Tygger’s 72g New Bow Front Setup – *Pic Intense*

[tygger]

My setup is pretty basic and I still have a lot of learning to do. I started collecting “parts” for my new 72g tank over a year ago while doing tons of research along the way. Reefcentral has been a great tool and the members have been very helpful.

This is my first >15g salt water tank and I was overwhelmed with the amount of planning required for such a task. I wanted to do it right and so far, I think I’m on the right path.

Like many others, I started in fresh water and had always wanted to get into salt water. When a friend with a 10g s/w tank had to move about 1.5yrs ago, he offered it to me or else the fish were going down the toilet.

I don’t have a pic of the 10g tank on hand, but it was a basic 10g tank with Penguin HOB filter, about 1-2 inches of sand and one 5lb live rock in the center with 3 fish, a false perc. clown, yellow-tail blue damsel and four striped damsel.

I needed to learn how to care for these guys and after searching; I quickly learned that my 10g tank was way too small for 3 fish. I wanted to upgrade immediately, but I kept reading that I should buy the biggest tank I had space for and could afford. I knew this was going to take time...

In the mean time, my buddy gave me a 15g tall because it was the same footprint as the 10g. Here’s a pic of the 15g that I’ve had for about 1.5yrs. Don’t mind the algae :)

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I wanted to get a standard 75g tank, but my gf and friends convinced me to go with a bow front tank since they thought it looked more modern. After looking a bunch of different tanks, I agreed.

I ended up with a 72g Reef-ready All Glass Aquarium bow front tank and stand. I was going to get the Oceanic stand (single glass door in the front), but it didn’t have enough space or accessibility underneath so I sacrificed aesthetics for functionality.

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My next task was to find the biggest sump I could fit underneath the stand. After a taking lots of measurements to be sure, I ended up with a 29g AGA tank for the sump. I tried fitting it through the front and rear to no avail! Last resort was to remove the top center brace… IT FIT!

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In this pic, you can see the tight fit.

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Here’s how it looks from the front.

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Ok, so now that I know it fits, I can begin on working on the sump by adding baffles. The sump in itself was a lot of work because not only did I have to figure out which design I liked best, I wanted to maximize water capacity while leaving enough space for my built-in overflow to overflow into the sump during power outages.

I went with the design with the return chamber in the center and a skimmer area on the left and refuge on the right.

I didn’t have the tools to cut ¼” acrylic for the baffles like many recommended, so I went with a thinner acrylic that I found at Homedepot. After cutting and gluing everything into place, it was time for the water test.

This is where I came across my first mistake. The acrylic I used was too thin and began to flex because the water in the return chamber (center area) was a lot lower than the skimmer and fuge chamber. The weight and flow of the water made the acrylic flex and I wasn’t comfortable with the bowed baffles so I took them out and replaced them with glass.

In hindsight, I could’ve found a shop to cut the acrylic for me… but most places like my local hardware store, Homedepot and Lowes wouldn’t cut acrylic that thick. The glass baffles worked fine, I just have to becareful when working in the sump.

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I cut a section from a light diffuser (egg-crate) to use as a screen on the fuge. That should keep larger things in the fuge while allowing pods to flow over the edge.

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More to come…

[ewaldm]

Nice nano, the xenia looks great

[msudawgs56]

yes please add more..cant wait to see!
Looks good so far

[tygger]

Here’s a pic of the egg-crate screen in action during the water test.

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I used to use stick-on backgrounds and got tired of them eventually peeling off or bubbling up, so I decided to paint on a background. I used Krylon Fusion Navy Blue spray paint and it worked great.

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I started taping everything up and decided not to paint over the built-in overflow. One can was good for about 3 layers.

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My next task was to find a good skimmer that would fit into my limited space. I had to account for the water level in the skimmer area, the recommended water level in which the skimmer had to be in and the height of my stand so that I could remove the skimmer and skimmate cup easily. I ended up with a Euroreef CS6-1. You can see it in the pics above.

ER has a recommended water height in which the skimmer should sit. I think it was around 8-10”. I built this stand out of pvc. It’s sturdy and easily adjustable if I needed to change the height of water level.

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Now I had to figure out how to plumb everything together. At the time, I wanted to use a SCWD so I had to find a submersible pump that would flow enough to operate the SCWD efficiently. I read that the SCWD was very restrictive. Many recommended a Mag9.5 so that’s what I went with.

I also read that the SCWD sometimes leaks so I decided to put it into the built-in overflow. The durso drain pipe was in the way so I had to cut a new hole to accommodate the SCWD’s two outputs.

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Here’s what I had to do to make the SCWD fit:

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Long story short about the SCWD… it also makes a slight gear-like noise. It was enough to drive me crazy at night, but it wasn’t as noticeable during the day. I also read that people had to clean them quite often or they would get stuck. I didn’t want to deal with this so I sold it.

More to follow…

[kingtoad]

Looks great!

Can't wait to see the finished product.

[tygger]

Forgot to add this pic. Here's what the painted background looks like from the front. Don't mind the egg crate on the bottom. I was planning on using it underneath the sand to support the rock work, but was advised against using it.

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I convered the top with egg crate which can be found at Homedepot and Lowe's in the lighting department. It's also called a light diffuser.

