Prime's 20g nano transforming into a 75g

[jprime84]

Previous 20g long:
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6111/6852254456_d6467f0ce8.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/6852254456/)
FTS 3/19/2012 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/6852254456/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr


I am loving it so much I have decided to grow into my 75g tank. Here is my 20g next to its new shoes to fill!

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5112/7192988372_a96b5183e6_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7192988372/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7192988372/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr



Currently waiting on a lot of stuff to get in. Going to rinse my sand and rock tonight and play around with my basic aquascape. I am so excited!


Stuff I've Got

Standard 75g tank
bare 30g tank for sump
Oak stand
40lbs Caribsea Argonite
50 lbs of Marco dry rock
Koralia 1050 powerhead (x2)
Sump Acrylic
Sump plumbing
Coral Vue Reef Octopus 6 skimmer


Stuff on order:

Eshopps PF800 Overflow
Maxi-Jet Return pump model 3000
Aquarium LEDs 120 watt 14k fixture with 3w LEDs (x2)
75 GPD RO/DI 4 Stage Economy System from BulkReefSupply
Red Sea Coral Pro Salt - 175 Gallon


Shopping List

Patience - then new fish!


Todo:

Rinse Sand/Rock
Build baffles in sump
Plumb Sump and overflow
mix water
plenty more im sure

[jprime84]

Also, payday means new toys for the work in progess:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7077/7212619062_30d0f33ca6_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7212619062/)
New toys (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7212619062/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr


I also went by the hardware store and picked up PVC, ball valves, etc for the plumbing. Rocks came in from marco yesterday. 50lbs, and they look great.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7072/7212707336_930555c55b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7212707336/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7212707336/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5191/7212709164_cff4c63118.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7212709164/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7212709164/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

[89Foxbody]

You will love all that extra space! Good luck on your build.

[jprime84]

Ok, the sand and rocks are rinsed and out soaking in the sweet 20 gallon tub i picked up at the hardware store for like $6.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7242/7218157106_05b42167c5_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7218157106/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7218157106/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr


I also got my hands on a 30 gallon tank for my sump. Excuse the terrible iPhone photo
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8021/7218384106_0d88a07a28_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7218384106/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7218384106/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

[jprime84]

So I am working on my sump design at work. Sketch up is blocked by our network, so iPad it is!

It's a 30g tank so it measures 36 3/4 long, 12 5/8 wide, and 16 3/4 tall.

I was hoping to do the typical 3 chamber design with a fuge. I want to try the method of using a T connection and a ball valve to feed the fuge.

The overflow is 1 inch PVC coming down into the first chamber. This chamber will measure 12 inches and house the Reef Octopus and a small pump for my pros an reactor.

I then have a 4 baffle bubble trap, each baffle measuring 12 inches tall with 1 inch of space in between.

Next is a 6 inch wide section which will house the maxi jet 3000 return pump. Dividing it and the 14 or so inch Refugium is an 8 inch tall baffle. The return plumbing has a split and a ball valve to feed the Refugium at a slower rate than the sump overall, and it will overflow back into the return section. This whole section may share a few inches of water at the top. Return plumbing is 3/4 inch PVC.

I am hoping there will be space there to accept the water from the 75g in case of a power outage. I will drill a hole on the return to break the siphon appropriately.

it's hard to draw/write on the iPad, please give me your inputs! Should I change anything? Should the pros an reactor go in the first chamber?

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7093/7221646344_705cc9d8bd_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7221646344/)
Photo Stream-169 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7221646344/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

[jprime84]

Wait, I can't edit my master post? What kind of nazi forum is this? :spin1:

I was going to edit my first post to include the 2 little fishes pros an reactor I ordered, the granular GFO, the loc line return plumbing, and the pump for the reactor.

