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View Full Version : build of my new 29g w/10g sump/refuge (pics)


sjm1978
12/10/2007, 11:26 PM
heres a pic of my 24g aquapod at 1 year old before i sold it like 6 months ago. the reason i sold it is because i was gonna move from arizona to colorado.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/sjm1978/100_0608Medium.jpg

heres my new tank set up

i bought everything for my new tank about 5 months ago. i was gonna move to colorado but i got a house in mesa area again so i stayed here in Az.

i am setting up a 29g lee-mar tank with overflow and it will have a 20g sump/fuge. when i bought the tank i had lee-mar drill it for me and i made my own overflow. i bent the acrylic for the overflow when i was living in queen creek. today i cut the teeth into it and siliconed it into the tank. i also snapped one of the teeth off of the overflow right after i made them but weldon fixed it right up

im also gonna mount the ballast/the reefkeeper 2 to the stand today. im also gonna drill the hole in the top of the stand so the bulkhead can go thru. im looking to be water testing the tank in a few days. also when the silicone on the overflow is done drying im gonna painting the back glass black.

my equipment list that i have for the tank sofar is:

Aqua Medic Ocean Light 150W HQI with phoenix 14,000k bulb

ReefKeeper 2 with a pinpiont ph probe

2x Hydor Koralia #2's

return pump is Ocean Runner 2500

Odyssea PS75 skimmer

i still need a few things like heater/ATO/fuge light

overflow in silicone drying
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/sjm1978/S4010019MediumSmall.jpg

heres the parts for Hofer Gurgle Buster http://home.everestkc.net/jrobertson57268/HGB/
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/sjm1978/S4010022MediumSmall.jpg

sjm1978
12/10/2007, 11:30 PM
the hole drilled in the top of the stand and the reefkeeper 2 all mounted and the light ballast mounted.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/sjm1978/S4010024MediumSmall-1.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/sjm1978/S4010029MediumSmall-1.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/sjm1978/S4010031MediumSmall-1.jpg

back glass of the tank painted. i used flat black spray paint i did about 4 coats.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/sjm1978/S4010037Small.jpg

sjm1978
12/10/2007, 11:33 PM
i had today off work so i decided to plumb my tank and get the light hung. im testing it with tap water rightnow. theres no leaks and i also did the adjustments on the drain i did the Hofer Gurgle Buster and i tell you this thing is silent its great. when i first went to turn on my ocean runner 2500 pump it wouldn't do anything so i thought ok bad pump :( well i pulled the impeller out and put it back in then plugged the pump back in and it started up :)

FTS bad pic
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/sjm1978/S4010045Small.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/sjm1978/S4010046Small.jpg

Hofer Gurgle Buster drain setup
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/sjm1978/S4010047Small.jpg

sump / fuge i went with a 10g instead of the 20g i didnt want to cut up my new stand to fit a 20g tank.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/sjm1978/S4010048Small.jpg

sjm1978
12/10/2007, 11:37 PM
there was no leaks so i drained the tank and sump and dried them both wow was that fun work. i should have my LR and live sand by dec 20th and i will be filling the tank with my ro/di unit.

iairj84
12/11/2007, 02:22 AM
Looks pretty cool! I'm running a 20 gallon tank with 10 gallon sump. It's working out well. I've ordered the same odyssea skimmer also.

mluna785
12/11/2007, 02:48 AM
Looks awesome so far. I can't wait to see some rock in here.

herostar
12/11/2007, 02:48 AM
I've got a 20g I want to add a 10g sump to. Let's see some more pics/info on the sump. What do you like about it? What would you do differently next time?

thrillreefer
12/11/2007, 08:47 AM
How's the gurgle buster working? whisper quiet?

martinphillip03
12/11/2007, 09:27 AM
Will be following this thread. Same thing I want to do.

Marty

martinphillip03
12/11/2007, 09:29 AM
What is your plan for the return?

Marty

sjm1978
12/11/2007, 09:36 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11360548#post11360548 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by thrillreefer
How's the gurgle buster working? whisper quiet?

it is silent i love it its seems like theres no overflow or drain its quiet. i used to have a 125g FW tank with african cichlids and the drain was so loud i hated it.

sjm1978
12/11/2007, 09:40 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11360780#post11360780 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by martinphillip03
What is your plan for the return?

Marty

im using a ocean runner 2500 pump my piping is 3/4" pvc i still need to add loc-line to the end of it. thats all im gonna do.

thrillreefer
12/17/2007, 01:50 AM
sjm,
As a precaution, you'll want to cut the tubing on the gurgle buster below the top of the overflow box. This way, if something blocks the drain and the water level increases above the top of the tubing, a strong siphon will start that will generally clear the obstruction.

Setup is looking good so far. Did the skimmer come in yet?

sjm1978
12/17/2007, 10:33 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11401025#post11401025 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by thrillreefer
sjm,
As a precaution, you'll want to cut the tubing on the gurgle buster below the top of the overflow box. This way, if something blocks the drain and the water level increases above the top of the tubing, a strong siphon will start that will generally clear the obstruction.

