Greg's 100 Gallon Build

[gpkozmp]

So I bought a 100 gallon 5 foot tank and well I am peicing it together slowly and surely. This is what I bought.

[gpkozmp]

So after I picked it up and brought it home I got to looking at it and nothing on it fit what I have in my house so this is what I did...

[gpkozmp]

And then I decided to stain it so this is what it looked like afterwards.

[gpkozmp]

Okay I have to apoligize for all this in one day I am trying to get to 50 post's so I can view more forum's sorry about this...lol

[blennydude]

Very nice! What are your long term plans for fish and corals?

[gpkozmp]

After I finished staining the stand I got to looking at it and then I stood next to it and I didn't like the height of it so I set out to Lowes on a mission for wood. After drawing my new design up and purchased just about everything I would need at this point.

[gpkozmp]

So here is what I came up with and mind you this is just the frame.

[gpkozmp]

Very nice! What are your long term plans for fish and corals?

Okay honestly I was not expecting for anybody to even look at this yet but here goes. I am looking for eventually having some SPS and maybe some LPS. I am doing this whole 5 month build today to start things off but I am wanting a pretty large bio load from what I hear. My fish list as of now and I don't mind the tweeks:

1- yellow tang
1- blue hippo tang
1- tomini tang
1- midas blenny
1- lawnmower blenny
3 or 4 clown fish I would like to get 2 black and white and 2 orange and white but have been told one or the other.
3 or 4 blue reef chromis

[gpkozmp]

So a week or two later I bought some more wood and I decided to test my skills at building some doors and in my opinion I didn't do too bad and I put them on. I just laid the tank back and laid them on top and this is what I got.

[gpkozmp]

In the mix of all this I tried to make a canopy but it didn't come out the best and I might end up making another one but this is what I got now.

[gpkozmp]

This is what I would like but I have to figure everything out. If you have any info on something like this let me know please. I want something that will open up on the front and then the front and the top will be able to open as well I did have some pictures but I will have to adjust the size sometime and post them at that time.

[gpkozmp]

So after all this fun I finally was able to get all the ballast's for my lighting and I decided to go with the GLO 2x54watts T5HO and well I bought three of them for a 6 buld set up. Then I decided to install them...well this went wrong cause the top closest set was not even able to reach so I had to think of something else and this is what I had.

[gpkozmp]

Forgot the picture....

[gpkozmp]

A little bit of time went by and I decided it was time to stain this puppy and this time I wanted my wifes input so I dragged her to lowes with me and let her pick out the stain. She picked Red Mohagany and well this is what it turned out like.

[gpkozmp]

Oh that last picture I bought what is an; American DJ power surge.

[gpkozmp]

Okay so honestly I just did this the other day.

I went to Lowes and decided to buy my door handles and I had the wife pick them out once again and I bought what she wanted, and bought the seahorse handles.

[gpkozmp]

So this was my idea for the plumbing.

[gpkozmp]

So I was thinking about getting a new skimmer so I was thinking about a Reef Octopus. Right now I want to say I have a Coralife 125 but I am not to keen on it and would like another one anyways.

[gpkozmp]

So now I sit at home and my stand is done and now all I have to do is get the backside of the stand which is going to be just a piece of plywood and it is just to keep the cats out of the back of the stand.

[gpkozmp]

So I bought my overflow a few weeks ago and got a couple days later. I bought the 1500 gph from gl*******s and well I am really hesitant on if I want to drill it. I got the bit but knowing my luck it is going to have tempered glass and then I am SOL so to say.

[gpkozmp]

Does anybody have any good ideas about T5 Bulb's, like the best ones to buy?

[gpkozmp]

So I was wondering about the auto top off unit's;

which ones are good?

Is it worth it?

[gpkozmp]

For the best bang of my buck what is a good RO/DI unit?

[blennydude]

Good start. So is the first pic at the top of the thread the old stand? Is the tank running w/ water now? I'm a little confused.

[gpkozmp]

Good start. So is the first pic at the top of the thread the old stand? Is the tank running w/ water now? I'm a little confused.

First off thank you. The first picture and picture's is the tank before I bought it, they were the pictures he sent me and well I kept them for the before and after look.

I didn't like the height of the old stand so I decided to build a new one that is taller.

The tank is not full it is sitting in my garage right now and I am going to be drilling it soon. I have been doing a lot of research on the tanks and the fish and everything that goes with SW.

If you have any other question's feel free to ask them.

[gpkozmp]

Forgot a part.

As for the water movement in the tank I have been thinking of going with 2 Koralia 4's to start and I am wanting to get a new pump for my return I think it was. The one I bought with the tank is cracked and I don't want to do anything I am going to regret when I get my fish in there.

[blrrobinson21]

Nice job so far, your for sure on your way. The Koralia's are great ph, I have 2 #3's in my 5' 100 gallon. The only problem I have with them are finding a happy place for them. Since my tank is only 18" deep, if the ph is on the end they really create a strong current being sucked into the ph. "If that makes sense" Its probably ok but all of my soft currents really take a beating if I dont get creative with ph placement. Good luck on the tank its lookin good.

[gpkozmp]

blrrobinson21_ do you have any picture's of your tank?

See I have been thinking about going with the 3's insted of the 4's because a lot of people use the 4's have the 6ft tanks. Mine being a 5 foot tank I was thinking about the 3's. Plus they are cheaper.

I have been looking on amazon and have found some good deals on there.

[blrrobinson21]

I need to get some up. "Thats the wife's job" Im sure the #3's would work good. I wish I had 2 #2's and one 3, right now im running one #3 placed on the back glass, in the middle, pointed towards the right surface. Ive got another #3 on the back glass, left side directly behind LR pointed at the LR towards the front, if that makes any sense. With the PH on the back glass I dont get the strong current being sucked in by the PH's. This is just my experience's and Im probably full of it but it might be something to think about.

[gpkozmp]

Where do you have your overflow at?

I was thinking about having my in the center of my tank.

