Starting up an anemone/clown tank

[MikeinToronto]

I'm going to cross post the beginning of this journal from another forum but I will continue the updates here!

I'll re-introduce myself and I bit about my plans. I'll try to keep all my questions and updates to this thread to make it easier for me to read back on them (and for anyone interested in following my thread). I've been in the saltwater hobby on and off since 1991. I shut down my 110 gallon reef tank in 2004 and that was the last saltwater tank I had until now. For a while I've been thinking about setting up a tank housing 1 host anemone and anywhere from a pair to a "family" of clowns. The type of clown hasn't been determined though I was leaning toward maldives anemonefishes ... if I can find them. The only other problem is that their natural host, Heteractis magnifica, doesn't always do so well in tanks.
My original plan was to use a 24" cube tank. Unfortunately they are relatively expensive when compared to larger commercially made tanks for the same price. I wanted a 24" cube because it would be deep, allowing for greater floor and surface area (for rock placement), but more importantly, because I would only need one MH lamp.
Since this is Boxing Week, I headed over to the LFS to get a tank on sale and I decided on a 75 gallon (48x18x21). I considered a 90 gallon (48x18x24) but since most of the activity will be in the lower area of the tank - where the anemone is - I thought the anemone might appreciate being 3 inches closer to the lamp. Besides, I can always use a larger sump to make the system bigger.
Here is the tank:

So on to the plans.

 

[MikeinToronto]

I've been scouring the forums and internet trying to figure out the best overflow system for this tank. Some things I had considered before starting were:
1) A closed loop
2) Water flow into the sump to feed the skimmer only (not for extra flow in the tank)

I think I am considering against the closed loop. The anemone might wander over the inlet and that would be messy. This is especially important if I decided on the magnificent anemone, which likes to wander. If I did go with the CL I considered a ReeFlo Dart for the closed loop but it seems a little too strong. I'm having trouble finding a different good quiet, low energy pump. The Dart would be 48x my tank volume! If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them.

For the overflow I am going with an internal coast-to-coast overflow with Beananimal plumbing. The problem with the coast-to-coast is that it will take up a lot of space at the top of the tank which isn't really a bad thing (as I mentioned in my first post) but it will leave only about 12" between the front pane and the box when I want to stick my hand in and fix stuff at the back of the tank. I had glass cut for me at the local glass cutter. The glass is 6 mm so it's pretty thick. The overflow box will be 24 x 6 x 5" and this will leave 12" of tank on either side of the box where I will drill holes for the returns. I didn't want to do a full coast-to-coast because this would use a lot of space but I still wanted a relatively large linear overflow length. Anyway, this is the glass:

All that glass is pretty heavy but I'm sure it will stay up just fine when it's installed.

 

[MikeinToronto]

I went to Lowes to find plumbing parts. Their selection is vastly superior to HD but they still didn't have any of the parts I needed. So I headed over to a plumbing supply shop. Well it worked out great. I gave them my list and he went into the back and came out with everything I needed. The only exception was I wanted 1.5" sanitary tees but they only had the normal ones. We both agreed the regular would work just fine. If I do find them somewhere else I might pick them up. I still need a few more parts including union valves, a John Guest fitting, some tubing, and pipe but I can find those all at Lowes. I'll get the bulkheads online. Here are the plumbing parts:

So on Sunday night I picked up about 15 lbs of live rock. It's some of the nicest live rock I've ever had and it will definitely be front and centre when the tank is set up. Then I went to another shop and picked up more LR at $1.99/lb (sale). There were three big tubs of the rock and I picked it myself. All I can say is if you were willing to dig for it, there were some nice pieces. I collected 40 lbs more. I didn't have enough cash to get more rock but 55 lbs is enough for now. I really don't have room to cure anymore rock at the moment. This is the rock curing:

I also had to buy a powerhead and an heater to keep the rock alive. Late last year I sold everything aquarium related I had including multiple PHs, pumps, skimmers, lighting ... you name it. I'm starting all over again

Oh, I also ordered an RO/DI unit online.

 

[MikeinToronto]

I have some 2x4s in my basement from doing a demo of some wall so I started cutting the pieces to make a basic stand. It was too much effort so I just went onto kijiji to find a stand. I found one and attempted to pick it up yesterday. It didn't fit in my car so that deal didn't work. It was too tall. I just need a basic iron tubular stand but a new one is $90 and I just need a cheap, used one (< $40) to last me until I finish my basement.

