New 75gal Reef Tank Step-By-Step Setup DIY - Page 5

PowerManJ316 · 02-03-2006, 01:08 PM

I am thinking I may change the focus of the tank slightly. I am still interested in a Lionfish. So with the Lionfish I would keep primarily soft corals with a few SPS corals. Will PC lighting be enough to keep the SPS corals happy? I was thinking something along the lines of a coralife 2x65w 10k plus 2x65w actinic 03's.

PowerManJ316 · 02-03-2006, 01:09 PM

Also, i know lionfish will eat pretty much anything it can fit in its mouth, but does this also include hermit crabs?

Geoff · 02-03-2006, 02:57 PM

yes that includes hermits. they primarily feed on crustaceans.

i would not try for SPS also. with a tank that tall MH's would be the way to go for SPS, but this would be overkill for the softies. besides you can keep the water with higher DOC's if you are only keeping softies. you will not need as big of a skimmer. mixing softies and SPS is not a good idea also due to the chemical warefare that will be going on in the system. softies release growth inhibitors for SPS. a competitive advantage when on the reef.

G~

PowerManJ316 · 02-03-2006, 05:56 PM

Alright, I will be sticking to softies then. i figured MH would be needed for SPS or Clams, and I am not sure I want to invest that much money into the lighting. I was looking at coralife kits that are nearly $1000. Can you reduce this a lot by DIY, and if so, how difficult is a complete light fixture with 2 MH and 2 PC?

PowerManJ316 · 02-03-2006, 08:39 PM

Here is a picture of my final tank design. I have modified the CLS and am going to move the skimmer since I only have about 18" under the tank. I want the skimmer to be about 36" tall so it will go alongside the tank.
All the yellow circles are pumps while the blue circles are bulkheads. Let me know if you find any problems. I will probably purchase and start building the two sumps and the overflow in the next week or two. I will make sure to include plenty of pictures for all.

Geoff · 02-04-2006, 06:20 AM

couple of problems. one major one minor.

the major one: your top off needs to dump into the return part of the sump. if it dumps where where you have it than it will never work. the baffle keeps the water in the skimmer compartment constant, not a good thing if you want top-off control.

you just need to move it to the return section. this is the lowest point for the water level so it will change.

the minor: i would make the drain between the fuge and the sump straight. this will allow the water to flow either way just in case one of your drains gets clogged for some reason. the return pump will not go dry. this is only minor and does not need to be done if you do not want to.

have you thought about making the stand taller and putting the skimmer underneath? i made Nikki's stand 40" tall. i do not like to stoop to look into tanks.

G~

tdwyatt · 02-04-2006, 01:34 PM

ditto on tank stand height... maybe low stands if you have and primarily keep the tank for kids, but the kid that looks the most in my tanks is 6 feet tall...

Lots more speace under the tanks then, I can place a 32" skimmer under my display tanks.

PowerManJ316 · 02-06-2006, 10:26 PM

I like the idea of a taller tank. I am over 6ft and hate bending over all the time. Plus, now my 3 year old nephew will not be able to pound on the glass when he comes and visit

PowerManJ316 · 02-06-2006, 10:28 PM

Hey Geoff/Tom,
I know you guys just drilled a bunch of holes, I need your opinion. I am going to buy one of the cheap whole saws from ebay that Geoff posted on his link. THe bulkheads I am using need a 2 3/8" hole = 60.325 mm. I can get a 60mm or a 65 mm hole saw. Do you think I can squeeze the bulkhead into the 60mm since it is only .325 mm too small or should I take a chance with the 65mm and hope it isn't too large?

Geoff · 02-06-2006, 11:17 PM

i would think that the 60mm would work. .325 of a mm is pretty small. i would think that you have enough slop in drilling the hole to get up to that size anyway. your bulkheads are a lot smaller than mine were. just goes to show that you need to check the bulkheads first before getting your saw.

you can try emailing the seller. he may have other sized saws.

G~

PowerManJ316 · 02-07-2006, 05:50 PM

Just ordered the 60mm hole saw and All-Glass assured me that my tank sides are not tempered

. I am going to create a mockup back for the tank and drill it in the next week or so. Then I will start the grueling days work of drilling half a dozen holes or so in my 75gal and sump

. Pictures should be on the way of this also.

Geoff · 02-07-2006, 07:18 PM

it really helps to have a helper when drilling a tank. someone to keep the area wet. did you see the pic with Zac spraying water on the area while i drilled the holes. each of the big holes took about 3 minutes to cut. i was letting the drill do most of the work. i think i added another 2-5lbs of pressure, not much. adding a backing block to limit chip out is a good idea.

G~

PowerManJ316 · 02-07-2006, 10:05 PM

Thanks Geoff, I will plan to do this.
Since the hole saw will take a week or two to get here, I have made a mockup of the overflow I am going to use for the tank. The overflow is 4" wide, 8" tall and 30" long. There will be two 1.5" bulkheads with an elbow, one at each end (one shown) and a third bulkhead in the center without an elbow for the CLS inlet. Right now the water level will be about 3.5" down from the top. If this is excessively noisy, I can always add pipe to increase the height and quiet the overflow down. The CLS inlet is about 1.5" below the two drain inlets.

Let me know if you see any problems.

Also, I plan to add the small fence-like cuts all along the top of the overflow (are these called weirs?). Are these necessary and what purpose do they serve?

Geoff · 02-07-2006, 10:11 PM

yes those are weirs. they strain out the water of any critters that are trying to get a free ride to the sump.

how do you know that the water level will be 3.5" down from the top of the tank? you have to add at least a 1/4" for water flow over for the drains. just getting you to think about how the water will behave. you should be fine with that much clearance.

G~

PowerManJ316 · 02-09-2006, 08:43 PM

I am looking at building my own sump. I would like to do acrylic, but it is so much more expensive than glass. Ace Hardware will cut all the glass pieces to size for me, I just need to silicone them together. Is this a very difficult task to get them square? Is it much easier with acrylic?