Set tank, lights and pumps
Stand is ready to go. A few pictures of the tank in place.
Set tank, lights and pumps
Stand is ready to go. A few pictures of the tank in place.
Stocking gear inside the stand
I wanted the cords to be out of sight, but not hard to unplug and remove equipment for maintenance or replacement. In my last tank, I had cords organized, tied and bundled neatly on the walls or ceiling of the stand. It looked organized until I had to tear everything apart to get a piece of equipment. After that, I let everything hang. Here, I can hide the "mess", transformers and cords loosely.
The equipment shelf doors to hide everything. Left space above and below the doors for cords and ventilation.
Left to right: Apex module, skimmer, monitor, Vortech pumps, Apex display.
Inside the equipment shelf
Everything is fairly secure after its plugged in, but it's the accidental drops working over the sump you don't expect, while changing out equipment or something like that. A bit of healthy concern.
Left side of the shelf.
Right side of the shelf.
Last edited by choir; 03-13-2015 at 10:35 AM.
Plumbing
This is a first time setting up plumbing for a separate sump. I was nervous about leaks and water all over the floor, that I might not be able to stop and control - just don't know what to expect.
Feeling a little over my head with the plumbing.
Plumbed and connected.
Filling the tank
Filling tank with RO water, then mix in salt. It turns out I put too much salt in and sent the salinity off the chart. I spent more time doing water changes to lower the salinity than the initial fill :[
Very nervous about leaks and stand deflection from the weight, but so far so good.
Sand and live rock
For the past 7-8 weeks, I have been curing the Pukani rock for this tank. I placed a thin layer sand throughout the bottom. Then added the cured rock and live rock from my other tank. Then placed the rest of the sand.
The aquascape is planned to be tall on each end and descend towards the center. When I ordered the rock, BRS sent me one big peice, instead of what I'm used to. It would not even fit in the tank. Instead of breaking the rock into random pieces, I cut the rock into flat plates. I used the plates to create three levels of caves and openings. Although the cuts are stark, I hope they will cover and blend with corals and algae.
So with version 1.0, I tried to keep most of the rock off the sand by using smaller pieces as legs with larger pieces on top. Then repeated this for the next tier.
Up and running
With everything running, I was shocked at the water noise from the overflow and drains at the sump. I ended up slightly adjusting the the return valve and slowing down the flow. It quieted down considerably. I am looking into Mikes suggestion on terminating the drain pipe with additional fittings.
Avast marine vibe reactor for carbon dosing with zeovit. This shakes the stones to release bacteria twice a day.
Aquascape version 2.0
Added more live rock to the tank. This helped to conceal some of the "cut" looking edges of the live rock. I finally corrected the salinity after starting the salt mix incorrectly.
The focal point is the center opening. There is a channel of sand from front to back to create perspective, with "fingers" of rock that are suppose to look like they descend into the sand...kinda of, sort of... whatever : ]
Flow
I have a Vortech MP40 on each side and added a MP10 pump on the back wall. They are all set at different heights and don't face each other directly, but offset for a gyre flow. I would have went with the new gyre, had I not had already had the pumps.
CR Member
It looks really good.
Your post about the salinity reminds me of others harping on me on another site for saying that I follow the salt directions and not use a refractometer. 11 years later and my salt is still 1.026
One cup of salt per 1 US gallon of water works for me.
I'd also like to see how your overflow is to see why that might be loud. With my old hang on back overflow the trick was to put in a plastic spoon and that let enough air in there to stop the gurgling.
My drilled tank I had to open the cap slightly after putting on an elbow to quiet it down. If the cap was closed it would cause a siphon and then break shortly afterward.
The suggestion from poseidon has me thinking about re-working the drain pipe.
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