View Full Version : Fish's new tank project
Hello everyone,
I left the hobby for a little while (temporary insanity) because I thought I wanted to restore motorcycles instead. I found an old 1975 like the very first bike I owned when I was 14yrs old.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/060707017.jpg
Almost the moment I got it all put together, the realization came to me...
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/my550.jpg
I really wanted to have motorcycle and a reef tank.
My super clean nano design was even more popular than I expected and I have been thrilled to see it imitated in the different nano forums. This time around though I don't plan on doing anything fancy, just a 30+gal softies tank with sump. I have decided to go with Tek T5 lighting after seeing some of your tanks.
I'd like to thank Nate, howdy20012002, and JSTR for their help so far. JSTR (Paul) has a LFS worth of equipment in his basement - I'm not joking pm him if you need anything. I still need to have a tank built and order my lighting but so far things are coming together.
In the past, I always built my systems and then posted them... this time though I thought it would be fun to post the step by step progress.
Please don't hesitate to give advice where you see it - it's great to be back here at canreef!
- Chad
Sushiman
10-30-2006, 12:31 AM
Great job on the Honda! A motorcycle & reef tank...a man after my own heart! Keep us updated.
Cheers.
Todd.
Haha right on Todd!
To reduce the amount of equipment in the display, I plan on using an external sump return and a closed loop.
I found a lovely Iwaki MD-40 (Japanese motor) on ebay for a good price that I think I will use to run the closed loop.
http://lh5.google.com/chadnheather/RUVNbPdbABI/AAAAAAAAATk/sbj2Q0S8XB0/061029%20008.jpg?imgmax=576
This is the one that I am planning for the return. I'm not too familiar with this pump but I have heard that they are made by Pan World - if that's the case it should be great. I was always very pleased with my Blueline 20HD.
http://lh4.google.com/chadnheather/RUVNyH0mABI/AAAAAAAAAT0/BYGL0kwIULI/061029%20014.jpg?imgmax=576
Between these two pumps, I am anticipating about 30x turnover after losses. That is actually less than what I would have liked, even on a softies tank... we'll see how it goes though.
(I can't get the photos hosted by google to display in the thread, anyone know what I'm doing wrong?)
If there's one thing I learned during my time away, it is that metal is pretty. Partly for that reason, and partly because I don't have anything else to do, I stripped my Iwaki:
http://lh3.google.com/chadnheather/RUVNkQmkABI/AAAAAAAAATs/Oru2VoaAUn0/061029%20011.jpg?imgmax=576
I could have polished it up brighter than chrome but I used up all my 1000 grit sandpaper on my exhaust pipes.
Modification Pros,
- kept me from pacing for a couple hours
- looks like it means business - way better than 'Iwaki teal'
- a 'first' ?
Cons,
- probably killed any resale value it had
- uh, did I just remove all the rust protectant finish on my saltwater pump ( :
- having to explain why
This one isn't going to be locked in the cabinet, but will sit beside the tank on the stand. Because of that (and some mother's polish) I am confident that I can keep it from rusting up on me.
- Chad
SeaHorse_Fanatic
10-30-2006, 01:48 AM
Very cool. Glad to have you back. Always thought it was a huge shame that you sold off your earlier nano tank, since it was one of the nicest ones out there (as proven by it's many imitators:biggrin: )
Anthony
Funky_Fish14
10-30-2006, 02:58 AM
I have to second Anthony's comment!
I cant wait to see this come together!
Too bad the pics wont show... I really want to see this pump now! Haha.
Chris
Chris,
Do you mean that it doesn't even work if you click on the link? Oh, that sucks... I thought Picasa was going to work out so much better than that.
I will transfer them over to Photobucket now - you gotta see the pump.
The 'bike photos at the top came through right?
- Chad
Return pump:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/061029014.jpg
My Iwaki before:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/061029008.jpg
My Iwaki after winning the Miss External Pageant:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/061029011.jpg
Hope you like. You saw it here first "( :"
- Chad
Funky_Fish14
10-30-2006, 03:16 PM
Yes, even the links dont work for me.
The bike pictures definetly came through. Thats a gorgeous bike too! Great job!
I like what you did to the pump! Haha. Do you plan to finish it down with something finer at all?
Chris
Thanks! No, I need to pick up some more synthetic sandpaper. I think with a 600 then 1000 grit I could really get it to shine. I have taken the sticker off altogether and it looks pretty good.
- Chad
woodcarver
10-30-2006, 05:58 PM
Glad your back Chad , bike looks great even tho' it is not British :):)
Very opportune as I have just picked up a thirty gallon Oceanic from a member in Vancouver and will follow along with your project in readiness for the plunge when we return from Thailand after Christmas.
Anyone know if the Oceanic is tempered or do I need to ask the manufacturer ? ..........................Dave
Haha, thanks for the compliment Dave! But this bike is more Bitish than most of the British bikes being produced today; in fact, I lose a couple drops of oil everytime I park it ( :
Great choice on Thailand too! I lived there for a couple years and learned the language... sure wish I was going too...
- Chad
woodcarver
10-31-2006, 01:47 AM
Yeah! I know what you mean about oil leaks ,it sure was a British bike disease ! We are going to be on Koh Samui for four weeks over Christmas ,hope to see some colourful fish !
Are you having your new tank pre-drilled like the last one ?
.............Dave
Chad
Once you get that pump all sanded down smooth, pick up some automotive clearcoat. Once you put a coat of that on it will help seal it from the elements and add to the shine.
Der_Iron_Chef
10-31-2006, 02:03 AM
Mmmm, Thailand. Been there five times and can't get enough :biggrin:
Dave,
That sounds great. I never visited Samui when I lived in Thailand but went back there for a honeymoon when I got married. I found Lamai beach to be quite nice... not as much partying. Enjoy your trip, try to bring us back some sweet photos!
- Chad
Paul,
Thanks for the tip bro. Do you think I can buy a decent clear coat in a spray can?
I am going to have the tank built for me, but this time around I am going with a cut overflow and external box instead of the tank itself being drilled.
- Chad
We are going to be on Koh Samui for four weeks over Christmas ,hope to see some colourful fish
I was in Koh Samui for a week and Koh Tao for just over a week in March - for diving and fish definately take in Koh Tao while you are there - it is absolutely beautiful and apparently some of the best diving in SE Asia - I got my PADI certification there. Personally I liked the laid back atmosphere of Koh Tao better that Samui but either way it is only a couple hour ferry ride away.
woodcarver
10-31-2006, 07:04 PM
Sorry Chad, Don't mean to make this a Thailand thread :) :) But just had to say thanks for the info. We have never been before but always get positive comments from those who have, like Drew ( makes us confident we have made the right choice ) Thanks Ruth , we will take your advice and visit Koh Tao as you suggest .And just think I can look forward to getting back and starting my cube ( always assuming Chad has prepared the way !!)
.......................Dave
Here is a photo of the new sump that I got from Paul today:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/sump.jpg
The baffles are a little low so I am planning on raising them up by about three inches or so, just to get a little more capacity in the sump.
Next I will post some pics of the metal stand I got as well.
- Chad
midgetwaiter
11-05-2006, 05:04 AM
Hey Chad,
I've got a question for you, where did you get the lamp you refit the MH into for your old tank? I saw it over at Paul's place and I really like it. I haven't been able to find one like it.
Hi,
Really that lamp was a lucky find at Staples, but I've heard of other people having difficulties finding it. I think it will only get harder too because desk lamps all seem to be going fluorescent and LED and are built out of plastic that wont withstand the heat of a halide.
You best shot is looking for a "drafting lamp" with a double ended halogen bulb. They are made of metal and are the perfect size for a 70w halide reflector. Best of luck,
- Chad
Here is a shot of my stand:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/stand.jpg
I plan on sanding the rust off of it and repainting it black along with the wood pieces. I have small kids so I need to enclose the sides, but I am working on a visually pleasing (of course) way of doing that.
As you can see, this project requires more than just building the tank. I need to do a major cleanup on my unfinished basement and also run some electrical lines for power.
- Chad
what tank dimensions are you going with?
I'm still waffleing a bit on the dimensions but right now it is 30"x18"x17".
The stand is 36 x 18.
I am considering going a little bit longer on the tank (like 32") but still want to leave a little room for the overflow and drain. I am also trying to decide if 17" tall is going to be enough, or if I should go 18". This darn thing has grown already. I was planning on 30x17x17 but when I got the stand and found it was only an extra inch across, I thought it would be nice to cover it completely from side to side.
- Chad
Progress is looking good there Chad.
Sorry about creating the moral dilemma on tank sizes.:lol:
What kind of flow you planing on running thru the sump?
Paul
Haha no problem Paul, I appreciate all your help gearing up for this.
I will either use one of the external pumps as a sump return - in which case I would probably have about 600gph going through the sump.
If I can find a decent submersible pump I might use that instead. Ideally, I would like to do about 300-400gph through the sump.
- Chad
I've just been doing some number crunching and figure that if I use one external pump on the sump return and one on a closed loop, I would have about 35x turnover in the main tank (which is about right) but the water would be going pretty fast (600gph) through my sump - maybe to the point where it sweeps microbubbles into the display.
If however, I used a mag5 as a sump return, I would have a nice and manageable 280gph through the sump. But that would mean closer to 50x turnover in the main tank (because of the mags extra output and because the Iwaki would then be bolted to the underside of the tank and wouldn't have the same losses it would have as a sump return). I usually shoot for about 30-40x turnover but 50x is a little excessive on a zoo/riccordia tank. So, there's the dilemma.
I don't really want the added expense of buying and running another pump - especially when I've already fgot pretty good flow. I might just move the baffles further apart and raise them up and just go with the 600gph through the sump...
What are people's thoughts on this?
- Chad
woodcarver
11-06-2006, 10:36 PM
Chad, That is a Coralife skimmer alongside your sump is it not ?...........Dave
well if you decide to use submersable i have a nice brand new quietone 3000, can be used externaly as well, its a 780gph pump
Dave,
You sir have a good eye. It is the coralife rated for 65gals. I had a bad scare with it the other day. I fired it up to test it and the bubble size and production was horrible... it wasn't until I tried everything else that I realized that it might have been caused by the fact that I was testing it on freshwater instead of salt :( ::
Josh,
Thanks for the heads up - I think if I was getting a submersible pump though, I would need something in the 300gph range.
