Colaaddict's Shallow Tank

ColaAddict

ColaAddict

New member
I'm in the final stages of my plumbing project for my new and hopefully final tank for awhile. I've gone through 5 different tanks and I think I've finally found the tank that I can live with for a long time. It's a nice shallow tank with dimensions of 48*24*16 (LxWxH). Pics to follow.
 
My only dilemma at this point is wether I should stay barebottom, which I've become a fan of because it's so easy to maintain nutrient load that way, or if I should have a shallow sandbed. If I go shallow sandbed, I will have to use coarser sand because with the shallow tank, I will have a big sandstorm with the really high flow that I like to use. Can anybody convice me to go back to using sand? I really like the look of sand, but I've gotten so used to barebottom.
 
Can't wait to see your tank Nino, I am sure it will look great. I have the same dilemma with my build, I love BB for the ease of maintenance but still like the look of sand. I think I might go with sand to start and see how I like it, also this time I am planning to keep few wressess so sand will be useful.
 
I used Carib Sea Aragamax Sugar Sand for a 3/4" sand bed. I have a 40 Breeder which is close in dimensions to your shallow tank just smaller. Water level is 16". I use a Vortec MP-10 and Tunze 6025 Nanostream for around 50x tank volume of flow, not including the return. Hope that helps.
 
MMreef said:
Can't wait to see your tank Nino, I am sure it will look great. I have the same dilemma with my build, I love BB for the ease of maintenance but still like the look of sand. I think I might go with sand to start and see how I like it, also this time I am planning to keep few wressess so sand will be useful.
Click to expand...

what kind of sand were you thinking of using? I was thinking of using the CaribSea Seaflor special grade sand. It's bigger sized sand, so should be harder to get blown around.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...&catargetid=1580815770&cadevice=c&cagpspn=pla
 
What about the fake sand bed DIY insert? Gives you the look of a sandbed, but the easy of maintenance of BB.
 
DB9181 said:
What about the fake sand bed DIY insert? Gives you the look of a sandbed, but the easy of maintenance of BB.
Click to expand...

The problem with boards and fake sandbeds is that they just get covered up with coraline, so I might as well just leave the glass by itself instead of paying for fake sandbed. Real sand doesn't get covered in coraline.
 
ColaAddict said:
what kind of sand were you thinking of using? I was thinking of using the CaribSea Seaflor special grade sand. It's bigger sized sand, so should be harder to get blown around.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...&catargetid=1580815770&cadevice=c&cagpspn=pla
Click to expand...

I am going with Tropic Eden Miniflakes. http://premiumaquatics.com/aquatic-supplies/TE-TE03613M30.html

I used the Seaflor special in my first tank, it is ok sand, but not very well rinsed. From what I saw on different forums the Tropic Eden sand is very clean, ready to go in tank without rinsing.
 
Pics of build:
View attachment 16616
FTS of empty tank. Deep Blue 80 gallon rimless edge. Dimensions are (LxWxH) 48x24x16.


View attachment 16617View attachment 16618View attachment 16619View attachment 16620View attachment 16621
I'm going with the Herbie drain system. Its supposed to be dead silent and does a full siphon, meaning no microbubbles in the sump, which means no saltcreep mess in the sump. The only negative is it requires the use of both holes in my overflow with the second hole to be used as a back up, so I had to plumb my return over the back of my tank.

Equipment list are as follows:
Light: ATI 8x54 watt Powermodule dimmable
Protein Skimmer: SRO 3000
Return Pump: Mag 7
Wavemakers: 1 x MP40 and 3 x MP10
Heater: Cobalt 200 watt
Reactor: BRS reactor for carbon.
Controller: Reef Keeper Elite
 
My only issue now is that my return makes a loud humming noise. I dont think it's coming from the mag7. I've tried lifting it and can still hear same hum. I think it's coming from PVC pipes vibrating.
View attachment 16642

Above is a pic of how I plumbed my return pipe. Any suggestions to silence the humming noise?
 
Herbie drain ? Did nate come up with a good idea? Lol looks good man . Pvc can be noisy some people break it up with rubber hose section going to the pump and return so it wont be so rigid and vibrate. Not sure how yours is hooked up only skimmed through everything. Good luck man cant wait to c finished
 
Nice Nino, I would do couple small changes. Just like Joe said run a short piece of vinyl hose from return pump to your plumbing, it will take care of vibrations and will quiet down that humming noise, also if you planning to run reactors I would just tee off two or three outputs with valves ( manifold) from return so you don't need additional pumps to run them. Less noise, electricity and heat. Otherwise everything looks great.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top