Our 375g reef tank build & fish room - Page 19

Lightsluvr · 06/16/2009, 06:59 AM

Ed and Sandy -

Located those tanks at Tanks To Go - they were $89 each. I arranged to have them shipped via freight to my LFS, which was glad to act as my receiving agent. By sending to a business, shipping was very reasonable. I should have them in 5 to 7 business days.

Tanks for the info...

I am looking forward to your updated tank/room photos... Great thread!

LL

P.S. - dogstar - our local farm stores only had horizontal tanks, no vertical at all...

edandsandy · 06/16/2009, 07:12 AM

Great! glad everything worked out for you!

edandsandy · 06/18/2009, 11:54 AM

Here is a picture of how the room looks now.

edandsandy · 06/18/2009, 12:08 PM

We have been asked a few times about how our water change out routine works.
I will do my best to explaine how it works... Ed is too busy with work now to help.......

First I made up the RO/DI water, put a heater in the water tank to match the aquarium, add salt, mix for at lease 24 hours.

next test the water is see if anything is needed like calcium, mag or alk.

if the water tests are good, we turn off the return pumps, move the lights over and then blow off the rocks to help remove any detritius

[IMG]ttp://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff177/salligood/water%20change%20out/DSC_0191.jpg[/IMG]

edandsandy · 06/18/2009, 12:29 PM

We made the blue background removable so we can have a full view of the back of the tank.

I like to prime the pump first

we use a mag 18 pump to remove the water from the tank, On the lower right side you see a banjo cam lever CAP.
We use the cap when not in use. The drain hose uses a banjo lever cam designed to fit on the end of a 1" hose. They will not come loose or leak! The only metal are the levers and they are aluminum and do not come into constant contact with the salt water.....

We remove 55 gallons of water

I then attach the return hose to the tanks, the valve is closed here

edandsandy · 06/18/2009, 12:30 PM

I close off the return valve to the top of the tank so the water flows faster

the other end of the hose hangs in the tank,

I made sure to follow the flow of the water, so I don't add fresh water or not close off a valve and it takes longer to fill

I open this valve and we are filling the tank now

this is how the valves should look when filling with NSW

while the tank is filling, take a minute to clean off the top of the tank

edandsandy · 06/18/2009, 12:39 PM

Now the tank is full

I need to turn off the valve to fill the tank and open the other valve so the water can circulate so I run the pump dry

[IMG]ttp://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff177/salligood/water%20change%20out/DSC_0325.jpg[/IMG]

I turn on the the return pumps

close off the valve to fill the tank

I am watching the max fill line, If I take out to much water then the ATO will fill the tank with RO/DI water, I prefer at this time to fill with FSW

Hookup · 06/18/2009, 12:46 PM

very awesome.. great photo montage!

edandsandy · 06/18/2009, 12:47 PM

I remove the fill line from the tank and drain the water out of the line before I disconnect it.

next I clean up the equipment I used and store it for later.

here is the fun part, I spray the floor with fresh water towards the drain, then mop and we are done!

edandsandy · 06/18/2009, 01:04 PM

Here is the yuckie part, cleaning the protein skimmer

OOPS, got some on the wall

cleaning the collection cup

edandsandy · 06/18/2009, 01:08 PM

OH, NOW ED HAS TIME TO SEE WHAT I'M DOING!

I think he wants to see if I'm doing everything right

this is how I feel about cleaning the skimmer

edandsandy · 06/18/2009, 01:14 PM

Now I make Ed take me out to dinner since I had to do everything by myself this time

Lightsluvr · 06/18/2009, 01:29 PM

That is very cool.

I am going to study your "valvage"** to analyze what goes where and why...

I like that one pump does it all...

Thanks!

LL

** Valvage definition: "the scientific study of hydraulic flow arising from a mystical combination of ball valves in a saltwater aquarium system..."

Lightsluvr · 06/18/2009, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by edandsandy
Now I make Ed take me out to dinner since I had to do everything by myself this time

For all that work, Ed should take you on a cruise!

LL

edandsandy · 06/18/2009, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lightsluvr
That is very cool.

I am going to study your "valvage"** to analyze what goes where and why...

I like that one pump does it all...

Thanks!

