48 tall build

bjmd22 · 11-25-2007, 07:51 PM

I figured it would be appreciated if I stopped starting a million threads to ask questions and just made a build thread.

I am starting with a 48 gallon tank that was obviously designed by a committee of mentally challenged people, and purchased by another one. The tank measures 18x20 by 31inches tall! Because of the height it is not drilled and is all tempered. It will be difficult to work with and in a tank that tall but it looks great in the space I will keep it.

The wall behind where the tank will go is the garage wall, so I will make a port to run the pipes through and keep the sump and ballasts out there. Much of the stuff i am using is remnants of a 72 that I tore down last year...so things that sound wasteful is probably just me being too cheap to buy smaller things.

The sump will be a 40 gallon double utility sink purchased at home depot. I just finished building the diy light canopy out of diamond plate and some threaded rod, a 400w and 250w mh and a 96w cf 50/50. I figured it would be easier to unplug one if not needed than to add it later. The depth of the tank will make lighting an issue i am certain.

I have an asm g3 with an up graded pump, and a diy skimmer with the sedra 9000 on it. I may build a beckett type skimmer later on once i get bored.
I will have to go with a overflow box. The return will eventually be a pressure rated pump running two eductors. For now it will be a mag 9.5.

For flow, I plan a mag 36 running a 1 inch spary bar along the back bottom on a cls.

The tank, stand and light canopy are the only things I have finished now.
I have gotten out out my old live rock that I dry stored and started trying to figure out how I would get such a vertical formation. I took a masonary drill bit and put 3/8 holes in the rock and stacked them together like tinker toys....It worked beautifully. Now I have to make a rock stand. I am trying to decide on whether to spend the money($26) on a piece of black star board or just get an 18x18 tile from home depot.

bjmd22 · 11-25-2007, 07:52 PM

canopy

xtopher · 11-25-2007, 08:05 PM

Sounds great, can't wait to see this one up and running. I really like the rock that you put together

one thing I would reconsider is the mag 36 as they are EXTREMELY loud.
Cheers Chris

bjmd22 · 11-25-2007, 08:09 PM

i am glad it is loud. It will be satisfying when i close the garage door and the noise goes away

.

bjmd22 · 11-25-2007, 08:13 PM

The sump

Jflip2002 · 11-25-2007, 08:15 PM

Definitely different. It seems like it'll be pretty cool. I like tall tanks just due to the variety of corals you can keep. SPS to the top, LPS middle, Softies bottom, etc. Looks like it could have good potential for a mixed reef.

bjmd22 · 11-25-2007, 08:25 PM

I have recently figured out that I can use my ATO system to sense when my tank gets too full and shut off the return pump. This makes me a little less freaked out about the overflow box.

bjmd22 · 12-09-2007, 12:39 PM

I havent posted anything in a while because I have been working feverishly on this tank. So since my last post. I got my sump up and running. The utility sink worked really well. I put both skimmers that I had in the sump. One is ran by a sedra 9000 the other by a sedra 5000. I will likely build a big diy skimmer powered by a beckett injector that i have.

The over flow is installed and about 500gph is returned to the tank from the sump. The return could handle a little more but I like the idea of my house flooding more slowly.

I also made the port in the wall to go out to the garage where the sump is. I used a round white molding that was meant to dress up the base of a ceiling fan to make the port hole more attractive.

I hooked up my mag 36 cls it basically just sweeps the bottom and under the rocks. I wanted to have another cls to give flow to the front of the rocks but my port hole is pretty much full of pipes. I suppose if a pump were quiet enough it could sit in the empty stand. I had one more Idea that I will share a little later. I am considering a couple powerheads...maybe a tuneze or korallia...what does everyone think?. I really dont like the cluttered look but may just have to deal with the powerheads.

The dry rocks are in the tank and the water went in. The water was very milky from the dust from drilling the rocks to connect them. I had to run a 200micron filter sock overnight to get rid of it. Getting the rock formation down in the deep tank was a challenge but i managed. When first moving the stand in I had towels under it to prtect the hardwood floor, like a true genius I forgot to remove them before filling the tank......grrrrr.

The lights are in too. a 400, 250 and 96w cf just as planned. The tank can be seen from space, and I can hear the meter spinning.

the pictures are a sequence of turning on the lights in this order 1) cf, 2)250+cf, 3) 250+400+cf

bjmd22 · 12-09-2007, 12:39 PM

I think the pictures implanted in the post in reverse order

bjmd22 · 01-04-2008, 08:42 PM

Its been a while since I updated the thread. Since I put water in it has been about 6-7 weeks. I got my first fish today. A purple fire fish.

Here are some pictures of the tank. And one of the port I made through the wall using a piece of plastic molding made for a light fixture base to dress it up.

This project is costing so much I can no longer afford the dog sooooooo....