New Tank filling up [Archive]

Stevesfish

09-12-07, 16:23

My 7ft tank is almost ready to go . the plumbings in power heads in place reef wash in and im just starting to fill up with RO . the tank will be run from the same sump that ran my 15x2x2 (which consisted of a 6x2x2 5x2x2and a 4x2x2.) the sump itself is in a shed in my back garden and plumbing is run through a hole in the wall to the back of the tank. with everything running i should be able to turn over roughly 32150ltres an hour which im hoping is going to be enough to run the tank'' The filter consists of a 50gallon tank filled with bio balls and bio tubes then i have a 36x18x12 tank which im going to half fill with sand this will be constantly under light , after this tank there is a 36x12x12 tank that is full to the brim with live rock then there is a 24x18x12 tank that i intend to use for carbon there is an aquamedic 5000baby skimmer and a kalk stirrer that drips into a 25gallon reservior which is protected by a float switch and also has a neveumat top up system installed, 2 7000 litre pumps inside to supply water to the tank and reef wash . i ran this system for 6months with no amonia nitrite or nitrate problems they all tested at zero. there is also 2 50gallon drums 1 for Ro and 1 for SW.

i have abit of a mish mash with powerheads there is 8 newjet 600s 1tunze 6080 1 seio 1500 and an 850. the light will be provided by 2 6ft 140watt t5 luminaires as a temporary measure until i can afford some halides . there is also a 40watt t8 actinic. i have attached some pics of the build so far excuse the mess in the shed it still has the contents of my previous set up in it.

http://s207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/mytank.jpg

http://s207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/?action=view&current=mytank.jpg

http://s207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/sump.jpg

http://s207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/?action=view&current=sump.jpg

Stevesfish

10-12-07, 21:27

Any comments anyone :confused:

Lukechromis

10-12-07, 21:30

Is it full yet?

Stevesfish

11-12-07, 18:22

I got 3/4 of the way there and stopped to warm the water and add salt then a couple of days later added the sand . Now im topping it up with RO getting ready to bring it on line with my filter, that i have kept running throughout the project. so i recon a couple of weeks and i will be moving my livestock . whats left of it

Stevesfish

15-12-07, 15:17

wahay the tank is now running on my sump. the reef wash blew sand everywhere when i started it up so i have had to restrict the flow on it slighlty . all i need to do now is get my halides up and running then in a couple of weeks i will be able to start stocking
:) :D :)

Stevesfish

18-12-07, 18:43

Pic of the tank last night

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/17122007.jpg

zimreef

18-12-07, 19:12

That was quick - don't hang around do you? :)

Like the aquascape - some big chunks of rock in there!

You're not going to paint the back then?

John

Stevesfish

18-12-07, 19:54

I was going to paint the back but i connected the plumbing then remembered afterwards ..whooops to late .:laugh: Thats why i have stacked all the rock up .
My sump holds roughly the same amount of water as my tank so i done 25litre water changes everyday for a week and a half then put my rock in and transfered the fish .

cjs4873

18-12-07, 21:03

Looking really well m8, any pic's of the sump? :D

Stevesfish

19-12-07, 18:28

Hi Cjs The sump is the second picture down from the top

cjs4873

19-12-07, 18:43

Hi Cjs The sump is the second picture down from the top

Sorry M8

Thought that was just where you were holding stuff til tank was running. I like it :thumbsup: , bit jealous like you got lot more space then me :D. any more piccys

jordlr

19-12-07, 19:34

Holy Crap!! :shocking: Like the setup but you must spend all your spare time either getting fresh RO, mixing the salt or changing the water...;)

fireproofcujo

20-12-07, 04:08

Massive project look forward to more updates as things progress :cool:

Stevesfish

20-12-07, 18:59

I am in the process of changing the lighting to metal halide . but because of the cost's involved in buying luminaires i have sourced the information i need from a couple of experts and started building my own lights .

Stevesfish

22-12-07, 00:11

I am assuming that i dont need actinics if i use 14000k bulbs or is it preferable to use at least one . to provide moonlight colour at night . or when the halides are off?

