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Post by fermentedhiker on Jul 26, 2015 19:38:12 GMT -5
So I figure I'll start documenting this build. It's going to be a bit slow getting going as I have break some tanks down to make room for it and rehome some fish during the process. Picked up the used 125 from Ryan a couple weeks ago. Picking up a stand for it from Easy on Friday(just didn't feel like building one this time) I was originally going to go pretty conventional and do heaters in tank and a couple of AC110's for filtration. Been looking at a couple 125 build threads online and am leaning back towards the sump direction. Cleaner look in tank, more water volume, more space for biomedia, space to play around with a freshwater fuge. Also since i'll be breaking down my 55 gallon semi aggressive community, I'll have a 55 to play with. With the dollar/gallon sales at Petco a used 55 isn't really going to get me any money to spend. The threads I've seen show a 55 fitting nicely in a 125 stand. We'll see once I get it home and measure it. That'll leave me enough room to use an old 10 gallon for an ATO reservoir. Looking at using a PF-1200 overflow. If this will work I'll have to pick a return pump. Was thinking about a variable speed DC one, but I"m not sure about their reliability. Also have to decide on a controller and ATO unit. For heaters I'm thinking 2 300 Watt finnex titanium , but I'll probably start with the jager's from the 55 and see how well they do and upgrade from there. For lighting I'm leaning towards a 72" BML "nature 6500K" dimmable strip Here goes nothing  |
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Post by fermentedhiker on Jul 26, 2015 19:50:35 GMT -5
Assuming the 55 gallon fits in the stand(I'll use a 29 instead if it doesn't I guess, because I have a spare one) I'll be puzzling over the best layout.
idea at the moment;
1st section overflow drain input. This section doesn't need to be very big. I'll set up a set of baffles so that it has a permanent water level sufficient to keep the heaters submerged. This section should serve as a detritus settling area for easy vacuuming(i hope) Will also consider housing some filter feeders if I can find them to act as water clarifiers.
2nd section; this is for biomedia which will mostly be reef rubble rock for nitrate reduction and buffering. I'll have to play with the best layout for this to maximize contact time and flow.
3rd section; fuge of some sort. Not exactly sure what to do here. I could do something fast growing like hornwort for nutrient export, or grow emersed bog plants for even greater uptake. Although with very hard water like I plan this may not be feasible. I'll have to do some research on hard water tolerant plants to find the best choice. Also I figured I would try and culture gammarus and RCS in there and whatever else little critters occur to me. I have a par 30 red/blue grow bulb led to try for lighting this section.
The 4th section is only separated from the third by eggcrate instead of a full baffle. Just something to hold the plant growth away from the pump.
suggestions are welcome.
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Post by spotfin on Aug 1, 2015 10:00:25 GMT -5
Sounds good. I would suggest some type of mechanical filter (pads, floss, etc.) Before the water flows over the reef rubble rock. I think there will still be a lot of flow in the first chamber to settle all detritus.
Look into pothos vines in tanks too. I use them in both of my tanks. Jury is out on how much they remove for nutrients, but the roots look really cool.
The rubble area will also be a good place for the gammarus to live.
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Post by fermentedhiker on Aug 1, 2015 13:45:27 GMT -5
Yeah I was debating how to do that. Filter socks? Some sort of drip plate for floss? Not sure.
I've played with Pothos in a hob filter before without success. They do well for awhile and then start to rot. I'm curious how anubias grown emmersed compare(my 55 has one that's over a foot out of the water)
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Post by fermentedhiker on Aug 1, 2015 15:57:30 GMT -5
OK so I picked up a prefab stand from Easy yesterday. Cory offered to take the box down so I could inspect it. I couldn't see any issues looking at the face of the cabinet so I didn't want to go through the hassle. Always look before you buy with furniture. I spent a little extra and got the plywood stand instead of the particle board that the cheaper ones are made from. I have to say I'm a little disappointed. The top is 1/4" luan stapled down and half the staples didn't even go through the luan into the frame. One of the braces in the back is way out of wack with a more than half inch gap at the top and you can see the nails between the end and the bracket because they aren't touching. I mean who would let that kind of mistake leave a shop??? Also the floor supports are laying flat so even though a 55 gallon will technically fit under there I would never trust it to hold. So first order of business is rebuilding the stand that I bought prefab in order to save myself the trouble of working on one  The plan at the moment is to cut the nails off that are holding the crooked bracket and then reinstall it via clamp and glue. Hammering down the half driven staples won't take long, just seems pathetic. Reinforcing the floor is another matter. Probably cut a piece of 3/4 PT plywood and glue over the existing floor, but I'm not sure how much that'll prevent deflection. I'm ditching the 55 gallon sump plan and going with a 29 and then an old 10 gallon for an ATO, but that's still a good bit of weight for poorly supported floor......... It's always something right? |
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Post by jasonandsarah on Aug 1, 2015 16:13:03 GMT -5
OK so I picked up a prefab stand from Easy yesterday. Cory offered to take the box down so I could inspect it. I couldn't see any issues looking at the face of the cabinet so I didn't want to go through the hassle. Always look before you buy with furniture. I spent a little extra and got the plywood stand instead of the particle board that the cheaper ones are made from. I have to say I'm a little disappointed. The top is 1/4" luan stapled down and half the staples didn't even go through the luan into the frame. One of the braces in the back is way out of wack with a more than half inch gap at the top and you can see the nails between the end and the bracket because they aren't touching. I mean who would let that kind of mistake leave a shop??? Also the floor supports are laying flat so even though a 55 gallon will technically fit under there I would never trust it to hold. So first order of business is rebuilding the stand that I bought prefab in order to save myself the trouble of working on one The plan at the moment is to cut the nails off that are holding the crooked bracket and then reinstall it via clamp and glue. Hammering down the half driven staples won't take long, just seems pathetic. Reinforcing the floor is another matter. Probably cut a piece of 3/4 PT plywood and glue over the existing floor, but I'm not sure how much that'll prevent deflection. I'm ditching the 55 gallon sump plan and going with a 29 and then an old 10 gallon for an ATO, but that's still a good bit of weight for poorly supported floor......... It's always something right? Wow I'm sorry to hear that, I'm sure Jason or Cory will take care of the problem for you? |
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Post by fermentedhiker on Aug 1, 2015 16:19:56 GMT -5
It's not really their fault. I should have taken Cory up on the offer to inspect it while I was there. I'm not sure what they can do about it either. I mean I could probably haul it back and get them to have a new one sent, but that means two extra trips down and another weeks delay at least.
