Tank Journal Archive

daveH

Team Leader
Nov 24, 2011
2,958
1,475
Brisbane Northside
Things That Worked Out Well On The New Tank
Thought I would post a few pics of some of the things I built into the new setup that I hoped would work OK.
This is the first tank I've had with an actual sump, so doing the plumbing was all new territory. You can copy various sump setups but when it comes to making yours work correctly and silently there is a lot of fine tuning.
And @somethingfishy76 can take full credit for getting the syphon spot on.
One of the main things I wanted to do was to have the various control units easily accessible and as much cable management as possible.

The draw is working great especially with the 8 point switcher as the main component.

draw.JPG


All the control units are installed, and as far away from moisture as possible and all the cabling tucked away behind.
controls.JPG


Having the plugins for each of the components easy to get to makes it an easy job to remove or replace a single component without having to sort out and untangle it's wiring.

plugs.JPG


The ghost overflow system works a treat, and the plumbing was certainly easier to tune with the gate valve.

gate.JPG


Worked out a way of being able to quickly change the filter sock by having removable ends on the pipes that run into it.

return.JPG


Looove the D700 skimmer. Settled in almost straight away and even with just some rock in the tank it's pulling muck out already.

skimmer.JPG


For the ATO, I went with the good old DIY unit I had, with a couple of modifications - works perfectly.

ATO.JPG


Got the new Jebao dosing pump. I was quite happy with the old one, so why change. The Fish Street dosing canisters fitted in perfectly.

randys.JPG


The design of the sump was the main thing I was worried about. Main concerns were, would the flow through work and would it handle the amount of drop from the tank on power out.
Happily it handled the amount of water drop, which is quite small thanks to the design of the ghost overflow unit.
I had to open up the refugium to allow more water for the return pump. This ended up as a bonus because now it mixes my Randy's Recipe before going through to the return. (I haven't decided what to put in there yet).

refugium.JPG


Up in the tank, the pair of RW8's suit the tank size really well and the amount of control is great.

wave.JPG


And lastly, the LocLine duck bills give really good surface movement without any splashing what so ever.

duckbill.JPG


So the tank is getting through it's cycle, hopefully another couple of more weeks and I can transfer the rocks and coral from the Cade (which is up for sale by the way).
The tank is only in a temporary position till we move at the end of the year. I'll only be having one fish in it till then and will start to stock it properly after the move.

IMG_0909.JPG
 

RobbieMVFC

Member
Feb 25, 2013
1,232
610
Very nice. You must be happy with that. The cable thing is something I struggle with.
I will have to pinch you design for all the control units.
 

Lesley

Member
Apr 2, 2013
2,086
1,079
Gee i thought my hubby was anal.....will be showing him some of your ideas. Thats an amazing job, I am sure he will also want to steal some of your ideas..great job !
 

slin1977

Member
Jul 13, 2011
3,476
1,661
Sydney
You'll love that skimmer more and more each day. It's a weapon of bubble pop destruction.
This tank is fine art !
 

ReeferRob

Solidarité
Oct 22, 2014
2,661
931
Bel Air
You'll love that skimmer more and more each day. It's a weapon of bubble pop destruction.
This tank is fine art !
Yea, I don't know how the hell I did without one for so long. The stuff coming out of mine now with the vinegar dosing is absolutely the foulest thing I have ever smelled. It's gives dead anemone and dead leather coral a run for its money, lol.:dead
 

dimitri

Member
Aug 15, 2015
287
76
that is brilliant.

must steal on concept for large build in future.

how easy is it to get to the wire/controllers if something breaks? i assume the draw covers just pop out and the cable slides through easy with nothing to catch on?
 

Wrangy

Member
May 7, 2013
2,923
1,567
Research
I am stealing so many things from you Dave :p you've just done such an amazing job and it's showing!!
 

daveH

Team Leader
Nov 24, 2011
2,958
1,475
Brisbane Northside
that is brilliant.

must steal on concept for large build in future.

how easy is it to get to the wire/controllers if something breaks? i assume the draw covers just pop out and the cable slides through easy with nothing to catch on?
The control units and cabling took a bit of working out.
I ended up with the cables from the skimmer, return pump, wave pumps etc being brought up to the inside back of the cabinet to a plastic notched cable holder (Bunnings) which took the slack out of each cable in the cabinet. Then I allowed about 35cm of each cable to allow for the draw to be pulled out then connected to another plastic notched cable holder attached to the back of the draw. The cables were held in such a way that when the draw was closed the cables coiled up into the space between the draw and the bottom of the tank, without getting tangled.
The panel that holds the control units just comes out with a couple of small screws and the control units themselves just pop out. The power units are velcrod in just behind them and I purchased some 30cm power cords on line to get rid of all the metres of cable that they came with.
So the short power cables just reach nicely and plug into the back of the 8 switcher.
To get anything out I just unplug the power unit, pop out the control unit and pull the cord out of the two cable holders.
I did make sure that the plug ends have enough room to be easily removed through the framework of the cabinet.
Ta dah!