~60 Gallons of Dvarela beauty!

C

Carabelli

Membership Expired
Well, after being away from the hobby for only around 7 months, my wife and I have decided to plan a new tank out ... we are still in the preliminary stages, but, here is what we are looking at so far ...

> 90 gallon AGE tank ... 36x24x24 with starphire on the 3 front panes - rimless with black silicone and PVC bottom ... internal center overflow with 2 drains (one main and one back up) and one return
> tank lit by ATI sun power or power module - 36" fixture with either 6 or 8 bulbs
> I-tech 100 skimmer with new tunze pump
> return with tunze silence pump or eheim 1262
> refugium with overflow direct feed into tank ... more details on this later
> ac jr. for control
> knop C calcium reactor (obtained via trade - will see how it works, but, i hope to add a 2nd chamber for dolomite for magnesium)
> flow via tunze nano wave box supplemented with 3 tunze 6055's ... one 7095 controller and one 7091 (for battery backup)
> shallow sand bed with bonsai style rock supported with acrylic rods ... most likely, marco rock for rock
>> two main rock pillars wih one devoted to sps and zoas ... 2nd pillar dedicated to rbta, shrooms, lps and softies
> ice cap fans for cooling purposes


at any rate, that is where we stand - as i work through this more, i will post more details. Thanks.
 
well, this project continues to morph as i work through it ... quick update

i think i am going to go with a smaller setup - i really want something that allows me to make smaller water changes and use less juice - thus, reduced total tank volume --- part of the reason i was/am leaning towards 90 gallons is that is a somewhat standard size for AGE ... but, i am working on a quote for a 36x20x20 tank from AGE ... which, when you take into consideration the fact the water will be 2" from the top of the tank and glass thickness ... that puts me closer to 50 gallons ... so, here is an updated equipment list as i work through it ...

return pump ... tunze silence return pump

flow ... tunze nano wavebox (PURCHASED) supplemented with a 6055 or 6105 - not sure which yet - I purchased 3 6055's, but, i only want additional pump in the tank besides the wavebox to keep it clean looking ... time will tell on this front

skimmer ... deltec MC500 (I really fought the urge to buy a trendy skimmer here and went with one i got a great deal on) ... Deltecs are great skimmers and I have read good things about this one ... if nothing else, it will be a good start

lighting ... ultimately, i believe i will go with a ATI sunpower (24") as these are a bit cheaper and work really well ... that is, unless i can find a used powermodule ... yes, the fixture will be shorter than the tank, but, i really don't care about wasting light on the ends of the tank as i am going with a bonsai style aqua-scape ... so, this will give me a cleaner look and much more simple

sump ... potentially a used one once i nail down my plans, if not used, then i hope to commission marc to build one of his beauties

calcium ... i purchased a Knop C reactor and may end up going with that, but, i also picked up an Aqua-C reactor and will likely go with that one as it will allow me to use more media to support my clams

at any rate, things are stalled as i pretty much wait on AGE ... I am not a patient person by nature, but, I will try to be - thanks... any advice would be welcome.
 
okay - big update on the tank front - after going back and forth on who to build the tank, i have finally decided to go with a local guy - David Varela - he built my last tank and did an awesome job - so, here are the details - i also decided to go with a tank at home - so, 2 tanks :)

office tank ... sps system ... 36"x24"x18" ... starphire on 3 front panes, rimless, black silicone center overflow on back

home tank ... anemone/softies ... 24"x24"x18" ... same as above

still working out the details on the systems, but, we are making progress and the glass has been ordered! Thanks
 
well, i can fill in some details ...

sps system ... diy stand ... ati fixture for lighting ... bare bottom ... mag 7 or eheim 1262 return pump ... i-tech cone skimmer ... aqua-c calcium reactor with 2nd chamber ... reeftek kalk reactor ... melev custom sump ... probaby an AC3 for control, but, i may take the more simple route and go with an AC jr for the controller (not sure yet) ... 3 tunze 6055's for supplemental flow

there is the beginning of the picture.
 
picked up some various equipment over the past few weeks - marc built a wonderful sump for my office tank - it looks really nice - in addition, i ordered one of the new ro/di systems he is carrying that produces 150 gpd with a booster pump - that should work out really well for me.

besides, that, i have about 4-5 more weeks until the tanks are completed, and, then, the fun begins. i will see if i can get some pictures of the goodies i have so far.
 
yes, my wife is very anxious to see the newly modified stand! Thanks again... plus, she actually liked the solana fixture ... you just never know!
 
in other news, i also picked up 2 marine batteries for the battery back-up systems ... one of them weighs 75 lbs ... it is a beast ... i also was able to purchase an used inverter/charger from an ambulance ... it is made by xantrex ... fleet 1000 ... it does give a modified sine wave, i am using a tunze return pump and i checked it out on an older simple ups unit i have and it ran really smoothly ... once i get some electrical supplies in, i will hook it up and see how long i can get out of it

the other battery will be used on a tunze 6055 with safety connector ... it should power that pump for close to 70 hours - hopefully i won't ever need it to run that long, but, it is nice to have that measure of safety in case i am out of town.

both batteries are absorbed glass mat batteries ... which eliminates any fumes when it is charged/discharged ... makes it much safer for this appilcation. it certainly cost me more, but, i used a similar setup on my last tank and it is really nice to have that backup if needed.
 