[Fig70g]

Looks great, your 20 did well, Im sure the 75 will be nice as well! I just moved up from a 40b to a 75g and love it. Wish I could have gone a little larger, but I was able to use most of my equipment on the new tank.
Have you considered drilling the tank? I have become a big fan of having it drilled, much less stress than an overflow box. look up glass holes .com, they sell a fantastic overflow setup. Its not as difficult as some people think!
Good luck with the build! I'm jealous of your 30long, my sump has been a 29g standard, which is only 30" long.

[jprime84]

Looks great, your 20 did well, Im sure the 75 will be nice as well! I just moved up from a 40b to a 75g and love it. Wish I could have gone a little larger, but I was able to use most of my equipment on the new tank.
Have you considered drilling the tank? I have become a big fan of having it drilled, much less stress than an overflow box. look up glass holes .com, they sell a fantastic overflow setup. Its not as difficult as some people think!
Good luck with the build! I'm jealous of your 30long, my sump has been a 29g standard, which is only 30" long.

I admit the idea makes me uneasy of drilling it. I already ordered my HOB overflow ough so I think I will go with that. I have already spent more than I planned on this upgrade, but as we all know that's how this hobby goes.

I had a friend who was going to give me a 29 for free. The LFS mentioned that the 30 gallon existed and would give me more floor space, but they didn't have any. I decided to check out a small chain store near my work over lunch and they had a brand new one marked down to $35.

[jprime84]

Lights arrived. I'm out of town tonight and most of tomorrow so no time to work on my aquascape.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5280/7223698108_dcb404d610_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7223698108/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7223698108/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7086/7223699328_58bcbb6a95_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7223699328/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7223699328/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

Blues only
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7225/7223700242_e2a421d9d0_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7223700242/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7223700242/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

Whites only
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7241/7223701234_584b0ccb4d_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7223701234/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7223701234/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

Both
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5469/7223702262_618ec9abf9_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7223702262/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7223702262/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

[jprime84]

No updates on the reef yet, but I did get my other 75g freshwater tank setup. I replaced a 38g tank housing my young Oscar and 4 silver dollars. I would like to eventually get it up to 8 silver dollars and a pleco or two. Will more more on the reef tonight.


http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8016/7234986270_f9154dc1f6_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7234986270/)
Photo Stream-175 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7234986270/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

[nemosworld]

looking good so far. you may want to make the return area a little wider unless you plan to have a ato as well. also make the baffle for the refugium taller, it will give you more total water volume and more room for your macro to grow. you do do need high flow through there, so the water can gently spill over without splashing. I have an Avast marine ato and love it.

[jprime84]

looking good so far. you may want to make the return area a little wider unless you plan to have a ato as well. also make the baffle for the refugium taller, it will give you more total water volume and more room for your macro to grow. you do do need high flow through there, so the water can gently spill over without splashing. I have an Avast marine ato and love it.

Is it a bad plan for the fuge and the return to share a few inches of the water column?

[markaren]

Where were the lights ordered from? basic cost? and are they dim-able?

[jprime84]

Where were the lights ordered from? basic cost? and are they dim-able?

This is exactly what I got. $159 per unit shipped!
http://www.aquariumleds.com/products/120-Watt-Aquarium-LED-14K-3-Watt-LEDs.html

Obviously for the price they are very simple units. No dimmer, no remote, no built in timers or anything. They use bridgelux and semi LEDs without any optics, but you cant beat the price. I bought two units for my 75g. I have heard good reviews on coral growth. I think the biggest drawback aside from the short feature list is that the resulting color appearance is very cool (as in blue, cool light temp). I hear warm colors within the tank wont pop.

I cant pass judgement on that yet however. I can say that they shipped them the same day that I ordered them and they got here fast, and they work. Also, I could buy two MORE of them and still be below the cost of some of the mainstream fixtures out there that are at least 120W rated. Im afraid of DIY with something as complex as an LED fixture so I wanted something ready to go out of the box.

