Hi All New To Site And Heres My Tank!

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pengy666

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Hello all well today I was in my LFS and he recommended this website so I been reading so I thought i'd put up some pics of my little project!hope you all like ?Oh by the way this isnt my first tank I got a little nano too!! :good:

Boy it dont take much to get the bug!While having white spot issues I was gutted I been waiting to get more stock! so When i was taking a trip to my LFS to get RO water I was soon aware that they were moving premises!


SO EVERYTHING MUST GO!

boy I couldnt help it!I bought this!!



newtank001a.jpg



newtank002a.jpg



It was a stealIts a 200ltr 4ft tank with sump! no equipment tho so as funds were non existant before I bought tank I got to wait!

Robin


Nothing really new just painted the back of the glass and put the polystyrene under the tank!I got some ceiling stuff on a roll from focus it was £5.29 for a 5M roll, It seemed better quality and more managable than the tiles. It was really strong and didnt make lots of mess when cutting it, and it was 7mm thick so I put two layers on the main, I only plan using one 7mm layer on the sump? should be sufficient I think?

I'm plesaed in the back of the tank simple and effective


Reeftank009a.jpg


I starting my list of stuff to get next, Gonna start with the little things first as budget a bit blasted at the minute as I just bought a tank I couldn't afford at time :laugh:Small update no pics tho, Had to wait a little while before buying equipment, But this week I bought a V2 600 skimmer a aqua medic 3500 return pump I think some people may suggest it a bit under powered but budget allowing its all I could get, But on a plus side it leaves good room for upgrading tho.
I been hoarding little bits and bobs along the way too, Started sorting wiring and plugs for power, timers and sealent and piping too.next I plan on getting RO unit,DSB and sand for main tank and get some cash together for about 20kg's of LRI think I might run a bit of extra pipe work from the sump return into the main tank, I cant see any easier alterative to this to run a SCWD.
Other than powerheads with a flow controller?? I really wanna keep equipment out of main tank.

Man I just wish I could go and buy it all now! But I gotta holiday to be saving for and I really need to finish my car off, Been building it for four years! I need a car again!
:hyper:


Here an update pic of sump with skimmer fitted!

Tank010a.JPG




Closeup



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Ok so I bought a bit of equipment today and did some jobs,

I bought a 200w fluval heater, A interpet compact 12" T8 lighting unit for the sump too,

I got myself some new blades and started modding sump sections

I have moved the last baffle on right hand side and have put it at other end of tank with a new section of glass to seperate centre section up ready to start cycling my sump,

I'm gonna do the sealing tomorrow night hopefuly, gotta clean it all out first and prepare glass then I gonna leave it 24 hours then test it out before cleaning it out and running it up!

I'm all excited,

A few other jobs too, I repositoned a few items too just made it all fit better.


Ok so I got some pics, I have also stuck in my final peices of glass at the end of sump,


It didnt go too bad , they are a bit wonky but it no matter, and the sealant is a little messy but I can neaten it up when its fully dry with a blade.

I am a bit worried as my final peice is a little short in height??? I got some more glass I can cut down and seal in above it to give more height?

I gonna let it set tonight and maybe tomorrow (i may wait till thursday) I'll leak test?

I'm so excited I'm nearly there!

Well I hope to be cycling sump soon. How long can I cycle it before adding LR and starting main tank?
Its a budget thing

Ok so ive been a busy man!!


Got the sump started up today!

It needs some more modifications, but I wanna get things moving gotta get new stock moved over ASAP...


Then i can buy more :hey:



Here it is running,

Tank52a.JPG


The main pump isnt in the tank at the moment. It was just too powerful just to run in sump so I used my Ehiem 1250 for the moment

As you will see I've gotta raise the glass in the centre sections to get more water in :sad:


The skimmer after 10 minutes
Tank53a.JPG



My T8 light unit with my custom reflector that cost me NOTHING I got lots more of these reflectors for main lights too,I am very pleased with this so far. :lol:

Also my sump lighting timer, I gonna rotate lighting so the main tank lights are on 09:00 to 21:30
and sump lights on 21:00 to 09:30? was told it would help keep PH down? how true this is I dont know??


