Scott's 50-Gallon In-Wall Build

[chrismunn]

i think its better to have the bubble counter on the regulator rather than the reactor. that way your actually regulating whats coming out of the co2 tank. there should also be a solenoid valve on the regulator to hook to a ph controller. do you have a local club you could go to? i got mine from a club member for pretty cheap. i paid $300.oo for mine and its a MONSTER! dual chamber, each one holds like 10# of media. the recirc pump is a mag5, the feed is a mag1.5. it came with a 20# co2 tank and regulator with solenoid valve, bubble counter., and all the hoses and hookups. pete's right though. at this point its not neccesary, but im sure you'll be able to make good use of it soon enough. pete's just way too devoted with all the dosing two times a day ...

[scbauer]

Okay, I've decided to spend the $$$ elsewhere for now. I believe a CA reactor will be added to the system, but for now I'm going to spend the $300+ on things like sand, salt, magnet cleaner, pvc fittings, etc... once the system is running I can easily add a CA reactor, I'll just make sure to leave some room in my sump for a feed pump.

-Scott

[sbwood007]

Nice thread, tagging along!

[scbauer]

FI-TH-0300 Finnex 300W Deluxe Titanium Heating Tube only
TLF-PHOSREC TLF PhosBan Reactor 150 - no pump
AF-PIRANFLOAT The Piranha Magnet - FLOAT
RF-PH-PROBE-N Reef Fanatic Replacement PH Probe
RF-CAL04 Reef Fanatic Ph Fluid 4.0 packet
RF-CAL07 Reef Fanatic pH Fluid 7.0 Packet
RF-CAL10 Reef Fanatic pH Fluid 10.0 Packet
REFRACT-PA Premium Blue Refractometer - RHS-10ATC
PIN-SAL-FLUID SALINITY MONITOR CAL FLUID 53.0MS

[chrismunn]

Originally posted by scbauer
FI-TH-0300 Finnex 300W Deluxe Titanium Heating Tube only
TLF-PHOSREC TLF PhosBan Reactor 150 - no pump
AF-PIRANFLOAT The Piranha Magnet - FLOAT
RF-PH-PROBE-N Reef Fanatic Replacement PH Probe
RF-CAL04 Reef Fanatic Ph Fluid 4.0 packet
RF-CAL07 Reef Fanatic pH Fluid 7.0 Packet
RF-CAL10 Reef Fanatic pH Fluid 10.0 Packet
REFRACT-PA Premium Blue Refractometer - RHS-10ATC
PIN-SAL-FLUID SALINITY MONITOR CAL FLUID 53.0MS

[grundig5]

Sorry I couldnt help a Buff out, but I'm following the thread anyway. Maybe too early for a reactor like others have said anyway. Solid pickups today

[scbauer]

No problem. I'll find one eventually, but for now I guess the money was well spent on the items above.

One question for everybody... does anybody have any negative experience with the Finnex heaters? I thought I was picking up one of the better heaters (already have an EboJager 150W) and then last night I read that the Finnex have some quality issues. Anyone know if there is validity to that statement?

Getting back to the tank build, I've drawn up an idea for the light rack, but I don't know if it is the best plan:





As you can see in the second picture, the MH pendant overlaps the T5 reflectors by about an inch. If I were to move the T5's towards the outside of the tank, then the two outside bulbs would be at the very edge of the tank and wouldn't really be reflecting into the water, so that isn't an option. The question becomes, should I have the MH in front of the T5 or the T5 in front of the MH?

Thanks again for all the comments so far!

-Scott

[scbauer]

Oh yea, forgot to mention, the plywood is 18x30, the exact dimensions of the top of the tank. There is about a 2" border (1" on each side of the tank) created by the support rim, so the area that I need to light is really 16" wide. I don't want to light the overflow box or the 1" border on the front, so the front-to-back dimension is about 25". Therefore, I really need to light an area that is 16"x25".

And there is still the little matter of the black support brace that is 2" thick going across the middle of the tank. I have considered adding a clear acrylic piece in place of the black plastic, but I think that will be a last option, meaning I will try to light the tank first, and if I'm not happy with how things work out, then I'll cut the brace and replace it with clear plastic.

-Scott

[chrismunn]

i would lower the t5's so that thier in front of the MH. the t5's should be only 3" or 4" off the waters surface while the MH should be 9" to 12" off the surface.

have you considered adding another MH, one for each side of the black center brace? that way you'de have more than enough light to keep anything you want!

[chrismunn]

oh yeah, whats up with this plywood? what happend to the nifty aluminum light rack you made?

[scbauer]

Originally posted by chrismunn
oh yeah, whats up with this plywood? what happend to the nifty aluminum light rack you made?

Funny you should ask... I had a busy day. I decided to give the "nifty aluminum light rack" some crack and a little bit of steroides





Let me know what you think.

-Scott

[chrismunn]

thats freakin' awsome dude! whats up diy skills. i still think you should try to lower the t5's though, at least the ones that are right up against the mh pendant. the two inner t5's are almost half blockd by the mh. how far out would you have to push the t5 to clear the mh, like 3" ? in any case thats a sweet light rack!

[psteeleb]

now that's sweet - great job on the sketch and build

[scbauer]

Originally posted by chrismunn
thats freakin' awsome dude! whats up diy skills. i still think you should try to lower the t5's though, at least the ones that are right up against the mh pendant. the two inner t5's are almost half blockd by the mh. how far out would you have to push the t5 to clear the mh, like 3" ? in any case thats a sweet light rack!