@gmacy wrote:
in other news said:
70 hours. Geez man, that's a long time. Let's hope you don't need it. I need to get my battery backup out of the garage and have it set back up. Not sure where I will put it though.
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i agree it is more than likely over kill, but, if i am out of town and can't get to the tank, it is nice to know there will still be flow ... in addition, the office tank will have two battery powered air pumps that would kick on in case of a power outage ... that should also help to keep oxygen levels high.

on the house tank, since i am backing up the return pump, that will keep they water oxygenated and moving - i won't have near as many hours on that as power wise, but, that will be easier to back up with a generator if needed.
 
also, i am trying to decide on how i want to mix salt ... historically, i have purchased 200 gallon buckets of salt and mixed 15 to 20 gallons at a time... one concern i had with this approach is if the salt mix is thoroughly dispersed throughout the entire bucket ... i.e. am i getting more calcium in the first 10 to 15 gallons vs. the bottom 10 gallons.

the other option is to purchase smaller containers of salt and mix them all at once - mixing 50 gallons at one time and storing it for a week or two as i change the water. the downside to this approach is i have to mix larger amounts, storing the water and change it as i go.

what do you guys recommend?
 
what i did with my vortecs which you can do with the tunzes ....is turn off the return pump and see where the water level is then put my tunze about an 1 1/2" below the water suface so when it the battery backup is running on the power head it can suck in air from the surface if the return pump is off and blow bubbles into the tank.
 
@kuyatwo wrote:
what i did with my vortecs which you can do with the tunzes ....is turn off the return pump and see where the water level is then put my tunze about an 1 1/2" below the water suface so when it the battery backup is running on the power head it can suck in air from the surface if the return pump is off and blow bubbles into the tank. said:
thats brillant
Click to expand...
 
@chappy wrote:
[I]@kuyatwo wrote:[/I][quote="what i did with my vortecs which you can do with the tunzes ....is turn off the return pump and see where the water level is then put my tunze about an 1 1/2" below the water suface so when it the battery backup is running on the power head it can suck in air from the surface if the return pump is off and blow bubbles into the tank. said:
thats brillant"]

I agree that is a simple way to keep oxygen levels up without the hassles of air pumps/stones etc ... thanks

:D
Click to expand...
 
in other news, I received the modified stand for the home tank back from Jeff (Dheerecrossing) ... he added a side compartment, modified the trim and did an awesome job! I will work on posting some pictures this weekend ...

I also had some time to swing by Neptune's cove and Fish Gallery yesterday evening ... not to knock fish gallery, but, man, I tend to leave their disappointed in their selection - the fresh water looks awesome, but, saltwater is lacking. Of course, it could be they are getting ready to get a large order in and i came at the wrong time.

Neptune's had an nice selection of corals even after the big event this past weekend - as always, bill was helpful and I was able to purchase 2 buckets of SeaChem salt to try ... I have read good things on the salt and Bill has great success with it ... is anyone else using it so far??
 
well, exciting day - i received several boxes of goodies for the new tanks ...

first i purchased an aquariumplants co2 regulator for my calcium reactor ... i didn't want to have to worry about the rate fluctuating, and, these units are electronic and rock solid!

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next, i purchased a tunze hydrofoamer pump with custom venturi for my i-tech cone skimmer ... john at ichthystuff was awesome to deal with - i purchased an older i-tech skimmer with the old silencer design, and he included a new one for free ... great guy!
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here is a picture of the other goodies i have ... one box is from battery mart and includes a battery charger/tender for my battery back-up and accesories - the other is from bulk reef supply with lots of goodies!

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finally, a picture of where the office tank will be sitting ... i need to move some pictures and re-arrange some furniture, but, i will be awesome to sit down from a tough appointment and swivel around in my chair to see the tank!!

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finally, a picture of my old zoa tank that i like to use as inspiration ... hopefully, i will incorporate something like this in my new tank

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well, i finally setup my battery back up system for a test run last night ... as a refresher ... this is for the anemone tank, flow for this tank will be comprised of a return pump and vortech mp20 with a foam cover to protect the anemones ... so, i just don't trust the vortechs in case of a power outage - too many horror stories on that - so, i purchased an inverter/charger unit made by xantrex ... fleet 1000 ... add a really big marine battery and it runs my tunze silence pump very smoothly ...

after hooking it up last night, it is still running this morning ... 17 hours and counting !!!
 
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