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This is what I used to cut the egg crate. It's a regular ol' dremel with a cutting disc.

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I bought the AGA tank with the built-in MegaFlow overflow and durso kit. In the overflow are two holes, one 1” drain and one ¾” return. After initial water testing, I decided that the durso was going to be way too loud because it caused bubbles to crash into the sump. An exaggeration heard quite often is that it sounds like Niagara Falls and I couldn’t agree more!

I had little space in the sump, so my configuration options were limited. I tried many different methods recommended and none of them quiet the sump down enough. I can only find these two pictures. I think I was too frustrated at the time and forgot to take pics of the other attempts.

This pic shows where I tried to split the drain into 3 separate outputs underneath the water.

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It didn’t work…

This one shows where I moved the outputs halfway out the water to help vent the bubbles…

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It didn’t work either… constant rubbling... :(

[tygger]

Here is what I anticipated the plumbing/sump to look like.

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The return is no longer going up the ¾” bulkhead. I plumbed it over the back of the tank and used both holes as drains. I also modified the skimmer with the gate-valve mod. More on these later…

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Here’s a top down view of the sump/plumbing.

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Close up of the left side. Skimmer area.

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Close up of the right side. Fuge area.

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[chemesgh]

Nice setup!! I just setup a 10 gal sump underneath my 55 gal tank this past weekend. I had a problem with noise from the overflow line going down to my sump, sounded like someone was draining a loud bathtub that never stopped draining!! After trying to cover the top of my overflow box, I stuck about 2-3 ft of airline tubing down the overflow line and clipped the top of the tubing to the top of my overflow box. It removed the loud draining sound by venting any air in the line leading from my overflow box to my sump. All I can hear now is water trickling from my skimmer, and a slight hum from the Mag 5 return pump. I don't know if this is the same problem you are having, but you might could try it with maybe some airline or 1/4" tubing. :)

[tygger]

Thanks chemesgh. I found a resolution... :)


Ok, so let’s go back to the noisy sump issue. My stand was open in the back so I decided to close most of it to try and reduce the noise. I found some hard board at Homedepot and cut it to fit while leaving enough room for some ventilation and electrical cords.

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As I was desperately searching for new ideas to quiet down the sump, I came across Herbie’s plumbing method. This method requires more planning, testing and tuning than the more commonly used Durso or Stockman methods.

In this design, the main drain is fully submerged in the overflow and controlled by a gate valve. Since there is no air going down the drain, there’s no crashing in the sump! The ¾” hole designed for the return is now being used as a backup drain and the return line is now plumbed over the back. This method WORKS! It used to be the noise of water that would overpower everything in the sump, now it’s quiet and hum of the pumps are all I can hear. For more details about this method, check this link. Be warned… it’s a long thread!

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=344892


Here is Herbie’s method in action. In this pic, the water level above the main drain is pretty low. I’ve since increased the water level and the noise in the overflow is also silent. The right drainpipe is the main drain. I purchased the black screen pipe from Marinedepot. The holes appear to be large enough to not restrict the flow while small enough to block critters and junk from getting stuck in the plumbing.

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Here’s another angle of the back.

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[Joshthenosh]

very nice , good DIY skills thers, i like the idea putting somthign over the drain pipe to stop critters gettign in i might use that

[tygger]

Thanks joshthenosh!


If I had the tools, I would’ve liked to build a bow canopy. But since I don’t, I decided to get a 48” fixture. I kept reading how people wished they would’ve gone with metal halides from the start instead of spending more money by taking steps.

I decided to buy a MH fixture since I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to keep. When I bought this, T5s weren’t really popular like they are now. Even still, I don’t know if I regret the decision to choose MH over T5s. I like the looks of MH over T5s, but the heat and electricity cost would make me think twice next time around.

I ended up buying a CoralVue fixture. It has 2 250w MH, Dual Ended HQI on electronic ballasts and 4 36w PC actinics. I opted for the 10K bulbs. It also comes with mounting legs since I didn’t want to hang the fixture from the ceiling.

The box came in pretty beat up, but it was packaged pretty well. It was a box inside another box. It’s hard to tell from this angle, but it looked like someone kicked the middle of the box.

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Here’s the top side.

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Bottom side.

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Here are the legs. If you notice, you can adjust to three different heights be either adding or removing a leg. All three are being used in the pic.

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I thought I had a side profile of the fixture…

[Crusty Old Shellback]

tygger,
I too recently got a 72 G bow front to upgrade from my 45 G hex. I moved everything over from the 45. I can't see your pic's right now as my work blocks them but I know which lights you are talking about. I have Helios brand which look exactly like yours and have the same type of mounting that you describe. I have 150 W Mh though instead of teh 250's. One thing I found out when I initially tried to mount the lights using the legs was that 1) the legs did not fit the rim around the tank very good and 2) the light was just a tad short for the tank. I had planned on hanging the lights and so had to go ahead and mount them before I was really ready to do so.

I did get the Oceanic stand though. It's nice and had just enough room in the back to fit a 29 G tank into the stand. Nothing else will fit in there though. I also did as you and am running a euroreff RS 6-2 skimmer. I'm going with a ehiem 1262 return pump as the rio I have is too noisey and the ehiem is suppoed to be the quiestest. I'm on a wooden floor so every noise kind of echos in the room and is amplified.

