Fish's new tank project

[midgetwaiter]

Hey Chad,

I've got a question for you, where did you get the lamp you refit the MH into for your old tank? I saw it over at Paul's place and I really like it. I haven't been able to find one like it.

[Fish]

Hi,
Really that lamp was a lucky find at Staples, but I've heard of other people having difficulties finding it. I think it will only get harder too because desk lamps all seem to be going fluorescent and LED and are built out of plastic that wont withstand the heat of a halide.
You best shot is looking for a "drafting lamp" with a double ended halogen bulb. They are made of metal and are the perfect size for a 70w halide reflector. Best of luck,

- Chad

[Fish]

Here is a shot of my stand:






I plan on sanding the rust off of it and repainting it black along with the wood pieces. I have small kids so I need to enclose the sides, but I am working on a visually pleasing (of course) way of doing that.

As you can see, this project requires more than just building the tank. I need to do a major cleanup on my unfinished basement and also run some electrical lines for power.

- Chad

[JOSH]

what tank dimensions are you going with?

[Fish]

I'm still waffleing a bit on the dimensions but right now it is 30"x18"x17".
The stand is 36 x 18.

I am considering going a little bit longer on the tank (like 32") but still want to leave a little room for the overflow and drain. I am also trying to decide if 17" tall is going to be enough, or if I should go 18". This darn thing has grown already. I was planning on 30x17x17 but when I got the stand and found it was only an extra inch across, I thought it would be nice to cover it completely from side to side.

- Chad

[JSTR]

Progress is looking good there Chad.

Sorry about creating the moral dilemma on tank sizes.

What kind of flow you planing on running thru the sump?

Paul

[Fish]

Haha no problem Paul, I appreciate all your help gearing up for this.
I will either use one of the external pumps as a sump return - in which case I would probably have about 600gph going through the sump.
If I can find a decent submersible pump I might use that instead. Ideally, I would like to do about 300-400gph through the sump.

- Chad