When I bought the tank it was and is not drilled so I bought a a 1500gph overflow kit from glass-holes and have yet to drill the tank. Like I said I was going to place it in the center of the tank and then have dual returns, one on each side, and then from that I was going to have each side dual. So it would be more like a quad return.

I am just trying to get an understanding of the layout of your tank is all.

I was thinking of putting the K3's top right and top left and then maybe getting 2 more for bottom left and right.

[blrrobinson21]

I dont have a sump therefore no overflow. My tank has been running for a year and so far my water is good and the corals and fish have been great, "besides the ich", I am thinking really hard about adding one though. I have a few obstacles to jump over first though. It will be in the middle when I do though.

Your plan sounds good to me, you will have tons of flow which is a good thing as long as your not pounding anything with a direct current.

Im trying to remember how big your tank is but 4 K3's sounds like a lot. Im sure someone else can chime in but I would probably start with 2 and see where your at.

[gpkozmp]

Okay so anybody who wants to chime in can...nobodies lookin so maybe someone will.

I was wondering about battery backup's, Who has them? What brand? how do you like it?

I have been thinking about getting one for my tank and that would be the only thing plugged into the wall and then my American DJ power strip would be plugged into that. Let me know what you think.

[gpkozmp]

So here is the new canopy, not done yet but this is what I have done so far. I haven't stained it yet and since the pictures, I have cut holes to mount the fans, built housing's for the fans, cut a 3' by 40" rectangular hole in the back for venting, and added some base board around the top edge to dress it up some. As soon as I have time I will stain it and post some pictures.

[gpkozmp]

Okay so I did drill my tank this last tuesday and well after finishing everything, I found out I should have done it in a different spot. My actual overflow sits about a 1/4" to 1/2" under my brace. now the brace is 1/4" thick glass and after talking to a fellow reefer in my area they assured me that I would be okay to remove half of my brace and be okay. I am thinking about doing this but now have a couple of question's:

1) what is your opinion?

2) should I cut it in half and just move it over to the sides about 6" in each direction, or just cut it out and get rid of it (recycle it and use it as a weir in my DIY sump?

3) If anybody has done something like this before can you let me know how you went about it? I am wondering how to cut it without doing a lot of damage so any help would be great.

Thank you for all your help and I hope to hear back from a few of you thank you again.

[aykim2188]

Man thats an awesome project. I just started up in the reef hobby and I have a 20 gallon lol. I want to get a overflow for it later and setup a sump.

[Shane Hoffman]

You cant remove the brace unless you replace it with another one. You could remove it then move it a few inches either way. Have you realized yet that you will never be able to remove your sump without removing the display tank. You made your doors so small that you are going to have to put your sump in from the back.......it may not be an issue but if it ever develops a leak or anything your screwed and will have a ton of work to do to get to it. Your stand looks very solid and you seem pretty enthusiastic about the build. Just keep going slow and research everything before you do it....

[gpkozmp]

Okay Shane thank you for all the thought but I did think of that a while ago and there is a 5th door on the right side of the stand. I don't think i put that on here but in one of the pictures before I put the doors on or with the doors open you can see that there is a door there and I made it so I can fit my sump in and out. My sump is going to be a 29 gallon tank that I already have so I just took it down there and measured it and then after cutting the door out I made sure it would fit by sliding it in and out. I might put up a few more pictures of the stand and canopy. I have to get some better pictures of the canopy and the tank as it is in the garage and we are finally having good weather so I can open the door and let a lot more light in and well I will try and get those tomorrow and post them up here on like wednesday. Once again thank you for your concern.

[gpkozmp]

I drilled my tank and I do need to move the overflow so I am wanting to know where I can buy something to plug the holes that I have drilled?

WHERE DO I GO TO GET SOME?

I am really really wanting to set this tank up already but have to wait til I get everything together first. Please help me out.

GREG

[gpkozmp]

Well I decided to start buying other things that I need to get the tank rolling like the agronite, the live rock and well I have started working on getting things together. A friend of mine told me I can get just pvc pipe and put it going from one hole to the other in the back and I figured that might work and it would just be like a little extra back there and I can block it off so fish don't go hang out back there all the time, so I might do that.

I am going to be moving my overflow over to the right for better access to it and well once I get that done I can start on another project, that is holding me up.

My wife wants to rip out the carpet and put in some laminate and well I have decided to put the laminate under where the tank is going to go and I can move on past that in due time. I am going to be putting it down and maybe looking into sealing that are with something. Once that is in the stand comes out of the basement and then things start going together.

I have yet to plumb things but plan on going with a hose until you get under the tank and then going back to som pvc just for delivery to the skimmer and everything down there. Well had a set back when I thought I was moving forward. I drove up north to pick up live rock and a sump, well the sump is wider than the stand so I found a buyer for it and she is going to use if for a reptile so I took the baffles out and I am going to be cutting those and putting them in a sump. I am trying to see if a 55 would fit and judging by some dimension's I found on a website it should fit under my stand. I also bought a skimmer that is a great skimmer and a great buy for me...right now it is on a layaway program...:twitch: and well hopefully soon we can make the trek back up north and pick things up...I am really starting to itch.

[gpkozmp]

I went and bought a bunch of coral off of someone that was getting out of the hobby and well since my 100 gallon is not quite ready to be set-up just yet. I turned a bunch of wood laying around into a stand and a make shift canopy and this is how things turned out and then with everything set up. There is live rock and corals in right now and going to pick up a couple fish hopefully later this week.

[gpkozmp]

more picture's...

[gpkozmp]

the last of the pics...

[gpkozmp]

Well I decided after a friend gave me the idea to use those two old holes for my return, so now insted of plugging them all Ihave to do is bring them down to whatever size my line-loc will be and I will be good.

[gpkozmp]

Talking with someone else about his build kinda got me thinking about mine and this is what is on my mind.