Good luck with the tank.

[tygger]

Yea, the legs didn't fit over the lip of the tank so I had to trim the inside lip just a bit.

I also saw someone else with the Oceanic stand and a 29g sump. When looking at the stand at the store, I didn't think it was going to fit. Does the small door in the front give you enough room to comfortably work in the sump?

[tygger]

I added a couple bags of Yardright Tropical Play sand without rinsing. The blue bag in the center...

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I slowly filled the tank with water using the plate method to avoid a sand storm. Unfortunately, I think a sand storm is inevitable! My tank became completely white and silt quickly covered everything in the tank.

Here's are pics of the skimmate. It was sandy/slimy and a film of it covered everything in the tank. What a mess...

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[tygger]

I got in on a group buy with my local reef club for 60lbs of Hirocks "Our Best" base rock. The rocks looked pretty dull and solid, but after rinsing them, about half where nice and porous. The other half were mostly solid bolders. If you go back to my first pic of the 15g tank, the bottom three rocks were from Hirocks.

When I weighed the box, it was actually only around 45lbs. The group buy organizer contacted Hirocks and they actually shipped me an additional 15-20lbs of rock for free. This pic was the original 45lbs.

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I proceeded to rinse the rest and added them to the 72g sand storm. This pic was taken a couple days after the initial fill. You can start to see some of the base rock.

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I added a HOB power filter to help clear the storm and it still took approximately 2 weeks clear! I was also skimming pretty wet.

Til this day, there's still silt covering parts of the tank and sump that I can't easily clean. :(

[tygger]

I had originally planned on going with Tampabaysaltwer’s liverock after seeing the incredible pictures posted by satisfied customers. But after looking at more and more pics, I wasn’t too excited about the shapes.

Since TBS ships in water, you get lots of hitchhikers, both good and bad. I liked the idea of finding something new everyday, but again, I didn’t want to deal with all the bad hitchhikers.

I narrowed my options down to PremiumAquatic’s Marshall Island liverock and ReeferMadness’ Fiji Pukani liverock. RM was more responsive to my questions and after seeing Pukani pics posted by bubbaphish, I was sold.

http://www.columbiamarineaquariumclub.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=19&t=1629&


I ordered 88lbs of Fiji Pukani Fused Porites from RM and the rocks came within 1 week.

It appears that bubbaphish’s rock came in safer than mine. I had small styrofoam pieces stuck in a lot of crevices and about a 1-2” bed of rubble on the bottom of the box. I’ll just toss those pieces in the fuge. Overall, I’m really happy about the shapes and color. See for yourself...

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Not showing in this pic are the heat packs that were attached to the lid of the Styrofoam box.

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[tygger]

You can’t tell from this pic, but there are little styrofoam balls stuck in the crevices. The bigger chunks you see in the pic were placed there to cushion the rock from breaking each other.

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I didn’t take the greatest pics because I wanted to tank the rock asap.

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[tygger]

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[tygger]

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This one was a huge piece. I'm probably going to break it into smaller pieces...

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Another angle.

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[tygger]

Here are some of the dead hitchhikers. Not pictured were a bunch of black urchins.

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Here are some of the live hitchhikers. I also found a small 1-1.5" mantis (not pictured) crawling around in the rubble.

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[tygger]

This isn't aquascaped yet. I just kinda put them in the tank so that they wouldn't fall over.

Notice the one huge rock on the left.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y123/tygger27/72g%20Tank%20Setup/Pukani/IMG_3004.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"></a>


Here's a close up.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y123/tygger27/72g%20Tank%20Setup/Pukani/IMG_3005.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"></a>


Left center.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y123/tygger27/72g%20Tank%20Setup/Pukani/IMG_3006.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"></a>


Right center.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y123/tygger27/72g%20Tank%20Setup/Pukani/IMG_3007.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"></a>


Right.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y123/tygger27/72g%20Tank%20Setup/Pukani/IMG_3008.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"></a>

[30mini]

Can you get a picture of the manits? I may be interested in taking it off your hands if you want to get rid of it, or havent already killed it!

Great tank by the way!! Looks awesome so far!

[tygger]

My skimmer went crazy and I had to empty my cup every hour or so for the first few hours.

The skimmer was set to skim as driest as possible and the skimmate was still collecting pretty wet.

This is what Day 1 skimmate consistently looked liked.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y123/tygger27/72g%20Tank%20Setup/Pukani/IMG_3014.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"></a>


This is what Day 2 consistently looked liked.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y123/tygger27/72g%20Tank%20Setup/Pukani/IMG_3038.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"></a>

[Crusty Old Shellback]

The tank barley fits. I had to slide one end in at an angle and then twist the tank to get the rest in. It would only go in one way. Wouldn't go in if I started with the other end first. :rolleyes:

As far as working in the sump, it seems OK. I don't have anything in mine but the skimmer, heater, return pump and some polyfilter. I may eventually add a fuge to it.

[Cutiewitbooty]

nice setup you have there, keep us updated with alot of pics :D That big peice of LR is aweome, what are you going to do with it?