Here are the tech specs from their site


TECHNICAL SPECS

Input voltage 120/230VAC
Power 120W
LED Qty 40pcs
LED Type 3W/pcs
LED brand Semi/Bridgelux
LED beam angle 120/90/60 degree Mix
LED working current 300-350mA
LED working voltage 3V-3.8V
LED Life time 50000hrs
Color White&Blue (1:1)
LED Intensity >240Lm
Wavelength/Kelvin W: 14000K, B: 460nm
PF 0.97
IP IP50
Working environmental temperature -20 ~ +50degress
2" depth - 1537 Par
PAR reading 12" depth - 423 Par
24" depth - 182 Par
Coverage 7 Square Feet
Equal to MH light 250W
Dimension 400X213X71(unit: mm)
Packing size 450x260x123 (unit: mm)
Weight N.W 4.5kg /G.W 5k

[jprime84]

Lots of work to do today!

I cut the acrylic for my baffles in my sump. I know some people don't mix acrylic and glass, but it worked well for me in my 10g so I am doing it here as well. I did some dry fitting of my Skimmer and found out I don't need 12 inches for its section, so there's more space. Will try to silicone some of them in tonight.

Side note, a wet tile saw works Really well for smooth clean acrylic cuts.

Also, I have decided to reinforce the oak stand I have. It seems pretty sturdy, but I want to go overkill on it. My plan is to add 2x4s inside the stand to structurally support it, and a cabinet grade sheet of oak on the top. Working on that also.

I want to have the sump in place and the stand reinforced by this weekend. Pics to come as I work.

[Sasquatchluvin]

My sump is very similar to your plan but the fuge spills over into the return section.

<a href="http://s1132.photobucket.com/albums/m561/hardibe/?action=view&amp;current=76halfroundbuild37.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m561/hardibe/76halfroundbuild37.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[jprime84]

Sasquatch, I think I will end up doing that. I like how yours has teeth along that baffle. I may have to steal that.

[Sasquatchluvin]

I’ve seen people use egg create for the teeth also.

[jprime84]

Made good progress today.

First off, new arrivals
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8145/7246291974_870f2ebb1e_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7246291974/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7246291974/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

Going to go to the store and get a splitter and valve to plumb the filter into the water line in the laundry room. Going to hopefully start making water tomorrow. Any tips for first time user of an ro/DI unit?


Here is my plan for reinforcing the stand. I cut all the pieces but haven't screwed it together yet.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7245/7246293658_0c8446d5f0_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7246293658/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7246293658/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7078/7246294788_a57d8fcfd1_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7246294788/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7246294788/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8012/7246296076_8cdfdf3da1_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7246296076/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7246296076/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr


I was planning on using exterior self drilling screws and a brad nailer to secure it all together.

I also did the silicone for the sump baffles. Don't laugh, I am not very patient with that stuff. We should start an ugly sumps club.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7212/7246297526_42ce1448b7_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7246297526/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7246297526/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

[jprime84]

looking good so far. you may want to make the return area a little wider unless you plan to have a ato as well. also make the baffle for the refugium taller, it will give you more total water volume and more room for your macro to grow. you do do need high flow through there, so the water can gently spill over without splashing. I have an Avast marine ato and love it.

That's a cool unit. Do you have the backup mechanical switch? How much room does it take up?

[jprime84]

Im making water! Made about 10 gallons tonight and stowed it away. Will need a lot more to fill this thing. I used a Y connector off of the cold water line in the laundry room. The waste line is fed down the waste line for the washing machine, and I have a 20 gallon tub with handles that i dispense it into. Then i siphon it into the 5 gallon sealable things that I used to buy water in.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7083/7253091552_24da2a373c_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7253091552/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7253091552/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr


Also, got the sump into the stand and screwed everything together. There is PVC in my future tomorrow.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7095/7253092774_7e43a0aa38_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7253092774/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7253092774/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

[jprime84]

I got a little bit more work done. My next package from bulk reef supply came in with my phosban reactor, plumbing, reef chili, and GFO.

