My 100 Gallon Baby!

[jgalvin]

stunning tank! I can tell your tangs are happier

welcome to the world of rimless. looks great but you will lose fish. on my rimless tank, i lost a handful of fish (hawkfish, goby, wrasse, etc) over a year and finally put a mesh top on it (really doesn't look that bad). just an idea if you lose any fish down the road.

 

[NW Fish Dude]

stunning tank! I can tell your tangs are happier

welcome to the world of rimless. looks great but you will lose fish. on my rimless tank, i lost a handful of fish (hawkfish, goby, wrasse, etc) over a year and finally put a mesh top on it (really doesn't look that bad). just an idea if you lose any fish down the road.

Thanks. The tangs are new for this tank, so I'm hoping they're happier than the LFS! Didn't think they'd be thrilled in my smaller tank, so didn't have any previously. And yes, I too was/am worried about jumpers. I have a screen from one of our bedroom windows that fits over the top pretty well, until I can find a more permanent solution. What are you using? (I removed the screen for photos)

 

[jgalvin]

I purchased clear mesh from this guy on ebay (he includes directions), it was ~$13 for the mesh and around ~$15 materials from home depot. you can see how it looks on my build thread. looks much better than the glass top i bought which is sitting in my closet.

1/4" Wide Clear Polypropylene Mesh For Tank Screen Tops | eBay

Thanks. The tangs are new for this tank, so I'm hoping they're happier than the LFS! Didn't think they'd be thrilled in my smaller tank, so didn't have any previously. And yes, I too was/am worried about jumpers. I have a screen from one of our bedroom windows that fits over the top pretty well, until I can find a more permanent solution. What are you using? (I removed the screen for photos)

 

[DolphinLVR]

Hahaha. You guys are tough!

Here's a pic from this morning with the water clear and some aquascaping done. When I get home this evening, I'll take a couple of the lights/mounts close up and from a bit further back. The hardest part in mounting them, was just making sure they were centered over the tank, as it's not the easiest thing to measure up on the ceiling, especially with the tank in place. :becky:

Looking Awesome Robert!

I am looking forward to seeing it this next Saturday!

 

[NC2WA]

nice...is that black sand?

gives the tank a unique dimension.

 

[Peppie]

Very nice upgrade.
I really like the look of your black sand. Seems to make the colors in the tank POP.
Sorry to hear you lost some livestock during the transfer. I know I get attached to my fish after they have been around for a while.

I didnt see any pics of the sump area.. Can we see? Or is there some organizing yet to do?

Sent you a PM about your stand and tank purchase.

Looks really good, Now enjoy!!

 

[NW Fish Dude]

nice...is that black sand?

gives the tank a unique dimension.

Two types of sand, a fine black tahatiian towards the outside, and bit more of a rubblier black sand/gravel everywhere else, which is a bit easier to clean. I agree, especially in person, and what the radions, the colors really stand out against the black. Love it.

 

[NW Fish Dude]

Take that long loc-line out of the tank. With the two MP40s you really don't need those long pieces to direct flow. Shorten them way up and you'll have a much cleaner look. Also, do you have a siphon break on the return?

How about backing up a few steps and getting a pic that shows the tank and lights. Looks great!

Mike

Ok, so as requested here are some pics of the radions and how I mounted them. For the two brackets connecting the lights I simply bought a couple pieces of predrilled narrow steel plates from Home Depot that are used in decking, for about a buck or so. Painted them black with some Krylon spray paint and used the screws that came with Radion hanging kit to connect them to the lights.

This first photo is with the lights off, stepping back a few feet. The cables that come with the kit are quite long, and my lights hang down about 4 feet from the ceiling (8" above the tank). They are almost right at eye level for me.

Here is the mount into the ceiling. This was really simple with the hanging kit. And the look is very clean. I like it!

And here are the lights from above, looking at the simple brackets I made for less than $2. I haven't yet trimmed the hanging cables, just in case I want to adjust the height.

And so here is the entire mount and lights, from ceiling down to top of tank.

 

[mcoomer]

Looks really good. I like the aquascaping a lot. The two islands with a canyon in the middle is one of my favorites and is how I've done my own tank.

Did you catch my question about whether or not you have a siphon break on the return plumbing to the tank? You need one to prevent a siphon from forming when you lose power or turn off your recirc pump. If not, you could end up overflowing your sump with a large volume of saltwater that can ruin your floor. I would install a siphon break and use a check valve as well but be aware that you need to maintain these to keep them free from obstruction to ensure they work when you need them. Nothing too difficult. Simply run a tubing cleaner down the siphon break to ensure it's clear. If you install a check valve, use unions so you can easily remove it for disassembly and cleaning.

Mike

 

[NW Fish Dude]

Looks really good. I like the aquascaping a lot. The two islands with a canyon in the middle is one of my favorites and is how I've done my own tank.