LL

** Valvage definition: "the scientific study of hydraulic flow arising from a mystical combination of ball valves in a saltwater aquarium system..."

I'm sure you will do fine!
Men are much better at this kind of stuff.

Just look at how the valves are positioned, I am sure you will be able to figure it out.

I did have to draw arrows on the the plumbing to keep me in check!

If I can do the water change outs without Ed's help, you too, can do this.......

If you have any questions, please ask away........

melev · 06/18/2009, 03:36 PM

This page was my favorite page of the whole thread.

I love that you can hose down the fishroom floor, and seeing how you added the water and cleaned up was very well documented.

Where did you get those black disconnect fittings? They look very handy.

Lightsluvr · 06/18/2009, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by edandsandy

Just look at how the valves are positioned, I am sure you will be able to figure it out.

I did have to draw arrows on the the plumbing to keep me in check!

If I can do the water change outs without Ed's help, you too, can do this.......

If you have any questions, please ask away........

I GOT IT!

Thanks for the great pictorial... I understand now how it works. Very slick.

LL

edandsandy · 06/18/2009, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by melev
This page was my favorite page of the whole thread. I love that you can hose down the fishroom floor, and seeing how you added the water and cleaned up was very well documented.

Where did you get those black disconnect fittings? They look very handy.

Well first of all THANK YOU for viewing our thread
what an honor!

Yes, I have to agree, hosing down the fish room floor is my favorite part and moving it towards the drain is AWESOME!
I no longer have to worry about salt water on my floors!

We purchased the fitting from US Plastics,
we choose to use:
1" Dust Cap
1" NPT Male Threaded Adapter
1" Hose, Hose Shank Adapter
1" Hose Hose Adapter
they are so easy to use, just snap them together and your done, they have several sizes to choose from.

here's a link:
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/ca...name=114&Page=1

edandsandy · 06/18/2009, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lightsluvr
I GOT IT!

Thanks for the great pictorial... I understand now how it works. Very slick.

LL

AWESOME!!!

I knew you wouldn't have any problems.

I knew what I wanted, I just didn't know how to make it happen!
Ed is the MAN when it comes to plumbing!

plumbing is such a guy thing!

Ed Reef · 06/18/2009, 05:55 PM

Great pictorial Sandy - you and Ed have come out with an amazing system.

Oh yeah and the Pool room looks way cool now with the new tank!!

melev · 06/18/2009, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by edandsandy
Well first of all THANK YOU for viewing our thread
what an honor!

Yes, I have to agree, hosing down the fish room floor is my favorite part and moving it towards the drain is AWESOME!
I no longer have to worry about salt water on my floors!

We purchased the fitting from US Plastics,
we choose to use:
1" Dust Cap
1" NPT Male Threaded Adapter
1" Hose, Hose Shank Adapter
1" Hose Hose Adapter
they are so easy to use, just snap them together and your done, they have several sizes to choose from.

here's a link:
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/ca...name=114&Page=1

I like the way you diffused the water pouring into the tank with a strainer. When I was growing up, my dad picked up an aluminum screw-on diffuser that was about as big around as a can of beans. It had 1000 holes ore more on it, and it allowed us to pump water in or siphon water out without affecting the livestock.

Today, I would never use aluminum with what I know.

Thanks for the link, and the suggestions. I think those would be very handy for a couple of projects I have lined up.

edandsandy · 06/19/2009, 06:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ed Reef
Great pictorial Sandy - you and Ed have come out with an amazing system.

Oh yeah and the Pool room looks way cool now with the new tank!!

Thank you Ed,
We are very pleased with how everything turned out.

I was very happy I could figure out all those valves by myself too!
I think Ed is too!

The pool room is so much bigger and quite now, no one bumps into the tanks when we are playing pool now.

I'll move my desk out of the way next time I take a FTS

edandsandy · 06/19/2009, 06:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by melev
I like the way you diffused the water pouring into the tank with a strainer. When I was growing up, my dad picked up an aluminum screw-on diffuser that was about as big around as a can of beans. It had 1000 holes ore more on it, and it allowed us to pump water in or siphon water out without affecting the livestock.

Today, I would never use aluminum with what I know.

Thanks for the link, and the suggestions. I think those would be very handy for a couple of projects I have lined up.

You and Ed think a like on the strainer!

