Cris' 60

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KidNano

New Member
OK I've finally decided to post a few pics and start getting some input for my new 60 gallon. Let me know if you see anything off the wall. Remember I've only been in the hobby for 2 1/2 months and this is my first project.

Be honest though. Thanks.

ASM mini G. up to 75 gallons
Mag 9 with 1 1/2" line up, splits into a 1" loop with 4 returns. I made a complete loop to try and keep the pressure even at all four heads. Don't really no if it helps but the flow looks really good and even to me.
two 1" drains. the left side drains into the left side of the sump where the mini G is and the right side drains into the area on the right where I'll put the Chaeto in the future.
they both meet in the middle where the pump sends it back up.
I calc'd it with a link Jess gave me at about 750 GPH. oh yeah. I don't have a pic but I've got a Tek T5 retrofit with a daytime and a blue lamp. I think the daytime is a 10,000K lamp.



 
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reefman23

New Member
Your overflows are so loud because they are succking in air.. you need an external durso overflow like this...



My only other concern is the fact that there are 4 outlets but only about 750 GPH... do you have much force coming out of the outlets?

Everything else looks good... keep us updated!

Jesse
 
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KidNano

New Member
I like your rec for the Durso overflow. I hadn't seen that before but it looks like the easiest fix. my one problem is the bulkheads are one inch ID but the OD is like 1 3/8" 1 1/4 is too small and 1 1/2 is too big. I might have to swap those out anyway so I can get something that will fit over the outside as to not reduce the interior dim.

I haven't seen to many tanks to compare to, but there is a lot of flow in mine. I don't have any of the returns pointed at the rock but my feather dusters on the LR are blowing around like crazy. If you do the math it works out to about 3 gallons per minute out of each head and 12 total. That's more then your shower head or your kitchen sink which are probably around 2.5 GPM To me that seams like a lot of flow. Plus I put those heads on that are suppose to suck extra water through and increase the flow. I forget what they're called, but you can see them in the picture above. how much do they really increase the flow. Anyway. I think it's enough movement. After I get some livestock in there then I'll be able to tell. If I need more then I'll probably use Tunze because I don't want more water flowing through my sump. don't know why, I just dont.

Also I dedicate too much space to my skimmer and I'm bummed about that. It really decreased the fuge side. I've got to finish that side up still and I'm going to put some Fiji gold in the bottom with some Chaeto floating around above. I read that thread on RC about getting the macro to spin. Have you done that? Do you like that theory or method?
 
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amf82380

New Member
you should be alright with a anemone in that tank being its only 12.5 gals and your using T5HO right ? if so then that is plenty if your T5 bulbs have indiviual reflectors I had a Flower anemone in a 10gal with only 96w of power compact light and it was fine just out grew the tank is all. what type of anemone are you looking at putting in there?

Ps by the way the tank and set up looks great cant wait to see it stocked make sure you keep us updated on the progress.

Aaron
 
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amf82380

New Member
I just corrected myself (a little tired at the moment) I reread the post and found out its a 60 but as previsouly mention with the T5's as long as their HO (High Output) with the individual reflectors you should be alright but like I had said it kinda also depends on your plan of what type of anemone your looking at putting in there some need more light then others but for what you have you should be able to keep most of the selction avab. to those in the hobby.

Aaron
 
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KidNano

New Member
Thanks Aaron. I don't know what kind of Anemone for sure. I like so many of them. I would eventually like to have a carpet anemone. I know that they are difficult though so I'll start out with a bubble tip or something.

I had a bit of a scare yesterday. I bought a maroon clown and floated him then drip acclimated and 3 hours after he was in the tank he died. I thought my tank was in bad shape. just before he died I noticed his eye was all swollen. Anyway I thought I did a bad thing because the sand I have was used in a previous freshwater system that I know was treated. It was a cyclid tank and they all died and they didn't know why. long story short. I got a damsel today and a red hermit they've been in for about 7 hours and they are both doing great so far. I just hope there isn't anything in the sand that will kill my inverts. OH yeah the clown. I think he had popeye. I took him back to the store and they froze him so the owner can check him out and hopefully give me a refund. I took my water down also and had them test it just incase my test was bad and everything is good. just a bad fish. I'll leave these two in for about a week and then get some friends for them.
 
