180g Build (1 Viewer)

[andrew7b]

Very cool seeing baby banggaii.

I snagged a batch of Banggai cardinal fry tonight. They're currently residing in a bucket that's plumbed in to my sump; there's lots of baby brine shrimp for them to eat

 

[fredG]

So I've spent the last couple of days refreshing Craigslist on my phone every few hours. I've located a tank that is a candidate for my build: it's a new 120g reef-ready 4x2x2 with a starfire front panel, for under 400. This is my chance to move to a 5 or 6 foot tank but the 120 is a good deal. I'll wait for another two weeks and see if something turns up on Craigslist, then buy the 120 if I don't find anything.

I'll give you this. If in the next couple of weeks you don't find anything and you do pull the trigger on the 120. Do it and do not look back...after you buy it, it never fails that you find better and better deals. Just buy it and move on. lol

 

[tektite]

What kind of fish are you wanting to have in the tank? If its bigger fish that love to swim like tangs, its worth it to wait for a bigger tank.

 

[rlpardue]

Thanks for the advice. I do love tangs' personality, but I think I would only get a yellow tang or a scopas tang, or a purple or gem if Istart playing the lottery and win lol. I just located a new 210g that's 6x2x29 for 550, reef ready w dual overflows. I gotta do some wall measurements and decide if I want to go so big.

 

[rlpardue]

So I think I've settled on going to a 5-foot tank after all. I'd feel better about Zebrasoma tangs in a 5-footer. I'm looking at two different 5x2x2 tanks right now. I spent some time over the holidays tweaking my Visio documents (attached). One document ("Plumbing") is a process diagram, and the other ("Outlay") is a drawing of where everything will be placed, it's to scale (1in = 1ft). Anyone see any potential problems ahead involving plumbing? I've been reading MarkL's 240-build thread and like 80/20's product line of T-slot aluminum framing - looks like an inexpensive and weld-free way of building a sturdy aluminum aquarium stand that would let me slide my sump in and out of the stand without wooden 2x4s getting in the way. Also, why do people use Schedule 80 pipefittings for plumbing? I was planning on using regular old PVC or flex-PVC. Any thoughts there?

 

[tektite]

A lot of people use sch 80 because of the color. Regular PVC is fine, flex is great for odd angles and keeping the number of fittings down. The 80/20 is really cool stuff, but most definitely not inexpensive LOL! They have awesome customer service if you do plan to use them for a stand though.

 

[rlpardue]

Bummer about the 80/20 then. I have a 400$ budget for a stand since that's about what I'd pay for the one which comes with the tank I'm looking at. Ok everyone, especially the plumbing gurus, I have a riddle for you:

The tank is 5x2x2, has two 3/4in closed loop outlets mounted in the bottom panel of the tank. There is a single 12"x6" overflow in the top left corner; inside this overflow are 3 holes: two holes are either 1.5in or 2 in (I think they're likely 1.5); the third hole is probably 3/4in. They all have bulkheads.

Question: are there enough holes drilled into this 7-yr old tank for:
1- a 1100 GPH return pump from the sump (which could conceivably be run over the top)
2-adequate drainage to the sump (I hear 2 drains are probably enough, right?)
3- (the 10$ question)- is there a drain I could use to connect to a 2k-2500GPH pump to feed the closes loop outputs? (Each of which is 3/4in)

i don't mind running an additional 1-2 CL outputs (but not inputs) over the top and using an OM 4-way or something, but I really would like to incorporate a closed loop system that's big enough to eliminate flow problems without the use of powerheads. I also own an MP 40 buy would hate to buy another for 400$.

I should add that I want enough flow to support a full-blown SPS reef. Eventually installing a Dart and connecting it to over-the-top PVC/lockline outputs is the long-term plan.

 

[rlpardue]

New toy: a Dart! Wuahahaha! <laughs wickedly while imagining my tangs desperately swimming around> There is a friendly reef-lady in Magnolia that's giving fire-sale prices on gear that was top of the line a few years ago!

 

[toefu]

my personal take on these 3 holes would to add a gate valve on one of the 1.5" drains. return is 3/4", and raise the height of the last drain as an emergency drain. see herbie overflow

Come pick my brain...I know there are more beginners out there.

scroll half way down on that thread. Run something like a mag 9.5 and you're golden.

 

[rlpardue]

I'm so glad you said that. I have a Mag 9.5 on my current setup. That link is excellent! Thanks!

On a different note, I got to watch my cleaner shrimp release its little baby shrimp in a big cloud last night! I netted a bunch and put them in the bucket where the baby Banggai live. I figured the banggai would like em as a treat (unless the shrimps were a little big).

I picked up the 150g tank today. It was a beast, took four struggling guys. It's more complicated using a used tank (it has a starboard bottom epoxied on and I want the space for an inch of sand), but the tank was only $200, which means ill be scraping off the starboard.

I need to have someone drill a closed-loop intake in the back wall that's big enough for the Dart. I also need a way to keep fish from getting sucked in. I assume somebody else has faced this situation before and found a solution, so I need to do some research here. The banggai are growing, they're probably double the mass they were at birth.

 

[rlpardue]

New Tank & Banggais

Hi everyone,

Here's an updated picture of the baby Banggais. I tried feeding cyclops and they go into a feeding frenzy when I add them; not sure whether they're eating them or not. Banggai cardinals have this funny-looking way of swimming when they eat food: they kind of dart rapidly towards the food, gulp it, then dart again. It looks like they take themselves very seriously but they look silly.

Anyway, I'm also attaching photos of the bottom panel of the 150. As you can see, there are two holes with 3/4 inch bulkheads which the previous owner used for a closed loop. I found out that the holes in the overflow section are two 1-inch holes and one 3/4inch. I'll go with the Herbie overflow system as recommended. It looks cool.

Unfortunately it seems that I'm going to have to drill one or two 2-inch drain holes in the rear wall of the tank for the closed loop. I figure having two 2-inch drains should provide some redundancy in case one of them gets plugged up. I'll plumb them together behind the tank and connect the intake of the Dart. I'm having trouble planning the optimal output setup for the closed loop though. I don't like drilling holes (never done it before) so I plan on running the CL-outputs over the top. Maybe to a lockline manifold one each end of the tank. I'm trolling forums for a used OM 4-way right now; if anyone knows where I can find a nice one, I'm open to suggestions.

I appreciate the offers from many of you to come and visit your tanks for ideas. Hopefully this weekend I can take you up on it!

Questions for the community:

-Does anyone think I should have my tank drilled by someone else? Or should I give it a try with a bit from glassholes.com? (it weighs too much to move it so glass stores are probably not an option)

-Is it reasonable to drill two 2-inch drain-holes in the back wall for closed-loop intakes? I'm going to be using a 3600 GPH pump (dart)
-There are some old (7 years) bulkheads on the tank's holes - should I use them or buy some new ones?
-Is there anyone in the community who builds wooden stands cheaply?

Have a great week everyone!