Setup is looking good so far. Did the skimmer come in yet?

thanks yea im gonna cut the air tube i had it long so i could adjust it for silence. the skimmer is in the pic of the sump/fuge its on the left side. i have it set up as hang on since the 10g tank was to small to put it in i wanted a good size refuge area so i decided to do it hang on instead of the in sump setup.

sjm1978
12/17/2007, 10:03 PM
i ordered my DI resin and 20 feet of tubing for my ro/di unit tonight. so as long as it gets here before the weekend i should have the tank up and cycling this weekend.

martinphillip03
12/17/2007, 10:20 PM
So while we wait for the tank to cycle, what do you plan on putting in it? I am guessing Ricordea's maybe some zoa's

Marty

sjm1978
12/17/2007, 11:04 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11407763#post11407763 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by martinphillip03
So while we wait for the tank to cycle, what do you plan on putting in it? I am guessing Ricordea's maybe some zoa's

Marty

yea FL Rics and zoas for sure and maybe some easy sps.

racksteris
12/18/2007, 05:06 AM
Nice setup.

Capt_Cully
12/18/2007, 09:23 AM
I love it. Planning on doing the same to my AP.

SJGreene
12/18/2007, 09:33 AM
Looks good. My only suggestion would have been to use black silicone on the overflow.

Can't wait to see some sand/rock/rics in that thing!

scottydo
12/18/2007, 02:01 PM
Looks good so far - keep up with the pics.

sjm1978
12/28/2007, 11:56 PM
i received my DI resin a couple days ago. so tomorrow morning saturday i will be filling my tank with RO/DI and mix in my salt. then sunday i am gonna go buy my LR and sand. finally this tank will have something in it. i bought all this stuff like 6 -7 months ago and its just been collecting dust.

sjm1978
12/29/2007, 10:55 AM
ok the tank is now filling with RO/DI should take about 6 hours or so.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/sjm1978/S4010061Small.jpg

sjm1978
12/29/2007, 04:05 PM
well the tank is now half full of ro/di. probably another 3 hours or so till it and sump are done. then im gonna get the water to temp and mix in my salt.

sjm1978
12/30/2007, 06:16 PM
i got my LR and sand today. i bought a 30 pound bag of caribsea sugar size sand and i bought 40 pounds of fiji premium rock cured For $3.00 a pound i got some real nice pieces. i cant take pics of the tank since its real cloudy from the sand. after it clears up i still gotta aqua scape then ill take some pics. i just put the rock in the tank for now.

Chorethorious
12/31/2007, 08:41 AM
Congrats and I can't wait to see what you do with the rock.

sjm1978
12/31/2007, 06:59 PM
ok i got my test kits today

Dec 31

Ph = 8.2
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 5
Calcium 430

sjm1978
01/01/2008, 02:50 PM
no pic of the tank yet its still cloudy. i got a aquaclear 50 filter from a friend im gonna hang it on the tank and put some filter floss in it to help the tank clear.

Jan 1

Ph = 8.2
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = <5
Calcium 430

i still haven't seen any ammonia,nitrite its been about 3 days now. i bought cured live rock and it took only about 30 minutes for me to get it home and in the tank. im not sure if there is gonna be any ammonia or nitrite ill keep testing tho.

jamiep
01/01/2008, 07:21 PM
sjm1978, How deep is your and bed?

sjm1978
01/01/2008, 07:43 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11500576#post11500576 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jamiep
sjm1978, How deep is your and bed?

its around 2"

sjm1978
01/02/2008, 07:40 PM
still no ammonia or nitrite and the nitrate has dropped to zero. i still haven't aquascaped the tank has been to cloudy i tried moving some of the rocks around today but it just created a cloudy mess again. im gonna try to scape alittle bit at a time.

Jan 2

Ph = 8.2
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 0
Calcium 430

am i cycled?

i put a aquaclear 50 hang-on filter on the tank for temp usage and put 6 layers of blue/whit bond filter floss its clearing the water nicely.

at 10:00am this morning after i tried to move some rocks around.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/sjm1978/S4010062Small.jpg

at 6:20pm tonight
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/sjm1978/S4010063Small.jpg

sjm1978
01/03/2008, 09:48 PM
ok my rock wasn't giving me any ammonia in the tank to start my cycle. so im adding some flake fish food to start the cycle.

sjm1978
01/07/2008, 06:39 PM
heres a small update tank finally clear with the help of a aquaclear 50 filter and blue/white floss. i got the rocks arranged now. i took the ps75 skimmer off its crap im gonna buy a Tunze Nano DOC Protein Skimmer 9002. i might also buy a 3rd koralia #1 or just buy two #2's.

test results

ph 8.0 api test and reefkeeper 2 using pinpoint ph probe
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 0

some pics
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/sjm1978/S4010067Small.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/sjm1978/S4010069Small.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/sjm1978/S4010070Small.jpg

sjm1978
01/08/2008, 06:07 PM
well the brown diatoms are starting to show up im gonna add a clean-up crew this weekend.