The one thing I am not happy about this tank is it is only 60", not a bad thing but it is a thin tank at only 18" from front to back. That being said I don't have a lot of room underneath in the stand. I am using a 29 gallon tank as a sump and I will not have that much room other than that. I am finding it hard to fit a lot of things in the stand to include the skimmer. I built the stand and canopy on my own and well I think I did a good job on it but I would rather have a lot more room in the stand, that way I could get a larger tank down there so I can work a nice sump out. If I am able to have a larger sump the better off my DT will look. The option's I have are:

1) Suck it up and deal with what I have. (most likely)
2) Build a new stand that is deeper. (highly doubt it, the wife)
3) Drill holes in my floor and put a sump in the basement. (might be a possible just gotta talk the wife into it)

I have attached the following picture so you can kinda get a look at it but the thing is the skimmer is really tall in the stand and to get it out of the side door I am going to have to shimmy it out of there. As for the number 1 on there that is my power source that I put it and it goes to about where that blue line is, so the skimmer cannot sit next to the sump. I am going to have to figure something out and maybe the basement sump will have to be the way to go cause I don't need a large room for it, just a big pump. We will see, what are your thought's?

[gpkozmp]

Well this is going to be my new project. Don't know when it is going to kick off but I know I have to get the fence done before I even bring this up to my wife so it is going to be a while.

On the top of it there is going to be just crown molding and it is going to look nice. Might do something like stain the design a little darker or something to dress it up. Then you have the shelf area: on the left side it is going to be for wine glasses (for the wife and her friends, me on occasion) and on the left side is for the beer mugs and drinking glasses.

Below that is going to be a stereo on the left and on the right is going to be a mirror that will be able hinged so it can be moved away and on the countertop there is going to be all the adult beverage's (for me:spin2:)

Finally on the bottom is either going to be just a mini fridge or a keg-o-rader on the left and then on the right side is going to be my sump and everything else that goes with plumbing and stuff.

The entire right side of the shelving unit is going to be shallower than the left so I can get the plumbing down behind the unit and conceal it on the side but have enough room for me to get back there and do work if need be.

I am excited about this and I can't wait to do it but it is going to be a while, just slow at work today so I wanted to see what I can come up with.

Okay tried to upload the picture and I am not having any luck. If I upload it, it is going to be way too small to see everything so if someone can help me with a picture uploading lesson to where you could see it right in the thread I would be able to do that.

[rayn]

Ill post you a couple like s tonight when I get home and can search easier. If you still want to redrill or possibly use the holes you have, check out the silent and failsafe overflow thread in DIY. That's what I'm doing on my 120 build.

[juicesay]

Definitely a cool project, I totally like how it looks.

[rayn]

Here are a couple links to the ideas your looking for. The first the the failsafe overflow, the second is T5 lighting, and the third is Beananimals homepage with a bunch of ideas worth looking at. As far as a RO/DI I just got a 5 stage 75gpd from BRS and it is working great.


http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1541946
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1706461
http://www.beananimal.com/home.aspx

[Johnwayne]

be careful with the k3 if u want any anemones, they like to claim them when the let go imo

[gpkozmp]

thank you for the kind words and thank you Johnwayne for your advice.

[gpkozmp]

Okay was thinking about my plumbing today and well I have the overflow installed and there are the 90 degree elbows on there and I was planning on running the hose not PVC pipe for my drain and my return.

Also I am working on talking the wife into letting me put the sump in the basement and then building a bar around that. So the hose or PVC would be a lot of it and I would need to get a larger pump.

As for actually setting up my 100gallon that is on the back burner now cause I have to install new floors first and then I can put it in so it might be a while, but in the meantime I will be able to buy parts that I need. Thanks for following along even though I am not even working on my tank.

[gpkozmp]

Let's see if this work's...if not I am going to have to make a new thread.

My wife and I are going on an unfortunate vacation next weekend to Indianapolis, well during this four day trip I am just wanting to try and do some pellet food that I got with a big purchase that was thrown in there. With that being said I have tried the pellet food a while back and my 2 green chromis were not eating (thats all that is in the tank hopefully til august)

What is the best way to get them to eat?

The only thing I could think of was just feeding them the pellet's and eventually they will eat it. One the other hand I don't want them to think it is not food and not eat for 4 days and end up dying. What should I do.

[bmiller1234]

I just noticed your thread I have the same tank. If you search my started threads you can see my build. Need to update but will show you my set up.

As far as food for 4 days ..... How many fish and what type? You can give them a heavy fees before you go and they will be fine. During my algae outbreak stage I only fed once a week and everybody stayed healthy till I ramped my food back up.

Have fun in Indy!

[gpkozmp]

Miller are you talking about my 100 gallon? That isn't set up yet and I have a few things more to do such as talk my wife into letting me put a hole in the wall so I can put my sump in the basement and run everything up to the 1st floor of my house. After that I need to get a pump large enough to pump my skimmer so 1800gph or more and then I need one large enough to go up one floor so around 2500+ for my return. I need bulkheads to run my return thanks to my miscalculation's which ended up for a good idea from a friend of mine. Then I have set myself up for a long wait but I want to put laminate floors down in my house and well I told the wife I would wait til those were in to put my 100 gallon up.

So as for now to answer your question I am working out of a 40 gallon breeder with about a 10 gallon sump roughly, so total of 50 gallons. Not too bad but havin fun with it. In the tank I have some hermit's and some snail's, and 2 green chromis at this point. I was not wanting to add a few fish to leave them for a while and then have then die on me if something happened.

As for Indy, the reason we are headed up there is cause my wifes' grandma is not doing so well and her grandpa offered us a trip up there to see her so he paid for the flight and we will be up there for 4 days.

HOWEVER on Saturday we are driving on a vacation for the 2 of us to VEGAS!!!! FOR A WEEK!!!! WITH NO KIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited I almost peed...lol.

[bmiller1234]

You will be fine letting them not eat a few days. Fees them heavy for a day or two before you go and they will he fine.

[Palting]

Ive left all the fish on my sig for 7 to 10 days with a few of those 7 day feeder pyramids. It's all dissolved by the time I get back, and I assume they ate it.