Tank54a.jpg



Well hope you guys like the work, considering its my first sump??

Please give me some input!!
 
Ok just a little update on things, My little bit of money came in so I been busy!!

Ok take a old office light reflector and destroy

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Then take a few of these



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A little bit of sweat and patience



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VOILA



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I got my RO unit too

A few odds and ends I'm getting 20kg of LR this weekend coming too so hopefully I'll ber ready to rock and roll !!!

What you think?



Ok so I had a few issues starting sump up but I cured them, It still a work in progress but here it is in all its glory


Ok RO water and salt in, I was about 20 litres short so I had to get making more, but it gave me chance to plumb in SCWD and do some aquascaping.

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You can really see the difference in the T8's in sump and T'5s at top, here! the picture doesnt do the brightness justice,


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I'm very pleased with the lights!
but they do get hot so I sourced these bad boys, I have gotta mount them on the back of the lid yet, so this is temporary.


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They do cool it down massively and the lid shuts and they are silent!! well nearly!

Ok in with 20kgs of Fiji LR

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And now the coral sand and of course plenty of free micro bubbles!!!

Tank67a.JPG



Ok so I nearly flooded kitchen on the night when I fired up the sump, The pump ran end section close to dry and the return didnt return quick enough and I paniced and pulled plug on the pump and it siphoned it all back!!! POO POO the missus wasnt happy when I dragged her out of bed at 11:30 to help me stop siphoning!!, Im gonna find a non return valve to cure this!

Ok so it not fully functional yet, I really think I got third baffle way too high! If return pump stops I gotta flood on my hands!

But here is the sump and tank now cycling!!

YIPPEEE!!

Hope you all like!

PLEASE COMMENT (nicely :) )



Tank71a.JPG
 
wow long post, welcome to the site and it looks like it will be a very nice project
 
Thanks all, I tried to do it in individual replies but it just moulded them into one big messy post, so this was the best way to show every one my project!

Thanks for the input guys!

I did some work last night before I posted this, I just tidied up pipe work at back of tank, the scwd was hanging too low and there wasnt much pressure/flow out of the returns,

also I dont think I mentioned I stopped tank siphoning back by adding a hole just below water level on return pipe to break siphon effect

:hyper:
 
Wow, great setup pengy :D That's an awesome use of creative DIY. Now that you've got lighting, drain, sump, and return setup, what are you considering for circulation in the tank?
 
Ok so my tank is running sweet!

No real pics yet but I been do my params

and I got

PH 8.2
SG 1.026
temp at 26 rising to 29 last hour of lighting in sump and tank
No2 0
No3 0
Ca 440ppm
Mg 1350ppm
Am 0

So not doing too bad, I got my cleanup crew in there now

got

1 Huge blue leg
1 Huge red leg
2 med red leg
2 small red leg

8 or more turbos

Looking sweet

My sump been running for over 5 weeks now and the main just over a week

Its going well a couple more weeks and I'll be stocking fish!!!

YAY
 
bet your glad you went with the 4 t5's now!! tis looking awesome!


hope the new fish is settling in way ! i bought that pink bush coral today :p no doubt see you round sanders again soon! good to see the tank and everything looking so good!
 
Nice one dude! glad you like the tank!!

I was very tempted by the pink bush m8!!

The fish isnt settled well, acclimatised him and when I let him outta bag he hid straight away! and he hasnt moved since! my lights have been off since I got home too!!

He didnt even come out when I fed the others!!

just hoping he'll pop out in the morning!
 
yeh new fish are usually shy especially wrasses, its prob taking refuge in a rock somewhere it should gain confidence soon! my 6line took ages to come out into the open he still prefers hiding in and about the rocks!
 

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