I'm a little disturbed by the floor framing though. You'd think someone making an aquarium stand would realize and plan for the fact that we pile loads of stuff in them and some it like sumps are really heavy. Just odd.
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Post by jasonandsarah on Aug 1, 2015 18:49:00 GMT -5
It's not really their fault. I should have taken Cory up on the offer to inspect it while I was there. I'm not sure what they can do about it either. I mean I could probably haul it back and get them to have a new one sent, but that means two extra trips down and another weeks delay at least. I'm a little disturbed by the floor framing though. You'd think someone making an aquarium stand would realize and plan for the fact that we pile loads of stuff in them and some it like sumps are really heavy. Just odd. Yeah I was talking more like them contacting they're suppliers. I'm sure you'll make it better then they could anyways. |
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Post by fermentedhiker on Aug 1, 2015 18:50:01 GMT -5
This the messed up brace. I've since cut the nails off and glued it back in place. Also pounded the half driven staples in. I'll need to pick up a sheet of PT plywood before I can fix the floor though.  |
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Post by fermentedhiker on Aug 2, 2015 16:04:37 GMT -5
Didn't have time for a Lowes trip to get plywood so that'll have to wait until during the week sometime. I've been occupying my time trying to plan out the sump. Since I've nixed the idea of a 55 gallon based on concerns that it's too much weight for the inner floor of the stand, I'm looking at using a spare 29 gallon. the idea so far is a 5 gallon bucket elevated with legs made from pvc pipe, and lots of holes drilled in the bottom will be the container for the reef rubble(or lava rock chips if I cheap out). I'll use a paint strainer as a drip tray and place to put floss/batting to act as a mechanical filter. I picked up a used PF-1200 overflow off of Irish1985 Friday and am ordering a replacement U-tube for it from ebay. This pretty much scraps any room for filter feeders, nutrient export, refugium stuff though At the moment leaning towards a deepwater aquatics BLDC5 for a return pump. |
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Post by jasonandsarah on Aug 2, 2015 17:45:01 GMT -5
What does the bottom look like where is not supported well?
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Post by fermentedhiker on Aug 2, 2015 18:16:49 GMT -5
Near as I can tell, the inner floor is 1/4" luan that is dado'd into all four sides of the bottom rim. I hope it's at least glued in but I don't see any glue squeezed out of any of the seams so I doubt it. There are two cross braces front to back(about the same places the braces are on the tank) made of 3" by 3/4" plywood but layed flat side up/down instead of edgewise so they really aren't doing much.
The only way I can see to make it safe for the weight is to rip a bunch of cross braces that I can put in edgewise every foot or maybe even tighter that go from the bottom of the inner floor all the way down to the floor of the room so that it literally can't go anywhere if it decides to start to deform.
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Post by moulton712 on Aug 7, 2015 11:08:52 GMT -5
Drill it!!!! I have the stuff!
If you can mod the stand to fit a 40b that's the way to go. I've used 29 gal sumps before. They work.
I just started to build a stand yesterday for a 125. I plan on cutting the 125 in half for a frag tank. I'm going to use a 40b for the 3 chamber sump. I might do 2 chamber.
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Post by fermentedhiker on Aug 8, 2015 8:19:44 GMT -5
A 40b is 1 inch too wide otherwise I would definitely use one
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Post by jasonandsarah on Aug 8, 2015 10:01:49 GMT -5
A 40b is 1 inch too wide otherwise I would definitely use one Witch way? My 40B sump hangs out the back a couple inches! Lol I used a 2X4 under the rim, fit perfectly... Please excuse my messy wall is hard to get back there to clean. Bad placement on my part.  |
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