Amoo's Dream Pasture
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Amoo
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After having to redo our kitchen, the wife is getting granite counter tops and I'm getting my dream tank. Most folks will probably be surprised with my selection, but my dream tank was something that was 48Lx24Dx18-20H. Enter this:
This would be the new Innovative Marine INT-100. C2C overflow, bean animal plumbed 48x24x20 or approximately 100G. This is exactly what I have been looking for. Rimless tank, black silicone, perfect dimensions, bean animal plumbing...etc Unfortunately these tanks haven't quite become super available yet. I took a flier and emailed IM CS and got in contact with Paul Chung. Paul asked me to call him and see what they could do. Paul spend a good 30 minutes on the phone with me trying to find a local distributor that may have some, but we had no luck. He looked through their system and was able to find 1 he could free up. He did this, took my payment over the phone and got the ball rolling. In two days since then, the tank has already moved from CA to TX and should be delivered next week!
http://www.innovative-marine.com/nuvo-aquarium/nuvo-int-100.html
This would be the new Innovative Marine INT-100. C2C overflow, bean animal plumbed 48x24x20 or approximately 100G. This is exactly what I have been looking for. Rimless tank, black silicone, perfect dimensions, bean animal plumbing...etc Unfortunately these tanks haven't quite become super available yet. I took a flier and emailed IM CS and got in contact with Paul Chung. Paul asked me to call him and see what they could do. Paul spend a good 30 minutes on the phone with me trying to find a local distributor that may have some, but we had no luck. He looked through their system and was able to find 1 he could free up. He did this, took my payment over the phone and got the ball rolling. In two days since then, the tank has already moved from CA to TX and should be delivered next week!
http://www.innovative-marine.com/nuvo-aquarium/nuvo-int-100.html
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Amoo
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Okay we got the tank, what do we want to do for a stand and sump here? My current stand is one I built out of metal and has held up well, but it was originally built for 6' 125G tank and been repurposed multiple times. The sump is a standard 75G customized with glass baffles I built myself. It has it's advantages and disadvantages, being a standard rimmed tank, and I was able to customize it how I wanted.
After some looking around I decided I was going to consider replacing my sump, but still wanted to be able to maintain a fuge. Lucky for me with Triton Method gaining more popularity a bunch of companies started making fuges specifically with fuge capacity in mind. Enter this:
This would be the Trigger Systems - Triton44 sump. This thing is 44"Lx16"Wx15"H with an 18 gallon fuge section alone. So it already comes with plumbing connections, it has a generous fuge section, has an adjustable level skimmer section (no more egg crate under the skimmer), has built in holders for probes and quick connects for dosing. This pretty much checked all the boxes for me which includes keeping a much bigger sump then needed for the size tank I have. This was ordered two days ago and it sitting on my back porch already in a box!
http://www.triggersys.com/ts/triton44/
After some looking around I decided I was going to consider replacing my sump, but still wanted to be able to maintain a fuge. Lucky for me with Triton Method gaining more popularity a bunch of companies started making fuges specifically with fuge capacity in mind. Enter this:
This would be the Trigger Systems - Triton44 sump. This thing is 44"Lx16"Wx15"H with an 18 gallon fuge section alone. So it already comes with plumbing connections, it has a generous fuge section, has an adjustable level skimmer section (no more egg crate under the skimmer), has built in holders for probes and quick connects for dosing. This pretty much checked all the boxes for me which includes keeping a much bigger sump then needed for the size tank I have. This was ordered two days ago and it sitting on my back porch already in a box!
http://www.triggersys.com/ts/triton44/
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Ok so we have a tank and a sump, now we need a stand. They offer one with the tank...LOL, the DIYer in me says nope. Let's see what I can come up with:
Base Layout:
Front view of foundation (I was lazy and didn't draw in a few of the bottom 2x4s that will be added:
Rear View:
Okay, so after tiling the top of the 32G tank stand I have, I'm definitely doing that again. The current stand I have is skinned with magnetic sides and I plan on repeating that again as well. The back will stay open to allow airflow and I will have a cutout in the front to view the Fuge section.
The left side is where all of my dosing and electrical will go. I may add a shelf in there, I may not. The right side I made it so that both the Sump and ATO can be pulled from both the side and the front. I definitely enjoy having enough height not to worry about screwing around with stuff under the tank, so this should do.
Base Layout:
Front view of foundation (I was lazy and didn't draw in a few of the bottom 2x4s that will be added:
Rear View:
Okay, so after tiling the top of the 32G tank stand I have, I'm definitely doing that again. The current stand I have is skinned with magnetic sides and I plan on repeating that again as well. The back will stay open to allow airflow and I will have a cutout in the front to view the Fuge section.
The left side is where all of my dosing and electrical will go. I may add a shelf in there, I may not. The right side I made it so that both the Sump and ATO can be pulled from both the side and the front. I definitely enjoy having enough height not to worry about screwing around with stuff under the tank, so this should do.
Congratulations on landing that glass box ... and ... dare I say? On wrapping up the kitchen??
Looks like it's going to be a fun project!
~Bruce
Looks like it's going to be a fun project!
~Bruce
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Ok since this build thread is a new start I need to tag folks in who are following my other thread:
@Tahoe61 @Robin Haselden @mdbannister @Rakie @Maritimer @GoVols @najer @jsker @sfin52 @Lance M. @NY_Caveman @Flippers4pups @Katrina71 @Venator @TexasTodd @Dsnakes
Ok if I tagged you it's because you appeared to be following my other thread.
