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tileman 
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 Posted: March 26 2008 at 9:42pm |
That's the hard part. I know when I started putting together my 225g it took me almost 3 months to get everything I wanted before I could get it started. It seemed like an eternity.
But its best to get all the right equipment the first time instead of trying to always upgrade.
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335G Reef
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http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2015/2/aquarium
ReefKeepers TOTM Feb. 2012
http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index....k-of-the-month
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chris.rogers
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Posted: March 26 2008 at 10:07pm |
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Let me see if I've got this right (pardon the tangential derail...)
Plenums offer the thick layer of sand for beneficial bacteria surface area, but don't charge up with crud because the water at the deepest layer is able to freely flow through the sand and that keeps the build up from happening? Do I have it right?
Incidentally, I like the tank so far. Lookin' good.
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Ils sont fous, ces Romains!
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BobC63
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Posted: March 26 2008 at 10:24pm |
Pretty much Chris.
Though the "void space" at the bottom under the plenum also functions as a "low oxygen / low flow" zone - exactly the perfect environment for the denitrifying (turns nO3 to free gas and out!) bacteria, too...
And thanks for your compliment 
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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chris.rogers
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Posted: March 26 2008 at 10:40pm |
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~chuckles~
You said 'gas'...
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Ils sont fous, ces Romains!
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BobC63
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Posted: March 27 2008 at 7:29pm |
STEP #5: AQUASCAPING
Since I am short on the dough I need to buy anymore hardware right now  , I figured I could work on something that wouldn't cost anything - like all that free LBTR I got sitting in the garage  so here goes:
Here are some "foundation" shots for my aquascaping design idea. (Our site uploader is crapping out again so I went to photobucket)
I say "foundation" because I have over 150lb of critter-infused LR in my 125 that will end up being placed over / on top of most of what I have placed in the 225 so far; sort of like the foundation of a house.
My goal is to try and keep as much of the rock off the sandbed as possible. I started with some small pieces to act as "pillars" and hold everything else up:
Then I added some flatter pieces of LBTR over that to act as the "floor":
Here's a couple of fuller shots. I only went about halfway up the tank; again, to leave room for all the 125's LR to be place higher up.
I should end up with basically 2 "islands" of rock; the left side will be the larger and is shaped more like a teardrop (seen from above), while the right side is smaller and more of a rounder shape to it. Both have alot of open sandbed underneath them; overall, I would say the rock islands will fill up maybe 50% of the overall tank space inside (once completed with the rock from the 125) - but less than 10% of the sandbed surface will be covered by rock.
So...Kind of a "semi - suspended Reef"...
Whaddya think?
Edited by carlso63 - April 16 2008 at 6:43pm
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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john hill
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Posted: March 31 2008 at 5:54pm |
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now you have me thinking what does a plenum do for keeping your tank alge free i am going to be setting up a tank soon i hope and have lots of ?
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out with the large and in with the nano
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cl2ysta1
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Posted: March 31 2008 at 7:05pm |
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looking nice!
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I <3 Boxers
Achilles tang lover
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BobC63
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Posted: March 31 2008 at 7:08pm |
 john hill wrote:
now you have me thinking what does a plenum do for keeping your tank alge free i am going to be setting up a tank soon i hope and have lots of ? |
A plenum is another way of addressing the buildup of nitrates and phosphates in your tank. So - indirectly - a plenum does help to reduce the amount of algae in your tank; by reducing the nO3 and pO4 levels in your water...
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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rebekwl
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Posted: March 31 2008 at 7:22pm |
looks good
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92 corner w/ 30 gal sump
Mantis tank coming soon
"Ain't nobody got Time for that"
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BobC63
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Posted: April 12 2008 at 11:10pm |
OK - I haven't given an update in quite a while...
But I have been busy
I ordered a skimmer... I went with a Reef Octopus NW200. A little "undersized", perhaps, but there is a simple mod thread over on RC that gets you 40 scfh from this unit... and you just flat out can't beat the price. I mean, an 8" diameter body and an 850 gph Octo Needlewheel pump for under $200...?!!! At this price, if I do the RC mods and still feel it's not enough - I could just buy a 2nd one, right ? And the skimmer is slated to arrive - via Fedex - on Monday... Sweet !!!