Your welcome for the link, I can only imagine what you are going to come up with next!

FUA · 06/19/2009, 09:20 AM

looks like a nice automated easy to maintain system.......thanks for the behind the scenes pics.....I enjoy seeing peoples fish rooms almost as much as their display tanks!! great work

Blinding Reef · 06/19/2009, 09:27 AM

I just wanted to stop by and say thanks for such a great thread, very informative. I love how super simple your setup is for doing water changes, thanks for the pictures. It was such a great idea to illustrate how easy things can be made, if proper attention to details is paid. That is one of the reasons that I broke down my last system (approx 325gallons) about two weeks ago. Maintenance became such tedious work and such a hassle. My next system, I will implement something similar to your wc setup. Thanks again Sandy for the great info.

06/16/2009, 06:59 AM	#451
Lightsluvr Tangaroa to 500 gallons Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Edmond, OK Posts: 5,855	Tank you... Ed and Sandy - Located those tanks at Tanks To Go - they were $89 each. I arranged to have them shipped via freight to my LFS, which was glad to act as my receiving agent. By sending to a business, shipping was very reasonable. I should have them in 5 to 7 business days. Tanks for the info... I am looking forward to your updated tank/room photos... Great thread! LL P.S. - dogstar - our local farm stores only had horizontal tanks, no vertical at all... __________________ Click on my username and select "Lightsluvr's Home Page" for a recap of our build thread - AGE Hybrid Tank in a 500G system with dedicated fish room. (Takes a few minutes for photos to load) Leave a note if you stop by... Current Tank Info: 350G AGE Hybrid reef tank. 500G+ total water volume. Three sumps for filtration. Barracuda Gold return and Hammerhead Gold closed loop pumps. DIY T5 light system on rails. MP40W x3 to supplement closed loop. 130G Water management system.

06/16/2009, 07:12 AM	#452
edandsandy Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: NE Florida Posts: 2,380 Blog Entries: 2	Great! glad everything worked out for you! __________________ Sandy ><((((º>`•.¸¸.•><((((º>´¯`•><((((º> .¸¸.><((((º>•.¸. , . .•><((((º>.¸¸. Current Tank Info: 375 Reef, 4) Radion LED lights X30 pro, Apex Fusion, Octo Regal 300 E Skimmer, GEO 618 Calcium Reactor 2) Reeflo Snapper pumps, 2)50g refugium, 2) MP 40's

06/18/2009, 11:54 AM	#453
edandsandy Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: NE Florida Posts: 2,380 Blog Entries: 2	Here is a picture of how the room looks now. __________________ Sandy ><((((º>`•.¸¸.•><((((º>´¯`•><((((º> .¸¸.><((((º>•.¸. , . .•><((((º>.¸¸. Current Tank Info: 375 Reef, 4) Radion LED lights X30 pro, Apex Fusion, Octo Regal 300 E Skimmer, GEO 618 Calcium Reactor 2) Reeflo Snapper pumps, 2)50g refugium, 2) MP 40's

06/18/2009, 12:08 PM	#454
edandsandy Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: NE Florida Posts: 2,380 Blog Entries: 2	We have been asked a few times about how our water change out routine works. I will do my best to explaine how it works... Ed is too busy with work now to help....... First I made up the RO/DI water, put a heater in the water tank to match the aquarium, add salt, mix for at lease 24 hours. next test the water is see if anything is needed like calcium, mag or alk. if the water tests are good, we turn off the return pumps, move the lights over and then blow off the rocks to help remove any detritius [IMG]ttp://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff177/salligood/water%20change%20out/DSC_0191.jpg[/IMG] __________________ Sandy ><((((º>`•.¸¸.•><((((º>´¯`•><((((º> .¸¸.><((((º>•.¸. , . .•><((((º>.¸¸. Current Tank Info: 375 Reef, 4) Radion LED lights X30 pro, Apex Fusion, Octo Regal 300 E Skimmer, GEO 618 Calcium Reactor 2) Reeflo Snapper pumps, 2)50g refugium, 2) MP 40's Last edited by edandsandy; 06/18/2009 at 12:48 PM.

