Tnt's 154 G SPS reef build

[tntneon]

Hi gilles ,

I've got mine from aquaria veldhuis see link below

http://www.aquariaveldhuis.nl/index....productID=2437

It's the cheapest one around in our country.

greetingzz tntneon

[gilles0181]

Ha, maybe i even get 10% discount there (just mailed them...)

[zigzag1]

Cool build with your family. Good to see you working with your dad. Mine's been gone many years now, and miss him everyday..

[tntneon]

Originally Posted by gilles0181

Ha, maybe i even get 10% discount there (just mailed them...)

I ordered the RD 6000 , but instead i got the RD 6500 v08 for the same price , i checked it on the site of royal exclusive (are the guys who make that pumps) and they ask like 80 € more
I also ordered my PVC fittings with those guys , perhaps i get a skimmer for free with it ...

greetingzz tntneon

[tntneon]

Originally Posted by zigzag1

Cool build with your family. Good to see you working with your dad. Mine's been gone many years now, and miss him everyday..

sorry to hear ...
It is my dad who got me intrested in the hobby , like 30 years back he had a small freshwater aquarium where i could stare and dream for houres at .
I try to involve him as much as possible , making some quality time as well.
Also my daughter loves to help me , she also like reefkeeping alot ...


greetingzz tntneon

[sweetleaf]

Thanks for linking the pictures of how you clamped things together during your siliconing process. I have all the necessary tools, but sometimes it's hard to visualize everything. I like how you utilized the shelf brackets to create a nice 45* placeholder.

I am following a similar path, with a DIY 20 gallon long that will keep me occupied while I'm still in school and moving around. And hopefully, in time, I will be able to build the big one.

[gilles0181]

Originally Posted by tntneon

I ordered the RD 6000 , but instead i got the RD 6500 v08 for the same price

Lucky bastard! Does the label say it is the 6500 or does the label just say it pumps 6500 liters ?

[tntneon]

Originally Posted by sweetleaf

Thanks for linking the pictures of how you clamped things together during your siliconing process. I have all the necessary tools, but sometimes it's hard to visualize everything. I like how you utilized the shelf brackets to create a nice 45* placeholder.

I am following a similar path, with a DIY 20 gallon long that will keep me occupied while I'm still in school and moving around. And hopefully, in time, I will be able to build the big one.

THx sweetleaf ,

I have to say that a learned alot about gleuing glass by reading the build thread of Wakesurfdan 400 G build , he's a master in gleuing glass IMO

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...1976233&page=2


One tip though , if i'm gonna gleu the display (bigger /more heavy panels) , the workspot has to be lowerded with alot of space around the gleuing construction , maybe gonna do that again in my fathers barn.
But then i have to move the display back to my place , wich is also not so safe regarding cracks and scratches ??
It's about 5 miles from here.

Originally Posted by gilles0181

Lucky bastard! Does the label say it is the 6500 or does the label just say it pumps 6500 liters ?

The label only say's it pumps 6500 l/h , but if you look at the site of veldhuis you'll see that the pumpheads are red without any PVC fittings and the one i have does have fittings and is grey ??

I checked the site of royal exclusive and i found the pump i have ,only 100 € more expensive then i had to pay :

http://aquarien-anlagenbau.de/produc...500-Liter.html

greetingzz tntneon

[gilles0181]

Cool! The site of royal exclusive is really really bad for such a 'great' name.. it is a shame really..

[tntneon]

Originally Posted by gilles0181

Cool! The site of royal exclusive is really really bad for such a 'great' name.. it is a shame really..

-Thats true , and you have to let the language set on German to get more information , once you push the englisch button all info is gone as well as alot of models (skimmers,pumps,...) .

PVC will come next week monday , i ordered it like that because i have the night shift.
And else the mailman would ring me out my bed at 11 am or something like that , leaving my only with a 3 houre sleep...

Today when my daughter comes home , we will gonna fit the sump into the stand.
So that i can measure the top 1" thick multiplex panel that gonna mounted between the stand and the granite tablet.

I tryed to put the sump in myself but that wasn't going to happen , my back would break , so heavy (i think about 60 pounds) and big .

greetingzz tntneon

[tntneon]

hi reefers ,

-Yesterday i finaly fitted the sump into the stand .
First i had to replace the wooden panel that supported the sump .
It was a little bit bended , i didn't wanna take the risk that my sump would crack under these conditions .
So i replaced it with a very hard and tough multiplex panel called in ourer country "concrete plywood" and it is used as moulds for concrete .

