Tomoko's New 180

[Tomoko Schum]

With the second lamp on Ice Cap ballast:

With all three lamps on. The ballast for the center is Reef Fanatic and the others are Ice Cap ballasts. I cannot tell the difference in the quality of light.

All three ballasts placed on the lower bookshelf. They will be placed on a timer:

I used Ice Cap male connectors for Ice Cap ballasts. They were not as easy to install wires in as a ballast disconnect that I bought from Home Depot which allowed me to simply push in individual conductors into holes.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Here's the picture of Eheim 1262 placed in the sump.

I used a union for it so that I can easily disconnect it for cleaning.

I can use my Eheim to pump out the water from the sump very easily by swapping the upper part of the union with another part with a drain hose connected to it .

A 3/4 inch kink free tubing on the return side:

Here is the picture of my sump. It's finally ready for testing:

I bought two 12V DC fans from Radio Shack (120 mm):

I thought about using AC fans, but DC fans consume much less power. Its flow rate and noise level are the same as those of its AC counterpart. The red fans match my red canopy color although a clear case fan with blue LED's looked sharp, too .

 

[H@rry]

Looks good! When are you going to add water? You don't really have very many places to leak so that should go pretty fast.

Get the salt and temp right and you'll be ready for the cutover.

Keep the updates coming.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Thanks, H@rry.

I wanted to get all the electrical work out of the way before I fill the tank. The only thing remaining is mounting the fans.

I am ready to vacuum up all the debris in the tank and fill it with water for testing my plumbing job. You are right about having only a few places for potential leaks, but I am a believer of Murphy's Law.

I need to get loc-line fittings, too. John (CRA) is trying to get the 3/4 inch Loc-line pliers so that he can connect an NPT connector to a 6 inch Loc-line hose. He and I tried to put them together by hand last weekend, but we failed miserably. I may just fit hose barbs and vinyl tubing temporarily so that I won't splash water around over the tank.

 

[H@rry]

I've got a good bit of Loc-Line and the pliers if you need them.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Wow, I'd be really grateful if you can sell me some .

Tomoko

 

[Nanoreefbro]

Tomoko san konnichiwa. Boku wa Josefu desu. Tank iidesune! Boku mo atarashii tank wo set shimashita. Boku no okusan wa nihonjin desu. Yoroshiku!

 

[H@rry]

Tomoko san konnichiwa. Boku wa Josefu desu. Tank iidesune! Boku mo atarashii tank wo set shimashita. Boku no okusan wa nihonjin desu. Yoroshiku!

Scuze me?

 

[H@rry]

Wow, I'd be really grateful if you can sell me some .

Tomoko

Well, just come on down!

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Thank you, H@rry!!

Scuze me?

Haha, he said, "Hello, Tomoko. My name is Joseph. Your tank is nice. I set up a new tank, too. My wife is Japanese. Glad to meet you."

Nanoreefbro -

Hajimemashite. Kochirakoso dozo yoroshiku. (Translation for H@rry: How do you do. I am glad to meet you, too.)

 

[Tomoko Schum]

H@rry,

Did you see this post?
https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/f75/my-125-build-24845.html#post265720

Mak PM'd me about this yesterday. Have you seen any flaw like this on your tanks? I am not too concerned about the chip although it is hideous looking, but the void in silicone concerns me. I inspected the front seams of my tank and found no problelm. I have to move my bookcases to inspect the rear seams when Reilly wakes up (he's been fishing all night.)

 

[H@rry]

No, I don't have any chips out of the corner. The only chip I have found is a small one on the outer edge of the eurobracing over one of the overflows. I consider that to be a non-issue. There are some bubbles in the silicone but I guess they will be OK. I see them in tanks made by the big boys too so I don't worry about that.

I'm very surprised that they delivered a tank with a chip like that in the corner. I think that would be too obvious to go unnoticed. I know I'd be unhappy with it.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Here's the picture of the fan which is now mounted on the canopy.

I am somewhat dissappointed in this fan. It is kinda noisy although Its noise rating is 20dB which is much less than many other fans with similar CFM rating.

Do any of you know of a silent 12V DC fan (120mm CPU fan)? I'd like to replace it if possible.

Air flow wise, it's not bad, but it's no comparison to a 6 inch fan. I wonder how many fans I should use for 180. I currently have two mounted on the canopy. I hope to add a fan or two over my sump.

Here's a picture of Loc-line fitting installed thanks to Harry's help:

I will be filling the tank with salt water shortly.

 

[H@rry]

What kind of power supply do you have for the DC fans?

 

[Tomoko Schum]

I have a 12VDC 1500mA AC/DC power adapter from Radio Shack.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

I started filling the tank with salt water now.

I first laid down plastic drip cloth to protect the floor:

Then, I added a new bag of Southdown sand to the tank and laid a sheet of plastic over the sand. The plastic sheet helps to keep the water clear instead of turning the water into milk shake with ultra fine particles of Southdown sand.

Gradually adding water on top of the sheet. Water slowly goes beneath the plastic:

As you can see, the water underneath the plastic sheet is clear despite the brand new Southdown sand:

 

[beaslbob]

Thank you, H@rry!!



Haha, he said, "Hello, Tomoko. My name is Joseph. Your tank is nice. I set up a new tank, too. My wife is Japanese. Glad to meet you."

Nanoreefbro -

Hajimemashite. Kochirakoso dozo yoroshiku. (Translation for H@rry: How do you do. I am glad to meet you, too.)

May I read the translation also?

 

[H@rry]

May I read the translation also?

No Bob - get back!

 

[H@rry]

Way ta go Tomoko - I wanted to see the water hit the glass!

 

[TritonsGarden]

Looking good Tomoko. Did you try the fan before you mounted it? If it was quite before you mounted it, you may want to add some rubber grommets for vibration isolation. The fan vibrations may be transferring to the canopy which resonates and acts like an amplifier. Just a thought.

Jack