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Mits

90/50 combo system I'm building

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7 Comments
by
Mits
, 06-09-2010 at 12:10 AM (1674 Views)
I'm upsizing from my 55, and I thought I was going to get a 150 or so, and it would have a frag area in it. I came across some great deals though, and I ended up with a 90 and a 24x24x20 (50 gal) for a total of $100 and a few frags. I'm building two stands for them that will link together and look like one, and then the 90 will be a reef and the 50 a frag tank.

I'm going to use my current 55 as a sump with a separate return to each tank and glass baffles added for a skimmer and fuge. I'll go with my current aragonite sand (rinsed and re-seeded) as a DSB in the fuge and use a shallow bed of black sand in the display so the coral can pop a bit more. I'm planning on putting the 50 into place, moving over every living thing over to it, clearing out what's left of the 55, and moving the 90 over for the link afterward. This will avoid the whole "put them all in a bucket" method that doesn't work well with kids. I also plan on drilling through all of my rock that isn't currently covered in coral and creatively stacking it using rods or zipties or something else - any suggestions? I got a drill press just for drilling rock! I also have a 5 gallon bucket filled with rock that's been curing for about a month and I'm getting more LR from a fellow local reef club member soon too. I want a nice, creative aquascape without just stacking rock.

As far as flow, I am going over to Premium Aquatics tomorrow to grab 2 Koralia Evolution 1050s to go with my sureflow-modded Maxijet 900 for a total of over 3000 GPH without even factoring my return. I plan on using 4 pumps with my RKL as a wavemaker once I can afford another strip for the controller and some more pumps. I wish I could afford a vortech, but I have nowhere near that kind of cash. I'd get put out on the street for that move. I also plan on using my current 17 gallon sump as a freshwater topoff reservoir along with my RKL and float switch.

I'm keeping my 2 250w MH over the 90, and am adding another one over the 50 as well. The 50 will be circulated with a Koralia 3 and the return along with more if I need it. It will really just be eggcrate and magnetic frag racks. The 90 will have an overflow box and the 50 is drilled on the bottom. Hopefully the additional water volume will help with my heat issue, it gets over 85 most days according to my RKL. If not I'll have to try to find enough cash to eventually add a chiller. That's everything I can think of at the moment, I'd love to hear feedback on my ideas. Here are a few pics of the build from a few nights ago.




And here's how the 2 stands come together. It's more trimmed out now than in the pic and looks pretty good.

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Updated 06-09-2010 at 12:32 AM by Mits

Categories
‎ Tank - Full Summary , ‎ DIY projects

Comments

  1. melev's Avatar
    Feedback is what you asked for, so feedback is what you will get:

    I like it! That's going to be a fun setup to see evolve.

    If you drill some smaller holes in the LR prior to putting it in the tank, you can use the "pegging technique" to place new frags in your tank easily, and be able to move them to different locations as you see fit. Pegging is a system of gluing corals to rigid airline tubing, and you stick that airline tubing in one of the many holes you drilled.

    The HOB overflow is one you will have to keep an eye on to make sure it is working correctly every day, and shade it to avoid nuisance algae build-up. Do you not want to drill the tank so you can put in some permanent drains instead, now that you are doing this massive changeover?

    There's an MP40w sitting here that will be in a future Reef Addicts contest... start crossing those fingers, I guess. LOL
  2. Mits's Avatar
    Thanks for the feedback. I am already using a HOB overflow and am used to it. I planned on shading the u-tube somehow (will krylon fusion work? will it break down if submerged?) and I got a new overflow for free with the 90. I fully anticipated drilling it but I really don't have another chance at grabbing a 90 if I would break it. There is a sticker under the bottom glass that says it's tempered, and I'm assuming it's only the bottom, but I don't want to take any chances. I also don't know where to get a decent hole saw for it that's not expensive and I've never drilled glass. If I can get those issues resolved, I'm all over it. I like the pegging idea for frags, do you know the correct bit size for the airline tubing? Any ideas for sticking the rock together during aquascaping? I'm thinking either zip ties or a pvc frame. My days of stacking it and hoping for the best are done.
  3. Mits's Avatar
    Also, there's no rim on the bottom of the 50, just glass. Do I need to add a piece of foam under it? I see it in many build threads and am curious as to it's necessity.
  4. melev's Avatar
    Krylon Fusion spray paint will work well if the surface is nice and dry. Let it cure for at least 24 hours before getting it wet. Keep in mind if you paint it entirely, you won't see the air pocket forming in the apex of the tube. You might consider putting some tape over an area prior to painting so you have a small window to verify it is working right.

    You can't drill tempered glass, and if you don't know if the walls are drillable and can't verify with the manufacturer, then skip it. Drilling glass is easy, and takes about 5 minutes per hole. I've taken pictures and documented the process before, but I'll have to put something together for this site in the near future. You can buy the bits on Ebay for cheap, or order them online. Some LFS have them for sale - I saw every size possible at a store in Phoenix, AZ last year. And a ton of bulkheads too. How handy is that?

    Rigid airline tubing is sold in 30" sticks at Petco and Petsmart. It is usually 3/16" wide, so a 1/4" hole about 1.5" deep should suffice. You can observe the pegging method if you go to www.reefvideos.com and click on the matching video.

    Rock can be glued together, tied together, wedged together, and two-part putty'd together. Any and all of those will do the job in most cases.

    It never hurts to put foam under a tank. It helps level the system slightly and removes and high spots that might apply pressure (screw or nail tip) that is just ever-so-slightly exposed.
  5. Turbosek's Avatar
    I recently drilled a bunch of LR for zip ties and acrylic rods. I used a new Bosch hammer drill/masonary bit from Home Depot...the blue ones. It cut through like butter, and very fast. I just used the bit in my 3/8" Dewalt electric drill. I found that using the zip ties was a must and made the job go smoothly.
  6. Hat39406's Avatar
    Hey Mits, Happy Birthday Man, hope ya have a blessed day! I have used two part putty and it has worked well. You can get it from your LFS. This project is going to be very interesting to follow for sure.
  7. Mits's Avatar
    That pegging idea is genius! I have rock waiting to go that I think I will start drilling now. This should be exciting.