[kingtoad]

Your plumbing is exceptional. :D

[jim293]

Good job so far. Keep us updated.

[tygger]

30mini - I'm not going to kill him. He's about 1-1.5" and mostly black with just a tad bit of green . I have him in one of those little plastic floating breeder containers in my 15g tank with some lr.

Cutiewitbooty - Thanks. I'll be sure to take more pics :)

As for the big piece, I'm not sure. It looks nice, but its so big that it takes up a lot of space with no swim-throughs. I might break it into 2 or 3 smaller pieces...


The rock has been in the tank since 3/18/06. It's still curing and the smell is finally subsiding!


Thanks for the comments and keep em' coming ;)

[Jamie2337]

Great rock, nice tank and good pics. I have enjoyed tagging along. It looks awesome!

[30mini]

You gonna keep the little guy?

Your tank is looking great man... i think you should break that rock up in a couple of pieces and try to aquascape it with some nice caves and stuff!!

[tygger]

Thanks.

Yea, I'm planning on keeping him since he found his way into my home. He rarely comes out of the rock, but when he does, I'll try to get a pic.

I see others giving away much nicer ones all the time. You should check out the TBS threads or forum.

[BubbaPhish]

Tygger,
you are on the right path, you did your homework and made some good decisions and put alot of effort into your system. My tank is a 90gal. with 2-250watt halides and 2-110 watt VHO actinics. Sump is a 30 gal with acrylic baffles ( I routed teeth into mine but egg crate works in a pinch and far cheaper than getting a routher and a bit). Skimmer is an ASM G2. I am using an Oceans Motions 4way Squirt for my closed loop running off of a blue line pressure rated pump.
Our systmes are somewhat similar......Our rock definately is. My coraline is bouncing back now and I am ready to start slowly stock the tank over the next few months. Still havn't got a Ca reactor yet but SPS is gonna be down the road for me so the reactor can wait a while longer. Besides the wife and I have a baby on the way that is due to be here in 2 weeks, so my aquarium time and funding will be somewhat limited to routine maintenance for a while.

Your tank is looking good can't wait to see what kind of aquascaping plan you come up with. Keep in mind the flow patterns of your tank when you aquascape so you will limit detrius collection spots.

Bubbaphish

[lbear]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7052762#post7052762 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tygger

Here is Herbie’s method in action. In this pic, the water level above the main drain is pretty low. I’ve since increased the water level and the noise in the overflow is also silent. The right drainpipe is the main drain. I purchased the black screen pipe from Marinedepot. The holes appear to be large enough to not restrict the flow while small enough to block critters and junk from getting stuck in the plumbing.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y123/tygger27/72g%20Tank%20Setup/IMG_1753.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"></a>


[/B]


Your setup looks great! Well planed!

I am setting up my BF RR tank too. The noise from sump sounds like toilet running 24 hrs! I'd like to try Herbie's method. What is the part name of the black screen pipe in marinedepot? Thanks!

[lbear]

:) I've found it in Herbie's thread. It seems the longest strainer is 6". Do you use several of them?

[tygger]

BubbaPhish,

Congratz on the new family member! You're going to be a busy man. ;)

The rock definately has awesome shapes. Most of the coraline on my rock has either died off or is covered in brown crud from the cycle process. Can't wait for it to come back! On another note, the smell is finally going away. For the first week, I had the window open with a fan blowing out 24/7. The smell from the skimmate was nassiating. I also see a bunch of little redish colored worms making their way into the sand bed.


lbear,

I just checked Marinedepot's site and the don't have the same strainer listed anymore. Try sending them an email w/ the pic to see if they still carry it.

The one I bought was a lot longer and I cut it to size. The smaller ones should work also, but it could clog easier if you don't clean it often. Alternatively, you could drill holes or cut slits into the pvc pipe itself.

[tygger]

If you notice the water levels in my sump from the pic showing the sand storm, you can see that there's a huge fall off where the water enters the return chamber from the fuge.

That was creating some unwanted noise. I was walking around homedepot looking for ideas to quiet the noise when I came across "corner protectors". These were 90 degree plastic trims that you put on the corners of walls. I bought 2 90 degree pieces and glued them together to make a " |_| " like shape to be used as a ramp. I glued the new fabricated pieces on the fuge baffle to allow the water to run down into the return chamber as oppose to splashing into it. The lower piece runs right into the water surface... Doesn't look too pretty, but it works.

You can also see the silt mess from the sand all.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y123/tygger27/72g%20Tank%20Setup/IMG_3089.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"></a>

[Sheol]

Man,

I wish I could've done the 72 gallon bowfront, but I only have room for 46 gallons max in this house. 36 ( my current reef) is just too small, stuff is growing far faster than I though it would. Which is good in a bad way, sorta <g>.
Nice setup, I'll tag along & see how it develops..

Matthew

[tygger]

It's been almost two weeks since the lr went in. Ammonia is 0, trites and trates are still off the charts.

Does anyone know if I should be turning the lights on? If so... MH, actinics or both and for how long?

[ha-y-n salt]

Hey tygger hows your parameter going? Can you post a pic of new plumbing under and behind your tank. I think you metioned that you changed the return to be over the top. Also what kind of return pump are u running? By the way what are u planning to grow in your fuge?

