Bensons New Tank

[Benson112]

Hi all,

beings i have made a start with the prep work i thought i would start journal! Its going to be a slow one but hey...ill keep it updated if anyone is interested.

So...first things first was sorting the stand out. When i got it, it was white which didnt really go with the room it is going to live in so i painted it black...and im really happy with it!

Stand as i got it:

Stand painted black:

Tank as i got it:

Tank after hours of scraping and 6 stanley blades down:

Loads more scraping to do before i paint the back black. Hopefully have this done tonight as i want to start putting all my bits and bobs together.

Heres the details as best i know them!

Eheim 39x15x20 tank
2x T5 Tubes with d&d starter unit in the hood
Eheim return pump model 1260
Sump measuring 2x1x1
Arcadia twin t5 light that sits on the sump
deltec AP600 skimmer
300w heater

On order: 2 x Korilia 3's (taking AGES to arrive!) and a 5 stage RO unit

Everything is coming together nicely. Only issue i have at the minute is that my return pipe is too big for the attachment that hooks over the edge of the tank. need to get some sort of expander so that the pipe fits nicely. No idea what im looking for here!! may need to buy a new hook thingybob.

Anyhow, more pics to follow! Getting there slowly but surely!

 

[Truck]

looking good so far!

 

[Trod]

WOW another new tank,

Slowly is the best way to go

Looking good so far, will be following your journal too

 

[Benson112]

Cheers for the replys...i will definately be taking this slowly...this is my second tank, hardly even got the first one wet before i had to get rid due to house move. Ive been at this for over 5 months already, so im in no rush! haha

Every bit of spare time and cash will be ploughed into this (and i dont have alot of either!) but my aim is to have this up and running by end of June. With a bit of luck ill have all my kit by the end of next week so in theory can get it wet and start thinking about LR.

Im just attempting to plan my sump...no idea what im doing here! ive read and read and read up about sumps and it just wont sink in! grrr my sump is set up like the pic below, dont even know if i need 2 T5's in there? is it a waste? Is it necessary? any help on this would be much appreciated!

real pic (not great as i had loads of stuff stacked ontop of it and couldnt be bothered to move it! haha)

 

[ben1987]

nice to see you back, nothing like over sizing a skimmer lol. That thing will be a bit of a beast!
Stand looks much better.

 

[Benson112]

It was available mate, and came highly recommended! any issues with over-skimming? Surely its best to over skim than under-skim?

 

[Truck]

It was available mate, and came highly recommended! any issues with over-skimming? Surely its best to over skim than under-skim?

it can strip out elements, such as iodine, if you overskim, so you may want to dose them if you find its skimming them out.

 

[ben1987]

its a really good skimmer, you may find it goes through stages of not pulling anything out though. Just make sure it gets plenty of flow. I think it will be fine.

 

[Benson112]

Ok cheers guys.

Any recommendations on the sump??

 

[ben1987]

i dont think the baffle ideas are the best tbh, what do you plan on keeping in there?
In your design the majority of the water will just sit at the hight of the high baffle on the return pump section and not really travel any specific course.

I would have an over then under section first. Then like DSB LR rubble and cheato in the middle. Then another over and under for the return pump

 

[Benson112]

I didnt do them mate, thats how it came. The little ones in the middle are odd! they move from side to side, dont know how the previous owner had this set up ill have to ask him.

So...i need to change the baffles then really dont i, would i need to go under then over for the DSB? so from the overflow...go under, over, DSB LR Rubble & cheato, the over, under, and return pump. If that makes any sense haha

 

[ben1987]

The two little ones are for a keeping a DSB in i think. 1 min

 

[Benson112]

ok cheers mate

 

[ben1987]

this is the way i see that working from the paint pic, i could be wrong though, did have a few beers watching the footy last night lol

The water level will be at the thin blue line, which will then make the baffle marked with yellow useless.
The water will follow the blue arrows, which means it wont really follow any specific course.
Then the red arrow will make it even more pointless if the water level in the first section is set slightly too high

youkmight end up with the water level just being the same all the way across if theres too much water in/

 

[garybuk]

Hey , i think you shud have the sump the other way put the return pump the other end then what would be the 2nd chamber you can put filter wool / live rock