moebious' 55 gallon build

[moebious]

I just bought a 55 gallon and a 20 gallon long from Petco. They have a deal going on right now; $1 per gallon. I would like to do a mixed reef. I will move the livestock from my 12 gallon nano.
RBTA
Ocellaris clown
Twinspot goby
Mandarin
Zoas
Birdsnest
Xenia
And then add more slowly.
All i need now is everything else.

Plumbing... Should i do a bulkhead overflow or a siphon?

Lighting... I would like to go full on LED but they a way too expensive. Metal halide might be too wide; the tank is only 13 inches wide. Most of the light will hang over the side, but i will need the wattage to penetrate the 21 inch depth. It will probably be mixed if i can find something used. If you are looking to get rid of something that will work let me know.

Filtration... I would like to avoid a skimmer if possible, they are so overpriced. My bioload right now is not very big but i would like to add at least two more fish. One more clown and maybe something like an Angelfish. I do have the 20 gallon long tank that i will use for a sump/refugium. Sand, rubble, macroalgea and all that stuff will go in there. I would also like to do mangroves. Carbon and GFO reactor too.

I'm going to do a leak test next weekend but i do not expect to put any water in it for 6 to 8 months. That will give me plenty of time to shop around for equipment.

The weekend after next i will start to build a custom stand. Probably 2x4s, sandply, and some nice cabinet doors. Nothing special.

Wish me luck.<span style="font-size: 11px;"></span> <span style="font-size: 11px;">Posted via Mobile Device</em></span>

 

[hayabusa72]

Welcome !

I would go with bulkhead overflow,T5 lighting and try find me a used skimmer If possible (but you should be fine with water changes ) .Can't wait see some pics .Good Luck!
<span style="font-size: 11px">Posted via Mobile Device</em></span>

 

[therum]

Wow , $1 per gallon. I wonder if they got a 100+ gallon

 

[cr500_af]

Therum;528707 wrote: Wow , $1 per gallon. I wonder if they got a 100+ gallon

I think they top out at 55g on that deal.

 

[moebious]

Today I got a light from Acura_Rob for $150; 48" current extreme 6 bulb.
It fits perfect; thanks again Rob.
Equipment so far:
55 gallon tank from Petco $55
20 gallon tank form Petco $20
Lights from Acura_Rob $150
20 lbs. dry rock from BRS for $42; I know i need more-probly get live rock
20 lbs. dry rock rubble from BRS $31.40 some for sump-some for frags
Total so far:$298.40
Next, build the stand. That will probably happen this weekend.
Then, plumbing. Which brings me to some questions. <span style="color: Red">What size pump do i need?</span> <span style="color: Red">What size overflow and returns do i need for that size pump?</span> <span style="color: Black">I would like to have the overflow in the middle and a return on each side of the back. I could put gate valves on each of the returns to regulate flow and then have a third</span> outlet in side the fuge to circulate water in there as well. I was thinking about a 1 inch overflow but what is the max GPH for 1 inch pipe? Is there a chart or something i can look at?
BTW Can somebody let me borrow or rent the hole saws for a weekend?

 

[smoothie]

Planning on an internal or external pump?

 

[rolo65]

I run a mag 7 on my 58.....get pretty good turnover....plus I have 3 dif sized koralia evos for more flow...don't have a valve on the return line personally...it runs full...but it's a 3/4" return line....can't remember what size pumps run a 1"....I think you can rent diamond hole saw blades from home depot....not positive on that though....I'd recommend buying a few panes of glass the same thickness as your tank glass to practice on before putting a drill bit to it though

 

[moebious]

I'm not really sure. I would imagine that an external would work better, but louder. If i can get the hole saw i probably will do external. What would you suggest? Is there a difference?

 

[moebious]

Also it depends on the price. I'm up to $300 right now and i'd like to keep it under $600 or $700 until i can save money and maybe upgrade.

 

[smoothie]

The blueline pumps are nice and quiet for external. Would also help keep the temp down a little going external. Check the mrc site and choose the gph you may need. If it is only for return then I say low and slow. Base the plumbing from that. Probably ending up with 3/4
Blueline 30-HD

 

[cr500_af]

The pump size isn't that crucial on the return; what I mean is you have a pretty large range of flow that is acceptable. For example, Rolo ran a mag 7 on a 58; I run a mag 7 on a 90 and I think the slow flow through the sump is good. On a 55, you could run anywhere from a 7 to a 9.5... maybe even a mag 5 if you wanted to (though if you are going to tap into the return to feed your fuge I'd go with a mag 7).

IMO external pumps aren't worth the extra money, the small risk of a drilling mishap and the more complex plumbing when you are talking about that sort of pump output. If you were going much over 1K g/hr I'd probably start looking at externals.

