probably getting back in. planning tank setup

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bradreef

bradreef

always kidding
Joined
Sep 1, 2003
Messages
1,620
Location
La mesa CA
It has been many years since the big Power outtage in Seattle and the death of my previous tank .
I always told myself that when I bought a house I would get a tank. That happened a year ago and I have been popping my head in stores looking at stuff from time to time. I am running into a few questions and not getting the best answers by searching. I am trying to find a cheap tank off of CL but I am not in a hurry so I can wait until I find the right one. I also am trying to do all of this somewhat cheap as I need to resurface my Pool some time in the next year. I am in San Diego now and I have a spot in the office of my house where I can plumb out to the garage for all of the filtration.


Tank overview. looking for 50-60 gallon either hex or cube. ( working on buying a hex right now)
1.The problem I run into is the tanks witout overflow and even an acrylictank. I can't find many online retailers who sale them and then I can find glass-holes overflow kit which is not what I want but might have to settle with. I would plumb a pipe straight up the middle but people seem to be afraid of it breaking so they have me paranoid
2. Flow- Looks like closed loops are not as common and the pumps that drive them aren't as efficient. So Right now I am looking at a couple powerheads with a wavemaker. I had Tunze in my old tank but from reading they are more concentrated flow and not as well dispersed
3. Lighting is easy. LED's probably cree's or something that runs around 120 watts from what I am seeing.
4. skimmer is going to be something easy. swc or similar
5. bought a chiller already 1/10th Hp which is good because it is going to limit the size of tank I have.



So my big issue is going to be Overflow and Plumbing which will depend on the tank I get. I will let people know when I have the tank so I can get better answers on it.

Does anyone know where I can get a center overflow box? (that isn't a ton of money customer made)

This is the best idea so far
Aquarium Overflow Box 1200GPH and video viewing | eBay
 
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I can make a center over flow box for 1/2 a ton of money. Shoot me a PM on the the numbers you have in mind.

Looking forward to seeing your build.
 
Hopefully I don't have to add an overflow. Depends on the tank. I have lost out on two so far but I am still looking.
 
yo broham!!
good to see u getting the itch.
just redid my tank with new LEDs and skimmer,
lmk before you make any purchases...
and for gods sake, you should get a cube, not a 3d stopsign...lulz

as far as overflow, dont be silly... ur not drilling a hole in the bottom of ur tank.
just do an external durso through a bulkhead on the top back like so:

extdurso.jpg
 
overflow. I have been looking at that. similar to the glass holes.com . there are $50 box kit's on fleebay for $50.

I have been working on getting the cube. had one yesterday where I was talking to the guy . 60 cube. and he couldn't tell me who made it or if the walls are tempered or not so I didn't want to mess with it. also 50 will fit in my car and 60 is really close. LOL. I am thinking around a 20-30 gallon sump in the Garage where I will have chiller and skimmer.

have you seen the threads on this
180 Gallon Fresh Saltwater Fish tank Protein Skimmer SCA-302 Needle Impeller | eBay

Seems like a decent option. basically what octopus did years ago where they made a knock off of others.
 
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I figured you had read the thread and at 115(ive heard they take that shipped) it is a steal.
 
I heard u could take a laptop screen and put it behind the glass. In the sun if u can see lines in the glass than its tempered... have i tried it NO. lolAs far as overflows goes... I own the 700gph kit from GHs and its okay a bit noisy imo. The bean animal is the shiz however!
 
Ok looks like a 60 cube is going to possibly happen tonight if I can fit it in my car. There is a guy locally that will drill holes for cheap. i think 3 for $20. I contacted the manufacturer just to triple check that it is not tempered.
 
FYI- I guess in san diego the local aquarium lets people get free water that they pump from some depth. I guess it is not bad as long as it hasn't rained recently. So I am going to invest in some water containers.
 
I used to live in CA. Scripps aquarium has a hose by the ocean where you can fill up buckets for free and they filter it for you so it's clean. It's how I set up my 55 when I lived there. It is pretty hidden...I walked past it twice before finding it because it is literally a hose and handle with no other markings around it. Good luck!
 
on our local reef site they have pictures and a map showing where it is. i have read that some large trucks come by and fill from time to time.
 
Yah I used to go on sdreefs all the time when I lived there. I used the maps as well. It was a cheap start as far as water was concerned. I know some good guys down there and a few bad ones but overall they're a great group
 
60 cal cube sounds nice! Looking forward to the build. Also, you look like you haven't aged a bit after all these years in your avitar:p


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Mike I figure if you can keep a glass box with fish in it , then anyone can.

SD seems good so far. There are a couple of stores that are setup well and some that stopped improving there setup in the 90's. I wish I had the connections like I used to up there but it will come with time.
 
i put that up years ago because when you went to meetings it was always interesting asking people what there online name was.
 
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