Help with plumbing and canopy for my new 90gallon

filly · 10/08/2009, 08:54 PM

I haven't been here in awhile and had a complete tank melt down, literally, this July. My system was old but I was able to salvage the rock which still has coralline etc on it. It's sitting in buckets with heaters in them but no light and no bubbles, at least not yet....

Questions:
Will the rock be ok as long as there is O2 in the buckets with air pumps with no light?

I'm setting up a 90 gallon and this time using the following

48x18x24)
I have an external Little Giant 1180, Ushio 20k 250 watt lights and a 180 Eurofil Acrylic sump with a great skimmer(although I don't remember the name of it).
The overflow box is in the leftish corner (constraints with classroom and hole already in counter).

My questions are these.

a. I've never had an external pump before and the guy made the PVC exiting the return pump into 1" pvc, but he drilled all my return inlets into the back of the tank with 1 1/4 threaded bulkheads. I'm having issues finding all the dang stuff I needed without doing all these conversions back and forth between 1" and 1 1/4". Could I just convert the pvc coming out of the return pump to 1 1/4 " all the way up and then drop it back to 1" at each opening where the bulkheads are with slips? I know the pump is really strong and the return is literally only 3 feet literally straight up to the first return, then down along the left, back to towards the overflow so no worries about too much pipe, turns, etc. Am I right assuming that the bigger pipe will lessen my pressure on the return?

b. After reading above, the pipe coming out of my sump into the return is 1" into pump. Can I still leave that as is?

c. I have these MH's but my canopy has to be rebuilt and I was looking for ideas on how to build it. I have a classroom full of students who sit lower than the tank, so I can't use pendants that are open at the bottom and front of the tank. I was thinking of building an open box type canopy that was completely open on the top (to allow for heat escape) except for one 6" piece of wood that crossed the entire middle portion of the canopy to hang the reflectors on. Then, I wanted to possibly put doors on the front except that I'm not sure what I'm going to do when I have to clean it. Anyone have ideas or pics with something of this nature or advice?

Thanks for reading all that and replying!

lordofthereef · 10/08/2009, 11:54 PM

Regarding the rock... I would put a powerhead rather than an airstone (or whatever you have in there) right now. Air bubbles getting stuck in nooks and crannies is just going to kill your good bacteria. Otherwise sounds like you are doing things right.

Plumbing... I am not an expert in this field but I don;t see why you couldn't do what you want here. Worst case scenario you will restrict the water flow a bit.

Canopy. Open top or open back (or both) I think would work just fine for what you want. I would still aim a fan at each of the bulbs/reflectors just to increase lifespan. Doors work great too. If you have the canopy tall enough, everything will be out of the way for you when you need to reach into the tank

mnchartier · 10/09/2009, 02:27 PM

Here is what I did on my 90Gal for canopy. I took of the top of the canopy that came with the tank (Oceanic) and built up. I am working on finishing the doors now. I have the MH on heavy duty slides so I can pull them out to clean and change bulbs.

Click to see full size. Not sure why this happens
DSC_0062.jpg

DSC_0060.jpg

10/08/2009, 08:54 PM	#1
filly Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Santa Clarita, CA Posts: 40	Help with plumbing and canopy for my new 90gallon I haven't been here in awhile and had a complete tank melt down, literally, this July. My system was old but I was able to salvage the rock which still has coralline etc on it. It's sitting in buckets with heaters in them but no light and no bubbles, at least not yet.... Questions: Will the rock be ok as long as there is O2 in the buckets with air pumps with no light? I'm setting up a 90 gallon and this time using the following48x18x24) I have an external Little Giant 1180, Ushio 20k 250 watt lights and a 180 Eurofil Acrylic sump with a great skimmer(although I don't remember the name of it). The overflow box is in the leftish corner (constraints with classroom and hole already in counter). My questions are these. a. I've never had an external pump before and the guy made the PVC exiting the return pump into 1" pvc, but he drilled all my return inlets into the back of the tank with 1 1/4 threaded bulkheads. I'm having issues finding all the dang stuff I needed without doing all these conversions back and forth between 1" and 1 1/4". Could I just convert the pvc coming out of the return pump to 1 1/4 " all the way up and then drop it back to 1" at each opening where the bulkheads are with slips? I know the pump is really strong and the return is literally only 3 feet literally straight up to the first return, then down along the left, back to towards the overflow so no worries about too much pipe, turns, etc. Am I right assuming that the bigger pipe will lessen my pressure on the return? b. After reading above, the pipe coming out of my sump into the return is 1" into pump. Can I still leave that as is? c. I have these MH's but my canopy has to be rebuilt and I was looking for ideas on how to build it. I have a classroom full of students who sit lower than the tank, so I can't use pendants that are open at the bottom and front of the tank. I was thinking of building an open box type canopy that was completely open on the top (to allow for heat escape) except for one 6" piece of wood that crossed the entire middle portion of the canopy to hang the reflectors on. Then, I wanted to possibly put doors on the front except that I'm not sure what I'm going to do when I have to clean it. Anyone have ideas or pics with something of this nature or advice? Thanks for reading all that and replying!

10/08/2009, 11:54 PM	#2
lordofthereef One reef to rule them all Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Leominster, MA Posts: 5,299	Regarding the rock... I would put a powerhead rather than an airstone (or whatever you have in there) right now. Air bubbles getting stuck in nooks and crannies is just going to kill your good bacteria. Otherwise sounds like you are doing things right. Plumbing... I am not an expert in this field but I don;t see why you couldn't do what you want here. Worst case scenario you will restrict the water flow a bit. Canopy. Open top or open back (or both) I think would work just fine for what you want. I would still aim a fan at each of the bulbs/reflectors just to increase lifespan. Doors work great too. If you have the canopy tall enough, everything will be out of the way for you when you need to reach into the tank __________________ "A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself" ~ Josh Billings Visit My Home page for current build thread (click my user name and select "Visit LordoftheReef's Homepage" in the drop down menu!

10/09/2009, 02:27 PM	#3
mnchartier Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Oh look a river Posts: 458	Here is what I did on my 90Gal for canopy. I took of the top of the canopy that came with the tank (Oceanic) and built up. I am working on finishing the doors now. I have the MH on heavy duty slides so I can pull them out to clean and change bulbs. Click to see full size. Not sure why this happens DSC_0062.jpg DSC_0060.jpg