50 Gallon tank up and runnin'

[Reefer Addict]

Well, since you all were so gracious in giving me feedback on my original 50 Gallon reef plans, I thought I'd share how they turned out.

Here's what I have (so far) :
65 pounds of sand (20 'live', 20 base aragonite and 25 Mexican puka for texture)
68 Pounds of (semi-cured) live rock (43 Lbs of Fiji and 25Lbs of Tonga)
10 Gallon sump (about half full)
Mag Drive 5 for sump return
220 watts of PC lighting (2 10000K Daylights and 2 03 Actinics).

I'm still waiting on the power heads, the skimmer and wavemaker, but they should be here shortly (crossing my fingers).
The rock is currently curing in the tank, and I still can't pass by it without checking out all the colors and textures in it... this is definitely an addictive hobby.

I tried to arrange the rock so there will be plenty of flat spots for specimen rocks when the time finally comes.

Anyway, here's how it's looking currently...
Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it.

[Reefer Addict]

Here's another shot of the DIY stand/canopy I built (which also shows the sump). The stand is made of pine since I'm more of a utility-grade craftsman (i.e. I have just enough tools to work with softwood. ). I stained it a grayish-blue color so the wood looks somewhat aged. The skin on the stand is sections of a glue-lam that needed to be shaved to fit a custom job, so I got the pieces that were shaved off the sides. Gave it quite a nice effect.

[Reefer Addict]

And one more...
The last picture was taken right after the sand bed was added, so here's a more current one of the whole shebang.

[Geoff]

Looks great! now, it is time to start growing some rocks.

G~

[Reefer Addict]

Thanks, Geoff.
I'm so excited I just had to show it off...
I know it's not much to look at right now, but hopefully within about 6 months it will start resembling a reef.

[Geoff]

just out of curiosity, how do you have the tank plumbed? i do not see an overflow box.

i am also in the growing rock stage right now. mine have been festering for close to 4 months now. i work on glacial time scale.

G~

[Tonto]

I think it looks like you have a great start.
Good job!

[hooked]

Looks nice, I really like the way your stand and canopy look

[Reefer Addict]

just out of curiosity, how do you have the tank plumbed? i do not see an overflow box.

If you look in the first picture you can see the two PVC pipes that I use for the sump. The one on the left is the return, and is just a 'J' pipe that hooks over the lip of the aquarium and returns just below the waterline. The pipe on the right is the siphon overflow. I have a 45 degree fitting that isn't glued so I can twist it to get the kind of siphon I desire. I retrofitted the intake strainer from the Mag5 to fit on the end of the siphon tube to keep stray critters from travelling down to the sump. I currently have it set up so that it siphons both air/water at the surface so the tank adjusts itself, and I don't have to constantly fiddle with ball-valve settings to get a balanced flow (what a pain that is). As the tank level gets higher, the siphon sucks more water (which makes it travel faster down the siphon tube) until the water flow levels out. It also works in reverse... if the return pump slows down at all (which it really shouldn't) the tube sucks more air until the pump can catch up. The siphon flow is strong enough that all the air travels down to the sump and none is left standing in the pipe. All I need to do now is connect a Powerhead to restart the siphon whenever there's a power outage (using the venturi inlet to remove the air until the vacuum restarts the siphon).
I get a bit of a drain-like sound from the siphon, but it's pretty quiet unless you're right up next to the tank.
Hope you can understand that... I'm only halfway through my first cup of coffee for the morning.
If you'd like a better picture, I can post it if you like.

Also, thanks for the kudos Tonto and hooked.

[Calvinc4s]

You might want to turn the pump off for 5 minutes and then back on
after that (to simulate a temporary power outage when your not home)
just to see what would happen.

The tank looks awesome, I really like the look of your stand and canopy!