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

[kingtoad]

Your plumbing is exceptional.

[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]

Originally posted 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.




[/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.

[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 .
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

[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

[ha-y-n salt]

tygger...hows your tank coming along?