I was thinking of hanging the reactor here in the Skimmer section just because it's easy to get at. Any issues with that? Also, the light you see is a working light I put in there, not the fuge light.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7099/7259517260_623b4208ca_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7259517260/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7259517260/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr


Here is the return plumbing. It's leaning because it isn't connected to anything at the top. I need to get a female threaded PVC adapter for the lock line that I got for the return. Nothing is cemented yet, just dry fit it all together.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8028/7259518940_2464f91eee_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7259518940/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7259518940/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr


Here is the Eshopps pf800 overflow. Just a bigger version of the pf200 I have been using on my 20g the last year. It's never given me any issues and has held its siphon throug many power outages.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7240/7259520294_81476e4fcf_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7259520294/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7259520294/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

This is the foam that came with it. I will probably build a new gurgle buster for it.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7084/7259521454_18b7b30890_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7259521454/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7259521454/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

The rest of the goodieshttp://farm8.staticflickr.com/7086/7259522692_5fc96af405_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7259522692/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7259522692/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

[jprime84]

Here is the scape I settled on

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7239/7265165828_8a758c7cb8_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7265165828/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7265165828/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7089/7265167656_d8a7c6fd87_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7265167656/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7265167656/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7100/7265169110_989988ed96_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7265169110/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7265169110/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

I like the island look, with the trench. There is a big tunnel in the small island, and the right island has a good amount of flat space for corals.

[jprime84]

Any opinions on how high off the tank to hang the lights?

[jprime84]

Lights! The fans on these chinese rigs are louder than I would prefer. I will be building a hood to block most of the light from the room. Everything is ready for water, but I'm not gonna fill it until I get back from Peru mid july.


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7228/7277322388_240974dc9f_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7277322388/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7277322388/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

[Windirmere]

I have just got my self a Ro/di unit and it said to discard the 1st 30 gallons, due to a preservative on the membrane that should dissipate after 30g has past through it, just a heads up, mines from Aquaticlife though so maybe they are different.

[jprime84]

I did dump the first 10g or so. The unit from bulk reef supply said to let it run for an hour and dump all of that. Mine made about 10g in the first hour.

[jprime84]

I'm racking my brain on designing the hood. I'm no carpenter, but I'm trying to figure out how to make it secure. In the room where my tank is, the wall is 90 degrees from the floor up a little higher than the tank, then it's an angled vaulted ceiling. Imagine the upper half of a stop sign, it's shaped like that.

I know I want a door or some kind of access panel. My plan is to keep all of e plugs and light timers in the hood, with only 1 power cord coming down behind the tank.

[jprime84]

Well, I'm no carpenter so it doesn't look pretty but I finished the framework for my hood. Here you can see the vaulted ceiling I'm working with.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7242/7298830500_a463160b59_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7298830500/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7298830500/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr


I need to get some paneling over it, and I will have a hinged door in the front. The blanket is to keep crap out of the tank.

[jprime84]

Well I got back to the US today from Peru, and I have begun to mix my saltwater. I am using Red Sea, a 20 gallon tub, and a generic mag pump to circulate it. So far no issues. I had about 20 gallons of RO on hand, and I am making more as we speak. I hope that by the end of tomorrow the tank will be full.

I will also get the wood panels for the hood tomorrow. I may not polish it up for a while due to lack of funds, but it will be functional.

[jprime84]

It's alive! I finished mixing and filling yesterday. I left all of the plumbing running and put a piece of my live rock into the main tank. Going to test all my parameters today. It's really gurgling and bubbling though, so I need to work on silencing the plumbing.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7096/7391571370_134bddbe4f_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7391571370/)
Everything running (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7391571370/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

[jprime84]

Minor setback... I flooded my house.

I would call it a minor flood however. I put the outlet tubing of my RO/DI unit into the 20g tub the other day after I got home from work. I then proceeded to begin the livestock move from my 20g to my 75g.

I am happy to report that I had zero losses. I ended up banishing a few pieces of LR to the woods that had a type of horrible algae infesting them. The best pieces without any turf algae or anything went into the DT area behind my Key Largo rock. The other smaller pieces that had some algae went into the sump along with about 6 cups of the sandbed from the 20g.