Stevesfish

04-01-08, 12:28

After much deliberation i have decided that the sump is not fit for purpose so im gonna change it before things get off the ground .
i intend to use 2 x 29gallon tanks side by side 1 with some bio balls in it the other as a dsb these will be the first part of the filter they will overflow into a 19 gallon tank full of live rock and the pump for the skimmer . this will overflow into a 40gallon resevior which will supply the main tank and also a 20 gallon permanently lit up tank full of chaeto and caulerpa which will also overflow back in to the resevior . my kalk stirrer and skimmer will also feed into the resevior.
Tell me what you think guys as i have never designed a filter to run in this way and would appreciate some advice

cjs4873

04-01-08, 13:00

Hi Steve,
I would forget the bio-balls m8, nitrate factory in the long run. as for more info imo read Si Garretts Reef Eden. hth

All the best for 2008 :thumbsup:

nick_orton

04-01-08, 13:51

blimey serious setup up you MUST be retired!!!?

Stevesfish

04-01-08, 19:49

Nah not retired . just well into my hobby:)

Stevesfish

05-01-08, 17:40

I have completely changed my sump today , got rid of the bio tubes and header tanks . here is a few pics
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/05012008001.jpg

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/05012008003.jpg

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/05012008002.jpg

Stevesfish

23-02-08, 22:55

hi Guys . i finally got rid of my big skimmer and changed it for 2 aquamaedic turboflotor 1000s i have put one on the side of the tank and the other in the sump , i am now in the process of changing my sump again due to the amount of energy it uses to run. ,My intention is to use the dsb and the resevior only , but bring them back into the house and put them under the tank, this is so i only have to use 1 of the 7000 litre pumps and also save energy on the heating of the water . im going to run a 36x18x12 refugium next to the tank and hopefully grow some algae in it . i have been unsuccessful up until now growing algae but hopefully with the new sump set up things should change. i have been holding fire on introducing new livestock until im happy with the set up. Any sudgestions greatly received

have a look at the pics guys and tell me if you think i need more actinics

Stevesfish

23-02-08, 23:06

http://s207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/?action=view&current=tank2.jpg

Stevesfish

23-02-08, 23:08

http://s207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/?action=view&current=tank1.jpg

tacwise

27-02-08, 20:05

a great tank in the making keep photos coming.

Stevesfish

14-03-08, 20:46

Hi Guys
Tomorrow is D Day for the sump in the shed, due to rising electricty costs and the amount of power being used to circulate the water to the house i have decided to put the sump underneath the tank . I am in the process of making a phosphate reactor and a carbon reactor out of 2 air tight containers ,which will fit on the side of the sump via a plastic bracket made from a peice of perspex. i have also aquired an ocean runner 6500 which will be used as a return pump this will replace the pair of 7000litre pumps currently running in the shed . The sump will comprise of 24x18x12 filled with bits of live rock a 36x12x12 to be used as a DSB and a 40x16x15 which im going to use as a resevior to house the skimmers, phosphate reactor carbon reactor, float switch, top up , and return pump . The tank is currently looking quite sorry for itself hopefully by reducing the size of the sump it will become more managable, with the sump being in the shed its a case of out of site out of mind, sadly it doesnt receive the care it should .

Stevesfish

15-03-08, 20:45

I have just had a good days work bringing my sump into the house and turned my electric usage down from 2kw an hour to just under 1kw with the halides on . "should keep the misses happy" . i had forgotten just how powerful those OR 6500's are . I had to put a pressure relief valve in to stop the sumps overflowing. the pumps still a bit noisy cos the impellor only has 5 fins on it but i hope to get a new one this week . I have set the lights over the sump to come on for about 10 hours a day does anybody know if this enough ?

Stevesfish

24-03-08, 18:37

ScubaMan

24-03-08, 19:07

due to the pressure from the ocean runner the new sump design didnt work very well . i am unable to get a decent turn over in the tank as the holes drilled in the sump tanks are smaller than the outlets on the main tank which meant i had water going into the sumps a third faster than they could cope with, without overflowing , i had to relieve the pressure from the or6500 directing half the turnover back through the resevior i think the turnover in the tank has gone down to appx 3 times an hour . . so i have sourced a complete sump tank with sections and will be fitting it very shortly. hopefully get my turnover back up to what it should be.

Hi,

Do you need that much turnover between the tank and the sump? From your earlier posts you appear to have plenty of circulation in the tank itself. I tried to put large amounts of circulation between my tank and sump in the early days but it just caused lots of problems (like overflowing). Now I turn over the display tank volume about once an hour through the sump.

Some of the people I have seen with great tanks are turning over much less than this.

Graham

PS. Why does moving the sump back into the house reduce the costs of the return pump? If it is the same pump and it is the same head height then doesn't it cost the same?

