My slice of nature

[SubzeroLT]

I'm in the midst of starting a marine tank. Posting some pictures here for sharing & hoping to seek advice from more experienced reefers.

I have a 3ft tank that's still in pretty good condition. Did some price checks & decided to stick with the current tank/cabinet used previously for freshwater.

Add sump & overflow. Save up for a bigger tank in the years to come.

Appreciate the advice from Razali (DE aquatic) so far.

General equipment list :

Tank : 3ft x 1.5ft x 1.5ft (90P / 48 gallon ) braceless tank. 10mm.

Overflow : Skimz OM2500 overflow box.

Lighting : Maxpect Razor.

Chiller Hailea 300a (1/4HP)

Apex Neptune controller

Wave maker : Jebao RW8 x2

Return pump : Jebao DC6000

Skimmer : Skimz Oval SV203

First order of things was to set up a new light stand.

Got a link for a free CAD application from one of he's post (thanks!)

Enquired with Teck Cheong Aluminum (King George Avenue) to get the items but their minimum cut length was 1.2m.

I then emailed Prestech for quotes. They cut to any length. Almost all accessories/fittings could be selected from their website as well. http://www.prestech.com.sg/Products.aspx

Got everything I needed (profile, brackets, fasteners, tool sliders etc) for about $70+

 

[SubzeroLT]

Next, got some plumbing fixtures from Hai Cheong Plastics (Kallang). They were really friendly & helpful.

Next, collected my sump tank from Atlantic Glass Industry (482 Upper Serangoon Road)

Right compartment - inflow + skimmer

Left compartment - refugium

Middle compartment - return pump.

[Edmund Koh]

Wah cool! Well done bro!

[Idil Stephanie]

Can share the cost of your sump? And how long you have to wait?

[SubzeroLT]

Sump size 75cm x 40cm x 40cm x 6mm . Around $120

5 working days lead time.

I made the glass between left & center compartment 'tinted' to reduce light stray light from the refugium.

Think it was a waste of $ if that had cost more. That level of tint will still allow at least 50% light transmission.

[Idil Stephanie]

Do u think it will cost more if I ask them to make the refugium sides with black glass? Coz of light. Algae grows all over my sump.

[asg]

Why not just buy those black colour background sticker from freshwater fish shop and FIY?

[diki88]

nice build. can see u put alot of effort and planning into this tank.

just a few qtns/suggestions,

1) why did u decide to go the middle return pump compartment?

2) ur power strip is quite close to the sump, any plans to cover it up? also with the return pipe in the middle, will it pose any problem getting to the plugs? that's not factoring in the chiller hoses/pipes also.

3) since ur using the beautiful 90p, another option for overflow to complement the braceless and sleek look of the tank would be this:

however, got drilling involved which I think Razali can help you with.

anyways, really nice tank and build. hope to see more of it.

cheers

[Idil Stephanie]

Will it stick? I didn't think of that, I'll go check it out

[SubzeroLT]

Thanks for the suggestions

1) Return pump in middle - I read that flow in the refugium should be pretty slow. Hence the plan to divert some of the return pump flow to the refugium.

I wasn't sure if the flow would be too great if it was in the middle. I just hope it wasn't a mistake / bad design.

In any case, I thought of the contingency if that needed to be change (i.e. pump in the left compartment, refugium in the middle). The glass height partition needed to change. The glass can be easily removed by slicing the silicon & get it cut a few centimeter shorter.

2) The power strip was there previously from my freshwater setup. Its removed of course.

3) Oceanlife overflow. Seems like an interesting option. Not much reviews on it, hence I went for the less intrusive method of an overflow.

nice build. can see u put alot of effort and planning into this tank.

just a few qtns/suggestions,

1) why did u decide to go the middle return pump compartment?
2) ur power strip is quite close to the sump, any plans to cover it up? also with the return pipe in the middle, will it pose any problem getting to the plugs? that's not factoring in the chiller hoses/pipes also.
3) since ur using the beautiful 90p, another option for overflow to complement the braceless and sleek look of the tank would be this:
however, got drilling involved which I think Razali can help you with.

anyways, really nice tank and build. hope to see more of it.

cheers

[SubzeroLT]

I read that Omaya will harden & peel over time if exposed to water, hence its best to be pasted outside the aquarium.