[gpkozmp]

Well let me say that my 40 gallon breeder is going through a rough time right now and I am trying hard to fix everything but when the issue's come up I don't have time to immediately take care of them, to start with:

I was on vacation in Las Vegas for a week when on my second to last day my father calls and tells me that my display tank is overflowing. I don't know the cause of this for sure but I told my mom to add 5 gallons of water every 3-5 days, or when it reached a line I have in the tank. Needless to say she didn't listen and she figured that she can get around the issue by topping it off with a gallon a day and that is where I thought the problem came from but I don't know. I tried telling my dad some solution's but trying to explain things over the phone to him was a challenge in itself. So all in all I told him since it would only be a day give or take a few hours until I got home to go ahead and pull the "U" tube out of the hang on the back overflow. So when I got home at 2 in the morning on Saturday I hooked everything back up.

Well Saturday at 7:30 I awoke and said goodbye to my parent's, then went downstairs to check on things and the tank was right at the rim and if I gave it anymore time it would have overflowed so I had no other option but to pull it again to try and figure things out.

On Tuesday I got back from Indy when I realized that I should hook things back up and I did so yesterday. It was running fine for about 6 hours so I figured, turn the lights out and go to bed so I did. I woke up this morning and needed clothes from the laundry. When I went downstairs I heard my pumps running dry. The display tank was low about 3 inches and the sump only had about 2 inches of water in it and I couldn't figure why the floor was wet. When I was on my way upstairs I looked down and my line coming from my overflow to find it hanging outside of my sump....FOUND MY PROBLEM TO FIX TODAY.

So that is where I sit today.

[Sisterlimonpot]

So did you get the tank flowing properly?

[gpkozmp]

no everything seems to be working again but I am still giving it time to just chill and hopefully it has corrected itself, with a gentle push in the right direction.

[gpkozmp]

OKay well I was looking at my tank last night before the feeding and I notcied that there are some things growning on some of the rock. Granted some of the stuff growing is green algea, I want to say it is hair algea but I am working on getting rid of that here soon. The polyps are growing back. Then in the second picture I don't know if that picture helps but it is like a long white hair like thing that while I was looking at it, it retracted into a white tube...not sure what it is. Any help would be appreciated, Thanks in advance.

[Sisterlimonpot]

yeah it looks like you have some polythoas in there, and as far as the white string I can't help, that is a tube worm but I don't know what the white string is, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

[gpkozmp]

Okay thank you for the advice.

I bought me an RO/DI unit yesterday night, haven't had much time to sit down and mess with it or hook it up but it is going to be greatly beneficial for me once set up. NO MORE SPENDING MONEY OR GOING TO THE STORE FOR WATER!!!!

[Sisterlimonpot]

NO MORE SPENDING MONEY OR GOING TO THE STORE FOR WATER!!!!


That's alway a good thing, you'll find yourself wondering why you didn't do it a long time ago.

[gpkozmp]

Yeah I am sure I do wish I did it a long time ago, however the longer I did wait the better of a deal I was able to find. Just like the tank...saw it, wanted it, bought it, then I jumped online and found larger tanks and setups for cheaper but oh well. I think the 100 gallon is going to suit me well.

Now I need to get my plumbing and as for now I am going to most likely just set it up with the 29 gallon in the stand as the sump, just not quite sure if I want to drill it cause the skimmer is a monster for the little amount of room that I have.

So I will have roughly a 115-120 gallon system and well I am wondering just to make sure which pumps to get. The guy I bought the skimmer said I need a pump rated at 1800gph plus so I was going to get a Danner Mag Drive 18. Then for a return pump I was going to go with a Danner Mag Drive 9.5 with about 900gph. I also have 2 K4's for movement in the tank and I might pick up some K3's or maybe some of the new evo ones rated at the same or maybe even smaller to push behind the rocks.

Let me know what you think.

[gpkozmp]

Okay so about a week ago I ended up buying an RO/DI unit from someone here local and I finally had time to set it up last Tuesday. I ran it cause I was anxious and well it is actually really good. I bought a TDS meter the other day and I got it yesterday. So while the wife was in the bedroom on the phone I took it upon myself to hook up the TDS meter. Cut and clip I went in the basement and turned it on to see what was going on. I left it on for a little bit to check but the in was either 107 or 170 can't remember right now but coming out was between 000-002. So I believe that is good, now all I need to do is set something up to put water in so I can mix salt in it and then I will be done setting that up. I will have my distilled water and then I will have my salt for water changes. The wife is happy now that we don't have to make store runs once or twice a week, so something paid off for her and I might do something to make it so we can drink the water.

With that being said here is my question:

Where would I put the "T" to have it go somewhere else?

Does anybody else have it set up this way to use it as drinking water?

Thank you for your help. I do know that not a lot of people get on here and read what I have to say but any help would be greatly appreciated.

[gpkozmp]

Now something I just thought of something. Mixing salt:

What is a good size pump to use in there? Was looking at a maxijet 1200 or a 900 but not sure what does everyone else use?

[murfman]

Greg, you want the T before the DI unit, if you are going to be drinking the water.

Depending on how big your mixing tank is will depend on how big of a pump you want. You don't want a mag 18 in a 5 gallons bucket. I use a maxijet 900 and one of my extra skimmer pumps in my 55 gallon barrel. The King EU-590 pumps out 590 gph.

[Hermes`]

I use a MJ 1200 with the algae free mod (1600g/h) for mixing salt in a brute trash can. It goes clear in minutes. It has a heater so i can match the salinity with the display tank. I don't use the mixing water till at least a day after.

[gpkozmp]

Okay well I am now thinking of getting me a 55 gallon for a sump and I have decided on a return pump of a Mag Drive 9.5 and then for my skimmer I was going to get a Mag Drive 18. The guy I bought the skimmer from said I would need a pump that pumped more than 1800 gph, so the 18 would work for me.

The reason why I was wanting a 55 gallon for a sump is because I need a lot of room for my skimmer and a pump in one compartment unless I used my skimmer external but I am not sure if I want to do that or not, I am leaning more towards not if I can find a 55 for cheaper.

I have decided to turn my 8 oultet DJ American powerstrip sideways and mount it to the side of the stand. The only other thing I am running into is my wiring for my lighting and the lenght of the cords so I have to work on that.