Stevesfish

24-03-08, 21:21

Its not the same pump i have taken 2 200watt pumps off and put 1 OR6500 on also when the sump was in the shed i was using more heaters to keep the water warm during the winter months . now that the sump is in the house the heaters hardly ever come on . Iam also a firm beleiver of the more turn over the better control as you dont get as many dead spots in the tank/system

Stevesfish

11-04-08, 21:57

After all the decision making and the moving around i have finally got my sump as i want it . I have built a carbon and phosphate reactor to hang on the sump here is the latest pic of my smaller sump which is a sectioned 48x15x15 and a 24x18x12 tank planned for breeding shrimps in .

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/08042008059.jpg

ScubaMan

12-04-08, 09:16

Can you do some more shots from different angles and poissibly add some arrows showing water flow and some tags for the equipment? I am at the stage of designing a new sump for a new build so trying to get as many ideas as I can.

Thanks

Stevesfish

12-04-08, 09:39

I will post some more when i can . but i need to work out how to put arrows on . Would a video do the trick?

ScubaMan

12-04-08, 11:31

Yes I think it would, could could have some pointing and commentary? I tend to add lines and arrows using paint in windows.

Stevesfish

13-04-08, 10:18

I am having trouble getting the video to upload onto photobucket .
So here goes i the whole system is run by an ocean runner 6500 pump the flow is teed off just above the sump one pipe goes to the tank and is then split into two one side goes to the reef wash and the other to provide flow in the top of the tank the other goes to a ball valve above the 24x18x12 and also another ball valve which provides the flow for the reactors .

The tank overflows into 2 40mm outlets that t into one 40mm and return to left side of the sump where there is a 1000litre skimmer and some filter floss to polish the water . this then overflows into the next chamber where there is sand liverock caulerpa and cheato, turbulence is created by the return from the reactors and 2 skimmers the water then overflows into the third chamber where skimmer no 2 is housed along with the or6500 auto top etc turbulence is created in this area by the return from the 24x18x12. the sump is lit 10hours a day by an 11watt arc pod

Stevesfish

16-06-08, 21:48

heres some pics a few on months on

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/15062008107-1.jpg

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/15062008109.jpg

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/15062008108.jpg

slowly but surely coming together

Stevesfish

16-06-08, 21:53

and a full tank shot

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/15062008113.jpg

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/16062008117.jpg

Stevesfish

24-06-08, 22:31

latest edition to the tank is a 14 inch reef safe queen angel

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/yqueen-1.jpg

Stevesfish

13-09-08, 10:59

Its been a while since i done an update so i thought i had better do one.
The tank is almost finished cycling now most of the algae has gone apart from the coraline on the back glass which im not to worried about as i didnt paint the back of the tank, I have had an attack of cyano over the last 2-3 weeks I reduced the lighting to 4 hours and started dosing 10ml of vodka everyday and the cyano is almost gone .

current stocking is

14 inch queen angel
7 inch lipstick tang
5 inch threadfin butterfly
4inch copper band
4 inch yellow tang
4 inch goldrim tang
pair of clarkii clowns
1 percula clown
1 pseudanthias
6 barred wrasse
7 chromis
1 algae blenny
2 peacock gobies
2 orange starfish
12 inch long tentacle nem
1 small purple nem

a couple of leather mushroom corals
devils finger
leather hand
white soft coral
pulsing xenia
colt tree
bush coral

kevna

13-09-08, 11:45

we need pictures steve:thumbsup:

Stevesfish

13-09-08, 12:47

here you go mate some pics for ya

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/tank1-1.jpg
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/tank2-1.jpg
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/tank3.jpg

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/tank4.jpg
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/tank5.jpg
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/tank6.jpg
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/tank7.jpg

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/tank8.jpg

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/tank9.jpg
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/tank10.jpg
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/tank11.jpg
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/tank12.jpg
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/tank13.jpg

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/tank14.jpg

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/tank15.jpg

Stevesfish

13-09-08, 12:49

Oh and heres a video i done a month or so back

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/th_04082008002.jpg (http://s207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/?action=view&current=04082008002.flv)

JayR

13-09-08, 15:06

That Queens Mahooosive but very beautiful.........Im sure they start out stunning as a juve, have a little lapse during the change and then get even more stunning when fully grown........I hope shes your last 'big' Angel!? ;)

Stevesfish

15-09-08, 19:58

I took the pics and the video on my mobile phone . im quite chuffed about the quality.:dance::dance:

saltyell

15-09-08, 20:25

Hi quick question - is the rock Live rock or reef bones witha bit of liver rock? Its just next year we re setting up a 7.5 ft aquarium and are unsure of the rock type. We're considering the naturefoam backgrounds from TMC, too. How many kg of Live rock will I need??? It will probably be a 500 gal system! :dance:

Stevesfish

15-09-08, 20:48

It is live rock . when i first started the tank up i had 120 kilos but i felt it was overcrowding the tank and didnt leave much room for creating a scene so i got rid of 40kilos which made no difference to the tank parametres so that i was able to build some caves and tunnels for the fish to swim in and out of . In your size tank i would say 80 - 100kgs of live rock/reef bones . Its worth looking in the members tank threads some of the people on here have made there own liverock which works out a lot cheaper.