[tygger]

Hey ha-y,

Ammonia is 0, trites and trates still off the charts using a Seachem test kit. I'll try and get a new pic this weekend, but can't really get a "behind the tank" pic since it's now up against a wall.

I'm using a Mag9.5 as the return. Not sure if I want to put any sand in the fuge since I have so much rock rubble. Planning on growing chaeto...

[ha-y-n salt]

tygger..
while your waiting for your tank to stop cycling, can you help me with a few questions.

1. Do you still remember the exact sizes of your baffles and the placement of them in your sump.

2. Just checking what your pipe sizes are. Im assuming 1 1/4" pipe for the 1" bh, and a 1" durso on the 3/4" bh. Pipes running from the bhs to the sump is 1", and the return is 3/4".

3. What kind of glue did you use on the eggcrate?

4. Is that just striaght silicone used to hold the baffles in place?

Thanks again for the help...

[tygger]

Hey, the pics posted in the first page pretty much show how everything is setup. If you need something specific, I'll get a close up for you.

1. I don't know the measurements off hand, but when I get home, I can find out for you.

2. The pipes in the overflow are 1" for the 1" bh. I bought the AGA Megaflow kit and used the adjustable durso pipe on the 3/4" bh as the emergency drain. It's working quite well. I believe the durso adjustable pipe is a 1.25". I used a reducer to connect it to the 3/4" bh.

The pipes underneath are 1" from the 1" bh and 3/4" from the 3/4" bh.

3. Are you talking about the egg crate screen on the fuge? I just used the clear silicone, GE Doors & Windows II.

4. Yup, just silicone... lots of it...

[stilltryn]

tank looks great! i'm jones'n for more pics. if you don't mind i'll study this for some time to help with my 75gal. i went to the "hd "and all ifound was like this tan play sand . where do you get that white sand from? awsome job!!

[mistergerardob]

I love you tank!!
I'm working in a tank very similiar, and I have the same question: where did you get the sand?
Great pictures of the rock!!
Keep the good work

[madreefer14]

Tygger where'd you get the plans for your sump. If you didnt get them from reefcntrl DIY, would you concider sharing them with us. I see alot of ideas that could work great for a 55g tank I'm planning. It's been in the planning stage for about 10 months now. like you, I want to do it right the second time (my first was 13yrs ago. Total disaster) Now older, wiser and with A LITTLE more expendable cash to devote to that all important water quality, Im looking for good DIY projects that are economical, efficient and effective. Nice work by the way. Looks profesionally done!

[chocolateblnt]

Nice! You're having fun :P ... taggin' along :D

[tygger]

Thanks for the comments!

I bought the sand awhile back when South Down aka Yard Right sand was still available. I think if you want silica free sand, you'll have to go with aquarium specific sand like CaribSea's sand... I bought a 30lb bag of AragMax since I didnt have enough Yard Right. I ordered Oolitic Sand, but they sent me a larger texture size. I'll post pics tomorrow afternoon.

I got the idea of the sump from RC, but the specific measurements were designed by me according to my needs. I wanted to maximize water capacity while leaving enough overflow room during a power outage.

If you guys want, I can re-measure the sump specs tomorrow after work.

[madreefer14]

that'd be great if it's not too much trouble. If it is, dont worry about it. I'm sure I can find lots of plans for a diy sump/refuge. Definitely going to add one to my set up. Can't wait to see what it looks like in a year. What are your plans for livestock?

[tygger]

Got home a lil late...

Here's a pic of the sump with measurements. Note that the skimmer output is now setup differently and the pic doesn't show the rails on the fuge baffle.

HTH

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y123/tygger27/72g%20Tank%20Setup/IMG_1229desc.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"></a>

[ha-y-n salt]

tygger...hows your tank coming along?

[tygger]

Ammonia and trites just hit zero this weekend. Time for large water change to bring the trates down.

I'm starting to get a algae bloom... I've also seen a few very small snails and a bunch of small feather dusters pop out.

Still trying to imagine how I want to aquascape the tank. Not sure if I want to do two separate islands, two islands connected by a small bridge or a plain wall???

How's your tank coming along?

[ha-y-n salt]

been working a lot so im kinda pressed for time. I pretty much bought everything i need to start the tank, so hopefully this weekend i can do the plumbing and a test run.

By the way i know that your running that submerged standpipe along with the back up durso for drainage. Is that method working good for you? I think im going to try to soft plumb my drainage first to see if its quiet enough, and then try your method if it doesnt work.

Good luck on your tank tho, hope those feather dusters arent those aiptasia things.

[tygger]

Actually, the back-up isn't a Durso either. I used the adjustable tube that came with the AGA durso kit, but not the top that makes it a Durso.

To be honest, I can't really remember why I'm not using the a Durso on the backup. The regular ole' stand pipe is working great and can handle A LOT of flow. I have it about 1 cm down from the overflow.

My sump was running low one day (dont have a auto topoff yet) and I dumped 3g of RO/DI water from a bucket directly into display and the backup worked beautifully. I'm not talking about slowly pouring 3g in, I simply dumped 3g to see what would happen.