06/18/2009, 12:29 PM	#455
edandsandy Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: NE Florida Posts: 2,380 Blog Entries: 2	We made the blue background removable so we can have a full view of the back of the tank. I like to prime the pump first we use a mag 18 pump to remove the water from the tank, On the lower right side you see a banjo cam lever CAP. We use the cap when not in use. The drain hose uses a banjo lever cam designed to fit on the end of a 1" hose. They will not come loose or leak! The only metal are the levers and they are aluminum and do not come into constant contact with the salt water..... We remove 55 gallons of water I then attach the return hose to the tanks, the valve is closed here __________________ Sandy ><((((º>`•.¸¸.•><((((º>´¯`•><((((º> .¸¸.><((((º>•.¸. , . .•><((((º>.¸¸. Current Tank Info: 375 Reef, 4) Radion LED lights X30 pro, Apex Fusion, Octo Regal 300 E Skimmer, GEO 618 Calcium Reactor 2) Reeflo Snapper pumps, 2)50g refugium, 2) MP 40's

06/18/2009, 12:30 PM	#456
edandsandy Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: NE Florida Posts: 2,380 Blog Entries: 2	I close off the return valve to the top of the tank so the water flows faster the other end of the hose hangs in the tank, I made sure to follow the flow of the water, so I don't add fresh water or not close off a valve and it takes longer to fill I open this valve and we are filling the tank now this is how the valves should look when filling with NSW while the tank is filling, take a minute to clean off the top of the tank __________________ Sandy ><((((º>`•.¸¸.•><((((º>´¯`•><((((º> .¸¸.><((((º>•.¸. , . .•><((((º>.¸¸. Current Tank Info: 375 Reef, 4) Radion LED lights X30 pro, Apex Fusion, Octo Regal 300 E Skimmer, GEO 618 Calcium Reactor 2) Reeflo Snapper pumps, 2)50g refugium, 2) MP 40's Last edited by edandsandy; 06/18/2009 at 01:25 PM.

06/18/2009, 12:39 PM	#457
edandsandy Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: NE Florida Posts: 2,380 Blog Entries: 2	Now the tank is full I need to turn off the valve to fill the tank and open the other valve so the water can circulate so I run the pump dry [IMG]ttp://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff177/salligood/water%20change%20out/DSC_0325.jpg[/IMG] I turn on the the return pumps close off the valve to fill the tank I am watching the max fill line, If I take out to much water then the ATO will fill the tank with RO/DI water, I prefer at this time to fill with FSW __________________ Sandy ><((((º>`•.¸¸.•><((((º>´¯`•><((((º> .¸¸.><((((º>•.¸. , . .•><((((º>.¸¸. Current Tank Info: 375 Reef, 4) Radion LED lights X30 pro, Apex Fusion, Octo Regal 300 E Skimmer, GEO 618 Calcium Reactor 2) Reeflo Snapper pumps, 2)50g refugium, 2) MP 40's

06/18/2009, 12:46 PM	#458
Hookup Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,281	very awesome.. great photo montage! __________________ Spellking is an art form to which I have no brush. I'm not sure FOWLRs actually exist, I think they're like unicorns or platonic girlfriends. A FOWLR is just a reef tank that doesn't yet hold any coral. Current Tank Info: 180g display, 150gallon sump in-wall 4-side viewable sps dominated tank, ATI Powermodule, MRC MR-4 skimmer, GHL controller, Baling Method, Ultralith Reactor, Carbon & Phosphate Reactors, and general time consuming money pit that I live for.

06/18/2009, 12:47 PM	#459
edandsandy Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: NE Florida Posts: 2,380 Blog Entries: 2	I remove the fill line from the tank and drain the water out of the line before I disconnect it. next I clean up the equipment I used and store it for later. here is the fun part, I spray the floor with fresh water towards the drain, then mop and we are done! __________________ Sandy ><((((º>`•.¸¸.•><((((º>´¯`•><((((º> .¸¸.><((((º>•.¸. , . .•><((((º>.¸¸. Current Tank Info: 375 Reef, 4) Radion LED lights X30 pro, Apex Fusion, Octo Regal 300 E Skimmer, GEO 618 Calcium Reactor 2) Reeflo Snapper pumps, 2)50g refugium, 2) MP 40's