Emperor Angel

02-10-08, 16:50

That is one BIG Angel :) And bloddy beautiful at that!

Stevesfish

26-11-08, 21:50

Just a quick update guys to say i have rearranged the rock work and got another couple of tunzes to push the flow up to 40000 litres and hour i am planning to get some more corals but dont know what type yet .

jayjay101

26-11-08, 22:15

thats the best queen ive seen yet!!your a lucky man!!

Stevesfish

07-12-08, 16:58

Well i have put the 6080s in so that i now 40000litres an hour turn over in the tank im currently looking for a bigger skimmer cos the one i have isnt man enough. I have read that over skimming can be a problem with taking to many nutrients out of the water hopefully my small miracle mud sump should be able to help with that. I was going to try a few lps/sps frags to see how they get on tho i am a bit concerend about the queens eating habits so she might get swapped for frags . heres a couple of photos of the tank at this stage . it is going to be a slow process but hopefully get there in the end .

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/07122008177.jpg

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/07122008178.jpg

Bigyellowpuffer

07-12-08, 19:09

Love the Queen, how big is it????? I should have turned the sound off though, I need a wee now lol.

Ivan

Stevesfish

07-12-08, 19:15

Love the Queen, how big is it????? I should have turned the sound off though, I need a wee now lol.

Ivan

the tank is a bit noisy i must admit but i do intend to quieten things down as my modifications are done
The queen is roughly 14inches from nosa to tip of streamer fins.

Bigyellowpuffer

07-12-08, 19:40

mmn very nice, if your ever parting with her, remember to give me a nod.

Pleccy

07-12-08, 19:45

I love the tanks I've seen on here and your's is no exception, simply marvellous! :applause:

Stevesfish

07-12-08, 20:59

I love the tanks I've seen on here and your's is no exception, simply marvellous! :applause:

Thanks pleccy thats put a smile on my face:thumbsup:

Stevesfish

07-12-08, 21:01

mmn very nice, if your ever parting with her, remember to give me a nod.

Will do mate

Rollos

07-12-08, 21:47

Much prefer the way you've aquascaped the tank now, looks so much nicer, looking really good!! Keep the updates coming, look forward to reading/seeing your progess with this :)

Stevesfish

19-12-08, 22:35

disaster today. Got home from work today to find 4 of my fish floating on top of the tank . cant see any signs of desease and all the other fish seem fine . i have done an imediate 20% water change and will carry on doing them over the next couple of weeks hopefully its not going to be a total wipe out :(:(:confused:

thecairnser

19-12-08, 23:36

Sorry to hear this has happened, i take this has happened totally out of the blue...no recent new additions that could have caused this. I really hope your Queen survived.

Stevesfish

20-12-08, 10:54

Just discovered one of my powerheads has blown up so it looks like that was the culprit . the queen is fine.

ScubaMan

20-12-08, 15:33

Just discovered one of my powerheads has blown up so it looks like that was the culprit . the queen is fine.

What do you think happened? Shorted out in the water killing the fish?

Graham

Stevesfish

20-12-08, 15:50

it was fizzing when i noticed it fish must have thought the stuff coming off it was food . thats all i can think it was . the rest of the inhabitants are absolutely fine.

Stevesfish

30-12-08, 12:52

wahay found a DELTEC 902 skimmer for £200 and its already running on my tank heres a pic no messing when a bargain like that comes along.

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb247/Stevesfish_bucket/skimmer1.jpg

Stevesfish

04-01-09, 21:04

At the moment the skimmer is being fed by an eheim 1260 i do intend to connect upto an overflow on the tank to gravity feed . One of the problems i have had with the tank is that the 6500 which is running the spray bars in the bottom of the tank ans also providing surface movement at the top powerfull enough to stop the large peices of crud settling so im considering using the 1260 to feed the spray bars to move the water column upwards and pushing all the crud into the overflows . does anybody know if this is the right path to take
:confused: