Burningbaal

I like Jeremy's hawk...pretty cool looking But I also like my goby/shrimp, bummer that can't work for you...

Hey 253, I am planning on a bean animal overflow that's very similar to the setup you have. Thanks for the input on the sump selection!

I'm planning on using the glass lids that came with the tank, and will hang my light from rope ratchets and be hoodless ...should I not be worries about the heat?

k... hopin for someone with experience on the heat issue. that's my main hesitation for using the tempered 55 is that I was going to have the pump external on the acrylic tank to cut back on heat. I can't have it external to the 55 because I can't drill the glass (tempered). I'll be running an 8-bulb T5 fixture (48") a few powerheads, the skimmer and the return (mag 7). should I use the acrylic sump to get the mag 7 as an external or use the 55 for more sump-space? That's the main debate, would really appreciate advice

Mid-game bump...any advice? Tempered 55 or acrylic 25 for the sump?

yes one of the guys here hooked me up with a tek light that had been sold as a hydroponic light. but it's Tek, jjust that it had 6500K bulbs, so I got Danik's old actinics and I'm up and running now, just need to hang it - it even came with rope ratchets!)

so, much delayed, but a little update: first: still hoping a mod can change the title to "upgrade to 90...finally", cause my tank is a 90 gallon. now: I picked up an old 90 up in salem for a good price (thanks, Scott!), apparently it used to be Garret's (TPA) personal tank so it's got some history on this forum. it's got three holes with bulkheads on the back. was set up as two drains and one return. I'm going to install a C2C internal box and have all three be used as a bean animal system. one of the three is larger than the other two...which of the bean animal system should be larger? I'm thinking that I won't use the siphon full-open so the larger one should be the durso, but not sure. we're also redoing the kitchen with oak cabinets that we're rebuilding as my parents are pulling them out for their own kitchen remodel. so I'll have a 54x21x36" stand (lxwxh). of course the cabinet can't support the tank so I'll be basically using its skin and putting a 2x4 structure inside the cabinet. It will have a granite tile 'counter' surface under the tank...any objections to that? lastly: I'm debating using my current 55 as the sump instead of using an acrylic 25g plus 30g rubbbermaid (for a cryptic fuge), but the 55 is all panels tempered (dumb, I know)...any suggestions? I am only planning on the skimmer for equipment but want to have an algae scrubber and as much rock as possible. I was going to have an algae scrubber and chaeto in most of the sump, rock in the rubbermaid and have the skimmer and return plumbed externally (with a very small drain and very small return section-with ATO)...how do I do it in a 55 best?

Got an 8bulb fixture today, it's wildly bright and will barely fit over the future 90. Came with all 5600k bulbs, so I'll work on changing those over eventually. Thinking about doing the 90 as Rimless since this light came with rope ratchets to hang...think 1/2 glass for that?

I appreciate the input, Josh. As a backup I can do an internal c2c. It would be simpler and take care of most of what I'm looking for. Losing a 3x3 inside would be tolerable and I can have 3 holes in the back of the box for drains. I may still run a second emergency drain... Internal would make it easier to paint the back too.

sounds good. what about having an internal 3"x1" box with 4-5 holes to an external box? that way I can maintain the structure (and rim) of the 90gallon glass tank, minimize volume loss in the DT and get a weir? I'm thinking 1"=1.5" holes between the boxes, covered in egg crate to minimize critter movement, then a bean animal in the back as follows: full siphon 4" from one corner, allowing water to flow in at a very low point (maybe no pipe above the bulkhead?) non-siphon 4" from the opposite corner, primarily pulling water at a very low point (as siphon), but with airline to just above high-water mark two emergency-drains, 1' apart in the center with the entrance to the pipes being just above the high-water mark (probably one slightly above the other). hoping that the weir will be about 1/2 or 5/8" under the top of the tank and the top of the holes (to ext box) are 1" or 1.5" below the weir (the bottom of the box will be ~3.5" below the top of the tank, ~1" from front-back). the external box will be 6" tall (top of box = top of tank), high-water level will be set to about 1.5" below top of tank, with emergency drains at 0.5" and 1" below the top of the tank. Maybe I'll make some drawings both boxes (two-pieces internal, 4 pieces external) made from 1/4" glass.

is that a snail in the box? good times. is there a reason the box is so tall? why the choice to have dividers around the drains? it seems like that would just create dead space of water that only minimally circulates? and most importantly...does it do what you wanted it to?

Smann, I'm glad to hear it's been done. I may use if for macro, though I think I'd just put sand in the sump (and I've got about 100lbs I'll have in the display which is fairly deep, it's about 4" in my 55). could you post a pic or 3 of the overflow? I'm looking for how it's braced, how the pieces are cut/etc. Primary motivation is to not take up space in the DT, and to offer more plumbing flexibility. I may set up 6 drains, two siphons in the corners, two emergencies near the middle (probably 12" apart) and the last pair in between each siphon and emergency.

I may take you up on that, Garrett Anyone ever do an external weir overflow? I'm considering trying to do one with a 48" weir and setup a bean animal external? basically have the back wall be an inch shorter than the other three and have a 3" x 3" x48" box outside with holes through the bottom?