All my corals i was able to remove most of the colony and place them like plugs into the new tank. My 3 fish and cleaner shrimp all survived the switch.

Now the downside... I was exhausted and it was late by the time I finished. I went to bed and CRASHED. I woke up to the alarm the next morning, took my shower, got dressed, walked downstairs turn on the kitchen light and POP - out it goes. I then notice that the light fixture is literally full of water and dripping onto the floor.

I went upstairs, and the tub had filled, and then probably another 20g or so had overflowed during the night. After doing damage control today, I will need to replace about 15 square feet of carpet padding and sub floor, but that should be it. Lesson learned! I will be taping up my left hand or something every time i turn on my RO/DI unit so i cant forget to turn it off.

Pics to come of the life in its new tank.

[jprime84]

Its getting lonely in here....

I got my cleanup crew reinforcements from reefcleaners.org yesterday.

FTS of the 75g:
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5120/7413768832_78f010442a_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7413768832/)
got the 75g running (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7413768832/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8150/7413773136_61e4e7c0af_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7413773136/)
got the 75g running (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7413773136/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5464/7413777352_5fbf3891d0_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7413777352/)
got the 75g running (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7413777352/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5322/7413781898_1a468c5922_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7413781898/)
got the 75g running (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7413781898/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

I think my cinnamon polyps are having some trouble adjusting. They are usually open like mushrooms or other palys, but they have been scrunched like this since adding.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7413785834_848faa120d_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7413785834/)
got the 75g running (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7413785834/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr


Macro shot of some zoas
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8005/7413790730_31c0ac545a_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7413790730/)
got the 75g running (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7413790730/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

[jprime84]

So early on obviously there is not a lot of algae or excess nutrients in the water. Do you need to "feed" the cleanup crew this early or will there be plenty for them. By the end of my 20g i only had a few snails still alive. I dont know if something about the water killed them off or if the hermit crabs went through them or what.

[TX..r33f]

wow tank looks great! i was thinking about buying those lights keep us updated on your coral growth and new fish/corals. As far as feeding i would only feed the clown fish and corals. the snails will find something to eat. when i transfered tanks, i didnt clean off a power head and the snails stuck to it for a couple days and ate off that. Do u have any uncleaned power heads ect you can throw in?

[Dragon moray ki]

Wowo love the tank. I had one of those siphoning overflows with the tube , but what happened was the tube broke shipon the night beforei went out of town. And i had a crap load of water on the flor. Ow i have a cpr overflow with pump. Love the tank though keep up the good work.

[jprime84]

Wowo love the tank. I had one of those siphoning overflows with the tube , but what happened was the tube broke shipon the night beforei went out of town. And i had a crap load of water on the flor. Ow i have a cpr overflow with pump. Love the tank though keep up the good work.

Yeah I know it could be risky. This particular one the tube is very loose fitting. My last one it fit somewhat tight and I could imagine it breaking. With my last one, the biggest issue was keeping an eye on algae growth within the tube. I was too chicken to drill the tank, so we will see how this goes.

[jprime84]

wow tank looks great! i was thinking about buying those lights keep us updated on your coral growth and new fish/corals. As far as feeding i would only feed the clown fish and corals. the snails will find something to eat. when i transfered tanks, i didnt clean off a power head and the snails stuck to it for a couple days and ate off that. Do u have any uncleaned power heads ect you can throw in?

So far so good with the lights. My biggest complaint is the fan noise, sounds like running a computer tower. The iphone pics in my previous posts do not properly represent the light color. iPhone doesnt do white balance well. These latest photos are with my DSLR and i used Lightroom to adjust the white balance to how the tank properly looks in person. Im running the blues from 2pm to 11pm, and the whites from 4pm to 10pm.

I was very surprised to see that some of my corals look very different under the new light.