Cheers,
- Chad
woodcarver
11-07-2006, 02:46 AM
Hi Brad ,I am watching your every move :) :)
I wonder if it is the salt water versus fresh, I have not owned a skimmer yet. There is a huge thread on R.C. devoted to tuning the Coralifes ,they seem a bit finicky although economically priced . Our local LFS has them running and they seem O.K.
Are you going to have the bottom of your new tank drilled like the old ones ?
................Dave
Dave,
Thanks for letting me know about the RC thread - I'm going to track that down once I get water in my tank and use it to set the skimmer up.
Yes, I will probably drill at least a couple bulkheads in the bottom of my tank... I am going to bolt an external pump to the underside of the stand and run a closed loop through the bottom of the tank. I might do it with both external pumps actually... if I can get a low enough flow submersible pump to serve as a sump return...
I am still thinking about how to do my overflow... In my experience, the two-bulkhead herbie method is the quietest and safest - bar none. But, I would like to do something less visible if possible... still racking my brain though
- Chad
woodcarver
11-07-2006, 04:26 AM
Chad, I tried to send you the R.C. Coralife skimmer link but it does not seem to want to work. You can get there through Google ,sometimes the R.C . search feature is overloaded !!
What is the two bulkhead herbie method ? Can I find it on canreef ?
.................Dave
Dave,
Thats a good idea to try Google. I never have any luck with RC search.
I'm not sure if the Herbie method is listed on Canreef but I have seen a couple of our members tanks that are running it. It just requires two bulkheads and one ball valve - no durso, no stockman.
Here is where it was first posted on RC:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.p...threadid=344892
Cheers,
- Chad
woodcarver
11-07-2006, 05:46 PM
Hey, Chad ,Thanks for the link . However it only took me to a huge archived list :( :(
What was interesting tho' was I took my own advice and googled ' Herbies bulkheads ' and was directed right to the thread !! Amazing ..............Dave
Update:
Well I picked up the egg grate and some krylon fusion plastic paint today. It was still cheaper to buy the white stuff and black paint than it was to buy black egg crate. As an added bonus, I think that the plastic+paint will be a bit stronger than the plastic would have on its own.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/enclosed.jpg
Advantages to this approach:
- increased airflow
- modern, professional finish
- cheaper than almost any other material option
- no tools required but a pair of side cutters!!! :cool:
What do you think?
- Chad
Joe Reefer
11-10-2006, 07:58 PM
Good idea, It should look pretty good once its painted. Noise may become a factor with the stand open like that.
danny zubot
11-10-2006, 11:06 PM
Ya know what. not that your stand isn't good, but I think you should make a stand out of old motor cycles. now that would impress me.:mrgreen:
Haha. Good idea... then people in both hobbies would think I'm nuts.
- Chad
Delphinus
11-11-2006, 04:51 AM
"then" ? as in "not now"? :p
AndyL
11-11-2006, 04:47 PM
Lookin good chad, can't wait to see water in it!
Thanks Andy! I am just waiting on a little warmer weather so that I can do the painting. I am going with flat black krylon fusion for the plastic and flat black on the stand. The cans say 15degrees is the minimum but I thnk that I will chance it if we get a day in the 5-10degree range... guess I waited too long to get started.
Cheers
- Chad
Well, I took advantage of the brief warming to do some painting. I put one coat on the stand and one coat on the egg crate sides. Here is a comparison shot:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/painted.jpg
I couldn't be happier with the results. Not only is it cheaper to buy the white stuff and paint it, it definitely feels stronger and 'less brittle' than the regular black eggcrate. The krylon fusion paint seems to act like a flexible coat of armor.
- Chad
Here are some shots of the completed stand and sides. I still haven't painted the wood pieces so it doesn't look 100%. I thought it would be easiest just to buy a pint of paint and a roller, rather than using spraypaint on it.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/stand1.jpg
Side:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/stand2.jpg
Front:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/stand3.jpg
I came across some aluminum channel that would be perfect for the the eggcrate to sit in - still trying to decide what to use on the top to lock it down...
What do you think?
- Chad
woodcarver
11-17-2006, 01:20 AM
Looking very sharp,Chad.How do you remove the egg crate for access ?
................Dave
Dave,
That is the challenge right now. I have envisioned the bottom of each side sitting in a channel and then some sore of tab or rail fastened to the stand at the top. I thought I could have screws or something that poked out from the rail that I could attach a strip of acrylic or metal to on the outside of the screen. You know the turn latch fastener on some womens handbags...
Oh man, this is tough to explain...
I would baisically like to have some way of fastening a strip to the outside of the top of the screen that connects to a strip on the inside of the screen, the two strips functioning like the solid channel that holds the bottom in place. Even if one of the sides was accessable like that and the other three sides were 'semi-permanently' secured - I could drill holes in the underside of the stand top tube and thread little black zip ties through to the top screen. That way, if I ever did want to take all the sides off, I could just clip the innexpensive zip ties and pull them off. Sorry if this doesn' tmake any sense...
- Chad
Actually, this just came to me but I could use aluminum channel on the top and the bottom of the screens. The bottom channel would be screwed to the wooden base. The top channel would not be attached to anything but I would use a dremmel to carve a three notches in it, each one like what you see on a barrel bolt lock. These notches would match up to three screws attached to the underside of the top rail of the stand.
Eg:
http://images.orgill.com/200x200/7837826.JPG
I would set the bottom of the screen in the bottom channel, then set the top channel on the top of the screen and swing the screen into place, matching op the notches to the screws. Once in place, I would just push the channel to the side and that would lock it in place on the screws. To take the screen off, just push the channel the other direction and swing it off the screws and out of the frame, and lift it out of the bottom channel.
Does that make sense?
- Chad
Delphinus
11-17-2006, 02:17 AM
Is black eggcrate brittle? I wish I had known that before I asked a place to order some in for me. OTOH, they're dragging their feet bringing in it, been like 10 days now, no money's exchanged hands so maybe I'll just not bother nagging them anymore and just spray some white eggcrate black like you've done (supposed to be for my overflows).
Hey Chad,
That stand is looking 100% better than it was sitting in my kitchen.
Can't wait to see the final product.
Finally got my new 75 gal tank up and running, totals 110 gal with fuge and sump. But I will save that for a seperate thread. For those interested it will be an experiment in Zeovite. Seeing if it can get my browned out acro to color up again.
Found a mag 5, if you still looking for a pump.
Paul
Is black eggcrate brittle? I wish I had known that before I asked a place to order some in for me. OTOH, they're dragging their feet bringing in it, been like 10 days now, no money's exchanged hands so maybe I'll just not bother nagging them anymore and just spray some white eggcrate black like you've done (supposed to be for my overflows).
Tony,
Sorry, I didn't mean to slag black eggcrate. It is no more brittle than the white stuff. However, for my application I am using it to keep my kids from tossing barbie dolls into the sump. With the paint it feels a lot stronger than it did before I painted it. For a regular application like yours though, strength doesn't really matter. Also, I didn't factor in the cost of my time spraying it - so you saved a lot of hassle that way.
- Chad
Paul,
Thanks. I think that this satnd is gonna be perfect for my needs. I am very much interested in the mag5. It amazes me the stuff you are able to come up with - PM sent. Also, drop a line when you do start that thread, that is one sharp looking setup you've got.
- Chad
ps - who did you deal with a Gold to have your stand built?
Thanks Chad,
The tanks build up thread will start this weekend.
As for the stands - I just talk to Dennis and he takes care of all.
Ya sorry, I meant to ask 'who do you talk to to have a tank built'? Must of had stands on the mind. I'm assuming that Dennis is still the guy?
- Chad
Could use magnets to hold the eggcrate. They could be glued into the eggcrate with epoxy or Weldon 40. I think Busy Bee Tools has the small magnets for a good price. Just an idea.
That's not a bad idea Kari. I could use the magnets to ensure that the sides don't fall off, and spankings to ensure the kids don't pull them off (jokes).
That would simplify things for a cleaner design....
- Chad
Farrmanchu
11-17-2006, 06:43 PM
Rare Earth Magnets are strong, use the channel on the bottom, then two pairs of magnets per panel, your kids could probably climb them without pulling them off. Need to use STRONG glue to keep the Magnets in place. Each Magnet is about the size of a Nickel, but thicker. I've got some that I'm gonna make glass mount Frag plugs out of.
I'm liking this idea more and more. Where did you get your magnets?
EmilyB
11-17-2006, 07:41 PM
Fish I bought rare earth magnets at Lee Valley. I was afraid to walk past the counters on the way out, thinking I'd be covered in metal stuff......:lol:
Fish I bought rare earth magnets at Lee Valley. I was afraid to walk past the counters on the way out, thinking I'd be covered in metal stuff......:lol:
I think they might be just the ticket, thanks!
- Chad
Yeah, they're STRONG. I have a 3/4" one on each of my hood doors to hold them up.
Just be sure you dont accidently lump them all together, or else you'll be HOOPED when you try to separate them :P
I think they might be just the ticket, thanks!
- Chad
Well, based on you folks' experience, I stopped by Lee Valley today and picked up 10 rare earth magnets. I just went with the 1/2" diameter and even then I am worried they might be too strong! :)
I am just using some gorilla glue to attach them to the top of the eggcrate screens. It says that I should clamp them when glueing, and I didn't, so I guess we will see how it goes....
- Chad
Tarolisol
11-18-2006, 08:34 PM
How much are these magnets?
Because I bought 10, they were $0.86 each. The larger sizes are more. They look like a stack of watch batteries stuck together.
I stopped by Gold aquariums today and met with Albert. He is doing up a quote for me but here is a quick sketch that I did in mspaint. Please use your imagination, it should turn out better than this... oh man, I hope it turns out better than this :o .
Also excuse my stocking list. All I could afford was three, uh, m&m's?
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/tank.jpg
- Chad
I just realized, should this thread be in "Tank Journal" instead of here in Reef?
Any mods able to help me out with that?
