Fish's new tank build w/ pics

[sumyungviet]

grand gixxer, if you use lock line, you can add a little 'hump' that goes higher... then drill a anti syphin hole so the water will just empty out of the plumbing. Kinda hard to explain, you could also use pvc and do the same thing. If you need more detail, i can draw a diagram.

[ninjafish]

Larry,
If he goes up over the back of the tank like I suggested, then he could use a syphon break or just put the plumbing so it is barely under the surface. If the bulkheads are in the back wall like the diagram though, a syphon break will not help because it is not a syphon that is 'sucking' the water down to the bulkheads - it is the weight of the water and gravity that is 'pouring' it down the path of least resistance. Bulkheads in the back wall are for closed loops where there is no where else for the water to go.

- Chad

[sumyungviet]

the bottom of the 'hump' will raise the water level, and the antisyphon hole, will do taht.. prevent a syphon from forming, that way the return output can be lower in the tank. On my old 30gallon, having the ruturn right below the surface would cause a little vortec to form sucking air spraying it into the water column. either way would work though, ninja's way would require less glass drilling.

[ninjafish]

Larry, I was probably just misunderstanding your description.
Were you talking about making the hump and syphon break on the 'out/dry' side of the bulkhead, or inside the tank?

In the diagram posted... the water would not be 'syphoned' through the bulkheads. Syphoning refers to the suction that pulls water up and over the wall and backwards through the plumbing (contrary to the path it would normally take if it wasn't being pulled). A syphon break is drilled in the plumbing so that air will be drawn in instead to break the suction and stop the water from being pulled in (I still like to make the end of the plumbing relatively close to the surface because if you rely totally on the syphon break, and it gets plugged or overgrown with algae, then the tank will drain down to the opening of your plumbing until air gets in and breaks the syphon).
However, A syphon does not come into play at all in the diagram that was drawn. The bulkheads are two holes drilled in the back of the tank and when there is a hole in a aquarium, water runs out of it because that's what gravity and the weight of the water makes it do. That is what the water is trying to do - the only thing pushing it back is the pump while it is running. As soon as the pump stops, the water will empty out the holes, just as it would if you drilled a hole in a dam.

If you are talking about making a hump with lockline above the water level on the inside of the tank, it would work... but there would be more plumbing - intruding farther into the tank - than if you just ran it up over the back wall in the first place; thereby, defeating the purpose of drilling bulkheads in the back wall. It would actually be more cluttered and less 'clean' because you would be making the same shape with the plumbing as if you were bringing it over the back wall, but you would be doing it inside the tank (and taking up valuable real estate) instead of hiding it outside the tank (where unsightly plumbing belongs). The bulkheads would have been drilled for nothing.
A hump in the plumbing on the outside of the tank would work only if the hump went up high enough that the pressure required to push water up and over the hump was greater than the pressure caused by the weight of the water above the bulkhead inside the tank. You couldn't have the syphon break on the outside of the tank because it would just spray water on your floor while the pump was running.

Please let me know if I have missed something. When I designed my cube, I spent countless hours daydreaming about how to move water to and from the tank as 'cleanly' as possible. I'd want to know if I missed something .

Cheers bro,

- Chad

[sumyungviet]

Chad you got it totally right, I was just showing another way to keep the bulkhead idea and still prevent the water from syphoning all the way down to the output.

[ninjafish]

Gotcha Larry. I guess the way you suggested, would have the flexibility of using the bulkheads for sump return or a closed loop later. It would be a lot easier to have it already done than tyring to drill the tank later.

- cahd

[GrandeGixxer]

Thanks for the input guys, 1 day I will get the custom tank done. I am just gonna do the Max tank for now. Cahd, I cant wait to see yours done though!

[nanorfj]

Red Sea Max looks very nice...would love to see pictures when it arrives.

[ninjafish]

Well, here is my latest purchase:






The bulbs I chose are:

UVL Super Actinic and Geissman Actinic + on the outsides which will function as my dawn/dusk

After a few hours the center bulbs will turn on - Geissman Midday 6000k and Geissman Aquablue +





Up until now, I was feeling pretty patient - but now I want that tank to be ready! B)


- Chad

[6Speed]

Lookin good man. Did you by chance get the skimmer off ebay? I sold a CSS65 on ebay a few months ago to a guy in Canada.

[edwing206]

what kind of lights are those ninjafish? and where did you get them?

[ohclereef01]

Looks like a TEK 24" fixture from reefgeek.com

[edwing206]

ok thanks

[ninjafish]

Thanks everyone, I am pretty pleased with the fixture too. It is the 24" 4-bulb Tek light.
6speed - I got my skimmer from a local guy here a few months back. It's just been gathering dusk while I wait for the tank!

I got the hanging kit along with the light and have set it up:





The actinic causes all kinds of trouble for my cameras white balance so I haven't gotten pictures that look exactly like it does in person yet:

Actinics:



All the bulbs on:





- Chad

[nanorfj]

Chad,

Nice...I'm a big fan of Tek T5 lights, although I haven't ever owned one. Perhaps when I upgrade my 90...

You must be 'chomping at the bit' to get your tank.

Robert

[ninjafish]

When I was testing out the lights, I noticed that my kids' soccer pylon was glowing over in the corner. I took a couple shots to try and convey the actinic fluoresing and the color of the bulbs:











- Chad

[ninjafish]

Thanks Robert. I am extremely pleased with how nice the light are. The only thing to consider is that you will lose your shimmer effect... for me though it was worth it to have such a sleek and compact fixture. And I have been told that it still might be too bright for just softies. Hopefully the fact that two of my bulbs are just actinic will help them from bleaching.

- Chad

[fishes2889]

I have a shimmer from my T5's....just because i have alot of surface agitation though... it tried really hard...

You have a nice setup ! Did you have to order a new tank? because i saw earlier in the thread that you received it...

Steve

[edwing206]

ninjafish- does the tek light come with anything to hold it up or hang?or do you have to buy it seperately? thanks

[ninjafish]

Steve,
Ya I did recieve the tank but some measurements were off and I wasn't thrilled about the quality of work. I took it back and am now having Inter American build it - they are the builder that I usually use but it will take about 3 weeks. (or more???)

edwing206,
The kit for hanging was an extra $45 expence (boo) - but it is really nice.

Update:

Today I tackled the job that I had been putting off for a while.
Electrical.

I put a GFI plug on the ceiling for my lights and a plug on the wall for the tank. The aquarium is on its own breaker.

- Chad

[edwing206]

ok thanks.

[edwing206]

ninjafish- would this be a good choice for the hanging kit?
http://www.reefgeek.com/manufacturer...unlight_Supply
sorry for all the q's. thanks

[CamBarr]

sweet tank chad

[ninjafish]

edwing206,
It says that that kit comes with accesories but it doesn't show them. I assume that it would be good ... I'll try and take a picture of mine hanging.

Cam,
Thanks, it's slowly coming together.

- Chad

[ohclereef01]

What is your take on LED / Moon lights? Do you plan to add them to your fixture?