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KidNano

New Member
Well the crab dissapeared. found his shell last night. I'm freakin out that my tank is infested with copper. I know there isn't anyway to get ride of the copper if it is infact there, but do I have any hopes of it ever diluting enough that I can turn this into a reef someday? I'm gonna try and find a copper test kit or see if my LFS can check it for me. I guess if it is copper that killed my crab this tank will be a FOWLR. The live rock might die off too though, huh? The Damsel is doing well and loves playing in the currents.

Oh yeah Jesse. I bought every thing I needed to put together the Durso and my tank is too close to the wall. I can't get them on. I can't easily move 700 lbs of water and rock even a couple of inches.

OK for those who know about Copper. hypothetically if it is copper. Everything is pretty much useless right? My tank and sump would have copper in the sylicone. my pump, skimmer, LR, PVC everything would just be trash right?
 
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reefman23

New Member
I would get a Cu test kit and go from there.. are you sure that copper was used in this tank? Are you sure it was a dead crab and not a molt?

KidNano said:
Oh yeah Jesse. I bought every thing I needed to put together the Durso and my tank is too close to the wall. I can't get them on. I can't easily move 700 lbs of water and rock even a couple of inches.
Click to expand...
That suck. Maybe you could drill a small hole in the to of the elbow and attach a small piece of airline with a valve to adjust how much air you are allowing in. That should help with the gurgling.

Jesse
 
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KidNano

New Member
I was actually able to move my tank a little. I used my super human strength. lifted with my legs. I cut a little off the T and a little off the back of the bulk head as well. now I've got about an 1/8th of an inch between them and the wall. Works almost perfectly. I also swapped out the elbows in the tank from 1" to 1-1/4". The right side is perfectly silent but for some reason I can hear gurgling through the little hole on the left side. Doesn't make sense as I did both sides the exact same. Anyway thanks alot for the idea. I'm much happier with it like this.

I'm not sure there is copper in my tank. I am sure that the previous owner of the tank treated with clout and numours other pill form treatments. The guy is a pharmicist so he believes heavily in medication. However I'm not sure that the crab died from copper. I now think he starved. After all he was in a tank with a ton of empty shells and he was eating another dead hermit when I bought him. (bad judgement on my part) Also I don't have any algae what so ever in my tank. Except coraline. OH yeah... I didn't find the crabs body. I found an empty shell. The one that was his mobile home. So I assume that he's dead because he wasn't in it. And there weren't anyother shells he could have swapped with or anything like that. Also the heater I was using was broken and the tank was around 83 degrees. Maybe he just got hot and steped out of his shell for a breather.

I went by petco to look for a copper test and they didn't have one. I started talking to the kid working there and he seemed to be pretty experienced. He has converted many tanks that have been treated with all kinds of things from fresh to salt and never had any trouble. After a little research I've learned that Active Carbon absorbs copper and other heavy metals so I bought some good carbon. I've also learned that copper has to be soluble in order to be potent in the tank and that doesn't linger around too long. I'll take some water down to my LFS and see if they can test for copper. I can handle doing FOWLR for a while untill I can get it down far enough. I guess another good thing about acrylic tanks is they don't have silicone that will absorb things like copper and release it back into the tank. Sand and the LR will also absorb low amounts of copper. I've also learned that they add small amounts of copper to some fish foods as a preserver. Please if anyone knows that what I've learned is false, or a little off, please let me know. we should have a sticky on this site with facts about copper.

I feel pretty good about the situation..... gonna give it another week see if some algae will start growing and then maybe try out another hermit.

Thanks again for all your advice... Let me know if you have any other ideas for my tank.
 
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amf82380

New Member
As far as the crab is concerned unless he moved to the atlantic for a cool off period I would assume he is dead also cant survive to long with out there shell anyway as far as the temps go I wouldnt be to worried about the tank being 83 degrees especially if it was only for a very short period of time Mine has gotten to 86 before due to a faulty heater and was like that for a weekend well I was away came back and everything looked shriveld up and latharfic but figured out what happened thru some ice packs in the sump to bnring the temp down gradually and everything seemed to be alright. as far as the copper goes you should be able to pick them up on marinedepot.com or doctorsfoster&smith.com and there not much more then any of the normal test kits. if you already have copper in your tank then your kinda stuck because there really isnt anyway to remove it quick with out throwing all your money away that you spent on everything except the tank itself because the rest would have to sit for a while before it would be safe even for fish alot of the fish are pretty sensitive to copper as well the damsels and a select other few can handle small amounts but there arent many that can. so if hes doing ok then I wouldnt add anything to your tank until you get the test kit run the carbon but keep in mind its not a quick fix so if there is any in there I would just run the tank with the carbon with the creatures you all ready have in there and leave it at that until its gone. hope this helps and best of luck