Also i fitted the underlayment panel for the granite panel that comes on later.
With the underlayment now in place i can do all the "in sump" plumbings"

stands looks now like this :



greetingzz tntneon

[tntneon]

Yesterday, 90 % of the ordered pvc material arrived , the other 10 % i will get tommorow so no worry's here .
I also finished about 90 % of the plumbing work , on the return side.
Again a precise work that took me almost 4 houres to complete , but it is a much rewarding job when finished .

On the picture you can guess wich pieces i miss....



(... clampsupports for the 12 mm pvc pipe and 2 silicon hose pieces ...)

greetingzz tntneon

[tntneon]

Hi reefers ,

-The day after the previous picture was taken (thursday) , i recived the missing clamps (12 mm) and silicon hose (12 mm) .
I directly started to fit the clamps , then i saw that i serperatly had to support the two 12 mm tubes (after the valves) , because when manipulating these valves the whole 12 mm header flexed alot.
this wasn't that straight forward because these tibesd are inclined like 20 ° , I cutted a piece of wood under the (almost ) same angle.
On this surface i could then fit the clamps .

see picture :



On the picture you can also see the micro mesh bag (200 micron) i baught friday , in this bag i'm gonna put my GAC in.
at the other 12 mm tube there will be an gfo reactor attached to ( small one..)) .

Today i'm also drawing detailed plans of the glass panels , for the aquarium builder ....
I cannot gleu the display for that price (+/-400 € / 520 $) , for that price i'm not able to buy me the glass ( 12mm or 1/2")

It's not staphire , the price tag i already have in mind , is big enough

This week i'm gonna do a pressure test on the return piping by filling the sump and start the pump , and see for any leaks .....

greetingzz tntneon

[SnRFishies]

Looking good. Any specific reason why your running carbon in a sock instead of in a reactor?

[tntneon]

Good question SnRFishies ,

At first a was planning a filter sock on one of my drains and having some sort of GAC reactor in the rerurn zone of my sump .
But due to space issues ( Big skimmer .... ) i would have then , i decided to put the GAC in a filter sock .
It could be that when i find a smaller Gac reactor , that i'm still gonna go with the reactor idea .

Any thoughts are welcome

How big should a GAC reactor be for an 154 G system ?

greetingzz tntneon

[tntneon]

I was thinking to use this reactor to put my GFO in , the pump i'm gonna remove , i think and just let it feed from the 12mm feedtubes.
This to reduce any sounds of pumps.

http://www.bubble-magus.com/en/productShow.asp?id=894

any thoughts ?

if it's possible to mount 2 of them in the return W/O compromising sump ergonomics , i perhaps will stay with the reactor idea .

greetingzz tntneon

[Jamie9169]

You are off to a great start on this new build and the stand and sump look great. Tagging a long for the next updates.

[tntneon]

Thx Jamie9169 ,

Just finised doing the pressure test on the return line and some flow measurements.

All went fine no leaks detected in the PVC work , but when i closed all the valves the pressure build up was to much for the silicone hose , that popped from the pvc header , spraying water at a flow of 6500 l/h all over my sump.

Just finished cleaning up the workspot... , the site from the silicone hose vendor claimed that it was self - sealing----> not true.

before this water ballet , i measured the flow thru one return pipe to display
and it cam up to an 3600 l/h (@4 feet head).
This was with one returnpipe open ( higher pipe resistance) , so with two pipes open (lower pipe resitance) it would be able to pump out 4500l/h maybe even higher as i was experiencing vortex problems on the suction side of pump.
Also i have to note that my 12 mm filtersock drain also was opened (i geuss at 400 l/h)

This week i'm gonna install 25 mm clamps on the silicone hoses.
Also i'm gonna order a 40 mm 45° bend piece to fit on the suction side of the return pump , so that it sucks from a lower point in the sump then it does now (to solve the vortex problem) .

greetingzz tntneon

[noobtothereef]

I usually dont post much on peoples builds but your build looks excellent, you really have attention for detail, i really like how you fit the panels on your stand, keep us updated!

