upgrading-advice welcome!

[richtg]

I am on the verge of bumping up to a 90 gal/45sump for my ever-expanding reef. I am on a budget (aren't we all) and here is what I have come up with so far:

-hesitant to buy a used tank (heavy metals...) new @ inter-american for $150 + drilling. I have the 45, so I need a stand to hold both. I like DIY's, but sometimes it's more economical to buy pre-fab. Any ideas?

-My third experimental painted wood canopy is not standing up. (I use fluorescents, so the built up humidity finds it's way through each type of paint I've tried. Any suggestions for a good hood-type canopy or paint?

-I need a good pump to move 1000+gph for <$250.

-I bought my oolitic sand bulk from Danny Wai and like it. I will buy more unless someone has some to sell me. A bit more LR, perhaps...

-finally, I would like to buy some new pc's. Where is a reasonable deal to be found in town or the internet. Any bad experiences from buying lights on the net?

Thank you for your time and valuable advice to clatter around in my brain. Rich. :eek:

[danny zubot]

Christmas is coming, you might want to hold off on buying lights for the meantime. Hint Hint :mrgreen:

I have been thinking about going MH for a while now, and if I do I won't have a canopy. I think we should just build an open crown for the tank, better for heat dicipation anyway.

[bear27]

For your pump a mag 12 or 18 would fit the budget

[richtg]

Thanks, guys. Who makes the "mag" series pumps?

[Buccaneer]

Thanks, guys. Who makes the "mag" series pumps?

Danner I believe

[richtg]

I've also been researching a rock wall back using foam and LR, sand, shells, etc. Any warnings or ideas?

[IslandReefer]

Look into European Reefs...they seem to like the foam back wall.....no problems that I am aware of....except you are stuck :biggrin: with it .

[christyf5]

The foam doesn't leach anything back into the water??

Christy :)

[reefhawk]

try marine enamel for paint that stands up to salt water.

[richtg]

Thanks. Once the foam ('Great Stuff') is fully cured, it is inert. It will break down slowly if exposed to U.V. over time, but it is harmless. People have been doing this for years and found that if you use a good marine paint, it lasts. There is a really cool thread on reefcentral.com in the DIY section.

P.S. I ordered my custom Starfire euro 90 gal from Bow Valley Aquariums. WHOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

[danny zubot]

He Dude! you should take pictures of your progress while building that tank, and post them for all to see. Gonna be a smokin' reef!

[richtg]

Here is a photo of the plumbing on my new tank
http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/508/1107plumbing-med.jpg?5544
and here is the foam wall after sculpting around the overflows and all 16 return holes. I used about 5lbs of dried LR in the wall for a more natural look as well as some ledges to place frags on. The foam is coated with 5 coats of marine enamel and everything was allowed to cure for a week. Here is the finished wall.
[/img]http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/508/1107foamrockwall-med.jpg?7505[/IMG]
It's hard to see the detail, but the depth of the foam varies between 1/2" and 4". Here is a pic of the tank with the LR and corals in it.
http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/508/1107foamreef-med.jpg?4070
I kept all the coraline shavings from the old tank (new sump) and spread onto the foam wall. Should be saturated in a few months. [/img]

[richtg]

Argh! I have to figure out the pic posting process for this site!

[richtg]

bear with me here...
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/47170tankplumbing.jpg

[muck]

Argh! I have to figure out the pic posting process for this site!
If you edit your post and remove anything after ".jpg" the pictures should show up. :biggrin:

Like so...

Here is a photo of the plumbing on my new tank
http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/508/1107plumbing-med.jpg
and here is the foam wall after sculpting around the overflows and all 16 return holes. I used about 5lbs of dried LR in the wall for a more natural look as well as some ledges to place frags on. The foam is coated with 5 coats of marine enamel and everything was allowed to cure for a week. Here is the finished wall.
http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/508/1107foamrockwall-med.jpg
It's hard to see the detail, but the depth of the foam varies between 1/2" and 4". Here is a pic of the tank with the LR and corals in it.
http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/508/1107foamreef-med.jpg
I kept all the coraline shavings from the old tank (new sump) and spread onto the foam wall. Should be saturated in a few months.

cheers

[Invigor]

that is incredibly awesome!!

[richtg]

Thanks, Ryan. I'll have to find a sticky thread about posting pics on this site.

[richtg]

Thanks, Invigor! :mrgreen:

[richtg]

I forgot to mention that I picked up a Gen-X Mak 4 pump and I'm totally impressed.