jcarlilesiu
Aquarium Advice Addict
Well, it finally came in. The marineland 150 gallon cube with built in overflow and a black pine stand. After a short utilization of a U-Haul truck and paying a few friends with food to help me carry it in, its in its home for time to come. Let me tell you, this thing is not light. With no center brace, they used 1/2" glass and the tank alone weighs 244 pounds.
I also just got information from Dr. Foster and Smith that my order has shipped. I ordered the following:
(2) 300 Watt Stealth Heaters
(1) JBJ ATI controller & small azoo pump
(1) Eheim pump for the integrated refugium/quarantine
(2) Hydro Koralia circulation pumps
(1) CPX-150 Return Pump
(1) Coralife 2 Stage R/O DI
(1) 7" Sump Intake
And some small things like hoses, clamps, etc. As you can see, I forgot to order a 1" bulkhead for the return pump. I am going to have to find one locally or wait to have one shipped.
I also need to get my ASM G2 protein skimmer which I am hopefully going to get for my birthday. We will see, otherwise I need to order that too.
The sump is under construction. I purchased a cheap Ryobi table saw that is too small for the application as their is no way to attach the rip fence at 16" which is the height of the sides of the sump. I have made due though, and I expect to have it finished this week. I have been using weld-on #3 which is working fine, but I doubt it is water tight. Thus, this week, I am going to track down some weld-on #16 and use it in all the interior corners to seal everything up and give me a little piece of mind. A plan of the sump is at the bottom of this posting, though orientated sideways. The design is not traditional, and may possible get some flack for the built in quarantine/refugium, but I am hoping it works the way I want it to.
I live in a small condo in the city of Chicago and have no room for top off tanks, quarantines or anything else with exception of whats available under the tank. That leads to a problem... more on that later.
So... thats where I am right now. I will start installing the overflow today, and hopefully finish up the last pieces of the sump. I am waiting until I get the return pump though, so I know what size to drill the bulkhead. I should also wait until the pump comes in so that I know exactly where to drill the hole. Any advice on this?
A couple of problems... :x
Marineland says in their book that the storage area under the tank is 35X35. Thus, the sump that I built is 34 X 28 1/2" Well, low and behold, there are bracing in the corners of the stand.
This is going to be a problem since the 28 1/2" dimension (front to back) won't fit. Looks like I am going to have to build up the bottom of the stand with some plywood so the sump has a level surface to sit on above these braces.
Problem #2... I planned on re-using my (2) 150 watt HQI + 4 T5 light fixture since it cost me around 500 bucks. The brackets that came with it are supposed to straddle the side of the aquarium rim. My aquarium came with a nice looking thick trim piece all the way around the top. Additionally, I can spread the brackets on the light out to a maximum of 35" and the tank perimeter is exactly 36"
So it looks like my options are either to call Catalina aquarium supply and ask them to build some custom legs for my tank, or to hang the light. I don't however have an outlet at the ceiling, and the lights are all going to be on timers, so would the cords run off of a hanging light and then into the stand where the plug and timer is? I think that would look stupid.
Anyway... I will be updating this as things progress. I look forward to all comments, questions, or criticisms.
I also just got information from Dr. Foster and Smith that my order has shipped. I ordered the following:
(2) 300 Watt Stealth Heaters
(1) JBJ ATI controller & small azoo pump
(1) Eheim pump for the integrated refugium/quarantine
(2) Hydro Koralia circulation pumps
(1) CPX-150 Return Pump
(1) Coralife 2 Stage R/O DI
(1) 7" Sump Intake
And some small things like hoses, clamps, etc. As you can see, I forgot to order a 1" bulkhead for the return pump. I am going to have to find one locally or wait to have one shipped.
I also need to get my ASM G2 protein skimmer which I am hopefully going to get for my birthday. We will see, otherwise I need to order that too.
The sump is under construction. I purchased a cheap Ryobi table saw that is too small for the application as their is no way to attach the rip fence at 16" which is the height of the sides of the sump. I have made due though, and I expect to have it finished this week. I have been using weld-on #3 which is working fine, but I doubt it is water tight. Thus, this week, I am going to track down some weld-on #16 and use it in all the interior corners to seal everything up and give me a little piece of mind. A plan of the sump is at the bottom of this posting, though orientated sideways. The design is not traditional, and may possible get some flack for the built in quarantine/refugium, but I am hoping it works the way I want it to.
I live in a small condo in the city of Chicago and have no room for top off tanks, quarantines or anything else with exception of whats available under the tank. That leads to a problem... more on that later.
So... thats where I am right now. I will start installing the overflow today, and hopefully finish up the last pieces of the sump. I am waiting until I get the return pump though, so I know what size to drill the bulkhead. I should also wait until the pump comes in so that I know exactly where to drill the hole. Any advice on this?
A couple of problems... :x
Marineland says in their book that the storage area under the tank is 35X35. Thus, the sump that I built is 34 X 28 1/2" Well, low and behold, there are bracing in the corners of the stand.
This is going to be a problem since the 28 1/2" dimension (front to back) won't fit. Looks like I am going to have to build up the bottom of the stand with some plywood so the sump has a level surface to sit on above these braces.
Problem #2... I planned on re-using my (2) 150 watt HQI + 4 T5 light fixture since it cost me around 500 bucks. The brackets that came with it are supposed to straddle the side of the aquarium rim. My aquarium came with a nice looking thick trim piece all the way around the top. Additionally, I can spread the brackets on the light out to a maximum of 35" and the tank perimeter is exactly 36"
So it looks like my options are either to call Catalina aquarium supply and ask them to build some custom legs for my tank, or to hang the light. I don't however have an outlet at the ceiling, and the lights are all going to be on timers, so would the cords run off of a hanging light and then into the stand where the plug and timer is? I think that would look stupid.
Anyway... I will be updating this as things progress. I look forward to all comments, questions, or criticisms.