After chatting with a clownfish breeder and seeing a thread on RC about anemone vs. closed loop, I have decided against a closed loop for this system. Now I need to spend some time figuring out how I want to design the water flow. I didn't really want to use a large pump for the return but I may have to do this. I just need to calculate how much my overflow can handle. I'm starting to really wish I hadn't sold my old Little Giant pump.

If anyone has any ideas for the water flow, feel free to throw them out there.

I also got a 1.5" true union ball valve from Lowes today.

 

[MikeinToronto]

I ordered my diamond hole saws today off of Ebay from THK in Hong Kong. They should arrive in a week or so. I also ordered three 1" slip bulkheads and two 1" threaded bulkheads online. I think I paid $50 for a 2.5" hole saw back in 2000. Prices have sure changed since then.

I watched a YouTube video of drilling a hole through glass and the guy used a wood rig to keep the hole straight which was a great idea; rather than starting the drill on an angle. This gives more precise cuts. The last time I drilled a hole in a tank I hated it and swore I'd never do it again. Now I'll be drilling at least 5. I'll need to charge my cordless.

Finally, I think I've decided on the clowns and anemone I will stock in this tank. I will go with pink skunks (Amphiprion perideraion) and a purple LTA (Macrodactyla doreensis) if I can find one. I wouldn't mind the black-footed clowns but I'm not holding my breath for them. They would probably die anyway. I thought about black saddle-backs with a Haddoni carpet but I think I want something more tentacley. Besides, I was thinking of adding a couple domino damsels so I don't think I want two sets of black fishes. But I'm not sure who's tougher, the pink skunks or the damsels. If it was clarkiis vs. the damsels my money would be on the clowns but skunks seem more peaceful. Maybe I'll just settle for a family of pink skunks. It would be fun to have an anemone crab or shrimp as well but the clowns would evict them for sure.

 

[swimmer4uus]

Great stuff so far. Love the species clownfish tanks. I forget where it is, but this guy has like 20 plus perculas in his tank. Bought a clutch from a breeder, and raised them all together. Helps he has about 20 nems to go with them, but it was cool. I'll try to get you the link.

 

[GreatWhiteShark]

Very cool, I look forward to monitoring your progress!!

 

[Clownfish518]

I am doing an anemone tank too now. Here is how I solved the intake problem

Sorry for the blue - my camera is over compensating and I haven't adjusted it yet.

Works like a champ. the water overflows in, and the pump goes to a SCWD and two returns. The intake for the skimmer is in another chamber, and the heater as well. The anemone cannot get caught.

I like skunks, and the LTA. Haddonis are nice, but they can eat fish. Sometimes even clowns. A friend of mine had to rescue a pair of Picassos from a haddoni. They were happily going to their death.

Anyway, just a thought

 

[btk8]

Great thread. I'll be following your progress. I have a Green bubble tip and two black clown fish. I think their great. Can't wait for your next update.

brian

 

[MikeinToronto]

I haven't been keeping up as much as I should.

I am getting a couple tank-raised nigripes in a couple of weeks. Right now they are too small so we are waiting for them to grow a little more. The irony is I seem to find wild nigripes in pet stores now. The stores never have more than one but if I hit different stores I could get myself a pair. I'll stick with the captive ones though; less quarantine.

My equipment so far includes a Vortech MP10, a Reeflo Dart, and a SWC Xtreme 200 (yeah Canada!) skimmer. The Dart and the SWC are overkill but the MP10 is underpowered. I chose to use an internal pump instead of a closed loop and I chose the low power MP10 because I'm not looking for large amounts of water flow. The MP10 provides more than enough. The Dart will be Tee-ed back to the sump because it is so strong. I bought the large skimmer and pump because I will upgrade this tank very shortly and I don't want to buy equipment again.

I installed the bulkheads and the overflow box for my Beananimal overflow. and it turned out nicely. Unfortunately I can't access my pics right now so I will post pics later.

I also picked up an iron stand. They are never even but I have Styrofoam between the tank and stand. Strangely, the Styrofoam is firm enough that it holds the tank straight so I can see a very tiny gap between the Styrofoam and the stand. It's 1/16" at the most and I think I'm being generous at that.