Since you asked for opinions, I'd personally run a Mag 7 return pump, tee off of that for the fuge (small volume through the fuge) and run the "standard" overflows and returns that 55g tanks are furnished with.
I'd definitely go ahead and get more rock from the start. If you add live rock once the tank is up you risk having another cycle. In the interest of avoiding unwanted hitchhikers and algae, I'd buy more "dead" rock and seed the tank with a minimum amount of LR, then allow a nice long cycle while "feeding" the tank a little bit so that you let the bacterial colony develop nicely.

 

[moebious]

Thanks guys. Looks like i am in the market for a Mag 7. I checked prices and the lowest i see brand new is $65. I'll wait and see if anybody in the club wants to sell one until i am ready to do plumbing.

<span style="color: Red">Just so i have this right, 1" overflow and 1/2" return?</span>

I forgot about the CL/85 thermoelectric chiller/heater i have.
I know it's only rated for 20 gallons but it might help a little.
10 degree differential on 20 gallons = 3.75 degree differential on 75 gallons. Hmmm maybe, maybe not.

 

[cr500_af]

I don't think temp drop is a straight linear function... could be wrong though. There was a member who just listed a bunch of equipment for sale a day or two ago, and among the stuff was, I believe, 2x Mag 7 pumps that were new and unused.

 

[jead85]

hey moebios, nice meeting you today. Ive got a overflow good for 65 gallons if you still need one

 

[moebious]

So i figured it was about time to post a picture of my tank since it has had water in it for about 3 weeks.

http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=156&pictureid=1079" alt="" />

I went with a quiet ones 3000 return pump, dual 1/2 inch returns and a 1 inch overflow. The internal overflow box was made by Chris at Fishscales, thanks Chris, and the removable combs are courtesy of Andyman(RIP). BTW, if anybody knows how to get in touch with Andy LMK, I still owe him for it. Water movement is provided by 2 K nanos, 2 K3s, and 1 K4. Now i just need a wavemaker or a controller. Lighting is 324 watts T5. I would like to add some LED moonlights so i can enjoy my tank at night when i get home from work, after midnight. The stand was made by me and my dad. It's pretty sweet. I'll show pics of it when i rebuild the sump. My first attempt at building the sump failed. The design is sound, but, i made the mistake of filling one side with water and one of the baffles separated. I will redo it this week and show some pictures of the build. The tank cycled in 2 weeks and started producing diatoms so i added a CUC and 2 chromis, thanks RIT. That triggered another cycle so i am going to wait before i add the RBTA and the GSM, maybe next weekend. I have been taking loads of pictures and i'm trying to do sort of a time lapse thing. If it turns out i will post it somewhere, but don't hold your breath. If anyone can recommend a good free video sequencer LMK. I am using blender but i can't figure out how to export the audio. The video is fine except it's not the format i want. If you read this far thanks for looking.

 

[smallblock]

Looks good, have you tested for amonia?

 

[moebious]

Last weekend, after 2 weeks of cycling all params tested zero so i added the two chromis. Right now the Amm is .25 Trites .25 and Trates 5. Yesterday i did a 15 gal WC and I'm using Stabilty so hopefully that won't last long.

 

[smallblock]

awesome, Love the rockwork was it live or base rock when you added it? Whats your stock wish list.

 

[moebious]

It was all dry rock. 20 from BRS, 40 from Keen and 25 from Imagine. Plus 20 lbs of rubble in the sump also from BRS. I still have a few lbs of rock left that didn't make it in the tank. 66 lbs of Seachem pearl beach. I took 1 rock and some sand from the nano and the dirty water from WC went in there as well. I can't wait to move the RBTA and GSM over to the new tank. I just want to be sure it will support them first. The first thing on my wishlist is a controller. All other things will have to wait. Thanks for the comments.

 

[moebious]

Controller is in the mail RKE (basic) + one PC4. Here are some pics...


http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=178&pictureid=1082" alt="" />



[IMG]http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=178&pictureid=1081" alt="" />

The entire front panel of the stand can be removed for easy access. The bottom rail of the stand has a groove cut into it and the panel sits in it and is held in place by magnets (dad's idea). I'm thinking about blacking out the left and right windows. It looks kinda cluttered in there but i'm not 100% done. The 1/2 inch ball valve on the right is for the chiller but it got too hot in there. I still need to cut some of the back out and add a fan. I think i'm just going to leave it outside and drill a hole for the tube in the back. The tube for the waste collector can be hung from the top. It has air flowing through it so it does not need to go downhill. What do you think?


[IMG]http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=178&pictureid=1080" alt="" />