zoot098's tank

[ZOOT098]

well ive asked many questions, im not done asking them either im sure
so i thought i would post some pics of my journey so far
the last few pics are from this morning 4/28/08
thanks for all the advice so far

the tank is a 90 gallon corner overflow
home-made sump system
home- made stand
90 pounds of figi live rock
80 pounds of live sand

the last two pics are something i noticed on my rock after i blew all the settled dust of of them, dont know what it is but it looks kind of cool

 

[ZOOT098]

here are the rest of the pics

 

[NewbReefer]

Very nice! looks like your well on your way to a nice setup.

 

[reeffreak]

Looks great,I like how clean and organized the sump,pvc plumbing and everything else.

 

[RyanG]

Looks like a great start, sanitary plumbing too! I dig it. Whats they dry cell in you sump? Eventually a fuge?

 

[Bifferwine]

The last two pics are of dead coral skeleten. It's just part of your live rock.

Everything is looking great, congrats!

 

[dustin_P74]

man thats looking nice and i bet you saved a crap load of money by building as much as you could yourself

 

[ZOOT098]

thanks for all the compliments

i thought i should post a pic of my sump as it is now

i changed all the 90's in the drain line to 45's which helped with my flow

i also went with a smaller pump, i ran a 3/4" line out of it and into a 1" line after the ball valve it is running wide open now

the drain is split with a wye and a ball valve to control flow into the refugium on the right

the water just trickles into the fuge and then spills into the center chamber
there is nothing in the fuge right now except 20 pounds of live sand

i raised the skimmer about 2" with some eggcrate and it seems to be operating much better

 

[dustin_P74]

your skimmer looks to be running wet. is that intended?

 

[fatman]

Can tell you took some time to do some researching and planning before just jumping in. Your doing real well. I like your clean, detailed work but I personally do not like "reef ready" tanks ( overflows holes are too small and the towers are to large). They are so small power heads become a necessity and not a choice. Even as a reef ready tank with the power heads needed for circulation, it is one of the better to best looking jobs I have seen for quite a while. It is easy to see your another person who really enjoys the set up portions of reefing. I myself love design and set ups.

 

[ZOOT098]

thanks fatman, i did do quite a bit of research first, and asked a ton of questions

i agree with you on the size of the holes on my tank, if i did it over i would build my own overflows, but it turned out good for my first attempt

fishfan i dont know what you mean by my skimmer running wet????????

 

[NewbReefer]

I think he means you skimmer collection cup, it looks like it's "spraying" water inside it but i think it's just and illusion from the bubbles it's pushing into it, the water it's collected looks fairly yucky.

 

[ZOOT098]

the skimmer collection cup looks wet because i rinsed it out and didnt bother drying it, its actually leaching bubbles up and over just like it should

 

[cthegame]

Tank is looking great. keep up the good work.

 

[Altohombre]

nice looking stand and overall setup.

 

[fatman]

Running dry is to have your bubbles spend longer in the skimmer reactiom chamber before they rise up into the collection cup. That produces a stiff skimmate with almost no water, running wet is the opposite. The bubbles spend less time in the reaction chamber and are wetter when they enter the collection cup. Dialing a skimmer up or down, meaning, providing wetter or drier skimmate, depends on the brand as to how it is done.

 

[ZOOT098]

first signs of life

third week since adding water

 

[Bifferwine]

Looks like you've got quite a bit of sponge growing, that's a good sign.

 

[stagofdoom]

Looks good!
Also the plumbing looks very good too!

 

[Piggy]

You got quite a bit of life going on in your tank. Looking good.