Here goes...the 10 gallon in progress.

[Anonymous]

Just thought I'd show how my new tank is coming. Hopefully it gives some folks ideas on plumbing/lighting ideas, etc.

I'm currently drilling a rectangle out of the glass where the overflow teeth will be. A second tank will be back to back with this one, and siliconed together. Essentially it's going to be a big glass box with a piece of glass and acrylic in the middle. Hopefully the pics show this. The smaller piece of acrylic is designed to 'catch' the water as it comes through the teeth and reduce salt spray and noise.

 

[Anonymous]

The 250W MH and the little ghetto DIY canopy I built for it. The tank will have a Euroreef ES series skimmer as well, and two MJ1200s on a wavemaker for water movement. I'm going to plumb them through the back glass with bulkheads so you won't see them.

 

[holry7778]

Awesome !!
This is the stuff I like to see because it helps me think on how to problem solve different things as the come around for my stuff.

My only question is..Is a 250w MH a little overkill for just a 10gal?

Other than thay it looks good and clean? Keep us updated as you keep going

 

[Anonymous]

It's not overkill for the corals I plan on keeping--Acropora, Pocillopora, Montipora. The really brightly colored ones that are purple or blue come from areas that are lit with an incredible intensity of sunlight. I've seen 10 g tanks with 400W MHs over them! 8O 8O

 

[holry7778]

So then will you have to run a chiller to maintain your temp.

400w what are people trying to give their corals a dark tan!

 

[reefann]

Hey matt, could you go into more detail about your hood? I have to get a 150watt DE HQI over my ten and I was thinking along the lines of what you did.

 

[i2ik]

what about evaporation?
how many inch between the lamp and the tank?

 

[Anonymous]

It's just a wooden box with legs screwed in. I used the legs that come with an "Aqualight" fixture. If you google "Aqualight legs" you can find them. www.hellolights.com has them too. I then had to drill another small hole in them and use two sets of screws and small nuts to attach them to the box. The legs hold the fixture over the tank.

There will only be about 2" between the bulb and water. It's risky, but doable. I'll need to ensure there aren't any air bubbles splashing water up, and obviously I'll need a fan to keep the tank cool. I have yet to see if I'll need a chiller.

Evaporation will be controlled with a Litermeter dosing pump.

 

[i2ik]

Evaporation will be controlled with a Litermeter dosing pump.

Whats that? never heard of it but will be really interest of knowing more as i will probably get one myseft if not too expensive! :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

8O
Nice!

I just hung a 14K 250w DE pendant over my 10. - A VAST, VAST improvement over the 32w PC I had..

I use a 300 ml/hr dosing pump for topoff too. - Seems to keep pretty steady at 50 ml/hr for me but I'm sure yours will be higher with the overflow.

Speaking of overflows.. - How exactly does yours work? - Do you have a back section of the main tank like a nanocube there or are you overflowing directly out the back?

 

[Anonymous]

Imagine it to be like a JBJ nanocube, but the 'overflow' section will be much larger...the same exact size as the main tank. This way I can put in an actual refugium, a large skimmer, and a couple pumps.

i2ik,
A Litermeter is a brand of dosing pump--there are several brands that all work on the same function. They squeeze a tube slowly to deliver topoff water to the tank. Also known as peristaltic pumps. Greg Schiemer did a nice review of the Litermeter III for www.advancedaquarist.com a while back.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/ ... 3/Fish.htm

They are pricey though...around $300.

 

[HClH2OFish]

You can usually get good buys on peristaltic pumps if you check out stuff being sold at hospitals.
When they upgrade to new equipment, very often they'll have older models that they need to get rid of...

Or do ebay search on peristaltic or dosing pumps
Here's an example:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... Track=true

 

[Anonymous]

I know they're a lot more expensive, but man are they worth it. My buddy used to have one of those cheapo ebay units--noisy, hard to adjust, and bulky. The Litermeter is quiet, sleek, and adjusted digitally--if you've got the extra cash, it's well worth it in the long run.

Another benefit is that you can buy two more pump units for around 120 and have them controlled by your original module. Very useful if you're doing two part additives or several tanks.

 

[HClH2OFish]

That's what you can get here...just make sure you're getting actual dosing pumps....buys can be found
There's a few companies that take old hospital models, slap a sticker on em and sell em as reef dosers....

 

[Anonymous]

niiiiice... got any picture/diagrams of how you're laying out the back tank?

it's hard to imagine that you won't need a chiller though. that's alright... just spend that $$$. :twisted:

 

[primer]

lookin good matt

hurry up and stock that tank

 

[Anonymous]

The back tank is going to be a nightmare to figure out with the skimmer back there, and the MH light hanging over it. Space is going to be a real issue, but I think I can figger it out. I just got the back tank today, so hopefully I'll have pics real soon of the whole completed job siliconed together.

Cutting the glass was actually a real breeze. If you're scared of cutting glass, don't be! It's very easy with the right tools. Drilling through acrylic is actually much more easy to mess up.

 

[skylsdale]

Very nice. Have you thought much about trying to get a bit more flow in there? I'm thinking that these types of corals are exposed to a similar amount of wave intensity and flow as they are sunlight. Just a thought...

By the way, how's that 125 gal...?

 

[Anonymous]

Hey sky!...how are your tanks? I know you've been planning a lot of stuff but haven't talked to you in quite a while now. I had to sell the 125 gallon, because of issues with my move to my new apt. Thus this tank...

I'm having two mj 1200s (295 gph, or 60x tank turnover) on a 10 gallon...you don't think that's enough? I think you and I are the only folks who think that... I would put a higher flow pump on there if I could, but that's the largest pump MJ makes. Any other suggestions for a good pump that can go on a wavemaker and produce more flow?

BTW, I just siliconed the two together and drilled all the holes today. I'll post pics very soon, I promise...

 

[skylsdale]

Hey! My tanks are non-existent. I had a 6 gal running for a little while, but life and everything just got too busy so I took everything apart and sold pieces of it off. I have since gotten into orchids, so I've been out of the reefkeeping loop throughout most of the summer--just now starting to hit the boards regularly again. However, a local guy is having me put together a reef tank in the waiting room of his office, so I'm back in it...

Actually, a couple months ago I found one of these in a "FREE" pile at a yard sale (minus the rolling stand and pump). And yes, the refrigeration unit works like a champ. 8) Maybe when spring rolls around I'll look into fixing it up a bit and putting together a nice little Puget Sound system.

As for the flow on your tank, two MJ 1200's are probably enough. I guess my worry in smaller tanks is that corals are going to get blasted by a jet of water rather than feel the effects of general turbulance. I wonder if it would be possible to have an inconspicuous spraybar along the back (running just beneath the surface) that was constantly running and powered by a smaller pump...and then add that to the dual MJ's you'll have alternating. Just a thought to give the flow that much more of a dynamic action.