Aaron
 
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amf82380

New Member
2 other side notes your photos arent show up for some reason and for the most part dont listen to advice from petco or most other chain stores like that I dont know what ones you have on the west coast but as far as the ones out here on the east cost that would be like going to walmart's fish dept and asking them about them by the sounds of the LFS in your area that I have heard jesse talk about I would go to them for the advice and you also have us hear on the borad that will help you out in anyway we can. anyway ttyl

Aaron
 
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KidNano

New Member
I just noticed none of my pics are showing up as well. what up with that? I've turned my computer off at home. Are the pics not actually uploaded just linked to my computer? I guess I'll get it back on when I go home and see if that fixes it. :?: Thanks for the advice. I wouldn't normally listen to people at Petco but you can tell when someone is guessing and when they've actually experienced what they're talking about. also most of what I mentioned above was through online research. Which is so funny becuase LFS' say don't listen to those losers online and everyone online says don't listen to your LFS. Everyone is always hatin on everyone. Can't we just all love each other. :lol: I think I'll just have my LFS test my water so I can avoid buying a test I might not ever need after the first test. And I got a new titanium heater that is keeping the tank very stable tempwise. much more so then my 12 gallon.
 
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amf82380

New Member
Yeah thats what I ended up with after my heater mishap was a titanium one.
As far as the pics go no they should be uploaded to nanotanks server but it might be having trouble although I dont know because there still not showing up but others are. as far as the info you recieve from diffrent sources I say take it all in and pick out what sounds good and what works for you and take the rest with a grain of salt lol I dont hate on anyone gotten alot of good info for many diffrent placed LFS,online reef clubs so on each tank is diffrent and sure there genral guidlines to follow to have a sucessful tank but as for the rest its all trial and error what works for some doesnt work well for others just like the whole tap water debate and sand beds and so forth the list is endless anyway you get my point but yeah have you LFS test your water asap that way we can help you plan a better course of action and if thats not the problem we can look further into it. anyway keep us posted

Aaron
 
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KidNano

New Member
Thanks Aaron. Will do. probably wont be able to get my water tested until Saturday. Anyideas on why I don't have any algae growth? I find it strange because I had and still have a healthy dose in my 12. I did start that tank with tap water though and this one I used the same water Jesse does. Scripps. Is it good that I haven't had diatoms or strange? Should I not run my skimmer for a while and let the tank just do its thing? I've only run it a couple of times as is and haven't collected much goop. My cycle is complete, so I'm at a loss.

This is my 100th post by the way. Weh hoo!
 
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amf82380

New Member
I would think your doing alright and you probably didnt get much diatom bloom because of the water your using but dont worry its not a bad thing that you didnt get it and other then the live rock you didnt have any life in the tank before you put the damsel and crab in there right? you will probably see a little cycle being that you have added the first inhabiants to the tank it will most likly not be a big one being you didnt add a bunch of stuff at once. You probably got the algae growth in the 12 because of the fact you used tap water I know When I firsted started my 10gal I had a diatom out break and I started that with tap water then when I upgraded to my larger tanks I havent had any and Im still using tap water but a diffrent source (I have moved since first starting my 10gal) so as long as your water checks out ok when tested your fine and as far as the copper issue as long as the fish is doing alright and dont add anything else till you get the LFS test for the copper then your good just keep an eye on the fish to make sure its not showing any signs of stress or anything like that and keep us posted

Aaron
 
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amf82380

New Member
oh and ps being that you have a fish in there now and are feeding the tank I would run the skimmer I have ran mine since day one when I got it and started the tank even with the fish in there and feeding and all there are days when it pulls alot of junk out then there are days when it doesnt pull much of anything although once it does start pulling stuff out make sure you empty it ever few days or at least once a week and keep the riser tube clean aids in better skimmate production.

Aaron
 
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