[jprime84]

So I finished the wood part for my tank hood. I need to stain it though. Im no carpenter as I have said before, but it does the job.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7140/7436595998_a172fe4215_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7436595998/)
IMG_7675 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7436595998/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8013/7436578562_ac274f3ce7_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7436578562/)
IMG_7673 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7436578562/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr


I also realized that I had not posted a photo of the sump in detail. The water enters on the far right, where the reef octopus sits. I have a bubble trap next with thermometer. The center chamber houses the return pump, and a smaller pump feeding the phosban reactor. The left chamber is the refugium that is fed by a T pipe from the return and a valve.

I have a small powerhead in there, but I cant get the chaeto to tumble. I also get cyano in there. I think its because the flow isnt very fast. Im not sure what to do in there.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7121/7436585988_47fdc7fd9b_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7436585988/)
IMG_7674 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7436585988/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

[Doc_Polit]

Take credit where due.......your tank looks great and that light hood is just cool.

Well done for a "non-carpenter". :beer:

[jprime84]

Take credit where due.......your tank looks great and that light hood is just cool.

Well done for a "non-carpenter". :beer:

Thanks! :beer:

[NyteGTI]

Take credit where due.......your tank looks great and that light hood is just cool.

Well done for a "non-carpenter". :beer:

x2 my only criticism would have been to bring the hood completely down to the tank. but otherwise it's 10x what I could have done. Nice job.

[jprime84]

One week in now and getting the typical diatom bloom. Will post pics tonight.

[jprime84]

Little over week in, did first batch of testing. I was surprised to find a tiny cycle happening. Also, my calcium and alkalinity is low, so I'll have to get supplements.

Temp 80
Ammonia 0.25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate around 4
Ph 8.0
Alk 107.4
Calcium 340
Phosphates 0
Salinity 1.0245

[jprime84]

Dosing Seachem Aquavitro now. Also added Purigen and Carbon to the sump to help minimize the effects of the mini cycle.

I added a gurgle buster to my overflow, and a smaller Koralia power head to supplement flow in the tank.

I've also added more coral today: a frag of galaxea, torch coral, toadstool leather, and mushroom coral. I know I'm overdue for pics, but it's been hectic around here lately.

[NanoReefsRCool]

very nice set up. I look forward to seeing the whole thing. I am getting a new pf-800 this Monday, and was wondering how you plumbed it. did you just insert a 1 inch pvc pipe with some pvc cement?

Thanks

[NanoReefsRCool]

and some pictures would be great if you could. :)

[jprime84]

Hey, I did use 1 inch PVC with standard cement. I am continuing my thread on another forum. I have a better pic there of the overflow.

http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/f6/primes-75g-mixed-reef-build-upgrade-from-a-20g-long-188599.html

[NanoReefsRCool]

sorry, i don't have an account with trt, so i can't ask this there. The 1"pvc pipe provided doesn't seem to fit tightly. There are also some plastic pieces inside that prevent a piece going all the way through, did you encounter this problem?

Thanks

[jprime84]

The provided pipe is different from normal pvc, the walls arent as thick. You are right, itsnot a snug fit using it but if you go to Lowes and get 1inch pvc its a good fit. There is a divider between the top and bottom sections of the bulkhead. I had no issues fitting in the 1 inch PVC into the lower end. I don't remember if it was 100% snug or not. But after adding the cement it bonded nicely and I have no leaks.

Here it was just installed with the foam insert around the tube that came with it.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7084/7259521454_18b7b30890_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7259521454/)
Untitled (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7259521454/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

Here it is with the gurgle buster installed up and running. No issues. I had to slow my return flow significantly to quiet the overflow to my liking.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7278/7482532860_56f12e49fd_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7482532860/)
IMG_7692 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/7482532860/) by jprime84 (http://www.flickr.com/people/jprime84/), on Flickr

[moshi1ry]

Very cool light setup i hope you paint that hood. The all black look of your last tank was really cool. Id say throw some paint on that hood and it will look like you ordered it! Also it looks like the hood gave you more of the color you were looking for might just be the picture though!

[shovelrider]

Great looking setup! Awesome aquascape.