06/18/2009, 01:04 PM	#460
edandsandy Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: NE Florida Posts: 2,380 Blog Entries: 2	Here is the yuckie part, cleaning the protein skimmer OOPS, got some on the wall cleaning the collection cup __________________ Sandy ><((((º>`•.¸¸.•><((((º>´¯`•><((((º> .¸¸.><((((º>•.¸. , . .•><((((º>.¸¸. Current Tank Info: 375 Reef, 4) Radion LED lights X30 pro, Apex Fusion, Octo Regal 300 E Skimmer, GEO 618 Calcium Reactor 2) Reeflo Snapper pumps, 2)50g refugium, 2) MP 40's

06/18/2009, 01:08 PM	#461
edandsandy Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: NE Florida Posts: 2,380 Blog Entries: 2	OH, NOW ED HAS TIME TO SEE WHAT I'M DOING! I think he wants to see if I'm doing everything right this is how I feel about cleaning the skimmer __________________ Sandy ><((((º>`•.¸¸.•><((((º>´¯`•><((((º> .¸¸.><((((º>•.¸. , . .•><((((º>.¸¸. Current Tank Info: 375 Reef, 4) Radion LED lights X30 pro, Apex Fusion, Octo Regal 300 E Skimmer, GEO 618 Calcium Reactor 2) Reeflo Snapper pumps, 2)50g refugium, 2) MP 40's

06/18/2009, 01:14 PM	#462
edandsandy Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: NE Florida Posts: 2,380 Blog Entries: 2	Now I make Ed take me out to dinner since I had to do everything by myself this time __________________ Sandy ><((((º>`•.¸¸.•><((((º>´¯`•><((((º> .¸¸.><((((º>•.¸. , . .•><((((º>.¸¸. Current Tank Info: 375 Reef, 4) Radion LED lights X30 pro, Apex Fusion, Octo Regal 300 E Skimmer, GEO 618 Calcium Reactor 2) Reeflo Snapper pumps, 2)50g refugium, 2) MP 40's

06/18/2009, 01:29 PM	#463
Lightsluvr Tangaroa to 500 gallons Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Edmond, OK Posts: 5,855	Cool! That is very cool. I am going to study your "valvage" to analyze what goes where and why... I like that one pump does it all... Thanks! LL Valvage definition: "the scientific study of hydraulic flow arising from a mystical combination of ball valves in a saltwater aquarium system..." __________________ Click on my username and select "Lightsluvr's Home Page" for a recap of our build thread - AGE Hybrid Tank in a 500G system with dedicated fish room. (Takes a few minutes for photos to load) Leave a note if you stop by... Current Tank Info: 350G AGE Hybrid reef tank. 500G+ total water volume. Three sumps for filtration. Barracuda Gold return and Hammerhead Gold closed loop pumps. DIY T5 light system on rails. MP40W x3 to supplement closed loop. 130G Water management system.

06/18/2009, 03:36 PM	#466
melev Moved On Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Ft Worth, Tx Posts: 43,217	This page was my favorite page of the whole thread. I love that you can hose down the fishroom floor, and seeing how you added the water and cleaned up was very well documented. Where did you get those black disconnect fittings? They look very handy.

06/18/2009, 05:55 PM	#470
Ed Reef Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Currently Based in China Posts: 4,060	Great pictorial Sandy - you and Ed have come out with an amazing system. Oh yeah and the Pool room looks way cool now with the new tank!! __________________ Ed ~ Art is an adventure into an unknown world, which can only be explored by those willing to take the risks. ~ Current Tank Info: Ed Reef’s Shallow Crest Inspired ART

06/19/2009, 09:20 AM	#474
FUA Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Upstate New York Posts: 863	looks like a nice automated easy to maintain system.......thanks for the behind the scenes pics.....I enjoy seeing peoples fish rooms almost as much as their display tanks!! great work

06/19/2009, 09:27 AM	#475
Blinding Reef Moved On Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 794	I just wanted to stop by and say thanks for such a great thread, very informative. I love how super simple your setup is for doing water changes, thanks for the pictures. It was such a great idea to illustrate how easy things can be made, if proper attention to details is paid. That is one of the reasons that I broke down my last system (approx 325gallons) about two weeks ago. Maintenance became such tedious work and such a hassle. My next system, I will implement something similar to your wc setup. Thanks again Sandy for the great info.