My New Tank

[skank-a-holic]

[tommyp]

Thanks skank!

Took 3 hrs today to get the fish out of the 90 and into the 190. I had to drain 70 gallons out.

My mak4 quit today. So I switched it to the blueline I had kicking around. I'll have to see what is wrong. but I think I had too much head on it.

[tommyp]

Updates.

Well skimmer is doing okay but I have some new/larger bolts on order becasue I messed up the riser connection a bit. I bought a tube of 12" sewer pipe yesterday I have a couple people splitting it with me. So I might down the road use my piece to make skimmer version two. I would make it taller (because god knows i need a skimmer that holds as much water as most peoples tanks) and have just a collection cup on top. No real need to see into the thing. I kinda just cobbed the one i have now with pieces I had kicking around. The new one would be a little more refined. Well as refined as a 5' 12" piece of sewer tube and a brutally loud rediculously large airpump are.

I bought a dual 400 hqi ballast off of a guy on RC. Going to run some radiums. I have to figure out what I am going to suppliment with. Probably T5 actinics. Heat might be an issue but my basement sump should take care of most cooling especially in the winter. Which is 10 months of the year in Vermont. So I have time to save for my chiller if need be.

I also bought a large sequence off RC. That should take care of the rest of my flow issues. It should put about 2000 or so gallons into my tank at 12 ft for a little over 200 watts. Not too bad. right now I have a blueline returning water to the tank and it doesn't seem like it is doing all that much. I have 3 of my six returns capped off. I am hoping the sequence will get all of them going okay. that should be interesting to see the amount of water that will come through the return into the sump. Cause there is a lot comming out now and double that seems nuts.

With the streams that will give me about 6400 gph in the main tank. So 34x turnover an hour. I think that will do nicely.

Other than that nothing new. I still have to poly the cabinet and make the doors and the front of the hood. I have to also install fans in the hood and buy aquacontroller x10 stuff.

Calcium reactor is the only piece I am missing right now. Will wait a little while before I get that.

[tommyp]

I got my ballast today and bulbs yesterday. Doesn't do me any good because it didn't come with the special lamp cords. So $30 later from premium aquatics they are on the way. I also picked up a refractometer so that I can try a hypo treatment on my new fish comming in. I know the CBB i have on hold has a little ich. I hope the cure isn't worse than the disease. but At least i will get my qt practices down.

I also received all my x10 stuff today. I haven't set it up yet. The 400 watt hqi ballast only has one plug so that is going to be a crazy amount of juice going through it. I figured it had two power cords so I bought appliance modules for it. There is no way one will handle both of those ballasts. So I might have to put in a controllable outlet. No biggie but I wish I knew so I could have ordered the right thing.

Tank seems to be clearing from some sort of algae outbreak. It was very yellow for a while. I threw on a filter bag that I think I am going to run all the time.

All in all things are going okay. I still have to finish the hood and figure out how I am going to permanently mount the reflectors etc.

[tommyp]

I spent tonight setting up the qt tank for the new fishes. not really ready yet but on its way.

I also set up the aquacontroller with the x10 modules. HOLY CRAP it is SO cool!!!!!! I was so disapointed because it wouldn't control anything then I read that it needed a 4 wire phone cord. I looked at mine and it was only two. Switched it out and KAPOW!! both heaters off. So nice. I was having such a hard time calibrating my heaters. They are in the basement and spend alot of time on when the main tank upstairs dosen't need the heat. Also one would be on and the other off etc. This way both will be on or off. Well hopefully I set them at a little above 80 so if the module sticks on it doesn't overheat the tank. the dials are so off that it is hard to calibrate them at all. The digital won reads 84 degrees when the tank is at 79.

I am so happy to get that thing up and running. It makes for an expensive thermometer without the x10 stuff.

Now I have to work on the fans to bring them on line with the x10. As well as putting the streams on a feeding shutoff.

Oh the fish geekyness.

[livingreef2004]

your new system sounds great im glad to see it coming together so smoothly

[tommyp]

Yeah pretty smooth so far. It is just alot of work and money. I spent alot of my summer on the tank and it is still just partially where I want it hardware wise. Not that I am complaining. The Sequence should be here next week. That will give the return a bit of a boost. The blueline and the mak4 are pretty strapped as return pumps from the basement. They can do the job just not very easily. So the sequence should be able to return a bunch of water with ease. It will also I hope let me sleep better at night knowing I have a little more capacity on the return pump.

I really have to finish the hood/stand that would really make it look alot better.

[tommyp]

Got Pump?



Can't wait to get this one plumbed in!

[tommyp]

A pic of the moonlight running off the aquacontroller. it is a 25w blue party bulb. Not a great pic but is pretty close to what it looks like. Will get a tripod and take a better one.

[tommyp]

Started my fan install today. they are big and loud. but luckily run by the aquacontroller so they shut off when the temp is low enough.

[cheeks69]

Very nice Tommy ! The Sequence from what I've heard is very powerfull and should do the job well. Are those 4" fans ? Got to get me some more myself 2 just ain't cutting it.

[tommyp]

These are 4 3/4" or 120mm. I got all 4 off ebay for $35 shipped I think. The cheapeast I could find them elsewhere was $12 each.

The sequence should do over 2000 gph at the head I am pumping so it should be okay. I need to work on my flow a bit. I am hoping this pump will help out. It is used but I got it from andy at MRC so it was packed very well. I don't know when I will get it plumbed in cause it might mean draining the sump. again. but I might try to just plumb it into the piping I have now.

[Witfull]

those 120mm fans move some air, i have 2 on my lights one in, one out...and they can double as a blowdryer! you know when they come on,,,if the house is quiet,,,sounds like a small jet engine. but once they are running, you dont notice them.

as for the pump,,,send it to New Orleans,,,that bugger can suck the city dry~ it will definately help your flow~~

[tommyp]

Yeah I am thinking I need some small 60mm fans to pull the air out. These four just blow in. I am going to try to find some small ac fans that I can put in the top corners of the front of the hood to get the hot air out. We had unseasonalbly hot and humid weather yesterday. The Radiums brought the temp up a degree and a quarter. but the fans seem to hold it at 80.8. That was with two. I might run two off one plug and then the other two as backup if the temp creeps higher than 80.5 or so. I am leaving the radiums off during the day so that I can be there to see how high the temp spike is. At least I won't be heating 24/7 anymore.

Maybe I will try to get the sequence up and running today. My sump has 2 1" holes in the bottom that will have to be connected into one to feed it. I hope that won't be too much of a restriction going from 2 1" to 1 1/2 in on the sequence. it would be nice if i had 1 1/2 all the way from the sump.

[Witfull]

how about the two in the middle blowing in, and the outside ones blowing out.that would create a small circling wind pattern and get the warm air away from the tank.