Next is my floors and then hopefully the wife will let me put the tank up.

[Ethan_W]

nice build

[Ram Jr]

So I was wondering about the auto top off unit's;

which ones are good?

Is it worth it?

tunze 3115 is a complete kit and works the best.

[gpkozmp]

would the mag drive 9 be too much flow for a return pump for the 100 gallon tank?

[Sisterlimonpot]

would the mag drive 9 be too much flow for a return pump for the 100 gallon tank?

No, and it's always a good idea to use ball valves in line so you can adjust the flow to your liking. I have a mag 18 on my 125 and I have both ball valves more then half way closed.

[aleonn]

Very cool project. I wish I had your skills!

[gpkozmp]

well thanks aleonn, however there are nicer project's and better skills out there. I just like working with wood and building anything and everything. Wood working is like my zen so you could say I just don't have all the tools I need for my zen garden yet so to say.

[gpkozmp]

Well my wife and I have been wanting a toy box for al ong time now and I haven't really had the wood but the other day I was looking around the garage and saw a potential jackpot. I had a bunch of 2x4's laying around that were leftover cut's from putting up my fence so I ripped them into three's and then put them together. I had some hinges from what I was going to use on my canopy, but went a different way with that so had them laying around. This is the result of some creativity;

[Sisterlimonpot]

What about the bottom?

[gpkozmp]

What about the bottom?

It's not there yet, I didn't have a large enough board at the house so I gotta pick some up.

[gpkozmp]

I am just not sure if I want to spend the money for LED's as apposed to just staying with the T5's. So I am going to just stick with the T5's for now.

I bought a 55 gallon tank that I am going to use for my sump so I am going to have a good sized sump and I might go with a refugium but here are my idea's for my sump...let me know what you think...

[gpkozmp]

Thanks to Murfman I have decided to go ahead and hopefully have enough room to make my sump look like this? That "T" is either going to be that or a "Y".

If you have any advice to give let me know...

[Sisterlimonpot]

can you describe what everything is in your sump? like the square on the left? is that the skimmer in the middle? and is that the drain on the far left feeding the fuge?

[gpkozmp]

Sorry about that I didn't even think of that....

Okay so Overflow is on the right side and on the left will be the return. The overflow is going to go directly into my refuge with a 5 inch sand bed.

3) is the refuge
2) is the skimmer area with a mag 18 hopefully driving my skimmer. MRC recommended a Blueline 55 I think it said.
1) Is my return area with a Mag 9 as my return pump

And blast off back to the tank. I did the number's that way cause I wasn't paying attention but recovered nicely I think...lol.

Sorry for that.

[gpkozmp]

Well next month I am going out of town for just over three weeks so we are going to see how well my wife can maintain the 40 gallon breeder tank and I hope she does a good job, but we will see. Also the good thing about that, I should be getting a hell of a great paycheck next month and on top of everything I get a bonus...good money! So I will be able to put my floors in and then I told the time that when the floor is done the tank goes up. In order to put the floors in I have to finish the fence so I am sure I will be able to drop the 1K that it will cost to put both of those in. I can't wait I want it set up like yesterday but I have waiting almost a year now and I am working on it.

Other than that update nothing is going on. Got a bunch of coral's from a friend, Thank you Lance, and they are doing great. Every time I go down to look at the tank I can't find my anenome cause he keeps moving. Yesterday I located him in the back behind some rock and was able to view him through a cave. My daughter can see all the crabs as I have her standing on a bucket and she makes up little families for them.

Daddy, there is the baby and there is his brother and sister and mom and dad.

She really loves looking at the tank and I know when I set the 100 gallon up it is going to blow her mind. I can't wait.

[gpkozmp]

So I am now thinking about putting about 6 LED's in my canopy to make up a moonlight system. With this I was looking at this kit:

http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/the-38/06-Premium-LED-Do-dsh-It-dsh-Yourself/Detail

From this I was going to mount it in my canopy the best I can according to this diagram.

[gpkozmp]

well finally bought a return pump, I got a Mag 9.5 off of someone on here and well waiting for it to arrive, should be any day now. The only thing left really I need to buy is my plumbing and a pump to drive my skimmer.

I have been thinking about getting a controller but I have been having a touch time figuring out which one to get. I have looked at Digital Aquatics RKL and I was looking at Neptune Systems Apex lite. Just not sure, if anybody has insight on which one let me know.

[gpkozmp]

Well here is what I have as of now...I got this stuff from a local reefer friend of mine. Thank you Paul. Everything is doing great except for one piece that I am not sure if I got a picture of. My wife almost killed just about everything in the tank but slowly we are starting to get things back to where they were, Happy.

Oh if you could help me and ID the last picture I would greatly appreciate it. I have two of them like right around each other but I don't know what everything is.

Thanks and I hope you enjoy. I have a green algea problem I am working on but I have to get the tools: IE. some snail's and crab's.

[gpkozmp]

Well things are on hold until I figure out our housing situation so I think for the mean time this is going to be a 40 gallon thread. It is however coming along nicely and I don't have any newer pictures that what is already up but will take some soon.

I am running my coralife skimmer I think it is a 125 on there I am not sure, there are no label's when I bought it, and as of right now 2 54watt T5's with an icecap moonlight. My moonlight comes on at about 12 noon and then the T5's are on at 3pm and the moonlight kicks off shortly after. Then at about 9:30/9:45ish the moonlight comes back on and the T5's shut off at 10pm. The moonlight cuts off at 1am.

Question: Should I leave my moonlight on the whole time, when the T5's are not on?

Other than that the fish and the coral's seem to be doing really well haven't checked the water parameter's in a few weeks so that is on my agenda for tomorrow on my day off. And I am having trouble with my RO/DI so I might have to go to the store and buy water.

As for my RO/DI I am thinking of changing all my filter's and then getting a different DI set up. RIght now it sit's ontop of my membrane and I have to replace the resin every few days if I leave it running and I am definately not producing the correct amount her day. If anybody has any advise please let me know. Thank you for all those who tag along, nobody has posted on here in a while but I see my view's going up still so someone is still watching.

