75 Science Lab Reef

[ColdZero]

Hey everybody, its my first time posting on MR and I just wanted to share the build of a 75 reef for my mom's science lab.

Just a little background, last year my mom started teaching at a new school. She had always wanted a reef tank in her room for the children (grades 5-8) to see and learn about the reefs and oceans. Well last year we setup my old 75gal tank in her room with the intention of making a reef. Basically it was an awesome excuse for me to have a new tank. :smokin: So I purchased some rock, sand, lights etc for the tank. An LFS around where I work had a sale for their anniversary and suddenly the tank was populated. It turned out to be a huge success with the kids and school. It got to the point where they knew all the names of the fish, corals and the clam in the tank. They got responsible enough to feed the the tank the correct amount and were genuinely interested in it. The inhabitants we're doing well, the kids would take pictures of the coral growth and could see that the tank wasn't as static as the corals that "just sat there" looked like.

Well as it turned out, it was decided that the science lab was going to be rebuilt over the summer to something much bigger. The tank had to come out for the summer. Some of the livestock was given away, some I was able to keep in a nanocube at my house for the summer. When the architect designed the lab, a place was specifically chosen for where the tank would go, electrical (gfci) and a water supply was also placed close by so that they could be used for the tank.

Constuction is finished and its time to put the tank back. Here are the specs so far for the tank, I pick the actual tank up tomorrow from Glass Cages when they come to White Plains. I'm donating most of the equipment and the school is paying for consumables like the bulbs, salt, etc.

Tank: 48x18x21 from GC
Lighting: 2x 250 Watt 20k Radiums in PFO pendants on IceCap ballasts. (haven't purchased yet see below)
Circulation: 2x Tunze 6025s
Return Pump: Mag 12 into 2 returns, one on each side of the tank.
Skimmer: Octopus NW-150
Misc: AquaController Jr. + PH probe
RO: 4 Stage RO w/autotop off into a reservoir.
Calcium: Haven't decided yet

Last year for the lighting, there were 2 250 watt 10k halides. I'm tempted to go with 400 watts this year as I have a PFO HQI dual ballast that is not in use and the bulbs aren't purchased yet, so its kinda up in the air for me right now. Since I have the 250 ballasts and the 400 ballasts I guess I could always migrate up if I needed to.

So I don't have any pics yet, hopefully tomorrow I'll have some pics of the tank after I pick it up and we bring it over the school. Hopefully this is as much of a success as the last one was. Without any construction coming this summer or for the foreseeable future, the tank should be able to stay there for years.

 

[masterswimmer]

Good luck on this project. It's a great way to get the next generation interested in this obsession.

One question I've got is about your overflows. You mention you'll be using a Mag 12 (rated @ 1200 gph @ zero ft) split into two returns. How many overflows do you have? A single 1" overflow is only rated to handle 600 gph. You could conceivably have a flood situation with a Mag 12 and only one overflow. If you dial down the discharge of the pump then why not just use a Mag 9.5 and leave it wide open?

Just some food for thought. Great job with your efforts and make sure you post some pix.

Russ

 

[prattreef]

I just sent you a message via Reefberry about this and realized you might not be able to respond as you don't have enough posts to use this site function. PM me back if you'd like. I am all about this kind of project Randy

 

[ColdZero]

From what I was told the overflow had a 1.5" drain and a 1" return. They said something about 1500gph, but I'll keep an eye on it and maybe throttle it back at first and see if really can handle the flow. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[ColdZero]

I just sent you a message via Reefberry about this and realized you might not be able to respond as you don't have enough posts to use this site function. PM me back if you'd like. I am all about this kind of project Randy

Yea I haven't reached 10 posts yet, so I can't reply. I'll go post in some of the other cool tank threads I've seen and send a message back

 

[prattreef]

The PM function should work.

 

[masterswimmer]

From what I was told the overflow had a 1.5" drain and a 1" return. They said something about 1500gph, but I'll keep an eye on it and maybe throttle it back at first and see if really can handle the flow. Thanks for the heads up.