Delphinus
11-19-2006, 02:01 AM
Shows you how observant I can be .. :redface:
Anyhow no worries, I'll move it. :)
Delphinus
11-19-2006, 02:03 AM
Are you sure M&M's are reef safe? LOL hey that's awesome you got a drawing period. I can't draw ANYthing in MSPaint... :)
As a general rule, m&m's are reefsafe; however, larger specimins have been known to cause trouble as they grow :)
Thanks for moving the thread.
- Chad
woodcarver
11-19-2006, 04:02 AM
I think I have it, I was a little confused because it looked at first as though the frame was made of angle iron ( used to make a lot of those when I was an apprentice engineer :) :), when I see on closer inspection it is square section. Thanks for the explanation .
Those earth magnets are really something !
........................Dave
There are not supposed to melt in your hands so I think reef safe.
There are not supposed to melt in your hands so I think reef safe.
LOL
For anyone who was wondering, the magnets were a huge success! I am still going to put a track on the bottom of the stand so that the screens can't be pushed in or out too easily, but the magnets are more than enough to hold them in place.
- Chad
woodcarver
11-20-2006, 02:55 AM
Glad the magnets were successful :)
One of the guys mentioned a possible noise problem with the open style.
Is the tank going to be in a sensitive area of the house ? ( e.g. near the T.V. )
I suppose ,if that proves to be the case you ,could cover the inside of the eggcrate enough to baffle the noise and still keep generally the same look .
.......................Dave
The tank is going to be in the (undeveloped) basement so noise isn't going to be a problem at all. I think that the fans on my two pumps, and my skimmer, will be the only source of noise... thanks to my overflow design. I know that once you get caught up in the Quest for the Silent Pump, it can be extremely frustrating; I've never really had that mindset (I still have my share of obsessions though). The way I see it, I will be maintaining a single drop of ocean, in a foreign environment, thousands of miles from where it belongs. For me, the hum of the life support systems is just a nice reminder of what it takes to do that.
I'm glad you think the stand turned out, I think it will even look a bit better when I paint the wood (and maybe another coat on the frame).
Cheers,
- Chad
woodcarver
11-20-2006, 07:45 PM
I understand your philosophy and , if I may say , it was very well put. I have a stream at the back of my house ( a small river presently!) which makes a noise that I find natural and enjoyable which, if it was made by tyre noise from a highway, would be an irritant...............
What is the next step? Have you finalised tank size?
......................Dave
Dave,
I'd love to have a stream/pond in my backyard... maybe when my kids are a little older.
I think that everything with the tank is finalized, just waiting to hear back from the good folks at Gold Aquariums. My three previous tanks were built by Bow Valley and I have to say that I am impressed with how good Albert has been to work with - I'm optomistic that the build quality will be very good too.
- Chad
Well the tank has been paid for and the building has begun. This is the nerve wracking part of the process because it is completely out of my control for a while. I'll keep you updated.
- Chad
woodcarver
11-24-2006, 05:55 AM
Good luck !!
Here is a photo of the magnets I am using:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/061126003.jpg
And I also put an outline of screws around the base to stop the screens from being pushed inwards:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/061126002.jpg
Today would have been a great day to paint the wood, but it was so cold that I didn't want to leave the house!
- Chad
Well, I re-thought things and decided that having my return plumbing go right through the back wall posed a risk of overflowing my sump. Even with a syphon break, the water pressure in the tank would still drain a fair amount of water.
Because my return plumbing is now going up and over the back wall, there wasn't really a benefit to closing it all in the way that I had originally planned.
Here are some sketches I did:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/tankdrawing3.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/tankdrawing2.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/tankdrawing.jpg
I plan on having black acrylic on the back wall to prevent the overflow and plumbing from being visible.
- Chad
Well, I have been playing around more and learning more features of the program and came up with this:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/completed3.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/completed1.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/completed2.jpg
All of those pictures are to-scale of the actual measurements.
- Chad
Delphinus
11-27-2006, 06:45 PM
These sketches are still using MSPaint??? Or have you started using something else?
Midknight
11-27-2006, 07:03 PM
Looks like Google SketchUp to me.
Midknight's right. I just downloaded sketchup yesterday after Albert told me about it.
It... is... awesome! (and free)
I know that Google is taking over the internet (and maybe even the Earth), but I don't even mind.
- Chad
Funky_Fish14
11-29-2006, 10:15 PM
Looking great Chad! Comming along very nicely and quickly! I cant remember if you mentioned whether or not you gave that pump a finishing pass with something lighter?
Midknight's right. I just downloaded sketchup yesterday after Albert told me about it.
It... is... awesome! (and free)
I know that Google is taking over the internet (and maybe even the Earth), but I don't even mind.
- Chad
That looks like an awesome program! I tried to find it on google but was unable to? Any idea where I should be looking? Im probably just being dense:redface:
Midknight
11-29-2006, 10:26 PM
http://sketchup.google.com/download.html
Funky_Fish14
11-29-2006, 11:25 PM
Thank-you!
I actually had the brilliant idea of searching it on google right after I posted that, and found it.
Chris
Flusher
11-30-2006, 12:43 AM
The tank looks cool so far. Here are my thoughts:
1. Is the tube in the middle a supply line from the sump? If so, is it going to have something to prevent it from draining water back into the sump if the pump shuts off?
2. Do you think there will be enough flow throughout the tank with all the supply lines running so close to the overflow? You could maybe add 45* PVC elbows to the ends of the pipes on the sides to help circulate the water.
That's about all I can think of.
If this tank turns out half as cool as your little cubes did, you'll be laughing. :wink:
________
LovelyWendie99 (http://www.lovelywendie99.com/)
The bulkhead on the inner wall of the tank is the intake for the closed loop. The sump is supplied via the overflow. Even though I couldn't really draw it on sketchup, the plan is to have 45 degree elbows on the returns so that the flow is directed towards the lower front of the tank. With 700+ gph from each return, the circulation in the tank should be sufficient - for my plans at least.
Chris,
Actually, what you see on the pump is just what I did with regular old sandpaper. I havent gone over it yet, but will probably finish it off with a pollishing wheel on my dremmel. I am kind of glad that the iwaki is now going to be the sump return... it will be in a more prominent spot and will also be easier to clean.
- Chad
I just picked up the tank yesterday and here's a photo:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/061212046.jpg
I turned out to be 30"x18"x17" (lwh) and the builder did a pretty good job on it. It initially came with euro bracing but that came off right away - I just like the plain top look more. The inside measurements and my predicted water level make this tank about 35gals; with the expected output of my two pumps, I am figuring that I will have 40x's turnover! There is even room to add more flow if needed (not needed) because my bulkheads are 1.5" but my current pumps have only 3/4" fittings :o .
- Chad
Skimmerking
12-12-2006, 09:29 PM
Chad the tank looks really good are you going to have it a SPS with high flow i take it.
looking good man
asmodeus,
Thanks! It sounds like overkill but the plan for this tank was actually zoos and rics. My last three tanks have been in the 30-40x's range and I have always been really pleased with higher flow (as long as the velocity is kept down). My only concern right now is that my sump is a lot smaller than I thought it was - (only 16gals total volume and I still need to leave room for drainage when the pumps are off). I am worried that my 730gph return rate is going to wreak havoc with micro bubbles...
The tank builder forgot to add the sheet of black acrylic to the back wall, but he is cutting it for me now and I will put it in myself. I figure that it should look better with the overflow not visible. I am also considering using a razor blade to clean up the silicone job in the corners. Finally, I have the overflow eggcrate off and am going to black that out as well.
- Chad
How are you going to have fish and coral there is no water in your tank, take it back they are trying to rip you off :)
Er anyways :) Beauty...looks very nice sir.
Haha, ya those fellas at Gold's have been great to deal with, but....
...delivered, with water and livestock? That's more like it!
woodcarver
12-13-2006, 03:56 AM
Looking pretty snappy ,Chad . Be careful with that razor blade :)
Thought you had gone to sleep there, for the moment .Nice to have things happening again....................Dave
Well I didn't like how much the closed loop intake strainer protruded into the tank so I cut it down a bit.
Here is a pic of the modified one next to stock:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/061213003.jpg
Here you can see that it takes up a lot less room:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/strainer.jpg
I wouldn't normally recommend reducing the size of the strainer, because that only increases the likelihood of a blockage. In this case however, I am not concerned because the bulkhead/strainer size is 1.5", but the pump is only 0.75" in/out. This modified stainer still had more surface area (I think) than a stock 3/4" strainer. Also, I am not keeping an anemone or anything in the tank that would be capable of blocking it all by itself.
- Chad
Delphinus
12-14-2006, 05:52 AM
What did you use to bond the piece back on?
albert_dao
12-14-2006, 06:26 AM
What did you use to bond the piece back on?
Isn't it obvious? He used baby blood.
Farrmanchu
12-14-2006, 12:07 PM
That external Overflow box is the way to go! That's a really clean look, can't wait to see rock in there, it's gonna look like a glass box full of color. Won't take very much aquascaping to conceal intakes and such. That setup is gonna ROCK.
Delphinus
12-14-2006, 03:31 PM
Isn't it obvious? He used baby blood.
Won't that lead to iron contamination?
There was a measurement that was out on the tank that interfered with my plumbing plans - Albert has been awesome to deal with and said that he will take the tank back and make it right.
I think that while I'm waiting, I will drill my sump for a bulkhead. It is approx 17gal sump but I need to leave room for water to drain when I shut the pump off so it will only have about 12gals of water in when operating. Do you think this will be ok for a pump rate of 730gph? Or is it too small?
Thanks,
- Chad
Delphinus
12-16-2006, 04:47 PM
I'm still wondering what you used on the strainer?
Chad
I had a mag 5 running in that sump, matter of fact its the same mag that you let Tony get. Never had any real issues with it. Mind you I am kinda use to high evaporation here at my house so I am constantly topping of the tanks.
Tony,
I used Gorilla Glue from Lee Valley on the strainer. That stuff is frightening how strong it holds. There's no info as to whether it's reefsafe or not, because as far as I know, it has never been used by anyone. The whole job probably took 1/4 of a drop of glue.
Thanks Paul good to know, hopefully the extra flow of the Iwaki won't put it over the top. The tank is actually only about 17gals and I just wanted to be sure that it was going to work before I go and drill it.