[gpkozmp]

So a couple days ago I decided to be nice and get my wife a coco worm. For the last few days I have I have been bugging my wife what the worm's name is and well last night she came up with, Kevin.

So now her worm is called Kevin, She needs to stop watching "UP"

[gpkozmp]

Here are some pictures of my 40B with my 4 fish and a hand full of corals.

[gpkozmp]

here are some more pic's with more to come.

[gpkozmp]

here are some more pictures.

[gpkozmp]

here are the last three of my update.

[gpkozmp]

In those last three pictures if someone know's what those are please let me know I can't figure out what they are so a quick ID and I would appreciate it, please and thank you.

[gpkozmp]

I was able to get the head loss calculator to work on these computer's but this is what I came up with:

Total losses are 6.29 feet of head pressure, or 2.72 PSI. with a flow rate of 691 GPH. Process took 76 iterations.

[gpkozmp]

Well I found my Anenome last night and this is what it looked like...can anybody help me figure out what is wrong with it?

[greech]

It's bleached and not happy. What kind of lighting do you have over it currently? How long have you had it? And has it always been that color/transparent?

Sorry, I looked through your thread a bit and didn't see anything about the nem.

I believe those unidentified pics are mojano anemones. They are usually a little greener than that and their tips are more rounded so a better ID might be needed.

[gpkozmp]

Okay well the lights right now are 2 54w T5's, I am going to be moving soon what would the best thing for me to do. I have had him in there for a few months now and he has always moved around and then he dissappeared and now he has returned and is there. Like I said I am moving on monday-tuesday and will hopefully be able to set up my 100 gallon but in order to do that I need a few more bulbs. I am planning on running a 6x 54 watt T5 setup.

It was not always like that but I haven't seen it in a long time and i had figured it had gone and I kinda stopped worrying about it cause I hadn't seen it in so long.

Other than lighting what can I do?

[barryfish]

here are the last three of my update.
look like aiptasia to me. mojano's have shorter stalk's either way bad joo joo.

[gpkozmp]

Okay been looking around and everyone says to get rid of Mojano's. I haven't had any issue's with these two and they have stayed in the same spot since I first noticed them a while ago.

Does anybody else have any input, I just want to make sure this is what it is before I go taking it out.

Thanks for the beginning barry.

[gpkozmp]

I am looking at starting up a new fish list however I am looking for a larger number of smaller fish as opposed to getting a small number of larger fish. If that makes sense it would be appreciated.

Once again it is a 100 gallon.

[gpkozmp]

Okay here is the plumbing that I am going to be running and how it is.

The overflow lines do look huge but they aren't that big, they are 1 1/2" pvc.

The line on the left is going to feed the refugium and the right, the skimmer area. The skimmer area will be drilled with probably 3/4" running to the pump and the same will be used to the skimmer from the pump. QUESTION: I want to say the inlet for my skimmer is 1" and the outlet on my pump is 3/4" should I convert it low or high?

On the left side of the diagram is my return pump and then the plumbing goes up just under the tank and there is going to be a 90 degree angle that brings it to the back of the stand and then another that turns it up. Then there is a "T" that will split the 2 returns and then they go to a piece that will turn from 3/4" to 1 1/2" bulkhead and back to the tank.

I drilled the holes originally for my overflow but after that I found out it was a horrible location to put my overflow so I moved it to the right side of the tank.

Here is the link because it wont let me attach, don't know if it is the computer I am on or if it is the page:

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i331/gpkozmp/20110127090516-1.jpg

[Coppertop412]

I replied on my thread but I figured I would put a few observations one here. I don't know how low your return holes are drilled, but if you don't put any loc-line or anything to bring it up, your tank will drain down to there in the event of a power failure. You talked about a power backup, but if you go out of town for a week and a breaker trips for some reason, how long would that last? I thought about getting one of those and prioritizing a little. Only putting necesary equiptment on it (heater, return and circ pump) rather than EVERYTHING! That was my thought it may last longer that way to sustain the tank. Also, in all the reading I did about plumbing (drain and return) everyone says to try to avoid 90 degree fittings. I used 45 degree every where I could. It just allows for smother flow.
Good luck and keep everyone (those lurking and posting) up to date!

[Coppertop412]

Oh yeah, I was gonna ask about your canopy. I was planning on one very similar (with the front hinged and the top also hinged). My question is how do you like it? Would you change your design at all if you were to do it again?
Thanks.:beer:

[gpkozmp]

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i331/gpkozmp/20110130190835.jpg

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i331/gpkozmp/20110130191001.jpg

Coppertop, as for my canopy I haven't got it set up just yet but I don't think there would be anything that I change with it. I would have to do with the wood. Make sure you have good wood. I noticed my back kinda split a little and there is a thin long crack in the back, but it wont bother anything. Get the right hinges as well my front doors wont stay open so I have to change that out.

All in all a good design for a few different things. I like it and if and when I build my next one I am going to custom the hell out of it...lol.

By the way I hope these picture's work as you can see I am polish and well you can tell by my little one.

[gpkozmp]

Well I was intending on doing that with the plumbing but I am not sure how I am going to get that done with such large holes in the back. I have been trying to find solution's and the one I am stuck at right now goes a little like this.

I already have the 1 1/2" street elbows so I will stick with that. I bought almost all my plumbing already. I am going to get a 1 1/2" bulkhead x2. On the inside of the tank, and without any gaps, I am going to have a Tee fitting. Hopefully I can find a 1 1/2" x 3/4" x 3/4", or they can be 1". Then I am going to run my loc line off of that. I am going to do up a little drawing on paint and post it. If you have any question's, comment's, or concern's please by all means, let me know.

[Coppertop412]

Well? Update? Pics? Drawing? How did it work out? Inquiring minds want to know!

[gpkozmp]

Well I am still working on my plumbing, unfortunatelly I haven't really gotten that far yet I have everything together but have to work on mounting it. Progress has slowed down a lot with the move, we have to organize everything and then we had a party the other day so now I am going to try and finish my plumbing this week and I need to get my RO/DI up and running, so I need a "y" fitting and a hose bib for it and it will be rocking and rolling. Sorry nothing new but when I do get there I will let you know. Sorry.