My plan now is to put a black opaque acrylic sheet between the refugium & return section. A 2mm thick sheet of that panel size should be around $6 at Dama (Ubi)

Why not just buy those black colour background sticker from freshwater fish shop and FIY?

[lcf425]

so far so good!

[Bunster]

looking good... can't wait to see it wet

[SubzeroLT]

Borrowed a PVC pipe cutter. Realized that not all pipe cutters are made equal.

A Stanley brand pipe cutter wasn't able to cut a 1" schedule 80 pipe properly - tended to crack.

Another japanese branded one (SuperTool) did a better job.

1st attempt at gluing PVC pipes together.

Then a quick test on the sump & overflow.

[diki88]

Nice. very neat pipework.

[SubzeroLT]

It was the 1st attempt at running the overflow, hence i filled up a small tub just to test if it works.

I got the Skimz OM5000 overflow. It came with 2 durso drain pipes which was definitely an overkill for this tank size.

Hence, I figured that I put a straight pipe on one of the drains, & used it as an 'emergency' drain in case the 1st siphon does not work.

Did some tests to simulate a power failure & then power turning back on. With the return pump coming on, the overflow box re-started the siphon on its own

I also checked if the sump would overflow if there was a power failure. I think it should be sufficient.

[Edmund Koh]

Good job! I think what most people are afraid of is an overflow of the main tank when the overflow system fails.

[SubzeroLT]

Next task....rocks.

I got some rocks from Irwarna & decided to take the safe route.

Freshwater dip/scrub then chlorine soak for a couple of days.

I'm glad to say that the rocks were quite clean. Saw about 2 copopods from the freshwater soak. No worms or other pests.

Then rinsed off with tapwater, followed by a couple of rounds/days of soaking in anti-chlorine.

Seachem prime is reputable but pretty expensive. I found this in C328. Quite cheap & supposedly good.

Saw a post on Tofu's thread that he used a chlorine test kit.

Got one at Green Chapter's new branch in Clementi 2 weeks back. They had a 20% 10th anniversary sale

This will be useful in future for checking the state of the carbon filter in the RO/DI unit in future.

[limz_777]

is atlantic tanks workmanship good ? main tank as in 90p , ada brand ?

[Admiraltian]

Very detailed and interesting tank build. Nice DIY on ur plumbing for ur sump. Very neat too.

[SubzeroLT]

Main tank is from Fishy Business. Their own 'house brand' in the 90p format/dimension.

I'm quite happy with the workmanship from Atlantic Glass.

The silicon work on the edges of the 5 main pieces of glass are nicely done.

The silicon work of the intermediate panels of the sump were so-so but i'm not complaining.

[SubzeroLT]

Very detailed and interesting tank build. Nice DIY on ur plumbing for ur sump. Very neat too.

Thanks.

Its part of the fun of a hobby - hands on & learning something new (at least for me).

[Guest]

Wow. You almost diy everything . Nice... keep the photos coming..

[SubzeroLT]

I got a 2nd batch of rocks free rocks from a fellow reefer (Thanks!). They were great but had dried out by the time i got them.

I'm pretty amazed what a 6hr chlorox soak does. No scrubbing involved!

Now back to the 1st batch of rocks.

Bought some vinegar from Seng Shiong. Only $3.50 per 5L bottle.

Here are the rocks soaking in vinegar

[SubzeroLT]

One reads a lot about muriatic acid for acid acid bath on the web But it seems this is harder to come by in Singapore for the general public.

I read that floor cleaners that contractors used are acid based. Did some research - usually 9% hydrochloric acid.

I emailed the company for an MSDS to enquire what's the active ingredient & whether there were any additives in it but no reply.

So i decided to try a small experiment on a couple of rocks i know i won't be using.

Added some of the floor cleaner to a small container & soaked some rocks.

It really bubbled a lot (much more than with vinegar)! And brown crud appeared as well.

Seems like it does a better job in cleaning the rock surface.

In any case, I cleaned it & soaked it in RODI water for a couple of days.

And put placed the rock in a small container with my freshwater shrimp & a baby guppy for a couple of days. They were happy & doing well.

i suppose that the floor cleaner with stronger acid is safe to use.