First 70g FOWLR....

[DeepFreeze]

OK, I have had several cichlid aquariums, a 10g nano reef, and now a 24g Aquapod that has been going for about 14 months with no problems. Oddly enough, I have never had a saltwater fish only tank. I picked up a good deal from a local guy that is upgrading. Here is what I am getting, and then my plans. I am looking for any advice from anyone else who has any experience with FOWLR tanks.

70g RR Oceanic (36.5x18.5x25)
Custom cabinet and 12" high canopy
175w MH retrofit kit installed in the canopy
AGA model 2 all-glass sump
2 - Little Giant model 5MDSC pump (one as a spare. At $39 each I can't pass it up)
5' of 3/4 " of spa flex hose

OK, I was going to upgrade the 24g reef, but I have always had a thing for lionfish. The livestock I am wanting to keep are:

One of each:
Snowflake Eel
Volitan or Radiata Lionfish
Saddle Valentini Puffer

I am already planning to get a skimmer to the mix. I was thinking of getting a Reef Octopus EXT 150 Protein Skimmer. I want to use LR as well for filtration. I am thinking of going with 50lbs or so of LR.

Thoughts? Recommendations?

BTW, I will be adding moonlights for my own viewing pleasure.

[tigers fan]

I would add at least 70 lbs of live rock. Rule of thumb 1 lb for every gallon.

[GSELLERS]

sell the metal halide, and use it to purchase fish. you will only need simple t5 lighting for a fish only tank. it is basically a waste of electricity. As for keeping an eel...make sure you keep a tight fitting lid as they are escape artists.
are the eel puffer and lion going into the 24? or the 70?
I would suggest marshall island rock it is more dense and is unique for FOWLR tanks

[nanoreefsrcool]

i would get a dwarf lion

[DeepFreeze]

I have decided to go with a snowflake eel and a radiata lionfish (Pterois radiata) which stay relatively small as well.
I am going to make a cover for the tank made out of light diffuser (eggrate). I have this on my other tank to keep the cat out...lol
As far as liverock goes, I currently have Marshall Island LR in my AP, so I am thinking of going with some deepwater Tongan in the 70. I like diversity in my tanks. The fish are going in the 70g. I would never think of putting either of them in a 24g tank.
Lighting wise, I picked up a couple of 65w CF retro's that I am going to throw into the canopy. I am keeping the 175w MH for when I decide to add some corals to the tank. It is inevitable.

My progress so far:
I picked up the tank and various equipment. One of the pumps doesn't work, but the guy I bought it from is going to replace it. I cleaned the tank up well and have painted the back deep blue. (Yes I used reef safe paint and didn't paint the inside. I know someone would ask.)
I picked up most of my plumbing supplies and will be plumbing the tank once I get my sump tank put together. I got a good deal from my LFS on a tank. He is selling me a new 29g for $1 a gallon and drilling it for my external pump. I will be picking this up on Wednesday and installing the baffles that I am picking up on Monday.
I am installing a DJ switch panel to the stand to cover my electrical needs today. One more quick run to the local Home Depot. (The kids are thinking of it as their second home....lol)
Fans are on the way and will be installed later this week. The canopy came with 5 4" holes cut out. The previous owner had two MH lamps in it and needed the cooling. I am going to be covering each of these with vents and installing fans in them. I will be putting three fans on one plug and the other two on another. I don't think will need all of them, so I will only plug in the last two if I ever have any cooling issues. I figure it is one of those better safe than sorry ideas.
Well, everything is ticking along pretty weel. If all goes according to plan I should be ready for a water test later this week and rock next week.
I will have pics up later.

[DeepFreeze]

Here are a couple of pics of the setup. I got it used and to date I have cleaned up the tank and stand, installed the CF ballasts in the canopy, painted the back of the tank blue, installed a timer, power strip (for the lights connected to the timer), and installed a switch panel to control everything.
I am picking up the glass baffles for the sump today. I will be getting the 29 gallon tank on Wednesday and installing the baffles. Once that is done I can go ahead and plumb everything. I am using a Little Giant pump for return. The skimmer will be a ASM G2, which I will be ordering this week. If all goes as planned I should be ready for a wet test by Saturday at the latest. I'll provide pics of the canopy install once the fans get in as well as other pics of the wet test and various other updates.

