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It has arrived.............. OMG, this is scary

J

JerseyWendy

Yay, I finished the platform today and put it in its place. Stand, tank and canopy will go on next. But I'll have to wait until both boys are home. There's no way Alex and I are gonna be carrying the tank ourselves. ::)

IMG_1193.jpg


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Wendy
 
J

JerseyWendy

LOL. The tank you see is gonna be my sump. I have to pick up the bulkhead for my return pump and then go and have the tank drilled. :-\ Once it's drilled I'll be putting up the baffles and such. So far only baby steps, but I'll get there --- eventually.

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Wendy

PS. I didn't know Simon talked to you, Mike. Even though I could sometimes swear I smell and hear him, I wish he was still with us. :'(
 
J

JerseyWendy

Mark, our youngest, bailed out on me, deciding he'd rather spend time with his GF (who's leaving for college on Saturday) than to help move the tank. :mad: So it was left up to Mike and Alex alone. They both agreed they didn't "want" my help. :-X

Even though Alex' back is feeling pretty sore right now (that's what he gets for refusing my help), the tank's in its final location.

Mission accomplished (for today). Massage will be given to a deserving hubby later on. ;)

Here are some pictures:
IMG_1195.jpg


IMG_1196.jpg


Tomorrow I'm gonna pick up the bulkhead and strainer from TFJ for my return, and hopefully get the sump drilled.

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Wendy
 
I

Ironhorseiv

Thanks for posting Wendy... Congratulations on your new tank and enjoy setting up everything! As a novice, I am enjoying following along in this thread. And if you don't mind I will ask newbie questions! ;D For example, I was wondering how much space you leave between the rear of the tank and the wall? Our current FW 55g tank has about 8" ( to accommodate a HOB filter). Trying to learn all about S/W I see there is significant plumbing required with a sump/fuge. So my question is prompted based on how often you have to " step to the rear" to work on the setup and when planning how much room do you leave. And, is air circulation a consideration when you place the tank? (Of course, in my case, as an "industrial sized" :eek: guy I will add the necessary inches to compensate :) )
Thanks in advance for the reply!
 
J

JerseyWendy

Thanks all. :)

Ironhorse, I'm leaving about 2" by the wall, so it'll be easier to guide electrical outlets. I'm still a novice, too, I've only been in the hobby for a little over a year, so I'm bound to make mistakes. :-[ I was/am extremely fortunate with my 75 gallon. I built it from scratch, it was my first attempt at a reef tank, and things went very smoothly. :)

Yes, air circulation is important, in my opinion. I am planning on cutting quite a big hole into the new canopy, as I don't want to use a chiller. I'll be using T5 lighting, but they can get pretty warm, too. As a matter of fact I was tinkering with the canopy a little while ago, and did some research, and decided I will probably use 3 fans incorporated in the hood. 1 on each end will be blowing air, and one on top will be sucking air out. I found this link to be helpful: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1444321&highlight=fan

In addition we have a ceiling fan, a huge window (which is currently covered by my 75, and the heating/air duct is located right next to the new tank. I don't know if any of those count for circulation, but I thought I'd let you know. :-\

As for stepping to the rear, I'm leaving myself enough room on both sides to comfortably access the overflows on each end. I didn't want to move the tank into a corner of the room, because that would have prevented me from easily accessing one corner. I'm a big fiddler, you see, I like to tinker with things, so having room to tinker and play was a must. :)

Accessing the sump "should" be easy enough as the stand has 3 doors that swing wide open.

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Wendy
 
J

JerseyWendy

Hi Joe, and thanks. ;D

We've been busy this weekend. Bought the majority of the plumbing supplies..........
IMG_1198.jpg


............got the holes for the fans cut out in the canopy, and attached the lights.(8 X 80Watts T5s)
IMG_1201.jpg


............. and put the sump together. :)
IMG_1204.jpg


Whew! Time for a break now.

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Wendy
 
I

Ironhorseiv

Wendy.. Continued great work :)
Care to share your thoughts on your sump set up? How you arrived at size, compartments, what will be in each compartment ? etc...
Thanks!
 
J

JerseyWendy

Thanks a million Mike, Phyl, and Ironhorse. :)

Before I answer Ironhorse's questions, I want to share something with you all. Today I received my very first tattoo. This is something I've been wanting to do for years, but was always extremely hesitant, especially since Alex was dead-set against it. Well, so much has happened in my life over the past few years, and after careful deliberation, and many hours of coming up with the right design, and even more careful selection of a good tattoo artist, I finally took the plunge.
Here it is, 1.5 hours after it was completed, and still shiny from the lotion:
IMG_1207.jpg


It's a picture of a Japanese tree peony, the plant that got me addicted to gardening 4 years ago. Ok, my passion (other than reef keeping) is roses, and I grow nearly 3 dozen of them, but I needed to come up with something you don't see every day. So there, that's the story behind the picture.

Sorry for the sidetrack everyone.....just wanted to share something a little personal. :-[

Ironhorse, I wanted to stick with a 3' sump (aquarium that I convert into a sump) because I wanted enough room left under the stand for a container with automatic top-off (Kalk dosing), and possibly later on a Calcium reactor. Sure, I would have liked nothing more than to put a 75 in the stand, because the more volume the better, but in my case I needed/wanted the extra room. Hopefully it'll do its job. :) If not, I will definitely get a bigger sump.

The compartment sizes are determined by what's being kept in them. I like filter socks, but I like for them to stay in place, too. Therefore I built a VERY primitive thingy out of eggcrate, to keep them in place. The next compartment houses the skimmer. I'll be using an Octopus PRO 300S with a predetermined footprint and built the bubbletrap baffles accordingly. (The bubbletrap baffles are spaced 1.25" apart) The third compartment will be used for my sand/algae/rubble rock. I find that part of the sump VERY important and made it as big as humanly possible. It should hold about 15 gallons or so. The last baffle is for the return section, will house the heater(s), and includes the bulkhead leading to my return pump (Quiet One 9000). Instead of building another set of baffles I opted for one baffle, in which I drilled about 200 holes. Now evaporation will take place evenly in my return and refugium section.

I hope I answered all your questions. :)

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Wendy

PS. The sump I built for my current 75 is pretty much identical, other than being smaller. It has worked very well for me, so I adopted the same design.
 
jsantoli

jsantoli

Very cool tattoo! I have a lot too, we should start a tattoo thread. 2 of mine are birds too so I assume you would like them being a bird lover
 
J

JerseyWendy

Thanks Joe. I'd LOVE to see some pictures of your tats. What kind of birds? See, now you got me all roused up. ;D

Greg, what's next? Not the hairdo you suggested (even though that sounds kind of tempting...lol), but I'm already planning my second tattoo. I guess I'm in a mid-life crisis. :-X Actually I wouldn't mind learning how to dive. That'll have to wait 'til next year though. No hang-gliding for me. I don't do so well with heights.

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Wendy
 
I

Ironhorseiv

Wendy... Nice Tatoo.... Excellent artwork... Glad you chose something that has a definitive meaning for you!
Thanks for the info on the sump/refugium. (Always grateful when people share so I can learn) :)
 
jsantoli

jsantoli

They are hummindbirds/swallows. I read in an old sailor book ( I work for the US Coast Guard) that old time sailors used to keep 2 hummindbirds, one at each end of the ship. It was an old wives tial that they were to keep the men from drowning if the ship were to go down. I had a bad accident on a coast guard boat and shortly after I had gotten the tattoo. Our boat capsized on a search and rescue case and we were trapped underneath the boat.

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Tat3.jpg

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