Snewcrash's 75 gallon build!

[snewcrash]

These came in the mail today. Hopefully I'll never hear them, but better safe than sorry.

[bryman]

Originally Posted by snewcrash

Ok, so I purchased another piece of glass to stop the bubbles in the return section. As for the unlevel floor, I bought shims from home depot, but they were the 6 inch ones. If you look at the picture below you can see that I need a solid inch raise on the right side of the tank. I can do that with these small shims, but I'm concerned about the area of the stand that isn't touching the floor now.

Will that gap cause my bottom 2x4's to crack when I fill up the tank? Home depot has 12 inch shims, but I'm thinking it might be better to custom build some type of shim/wedge that fills all of the gap. Any ideas? I think some gap might be alright, my floor is concrete so I'm not concerned about the pressure being generated at that front right corner right now...

Hmmm, that may be OK, but if it were me I would use a jig saw and make a good sized wedge shim to fill the gap out of a 2x6" or similar. Better to be safe than sorry.

[snewcrash]

Originally Posted by bryman

Hmmm, that may be OK, but if it were me I would use a jig saw and make a good sized wedge shim to fill the gap out of a 2x6" or similar. Better to be safe than sorry.

Yeah, I'm thinking I might do that. I'm also considering buying packs of 12 inch shims and frankensteining them together to make a big wedge shim. I can't believe how un-level my floor is... I'm waiting for the building to collapse any day.

[forrealb50]

Originally Posted by snewcrash

Yeah, I'm thinking I might do that. I'm also considering buying packs of 12 inch shims and frankensteining them together to make a big wedge shim. I can't believe how un-level my floor is... I'm waiting for the building to collapse any day.

I love your setup! What did you do to reinforce the floor it's on? I saw that you mentioned the floor is very unlevel. How bad is the floor? You have a lot of weight going on that one spot, it might add to the problem if not looked at.

[snewcrash]

Originally Posted by forrealb50

I love your setup! What did you do to reinforce the floor it's on? I saw that you mentioned the floor is very unlevel. How bad is the floor? You have a lot of weight going on that one spot, it might add to the problem if not looked at.

Since my last update here's what I have done:

Built a giant shim out of smaller shims that I picked up from Lowes. I bought that bundle you see in the pictures down below for $8. I measured to see how big of a giant shim I needed to make and then cut out a piece of cardboard as the base. I then took the smaller shims, glued them to the cardboard and in glued other shims on top of that. I ended up with one giant shim that slid perfectly under the stand to make the entire thing level. Underneath my wood flooring is concrete so I'm not worried about collapsing the floor. I live in a 12 story brick/concrete building so the unlevel floor is just from the building settling (it was built in 1964).

Once I shimmed the stand, I added 40lbs of CaribSea Seaflor Special Grade sand. The calculator estimated that I needed 90lbs to cover the bottom with 2 inches, but just using 40lbs I'm at full coverage at about 1.75inches. I have an extra 40lbs bag of sand now; I might end up using it if I decide to create a DSB in my refugium.

After that I put my Marco Rock dry rock in there and started aquascaping. I think this is the design I'm going to go with. I have some room to add live rock to seed the dry rock when I'm ready to fill this up. All the rock is free standing right now, I'm going to epoxy the unstable parts together. I really like the look of the Marco Rock.

Bundle of shims - $8


A shim


Giant shim in place

[MattToTheMax]

If you haven't already, you might want to move those reactors to the front of the sump for easy access of media change, also it helps to put another ball valve inbetween them, you'll want more flow in the carbon (first) and less in the phosban.

[bryman]

Haha, your cat does the same thing my dog does when I am paying too much attention to the tank and not her . Nice aquascaping and rock. Also good job on the shim - just make sure the tank is solid when you have your Vortech rocking and you should be set.

I noticed you have a Solar Flare - very nice fixture. What are you planning on having in the tank? If you want to do an SPS tank you should be good to go, but anything soft or LPS may melt under that kind of intensity. You might consider hanging the fixture so you can get some height off the tank (and make it easier to get in the tank as well). Just my 2 cents!

Looking great so far!

[snewcrash]

Originally Posted by MattToTheMax

If you haven't already, you might want to move those reactors to the front of the sump for easy access of media change, also it helps to put another ball valve inbetween them, you'll want more flow in the carbon (first) and less in the phosban.

Thanks, I have another ball valve I can throw in there, but ff I turn down the second ball valve, won't that affect the flow in the first reactor? Wouldn't the flow throughout both reactors be based on the ball valve that's set to the lowest flow?

[snewcrash]

Originally Posted by bryman

Haha, your cat does the same thing my dog does when I am paying too much attention to the tank and not her . Nice aquascaping and rock. Also good job on the shim - just make sure the tank is solid when you have your Vortech rocking and you should be set.

I noticed you have a Solar Flare - very nice fixture. What are you planning on having in the tank? If you want to do an SPS tank you should be good to go, but anything soft or LPS may melt under that kind of intensity. You might consider hanging the fixture so you can get some height off the tank (and make it easier to get in the tank as well). Just my 2 cents!

Looking great so far!

Thanks! I was planing on starting with softies and LPS. I've considered hanging the fixture, but I wasn't sure. How would I move the light out of the way when I needed to get into the tank?

[bryman]

Most hanging cables have a quick release that allows you to easily raise or lower the fixture. It takes about 10 seconds to lift up or lower my ATI Sunpower. I am not quite sure about the Aquactinics hanging set, but I am sure you can get an answer in their forum.