I don't know how many gph it can handle on it's own... guess I should've tested by closing the main drain during the water testing stage to see if the emergency could handle the Mag9.5.

Now that I have the gatevalve dialed in, I dont want to tinker with it! :)

Let me know how it goes...

[oak211]

I just set up my 72 a few weeks ago and used the same drain system. I originally had the durso set up on the 1" and the return thru the 3/4". Now I have the main drain on the 3/4 with a ball valve and the durso as an emergency. Completely silent!

[tygger]

Hey Oak, got any pics? :D

So you're using the smaller bulkhead (3/4) as your main drain??? and the larger 1" as your emergency???

[oak211]

yeah.. i figured that if the main drain gets clogged for whatever reason I know the larger one can handle it. I'm only running about 5.5x turnover in my sump so the 3/4 has no problem.

I'll try to post some pics when I figure out how to host them somewhere.

[oak211]

Best picture that I had at work


http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h183/ryanbailey3/tank.jpg

[tygger]

Looking good! I like the black background... The way your rocks are aquascaped looks almost identical to mine right now. lol

Post pics and details of your setup when u get a chance.

[Jeremy Blaze]

I say leave the rock how it is, looks cool!

[tygger]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7215835#post7215835 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jeremy Blaze
I say leave the rock how it is, looks cool!

Who?

[Jeremy Blaze]

The thread stater.

[tygger]

LOL. I've already moved the rocks around twice... Here's what the tank looked like when I broke up the big piece of rock on the left of the original pic.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y123/tygger27/72g%20Tank%20Setup/IMG_1235.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"></a>

[tygger]

Here's what it looks like right now. I'm starting to get an algae bloom... you can see the brown patches at the bottom right of the tank.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y123/tygger27/72g%20Tank%20Setup/IMG_3208.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"></a>

[fireresq42]

Kalini Rock???

[tygger]

The Euroreef is a quality built skimmer. It was skimming like crazy during the cycling period, but has slowed down considerably 4 weeks later. The rock is Fiji Pukani Fused Porites or just pukani for short.

[ha-y-n salt]

tygger... hows things going for you? I got a few more questions for you.

[ha-y-n salt]

1. what kind of mods did you do to your skimmer?
2. can you post a pic of your tank with the lights on top? Also can your canopy fit over the lights?
3. Did you join the main drain with the emergency drain before it hits the sump? Or do they both run to the sump seperately?

Thanks for the help.

[tygger]

I've been really busy lately so I'm just letting nature take its course. It's ready for fish, but I'm in no hurry right now...

1. Only mod I did was the gate valve mod. Not sure if the threads are still here since they were in the Euroreef section before it was removed.

2. I don't have a canopy on the tank. Just egg crate covering the top with the fixture on legs. I'll try and get a pic.

3. Nope. The main drain is split to the skimmer and fuge section and the emergency goes straight down to the skimmer section.

How's your tank going???

[ha-y-n salt]

its going nowhere right now...too busy with work and stuff. HOPEFULLY this weekend ill do the plumbing. Im going to Vegas next week so i cant really start it anyway, but if i can plumb it and give it a test run, i can start the tank when i get back...HOPEFULLY.

thanks again for the help

[ha-y-n salt]

hey tygger...
is herbies method still working for u? also did you put anything underneath your return pump, or is it just laying on the bottom of the glass in the sump?

one more thing...how much did your lights cost, and where did you get it from.

Thanks

[tygger]

Yea, it's still working. Last week, I started putting in a small cleaner crew of hermits. A local guy gave them to me, but if I have to restock, I'm prob. going to go with mostly snails.

I put a couple layers of neoprene underneath the return pump. It's the stuff diving suits are made of... I had some small pieces laying around. Alternatively, you could use a mouse pad or foam. It'll help reduce the resonance.

I don't remember exactly how much the lights cost since I bought them over a year ago and didn't start using them till I finally got around to finishing my tank. If I could do it over again, I'd find someone to build a canopy and I'd retrofit a kit into it. Cost would have been similar and I would have a canopy. Off the top of my head, I think it was around $700-800, but again, I don't remember exactly. Will need to dig up the receipt. I ordered it online from captivereefs.com, but Coralvue discontinued this model.

How's your tank progressing :)

[ha-y-n salt]

hey tygger...
hows things going with your tank? I finally started my tank so i'll get some pictures up a little later. I ended up buying some lights from aquactinics.com. Its a T5HO fixture that fits our bowfronts perfectly, and you can still use the canopy. You should check it out. Post some new pics of your tanks for us...Ha-y-n

[tygger]

Does that fixture sit directly on the tank? It's nice cause you can still fit a canopy over it, without it looking ridiculously huge. Definitely post some pics of the fixture on top of your tank and also with it lighting your tank.

Right now, I'm having issues with my ballasts/fixture. When the timer is set to turn on the lights, the ballasts take a long time to fire up the bulbs. I hear the fan in the ballasts turn on and off while trying to fire up the bulbs. The left side turns on much easier than the right. I've tried switching ballasts and the left side continues to work like normal, (most of the time). The right side can take 15mins to a couple hours to fire up. I've tried shortening the length of the cord between the ballast and the bulb and that did nothing. It's pretty frustrating, but at least they're turning on.

