Frag system upgrade.

[pickupman66]

Thanks to a good friend I scored a 23x23x17 cube. A little larger than what I had hoped for but the deal was good. As of today it is not plumbed in but that is the goal to be done in the next month. I have the drains figured out I think but haven't decided on how to actually feed it from the 180.

All that is contingent on me not wanting to move it to another rpart of the house. I really dig the cube.

 

[thejoshdavis]

Looks good!

 

[p woodard]

Looking good I almost thought I was looking at my tank lol

 

[Eienna]

Love the big tank, but the fts is a little washed out. May I see a nice fts of that tank please? :)

 

[NanaReefer]

Love the big tank, but the fts is a little washed out. May I see a nice fts of that tank please? :)

Wow!

 

[Eienna]

Wow!

What? The frag tank is cool...but I haven't seen the display tank before and would like a better look at it. :)

 

[novajohn01]

Looks great......sweet setup

 

[Dowtish]

I am contemplating the same thing Lindsey. To go out in the garage or not???? So much easier to plumb in the garage, but have to deal with the elements of humidity, seasons, etc.

 

[Jlobes]

have you considered keeping it a separate system from you DT??

 

[pickupman66]

Yes. It is separate now and while that is well and good. I hate topping it off currently and having to manage it. But I may want to move it to the bedroom maybe. It is too pretty for the garage.

Eiena check out my building thread for photos of the big tank.

 

[thejoshdavis]

What are you using for filtration? I have the same tank and have thought about doing the same thing.

 

[pickupman66]

Josh.. right now just a cheapo walmart 10 gallon filter. I'll upgrade to an ac70 if I keep it separate. I need a pair of wp10s for it so I can ditch the junk pumps in it currently.

 

[NeveSSL]

If you don't mind waiting several weeks, the group buy for the WP10s is coming up. :)

Looks nice, Lindsey! And Chris, you definitely need to go into the garage. :D I'm planning on enclosing my sump and running glass tops on my other tanks in the garage in the winter. I'm probably going to be running ducts to and from one of the vents on our house to pull in fresh and exhaust humid air.

Brandon

 

[thejoshdavis]

Did you make that light bar? That's my biggest hassle right now is figuring out the lights for the tank.

 

[pickupman66]

Light is a dm 132 from reef radiance. I bought it a long time ago. I made the rack out of aluminum.

 

[pickupman66]

Brandon. I'm trying to wait

 

[pickupman66]

Ummm... Yea. this one is gone.. Very short lived.

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/middle-tennessee-reef-club/145192-catastrophic-tank-failure.html#post1690014

So, I am re-working my Frag systems. I have been wanting to integrate it into my main system. well, yesterday it came to me in church just how to do it. The sermon was a great sermon BTW... LOL.

Anyways, Here we go. I am Re-using the nice black stand I made, and the light system, and well the pumps. I am also re-using my previous 10 gallon tank and another that used to house a stupid turtle that I FINALLY was able to get out of my house. WOO HOO. Vinegared both tanks, and they fit perfectly on the stand. YAY.

For now, this is all you guys get. I was about 5 feet short on 1" pipe to complete the entire setup. Tank are fed by a single 3/4" line from my main system. each tank has a 3/4" drain that goes into a 1" just outside the tank. Plan is to have between 80 and 100 GPM thru each tank for the sump turnover so this should be good enough on the plumbing. ONE thing I need to go back and do is add a valve to the tank on the left so I can isolate it from my system should I need to go full QT. simply cut off the water and CAP the PVC and im good to go. the light fits perfectly across the two tanks. All I need now to finish is 2 more 90° elbows, a slip union and some airline 1 way valves to start the suction. I plan to have these on an Aqualifter to run on a regular basis to ensure they never get air in them.

 

[NeveSSL]

Sorry to hear about your other tank failing, Lindsey. This looks like a fun setup. I'm hoping to do the same in my garage with two 40 breeders. :)

Brandon

 

[pickupman66]

im actually pretty excited about the possibilities of this. I can do one as a frag and one as a fuge, or both as frags, or isolate one for a QT for new fish (dont need as I have 17 mouths to feed already). now hopefully Ill get enough flow from the returns since it is about a 15 foot lateral travel. Water to them isnt an issue and since I am tapping into an un-used 1" gate valve that was leftover from my MRC skimmer, ill have plenty of control on it. Only thing is I am not sure I have a long enough data cable to hook it to my RKE. I may have to order a 20 foot long one.

 

[NeveSSL]

Awesome! Should be really cool. I'm planning on doing pretty much the same thing in my garage, but with 3 40 breeders. 2 will eventually be frag tanks and the third a dedicated refugium, but to begin with I'm planning on setting up one of the 40s to be a QT tank. I'll be doing a small DIY overflow with a durso in it, though.

I may have one of those data cables laying around... if nothing else, I could build one for you as I think I still have the cable ends, too. :) I'll dig around in my office and see if I can find it.

Brandon