- Chad
Delphinus
12-17-2006, 05:22 AM
Cool, thanks for the info. I've had trouble bonding ABS type materials before (I ended up needed to use a lot of 2-part epoxy {not the underwater stuff}). I'll have to pick up some of this. For some reason I think I've heard of it but I can't think of what context it was in. I'm sure once it's cured it's probably as reef-safe as anything, one would think anyhow.
What size hole you gonna drill? If you want 1" bulkheads I can lend you my 1-3/4" glass bit if you want. Afraid I only have that and 5/8" (for float valves) so if you want bigger I can't help. Anyhow let me know if you'd like to borrow the 1-3/4" or the 5/8".
woodcarver
12-17-2006, 06:22 AM
I think Home Depot carries Gorilla glue as well. I have used it for wood work but found it did not store well after opening so dont get too big a bottle !!
....................Dave
Tony,
Thank you for the offer - actually it is a 3/4" bulkhead. I have never used a proper circular bit before, I've always used a dremmle with a diamond bit before and that is probably what I'm gonna do this time.
- Chad
Update:
I am still waiting for the new tank to be finished but I came across something that I found 'interesting'. An online company is using a photo of my 12" cube to advertise on their website:
http://ac-nc.com/Saltwater_Aquarium_Products.htm
The funny thing about it, is that is probably the worst picture I took of that tank - it was back when I first set it up and the corals had not yet filled in, and I had not moved it to the hole in the top of the desk so it is leaning against the wall, half off the desk. The moral of the story: Don't trust what you see on the internet, anyone can copy and paste and make themselves look like a legitamate business.
Here is the email I sent them:
Hello,
It has been brought to my attention that you are using a photo of an aquarium, that I "Designed : Built : Maintained" to advertise on your site. The fact that you are using it for a commercial venture without getting permission or giving proper recognition, bothers me a great deal. This is the photo in question:
http://ac-nc.com/images/Products_1.jpg
I took that picture while the tank was temporarily against a wall and it doesn't even look as good as the tank did when it was set up properly - I seriously doubt that any benefit derived from the false advertising will outweigh the negative attention it will get in my different threads online.
True to my word,
- Chad
scub steve
01-01-2007, 05:15 AM
i know that what they are doing is stupid but they could not have picked a better nano and the pic looks good too
Thanks Steve! I actually wish that they at least would have used a better picture -
Subdued - that's a great idea! It's probably cheaper for them just to find a picture of another person's tank to rip off....
Happy New Year Guys,
- Chad
Hey guys, still waiting on the tank but I wanted to give you a quick update on the situation with the LFS in the States that was using a photo of my 12" cube to advertize their custom building.
On RC, two different members posted in defense of AC's actions. I thought, 'alright there's always two sides to every story' but I thought the second one was bogus because the account was just created today and their only post was in my thread.... then... an RC mod points out that both 'different' members were posting from the same IP address. Here it is if you want to see it:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1011350&perpage=&pagenumber=2
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=107468&st=40&gopid=1007992&
Oh and the comment "This is turning into the Watergate of reefing!", ya, I made that up all by myself.
- Chad
Well that LFS has now removed my picture from their website and the owner sent me a very nice apology letter. Nothing like a little drama while I wait to continue my project...
- Chad
Funny how nothing happens until there is a little publicity.. :lol:
Delphinus
01-11-2007, 06:00 PM
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l214/Ymdar/Motivator/webmunchkin.jpg
Isn't it ironic that I linked to another site to add this poignant message. :lol:
Bwahahahaha... Thats classic Tony!
:lol: :lol:
Ryan,
I was thinking the exact same thing. After the mystery troll got burned on RC, I suddenly had an email from the owner and the photo was taken down sometime during the night.... hmmm
That's hillarious Tony! Do you mind if I share that in the other threads?
- Chad
Delphinus
01-12-2007, 05:40 AM
Don't need my permission, it's not mine. I saw it on reddit.com this morning (in my usual morning routine of reading time-wasting websites :lol:) so it's public-domain.
Thanks. I might wait and see what happens... the threads accomplished their purpose and I'll probably just let sleeping dogs lie...
I wish I woulda had this a couple days ago though!
- Chad
nanopodreefer
01-17-2007, 02:11 AM
Sorry to jump in the middle of things guys, although i have enjoyed the humerous ride re: fish's pics and the guys on RC :biggrin: . Fish you mentioned T5 lighting with your tank earlier. You seem to put in the much needed research that I am somtimes lazy with <hehe>. Any thoughts on your t5 set up, ie: number of bulbs, brand of retro kit, type of reflector? HO vs VHO, ballast brand? Would love to hear your thoughts.
Funky_Fish14
01-17-2007, 07:29 AM
HO vs VHO
I do believe there is only NO and HO T5 lighting, if im not mistaken?
Farrmanchu
01-17-2007, 01:14 PM
Yeah, T5 doesn't come in VHO, maybe someday!
Delphinus
01-17-2007, 04:01 PM
Could one overdrive a HO by running it on VHO, like an Icecap ballast or a Workhorse or some such? Or would the increase in intensity be outweighed by shortened lamp life?
albert_dao
01-17-2007, 05:29 PM
The shortened lifespan is minimal if you can keep the bulbs at a proper temperature (so says IceCap).
Farrmanchu
01-17-2007, 05:59 PM
Yes, can be done, need fan(s). HO with indivdual parabolic reflectors is pretty intense as it is. I've got great growth from my Crocea Clams and SPS, under 4x54 Watt T5 HO, with the reflectors mentioned above, not sure if overdriving would be worth it.
Sorry guys, I wasn't getting notifications for some reason.
nanopodreefer,
I have a 24" Tek (Sunlight Supply) 4-bulb T5HO fixture on order at Gold's. I had done a TON of reading in the T5 thread on RC and decided that Tek was the way to go. There are a lot of less expensive setups on Ebay but the problem is that they don't come with individual reflectors for each bulb. It is those reflectors that give T5ho the real advantange. People say that without good quality reflectors, T5ho is only as good as PC.
The hoods made by Aquatinics are also highly remommended and have good value because they come with an acrylic spash guard and fans. They have 5 bulbs instead of Tek's 4 (edit- but you can also buy 6-8 bulb Teks in certain sizes as well) for the same price which people seem to like because it gives you more colour options from mixing bulbs. The reason I didn't go with aquatinics is because they only make 36" hoods at the moment and that is too long for my tank...
Supposedly there is just a place on the icecap ballast to jump a wire to inorder to overdrive the bulbs... the impression that I get though is that its only recommended if you have a real deep tank and you want a lot of light on the bottom.
- Chad
Beermaster
01-26-2007, 06:28 PM
Wow almost 8 days without an update, i have nothing to do now :( lol
Looking very good Chad, cant wait to see it complete
Well bro, since you needed an update - I headed out to Gold's and got this:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/lights1.jpg
The bulbs I am running are:
UVL Super Actinic and Geissman Actinic + on the outsides which will function as my dawn/dusk
After a few hours the daylight bulbs will turn on - Geissman Midday 6000k and Geissman Aquablue +
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/lights2.jpg
- Chad
Delphinus
01-27-2007, 06:34 AM
Wow that's purdy. :)
Thanks Tony.
I got the hanging kit along with the light and have set it up:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/lights7.jpg
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:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/lights3.jpg
All the bulbs on:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/lights6.jpg
- Chad
I can't quite put my finger on it... there seems to be something missing in those last few photos. :razz:
HAHAAHA
Ya ya Ryan. When I close my eyes though, I can see the tank and livestock.
(I am still debating what I am going to do for a substrate)
- Chad
Today I put a GFI plug on the ceiling for my lights and wired it down to a plug on the wall for pumps etc. Also, the aquarium is on its own breaker. I am still doing some things just to pretty it up a bit.
- Chad
Whens the tank coming Chad?
That is the only thing that I am really waiting for... unfortunately it is going to be about three weeks (boo).
I might start some LR in a spare tank I have lying around... just to get a head start on things.
- Chad
Didn't you order it quite awhile ago?
Actually, I took posession of one already, but there were a couple of things were different from what I ordered, so the shop was good enough to take it back. I went with a different builder now but the downside is, they are super slow...
- Chad
Skimmerking
01-28-2007, 06:43 PM
CHAD ITS AMAZING HOW BRIGHT YOUR LIGHTS ARE THEY MAKE THE TANK LOOK LIKE ITS NOT THERE.:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
SORRY MAN HAD TO DO IT Thanks Tony.
I got the hanging kit along with the light and have set it up:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/lights7.jpg
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:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/lights3.jpg
All the bulbs on:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/lights6.jpg
- Chad
Haha, I should have piled some LR on stand - then tried to convince everyone how clear my water and glass are!
- Chad
X-Treme
01-28-2007, 08:37 PM
Just curious here, as I am gonna be starting a new tank soon here. Why the T5 over MH? Just heat issues? Isn't that light only 96W? I was gonna do a Giesmann 150 or 250MH with 4 24W t5 actinics, but should I be looking at going with the same light as you? Tank will be 24Lx18Wx20H...about 35 gallons. Would like to be able to keep ANYTHING that might catch my eye (incl. clams) Still doing lighting research here and people keep changing my mind. lol
X-Treme,
Actually the heat was never a consideration. I'm the guy that kept a 70w de MH over a 2gal nano and am a firm believer that halide poses less of a risk of heating your aquarium than fluorescent lighting (because it doesn't have to be placed as close to the surface of the water and can allow for more airflow). I keep making that claim, but no one else has really paid attention ( :
Believe it or not, halide is a better choice for people who also want to keep lower light corals than T5HO is. The advantage with halide is the PAR readings vary dramatically around the tank. The par just a few degrees off, is less than it is directly below the bulb so you can usually find a spot in a halide tank for just about anything. There isn't really any 'shade' or diminished spots in a T5 tank. The main difficulty brought up in the T5 forums isn't how to keep lps or clams, it is how not to kill/bleach your soft corals. (I have been told that because half my bulbs are just actinics, I should be ok though.)