Other than that, everything is pretty good. I've transferred the three fish from the 15g. I'm starting to see very small patches of hair green hair algae on some rocks in the display. There's quite a bit of algae in the fuge though... Guess it's the lights I'm using on the fuge.

Will try to get some pics up soon.

[ha-y-n salt]

yup the fixture is made to fit right on top the tank...or you can get the brackets the will lift it up a couple inches. I think u can still use the canopy with the brackets. Check out the website...the customer service is very good there too.

[tygger]

Those fixtures look pretty good. I've already invested a lot into my current fixture so I'll at least use it for awhile ;)

Here's a pic of the tank. Just taken... let me know what you guys think. :)



http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y123/tygger27/72g%20Tank%20Setup/CopyofIMG_3403.jpg

[tygger]

Just noticed... you can see the reflection of my floor standing fan. I use it for the room, but when the tank gets too hot, I just turn it to face the top of the tank.

Also, the camera doesn't pic up the shimmer lines from the halides. :(

[yoboyjdizz]

nice setup good only wish my old 72 looked that good. I gave up after a year trying to make it look nice but worked out for me, got a new tank ... I really like the look of bow's wish i would done it on my larger tank.

[chip721]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7058388#post7058388 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tygger
I added a couple bags of Yardright Tropical Play sand without rinsing. The blue bag in the center... Tygger I've been following your thread from its begining too. You've really done a great job. Keep up the good work and please continue to post pics of your progress. BTW, where did you find Yard Right in NOVA please?? Thanks - chip

[tygger]

yoboyjdizz, thanks. Hopefully I can keep it looking decent in the long run :)

chip721, thanks. I bought the YardRight sand a while ago from a lfs called ReefTank in Burke, but they went out of business.

Last I heard (about 1 month ago) is that a place called Southern States in Manasas carries YardRight. I'd call to confirm first... let me know if you find any.

Right now I don't have any sand in the fuge, just a lot of LR rubble and chaeto.

Also, quite a bit of algae is growing in the fuge. It hasn't spreaded to the display (yet) and I'm hoping that it doesn't. Does anyone know if it would be a good idea to scrap/clean the algae off the fuge walls?

[spiderman2000]

lookin good so far can't wait to see more.

[chip721]

Tygger: I called Southern States Cooperative. They say they sell Yard Right play sand for $3.49 per 40 lb. bag. Ph. 703.368.2165. Located just off Hwy 28 in Old Town Manassas. chip

[tygger]

Cool. That's actually pretty cheap. I think I paid $10-15 at the lfs. Did you confirm if it was the blue label? :)

[kravi]

I've got to check some of these places out. I'm in Bethesda, on the opposite side of DC.

But I found a nice LFS called Marine Scene in Herndon where I'm picking up a six line wrasse this weekend.

--Me

P.S. Your tank is gorgeous. I'm using an inherited 30 Gallon, but plan on upgrading once I move to a larger tank.

[chip721]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7522727#post7522727 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tygger
Cool. That's actually pretty cheap. I think I paid $10-15 at the lfs. Did you confirm if it was the blue label? :) Didn't confirm the label. But I certainly will before I make the trip. I live in Alexandria and that's still a good 30 miles from me. Heck I might even ask if they'd ship it. With the cost of gas and well I don't have to tell you about weekend traffic around the infamous "mixing-bowl". For $20 or 30 bucks, I might let UPS make the trip for me. It's still a savings considering what we pay for sand at the LFS. I telecommute from home a lot and I guess I've just gotten lazy:rolleye1:

[lbear]

Hi! tygger,

You mentioned in other thread that you drip limewater and Randy's two parts. What's your dosing equipment? Do you have auto-topoff?

[tygger]

Hi lbear,

I have an auto top-off, but have not been dosing anything yet. Just water changes...

Here's a current pic of the sump w/ the ATO.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y123/tygger27/72g%20Tank%20Setup/IMG_3413.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>



Here's the RO/DI reservoir. I don't any space under the tank and I don't have a fancy fish room like many others here, so I had to stick it on the side of the tank. :)

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y123/tygger27/72g%20Tank%20Setup/IMG_3412.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

[lbear]

Thanks for the pictures.

I have the same double switch from autotopoff.com except I am using Mini-jet MN404 to feed RO/DI water. My reservoir is placed out of cabinet too. :D

Do you think it's ok to use this ATO setup to dose limewater?

[MJAnderson]

tygger,

I have the same tank you have (and same stand). I got it used and they tossed in a glass tank 30x18x18 they were using as a sump.

I'm looking at designs that include a fuge (they didn't have any baffles, just one long piece. Is your baffle between the fuge and the return section too high? Was that creating all the noise? I'm thinking of T-ing my drain partially into my fuge with a lower flow rate than what's going into the skimmer section. Also, I have stealth heaters which are 14" tall. With my shorter walls only place to put them is at an angle in either the return (laying on the bottom) or skimmer section (upright). How are yours? Maybe I should just bite the bullet and get a 30g tank like you have...

[tygger]

If you look at the first page towards the bottom, there's a pic of the back of my tank. It shows two ball valves that I use to control the flow between the skimmer area and fuge. Since the pipe distance to the skimmer area is shorter than the distance to the fuge area, I needed to restrict the flow to the skimmer to increase flow in the fuge.