The sump is 30 gallons (36x12x16). I will install the baffles this weekend. The sump will be very basic with a spot for the inflow and skimmer, perhaps a refugium that I won't use just yet, and a spot for the return pump. The baffles will be 10" high to accommodate the skimmer. I don't think I will go with a bubble trap but instead, I will use two 10" baffles to make 3 compartments. The reason I'm not sure if I want to use the refugium is that this overflow system uses 3 standpipes and if either of the backup pipe need to function, they will blow into the refugium sand. I'll have to draw a pic to explain it better.

Now I need:
25+ lbs Liverock
Sand
2x250W Ballast
2 Reflectors
Bulbs

After this I think I'm ready to go. I'll put off the lighting for a few months until the tank cycles and ages a bit. There is no point in having strong lighting for a couple clownfish. I may, however, add a couple clams but that adds the whole "calcium dosing" mess that I'm not so interested in right now so who knows.

By this time next week, or the week after at the latest, the tank will be filled and the plumbing running. I can't promise there will be any thing in the tank though.

 

[Clownfish518]

I had a 40 gallon breeder for BTAs with an MP20 and the nems were happiest with it on full power. Food for thought.

Also, the MP20 is upgradeable to an MP40 and those little foam guards are great at keeping a nem out of the pump. Don't know if the MP10 sells the same guards -never seen them, but then never looked

 

[MikeinToronto]

I had a 40 gallon breeder for BTAs with an MP20 and the nems were happiest with it on full power. Food for thought.

Also, the MP20 is upgradeable to an MP40 and those little foam guards are great at keeping a nem out of the pump. Don't know if the MP10 sells the same guards -never seen them, but then never looked

The flow through the tank can reach about 2000 gph with the return which is much more than I need (27x). I just wanted the MP10 for some flow from under the overflow. It will face the front of the tank, ~ 18 inches. I couldn't justify the extra $100 for a MP20 when the MP10 provides enough flow. I don't even think I need the MP10. We'll see how things go. I'll post pics of the setup when I have time to dig through them.

The MP10 has the same foam guards which is why I chose this pump vs a powerhead.

 

[MikeinToronto]

I received my SWC Xtreme 200 skimmer this week. I also received my Reeflo Dart return pump; that thing is a beast. So I was finally able to do all my measurements and order my plumbing parts, and my glass for the baffles in the Sump. So yesterday I got my parts and I assembled all the plumbing.

The Sump is also all assembled. I don't think I can run the pump until tomorrow because the tank is only 1/2 full right now. It's a 75 gph RO and I started at about 5 pm yesterday so the tank itself will be done today, but probably not the sump.

I stayed up late putting as much together as I could so it has the most time to cure. I must tell you that after all the money I just spent and the pain in my fingers (from solvent and sanding and twisting) and the fear that the tank is going to crack or the plumbing is going to fail, I don't even want to look at this tank anymore. But in a couple of days I'll be back to being excited again.

Also I had to send my VorTech in for replacement. That thing was noisy enough to be heard over the entire house. I waited the full week to break-in but there was no hope. I wish I could return it instead.

These are the fittings. I am extremely surprised I was able to get every fitting I needed on the first try. Usually it takes about 100+ trips to the LFS to pick up all the pieces I forget. All of the pieces came from JJ Downs. I don't think anyone can go wrong using this place (except they don't have bulkheads).

As I assembled the plumbing, I starting filling the tank with RO/DI . I could have used tap water but draining a tank of water is a royal pain. Shortly after I started filling I noticed a small bit of water dripping in the middle of the line. It seems my cats chewed the line a bit so I had to tape it up with duct tape for now.

The is the overflow from the front. I used the Beananimal setup as found on Reef Central. It has 1) Siphon standpipe, 2) standard standpipe, and 3) emergency standpipe.

This is the return lines. I used poly tubing and hose barbs at this point because 1) the connections don't have to match up exactly and 2) it reduces vibrations.

This is the Sump from the top. There are 3 compartments. The overflow drains into the right compartment where the skimmer is. The skimmer and the runover flow into the second compartment. I made a mistake and instead of putting the siphon and standard standpipes in the first compartment I mistakenly put the standard standpipe in the second compartment. This just means there is strong flow going into the second compartment so I'm not sure how this will affect having a small Refugium there. I have no plans to do this any time soon but the possibility is there. The third compartment is only 6" wide and it's just there for the return pump. I still need a strainer for those "just in case" situations.
I also used flexible poly tubing for the connection from the Sump to the pump. I did this strictly to reduce vibration.