Anyone have a glass 90 to get rid of?

Allright, I'm considering doing a 4x1.5x2(high) 90g. I may actually build it myseld, I've got a friend that works at a glass shop

If I had more money to burn, I'd take Josh's setup in a heartbeat, but I already have the supplies for my stand so I only need the tank. Realistically, I do need the light, but don't have the cash...

oh, and the stand will be homemade from 2x4s and 2x6s with plywood doors (two 24" doors on the front, one 18" door on each side) each piece will be sealed with urethane individually, then the whole thing sealed after assembly. and the tank is going to be glass, the sump is acrylic

The time is getting near. I have convinced my wife to let me have another 6 inches of the room, so I'll be upgrading to a 75 from my 55 and along with that putting in a sump/fuge/algae scrubber system. I have 50lbs of rock that's been curing in a rubbermaid for about 6 weeks so far, it'll be probably another month before this happens. it's probably 85-90 degrees with a little pump for circulation. Display: Hoping to get a standard 75 drilled with either a cornerflow or on the back (bean animal would be awesome). will do at least two drills, preferably 3. I'll put some rock from the rubbermaid in the 75 on the stand to create a under-sand base for things, then pull the livestock, 15 gallons of tank water and most of the current rock into a 29 I have as a temp home (I'll fill it with new water). Then move the sand bed over (it's only 6 months old, was dry and new when I put it in), and the rest of the tank water. Test NH3, NO3 and PO4 in the 75, do water changes until I'm happy, then move all the stuff from the 29 to the 75. sound ok? under the stand, which is the meat of it all: I have a ~25 gallon sump (thanks Serge!) that will be the heart of the thing. Drains will go into socks (far left). directly from this, I'll drill to plumb my skimmer (external) which will output back to the same section. this goes under-over baffles to the fuge area. This will (at this time) just be chaeto, but may add a sand bed and/or other macro algae later. 'under' baffle and only a short 'over' baffle, probably only 4 inches tall to the return section which will only be about 4 inches wide, drilled for an external return (mag 7) with an ATO. The return will go up to the display and to the rubbermaid tub. the rubbermaid tub will be filled with all the excess rock I can fit, with the lid. I'll cut a hole in the top for the inlet, flex pvc will push water out at the bottom of the tub with a siphon-break hole near the top. side of tub will have two drains cut, one right above the other. the top one will drain into the drain of the sump (far left). The bottom drain from the tub will have a ball valve and connect to an 18" long (probably 12-18" high) algae scrubber. the bottom of the scrubber mat will just hit the height of the ATO so it minimizes splashing. I'm hoping for 200-250gph to the display, which leaves me about 300gph (estimated) through the tub (cryptic fuge?). the algae scrubber will have two 120W (equivalent) CFL bulbs that will also light the chaeto. when I feel like it, I can toss a bag of carbon in the fuge area, or phosphate media (wrapped in floss?). ATO: I'll have a 10gallon tank sit on the rubbermaid with an aqualifter in it. the ato switch will kick on power to the aqualifter, which moves about 0.058 gallons per minute. Goal: achieve minimal nitrates and phosphates, and generally clean water with little (or no) use of medias or reactors. I'm planning LPS/softies and maybe an easy SPS or two (up high). Eventually, I'll be replacing the lighting with 6-bulb T5's for 324 watts. Please do please try to keep your suggestions within the spirit of my goals. For example, I'm not going to do a 200gallon tank, I'm not going to add 6 reactors to the system, I'm not going to do an in-wall...you get the idea. That said, I want all the constructive criticism I can get...that's why I'm on the forum in the first place

Drop it in a bag of dry rice, it helps pull minute moisture out, worth a shot

here's my (small) contribution: the actual ABS (Acrylonitrile-Butadine-Styrene) is perfectly safe However: sometimes the manufacturer imbeds an anti-algae compound in it (which is dumb if you ask me...it's a black pipe). so, if you can get an msds or hazmat for the material and it does not include anything except Acrylonitrile-Butadine-Styrene, it's good to go. Unfortunately I can't find such info specified on the widgetworks link. one more note: FDA food safe is an exceptionally strict requirement that (usually) costs tens of thousands of dollars to get approved for. they will list things as NOT food safe just because it isn't worth it to them to spend the lawyer and lab fees to get the approval. if it's just ABS, it's fine. (FYI: I know about the FDA craziness because of a microbiology Bachelor's and the fact that my company is trying to get FDA approval for a drug currently)

curiousity question: how much rock is in your display (lbs)? it looks like a lot, but a 1200 gallon system demands it. plus 125 pounds in the fuge...I'm gonna have about 75 lbs in my whole system...wild.

Pm'd for some rock

wow...just wow

nifty! (forum requires 10 characters)

I have heard mixed reviews about bumblebee and nass snails, but it seems like the truth (as I read it) is that they are scavengers eating recently-dead things, not actually killing them. And that is what we want in a cuc. Also, my urchin hides most the time, so I'm not too worried about bumping into it