Despite this problem, I went with T5 because I love how slim and pro the fixture looks. I also like fact that I can light my tank evenly with only 96watts of electricity. The cost is prety reasonable, the bulbs are each only $20 and early claims are that they don't have to be changed until they are a year to 18months old, same as halide. Even a single 150w de halide bulb wouldn't have lit my tank as well as this fixture, but it would have taken more electricity and I would be stuck with only one colour and no dawn/dusk. With these 4 bulbs I can fine tune the colour of my tank to exactly what I want.
Because you are torn, I suggest that you go with halide with T5 supplementation. That is the best of both worlds and I don't think you would regret it - plus you would have some nice shimmer. I don't think there is a downside to going with what you originally planned. The heat of the halide bulb will probably decrease the output of the T5s a bit. Halides need to be hot to work properly and T5 needs to be cool to get the most effect. There are claims that even T5-only fixtures that are actively cooled with fans put out as much as 30% more par than without the fans. That's why the radiation hungry crowd goes with the T5 fixtures with built in fans or adds them themselves... however, if you have a halide + T5, you will likely have plenty of par and wont have to squeeze the most performance out of your T5 - it would be mostly for looks and dawn/dusk anyways.
Sorry for rambling - I don't think there is any one right answer. T5 is still pretty new and a lot of the claims and figures may prove to be false over time. I just wanted to try my hand at it while being a little energy conscious and looking good (uh, the fixture that is, not me).
Best of luck whatever you decide,
- Chad
Here is a shot of the GFI plug and elctrical that I put in the rafters for power to my light:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/electrical.jpg
- Chad
When I was testing the light, I noticed one of my kids' toys over in the corner was lit by the fluorescents so I took a couple pics to show the two stages of lighting:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/lights4.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/lights5.jpg
I know, I know, maybe I should get some marine life to take pictures of...
- Chad
Things are looking good there, too bad the is no glass to hold it all.
Is that a picture of those rare non-aquatics cones. I hear they are twice as deadly as the aquatic variety. How can you keep such a dangerous animal with kids running a round. :lol:
X-Treme
01-29-2007, 01:36 AM
I noticed on the one timer you have, there is THREE on/off cycles? Is that just the way the timer came cause you aren't really using it yet, or is there some method to your madness there?
P.S. - Sorry for all the "dumb" questions.
Paul,
Thanks bro.
And you're right. The cone was an impulse purchase - I didn't research its requirements before buying it like I should have. It's free to a good home... might work in a species tank...
I noticed on the one timer you have, there is THREE on/off cycles? Is that just the way the timer came cause you aren't really using it yet, or is there some method to your madness there?
P.S. - Sorry for all the "dumb" questions.
That's really observant of you. Actually, I just took that timer out of the package and hadn't set it up yet. (The cone is nocturnal and doesn't have any light requirements).
When I do run the lights, I will probably try something like:
Actinic - 8:00am - 10:00PM
Daylight - 10:00am - 8:00PM
Cheers,
- Chad
Delphinus
01-29-2007, 02:26 AM
When I read the email thread-update notifications for this thread, I thought, how on earth can he be talking about a cone snail when there's no tank yet? :lol: Ahhhh it's all so clear now. ;)
Haha sorry Tony.
It's sad what a guy will resort to while waiting for a tank to be built... I have named it and everything...
- Chad
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/lights7.jpg
I like the idea of keeping the safe close-by. That would come in handy with this hobby.
The only need any of us would have for a safe is a fire safe to keep all our recieps for the insurance company. God knows we'll spend every last dime we have our dam tanks. LOL
Haha, I closed that safe for the last time when I was twelve years old or so. I forgot the combination but I have held on to it bacause someday I am going to get into it and get my comic books back...
TRIX raises a good point though. I wonder what coverage my policy offers if I had some tank-related disaster?
- Chad
Haha, I closed that safe for the last time when I was twelve years old or so. I forgot the combination but I have held on to it bacause someday I am going to get into it and get my comic books back...
TRIX raises a good point though. I wonder what coverage my policy offers if I had some tank-related disaster?
- Chad
I've been told that if my system was lost as part of a claim I would be covered for the aquarium and equipment but not livestock.
Update:
I hadn't called Bow Valley since I ordered the tank - but they phoned me today! And the tank and sump are finished - a week sooner than quoted!!
I can't make it up there until Friday, but once I do, I will post some shots.
- Chad
First off, I know I am going to get a lot of requests about this, but I do not know where I got the leopard blanket from... I just hung it so that you didn't have to look at my messy basement.
Along with the display tank, I also picked up a sump that I had built to maximize the shape of my stand:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070209046.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070209034.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070209043.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070209051.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070209022.jpg
- Chad
danny zubot
02-13-2007, 06:54 PM
Love it! The leopard print back ground that it. Looks like a trendy new type of tank.:razz:
Hahahaha
A little voice told me that I should have grabbed a different blanket of the shelf, but I just didn't listen....
- Chad
justinl
02-15-2007, 06:31 AM
Hey Chad, do you plan on leaving up the leopard print blankie? I like it. You could call it the "Sexy Tank." me-owwwwww.
oh hey! this is my 69th post. huh, go figure.
Hey Chad, do you plan on leaving up the leopard print blankie? I like it. You could call it the "Sexy Tank." me-owwwwww.
oh hey! this is my 69th post. huh, go figure.
Haha! Well that kind of worked into a bit of a valentines theme, but as I have mentioned, the jungle cat blanket is irrelevant - after all the money I've spent on the system so far... I'm sleeping on the couch anyways...
I would actually like to get black sheet that reaches ceiling to floor = like what they use in photo studios... just until I develop my basement.
No Ryan, Heather does not sew. Why, did you see I had the material and want something made up? That's funny 'cause you are the person that came to mind when I put it up.... whats that mean???
On a more serious note... does anyone know where I can find 45 degree elbows in 1" PVC? Rona used to have the best supply but not it seems like they have as few pieces as home depot. Maybe there isn't much of a demand anymore.
- Chad
I picked up some 1" 45's from the Home Depot at Glenmore last month.
Thanks Kari. I tried HD Shawnessey, but will head up there today.
- Chad
No Ryan, Heather does not sew. Why, did you see I had the material and want something made up? That's funny 'cause you are the person that came to mind when I put it up.... whats that mean???
- Chad
I thought for sure she must sew. Or is it you that is a master of the Singer?
Why else would you buy your underwear by the roll. :razz: :razz:
I thought for sure she must sew. Or is it you that is a master of the Singer?
Why else would you buy your underwear by the roll. :razz: :razz:
LOL :razz:
Well, I have almost everything I need except for a 1" union and maybe a little extra pvc pipe.
During the warm weather I put another coat of paint on the stand. I also drilled holes in the wooden tops and painted them with a marine resistant paint to try and preserve them.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070225008.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070225010.jpg
Once I have all the plumbing pieces I am going to sand them down and paint them with krylon fusion.
There is this little voice of reason in my head and is telling me that I shouldn't have chosen black and the color of my stand... I am usually pretty anal about keeping things clean - but I've never had to account for every single drop of spilled water before.
- Chad
AndyL
02-25-2007, 07:21 PM
Gotta comment for a second...
Watch that plumbing for your closed loop - hard plumbing like that without any flex/vibration isolation in the plumbing - can lead to tank breakage. I snapped 2 tanks with plumbing that wasn't dissimilar to that. (and the harmonic vibrations don't help with keeping noise down)
Andy
Andy are you talking about the photos? The plumbing you see in the first pic is one of my return pipes and they will just hang over the top of the tank.
I do realize that I need to brace the pipe coming from the closed loop so that all that weight isn't sitting on the bulkhead. Because the glass is 1/2" thick, I'm not going to break the tank unless I really reefed on it (fortunately I have gotten in the habit of overbuilding tanks whenever there are bulkheads involved)... but a crack in that bulkhead would be equally catastrophic and would drain the tank down 2/3 of the way.
Thanks,
- Chad
AndyL
02-25-2007, 08:41 PM
That's exactly what I'm talking about... Even with 1/2" glass I'd be concerned - with such a short length of plumbing 'feeding' the pump - there's going to be a significant transfer of vibes/resonance from the pump to the bulkhead (thus to the glass). Temporarily plumb it in - fill the tank and run it - put your hand on the pane that feeds, and on the pump... You'll feel the vibration through both.
When you've got a couple feet (like often seen on big tanks) between the bulkhead and pump - that few feet of pvc acts as a vibration isolator; but in your setup there's nothing really there to isolate - you've got less than 6" which isn't enough 'free space' to have the same effect... I did the same as you have on my 7g bf even with careful plumbing of the closed loop - the vibration of the mag 3 alone was enough to snap the back glass corner to corner.
A small hunk of flex between the 90 and the union or between the union and the pump would go a long way.
Just my .02, not trying to criticize, just pointing out something I've learned in the past.
Delphinus
02-25-2007, 08:56 PM
Western Pump is a good place to get the spa flex tubing. I second Andy's comments, always use short lengths of spa flex or even just vinyl tubing between bulkhead and pump, even if the vibrations aren't enough to crack glass, the flex pipes will absorb the vibrations and lessen that "hum" sound you'll get. :)
Oh I see, I thought you were talking about closed loop plumbing. What you are looking at in the photo is the sump and sump return pump. Luckily the closed loop and sump return plumbing to the display tank is each about 4' in length, plastic, and full of fluid (great qualities if you want to isolate vibes!). Unfortunately though I am cramped for space with the sump return pump. As you can see in the photo, the pump is on the very edge, almost hanging off of the stand - and that is after I cut down each of the PVC fittings by half with a hacksaw! There is no room for any tubing from the elbow to the pump (unless I took out the quick release union... I guess I could). Even if I put flex tubing from the bulkhead to the elbow there is so little free space that direction that the flex tubing would have to be so short there wouldn't be enough there to 'flex', the fittings would almost be touching each other.
Great ideas guys, and if there was another way of doing it, I would have. On past tanks I have even used a hosebarb on the sump bulkhead, and hosebarb on the pump, and 6" of hose between the two. It might be a little tough to visualize from the photo, but I don't have any extra room.
On the bright side, there isn't any unsprung weight on the bulkhead. I connected the pump to the bulkhead first and then siliconed and tightened the bulkhead down so that it set in the neutral position without any weight on it....
