc because it kills flowrate w/ all the corners, although a contrarian view to the hose is the ridges that could collect debris, which i'll see if that is the case when i move the tank at the end of the week.

cobs00 · #99 07/25/2006, 02:01 PM

Here's mine, but it does not compare to all the royalty our there.

Rijinals · #**100** 07/25/2006, 03:18 PM

You must have medals for "rock balancing" skills!

Looks nice!