This is the Sump from the side. Here you can see the tee off from the pump back to the tank. I used a gate valve (holy pricey!) I have it returning to the second compartment instead of the third to keep bubbles from going back into the tank. I haven't placed the skimmer in yet because I need some egg crate to lift the skimmer up. The baffles are 10" high and the sump's height is 16". That leaves lots of room for water in case the tank drains during a power out. The skimmer is supposed to work best at 8-10" water level but the exit pipe for the skimmer is 8" high. I will raise the skimmer 2" using egg crate but if this isn't enough water I still have the option to lower the skimmer without redesigning the whole sump.

And this is the completed tank and Sump from the front. The yellow tube is the RO/DI

That's all for now.

 

[MikeinToronto]

The tank is finally setup. I'm testing it for leaks. Right now there is only freshwater in tank. Virtually every part with a threaded connection leaked so I had to re-tape all those parts and screw them in really tightly. It always makes me nervous when I have to tighten that much. I included a link to my YouTube video.

I made a couple mistakes setting this tank up so if something looks weird, just ask and I'll explain it.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vu5IMoXa3PY[/youtube]

 

[tangerine3486]

what is the separate anemone tank for?

 

[MikeinToronto]

what is the separate anemone tank for?

There's the display and the sump.

 

[tangerine3486]

Oh. In the post where you said you solved the intake problem, was that for the display tank intaking to the sump?

 

[MikeinToronto]

Oh. In the post where you said you solved the intake problem, was that for the display tank intaking to the sump?

I never "solved" the intake problem. I just opted against using a closed loop. Instead, I'm using a VorTech propeller pump for supplemental flow to the main return.

So the return pump is pushing out about 2000+ gph and the VorTech (when it comes back from the repair) will produce about 1500 gph for a total of 3500 gph. That gives me a turnover of about 46 times. I think that's pretty good!

 

[MikeinToronto]

This week I did a lot of work but I didn't actually get a lot done. First of all, I finally added salt to the tank. It was amazing to see the chemistry of the water change as I added the tank. It was as if the water become soft; I can't explain it. It was also neat to see the skimmer all of a sudden kick in.
The pink rigid foam under the tank had to go. There was a very slight gap between the tank and the stand right in the centre of the tank and the rigid foam was too, well, rigid, and wasn't allowing the tank to settle so I emptied the water into a couple large barrels. I then replaced the rigid foam with regular Styrofoam. Unfortunately, I broke a piece at the corner and while cutting the foam at one of the other sides, I cut it on an inward angle so the tank wasn't exactly supported 100%. The frame of the tank was supported at least 50% at these points and realistically it wasn't going to crack so I filled the tank again. However, with my self-diagnosed OCD I kept returning to the tank to look at it all night and make sure it was okay and the next day I told myself, "just replace it before you go any further." So I did. I emptied the water again, moved the tank, and properly sliced the foam and now I'm satisfied. I refilled the tank.

I added the Carib Sea sand to the tank. I went with 40 lbs of Sea Floor, 30 lbs of sugar-size, and 10 lbs of crushed coral. I wanted a varied texture. The sand bed will be shallow because I came to a decision; I am going to keep a Heteractis magnificent anemone. I'm not a newbie and I figured I'm just as capable of keeping a ritteri as anyone can expect, so why limit myself to a LTA or BTA (which are both nice, don't get me wrong). My lighting will be strong, my water movement will be strong; I'm good to go.

After adding the sand the water went very cloudy and I let it sit for a day but it was still cloudy. So today I added filter socks. I was going to add them anyway so this just prompted me to do it sooner.

The Beananimal overflow system is extremely quiet despite moving about 2000 gph and now the noisiest part of the tank is the Sicce pump on my skimmer which, now that the OF is working to it full potential, is annoying. One day I may change it but since the tank is in the basement I'm in no hurry.

Listen to how different the sound is between this video and the previous one. This is all from adding Loc-line and filling the sump up to its proper level. However, that noise you hear, it's the Sicce pump.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LoDPNNRbG0[/youtube]

 

[tangerine3486]

wow should be awesome!