- Chad
Well I scrapped the plan to bolt the closed loop pump to the underside of my stand - it would have been nice to be able to tuck it up out of the way, but it would have made it a lot harder to service the pump. Fortunately, I came up with a new plan that I am pretty excited about, despite being short on building materials... and tools.....
and technical skill :razz:
This is what it looks like now:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070301005.jpg
It should look good when it's done though.
Here is a shot of some of the plumbing that I have glued already (you can see both the returns that will come over the top of the tank):
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070301009.jpg
I was actually going to paint the plumbing today but I took my sump tank in to the local glass shop so they could measure and cut a baffle pane for me. They ended up keeping the tank until tomorrow and I can't finish my plumbing measurements and cuts without it.
- Chad
Update:
Here are a couple photos of the plumbing routed and test fitted. (The in-stand pics have a back background because I leaned a board against it for the photos - didn't want to hang that leopard blanket again :razz:.
It should give an idea of how things work:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070302001.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070302002.jpg
The sexy-silver Iwaki is the sump return and the red Coralife is running my closed loop.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070302008.jpg
View from the back:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070302009.jpg
I just realized that I didn't have the other drain tube connected for this picture, sorry. The pipe on the left is my drain with ball valve (for Herbie method), the center pipe is connected to the closed loop bulkhead in the back wall of the display, and on the right (not pictured) will be my emergency drain pipe.
Cheers,
- Chad
Update:
Here is a shot of the underside of the bottom piece of the stand (the 5lb weight is just holding it down while the glue hardens):
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070303003.jpg
I am putting my power bar upside down on the underside of the stand so that I can route all my wires through the holes and then have the tank in the middle of the room with only one electrical cord connecting it to the wall. I glued the power bar inside a Tupperware container so that it will be impossible for any spilled water to get to it. I also bought a mountain bike tire tube and cut it into four lengths. I will lay the rubber strips along the frame rails and then lay the board on top of them (and the sump etc on top of that). I am expecting that it will provide some cushioning and prevent vibrations from being transferred to the stand (like a rubber mounted motorcycle engine?).
Sorry, that paragraph was probably confusing...
Yesterday I cleaned all my plumbing connections with pvc solvent and glued them together. Because of the diversity of my pieces, I had to buy pvc glue, abs glue, and abs to pvc glue! I still have three full jars if anyone needs - seriously.
Today I sanded, rinsed, dried and taped all my plumbing to get it ready for painting:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070303005.jpg
And ...............
.......here is the result:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070303022.jpg
The bottom pipe is my intake from the closed loop bulkhead
The middle pipe is my sump return line
And the top pipe is my closed loop return line
Hope you like it.
And thanks to Andy for putting me onto abs fittings - it allowed me to turn a tighter corner from my closed loop bulkhead and fit my pipe within the frame.
Cheers!
- Chad
Well, I know people are still looking at the thread, so im just gonna keep on posting.
I did a rush job of turning the setup into an emergency holding tank yesterday:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070306017.jpg
Because I picked up a special guest. Everyone - I would like to introduce you to Mac:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070306011.jpg
I would like to thank the good follks a Gold aquariums for getting him in, and especially Tim for letting me know he was there. I was really glad to find that Mark still has a good supply of nutritious and delicious snails - I picked up a bag of them and Mac is smashing away as I type (the sound brings back good memories of when I had Ike).
Here he is showing off:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070306027.jpg
- Chad
EmilyB
03-08-2007, 07:38 PM
He's gorgeous !
Delphinus
03-08-2007, 08:28 PM
Wow the colours are awesome. Makes me almost want to setup ("yet another") tank so I could keep one too!
Wow.. what a beauty.
A mantis tank looks like it would be lots of fun....
Do I ever hate this hobby. :razz:
Thanks guys!
The original plan for this tank didn't include a mantis. The idea was to have a soft coral garden that I could comfortably work in and prune. I guess I can still do that... just with an element of danger now. Seriously though, after keeping my first mantis I was smitten, they are easily the most rewarding animal that I have ever kept in this hobby (I've never had a puffer though... their owners seem pretty attached to them too).
I have always wanted a peacock but my past nanos were too small for one.
I guess my new goal is something like:
"devote vast sums of time and money to the keeping of a single, small, invertebrate"
:razz:
- Chad
Joe Reefer
03-08-2007, 08:53 PM
Love the mantis!!!
Fantastic Chad.. time to invest in some gardening gloves.
I'd go for some stainless steel mesh meat cutting ones.. :lol:
justinl
03-08-2007, 09:36 PM
wow even for a peacock mantis, that baby has gorgeous colours! My tank is all set up, i just need to find my own mantis... the search continues.
I feel obliged to ask though, how thick is the glass? Becaus a large full grown and angry peacock is capable of smashing glass. You could probably get away with unusually thick glass if you don't bother it from the outside. And i assume you know that a mantis might steal a few frags once in a while for its own home?
untamed
03-08-2007, 10:05 PM
I notice in the mantis video that you have as many red flatworms as I do!
Looking good Chad!!
Thousands of dollars for a $30 animal....makes sense to me. Ask my octopus and mantis shrimp
wow even for a peacock mantis, that baby has gorgeous colours! My tank is all set up, i just need to find my own mantis... the search continues.
I feel obliged to ask though, how thick is the glass? Becaus a large full grown and angry peacock is capable of smashing glass. You could probably get away with unusually thick glass if you don't bother it from the outside. And i assume you know that a mantis might steal a few frags once in a while for its own home?
Thanks Justin,
My tank is at least 1/2" thick. I usually overbuild tanks anyways because I prefer trimless, unbraced tanks so they need to be thicker. I'm not really worried - I don't have any experience with peacocks but from keeping a g. smithii I think that the glass break thing is kinda overhyped. It is really tough to find a real life, confirmed case, but the rumor goes through online forums like wildfire. I can see him putting chips in it if he really works at it but... the day it doesn't take him 15 tries to crack a 1mm thick snail shell is the day I start to worry a bit more.
Once in a while Ike stole birdsnest and digitata frags but that was only when I didn't provide enough building supplies. Just toss in some more LR rubble and shells and everything will be fine.
Best of luck with your search.
- Chad
I notice in the mantis video that you have as many red flatworms as I do!
Haha, I had those things forever.. but when I posted the video, another reefer pointed out that they were the dreaded flatworm. I borrowed some flatworm exit from Andy and nuked them all within the week. They actually didn't bother me... but, war is war :razz:
- Chad
Looking good Chad!!
Thousands of dollars for a $30 animal....makes sense to me. Ask my octopus and mantis shrimp
LOL I knew you'd understand!
And thanks again for your help,
Cheers!
justinl
03-09-2007, 04:57 AM
Okay, 1/2 an inch of glass will serve just fine. Just to warn ya, G. smithii stay much smaller. Peacocks are as interactive as smithii but bigger. You don't want to hand feed these bad boys. You should know too that you should watch out for shell rot. Peacocks are much more susceptible to it than smithii. Just make sure it has rubble and lr to make a nice dark burrow to escape light and supplement the frozen diet with selcon once in a while. If it ever develops shell rot let me know, Ill let you know what t do. You've had a mantis before so you probably know all this. Im just makin sure you know if you don't already.
yeah i agree I like the trimless look too. I made a 60 gal trimless acrylic recently.
woodcarver
03-09-2007, 05:34 AM
Hey Chad , Looks like they finally got you behind bars :) :)
Is that for aiding and abetting that criminal mantis ?
..............................Dave
Right on thanks Justin. I am trying to feed a fair amount of live food but will be picking up some selcon for frozen krill and some iodine to dose the water. I will definitely get a hold of you.
Dave,
The only thing criminal is how much money I've spent so far - :razz:
- Chad
justinl
03-09-2007, 05:51 AM
whoa whoa! stop there and back up a step. Why do you need iodine? Are you one of those people who believe mantids need iodine to molt? just to let you know, iodine dosing in a mantid (or another exoskeleton invert that molts) tank is NOT a good idea.
There is this false rumor going around that it helps a mantis molt. It actually forces premature molts from them. This is bad because there are things a mantis needs to do before a molt like reabsorb nutrients from the old shell and start growing a new one beneath it. Do that too often, it can kill a mantid. For the mantis' sake please don't dose it with iodine.
Ive only ever come accross one case where it seemed an iodine dose helped. But that was a special case where a peacock was ready to molt but was having trouble doing so.
Whoa... I almost dropped my glass of water when I read your post, it jumped out at me so much. I don't think I'm one of "those people".... I have just always heard that iodine is an essential element that that it is quickly depleted from mixed salt. I have heard that dosing iodine is necessary to maintain the level over time. But thanks for the heads up, I will be sure to look into it.
- Chad
justinl
03-09-2007, 03:27 PM
No proble. I believe that the only case where iodine can be depleted is in a reef system, but even there im not sure. There is plenty of iodine in the salt mix, and if you feed the mantis crustaceans, frozen or live, it will get all the iodine it needs. There is absolutely no need to add iodine in my mind. If you're worried about depletion over time, I wouldn't so long as you do your regular water changes.
Well, this will be a reef when I'm done - I much prefer the look of a mantis in a reef over the sand + pvc-pipe-cave that make up some mantis tanks. Probably what I will do is test regularly for iodine to see where I am at.
_ Chad
justinl
03-10-2007, 11:36 PM
yeah i think that would be the best plan of action. My own mantis tank (when i actually find the damn mantis) has a 2 inch sand bed and LR with rubble (small LR and empty shells) for the mantis to make its burrow. I don't like the unnatural look of bare pvc either.
