planetG 4.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 obession

[planetg]

7 on the other side

[planetg]

lights on!

realised i need more LR but have to find time to go look for some good ones.

[planetg]

another toy

[AlfaRomeo]

Cool setup bro! love the ventilating fans idea! and of course all the power outlets!

[RAV-65]

Bro, where did u get the white platic grill cover for the fans?

[CalciumReef]

Bro, where did u get the white platic grill cover for the fans?

Kpo abit..Those come together with the KDK fans....You might be able to find it at kelantan lane

[wa_lanz]

wat can i say? lost for words... setup already so powerful... can see the love and passion u have for this hobby.... sure gonna be a really nice tank

[acidjazz]

great set up. . its really ur passion. .

[planetg]

thanx dudes for the faith! haha. i do have passion but whether the tank will end up nice still dunno hor... haha

however the journey is not without much diifculties.

1. carpenter broke my initial sump. so had to redo

2. flooding cos my temporary return pipe gave way

3. losing all my sps (brown out or STN) in my temp tub which has unfortunately ran for 1 mth

4. losing my precious yellow tang (family favourite after my Orange Gum)

i do like to take the opportunity to thank weijie for the nights we spent together at home settling the plumbing and such cos i've been extremely busy and can only start tank work late at night. always complete in the middle of the night. i doubt i can find any other tank maker with such deidication.

thanx bro!

ending off with my durso pic! We were amazed how large D63 fittings are! almost couldn't fit 2 sets in my overflow!

[RAV-65]

Dat's a moncter durso!!!

[yooyoo99]

wow wow wow! really interesting setup!

i am planning to get a 5 or 6 feet tank, and is now gathering ideas from fellow reefers. this is a thread i must follow up!!!

[daimy068]

Wow! Beautiful setup! More pics please!

[planetg]

hi yoyo.

shall answer your question abt starboard and closed loop here for the benefit of other reefers.

our tanks are made of glass and when we do our rockscape, we do not wish to exert pressure points on the base glass. in addition to a 'cushioning' factor, we can also prevent the glass from breaking if rocks fall off.

there are many materials u can use apart from starboard. starboard is a marine grade polymer which is UV/Chemical resistant. Check this example

some use the white ones to reflect MH upwards such that corals, specifically SPS may get light from down under. however to me, i thought it would be too reflective for the comfort of my eyes. thus i chose black acrylic which gives me a stark contrast to the colours i intend to place on the base. (rics, clams, other colourful eye candy)

as for closed loop. it's all abt increasing flow within the tank without increasing the sump flowthru rate. u would want an optimum flowthru rate in the sump to achieve maximum skimmer and CR efficiency. many times people use one or many powerful return pumps to achieve such high flow while others use wavemaking devices such as Tunze Streams or Seios.

some dudes choose a closed loop pump. i.e. take water from tank, go thru a high flow pump and return back to the tank. advantage of this system is that u can maintain the pump externally and do 'funky' plumbing for the output. (3 outlets, 2 outlets, etc...)

hope that answers some questions.

cheers

[madmac]

Nice, ice cool, Planet.! the black acrylic, how thick is it? Where did you source for it? The rocks seems to rest on its 'flat', tis is the initial arrangement.

[planetg]

hi dude.

acrylic is 8 or 10mm i cannot remember now!

[yooyoo99]

thanks dude,

the explanation on the closed loop system is now very clear to me finally i am always trying to guess what the heck is it when reading it in the forum

btw, which pump are you using for the closed loop system...approximate price and model?

is one of the advantage of using a closed loop system - able to hide the ugly powerhead from view? is that why people choose to have a closed loop system?

and which one is more cost effective to maintain a sufficient good flow - closed loop or using powerhead (your opinion)

however for the starboard bb, i now clear about how it works but how are we going to prevent dirt from going underneath the foam or acrylic? did you get your tank maker to fix it for you?

[planetg]

i'm currently using a Red Dragon 10m3 (10000 litres/hr) at 98W if i remember correctly.

it's a super flow pump and i try to minimise head loss by simple and short plumbing. price wise, pls consult our sponsor, Eaquanature who is currently the distributor of Red Dragon pumps. Hint: They are not cheap!

any pump that gives u a good flow rate is good pump. i was contemplating using the tried and tested iwaki mx70 or 100 on an oceansmotions 4-way but decided against it cos i'm irritated by the little humming sound from such pressure rated pumps.

but a note to all those interested: the return of investment for a super flow pump like Red Dragon is at least 7 yrs compared to running a high wattage pressure rated pump. simply put, running those 250W pumps gives u a low setup cost but higher running elec cost whereas the lower wattage flow pumps is a huge investment in the beginning.

if u ask for my opinion, i hate powerheads. honestly the tunzes are ugly too but i will still have at least 3x6100 in my tank for the simple reason that they are good cost effective wave generators. put them on IKS (if i can find a sponsor!) and create ultra random movements!

preventing dirt or detritus on the sandbed is almost an impossible thing to do unless u are prepared to compromise on looks cos those acrylic or egg crate stands are diffcult to camouflage. with some effort, u can create a closed loop output targeting at the entire floor which will suspend detritus to the overflow. nevertheless, it'll be a challenge.

and yes i got my acrylic based siliconed to the glass.

cheers

[RAV-65]

Bro, can post a pic of the closed loop system u have in place?

Did u drill many holes in the side glass to facilitate that?

[yooyoo99]

hmmm...good point on directing the outputs of the closed loop system to the bb so that detritus will not settle on it. i have not thought of that

somehow i still don't have a clear understanding how we can stick acrylic or kitchen chopping board to the bottom of our tank.

a few questions in mind

1. will the material deteriorate over time, the weight of the rocks and water, the harsh chemicals of the salt water....

2. will the silicon be strong enough to prevent any leak between the acrylic and the tank bottom glass

so how is your tank progress so far, have not seen any photo updates....come come come...show something leh.....

[andysho]

Hope can see more brothers using BB set up lol

I use chopping board for my 2 feet cube setup

I think for acrylic is more thin , for chopping board it is more thicker

So far have see reefers oversea using it , so far so good nothing happen

I think if worry , dun add to much liverocks on the base , create more

loose rock scaping , another advantage is that more flow can also be

reach

[alanseah]

eh bro,

what about the md55? I need it urgently

[planetg]

wed: landed late at night

thus and fri: helped out with my buddy's mum's wake (sudden!)

sat, sun, today: public holiday. cannot get the hose adaptor

tomorrow: gonna get from HC and pass WL the pump at night

i'm not surprised that you're pissed. i'll be pissed too but there are larger things in life.

[rickster88888]

Bro,

May i know where u got those ventilation fan for the cabinet? ...

Are they noisy?

Cheers

[planetg]

hi.

got my fans at kelentan lane near the entrance of the multi-story car park.

mine is not that noisy. trust KDK.

[Octopuffy]

any updates? i like this thread