@Tahoe61 @Robin Haselden @mdbannister @Rakie @Maritimer @GoVols @najer @jsker @sfin52 @Lance M. @NY_Caveman @Flippers4pups @Katrina71 @Venator @TexasTodd @Dsnakes
Ok if I tagged you it's because you appeared to be following my other thread.
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Amoo
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Thanks Bruce. Yeah they came and leveled the kitchen door today, which means tomorrow I can finish off trim. After that it's just waiting on the counter tops then adding the backsplash. ALL of the major work is done now though.
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Welcome aboard @dantimdad
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Ok let's talk substrate. Wait who talks about substrate? You just dump some sand in and call it a day right? Anybody who has had a high flow tank like I run, almost always ends up infuriated with their sand. I've gone from sand, to tile, to bare bottom, to multiple other considerations. So what are we going to do here?
Well the short answer is we're going back to sand, but this requires more explanation. I always figured with a high flow tank, if I wanted to add something to the tank I could just glue it onto a piece of rubble and place it somewhere. LOL, nope, those little pieces of rubble, even good sized 5-6" pieces will blow straight across the tank in a heartbeat. Did I mention I keep high flow?
So in the past I've used the Carib Sea Dry Aragonite Special Grade. This stuff was supposed to be touted as resistant to moving around by many reefers. Now don't get me wrong, it is more resistant to moving then sugar sands, but at grain sizes of 1.0-2.0mm this stuff still flies all over the place the first time you think about turning up your powerheads.
So we're stepping up our grain
. Tropic Eden makes a larger grain sand that's still not as large as something like crushed coral, but substantially more hefty than my old go to. It's also still an Aragonite sand which I feel has it's benefits.
We're going to use a mix of two things here.
For starters we're going to go with the increasingly popular Tropic Eden Reef Flakes at 3.0mm:
We're going to mix that with the Tropic Eden Reeflakes Grand Select at 4.5mm:
I've ordered (2) 30pound bags of each and will probably mix 2 bags of grand select with 1 bag of regular into the DT and hope that gives me that 1.5-3" I'm looking for. If not I can always add a little more, but that should be more then enough. The last bag will go into the Fuge section of the sump where I prefer to run closer to a 4" sandbed.
Well the short answer is we're going back to sand, but this requires more explanation. I always figured with a high flow tank, if I wanted to add something to the tank I could just glue it onto a piece of rubble and place it somewhere. LOL, nope, those little pieces of rubble, even good sized 5-6" pieces will blow straight across the tank in a heartbeat. Did I mention I keep high flow?
So in the past I've used the Carib Sea Dry Aragonite Special Grade. This stuff was supposed to be touted as resistant to moving around by many reefers. Now don't get me wrong, it is more resistant to moving then sugar sands, but at grain sizes of 1.0-2.0mm this stuff still flies all over the place the first time you think about turning up your powerheads.
So we're stepping up our grain
. Tropic Eden makes a larger grain sand that's still not as large as something like crushed coral, but substantially more hefty than my old go to. It's also still an Aragonite sand which I feel has it's benefits.We're going to use a mix of two things here.
For starters we're going to go with the increasingly popular Tropic Eden Reef Flakes at 3.0mm:
We're going to mix that with the Tropic Eden Reeflakes Grand Select at 4.5mm:
I've ordered (2) 30pound bags of each and will probably mix 2 bags of grand select with 1 bag of regular into the DT and hope that gives me that 1.5-3" I'm looking for. If not I can always add a little more, but that should be more then enough. The last bag will go into the Fuge section of the sump where I prefer to run closer to a 4" sandbed.
I always hated those sample pictures as they make it look less uniform than it is. Having just stolen two bags from @mdbannister I can tell you, it's more uniform than that. yeah, there will be a couple smaller pieces here and there.. But those pictures make it look like any other mix out there. the QC has either stepped up since those pics were taken, or, that's just not the best picture they could use to represent their product.
This isn't the best picture.. but I think they're doing a disservice to the uniformity of their product.
This is the 2.7mm mesoflakes. 2.7mm and flat, or 2.7mm round. Almost nothing larger than 2.7mm, and what looks like 10% less than the 2.7mm size, but nothing less than about 1mm.
All and all. This gravel stays grounded. Ask the 7000gph in my tank that fails to push it around.
On the bright side, my leopard loves it. Digs all day long.
This isn't the best picture.. but I think they're doing a disservice to the uniformity of their product.
This is the 2.7mm mesoflakes. 2.7mm and flat, or 2.7mm round. Almost nothing larger than 2.7mm, and what looks like 10% less than the 2.7mm size, but nothing less than about 1mm.
All and all. This gravel stays grounded. Ask the 7000gph in my tank that fails to push it around.
On the bright side, my leopard loves it. Digs all day long.
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Amoo
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Good photo Rakie. I want to give a shoutout to @premiumaquatics they actually have a video where they compare all of the different grain sizes of Tropic Eden's products which they carry. I was going to Amazon order it, but I figured since they were nice enough to make a video to help me choose I might as well vote with my wallet and support them.
Here's the video:
Here's the video:
Oh! I didn't know they had a video, I actually love Premium Aquatics and it's where I get Tropic Eden. Besides the two obvious big dogs, I love PremiumAquatics.com and SaltwaterAquarium.com
I would say that video is extremely useful, but a tiny bit outdated. They don't have the Grand Select 4.5mm you got, and I'm not sure if the 5.5mm is still available.. I think they're missing another one too.. BUT, still extremely useful.
I would say that video is extremely useful, but a tiny bit outdated. They don't have the Grand Select 4.5mm you got, and I'm not sure if the 5.5mm is still available.. I think they're missing another one too.. BUT, still extremely useful.
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