Here is a photo of the system now that I have it all up and running:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/0703091.jpg
Fortunately there are no vibrations that I can detect with my hand coming from the sump return pump... I think it is lucky that I looked a little harder and paid a little extra for the Japanese-motored Iwaki. Now the system is far from silent, the fans from both pumps are very noticeable... each one probably twice as loud as that fan in your computer - and maybe a higher pitched hum. I know there are some that strive for a slent sysytem but this isn't a problem for me - my nano design was all about downplaying and hiding equipment; however, this setup is about displaying and showcasing the equipment... bringing attention to all of the hardware and power it takes to maintain a single drop of ocean so far from its natural environment. Speaking of showcasing equipment, here are a few shots of the plumbing:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/0703093.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/0703092.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/0703094.jpg
There are a couple things about the setup that I would do differently if I had the chance. First of all I would make my skimmer chamber shorter so the water didn't have so far to fall. Secondly, I think my disconnect unions are too close to the effluent sides of the pumps - when they are wide open, I get a rattling sound in there that I think is cavitation due to the water going from the impeller (3/4" passage) and straight into the over-sized chamber (over 1") inside the unions. I have found that by closing the ball valve partway (probably closer to 3/4") I can eliminate the sound without decreasing output. I think if the over-sized unions were further from the pumps there wouldn't be a problem. The plumbing is enlarged to 1" in order to reduce friction and reduce the velocity from the return pipes - which is good because I have ran the head-loss calculator with my actual measurements and the total came to 1468gph of flow from both pumps. That makes an even 40x's turnover. (I said that the plumbing was 1" and then sized down to 3/4" at the pumps but actually my intake to the closed loop starts out at 1.5" to allow for a larger bulkhead screen that's less prone to plugging. It then goes down to 1" and then to 3/4" at the pump).
One last pic:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/0703095.jpg
Hope you like,
- Chad
justinl
03-11-2007, 09:41 PM
i like.
unorthodox approach to your display method. i like as well.
Thanks Justin,
I didn't have the sides on the stand in those pics... oh well... just have to take some more photos
untamed
03-12-2007, 06:07 AM
One just can't give enough praise to anyone willing to paint their plumbing!! I'm a fan. Nice work.
Der_Iron_Chef
03-12-2007, 06:48 AM
Looks very nice!
The first thing I noticed in your picture was the sticky rice basket and pot above you and to the left. Mmmm.
That's just the foodie in me :mrgreen:
Thanks Untamed! It is really the result of being anal about the details and having too much time on my hands. :razz:
Chef,
You have a good eye. I am addicted to sticky rice after living in Thailand for two years and spending some time in the Isan. My wife picked up a few recipies and makes a pretty mean Namtok (?? I cant spell Thai names in english).
- Chad
Der_Iron_Chef
03-12-2007, 06:55 PM
Ahhh. Laab Namtok? It's my favourite!
I haven't lived in Thailand, but I've been five times (including during the Tsunami....phew). I lived in Malaysia when I was a teenager, though. I miss it something fierce :-)
Haha yup its my favorite too.
I've been meaning to make a trip back there but our kids are still a little young for travelling...
- Chad
justinl
03-13-2007, 12:06 AM
gee thanks guys. Now im hungry and have a wicked craving for some sticky rice. :eating:
Yesterday I stopped by Gold's and picked up a Stealth heater and a thermometer.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070312001.jpg
So far I am very impressed with the stealth - it has held the temp rock solid compared to my second hand ebo (which had water drops inside the glass!) - as an added bonus, it matches the red/black color scheme I have going on.
I have one question though. This morning I found that the part of the heater that gets hot was covered with little bubbles, I blew them off but there appears to be a film or scale left on the outside. I could probably scratch it off or use some vinegar to scrub it but I am worried that it will just build up again. Is this a problem? Any thoughts?
One final piece of equipment:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070312008.jpg
This is my laboratory grade digital metering pump that is going to add topoff water at the exact rate of evaporation.
Cheers,
- Chad
Ok, I figure that I should post an update of all my photos for those who don't like reading through all the thread.
First, here is a comparison of the conceptual sketches I did before I started the project - you can judge how close I came to my plans :
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/completed3.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070313001.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/completed2.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070313011.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/completed1.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070313006.jpg
I started with a metal stand that I stripped and repainted, then came up with the idea to use eggcrate for the sides:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/enclosed.jpg
I painted the eggcrate black - way cheaper than buying black eggcrate (and I think stronger too.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/painted.jpg
I started to go a little crazy waiting for the tank to be built so I polished up my ugly green Iwaki pump:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/061029008.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/061029011.jpg
I drilled holes in the bottom piece of my stand to route the electrical cords for my sump equipment:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/061126002.jpg
Then I painted everything and glued the powerbar, in a tubberware container to the underside of the stand - making it impossible for spilled water to get to the electrical:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070313012.jpg
Added gfi plug in the rafters for my lighting and in the wall for the sump power:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/electrical.jpg
Tank arrived:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070209046.jpg
I chopped down my closed loop filter screen so it didn't protrude into the tank so far:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/strainer.jpg
T5HO lighting arrived:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/lights1.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/lights2.jpg
I assembled the pvc plumbing:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070302002.jpg
Then glued it:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070301009.jpg
Then hit it with some krylon fusion spray piant:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070303022.jpg
Then added a few other pieces of equipment:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070312001.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070312008.jpg
And a peacock mantis shrimp named Mac:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070306027.jpg
And that brings us pretty much up to date! :razz:
Thanks for looking,
- Chad
justinl
03-14-2007, 02:07 AM
Im looking for a peacock mantis myself. If you don't mind my asking, does gold's aquarium have any peacocks left and would they ship to vancouver?
woodcarver
03-14-2007, 02:42 AM
Great thread Chad ! Thanks for taking the time to organize photo's .
I assume you removed those glue runs from the power bar , all in the interest of attention to detail of course :) :)
..................Dave
Im looking for a peacock mantis myself. If you don't mind my asking, does gold's aquarium have any peacocks left and would they ship to vancouver?
They only had the one. Sorry.
- Chad
X-Treme
03-14-2007, 05:18 AM
Ahhh. Laab Namtok? It's my favourite!
I haven't lived in Thailand, but I've been five times (including during the Tsunami....phew). I lived in Malaysia when I was a teenager, though. I miss it something fierce :-)
Now you two have my interests peaked about this Namtok stuff..... I absolutely ADORE sticky rice.....so WHAT is it?
Great thread Chad ! Thanks for taking the time to organize photo's .
I assume you removed those glue runs from the power bar , all in the interest of attention to detail of course :) :)
..................Dave
Haha thanks bro. Actually I left the glue runs on the powerbar because I thought that the hardened glue might act like fingers providing more contact points and less chance that the powerbar will one day come detached. It does look dreadful though. No one can see it unless they got down and put their face against the floor... but.... I know it's there still :sad:
- Chad
Der_Iron_Chef
03-14-2007, 05:27 AM
Now you two have my interests peaked about this Namtok stuff..... I absolutely ADORE sticky rice.....so WHAT is it?
If Chad and I are talking about the same dish, it's generally beef or pork marinated and cooked in lime juice, fish sauce, powdered toasted sticky rice, mint, cilantro, green onions, thai chilies and shallots.
If you want an official recipe, I could work one up for you! I generally sort of....just throw a little of this in, a little of that....:redface:
Now you two have my interests peaked about this Namtok stuff..... I absolutely ADORE sticky rice.....so WHAT is it?
Namtok means 'water fall' in Thai which is weird because every other dish is named after exactly what is in it. ??
You take a steak of beef and marinade it for a while in fish sauce, lime juice, and Thai chilis. Then you lightly sear it over a fire, then slice it up into thin strips. Then fry the strips with more fish sauce, lime juice, mint leaves, cilantro, red onions, dried chili flakes, and this powder that you make from toasting uncooked sticky rice until brown then grinding it into powder (adds a nice smokey flavour). I like to eat it with my hands just like they do in the Isan. Roll some sticky rice into a ball and flatten it and little and pinch some of the namtok up with it. Stuff it in your mouth. Dip some sticky rice in the juicy sauce. Repeat.
Dang it X-Treme, now I'm hungry! :mad:
- Chad
X-Treme
03-14-2007, 05:45 AM
YOU'RE hungry? Don't even talk to me about that now. Iron Chef.....I'd LOVE this recipe. Can ya do it with chicken too?
P.S. - Sorry for the thread jack. :redface:
justinl
03-14-2007, 06:10 AM
omg... im so hungry. I need this stuff. bad.
YOU'RE hungry? Don't even talk to me about that now. Iron Chef.....I'd LOVE this recipe. Can ya do it with chicken too?
P.S. - Sorry for the thread jack. :redface:
Usually laab is made with the same or similar ingrediants but is ground/chopped more finely. (In the Isan they are a little hardcore and also add chunks of blood to the laab). I have heard of laab done with chicken but never 'chicken namtok' ?? Really no reason why you couldn't though. Usually when ordering food you state the name of the dish and then what meat you want it made with, eg, chicken, pork, beef, shrimp, squid...
They are all interchangable.
I wonder if the missus would be pleased if I woke her up to cook something...
- Chad
*** Photo updates starting on page 21 ***
justinl
03-14-2007, 06:52 AM
hey chad I was wondering, if you don't mind my asking, where did you get the "laboratory grade digital metering pump that is going to add topoff water at the exact rate of evaporation" and how much was it? It sounds pretty cool. Any comments on it?
Hey Justin,
For sump dosing, normal topoff pumps will work. The reason I first came across this pump is I was looking for something that would be ultra accurate at dosing even very low quantities (like in a nano) and something that would be able to inject into my pressurized, hidden plumbing, without risk of back-flow.
The pump is a diaphragm style chemical metering pump. This one is an 'A Series' made by Advantage Controls but some other big names are LMI Milton Roy, Pulsatron, and Prominent. They are not made for fishkeeping but are designed for lab work and industrial applications. The pump fires a piston which draws water in then pushes it down the line. The length of the stroke can be changed to adjust how much liquid is added each time and the frequency can be adjusted for how many times per minute (or hour on some models) the pump fires. With this model I am able to dose any amount from 0 - 0.63gph, and it is rated for up to 150psi! That means if I wanted to, I could put this pump in another room in my house or even in my neighbors' house and it wouldn't have a problem getting topoff water to my tank (I wonder if they would let me.... ).
I really don't need this pump for my setup. The only reason I got it is I have used one in the past and am a sucker for a quality piece of equipment. They are super expensive and sell new for like $800-$1000US!!! You can get some awesome deals on them on ebay though.
The first one I had cost $180 off ebay (an engineering firm was clearing some out) and this one I got for only $120US. It never came with any box but the seller claimed it was brand new. Looks like it's in good shape too.
The person who has my original is a member of the board here and was talking about selling it for the same price I paid - $180. They have never used it, but even if they did it would be like it was brand new - they are made to dose things like chlorine and acid... so... ro/di water is easy peasy.