And, in keeping with the whole "Budget build up / DIY / I'm a cheap #$%!" theme of this thread... I will be designing my sump around a 54g Rubbermaid Brute tote container. I figure I will run this "sump" with about 10 inches of water, so the actual sump water volume should be around 40g... I picked the tote up from HD for a whopping 18 bucks...
Of course, once the skimmer arrives I will put up plenty of pics of the whole plumbing install... I will DIY my own Dursos for the overflow (makes no sense to buy them), and then that basically leaves me just a return pump, a couple of heaters, and 2 buckets of Reef Crystals away from (finally!) filling this sucker UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Edited by carlso63 - April 12 2008 at 11:13pm
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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tileman
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Posted: April 12 2008 at 11:20pm |
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I talked to Eric about the Octopus skimmers and he thinks they are awsome. Built just like the euroreefs at half the cost. You'll be happy with it.
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335G Reef
TOTM.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2015/2/aquarium
ReefKeepers TOTM Feb. 2012
http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index....k-of-the-month
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Andreason
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Posted: April 13 2008 at 8:27pm |
This is going to be such a fabulous tank! Keep those pics coming! Where did you get the stand and canopy? Beautiful.
Wendy
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Andreason's
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Corey Price
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Posted: April 14 2008 at 9:13am |
tileman wrote:
I talked to Eric about the Octopus skimmers and he thinks they are awsome. Built just like the euroreefs at half the cost. You'll be happy with it. |
My Octopus skimmer is not bad. I'd like to do the meshwheel mod and get more airflow through it.
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BobC63
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Posted: April 14 2008 at 10:40pm |
Andreason wrote:
This is going to be such a fabulous tank! Keep those pics coming! Where did you get the stand and canopy? Beautiful.
Wendy |
Wendy -
Got it HERE on the Buy / Sell thread about what - 2 months ago?
The fit, finish & craftsmanship really are outstanding - and it was way heavy, too 
Another Lehi - er (ite?) I see -
When it's finally up and running you (and everybody else) can come check it out... I'm right by the Smith's near Redwood Rd
P.S. If we keep getting more and more UT Co. people here then maybe we'll finally get our own "Reef Tour" this year 
Edited by carlso63 - April 14 2008 at 10:41pm
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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BobC63
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Posted: April 14 2008 at 10:51pm |
Corey Price wrote:
tileman wrote:
I talked to Eric about the Octopus skimmers and he thinks they are awsome. Built just like the euroreefs at half the cost. You'll be happy with it. |
My Octopus skimmer is not bad. I'd like to do the meshwheel mod and get more airflow through it.
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Corey -
over on RC there is a large thread about doing just 3 mods (meshwheel / enlarge venturi line / bore out the output "elbow") that will get you 40 scfh / 195 lpm of air into a NW200
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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BobC63
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Posted: April 14 2008 at 10:54pm |
DOH!
I totally forgot why I was posting here in the first place 
My skimmer didn't come today - but the Fedex update says it arrived from Kentucky to the North Salt Lake Depot at 4 PM today...
And I'm off work tomorrow
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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Andreason
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Posted: April 14 2008 at 11:08pm |
I didn't notice you were in Lehi, glad to see you are supporting that floor lol we are gonna have water out there this year! We are just down the street from Wing. You got the tank from a person on here huh. Smart :) I got mine from a former member I think, they referred us here. We have a show 90, that was because we did not feel our floor could take the 210. We are now wishing for a 120 (125?) long since we are both so short we can't reach the bottom of the tank lol.
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BobC63
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Posted: April 14 2008 at 11:15pm |
Well - I'll be selling my 125g tank / stand / canopy cheap as soon as I get the 225 up and running - and you can definitely reach the bottom on it for sure
If you run your tank perpendicular to the floor joists you can probably get away without extra support... in my case, where I wanted to put the 225 the joists ran parallel; so without extra supports all that weight would have been on only a single floor joist...
Not a good idea at all
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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sukie
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Posted: April 15 2008 at 10:23am |
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Love the rock work! Keep postin' pictures and updates Bob!
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Andreason
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Posted: April 15 2008 at 11:46am |
Keep us in mind for your 125, we are inerested!
Did the FedEx man keep his promise?
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Andreason's
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