The fuge baffle was originally too high, but I solved that by putting channels on the return side of the fuge baffle. There's also a pic of the channels on the 2nd page towards the middle. If the flow is low enough, the height didn't really matter because the water would just run down the baffle. But when I increased the flow, the water was pouring over the baffle creating noise and bubbles to be returned through the pump.

My heater is in the skimmer area upright. I have about 14" height in that area, but my heater is only about 11". I only needed one since everything else in the tank keeps it fairly stable at about 80 degrees. I might need to add another heater during the winter, but I won't know that for months.

Since yours are stealth heaters, you don't have to worry about cracking them, but I would place them in the skimmer area upright. I wouldn't put them in the return in case you ran dry one day, your heaters might break (even though they're suppose to automatically shut off). I had the option to put heaters in the fuge, but the flow was better in the skimmer area...

Your 30x18x18 sump is a bigger than mine... mine is only 30x12x18, 29g.

Let me know if you have any other questions...

[MJAnderson]

Thanks for the info. My tank is actually 30x12x12. My bad. Since I need 9" of the heater submerged, I'm not sure I can squeeze them in there. I'll probably go get the 29g tank. If you were to do it again, would you change any of the dimensions?

My other option is this with a hole drilled it. It would sit above my 12" high tank and drain by gravity into the return. Gives me 10g and a light.

http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441813665&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302030099&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023693&bmUID=1150253609550&itemNo=6&In=ALL&N=2030099&Ne=2

[tygger]

Good question. I never really thought about having to do it again since I'm quite happy with the design. Hmm... I guess I would use thicker baffles, not because I'm afraid that my glass baffles would crack, but because I'm afraid that the baffles would not hold up. Particularly the fuge baffle since it's so high compared to the water level in the return. The thicker baffles would give the silicone more to hold on to.

I'm less worried now because I have an ATO in the return area so the water height doesn't drop too low.


The problem I see with your other option is plumbing the feed to the 10g tank. If you put that 10g on top of your existing tank, it's going to be too high in the stand to give you any working room... I think.

You might as well do it right (or the way you really want) from the beginning because changing it down the road is going to be a pain.

[MJAnderson]

Thanks for the feedback. My stand has 28" of interior room and my sub is only 12" high, so I have some room to play with. Not sure if it will work, but it's always fun to try.

[tygger]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7533646#post7533646 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lbear
Thanks for the pictures.

I have the same double switch from autotopoff.com except I am using Mini-jet MN404 to feed RO/DI water. My reservoir is placed out of cabinet too. :D

Do you think it's ok to use this ATO setup to dose limewater?

Sorry, didn't see your question.

I guess it's ok since I know some people have their ATO setup dosing kalk. What I might do is mix the kalk in a separate container and fill it to my RO/DI top off container manually. I marked my top off container in 2g increments so I'll know how much kalk to mix...

The pump might wear faster since it would be sitting in kalk 24/7.

Anyone know better? I'm new to dosiing kalk... :)



<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7563451#post7563451 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MJAnderson
Thanks for the feedback. My stand has 28" of interior room and my sub is only 12" high, so I have some room to play with. Not sure if it will work, but it's always fun to try.

The only reason I suggested to do it right from the beginning is because once you get your display filled and setup, it's going to be a pain to remove the sump from that stand. For me to fit the 29g sump in, I had to put it through the top opening. If you decide to put it through the front once the display is setup, you'll have to make temporary support braces....

[MJAnderson]

Hey Tygger,

Setting up my sump finally. I was looking at the ASMg2 skimmer which is similiar to yours. Was wondering if you can get yours out of the stand if needed? With only 28" in that stand and your 14" baffles, I'm guessing not.

[tygger]

My skimmer is removable. I have to take off the skimmate cup and disconnect the pump first. That leaves me with just enough wiggle room to remove the skimmer body.

It's a pretty tight fit, but it works. :)

[MJAnderson]

Any recent pics? I'm aquascaping my 72 bow and am curious as to what you did. I'd take pics but most of my tank is still covered by sandstorm.

[ovrmyhdagn]

I wish I had seen your thread before I set my tank up.

[tygger]

Here ya go: (im horrible with the camera)

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y123/tygger27/72g%20Tank%20Setup/IMG_4381.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>


Side view:

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y123/tygger27/72g%20Tank%20Setup/IMG_4383.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

[slothguy]

Great tank. I have been looking at the LR from reefermadness, and was wondering how much rock you have in your tank? It looks great, I am just trying to gauge how much I need to buy for a 150g tank.

[tygger]

Thanks. I have 88lbs of Pukani and about 15-20lbs of base rock. The Pukani is very light compared to the base rock. You can't really tell from the pics, but there's a lot of swim throughs and its pretty open in the back.

[RichardPryor]

Would love to see the end results of this.

[CaliReefr]

Yeah its been awhile since an update. Any new developments Tygger? Awesome thread BTW:)

[tygger]

Yea, its been awhile... :) Here's an updated pic.

<a href="http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y123/tygger27/?action=view&current=DSC_3944.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y123/tygger27/DSC_3944.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[madreefer14]

B E A....utimus