Neptune Aquatics

TGunn's First 37g in the Bay Area

tygunn

tygunn

Guest
BARcard
I was fortunate enough to get one of the tanks XCaret was giving away, so it looks like I'll be able to get something up and running sooner rather than later (I'm still planning to do the fabled balcony tank -- I am slowly learning SolidWorks and modelling the stand, canopy, tank, etc and will do a full scale thermal transfer analysis)....

So, without further adieu, here is the tank:
Tank Length = 24 inches
Tank Width = 18 inches
Tank Height = 20 inches
Tank Volume: 37.4 Gallons

IMG_20140316_202648.jpg


XCaret did an amazing job retrofitting a hidden sump into the bank of the tank:
IMG_20140316_202702.jpg


Unlike the all in one sump on my old Solana, this one has lots of room for the equipment. Only downfall is it makes the usable tank area a bit on the smaller side, but it's a small price to pay for it being so turnkey.

I'm still cleaning up the stand. Other than some dust and cobwebs it looks to be in excellent shape, so no issue there.

Okay, on to the equipment list; I happen to have a big 'ol box of reef gubbins from my last tanks, so here is what I will start this tank off with:
- Tunze Osmolator ATO
- Tunze Nano DOC 9002 skimmer
- Maxijet 1200 return pump
- Koralia 1s and 4s for main circulation -- I have an assortment. I have a couple Tunze 6100s kicking around but those would turn the tank into a tornado.
- 250w titanium heater -- used to be one of those Won Bros dealies until the heater controller died. I've got an STC-1000 temperature controller I bought off ebay that I will use instead.
Once I get a feel for calcium and alk demands, I'll determine if I want to run a small calcium reactor, or dose 2-part. I've got a single-head Cole Palmer dosing pump that will be perfect for feeding a Ca reactor, and I can get a double-head unit if I choose to dose 2-part.

For lighting I'm thinking I'll look into a Kessil LED light. A 150w LED - 15000k, would likely be enough illumination.

Planned contents:
- Micro and macrofauna.. LOTS of it. I am a HUGE fan of a tank with loads of pods, worms, etc...
- The obligatory clown, and some other small fish
- SPS primarily (I'd like to start growing out some of the amazing frags I've seen at Neptune).
- Zoas and ricordea down below (again, so many of those I saw).
 
gimmito said:
Sounds like a good plan. Kudos to Mario for being the generous dude that he is !
Click to expand...

Yes very generous. I'll have to dig through my aquarium box and find some stuff to give away to return the favor.

tr1gger said:
When you do the MJ return, make sure you get the cobalt version of the MJ. A lot quieter and only a few dollars more.
Click to expand...

I've still got a pile of Maxijets so I'll use an existing one. I find my tunze skimmer is much louder than the Maxijets anyway.


iCon said:
Glad the tank found a good home. AIO is nice for smaller systems!
Click to expand...

I figure it's a nice way to finally get some corals growing out while I undergo the flow process of figuring out my next larger tank.



Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 
The stand is in great shape (glass door is not mounted in pic, and stand is upside down). I decided I'd put a few coats of black gloss paint on the bottom of the stand. The bottom appears to be MDF and knowing how I do things I'll end up with my share of spills. So I figured its best to seal it up.
IMG_20140318_072259.jpg


Actually, it looks like I'm not the first one to have spilled water around the stand:
IMG_20140318_072312.jpg


In any case, the black paint will seal that up nicely and prevent me from turning the bottom of the stand into a swollen mess.
 
tygunn said:
In any case, the black paint will seal that up nicely and prevent me from turning the bottom of the stand into a swollen mess.
Click to expand...

Don't count on it being a perfect seal. Paint really sheds water but over time it will get in!

With a big flat (at least before the other owner's spills) bottom like that I wonder what the floor would look like wet for a long time. Hard to tell in pics - are you putting this on carpet?
 
aqua-nut said:
Don't count on it being a perfect seal. Paint really sheds water but over time it will get in!

With a big flat (at least before the other owner's spills) bottom like that I wonder what the floor would look like wet for a long time. Hard to tell in pics - are you putting this on carpet?
Click to expand...

Yes that is true. It is sitting on a tiled concrete floor. Maybe I'll get some of those big Teflon furniture sliders and put a whole bunch on the bottom. Then it will be slightly elevated. Good point.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 
Alright, the first of the supplies needed is on order.
- BRS 75gpd RO/DI unit
- Add on pressure tank and tap (yay for drinking water)
- Salifert Nitrate kit (already have ammonia and nitrite)
- Hanna Checker Ca and Alk kits

Looking through my bin 'o' stuff I found the lighting setup from an 10g nano tank I had in the past; a RapidLeds light set. I think I'll give a go at re-wiring the lights on that and using it as it fits nicely over the usable area of the tank.

I'll just need to build an acyrlic "fixture" to house it so that my ghetto soldering job is hidden away. :)
 
I love the hanna kit for alk but for calcium I prefer the salifert kits. The hanna checkers for calcium are just a huge PITA to get correct each and every time with RO water and then adding the tank water and packets.
 
tr1gger said:
I love the hanna kit for alk but for calcium I prefer the salifert kits. The hanna checkers for calcium are just a huge PITA to get correct each and every time with RO water and then adding the tank water and packets.
Click to expand...

+1000 to that! I ran out of packets and switched to Salifert.

Anybody want to buy a Hanna CA kit? Slightly used, heavily cursed! :) (I should have gone into marketing!)
 
tr1gger said:
I love the hanna kit for alk but for calcium I prefer the salifert kits. The hanna checkers for calcium are just a huge PITA to get correct each and every time with RO water and then adding the tank water and packets.
Click to expand...

Hmm, I didn't really read up on them enough I guess. Well I'll give it a shot. Worse case I go back to Salifert. I always did have good luck with those well.
 
aqua-nut said:
+1000 to that! I ran out of packets and switched to Salifert.

Anybody want to buy a Hanna CA kit? Slightly used, heavily cursed! :) (I should have gone into marketing!)
Click to expand...

I would like it to use in comparison to my salifert if you are giving it away :p. Unless Tygunn needs it and is on a budget and could use it more. ;)
 
tr1gger said:
I would like it to use in comparison to my salifert if you are giving it away :p. Unless Tygunn needs it and is on a budget and could use it more. ;)
Click to expand...

HAha, no worries about budget here. :) People from Winnipeg (Canada) are notoriously cheap, so we always like freebies when we can get 'em. :)
 
Alright, the stand has been cleaned up and the door re-installed. I'm quite happy with the appearance of the complete package:
IMG_20140319_175602.jpg


Next step... everything else. :)
 
Okay, time to start working on the lighting.. I dug out my RapidLeds kits tonight. Somehow I thought I had a 50-50 mix of white and royal blues. Apparently I had a 60/40 split of white/blue. I tried to lay them out in a reasonable pattern, recognizing the center is where I'll likely need the most light.
The "oddballs" in the mix (4 of them) are cheapie SatisLed RED emitters to use for nightime viewing. I've always loved seeing what creatures come out at night, and red light is a nice way to light things up without really alerting the creatures that you're spying on them.

IMG_20140319_213953.jpg


Now to order some hookup wire and solder flux, because some how I managed to get rid of that when I moved. Durrr.
 
Hmm, 60/40 split of white/blue?
Or is that 60-blue and 40-white?
Hopefully the latter. You may not be happy with 60% whites.
Make sure they are on a different circuit, for dimming.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top