My 52x28x28 reef tank in progress

[Len]

After much pestering , I finally got a few photos of my new 52x28x28" reef tank. So far, the top and overflow are plumbed up, with some work left in the cabinet. I am expecting Catalina Water Company to swing by next week to fill my tank with NSW.

The tank was built by Aquarium Obsessed up in Canada. Three sides and the eurobracing are starphire glass. The back is painted black and I decided to go with black silicone as well (a decision that polls here helped me make ) The tank is built very well! Glass is 1/2" all around.

I'll take more photos soon, but here's a few photos and descriptions to start. I'll post a pic per post to help out our bandwidth-challenged friends

The first three photos are of my tank from various angles.

 

[Len]

Here's another pic of the tank. FYI: I installed two sheets of vinyl panels on the wall behind the tank to prevent water and heat damage. The previous 120G I had in that spot really did a number on the wall, but thankfully it was mostly just paint damage.

 

[Len]

Third pic of my tank from a different angle

 

[Unarce]

Nice! Love the black trim and cherry stand.

 

[Len]

Here is my return circulation system. Pump is tentatively a Panworld 100PX-X (Iwaki 40RLXT equivalent) but I have some trusty Iwakis as standbys. the water is pumped up through the bottom of the overflow and up into a Oceans Motions Super Sea Squirt (www.oceansmotions.com) unit which distributes water to the four outlets in an oscillating fashion. The water pipes are 1" Sch 40 grey PVC with unions at all critical points so I can fully disassemble the circulation system. The outlets are Ocean Motions 1" directional nozzles. I originally planned on having the outlets located at the four top corners of the tank (hence the drilled but unused holes at the front corners). However, the only way to plumb it in this fashion would block out some of the lighting. So I settled to have all the outlets come from the rear of the tank (for now ).

 

[Len]

A better pic of the overall return circulation system. One key design goal was to have everything plumbed through the overflow. My old tank had pipes running behind the tank (between the tank and rear wall). That really isn't a problem except for one thing: I live in earthquake country. Any serious shaking could crack pipes that were snugly wedged between the back wall and the tank. Going through the overflow prevents this possibility and makes for a more secure/solid plumbing system (I could do chin-ups on the piping right now .... if i could actually do chin-ups that is )

 

[Len]

Here's a close up of the top of my Durso standpipe. Because my overflow is made mostly of dark smoked glass (which is somewhat transparent), I couldn't go with white PVC pipe which would stick out as an eye sore. So the piping is once again grey sch 40 PVC. The top of the durso has a John Guest valve fitting to adjust air intake into the Durso.

I've also built a black acrylic cover (not pictured) for the overflow to prevent too much light from getting into the overflow.

 

[Anonymous]

Len,

Looks great! Good luck, be sure to take some pics when you are stocked.
Love the stand as well, looks "classy" and compliments the tank well.

 

[Anonymous]

Very nice Len!

 

[tazdevil]

I see you have the algae removal equipment in place. I must now drool, as I have tank envy.

 

[GSchiemer]

Great job on the plumbing. I especially like the fact that there are no holes in the back or bottom glass, other than inside the overflow box. I've seen too many tanks on display in these threads where the back and bottom glass resemble Swiss cheese. A big mistake, IMO.

My only suggestion would be to reconsider the Panworld pump. It will be way underpowered for that plumbing setup with the Sea Squirt and for that size tank. I'd go with a 70RLT equivalent or even better. A 100RLT would be just about right.

Greg

 

[Len]

Thanks guys. More pictures will follow soon. I love the stand/canopy BRI Aquatics built for me. It's a nice oak with mahogony stain (has a red cherry look to it) and it's designed very well. Strength and easy access .... that's what I wanted.

Greg, I may move to the bigger Iwakis. I'm trying to keep the return flow to a minimum since I don't want so much water moving through the overflow and sump. I am first in line to get a pair of Ecotech Vortech pumps which will round off my circulation requirements

 

[mirkus]

I wonder how much the Vortech pumps will cost....

 

[ChrisRD]

Nice job Len!

 

[Anonymous]

Go Len Go!

 

[Len]

Mirkus, I hear they'll be roughly the same price as Tunze (please don't quote me on this). It's a better design so I think it's worthwhile.

 

[npaden]

So the tank isn't a figment of your imagination!

Looking good!

 

[Anonymous]

Len's into fish? Holy cow! I thought he just liked to boss people around on the message boards

 

[GSchiemer]

Thanks guys. More pictures will follow soon. I love the stand/canopy BRI Aquatics built for me. It's a nice oak with mahogony stain (has a red cherry look to it) and it's designed very well. Strength and easy access .... that's what I wanted.

Greg, I may move to the bigger Iwakis. I'm trying to keep the return flow to a minimum since I don't want so much water moving through the overflow and sump. I am first in line to get a pair of Ecotech Vortech pumps which will round off my circulation requirements

If your overflow and sump can handle the flow rate, you can move enough water through the Squirt to eliminate the need for in-tank pumps, which I feel will detract from an otherwise clean setup. The 4 returns should be adequate, if you can move enough water through them. I only use 4 returns on my 500 gallon reef aquarium, but I'm moving a real 1,500 GPH through each one.

Greg

 

[Len]

The Durso is a standard 1" (1 1/4" -> 1" bulkhead) so I'm pretty limited in what I can pump through the system. I also would love to have no internal pumps, but the Vortech is just too cool to pass on The battery backup that will be offered for it will be a nice fail-safe. It's a very nice thought to know that should the power go out, I'll have circulation (full circulation even) for 12-24 hours! Redundancy of pumps isn't a bad idea either.