Envy07's 29G tank build

[Envy07]

Before I get started I'd like to thank those who were courteous enough to help with questions that I had. If it weren't for RC I don't know how I'll succeed in this hobby.

This build will cover the start to my 29G reef era. I have been maintaining a freshwater tank for about half a year now and just couldn't resist switching to saltwater. The stuff they have in there are limitless. As of now I'm tight on budget so I won't be going all out and will be taking this slowly so I advice you to be patience :P

Here are my specs as of today:

DT tank: 29G AGA
Stand & canopy: Do-it-yourself
Sump: 10G AGA (Drain ->Return->Refugium) w/ glass baffles
Return pump: Not decided
Plumbing: Drilled for 1 1/2" drain, 3/4" return
Protein Skimmer: None for now
Lighting: 2x24W Icecap T5HO w/ workhorse 3 (10000K, actinic)
RO/DI: Aquasafe 6-stage Unit

I will post up pics once I get the camera going. Any advice, comments, questions, etc. is welcome.

[Zucker26]

I set up a VERY similar system about 4 months ago. 29gal display, 10gal sump, same drain and return, and a very basic metal stand (I'm moving again in about a year, so why bother making a nice one). I'm running an external pressure pump, ~1000gph split to a SQWD and two homemade eductors. As for lighting, I went with a Catalina Ultralight 150W HQI + 2x65W actinic PCs.

I tried to keep everything except the lighting on the cheap, so I did a lot of things DIY. I also had to make everything semi-temporary because I plan on moving this entire setup a long distance in a year. If you have any questions, let me know. Can't wait to see some pictures!

[Envy07]

Here are a few pics. I didn't take any pics before this so you won't be able to see how I built my stand and such.

This is an empty tank pic with the T5HO's on. You cant see the brightness of the lighting due to the flash.

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Here are two sump pics. You can see that the siliconing was rather bad, but hey it doesnt have to look pretty right.



Top view of sump



These are some close ups of the overflow. It's made out of glass. I used glass after finding out that acrylic doesn't adhere well to silicone. Kind of sucks that isn't black in color. I guess you might be wondering where the teeth are on this. Well I decided just to put an eggcrate on top so that the snail/fish stay out.

[Envy07]

Bought a Mag5 water pump today but feel I got ripped off buying it for $150 CAD including tax at Big Als . Now if I were to return it I'd I only get store credit. I'm still deciding whether to return or keep it. This by far is the only pump I can afford.

[Envy07]

I'd like some opinions whether to keep the Mag5 or return to get in-store credit. If I return it I might as well have a hard time deciding where to get another pump from.

[Envy07]

More pics...

I painted the outside back glass with Krylon Fusion black. The drain was done durso standpipe style to reduce gurgling noise. As you ccan see beside the drain is a single return to the DT.



Here is a pic of the 10g sump inside the cabinet w/ all the plumbing done. The return is tee-ed w/ ballvalve to the refugium section.

[fambrough]

I like the overflow. Hope it's not too noisy. The only other thing I notice is that the baffles are really high. Just be careful to drill the hole in the return line close to the water level in the DT so that when you shut off the return pump you don't siphon more water than the sump can accomodate.

What's going in this tank?

[Envy07]

Thanks for your comments fam. I think I'll be covering the glass overflow with black acrylic. Something about seeing the bulkhead just seems ugly. About the baffles, I cut out the recommended height of 10" so that's what you see. I admit I am feeling worried about the space if there were to be an outage, but let's see what happens (fingers-crossed).

[Al]

Envy, you might want to take a look at the May, 2003 TOTM, it's a 29 gallon tank.

[Envy07]

Alright Al I'll check that out, thanks

[Envy07]

Oh yeah and about what's going into the tank, I have planned for just two false percula clownfish and the cleanup crew. I'll begin putting in some softies and LPS once I get used to my setup.

[jubjubrsx]

im not totally sure what the canadian dolloar to US dollar is but that same pump on dr foster smith is $50.99US, but imma take a stab that its not 3$ canadian > 1$ US

[Envy07]

Right now if I were to get a pump from the US, I'd get to pay a bit lower than the US price, however the problem with buying from the US is that shipping costs are crazy plus the potential of brokerage fees/duties. I'll be paying double the cost of a US priced pump just to ship it here to Canada.

[Envy07]

Just ordered the new, modern version of the 6-stage aquasafe RO/DI units. These include the carbon block which wasn't present in the older models. Also ordered a Hanna Primo TDS meter from ebay. Hope to get these things in a week or so.

[spleify]

Hey envy, you're off to a great start, just keep asking questions on RC and you will be fine.
Not to beet a dead horse, but as mentioned by fambrough, I am concerned about the height of the baffles in the sump.
Just remember when the pump goes off all that water will drain back into the sump. I am just worried there won't be enough room to support this back flush. I know it might seem like a hassle to take out the baffles now and cut them down, and reinstall. But I think you will be better of than having to clean up 3 or 4 gallons of water, and still have to cut the baffles later.
Just my $.02
HTH
Spleify

[Envy07]

Well I suppose since I only have one drain and return then there'll be less water draining back down. Like I said before I put 10" baffles into a 12" tall tank. I don't know if it'll overflow or not so I guess I'll test run it and see what happens.

[spleify]

Evny, what are the dimensions of the sump? L, W, H?

[Envy07]

It's a 10g AGA, dimensions are 20"L x 10"W x 12"H

[Toddrtrex]

The dead horse is going to be beat some more.

IMO, the baffles are too high, have a feeling that when the pump is off that you are going to have some flooding.

Here is a picture of my 10 gal sump for my 29, you can see the baffles are a bit lower then yours. When the pump is off I have about an inch or two of extra space.

[spleify]

Ok. the reason I ask is I am just trying to figure out how much water it will still hold.
It will hold 1.73 gallons. So just be sure you don't drain more then that, and you will be fine. Just trying to help.
By the way
L X W X H divided by 231 = gallons
HTH
Spleify

[mg426]

Nice work !!!

[Envy07]

spleify thanks for the help. I think I won't drain more than that since I only have one return. A majority usually split the return (this results in more water in the overall piping system) and go all over the place but mine is simple and single so I'm hoping(fingers crossed) that the sump wont overflow when the house dies on me

[Toddrtrex]

One thing you may want to do ( and for all I know you were already planning on doing ), is to wet test the sump with fresh water. Fill everything up to normal running levels and unplug the pump. Have someone with you to plug it back in IF it starts to overflow onto the floor. That way not much water would be spilled, and it would be easy to fix. Plus you wouldn't waste any salt water.

[Envy07]

Way ahead of you todd :P btw nice clean pic of your sump

[Envy07]

I'd like to know if I should install loc lines at the output of the return or just another 90 degree elbow that I already have. I heard the loclines are rather expensive and I want to save as much money as possible for the other important stuff