new, new tank build..

[motortrendz]

yes it maintains calc/alk lvls

 

[motortrendz]

update: 3 days 1/4 full.,..lol

 

[motortrendz]

heres part of my filtration.. its a carbon reactor and phosban reactor with the uv sterilizer in the center all with adjuatable flow.. media baskets ahd a 1/2" service port.. any body see any flaws before i glue it up??

 

[tomtoothdoc]

would you elaborate on the flow direction? and what are those rods and bolts?
i'm not understanding the whole unit.

 

[motortrendz]

The bottom is a manifold for inled from a submered pump runs thru each valve into the reactors from the bottom and out the top.. the threaded nylon rod and nuts are for the media..the rod sticks oit abt an inch on the bottom and sits into a 3/4 piece of 3in long pve centered at the bottom to maintain heightfor water flow.. it sits snug against the inside diameter so water won't bypass the media..the top of the cartrige is removeable to change media and filter pads I left it longer on top ease of removal for servicing.. all have their own out put that will have 3/4 barb ends to hook up muy return lines back to the sump..all are indivindual so I can taylor the speed of flow thru each. Also I have a 1/2 service port on the intake side of the valves so I can remove it and put a fitting with a hose to a drain then open the valve to the cartrige I wanna service to drain the water..also with the valves closed and th he pump running I can easily drain water for a simple easy water change w/o making a mess...did that help??? Lol

 

[tomtoothdoc]

ok...i see now. two things....one, how would you be able to adjust the flow enough so that the carbon and the ferric oxide don't tumble too much and ground down to dust?(since you can't see thru the pvc). and two, if you adjust one valve, it'll change the flow to the others....that's usually the out come of the manifold style connections. minor stuff but can be annoying to keep fine tuning. :wink1:

 

[motortrendz]

There will be pads to contain the media.. and the space in the canister will be limmeted so it won't be tumbling like crazy. And w the seperat outputs you'll be able to see the flow from each... this is my test unit..I have my uv in the center of the 2 towers..they're almost 26in tall... but when its all done and working ill build it in clear,if nessasary or put a 4in window in it..well see still designing it.. it can hold almost 1.5 qts of media in ea tower.. but I can also put less its an adjustabe design for multi use and different size systems...I'm gonna have albano test one on his system when its ready to see if it can handle a huge set up...I love doing things on my own instead of always buying stuff...bc if it works and I build in more tunable system I should be golden...

I haved a question, the tank shuld be abt half way now, I wanna set up the lr and sand, I'm gonna mix tghe salt and go for it, but now I can't keep just filling it the rest of the way w strait r/o right I gotta do the fil mix and transfer method or can I just add the salt a few times a day to keep it ok.. the r/o unit only flows abt 30g a day....

 

[tomtoothdoc]

if you don't want to wait for the rodi to fill all the way (may be 4/5 of the way?), then i think you should do the mix and then fill. i wouldn't try to mix the salt directly in the tank after the sand and lr are in...imo.

 

[motortrendz]

I agree, I just gave someone the same advice. Lol. Just looking for the easy way out. No livestoce in there...but ill use the pail

 

[motortrendz]

ok so update.. working on drains today..its kinda a durso/herbie mix.. anyone see any issues??

the bulkheads are on them to show how thy will sit in the boxes.. with the first piece that comes out of the bottom...
the first pic shows a cap with a valve for the air line to adj air intake and fine tune the main drain..
the second one is an open drain tee for full flow air ventilation..

 

[motortrendz]

how much lower should the main drain be from the from the intake slots in the overflow box??

 

[motortrendz]

so here we go progress!!!!!

 

[Awibrandy]

Very nice scaping!!!!!!!! I especially love those mini islands.

 

[motortrendz]

i kinda had an idea for seperate island for an anenome, and once i saw one of the other MR members page with the 500g setup with his anenome island i had to have one...do you think the rockwork is high enough?? should i go higher? its got abt 190lbs of live rock in there now and abt 250lbs of sand

 

[JARRETT SHARK]

looks good

 

[albano]

...and once i saw one of the other MR members page with the 500g setup with his anenome island i had to have one...

Did you get permission from Thane (closetfishgeek), for the anemone island? J/K

...do you think the rockwork is high enough?? should i go higher?

YES, ...Not if your placing SPS or softies/leathers on top of the rocks...they will need room to grow!

LOOKING GOOD! do you have any pics, of you, inside the tank?

 

[tomtoothdoc]

Did you get permission from Thane (closetfishgeek), for the anemone island? J/K

YES, ...Not if your placing SPS or softies/leathers on top of the rocks...they will need room to grow!

LOOKING GOOD! do you have any pics, of you, inside the tank?

now that, i'd like to see since he got water in there already....lol.
one suggestion, how about one of the diy multiple shelves rock one of the members here make...forgot who it was. just to give it some height...so the overall full tank view would not look monoblock(ala lego style). the close up looks great with all the caves and islands plus places to put corals. but i think different height in one area would give a better over all visual effect.
just my $0.02.

 

[motortrendz]

actually uh no..expecially not withtoxic chemicals..haha, no i just gotta get the plumbing done..and the system full...i have my fx5 running on it now just to circulate the water thru carbon bc the old samd i used made the water nasty... but as u can see 9hrs of running it and its cleared up..

 

[motortrendz]

now that, i'd like to see since he got water in there already....lol.
one suggestion, how about one of the diy multiple shelves rock one of the members here make...forgot who it was. just to give it some height...so the overall full tank view would not look monoblock(ala lego style). the close up looks great with all the caves and islands plus places to put corals. but i think different height in one area would give a better over all visual effect.
just my $0.02.

ok so raise one side a lil higher?? i have more LR but they have star polips all over them and didnt wanna add those 3 big pieces till the tank was ready..so theyll add to the height on one side or the other.. any recomendation to which side???

 

[albano]

didnt wanna add those 3 big pieces till the tank was ready..so theyll add to the height on one side or the other.. any recomendation to which side???

If I remember correctly, I've read that ...the 'best' feature of the tank should be left of center, because that is where 99% of people, look first. If they see a great feature first, they like the tank even more!



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