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Since I haven't ordered the lock lines yet I could simply get the split lines. So My 6 nozels will become 12 @ 300 ghp through 3/4". I think that will be better.

300 gph through 1/2" is what a maxi jet 1200 does, so 3/4" will have less pressure. Thanks for the heads up Kevin.

overflow ideas
 

Can anyone offer a link or diagram of an external overflow design. I'm trying to wrap my head around how to build an external overflow that would alow me to raise or lower the water level in the tank. I don't want an ugly box inside of the tank, I'd much rather have something outside that isn't an eye sore.

My initial thoughts were to build a box with another bulk head on the bottom. That way I could build a sliding stand pipe to raise and lower the water level. Input anyone?

Danny you want to raise the water level in the over flow or the tank.. why would you want to raise the water level in the tank. I dont think that a external over flow will allow you to raise the water level in the tank ..

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i want to raise the level in the tank because if i don't, there will be like 2.5" from the top of the water to the tank top. i only have a 20" high tank so i need it as high as i can.

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Well, I went up to Gold's to see if they had the lock lines I needed. After seeing how big the 3/4" lines were, I decided to try just the 6 lines with flares instead of buying "Y" adaptors etc. This is how they worked out.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...p/IMGP2988.jpg

My first test yielded a couple of small leaks in various joints of the closed loop, which are repairable.

The flow coming out of the flare nozels was moderate to feel, not as thrusty as I thought they would be at 600 ghp each. So I'll stick with them.

Looks good.
Keep up with the pics.
Kevin

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Today I picked up the Lumenarc reflector, and installed it. What an awesone reflector, i've got coast to coast coverage across the entire tank. :wink: A special thanks to Ryan and Steve for making that happen!

So now that I had lights I got the ich to do he swap right away, and I did. Didn't finish until 3 am. I'll take some pics tomorrow, I'm going straigt to bed. :redface:

Awesome!!!

I can't wait to see how she looks :)

Subscribed!

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Ok, as promised, here are a few shots of the complete setup.

Please keep in mind that this tank will eventually become an inwall tank. So nothing really had to be that pretty, it just had to be functional. Enjoy!

The back side of the tank while running. The wife thinks it looks like some kind of bio-mechanical machine, and I said it is!:lol:

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...p/IMGP3110.jpg

The sump. Nothing fancy, just a chamber for the skimmer, a couple of baffles, and a chamber for live rock. There's plenty of room to add macro algae if I want to build a refugium down the road.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...p/IMGP3111.jpg

The lighting structure. This posed the biggest problem for me, just look at the venting I had to work around. The lumenarc is actually hanging from a rail structure so that I can move it out of the way when I need to get my hands wet. Like I said, it's not fancy but it does work well. The T5's are simply screwed to 2 x 4's to raise them up above the closed loop manifold.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...p/IMGP3112.jpg

I messured like 12 times before placing the tank here just to make sure that I got it right. Over the next while I'll build the walls around it. There will be a door to the right of the tank to access the back of it, as well as the house utilities. I chose this area because I'd have to build a wall around the furnace and HWT anyway, so as to prevent the rug rats from messing around wih everything. They are 2 and 1 year old, so building a wall is way easier than chasing them every where.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...p/IMGP3113.jpg

aquascaping
 

I love having 3 feet of depth to work with. Here's some shot of the inside of the tank. Things might change a bit regarding coral location etc. but they alway change don't they.:razz:

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...p/IMGP3119.jpg

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...p/IMGP3118.jpg

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...p/IMGP3116.jpg

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...p/IMGP3115.jpg

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...p/IMGP3114.jpg

Freak'n Sweet tank. That White background looks Amazing. WOW just looks Great

J

That looks fantastic! Looks like you've got some serious flow happening.

Looks awesome Danny.

great job! :)

The white background turned out really well, it pulls your view back into the tank :) Great Job!

Tank looks really great. The white back ground makes the appearance of a shallow reef.

Awesome Danny!! Tank is looking fantastic!!
Are you running a 400W in the lumenarc reflector?

EDIT: LOL nevermind..read your sig. after posting this. :lol:

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Thanks everyone for your kind words. I still need to tweak a few things here and there, but all in all I'm pleased with the new setup.

Nice tank ! Would you like to come and build a setup for me :mrgreen:

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Not a chance:razz:

A lot of people have commented on the white back round. I'm surprised more people don't use this color for it's reflective properties. I think you get better light dispersment with a white back ground. We'll see if the corals respond.

Looks great really like your plumbing nice and clean.
You must of moved all those corals out of another tank no??

i also like how tanks painted white make it real easy to see the detritus. makes sure that nothing is left behind when cleaning.

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Yes, all inhabitants came over from my 65 gallon tank. Hopefully with little stress.

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It's been a while since I posted an update. The tank over all is doing well with the exception of a battle with a couple of RTNing acros. I've had to treat for cyano, and there's been a bit of a GHA problem for a while. Thankfully I've got a pretty diverse reef crew to help with that. I added two tuxedo urchins and a cyano eating conch to help battle those problems. I'll post an updated pic soon.

New Lighting
 

After over a year for the t5's and more than that for the MH bulb, I finally got some new lighting. I was promted to do this because of the lack or loss of color in some of my corals. That and I think my old lights might be contributing to my algae and cyano problems.

Here's the tank before and after pics. Both pics were taken on the exact same camera settings. Pretty much everything was set to auto.

Before:

1x 12000k Reef Flux, 400 watt, with 2x Geismann German pure actinics.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...s/HPIM0761.jpg


After:
1x 14000k Aqua connect, 400 watt, with 2x 39 watt Fiji Purples
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...s/HPIM0762.jpg

The difference to me was in the actinics. The Fijis aren't as "actinic" as the Geismann's, and because of this they has greater PAR. The Aqua connect I found to be brighter but only my wife can see it as being more blue than the Reef Flux.

What do you think?

what you have there now is alot better more crisp looking

I like it with the new bulbs.....very nice!

I agree newer is better. Both looked good though.

That is quite the change between the two photos. I really liked the color of your original set up, but the brightess of your new lighting is great. Will you post an updated photo in a month or so after all your bulbs have burnt in a bit please?

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Ya, I'll post a pic in a month, along with some pics of the corals.

Where is everyone looking to see such a difference? Is there a specific spot or object that stands out to people? I'm just not seeing that much of a change.

The lights in the second picture show off the pinks and reds better. As far as i'm concerned the colour in the second pic is a lot nicer, the first one is too blue for my taste

Agreed
Nice setup Danny happy to see you found some bulbs.
Kevin

Yep I agree with Marie....it is a prettier color to all of the corals....and I am trying to get away from the really blue bulbs...and having a hard time deciding soooo I think this may be the way to go! Keep posting pics as it will be interesting to see how your corals react!

I was looking at the caps, leather, and the back wall to compare photos.

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Oh man *sigh*. I was just browsing through this old thread with some remorse. For those of you who don't know I had to sell the tank because I'm moving to BC. Which is where I am right now. The tank is gone, and i downsized to a 24 x 24 x 20" cube to accomodate the move. It's not as high tech as the bigger one but at least I still have all of the corals. Yes, ALL of the corals. There's not an inch of room in this little cube that isn't being taken up by something. Well, I guess I'll leave this thread alone and start up a new one for my current tank.

Thanks to everyone for looking, bye bye!

Danny