[gpkozmp]

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i331/gpkozmp/20110214154431-1.jpg

[gpkozmp]

I haven't been on here much cause I am either playing my new PS3, taking care of my girls, or messing with the fish tank. However lately the fish tank has taken most of my attention. I finally have it full and it is up and running, well cycling at least, and I can't wait to switch everything over from the 29 gallon. I was having leaks on my plumbing so it was a pain in the butt, everytime I fixed one I found another and I think it was because I kept shifting the pipes around.

Instead of going with an angled return I ran it straight to the left and then have a 90 degree elbow that goes up to a tee and then 90's and then to the holes. It look s better and it is delivering the same amount of flow to each return. I think I might have one more leak that I need to take care of and that will be easy to work with I just need to drain below the overflow box and tighten the seal there and I will be good...just a pain in the butt, heck I don't even know if it is still dripping.

I got my reflectors and I just need to **** the store up for the bulbs and I am good to go. I figure I will buy 2 more this weekend and then get 2 more next weekend or something like that but still thinking about it. I just can't wait to get fish and coral in there but like everyone that has the experience says, "Be Patient!"

Thanks for following.

[gpkozmp]

Wow it is amazing at how many people will look at something and not say anything about.

Anywho I have been looking at bulb selection and this is what I have come up with

Back
Aquablue Special
Blue Plus
Aquablue Special
Actinic
Blue Plus
Aquablue Special

Let me know what you think or if you can some bulb choices to advise me of, I am looking for a nice blue hue to it but not too blue. I know that doesn't make sense cause everybodies opinion changes but if you send pictures as well to help with a visual that would be great. I am wanting to use all ATI bulbs however I have to find me a local vendor.

[KnightReefer]

Personally I would ditch the actinic for another blue plus as well as switch one aquablue out for a purple plus. My combo would actually be:

Front
Blue +
Blue +
Purple +
Blue +
Aquablue
Blue +

[BigRedNole]

I just got my T5 6x54W in on Wednesday. I went with all ATI 4x Blue +, 1x Aquablue Special, and 1x Purple +. The Purple + was dead, so I got a Geismann Aquablue for temporary use. The tank is a little more blue than I would like. I will see what the combo looks like when I get the Purple + in to see what makes it look best.

[gpkozmp]

BigRedNole, Where did you order your bulbs from. I am trying to find a place that I wont spend a mint on and there aren't any local stores that sell them.

[gpkozmp]

So I figured I would give you all an update;

I filled my tank about 1 1/2 week ago or 2 weeks can't remember right now. I did my test's and they were good for just the water, live rock, and some sand in there. It has been sitting there cycling now since and I did a water test the other day and everything was on track. Well I didn't know that at first, I haven't used my test kit in a few months and before that it had been a year or so. So, I took some water over to my LFS and had them check it just to see if I was getting false readings or not, everything was the same and so I can use my test kit now without worrying that it is wrong. The lady at my LFS said I should have roughly 3-4 weeks left on my cycle so we shall see.

I am looking at getting some fish soon but I am up on the fence as to which ones. I have right now 1 yellow tang and a pink spotted goby, and maybe a true perc, which I haven't seen for a couple of days. I am thinking of maybe another tang, another clown, and a few anthia's. I have decided to go with a good amount of smaller fish like anthia's insted of going with 2 or 3 larger tangs.

The tank I have right now is having a huge spike of Nitrate's I believe it is I am not sure if it was nitrates or nitrites wrote it down last night and need to check it out when I get home.

[Coppertop412]

Cool! Good to see you have water! lol
What did you use to start your cycle?
As soon as your nitrites drop and nitrates start to climb I would get some cheato in the sump. It worked (or should I say works) awesome for me!
I'm in the same boat as far as more smaller vs. less bigger fish. I want a couple clowns, a fox face and MAYBE a small tang (powder blue or brown). I think that will be about all for fish. Once I get my LEDs and get my ph stabilized, I wanna start getting some corals!
Keep the updates coming!

[gpkozmp]

Okay well I have been looking into LEDs a little here and there and well I ran across these:

http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/the-141/%28New%29-7-LED-PAR38/Detail

I was thinking of using these and I can make my own fixture for it right on top of my canopy and have the lights 12" off of the water. I was thinking that 4 would work fine and it would bring my electric bill down some. At 17 watts a piece I would be looking at 68 watts total so it would be all that bad. What would you all think on a 5 foot tank?

I am planning on doing mixed corals and some fish so the Par is kinda important.

As for my cycle I haven't used anything just yet I am just letting it go through and I am going to do a water test today and then I have to do a water change on my 29 gallon holding tank. I have been thinking of gettin a raw shrimp at the store to throw in there and I haven't even started looking at cheato just yet but yeah sounds like I should.

I am anxious to get fish in the tank but at the same time I know that if they got put in there now I am committing murder pretty much.

[gpkozmp]

water test second week in cycle let me know what you think, I am horrible at comparing color's.

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i331/gpkozmp/20110319214944.jpg

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i331/gpkozmp/20110319214853.jpg

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i331/gpkozmp/20110319214835.jpg

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i331/gpkozmp/20110319214814.jpg

Thanks for your input. Hopefully soon I can get some fish in this tank.

[Sisterlimonpot]

Looks like 0's for ammonia and nitrite, PH is 8.2-8.4 and your nitrates are up in the 20's

[gpkozmp]

Here is my FTS:
http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i331/gpkozmp/20110321205113.jpg
Here is the right side:
http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i331/gpkozmp/20110321205128.jpg
Here is the Left side:
http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i331/gpkozmp/20110321205135.jpg

I picked up some rock from someone here in town and started putting it together last night when I got home and well this is what I came up with. The left side is attached but nothing on the right is so I am not sure if I am going to remove it and try something out there. Let me know what you think.

