Time for a new start

LOL... A little shell shocked. I did not get the real sense of its size until it got placed in the office.
 
it will feel much better when filled size wont be issue anymore will be cool to lean back for a break and stare off at the beauty you got there
 
DanSreef said:
How about my new Video Conferencing Background..... LOL!!! Sorry about the poor quality.. it is a screen shot....


You might need to adjust the background lighting in the office so your colleagues will be able to see the tank better, LOL!!
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Hey Nino.... It is coming together nicely... I am going to use a Mega Flow by All-Glass (a durso like design instead of making one myself). I like the ability to adjust the height to tune it to the quietest I can get it. I have one on my 72 bow...and it works great.

Tomorrow I will hopefully do some plumbing... get the sump set...though I am ordering a Aqueon sump / fuge... I like the set up... I will need to tweak it a bit for my liking... I am hoping to score some stuff on sale tomorrow through Monday at BRS, DFS and MD. Every little bit will help.
 
She is filled!!!!

Today was the day to test my plumbing and the tank for leaks. I got the garden hose out and filled the tank to the top, plugged in my new Rio 2500 pump and tested the tank for leaks.

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So, "No Runs, No Drips, No Errors" thus far. I was worried about the noise of the overflow...and it is remarkably quiet....which is a very nice surprise. I used a Mega Flow Overflow pipe as opposed to creating my own Durso Pipe. Nino had used a grate pipe and it was fairly noisy. With the corner overflow configuration fitting it in was quite a feat. I got it in and the return plumbed with no real room to spare. The sound of running water is actually less than the little 8 nano I have on the cabinet nearby.

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I have an old standard 1 tube T-8 light from one of the kids tanks over it right now. The blue glow is kind of cool…I guess. I would have rather had a black background….but…heck.. it is what it is… When I sit back in my desk chair… I am almost mesmerized by the tank… I can’t imagine what it is going to be like when rock, sand, LED lighting… are all installed. It is going to be a great distraction from the long days of conference calls for sure.


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So far, it has been a good hour…and still no leaks…which frankly is a great relief…. Knock on wood! I am re-using the acrylic sump tank I got from Nino with the tank. I figure I am going to run Bio Pellets and a Combination of GFO and Carbon in reactors. So, the need for a refugium is really not there. It will allow me to put more money into an LED light and Skimmer.

I am seeing a lot of debate around LED effectiveness and a 30" deep tank. Of course my tank is 30” deep. My plan is to put in a 4-5” bed of sand….then given real depth of water that would put me around 23-24” to the sand bed. Hopefully that will work…if not then there will be a bunch of LPS down at that depth… I am still waiting to see what the AI Phoenix is going to look like. Otherwise I may need to look at other options. I am looking at an Aqua C EV-180 as a skimmer. I have been frustrated with other skimmers being so loud. I have heard this skimmer works like a champ and is pretty quiet. I would be interested if anyone is using this skimmer.

Now I need to spend some time on Cyber Monday to get some deals on some essential equipment. I need to order some rock from ReefRocks.net… and I need to get some carbon in the tank to pull out any nasties. I am planning to use this water to mix my salt… add rock and sand… and to cycle. Hopefully by the first of the year the cycle will have taken its course… rock, sand, skimmer and reactors are all installed… and hopefully we can all see what the AI Phoenix can do. Ideally after the first of the year my baby Onyx Clowns will be introduced into their new home….and I can start adding some SPS…frags…

Wish me luck. Weigh in on my equipment choices… If you have suggestions… etc… I will continue to update this thread as I go!
 
I would look into the DIF pendant from oreck, I think it would be perfect for that tank. It's such an odd shape tank, it's hard to find fixtures for it.
 
DanSreef said:
Today was the day to test my plumbing and the tank for leaks. I got the garden hose out and filled the tank to the top .

I am planning to use this water to mix my salt… add rock and sand… and to cycle.
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Hose water???!!! NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Drain that crap and fill it up with RO/DI. Start your tank of right. You are putting so much time and money into it why ruin it skimping on not using the correct water. You'll be chasing problems constantly otherwise.
 
Looks very nice Dan! I run the EV-120 wich is one down from the one you want. I wouldn't change it for thing. I love it. Does the job so well and it is very quiet indeed.
 
poidog said:
Hose water???!!! NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Drain that crap and fill it up with RO/DI. Start your tank of right. You are putting so much time and money into it why ruin it skimping on not using the correct water. You'll be chasing problems constantly otherwise.
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LOL..... I was wondering if someone was really paying attention.... I have the ROI/DI system running overtime in the basement and will mix up the salt in a couple of days...

That said, I have in the past used hose water to start my tanks...and then run carbon and GFO to pull out the nasty stuff... It has worked out well.

The fact is... for me it is not too big of a deal to drain the tank and start with good water... I am also wanting to mix the water in my holding tanks in the basement as opposed to doing it in the tank. I figure I would want to do my rockscaping and sand install with the tank empty....so...this stuff will get drained out the window... I guess I found the upside to having the tank overlap the window some.... :becky:
 
Cubbies said:
Looks very nice Dan! I run the EV-120 wich is one down from the one you want. I wouldn't change it for thing. I love it. Does the job so well and it is very quiet indeed.
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It is good to hear the skimmer is as quiet as people say it is. With the tank in my home office....right behind me... noise is a bit of a concern. How big of a tank do you have the 120 on? What water pump are you using..?
 
DanSreef said:
It is good to hear the skimmer is as quiet as people say it is. With the tank in my home office....right behind me... noise is a bit of a concern. How big of a tank do you have the 120 on? What water pump are you using..?
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I have it on a 90. I am using a Mag9 with a valve for adjusting. It works very well.
 
Ok. Phew!

Carbon and gfo does not pull "the nasties" out of tap water. Only a membrane can do that. DI then strips any thing that was small enough to get by the membrane.

You run the risk or having heavy metals, chlorimates, and other bad stuff that is in our municipal water in your tank otherwise.
 
Cubbies said:
I have it on a 90. I am using a Mag9 with a valve for adjusting. It works very well.
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So....you are using it on a 90....I have been reading the Mag9 was the way to go... I am thinking the EV 180 would be ideal for my tank.... The only issue the darn things are expensive...and. I am cheap.... I saw one for sale on here a couple of weeks ago......too bad I did not pull the trigger when I saw it....
 
I think the DIF is a full spectrum LED type of lighting and should color up your reds/purples/blues/green real nice. The problem with just the blue/white lighting is the other colors don't really pop out. The radion is another with red LEDs, orphek also makes the new model the PR156XP with the Red and purple LED's. Below is the latest review on the XP model by marine-engineers.org
http://orphek.com/led/2011/11/orphek-pr156xp-reviewed-by-marine-engineers-org/

Then newer fixtures of LED's coming out are really, really nice. I should have waited a little longer when I bought mine a few months ago, darn!
 
ColaAddict said:
I think the DIF is a full spectrum LED type of lighting and should color up your reds/purples/blues/green real nice. The problem with just the blue/white lighting is the other colors don't really pop out. The radion is another with red LEDs, orphek also makes the new model the PR156XP with the Red and purple LED's. Below is the latest review on the XP model by marine-engineers.org
http://orphek.com/led/2011/11/orphek-pr156xp-reviewed-by-marine-engineers-org/

Then newer fixtures of LED's coming out are really, really nice. I should have waited a little longer when I bought mine a few months ago, darn!
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You'll never find a review of Orpheks that Orphek wasn't behind the curtain. They are a shady company with even shadier business practices.

Now you can't say you weren't warned. If you consider an Orphek fixture. I did consider one until I did my research.
 
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