[DeepFreeze]

I finished installing the fans and lights today. I put 5 120mm fans inside the canopy. They are slow and you can't hear them at all. Lighting for now is only two 55w CF's. I will have to see how I like it once I finish getting everything set up. I will be picking up my fuge tank from my LFS tomorrow morning and installing the baffles. Other than that the skimmer is on the way as well. More pics tomorrow.

[DeepFreeze]

Here are a few updated pics. I have everything done, except installing my durso standpipe and plumbing the return line from the pump. The sump is done, as you can see, and the skimmer is in its place. I do need to put some egg crate over the refugium in the middle of the sump to hold the 13w PC light I have for my macroalgae.

The large PVC pipe is going to be buried for the eel. It is a 3" pipe with one 3" outlet and a 2" outlet on the other side. I plan to have it mostly covered with sand and the rest of it covered with rock. The exposed parts should be covered by coraline in no time.

[lcstorc]

Looks like things are doing well.
Congrats.

[DeepFreeze]

Well, everything was going fine, until I got a bit over zealous with the tightening of a bulkhead. I cracked my sump, but nothing too terrible. I patched it, well, over patched it is probably more correct, and have had it sitting with fresh water in it for about 12 hours now. I put some paper napkins under the crack and figured they would show any signs of moisture getting out. So far I don't see anything. Luckily it was the sump, where the pressure should be much lower since it is partitioned off, and not the main tank.

[Dentoid]

Nice set up! Looking forward to what you do with it!

[DeepFreeze]

Well, the crack was never ending, so I ditched the sump for now. I have a Megaflow Model 2 sump that just fits my skimmer. I will be using it for a while. I am actually thinking of doing a seperate refugium instead of having everything combined, so I will probably use the Megaflow for my sump unless it gives me some problems down the line.
All plumbing is complete and I am filling the tank as I type. I will be picking up my LR tomorrow, so I am trying to get the tank filled, SG right, and up to temp before I go to bed tonight. That way I can head on over to the LFS and pick out my new additions. While I am there I am going to pick up another MJ Mod so I will have two in the tank, one on either side of the overflow aimed at the front center of the tank.
There isn't much to show right now, and everything is in quite a state of mess. I will post more picks tomorrow, after I pick up my LR. BTW, my sand came in today. I am using 60lbs of Aragamax sugar sized oolite and 20lbs of Aragalive Bahamas oolite. I know the aragalive is probably useless, but it has never caused me problems, and I say "why not."

[DeepFreeze]

The new LR is in, as well as the base rock. I picked up 40lbs of good looking base rock. It has plenty of caves and holes. I also grabbed 30lbs of LR to get things going. As you might imagine, things are quite hazy right now. I included a couple of pics for now. The first one is the hazy FTS. It is starting to clear up enough now to actually see a little rock. It has only been two hours, so I think it should be clear in a couple of days. The second is a pic of the sump configuration after I had to replace my cracked tank.
I also added another modded MJ1200 for flow. That makes two MJ1200's plus the return for flow. I did replace the return pump today as well. The one I had was so loud I couldn't think, so I replaced it, for now, with an inline pump that is in the sump. I still have the plumbing to use an external pump later if I can get my old pump to quiet down. Right now the temps are a steady 77.0 so I don't see any issues with temps and things are virtually silent.
BTW, that is polyfill in the sump. It looks like some serious foam. I am keeping it there until the sand settles down and the tank is clear.

[DeepFreeze]

Here are some pics where you can see the LR. It has been about 20 hours since I added it and things are clearing up very well. I am still messing around with the aquascaping, but this is my latest plan. Once I get it the way I want it I will be bonding everything in place to prevent any avalanches. As it is now it is pretty stable and I have to use some effort to move anything. You can see the PVC in some spots. It will be for the eel to hide in when he wants. I will probably add a bit more LR at some point to cover up the PVC, while still allowing for access to the tubes. I did find one rock, that is shown on the left side shot, that has a hole in it that was perfect for the PVC. Now I just have to sit and wait for my cycle to complete. I wouldn't anticipate much of a cycle, as the rock was either cured or dry when I got it. I will probably wait a month or so just to be safe before adding anything.

[nikkipigtails]

I just caught up. Your aquscaping looks really awesome!