WarDog's Tank Thread : Episodic Trial And Error

[monkE]

im using the aq-pro http://www.aq-led.com/index.php?rout...ory&path=88_74

good price point and fully capable to keep my coral happy. now i'm a pretty new reefer so i don' t have any of the really tough stuff yet but everything i have so far is happy!

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by WarDog

Like I said... not 100% on the lighting. So many, many, many, many choices! If I do go LED the fixture will need to have 400-420nm capabilities!!!

One word: mitras You can't go wrong. Has everything and is the current "perfect" LED fixture out there.

[WarDog]

Finally! After waiting 76 days for delivery, my levelling mounts have finally arrived. Not too happy with the shipping service of the company I purchased these from! If you are looking for something similar (as I had an impossible time finding these locally) shoot me a PM and I will give you the company name. They are 1 1/2" black nylon base about 2" long. 3/8 stainless steel rod makes mounting foolproof. These feet are rated to hold 600lbs each. Now I can start to build the stand!

[WarDog]

Not much progress on the build... sigh... but Xmas is coming and I've made my list!

After reviewing my build log I seen to have forgotten to introduce myself... LOL.

My name is Warren and I live in PoCo. I am a gasfitter and welder by trade. I've been into aquariums for about 30 years, however I've only had freshwater tanks. Community tanks, brackish tanks, predator tanks... I've tried them all. The only freshwater species I haven't tried, and that I desperately want is a mixed Gar tank... but alas... I don't have the room for a 300gal+ set-up. One day.

I am finding this forum to be a great resource. I've learned a lot and enjoy trolling around and reading posts. I am starting to regret getting the Aqueon 65gal with megaflow, especially after seeing the work Concepts can do! It will have to do for now. I am planning on going with a Herbie, with the return over the back. I could drill... but frankly I don't wanna.

My original idea for the stand included a liquor cabinet built-in with a glass door and glass shelves right next to the tank, making the overall length 54 inches (18" doors x 3). However, this made it a pretty tight fit for the space and the wife and I nixed the idea. Now I am planning a 48" steel stand with an inside top to bottom clearance of 32 inches, putting it just higher than the counter tops. Skinned in cabinetry matching our kitchen. Since the tank is 36" I will have an extra 6 inches each side for granite shelves. Hope to have the stand fabbed up just after Christmas.

My sump design is not finalized. Single chamber, bubble trap, fuge, I dunno. Still figuring it out. I look at The Grizz's sump and I almost wet myself! Definitely going to run carbon, GFO, and pellet reactors. I was thinking of getting a big ass pump and tee-ing the reactors off the return. I also want to run a chiller and UV off this line as well, but not sure if one pump could handle all the load. Probably going to run a ZeoVit system in the future, but that's down the road a bit.

Lighting is still a huge undecided decision. I really like the Hydras for my LED choice but I am reading really great things about T5's for SPS. ATI's dimmable Sunpower seems like a good choice but not sure if you can control them with an Apex system... oh yes... did I mention I'd like to run a Neptune controller too?

Wow, look at me, blah blah blah. How can you tell the wife is at work? I'm really excited about getting this tank going (in 2014) and getting some frags from the local guys and gals. Wasn't able to make it to Bblinks meet and greet a few months back but I am looking forward to the next one! Any and all input on my build is welcome, even if you think I am doing something wrong.

Cheers for now.

[WarDog]

Went to J&L today to take advantage of the sale and ended up coming home with this lot.

Mag9.5
TLF reactor
1" Gate valve
Vertex refractometer
Vertex ground probe
Hammerhead magnet cleaner
1" bulkhead kit (main drain)
3/4" bulkhead kit (emergency)
3/4" Loc-Line bits (return)

Tempted to spend more, but didn't. Saved myself about $100 with the sale and all. Thanks to the wifey for the gift cards!!

[WarDog]

Update time! Went to J&L last weekend and met Laurie (The Guy). Picked up a used sump 36x12x16 and a Speedwave pump from him.
Also grabbed myself a Hydor ATO, haven't heard much about these, but I thought I would give it a shot. The price was perfect and it doesn't have any float valves that can stick... that's gotta be good right?
The stand is being fabbed up at the metal shop across from my work. Should be done tomorrow then it's off to be powder coated black. I'm hoping it doesn't weigh too much, Lol.
I discovered that the main supplier my company uses (Noble) has all the plumbing fittings I need, PVC, sch80, true unions, Spears, etc. I am lucky enough to get them at company discount prices minus another 5%! It really is 'who you know'!!!
The wife is getting a little upset that the den is filling up with hardware... thank Poseidon she hasn't seen the receipts!

[WarDog]

Oh, more news on an electrical note. After reading recent threads about electrical issues I did some investigating in my house. There is one outlet where the tank is planned, problem is this is the main living room/hallway circuit.
We've got 12 plugs on this circuit (which I believe is max code... or is it 15?), anyways, 1 halogen lamp, tv, dvr, PS3, Wii, laptop charger all run constant. Seasonal appliances added to this circuit include 2 fans in the summer
and a Xmas tree in the winter bright enough to land Airbus A380's. Not to mention the vacuum gets plugged in once in a while as well. Needless to say I was quite worried about adding a reef tank!! Then on further inspection I noticed a
breaker on the panel labeled 'Nook'. I turned it off and went back upstairs with my trusty AC sensor. Turns out there is only one plug (8 feet from where the tank will sit) on this dining room circuit. Unfortunately I will have to run an extension cord.
The wifey forbade me to open up the wall to hard wire it. Needless to say I was very relieved to find one dedicated plug on its own circuit somewhat close to the tank.

[Baldy]

just for credentials, im currently in my last year of school for electrician atm. First off if your using a tick tester to test for power, throw it out please. buy a 5$ plug tester and save yourself the potential shock. if 2 wires are ran parallel to each other for any length, one can induce enough voltage in the other to set off a tick tester even if the breaker supplying it is turned off. it wont shock you, but those testers sometimes go off as low as 25v.

12 plugs is max for a 15a curcuit. the dvr, wii, ps3, and laptop wont draw much unless theyre all running high stress at the same time. not often will you be playing games on the wii, ps3 and laptop at the same time. fans are very low for amp draw and the tree is probably low as well. vacuums arent too bad either. your biggest worry would be the halogen light (terrible efficiency, and dray a ton of power) and possibly the tv. newer led backlit tvs dont draw much but older ones might. best thing to do is try it, if it starts tripping the breaker, run the extension cord while you cut another plug into the wall. if its an interior wall on the main floor its extremely easy to do.

[WarDog]

Good info, thanks. I will try your recommendation and see if I need an extension in the future.

[The Guy]

Can't wait to see this new stand, sounds interesting