Did you catch my question about whether or not you have a siphon break on the return plumbing to the tank? You need one to prevent a siphon from forming when you lose power or turn off your recirc pump. If not, you could end up overflowing your sump with a large volume of saltwater that can ruin your floor. I would install a siphon break and use a check valve as well but be aware that you need to maintain these to keep them free from obstruction to ensure they work when you need them. Nothing too difficult. Simply run a tubing cleaner down the siphon break to ensure it's clear. If you install a check valve, use unions so you can easily remove it for disassembly and cleaning.

Mike

I like the center canyon look too (obvioiusly!). Trying to make it curve some, to give it a bit more natural feel. Saving the right side island for SPS. Left side right now is all softies, LPS, BTA, shrooms, rics, palys, and zoas.

Thanks for the overflow advice as well. Valves and flood protection all in place. No water on the hardwoods for me. Well, except for my own sloppiness.

 

[mcoomer]

Thanks for the overflow advice as well. Valves and flood protection all in place. No water on the hardwoods for me. Well, except for my own sloppiness.

Good to hear. When I was new to the hobby and thought I had it all figured out I built a spray bar for the return and ran it along the back wall of my tank...along the bottom. I knew enough to put a siphon break on but didn't bother to put a redundant device in place and when coralline algae filled in my only siphon break it was only a matter of time before I had a flood. My wife came upstairs one night to tell me that the tank wasn't making noise and the floor was very wet. I found that my return pump had stopped and the entire 125 gallon tank had emptied into the sump. 30 gallon sump, 125 gallons of saltwater...the math doesn't work. Fortunately I was able to scoop up all my fish and get them into the sump to swim around but in the process I drowned to some electronics and ruined my floor. Good times!

 

[pandora32]

Tank looks great! Be careful with the tahitian sand, assuming its black moon sand. I had this in my 20L tank when I had it and bits of the sand stuck to my magfloat when I was claening the front...SCRATCHED! I got rid of right then. Just sayn be careful. Other than that I love the tank and ur lights look great also. How bout the sump area now?

 

[NW Fish Dude]

I purchased clear mesh from this guy on ebay (he includes directions), it was ~$13 for the mesh and around ~$15 materials from home depot. you can see how it looks on my build thread. looks much better than the glass top i bought which is sitting in my closet.

1/4" Wide Clear Polypropylene Mesh For Tank Screen Tops | eBay

Thanks! Placed my order today. My fishies thank you too!!

 

[Red C Aquarium]

Yes there is a siphon break and yes he could shorten the loc-line... I'm not a rookie here!!! lol

Great to see the tank up and running!!

People are asking about sump photos , I saw them clearly posted.

Looks great Robert!! Fyi both black sands are more scratchy in a algae magnet than white sand

Red C

 

[NW Fish Dude]

Sorry for the delay on sump pics. Didn't realize there'd be such a demand!

Here are a couple photos from last week. From right to left: chamber one with double return with filter socks and Eshopps skimmer. For the first five days after set up, the thing skimmed like crazy, but just clear thin bubbly water. In the last several days, it's now filling the cup with good green goop! After series of baffles, middle chamber has my fuge with about an inch or two of live sand, and a ball of cheato with lots of pods. Getting a diatom bloom on the sand in there now as well. More baffles, and the last chamber on the left has my return pump, two titanium heaters, and the two sensors for my Tunze osmolator. So far, it all seems to be functioning according to plan.

And here's a closer view of infant stage of the refugium. This is about one week ago, and I swear the cheato ball already looks bigger, and it's teaming with little creepy crawly critters. It's lit with a simple compact fluorescent from Home Depot. Currently set to a reverse cycle from the DT.

 

[DolphinLVR]

Sorry for the delay on sump pics. Didn't realize there'd be such a demand!

Here are a couple photos from last week. From right to left: chamber one with double return with filter socks and Eshopps skimmer. For the first five days after set up, the thing skimmed like crazy, but just clear thin bubbly water. In the last several days, it's now filling the cup with good green goop! After series of baffles, middle chamber has my fuge with about an inch or two of live sand, and a ball of cheato with lots of pods. Getting a diatom bloom on the sand in there now as well. More baffles, and the last chamber on the left has my return pump, two titanium heaters, and the two sensors for my Tunze osmolator. So far, it all seems to be functioning according to plan.

And here's a closer view of infant stage of the refugium. This is about one week ago, and I swear the cheato ball already looks bigger, and it's teaming with little creepy crawly critters. It's lit with a simple compact fluorescent from Home Depot. Currently set to a reverse cycle from the DT.

Looking Great Robert! Cant wait to see your setup Saturday

 

[Somethings Fishy]

Good looking setup, sweet lights!

 

[NW Fish Dude]

Here we are today. Hard to get a pic without glare.

 

[NW Fish Dude]

Left side of the tank with duncan, alveopora, dendro, palys, zoas, squamosa and others.


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[rukis]

Did your snowflake clowns survive?

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