New tanks

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Schnauzer

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Feb 23, 2005
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I thought I bought 4 new 90s but can only find 3 so yesterday we went out and bought 2-120s and a 72 gal Oceanic systems bowfront . After the holidays or during , we will start setting some up . I am planning on an Amazon theme and hopefullly we can do it justice . Be prepared for a flood of photos and new fish .
 
Awesome Ron. I have had to downsize, it's good to see someone getting more into it :) Can't wait.

Suggestion: Really think of Photography when you are doing aquascaping and tank setup. Make sure all hardware is out of the way. My last tank I setup I went with a wet/dry system for that single purpose, just a box on top that is black on black, invisible, and everything else is in the sump.
 
paradise said:
Awesome Ron. I have had to downsize, it's good to see someone getting more into it :) Can't wait.

Suggestion: Really think of Photography when you are doing aquascaping and tank setup. Make sure all hardware is out of the way. My last tank I setup I went with a wet/dry system for that single purpose, just a box on top that is black on black, invisible, and everything else is in the sump.

I am thinking about photograpy as I aquascape Ed . Hoping to get it right . I also think a tank set up for photography would make the best looking tank .
Please explain the black box . I want to do a sump under the 120s but don't want to drain the tank in case of a power failure . I thought of drilling a hole in the siphon tube below the water line but am not sure it is the way to go .
 
great news Ron. WOW, wish I could go out and pick up a couple 120's :). I'm sure there will be plenty of room to take photos in that thing without filters etc... being in the way.
 
Ron, I just use an Overflow box. It's two boxes, one on the inside, and one on the outside, and tubes that create suction between them. They are made to prevent problems with water spilling over. If the pump fails, the tank water drops as it is not pumped back, and it goes into the sump until the level is same as the overflow box, then it stops filling but keeps the suction inside the tubes. If the pump resumes, when the water moves up to the level, it starts moving water again. Very simple system, most LFS carry it. So the box is black acryllic, as is my background, so you can't even see it.
 
I won't give you any advice. It's all in the articles section already ;)
Alan
 
Schnauzer said:
I thought I bought 4 new 90s but can only find 3 so yesterday we went out and bought 2-120s and a 72 gal Oceanic systems bowfront . After the holidays or during , we will start setting some up . I am planning on an Amazon theme and hopefullly we can do it justice . Be prepared for a flood of photos and new fish .
Wow! Wish you were my customer! ;) That is a lot of tanks!

Hang-on overflows work pretty good. Just need to make sure to match up your return pump gph's to the number of siphon tubes. I suggest using an overflow box with at least 2 siphon tubes. Each siphon tube is rated for about 250-300 gph. You can find overflow boxes online at your local LFS. Do your research as some our better than others. I have used some crappy ones in the past.

As far as power going off, properly designed overflow boxes will not break siphon when power goes off and water will stop flowing to the sump once water falls below the overflow box. Does that make sense?

Anyway, on your return you will want to drill a small hole just below the "Full and Running" water line for a siphon break so your returns do not over-siphon from your tank and over fill your sump. That is now fun believe me!

I can post pics of my setup if you like. Just let me know.

Also, if you setup more tanks - you may just want to consider getting a Reef Ready tank instead.
 
Hey Mark, a follow up question, not to derail the thread but maybe others will benefit too.

My overflow is rated OK, has two tubes, but I can't make it quiet. the water does the "circle the drain" sound all the time. The size of the overflow is tight, imagine two compartments on the outside, the two U tubes fit snugly into the collection one, and the other one has the "drain". How do I make it quiet? Is there a way? I have tried to put floss into it and other stuff but nothing works, still "flushing the toilet" the whole day.

The pump is good (in the sump kind) and it's on full power and it's keeping the level steady at full tank exactly.
 
Mark ,
I would love to see some shots of the setup .

Ed ,
I have been doing a lot of research on the overflows . One guy put an elbow (90) on the line that drops to the sump in the overflow box to stop the noise . He said it pretty much stopped the noise .
 
Ed and Ron - I will post a couple of pics of my setup and see if that helps.

My system is pretty quiet. I have some filter floss in the sump to quiet the water from the drain and in my overflow box, I use a "Modified" Durso drain which helps a whole bunch on water noise.

Ok I will go take a few pics right now and post in a couple of minutes.
 
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