bondolo's defunct tanks

[bondolo]

At long last I am buying a better skimmer, a Reef Octopus DCS 170, and will put the new sump into service as well. It will use less than half the energy of my CPR CY294 and I expect it to skim a lot more.

 

[RavenSF]

I love my DC skimmer and return pump. I can't hear them at all and they don't add heat to the tank. You'll love the controllability too.

 

[bondolo]

Yesterday was the day. Before:



(I could have turned the sump light on, I wasn't trying to make the old setup look worse)

After:


The new sump has considerably more space and the skimmer is a lot quieter. Next up is to clean up some of the wiring, fix the broken power port on the ReefAngel and move the carbon/GFO reactor down to the sump.

My reef has nearly reached "final stage". Once I get the 60 frag up, find a corner 92 to replace the corner 54 and a couple of vortechs I plan to just watch it grow!

 

[Kensington Reefer]

You've been a busy reefer!

 

[bondolo]

Many scoffed and said it would it never happen but I have finally done it. I found and bought a 92 gallon corner tank as an upgrade from my soon-to-be-for-sale 55-gallon. Now I just need to get the stand, which did not fit into my SUV, from Santa Rosa... I still have to figure out getting the tank and stand into my office, redo all the plumbing, etc. but progress has been made!

 

[MolaMola]

Interested to see the stand - I remember reading about your search awhile back. I will be on the lookout for photos in the future. Congrats on your exciting 92g development!
Question - is this an office in your home?

 

[Enderturtle]

Many scoffed and said it would it never happen but I have finally done it. I found and bought a 92 gallon corner tank as an upgrade from my soon-to-be-for-sale 55-gallon. Now I just need to get the stand, which did not fit into my SUV, from Santa Rosa... I still have to figure out getting the tank and stand into my office, redo all the plumbing, etc. but progress has been made!

Awesome bondolo! Congrats!

 

[Coral reefer]

Lemme know if you need a hand moving it in

 

[FeliciaLynn]

Congratulations! Glad you finally found the tank you wanted. Let me know if you need a hand!

 

[bondolo]

Thank yo all for the kind offers of moving assistance. I believe I have it covered but may reach out for review of my plumbing plan before I commit.

Question - is this an office in your home?

Yes, I telecommute about 80-90% of the time and get to look at my tank all day long most days. If I am thinking, listening or talking on the phone my gaze is invariably focused on my reef display tank. I can't imagine ever not having a tank for how much joy it gives me on a daily basis.

 

[bondolo]

Here is the 92 Gallon tank waiting to be unloaded from the back of the SUV. The stand would have fit in the back as well if had been just half an inch shorter.

 

[denzil]

Congrats on finding it!

 

[bondolo]

With the gracious help of Dave @houser I was able to (barely) get the stand home. I am now working on plumbing. For anyone who has a tank with built-in a corner overflow could you take a picture of the drain plumbing? What I got has been modified for freshwater (and it appear it was done on the cheap) and I need to probably start from scratch.

 

[sfsuphysics]

Well how many holes are in the overflow box? Hopefully at least 2.

If there are 2 holes, one hole is your main drain, the other is the emergency backup, if there are 3 holes, it could have been done with a drain, an emergency backup, and a return line (looks like there is a return line in the picture above.

Now if there are only 2 holes and that is in fact a return line, I would ditch that as a return line, and have an emergency overflow line instead and simply bring your return over the edge of the tank it means it can't be flush with the wall but if a snail/algae/bristleworms clog up a single overflow pipe then you're going to wish you had an emergency overflow line.

 

[bondolo]

There are two drilled holes, one larger than the other. I believe they are for 3/4" and 1 1/4" interior diameter bulkheads. I definitely agree about using both for drain and continuing to use an external hose for return.

I have been looking online and it appears that I have a herbie drain that was modified into a drain and return. I will probably fix up this setup and stick with a herbie.

 

[bondolo]

One of the JBJ OceanStream 1600 powerheads died. JBJ does not sell replacement impellers. Got a much smaller and more energy efficient Tunze NanoStream 6045 which pushes just as much water.

 

[bondolo]

It took a while, but with the continued help of @houser and another friend the 92G tank finally came upstairs. I took a long time to get everything together because of various life distractions (including getting scuba certified). Patience and persistence always pays off. It was necessary to partially disassemble the stand to allow it to fit through my office door. I've been working on the plumbing and planning the transfer for the last couple of weeks. Today was the day to move! Everything went well except restoring the rockwork took a long time because of cloudy water. I will almost certainly need to make additional tweaks once the silt settles.

Surprising things:
- There was almost no concrete sand in the old tank after four years. A few patches between rocks near the back but it broke up easily.
- No horrible bobbit worms in the rocks this time. When I moved and drilled my 55G tank in 2012 we found a beaut.
- The water pH has dropped to about 7.6 just from shifting the sand. I added additional alk solution to bring it up a few points and am running several airstones to increase oxygen.
- Clown fish are easy to catch. (not surprising) Wrasses are hard.
- 92 gallon corner offers a lot more front viewing than 55G. It reminds me of upgrading from 27" standard definition TV to 42" high definition! This thing is freaking huge!

I have only one additional upgrade planned for my tanks to reach "final form", upgrading the 30G frag tank to a larger 60-80ish gallon frag flat. After that it will strictly be maintenance and enjoyment.

I will upload pictures in a day or two once all the rocks are back in place and the water clears.

 

[bondolo]

Suggestions for a sump light? My only casualty today was my tiny 13W Compact Fluorescent AquaGrow light which I tipped into the sump... while it was on. The CF bulb cracked but did not burst and it tripped the GFCI like it should. I rinsed the fixture well in two changes of RODI and disassembled it to dry but I am reluctant to reuse it. Some kind of PAR39 LED lamp? Which model would be best for reverse light cycle chaeto growth in sump?

 

[Flagg37]

Well, there's the kessil one but that's a bit pricey.

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/h380-spectral-halo-ii-led-algae-grow-light-kessil.html

 

[Kensington Reefer]

Hey Mike
If you haven't seen this...
https://reefbuilders.com/2016/08/31/chaetomorpha-reactor/