a little piece of figi - building my dream SPS tank

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Anonymous

Guest
OK i finally think i know what i want when i build my new tank but since there are so many varibles and ideas i can't decide on i built a "test" tank first and will build the real tank after i discover the problems and issues i'll have to deal with.
Basic idea: i want to build a shallow water theme tank representing the reef crest of a figi reef the tank will be 24x24(30) by some yet to be determined height (12" - 15") with a false wall overflow and pump/heater region
Test tank: i took a 29 gal tank removed a side panal and glued on a new side on what was the top 22 x 30 x 12. i am glueing in a false wall to make the tanks display area about 22 square (24???gal give or take).
problems/issues:
1) there will be 4 sieo 620 behind the wall 2480gal of flow - will the overflow handle that volume??? or will i flood the bedroom?
2) the skimmer (remora) will flow into a refugium that sits in the back area like an internal cage - don't quite know how i'll return that water to the tank yet??? 1" pvc most likely
3) do i need to drill the tank and add a sump when i build the real tank to compensate for evaporation rate which will inevedably be very high due to the large surface area??
4) SQCD??? one day maybe from sump????
5) bottom - bare but not really - i intend to glue a thin layer of sand to creat a rough surface to glue frags unto??? has anyone else tried this??

anyway here are the pics so far feel free to comment like i said this is an experiment and would appreciate imput that would avoid problems in my idea


 
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sadielynn

New Member
wow John that is gonna be nice I have read some where about the "fake" bare bottom using sand and acrylic to cover that and then adding a bit of sand to take the gloss out of it I am not sure where I read it at and will try to find the link to it for you :mrgreen:
 
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Anonymous

Guest
thanks - nice link - similar to what i'm thinking but i was going to use either PVC cement or aquarium silicon ??? hmmmm.
 
skipm

skipm

Moderator
Staff member
Go with the silicone, this will give a little cushioning to the tank bottom plus your LR will be able get a better grip so you will have a more stable aquascape. You could even add a few pieces of broken shell for a more natural look, plus grain size won't mean anything like it does in a DSB.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
thanks skipm - i agree plus i know silicon is 100% safe so thats what i did on the bottom - i still have the back wall to do tonight though
well i didn't get as much done this week as i wanted but here are a couple pics anyway - i should be able to finish this weekend and maybe even get a fresh water trial in to see if the overflow will handle around 2800 gph without overflowing...............
two pics - full tank shot and one of the back chamber refuge area. my remora will pump into there and then the water should flow back into the tank through the 2 3/4 inch PVC pipes. its built to come in and out as i please. the egg crate bottom in the sump area will be covered by either a screen (for large stuff) or a filter floss????? i can also set a couple carbon bags back there


 
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Anonymous

Guest
well it holds water!!!!!!!!!!! yea
and the overflow can handle it i figure about 125 tank vph
one problem refugium need to be about 4 - 6 inches taller so i need to build or find a substitute dr F+S's one the size i need is about 90$ i think i just may buy it?????we'll have to see
somehow watching this thing go makes me want to grunt like Tim the tool man for some reason ohh oh oh oh ohhh! :) corals you better hold on!!
check it out.........




 
skipm

skipm

Moderator
Staff member
You definitely shouldn't have any problems with dead spots with all that flow. We'll find out how well siliconed sand stays in place thats for sure. That should be an SPS paradise. :mrgreen:
 
EDGRAY

EDGRAY

New Member
For sure psp paradaise looks really great and like you said what a great flow....well done my boy :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
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reefman23

New Member
Very interested J/D... so all the flow comes from those 4 pumps on the bottom? How many GPH are you lookin at here? Very cool design, I like.

Jesse
 
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Anonymous

Guest
thanks everyone - i've been building this tank in my head for 6 months now it's nice to see it coming together
jesse there are 4 sieo 620's in there - i was also planning return flow from the refuge into the tank but i think i may have to go with an external refuge so we'll have to wait and see on that - right now though the 4 pumps make 2480 and the tank computes out at 22gal on the RC calculator so a little over 110 vph as is. i love the surface area though, it seems so big compared to a normal 20 because its only got 11 inches of water in it.
well anyway i've been busy today anyone recognize that rock??

 
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Anonymous

Guest
Interesting idea there johnanddawn. Lots of flow, that's for sure. Is that sand glued to the bottom holding up?Maybe I missed it, but what are your plans for lights?
 
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Anonymous

Guest
the sand is holding up so-so its still covered but some fell off when i rinced it out real well, it should be fine though i just didn't want a bare bottom and i got that. same goes for the back wall there is enough holding to cover the false wall. the lighting is the pendent from my hex DIY oak pendent with 175MH and 64W PC - this link is to the hex which is no more.......... everything from the hex is now in the 22xs - the hex will become a FOWLR tank again for the summer when i bring my clowns home from school


http://nanotank.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1751
 
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Anonymous

Guest
i hooked in the refuge temperarily today its not done yet - just wanted to test the system out before i went any further. can't make up my mind what i want to do next.......since this is a visible display and an "upsteam" refugium it needs to look clean, so i have a few options:
1) i want a chaeto chamber but not quite sure where to glue in the box - along the back or in front of the overflow?? in front of the overflow would look nicer but along the back allows for more flow from the spraybar.
2) also i really need room for frags - so do i put in some eggcrate shelving in or not??? right now i'm thinking maybe a 6" tall chaeto box with a eggcrate cover serving both purposes...hmmmm??
3) i would also like a settling area that is easily vacuumed so i think i'll stay bare bottomed - even though a DSB would be nice
4) i could just leave it as is the rock looks real nice in there and it is now a display tank in it's own right.... so unless someone has some ideas i'll be thinking for a while and the tank can be for now.....next week i'll be putting my coralife PC fixture on it anyway







 
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Anonymous

Guest
Do you need a separate compartment for the chaeto? I'd just put a clump of it in the fuge, out of the way somewhere and anchor it down, if necessary. Frag racks are nice to have, if you have a lot of frags. Since you have that by your hot tub, is that all going to be visible? Might not be as aesthetically pleasing as a small tank with frags and some chaeto in a more or less normal looking reef. Just a thought....
 
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Anonymous

Guest
yea pirate, neglate my last post - i through a 12 or so frags in there just for fun, and when dawn got home she liked the way it looked so much claimed it as her tank........so now instead of me having a 10 gal refugium for my figi tank - dawn has my figi tank as a sump for her new 10 gal nano tank......funny how things work ain't it????? :)
 
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Anonymous

Guest
johnanddawn said:
yea pirate, neglate my last post - i through a 12 or so frags in there just for fun, and when dawn got home she liked the way it looked so much claimed it as her tank........so now instead of me having a 10 gal refugium for my figi tank - dawn has my figi tank as a sump for her new 10 gal nano tank......funny how things work ain't it????? :)
Click to expand...
Ha! Well, gotta keep the women happy! She has a really nice sump! :lol3:
 
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