- Chad
I cam home from work today and found that my coral life pump has quit (on the closed loop). The fan works but the pump does not run.
This bothers me a little because the pump has only been running since 03-11-2007. I will contact the vender and see what we can do.
- Chad
justinl
03-15-2007, 06:02 AM
wow. that pump sounds amazing. If i ever set up a super nano and actually have tons of cash to blow (not likely) I will certainly look into one of those bad boys.
Haha, if you look aound you can find sometimes find one for almost what they will charge you for a peristaltic 'aquaruim doser'.
As for my external pump - I have been talking to Nate and he has been awesome to deal with! I will be buying a replacement pump from him.
Cheers,
- Chad
woodcarver
03-17-2007, 04:37 AM
http://www.tylermerrick.com/content/css_notes.php
Hey Chad ,I just came across this site that has some good info on the Coralife skimmer , this might be redundant at this stage but just in case here it is
....................................Dave
Dave,
Thanks for the link, it was really considerate of you to post it.
For the next few days, I'm going to go wild fixing problems I never even knew I had :razz:
At the very least it will help me get it dialled in properly.
- Chad
untamed
03-17-2007, 06:15 PM
That dosing pump does sound very nice, but I'm not sure you'll have a lot of luck using for evaporation replacement.
When I first setup an evaporative replacement system, I tried to use a peristaltic pump, figuring that I could dial in the exact amount of evaporation. What I learned, was that I was always wrong. One day, too much..the next...too little.
Evaporation isn't constant. It changes based on environmental humidity and temperature. In the end, I changed over to a float switch based system and it worked better.
Concerning the rates of evaporation being slightly different every day, more common is the rate changing slightly between day and night. The level drops slightly during the days and rises more during the night hours. The minor changes in humidity temp etc are not enough to significantly effect the water level as a day to day average. Any significant changes, especially in a temperature controlled dwelling like a home of office, will occur from season to season - not day to day. And the tank is never left long enough without a water change to make a difference. I used one of these pumps to dose a 2gal nano for a couple years and it would take at least two weeks for the water level to creep less than one centimeter either up or down. Because I was usually doing water changes more often than that, it was never anything I had to address.
I have settled on the rate of 0.32ml 8x's every minute and for three days it has been holding the water level in my sump at the exact water line mark I drew on my sump with a sharpie - just under the line in the evening, and just over the line in the morning. If it looks like there is a net gain or increase in the level at the end of the week, I will increase or decrease the dosing rate by one stroke per minute.
I wouldn't trust a float switch to do my topoff. Not saying there's anything wrong with it - I just think there is too much risk of it sticking on or off for my personal preferance. I've had the float in my toilette fail more than a few times and that has a more bouyant float, is immersed in pure cold fesh water with less mineral content, and never has algae buildup or snails, etc.
Cheers,
- Chad
Edit: photo updates on page 21
Today I met with Nate and picked up another Coralife pump from him. He was super fair to deal with and I would highly recommed him to anyone looking for equipment.
Because I don't really have any other photos, I took this one to show my topoff return line. The tubing comes up through one of the holes that I drilled for electrical cords and injects FW into the first chamber of my sump 8 times/ minute.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070325009.jpg
Cheers,
- Chad
untamed
03-28-2007, 09:03 PM
....And the tank is never left long enough without a water change to make a difference. I used one of these pumps to dose a 2gal nano for a couple years and it would take at least two weeks for the water level to creep less than one centimeter either up or down. Because I was usually doing water changes more often than that, it was never anything I had to address....
I've gone both ways and the float switch worked way better for me. I'll offer two ideas that could give you peace of mind.
1) Use two float switches for redundancy. The chances of both switches failing at the same time is pretty remote.
2) Push the water in through VERY low volume irrigation drippers. That way, the system is incapable of delivering water really fast, even if the floats fail. If the float got stuck "on", it would still take 24 hours or more of continuous pumping before the tank level would start to rise.
One question though...When you do a water change, it is only a partial volume change, right? You're not doing a 100% water change. So if your evaporative system has pumped a bit too much water in there, you will have diluted the system and will be running slightly low salinity. If you want to correct this during a water change, you'll have to adjust the salinity of your replacement SW higher to compensate.
nanopodreefer
03-28-2007, 10:37 PM
Hey, things looking great had a couple comments, sorry if I missed any of this earlier in the thread.
- how does one get in touch with Nate, where does he work?
- why did you choose to take out the bubble trap in your sump? have you any problems with the bubbles now going over the partition
- I bet at lot of us could appreciate a price breakdown of your setup
Thanks, ohh ya i'm looking forward to another tank video tour someday, hint hint, hehehe :)
Take care,
Nano
untamed,
Thanks for the info. If I ever had to switch systems to a float, I would put into practice your safety measures. I can't see that happening though.
As I said, I kept a 2gal nano for two years with one of these pumps and my salinity was always rock solid (amazing feat for a nano/pico that size). So far this one has been running for two weeks and all I have observed is the water level in my sump moving just above the line on my sump over night, and just below the line by the end of the day. I attribute this to the on/off cycle of my T5HO lighting. It is only a couple millimeters of drift and the difference in salinity is undetectable via refractometer.
I have not observed a change in evaporation rates from day to day (only the day/night cycle which seems to be self cancelling). The tank is in my basement, and the house is temperature controlled via thermostat.
Perhaps you findings are the result of the type of pump you tried to use for topoff. ???
I stayed away from peristaltic pumps when researching my topoff options because I felt that they were designed to be monitored and checked way more frequently than we usually would do topoffs by hand anyways. Also, the tubing stretches and wears as it pumps which affects the dosing rate. In hospital IV applications the tubing is swapped out so often it is baisically disposable. If you don't mind me asking, what brand of pump were you using?
nanopodreefer,
Nate can be reached via PM to "Nate". He is working for a wholesale company and can get some good prices. Also, as I found with this pump, he goes out of his way to take care of you.
Sorry dude but I'm not ready, emotionally, to add up the cost yet :razz:
- Chad
untamed
03-29-2007, 09:54 PM
It was a Kangaroo medical peristaltic pump, so maybe it just wasn't consistent enough. I could also have been that evaporation rate in my particular home was more variable.
That's a good point too. I may have been lucky that my nano was in a large government building with air contitionioning too. ???
I bet I would see more fluctuation if my current setup was upstairs in my house where the temperature fluctuates a lot more than it does in the basement.
Thanks for the great input on float switches - I'm sure it is the best way to go in certain applications.
Cheers,
- Chad
Here are a couple zoanthid colonies that I picked up. The photos are under the T5HO actinics. With the daylight bulbs they don't look nearly as nice:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070409058.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/070409039.jpg
Hope you like,
- Chad
justinl
04-10-2007, 08:38 PM
sweet zoos. i gotta get me some o those
Thanks Justin.
Well I added 20lbs of rock to the tank. You can't see it all in the photos because I put a big piece in the sump because it had some gsp on it. (After scraping off as much as I could, I am trying to kill the rest by keeping it in the dark for a while - just so it doesn't take over my rock-work).
Hope you enjoy:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/4.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/honda919/6.jpg
- Chad
nanopodreefer
04-18-2007, 09:13 AM
Are you going bare bottom? I am aware of the huge debate... but can you give us newbies maybe your top 3-5 (or more :lol: ) reasons for going bb, or if you still plan on sand, same thing? Looks good though.
Nano
Nano,
Yup this tank will be BB. Sorry, but I don't think I can contribute any more to the debate than what has already been said. My advice would be to just try it both ways and see what you like better. Start with sand and if it starts to give you trouble, syphon it out. If it doesn't give you trouble - then rock on.
For me, BB allows me to keep a way cleaner system with higher flow and easier cleanup of detritus. I don't have/plan to have any sand dependant livestock, so my reason for keeping a sand bed would be purely for aesthetics. Now that alone is a pretty good reason - I put a lot of effort into trying to have things look good - but for me, my sand beds have only looked really good for about a week. After that golden week, the sand loses some of its brilliance and gets dulled by the bio-film that grows over each of the grains. I have tried different sifting critters and daily stirrings but I have never been able to maintain that beautiful white look. At that point, aesthetics is no longer enough reason to overweigh the drawbacks of sand and I go back to BB.
This time around I am going to try and cover the bottom of my tank with meadows of gsp, zoos, and mushrooms - should look alright...
- Chad
danny zubot
04-18-2007, 04:53 PM
Hey Chad, that red pump with the pulse dail, what kind is it?
woodcarver
04-18-2007, 06:16 PM
Starting to get exciting :) :)
..................................Dave
Haha.. thanks Dave.
It's about time... this project has been slowly creeping along..
Hey Chad, that red pump with the pulse dail, what kind is it?
Danny,
That is a diaphragm metering pump made by Advantage Controls. It is not reefing equipment but is made for industrial/laboratory applications. I use it to add ro/di topoff water to my tank. It adds 0.31ml 9x every minute.
- Chad
To Do:
- I am planning on picking up a new Geissman Actinic + bulb for my hood. Right now I have one Geissman and one UVL Super Actinic but the UVL has dimmed to the point where I don't think it is even helping. It is a shame because the UVL was a real nice purple colour and seemed to add more variety - I think it is probably just a bad bulb but the Geissman actinic looks great too and seems to put out a lot more light.
- I am going to add some more LR to the display, add a pair of little clowns, and slowly build up my soft coral collection.
- I am also debating building a coil denitrator... great one more project...
- Chad
danny zubot
04-18-2007, 11:04 PM
Danny,
That is a diaphragm metering pump made by Advantage Controls. It is not reefing equipment but is made for industrial/laboratory applications. I use it to add ro/di topoff water to my tank. It adds 0.31ml 9x every minute.
Cool, I was kind of hoping it was some kind of new pump with a built in wave controller. Some one should invent one.
Ya, right - that's all I need, one more piece of expensive equipment that I will 'have to have'.
Inventors: please disregard Danny's post. Don't invent anything else... just work on ways of making our current equipment cheaper. :razz:
Skimmer Juice
04-18-2007, 11:44 PM
What kind of light (brand) is that? Sorry if it was already stated but I did not want to read all the pages. I ordered a high output t5 also just waiting for it
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