[noobtothereef]

I usually dont post much on peoples builds but your build looks excellent, you really have attention for detail, i really like how you fit the panels on your stand, keep us updated!

[tntneon]

Thx noobtothereef ,

Will keep you guys update no prob , there still alot to do , but now there will be more delivery time between ordering and getting it here on the doorstep...the display , granite tablet , skimmer decision , electra , oak or nut wooden panel decision ....

-It's thanks to my nano wich i completly buided myself , where i also made some mistakes that i now can improve on my newer / bigger tank , probabbly alot has to been learned too , because it's my first "medium big" -tank ...

And also i want the tank in that configurantion at least for 10 year in my living room , so i don't wanna make compromisses if it comes to quality and /or noises (more expensive pumps)

BTW i think there should also be an subforum for medium sized tanks ( 35 g - 180 g) , i know there are alot of tanks like that , but we don't fit in the large tank forum nor in the nano size forum .... , some kind of identity crisis

greetingzz tntneon

[tntneon]

Hi guys ,

Today i made a couple of phonecalls with my tank builder
After he had looked at the plans , i asked him what it would cost more if the frontpanel where from staphire glass (1200 mm X 600 mm X 12 mm).

He answered me that it would cost 150 € (190 $) more if front where from staphire glass.
Leaving me with the question , is the 150 € more the expense worth ?
Staphire or not ?
i never seen an staphire glass aquarium live so i can not judge if it is worth the expense ?
Any suggestions ?

Today doing some rather little adjustment works on the sump , i modified mesh bag brakkect so that it takes a little bit less space in the sump ( pics folowing) , btw i'm gonna let an overflow drain in the mesh bag .
This is made possible to small adjustments and trimming the braket , i now have enough space to house and BK super marines or a vertex 200 and a diy biopellet reactor as well.
and also i made an suction-piece ( 90 ° bend) for return pump ( solving vortex problem)
And attached clamps on the silicone hose , of the return pump

plans for the glassman see attachements , do not mind the weird language

greetingzz tntneon

[nuclearheli]

Originally Posted by tntneon

Good question SnRFishies ,

At first a was planning a filter sock on one of my drains and having some sort of GAC reactor in the rerurn zone of my sump .
But due to space issues ( Big skimmer .... ) i would have then , i decided to put the GAC in a filter sock .
It could be that when i find a smaller Gac reactor , that i'm still gonna go with the reactor idea .

Any thoughts are welcome

How big should a GAC reactor be for an 154 G system ?

greetingzz tntneon

Your space issues may have helped you resolve another issue...There is an on-going debate on the possible relationship carbon fines may have with Hlle disease. I am not sure either way but some of the research is quite interesting. I suspect if that filter sock is in the order of 100 or so microns you probably have eliminated the concern of getting carbon fines in your DT and potentially reduced the likelihood of Hlle disease. I would probably consider keeping the sock for your Carbon.

By the way, nice job on the setup.

[tntneon]

Thx for the information nuclearheli , didn't knew that !
Hlle is some sort of fish desease ?
Can you give me a short description about this desease ?

I have to say , that i use my carbon in my nano also in an open type reactor w/o any fish deseases , but they aren't sensitif fish.

Perhaps i will buy me an secundary filter sock just to hold the carbon in the return zone.
An the other to filter my emergency drain (that always overflows a bit like 1000 l/h).

greetingzz tntneon

[nuclearheli]

Originally Posted by tntneon

Thx for the information nuclearheli , didn't knew that !
Hlle is some sort of fish desease ?
Can you give me a short description about this desease ?

I have to say , that i use my carbon in my nano also in an open type reactor w/o any fish deseases , but they aren't sensitif fish.

Perhaps i will buy me an secundary filter sock just to hold the carbon in the return zone.
An the other to filter my emergency drain (that always overflows a bit like 1000 l/h).

greetingzz tntneon

I am only pointing out that this issue has been raised and the reefing community is split on a consensus regarding the findings published regarding the use of carbon and HLLE disease in fish.

Rather than start this debate all over again check out this thread. It has a link to the original article that appeared in Coral Magazine and a discussion of the article in the posts. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...t=hlles+carbon

I have no opinion either way. I run carbon, in a reactor actually, but frequently question that decision. I have several Tangs which are prone to HLLE that are very healthy HOWEVER, I have had one tang in the past six months die of HLLE.

You read and decide for yourself.