165 gallon system - back from the dead (just in time for Halloween!)

fkshiu · #1 10-07-2007, 05:32 AM

Some of you may recall this happening a few months ago:

After much hand wringing I sprung for a new 72x24x19 Seastar (about 3" taller than the old tank). I couldn't go any taller because of the height restriction in my basement, but I did get an external overflow which has been worth every penny in added space:

As some of you may recognize, this overflow also allowed me to utilize the infamous "Herbie" overflow setup. The legends are true about this thing - simple and dead silent. No more messing around with Stockman's and Dursos anymore!

And since I have developed a bizarre fetish for PVC plumbing parts, here's the underside of the overflow with unions everywhere (sort of like living in BC)

SeaHorse_Fanatic · #2 10-07-2007, 05:33 AM

Nice. Can't wait to see it up & running fully.

fkshiu · #3 10-07-2007, 05:47 AM

I finally managed to transfer everyone out of the temporary holding tanks and into the new tank after about a month. I have to say that my mortality rate was surprisingly low given that:
1. the fish, most inverts and LPS were in a 25 gallon
2. softies were in the sump
3. SPS and clams in a 10 gallon
4. abalone and blue tux urchin in a rubbermaid with 100+ lbs of LR.

For the record, the losses were 1 maxima, 1 blood shrimp and a few snails. All the SPS browned out but are still alive. The LPS were even thriving, go figure.

Anyway, here's everybody in the home crib:

I decided to set the tank up in a Gyre arrangement with lots of open space. I wanted to get away from the rock wall look. Here's the open "back alley" running the length of the tank behind the rocks:

I've utilized PVC frames to minimize the amount of rock required. That's a Tunze 6000 on a single controller on the other end. It's the only circulantion other than the Eheim 1260 return pump that's been split three ways (two over-the-back returns and a UV-sterilizer that loops back into the sump). The flow from the Tunze wraps all the way around the tank creating a whirlpool effect. The SPS have their colour returning and the softies/LPS are still doing well although I am still working on finding the lowest flow spots for them. This has allowed me to get rid of the four powerheads I previously had on a Wavemaster Pro.

Here's the oldie, but goodie skimmer - a Tunze 240/3. Skims just as well as my old meshmodded ER CS6-2 but takes up less than half the space, uses less power and is quieter to boot!

fkshiu · #4 10-07-2007, 06:15 AM

My previous lighting setup was 3x175W MH and 2x96W PC actinics. This was fine for the most part, but I felt that the acros and clams weren't being all they could be. So it was time for some overkill.

Enter 2x250W HQI Lumenmax pendants with XM SE 10K bulbs. Kinda fell into a couple of used deals that just happens to equate to more PAR than many 400W systems:

Supplementary lighting would be almost as silly. I build a hood that would fit just under the pendants and squished in two 6' URI super-actinic VHOs and two 5' G-man actinic+ T5HOs cooled by two Icecap fans:

I went a bit overboard in wiring as well using outdoor PVC enclosures (which cost waaaay too much in hindsight):

Here's the whole mess shoehorned under the MH pendants with zero height clearance to spare (just ask Anthony knows all about my low basement ceilings

)

The result more than offsets the yellowness of the 10K XMs:

With the MHs off, the tank is crazy insane blue such that this is the least blue saturated pic I could get out of my crappy old A40 (yes, I need a new digicam and better photography skills):