Neptune Aquatics

My 75G Reef Build

I haul 5g jugs right now. Now that I have a 40g, I may look into it, but even then, going to the LFS once a month for water isnt' a big deal.
 
its been two weeks of hell raising and finally i am done with finals and done wit SCHOOL!!!! SJSU ALUMNI BABY!!! LoL so now that i have so much time on my hands...i just built my canopy and threw on some molding for the canopy and stand...here are the pics:

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what do you guys think???
 
its been awhile since i posted some progress of my build...this is starting to become one slowwww build...lol anywho i was able to finish up the stand and canopy and primered/sanded it with 2 coats and now just needs some paint...i really wanted to stain the finished product but i guess it wasnt possible to do it with majority of the mouldings being MDF so its just going to see some high gloss black paint...and here it is:

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also forgot to mention that for these past couple of months...ive been saving up and purchasing some new toys for my setup...how i looooveeeee EBAY!!! LOL product and prices from left to right:
Coralife Pure-Flo II RO/DI 50gpd with Float and automatic shutoff valve kit- my buddy who owns a fish store hooked it up for 160
Pinpoint PH meter w/probe - 30 (ebay)
Brand new salifert calcium, KH/ALK and Magnesium test kits - 55 shipped from reefcritters on ebay
IceCap 660 ballast - free (taken from my parent's 100g tank b/c they didnt know what it was used for...LoL)
IceCap harness, 3 prong cord, and 2 sets of waterproof VHO endcaps and standoffs - 25 (ebay)
Brand New Refractometer - 30 (ebay)
Brand New Hydor Koralia 4 - 30 (ebay)
Hamilton Dual 250w halide ballast - 72 shipped (ebay)

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wow its been a while since i havent updated...been very busy with work and never had anytime to do anything. but anywho i brought the tank into the house after getting rid of the 100g FW tank and just finished the plumbing..here are some pics:

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First off, nice build. I like the picture frame sump area.

Just a quick suggestion:

It looks like your gate valve is a little high for that ER skimmer, and when the sump is filled the water will be too high for the skimmer. The gate valve really should be on the vertical section of pipe before the "T" and the "T" should be just barely above the point where the skimmer body narrows. The way you have it run is OK (I did the same for my first), but having it on the vertical is better. Remove the metal screw from the gate valve handle and you'll have no trouble with it being submerged (it's the only metal piece on it). As for the water depth, it looks like you'll need to build a shelf for the skimmer. I believe ER recommends between 5"-7" of the skimmer should be under water. You don't have to raise the pump, just the chamber. You can add an extension for the pump to get it up to the height you want.
 
[quote author=Dyngoe link=topic=3368.msg63042#msg63042 date=1226202036]
You can add an extension for the pump to get it up to the height you want.
[/quote]

I'll be first to point out that I'm actually WRONG on this! I forgot with the added water pressure the Venturi will pull less air at deeper depths. So, you need to raise the whole thing up a little.
 
thanks for the info dyngoe...luckily i havent glued the gate valve onto the piping yet so that way i can just take it off and place it vertically. As for raising the skimmer how can i go about doing that? build an acrylic stand for it?
 
Reef Duct-Tape....or in other words eggcrate. You can make a great stand out of eggcrate. Make it a little tall at first and cut it down if you need it shorter.
 
Yes, HD "has" it but the stuff at TAP is much better. It costs about the same and the stuff at TAP is built better and allows you to build shapes easier. The stuff at HD is OK for frag shelves but TAP stuff can do much more.
 
cool...looks like they arent open sundays so i guess i gotta go during the week...thanks for the info and heads up guys...thats y i love this forum :)
 
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