[Coppertop412]

When I was finishing up my cycle, my nitrites came down to .25 to .50 and just kind of hung out there for a couple days. I decided to hold off on a major water change until it dropped to 0. My nitrates were in the high 20's. I added the first fish and the cheato while I was waiting and by the next week it was at 0, and the nitrates were too. I never did a large (50%) water change, just the 10% (10 gallon) per week!
And as far as rock work, nothing in my tank is 'attached'. I have a tiger cowrie in there, so this may need to change eventually (they are known to be bull dozers!)
I don't know much about those bulbs you are looking at, they seem like they would create shadows, but like I said, I don't know. 4 of them is $400, which is what I spent on 56 crees (If I ever get them!) 56 is probably not enough for my tank, but I'm starting with that. This way I can see what I want to add in the future as far as color (more white or more blue).
Keep the updates coming, and like I said looking good so far!

[gpkozmp]

So when I get home after a trip to a local car lot I am going to test my water and see where things are at, I have been testing once a week on Saturdays during my cycle, should I be doing it every day?

I have also decided that I am going to move some of the rock from my 29 gallon over to the 100 gallon and then I will test again tomorrow to make sure I didn't change things up too much. Also there are going to be some snails in the 100 gallon. I have a ton of them all over the glass in the 29 so I figured I can move them over. Hopefully I am getting closer to the time where I can put some fish and coral in the 100 I am getting extremely anxious.

[gpkozmp]

Looks like 0's for ammonia and nitrite, PH is 8.2-8.4 and your nitrates are up in the 20's

with readings like this would you say that I am just about ready to go?

[duncantse]

You do not have to test everyday. Yah, put some fish food everyday to keep the bacteria healthy.

[gpkozmp]

Okay I have heard that a few times and I even asked question's and I would have to find the other foods but I have pellet, flakes (maybe), frozen, and then I have some for my corals' I don't know what it is off the top of my head.

WHICH ONE DO I ADD?

[Coppertop412]

I don't believe it really matters WHAT food you feed, since you are feeding the bacteria. I would say feed what is going to break down easiest. I would also say you are ready for fish, once you get your nitrates down a little. Most fish would survive a reading in the 20's, but I would question inverts, not really up too speed on them, but I have read they are highly sensitive to high nitrates.
You could do a 50% water change and, theoretically, drop that in half. Have you got cheato yet? I don't mean to preach about it, but I'm telling you I went from mid 20's to zero in a week!
Once you get your nitrates down, you should be able to transfer everything over.

[phillyfishguy]

nice build I like the stand you built very nice

[gpkozmp]

Thanks Philly, it took me a while but I finally have everything set up. I was able to put 5 green chromis in last night and some cheato in the sump. Plus I put my canopy on and now it looks like a real tank, I am only running 2 T5's on it right now and have to buy my other 4 lights and then I want to get moonlights so hopefully in due time everything will get put on here soon.

[gpkozmp]

so looked at my tank this afternoon and I was wondering I know this is normal but what is it actually called and how do I get rid of it?

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i331/gpkozmp/20110401174112.jpg

[gpkozmp]

Okay well I will have to get some pictures up of the tank I have a few fish had some not make the transfer, and then I have some coral's in there that seem to be doing rather well. However for those who have been following this thread, probably 1 or 2, a while ago I bought an MRC MR2 Skimmer and I have yet to install it. I have the dual injector's.

Now should I just put it in my sump with about 2 inches to spare or should I build a seperate stand to side a few feet away and ahve plumbing run to that from my sump just for my skimmer. If that makes any sense.

[gpkozmp]

Well I don't know the last time I gave an update but about 6 weeks ago I had bought a blue hippo tang from a local here and it turned out to have ich. So I filled the 29 gallon as a QT and my 3 fish are sitting in there, and I will be able to re-introduce them on the 7th so I am almost there. I have gotten a lot of coral's that are on my photobucket but I can't get on there on the computer that I am on right now. I bought some LED bulbs and I have 8 of them above my tank right now with 2 T5's just to supplement if needed. I am just testing them right now so if growth starts turning to crap then I will pull them out and go back with the T5's, but if everything does well under the LED's I will leave them in there. I will be taking pictures of my corals' and start doing some growth comparison's.

[Coppertop412]

I just pulled all my fish out last night and put them in QT. I thought I could fight the ich with garlic, but I put my new powder brown tang in and 2 days later he was covered with ich, and didn't make it through the night. This 8 week period will be a good reminder when I bring something new home and 'don't want to hassle' with a quarantine! Everything WILL go in QT!
What salinity did you run in hypo? I have read 1.011 is low enough, others say it HAS to be below 1.010, but below 1.009 can harm the fish. Also did you change your temperature at all with the QT?
Looking forward to your new pics as well!

[Coppertop412]

Oh, some input on your skimmer question. I'm not familiar with that skimmer specifically, but I moved my baffles (and replaced the plexi with glass) to fit mine in the sump. Even then I had to do a little file work on the stand to get it to fit, but it's in there! My skimmer section is 12" deep, so I made a simple acrylic stand to bring it up 3" so it's sitting in 9" of water.
If you can get it in the sump, I would.

[gpkozmp]

Well I haven't been on here for an update in well a long time. My fish have 1 more week in QT and will be added on the 21st. Other than that nothing has changed, here are some coral pictures:
http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i331/gpkozmp/20110614125433.jpg
http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i331/gpkozmp/20110614125446.jpg
http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i331/gpkozmp/20110614125454.jpg
http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i331/gpkozmp/20110614125505.jpg
Here is my favorite picture that I have ever taken.
http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i331/gpkozmp/20110614125517.jpg
http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i331/gpkozmp/20110614125553.jpg

[Coppertop412]

So did you get your fish back in there? I noticed while I'm running fallow and no fish in the tank to look at I notice all the rest of the life in there! My pod population has exploded! I have some small bristle worms, and a few pod like creatures (about 1/4" long). As soon as my fish go back in the end of next month, I'm going to get a Mandarin. They are one of the first fish I fell in love with in the beginning. (The other is a Humu Humu trigger).
I posted some pics with my LEDs.
What did you end up doing with your skimmer?