480g Brainstorms

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
What do you think about the LED lights on the deep tank?

On the 48" L x 30" T tall tank it creates a nice shimmer and a bright white light (10000K). The actinic leds are vastly outnumbered by the 10000k leds so there isn't much blue, except when it is in nighttime mode with only the actinic leds on. My wife (aka Mermaid) suggested I put blue cellophane over the lens to tint it blue (she is a mini-MFKer!)


When I put the light on my 60" L x 48" T tank, there was no shimmer :( I have ordered the beamswork reef capable led light--it has a 1:3 actinic to 10000k led ratio (compared to 2:27 for the one I just got), but also consumes much more power--96 watts. When it arrives, I will give a review.

Egon: I think you could run two of these light units on your 450 It would brighten it up (not that it is dark) and only use 22 watts! My 30" T tank has a black background like yours and it glows from the led lights.

Sorry I haven't posted picture yet..they are coming, I promise. My ipad is on a business trip with Mermaid and the camera on my phone is terrible. Either way, lighting is always difficult to capture with cameras. Hopefully, I described it with good accuracy and detail.


Pacumom is correct--I have gotten a lot done but there is still more to do. Already have a plumber coming to give an estimate on the whole house water filter install!
 
If you are adding overflow boxes, have you considered external overflow boxes?

mjuniorc has external overflow boxes
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...TERIZED-quot&p=5772510&viewfull=1#post5772510

So does doviiman
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...build-thread&p=5410685&viewfull=1#post5410685


External overflow boxes leave you with more room in the tank....
2012-01-13002001.jpg
 
I think the OP is putting his tank right up next to a wall so he won’t have room for something like this.

I love these things! Pacu mom: Are you going to fill the overflow with bio media? or some kind of prefilter? of are you going with stand pipes to keep the noise down?

If I ever buy a custom tank I will do this for sure.
 
Egon is correct. The tank is going flush against a wall so the major plumbing has to be done inside of the tank. I love those overflow boxes but I have a small house in Southern California (the price one pays for being close to the beach). I am going to allow about 1/2" of clearance to run airline tubing and an extension cord for the lights.

If I ever have the funds and the space, I will have the overflow boxes like that.
 
I think the OP is putting his tank right up next to a wall so he won’t have room for something like this.

I love these things! Pacu mom: Are you going to fill the overflow with bio media? or some kind of prefilter? of are you going with stand pipes to keep the noise down?

If I ever buy a custom tank I will do this for sure.

Don't want to hijack this thread. Will PM you.
 
lol..feel free to share, the more info the better. Perhaps I can apply what you are doing with an external overflow to my internal overflow.

I believe what Egon was indirectly asking me was if I was going to use Durso or Bean Animal plumbing in my overflow boxes. I'm not planning on doing either one. You can do a search on these--they result in very quiet overflow boxes. jcardona1 is the real expert in this area. He is meticulous in his work, and his set ups are stellar! Check out his posts on Bean Animal plumbing.
 
actually, that isn't a hijack at all. I do need to figure out what type of bulkhead(s) and overflow silencer to use.

I am going to build a sump from an old 100g tank and use my reeflo dart pump from my previous set up. The dart is rated at 2400gph @ 6ft. I plan on using it as a return pump and to drive a 40w uv sterilizer. Realistically, with 1" return lines, I think I will get about 2000gph on the return line. That will create a 5x turnover rate. Remember, I am also putting 2 FX-5 on this tank as well, so that will be an additional 1000gph of filter action.

The overflow will most like contain two 2" outs, two 1" outs (for fx-5's), and one 1" or 1.5" in from the Dart. The fx-f ins will come from the tank floor.

I have used durso pipes with good success but they probably won't work because they requirre space. Herbie might work..anyone use those with good results?
 
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