The problem is, if I push the T5's out 3" then the outer T5's won't be over the tank (the tank has a 3/4" wide rim, so I only have 16.5" x 24.5" that I can light). I would probably be better off with only 1 pair of T5's but I really wanted to have a stronger dawn/dusk effect, so I can turn 2 T5's on, then another 2, then the MH.

The other thing to keep in mind is that the T5's are just actinic supplements. I would rather have the T5 blocked by the MH instead of the MH being blocked by the T5.

Bottom line, I'm happy with how the light rack looks for now. I'm planning on wiring everything up this weekend and mounting it over the tank to see how it looks.

-Scott

[scbauer]

One more thing that I should point out that isn't too visible in the picture is that the MH pendant is recessed 4.5" so that the MH pendant glass is just about the same level as the T5's. This means that the T5's are about 3" closer to the water than the MH bulb. My plan is to have the whole light fixture hang about 7" above the water which will put the MH bulb about 10" off the surface.

-Scott

[chrismunn]

i meant down towards the water, not out towards the edge of the tank. sorry, bad explanation. but your right, its better to have the main light blocking the secondary lights rather than the other way around. lookin' good!

[scbauer]

Okay, had another busy weekend. I honestly believe there are just 3 things left to buy... sump, PVC for plumbing, and salt. I'm still trying to decide exactly how to handle the sump situation. The original idea was to have a small sump on the floor under the stand, but that is really going to limit the size of the sump. So, I may end up with a bigger sump mounted on it's own stand just next to the tank. I don't know! Too many options.

As for this past weekend, I finished the light rack by adding the T5 ballasts and wiring everything up. I also added a cable on each corner that attach to 4 "C" hooks in the ceiling.

I then put the tank back in place and mounted the frame that I built... I'm really happy how this came out. I considered just nailing some trim around the front of the tank, but ended up building a "picture frame" from the same trim, then installing some recessed mounting hardware so the whole frame is completely flush with the wall but is still removeable.

Made a few more purchases over the weekend... bought a TDS meter so I can measure my RO/DI water parameters. Also spent quite a bit of $$$ at savko on 1" and 1/2" True Union Ball Valves. If the ball valves show up this week (which they should) then I can start plumbing next weekend (after I decide on and build the sump, of course).

I'll post some pictures tonight.

-Scott

[chrismunn]

<-------------- piture whore! you should never be too busy for pics!

[scbauer]

Okay, picture time...

Light rack all wired up:



And the magic glow:



The full view from inside. Ignore the rough shape of the frame as I have finished building it and sanding it, but have yet to paint it.



Here is the straight-on shot. You can see the light switch below the tank. The idea is to have a light connected to that switch that I can turn on at night time when I want to look into the tank. You can see it in one of the previous pictures, it is a 40-watt Power Compact from Home Depot listed as "Daylight"



And the close-up shot:



Hope you enjoy.

-Scott

[scbauer]

Oh yea, forgot to mention that my Premium Aquatics order arrived today. The "Algae Free" magnet cleaner is the strongest magnet I've ever seen... this thing should really chew through anything that grows on the glass. The Finnex heater looks exactly as expected, and I can't wait to setup the TLF PhosBan reactor. Finally, the refractometer should come in handy, but I haven't opened it yet as I don't have any saltwater to test.

Oh, and savko let me know that my order shipped today, so plumbing should start this weekend.

-Scott

[mdt178]

Hi,

Nice build thread. I hope I can offer some suggestions.

I have the exact same dimensions (30x18x24) for my current tank . Originally I had a single Lumenarc Mini with a single 250W 14K bulb. Since then, I have upgraded to 2x250W Phoenix + 4x24W T5HO. I have also installed a small calcium reactor (Schuran Pico) in the stand. Kinda funny to see you are going through the same issue I was, the only difference is that you have a lot more DIY skills than I will ever have.

Anyways, I removed the black center braced, leaving 1". I replaced it with a 1/4" acrylic brace and secured it with nylon bolts. It has held up for over 2 years.

As mentioned, I picked up a Schuran Pico CR with a 5lbs CO2 bottle. It has worked very well so far. I had to replace media more often, but that's the compromise. It has a built in bubble counter along with another on the regulator.

I have a tiny sump in the stand, but I wanted the biggest skimmer with the best performance. In your case, I'd suggest that you have it outside to you can have a little bigger sump and also a proper refugium as well.

Finally, don't worry about the quality of the heater if you have a controller in place. In fact I will never do another tank without a controller.

Sump


Lights





In case you want to check out my tank. It's not a build thread, but it has lotsa pictures.
http://www.cvreefers.org/showthread.php?t=5504

[chrismunn]

that tanks looks awsome in its location right there by the stairs. im jealos!

[scbauer]

Originally posted by chrismunn
that tanks looks awsome in its location right there by the stairs. im jealos!

Thanks Chris... I don't even have water in the tank yet and I love to just sit and stare at the tank . Very happy with the location.

-Scott

[scbauer]

Originally posted by mdt178
Hi,

Nice build thread. I hope I can offer some suggestions.

...the only difference is that you have a lot more DIY skills than I will ever have.

Finally, don't worry about the quality of the heater if you have a controller in place. In fact I will never do another tank without a controller.

Thanks Minh, checked out you thread and LOVE your tank! I will definately have questions for you but it's too late tonight.

-Scott

[psteeleb]

Originally posted by scbauer
Thanks Chris... I don't even have water in the tank yet and I love to just sit and stare at the tank . Very happy with the location.

-Scott

spoken like a true "Reef-a-holic"

the build is looking great
any more thoughts on livestock?

I like the night light idea, bad news is; you went and made me add something else to my list.