The 1.5" drain will work fine. That's much bigger than the standard for a 75g tank. Nice to see you know the specs.

Russ

 

[lfsmarineguy]

2 400w halides on a 75 is a bit extreme in my opinion. Heat and intensity wise it might be a little too much if you don't plan on using a chiller. 250s are fine for the 75. What school in westchester is that anyway I grew up in westchester.

 

[ColdZero]

The school is St. Joseph School in Bronxville.

I used to run the 2 400 halides over the tank a few years ago before I headed off to college. It was pretty bright, I didn't have to worry about heat too much as the tank was in the basement of the house and it was always pretty cool down there.

 

[prattreef]

I agree about the 400's. Depending on what you are keeping, you can probably get away with 150's or 175's too.

 

[ColdZero]

I think I'm going to go with the 250s. For 2 reasons actually. One being that the tank will probably be mixed LPS and maybe some monti's. The 250s should be more than enough, and being that I already have the ballasts there's no new equipment to buy. Second, if I have a 400 watt dual HQI ballast just laying around the house, I should probably find a tank to put it with

 

[ColdZero]

Just an update. I picked the tank up from Glass Cages on Saturday afternoon. Overall I'm really pleased with the work on the tank, I'd order from them again. Not too much silicone, no sharp edges everything was clean. The people were pretty nice too. The only complaint I'd have is that the overflow cover is just held on by friction and that the slots are a little too small at the top I think. Once rock is against it, the friction problem kinda goes away and the slots are nothing that a hand saw won't fix. The tank was just made on the 19th, so they say not to fill it with water for around 3 weeks.

The tank went in on Sunday and all the work was done on the cabinets of the lab to drill for the drains and returns. We suspended the 2 halides over the tank and placed the sump and skimmer below the tank. I haven't done any plumbing yet but it shouldn't be too bad.

The drain was indeed a 1.5" drain with a 1" return. I'm going to change the bulkhead on the sump to 1.5" as well.

I'll try to stop by on my way home tonight and take some pictures.

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

Yeah we like pics.

 

[masterswimmer]

Joe, glad to hear it all worked out. Looking forward to seeing some pix of that bad boy. That should be an amazing tank. Congrats on getting the hard part behind you. I know there was some stress involved.

Russ

 

[jhale]

if I have a 400 watt dual HQI ballast just laying around the house, I should probably find a tank to put it with

spoken like a true reefer, lol!

I agree the 400's would be overkill on a 75.
you might want to have more flow than the 6025's I have one in a 30 breeder and i think it's barely enough for that tank.

great project

 

[ColdZero]

Pictures I took tonight:

and:

Nothing much else going on. Should be doing some plumbing in the next few days.

 

[ColdZero]

spoken like a true reefer, lol!

I agree the 400's would be overkill on a 75.
you might want to have more flow than the 6025's I have one in a 30 breeder and i think it's barely enough for that tank.

great project

I keep reading about a mod for the 6025s where you cut the plastic or something inside to allow more water to be pulled in. I'm not quite sure because I can't seem to find a good description of the mod. Hopefully 2 of them plus the MagDrive 1200 with 1 return on each side is enough flow.

 

[masterswimmer]

Are you having the kids help you with the setup too? Believe it or not, you can really create an impact at that basic level too. Not all kids will be into it, but as an after school project you might find just one or two kids eager to learn.

Great job and it looks super so far.

Russ

 

[prattreef]

Looks great. I absolutely agree that getting the kids involved in all aspects and from the very beginning is very valuable.

 

[jhale]

I keep reading about a mod for the 6025s where you cut the plastic or something inside to allow more water to be pulled in. I'm not quite sure because I can't seem to find a good description of the mod. Hopefully 2 of them plus the MagDrive 1200 with 1 return on each side is enough flow.

here's a thread on it with a link to the one on RC also,
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/diy-do-yourself/26105-tunze-nano-6025-mod.html

before you get water in the tank think about widening the teeth on the glass cages overflow cover. imo they make the slots much to thin. anyone with a router table can help you with it.