[snewcrash]

Originally Posted by bryman

Most hanging cables have a quick release that allows you to easily raise or lower the fixture. It takes about 10 seconds to lift up or lower my ATI Sunpower. I am not quite sure about the Aquactinics hanging set, but I am sure you can get an answer in their forum.

Yeah I was wondering if they made the cables with a quick release fuction. I have a cable set that the fixture came with, but it doesn't have quick release which is why I was hesitant to set it up. I'll check with Aquactinics now to see if they have quick release version. Many thanks.

[snewcrash]

After a great New Years, I've had a few spare moments to work on the tank. Following bryman's advice, I bought a hanging kit for my Solar Flare and hung it from the ceiling. Thanks for that heads up, definitely better with the hanging kit. Right before Christmas the IceCap ballast on Solar Flare blew. I was running the light and they just popped off. I opened it up and could smell the burning electronics coming out of the ballast. There's a three year warranty on them (which is good because they run $175) so I sent the ballast into IceCap. Hopefully that will arrive while I'm out of the country for the next two weeks.

For my refugium I've decided to go with a deep sand bed. I read this great article about deep sand beds and I plan on going with just a 6 inch bed, no chaeto. As usual, any comments and suggestions are welcomed and encouraged!

Now for some pictures:

[mjk0301]

looks good, i can't wit to see it stocked, where did you get the RKL?

[snewcrash]

Originally Posted by mjk0301

looks good, i can't wit to see it stocked, where did you get the RKL?

Thanks, my brother just ordered it direct from Digital Aquatics.

[mjk0301]

By the way interesting idea with the leak detectors. What made you think of that?

[bryman]

Snewcrash,
Looks great! Hanging from the ceiling isn't always the easiest thing to do in the world, but I think it looks nicer and it is a lot easier to adjust. And congrats on the RKL. I am very happy I have a RK controller too on my new system. It makes life so much easier and having the info at a glance is awesome.

[ReefTECK]

Nevermind, I'm....dumb

Great start btw, I have a AGA 75 too.

Love your cat too, I'm a sucker for felines. We have a Burmilla, an Oriental, and a Siamese

[snewcrash]

Originally Posted by mjk0301

By the way interesting idea with the leak detectors. What made you think of that?

Saw a thread where someone was talking about the detectors. I live in a condo building so I'm paranoid about flooding out my neighbors.

[jb61264]

Originally Posted by snewcrash

For my refugium I've decided to go with a deep sand bed. I read this great article about deep sand beds and I plan on going with just a 6 inch bed, no chaeto. As usual, any comments and suggestions are welcomed and encouraged!

Love the setup!...hmmm, maybe thats because its exactly like mine (75/55)

[aquanerd2000]

I would give your set up a solid C+, but only because it is your first tank. Compared to my tank it would be barely passing. (D or D-) I like the filtration, but what a waste for such a small tank...probably still too small for tangs, unless you are the type to crowd them in there in with a bunch of cheap blue damsels without caring about their stress levels. (Judging from your low budget stand I bet you are just the type)

Your tank build reminds me of someone who works hard training for a marathon, but when it comes time to race decides to take a few short cuts and gets disqualified. I know the type....you are going to be sitting on the curb drinking your G2, kicking yourself while all the rest of the real aqua enthusiasts are reaping all the glory.

Don't get me wrong I do like your passion, but do yourself a favor and tear it down and put a few turtles in there kid.

[Catastrophi]

Originally Posted by aquanerd2000

I would give your set up a solid C+, but only because it is your first tank. Compared to my tank it would be barely passing. (D or D-) I like the filtration, but what a waste for such a small tank...probably still too small for tangs, unless you are the type to crowd them in there in with a bunch of cheap blue damsels without caring about their stress levels. (Judging from your low budget stand I bet you are just the type)

Your tank build reminds me of someone who works hard training for a marathon, but when it comes time to race decides to take a few short cuts and gets disqualified. I know the type....you are going to be sitting on the curb drinking your G2, kicking yourself while all the rest of the real aqua enthusiasts are reaping all the glory.

Don't get me wrong I do like your passion, but do yourself a favor and tear it down and put a few turtles in there kid.

Ignore this guy. He's a troll.



On the other hand, Tank is looking great! What kind of corals are you planning on stocking?

[billsreef]

Originally Posted by aquanerd2000

I would give your set up a solid C+, but only because it is your first tank. Compared to my tank it would be barely passing. (D or D-) I like the filtration, but what a waste for such a small tank...probably still too small for tangs, unless you are the type to crowd them in there in with a bunch of cheap blue damsels without caring about their stress levels. (Judging from your low budget stand I bet you are just the type)

Your tank build reminds me of someone who works hard training for a marathon, but when it comes time to race decides to take a few short cuts and gets disqualified. I know the type....you are going to be sitting on the curb drinking your G2, kicking yourself while all the rest of the real aqua enthusiasts are reaping all the glory.

Don't get me wrong I do like your passion, but do yourself a favor and tear it down and put a few turtles in there kid.

For this you made a second account?



Care to PM me an explanation why both accounts shouldn't be banned for the combined infractions of a second account and trolling?

[bryman]

Snewcrash,
Ignore the idiot, your tank is coming along great, and your choice of equipment is solid. I look forward to your updates.

[hazmat319]

I have a 75 that I'm setting up. I like your choice of flex tubing for your return and drain. What exactly is it? I like that you can add ball valves to it.

My setup is very similar. Eheim pump, 30L sump/fuge that I made myself. Bubble King skimmer. Eco rock from BRS. You have given me some great ideas.

Definitely ignore the troll doll!

[sharky334]

Nice looking tank! Can't wait to see pics with coral and fish in it! Keep us updated!