My new 6x2x2.5 'FOWLR + Fake coral' tank

[lkoivoon]

Right side ..............

[lkoivoon]

Front view (Left side of cabinet) ......

[lkoivoon]

Front view (Right side of cabinet) ...

[lkoivoon]

Two outlets from sump to the two Eheim pumps.........

[lkoivoon]

The two eheim pumps connected to sump outlets.............

[lkoivoon]

The two eheim pumps connected to the two return pipes back to the tank. As you can see with the use of hoses for the connection there is no loss in the pump power/retun - ie, there is not 90 deg corner...

I prefer to use hose (with pipes inbetween) for all connections as compare to using pipes all the way - the reason are:

1)Vibration (eg pump etc)

- Hose will absorb the vibration.

- Pipes alone might leak at the joints after sometime.

2)Reposition/Replace/Maintenance

- Hose, can easily re-run to a new place is required, eg change of equipment, relocate equipment etc.

- Pipes, I think it is much harder to perform the above task.

[lkoivoon]

Guess what is this for ..........

[lkoivoon]

Here is the two outlet inside the sump .........

[lkoivoon]

Again, here is the two outlet inside the sump but with cover as the sump migth be used to quarantine fish...........

[lkoivoon]

The transformer of the Tunze stream is very heavy and there is no mounting point on it. So I placed it in the basket. On its left is the Driver for the Tunze stream.

[giantbicycle]

very well planned...love thae sump

[lkoivoon]

Money is always no enough. Similarly, space is also always not enough. To make full use of the space, I have made a long and narrow shelf at the back of the cabinet to hold fish food, test kits etc....

[lkoivoon]

Here is the controller for the Tunze stream. Placed at the front of the cabinet for easy reach

[lee]

Hi,

Where do you intend to get those 'fake' corals and which type ?

I'm also comtemplating a 4ft fish only 3-sides with fake coral but I intend to get from www.livingcolor.com

anyone know whether any LFS locally carry those.

Attached is sample I got from US direct but of normal quality type.

[lkoivoon]

Skimmer in position............

[lkoivoon]

Hi,

Where do you intend to get those 'fake' corals and which type ?

I'm also comtemplating a 4ft fish only 3-sides with fake coral but I intend to get from www.livingcolor.com

anyone know whether any LFS locally carry those.

Attached is sample I got from US direct but of normal quality type.

I will reuse the old ones from the 5ft and I also have some new ones that I brought sometime back, all from local shops. I don't think local shops carry www.livingcolor.com's fake coral. But please let me know if you happen to know.

[lkoivoon]

Skimmer connected to the T-out from one of the overflow pipes. Initially, I tried to use hose from the T-out to the skimmer. But the hose is too stiff so no choice have to use elbow joints. In fact, it is neater this way.

[southpaw23]

Money is always no enough. Similarly, space is also always not enough. To make full use of the space, I have made a long and narrow shelf at the back of the cabinet to hold fish food, test kits etc....

I like the shelf idea....shoulda incorporated that in my tank too....maybe in the future...

As for the rest of the setup...lookin pretty good...keep up with the great updates.

[southpaw23]

Skimmer connected to the T-out from one of the overflow pipes. Initially, I tried to use hose from the T-out to the skimmer. But the hose is too stiff so no choice have to use elbow joints. In fact, it is neater this way.

That is quite a smart idea to tee off your return directly to ur skimmer...saves u from using a separate pump...but my question is, how do u know how much flow to direct into the skimmer? I'm currently tee-ing off my chiller pump to run an FR as well and i'm wondering if i'm giving the FR enough flow...reason i ask is cos there really isn't a gauge on flowrate when using a tee off...so how will u know what's the most efficient flowrate for ur skimmer using this method?

[lkoivoon]

Another skimmer pic. The skimmer outlet is made shortest posssible to the sump. This will help to maintain a constant water level in the skimmer - this is important in order to acheive high efficiency.

Notice the glass box on the left? It is used to remove micro-bubbles from the skimmer and reduce water splashing - Will show pic later on this.

[lkoivoon]

Zoom in.......

[lkoivoon]

That is quite a smart idea to tee off your return directly to ur skimmer...saves u from using a separate pump...but my question is, how do u know how much flow to direct into the skimmer? I'm currently tee-ing off my chiller pump to run an FR as well and i'm wondering if i'm giving the FR enough flow...reason i ask is cos there really isn't a gauge on flowrate when using a tee off...so how will u know what's the most efficient flowrate for ur skimmer using this method?

You can use a contianer (with a stopwatch) to measure the flowrate. Of course, you must know the volume of the container. For more accurate measurement, used a bigger contianer. Or two small containers (alternating) to hold the water and pour the water into the big container. Note the time duration needed to collect a particular volume of water. This gives you the flowrate.

[lkoivoon]

Other equipment mounted on the left side of the cabinet. From left, ozioner, air pump for the ozioner, ORP controller, pH monitor.

[lkoivoon]

Tunze stream 6100......

[lkoivoon]

Finally, it is ready for leak test.

Left return pipe is connected to eheim 1060 - 2280 l/h and the right is eheim 1262 - 3400 l/h.