29G Biocube to 65G upgrade

hahah isn't everything?

 

On the biocube I have the 150watt HQI mod, with 2 36watt PC lights. As far as temp control, I beefed up all the fans blowing in the hood. Noisier, but really helps. With all the lights fired on, temp spikes up to 80 degrees, which is a 2 degree rise over normal temp. I also removed the front access panel, keep the back access panel open, and try to move the surface of the water as much as I can without causing too much splashing. You will notice in the first pic, the big blower type fan. That sucks in a lot of cool/fresh air.

For the new tank, I just got the fishneedit 36" HQI/T5HO combo. As soon as I get the camera from my wife (took it to work) I will post pics and write a mini review of them. For cooling of the big tank, not quite sure yet. I hope I don't have to go with a chiller, but we'll see.

 

LOL! Ya, it's funny how til you are married, you don't really undersand that statement to the fullest. I remember when I was single reading forums, and guys saying their wife won't let them do something and laughing. Now I see where they were coming from.

 

Got some more updates.....

Got the lights in, go to the link below to see the review..
http://www.3reef.com/forums/reef-lighting/fishneedit-com-lights-quick-review-76872.html#post747618













Here's my 5.5gal refugium tank after drilling it.


Same tank getting ready for vinegar and steam cleaning.


29gal sump tank undergoing water test after being vinegar and steam cleaned.


My living room is the storage room now for all the parts. LOL. Wife is not too happy, but ya. Still waiting for another plumbing order and I can put it all together.




A few display tank shots. This is not cleaned yet, so please ignore the big streaks on the glass.



This shows where the fuge will sit, and spill down into the sump.


And finally, I've started harvesting my purple xenia. Will be selling it to LFS for store credit that I can use on the new tank. I know, my sand is nasty, it's getting a good cleaning today.




That's all for now. In the next week I hope to start assembly.

 

While waiting for my glass to be cut, I started working on the electrical panel. The board will sit in the frame of the stand, and will have a separate side door to access it.

Starting installation. The single box on the right will be the main kill switch. This will kill all power going to everything. The 2 double boxes will have 2 switches each. Main Pump, Protein Skimmer, Powerheads, Heater. As you can see in the last pic, the wiring goes through the board, where I will have GFI's for each of the items. All the remaining space will be eaten up by lighing control, ballasts, and power supply to run my moon lights and cooling fans.

 

sweet looking tank kookie. youve got alot of good stuff there. welcome to 3reef neighbour

 

Thank you. Good to see some local people on here.

 

Finally making some more progress.....

Here's the electrical panel nearly complete. On the first shot, I still have to add my coralife power center that's in use on my BC29, and the 12vdc power supply for the cooling fans and moon lights. The other 2 timers you see are going to be for the MH lights. I didn't use the ones on the power center because I want to control them separately. I will turn on the left MH, then both, then only the right, and then both off. Kinda trying to do a sunrise/sunset type of deal. On the second pic, I have to add the ballasts for the lighting, and the control box for my moon lights and cooling fans.



Then I got to my drain and return plumbing that's in the display tank. Glued it all together. The PVC primer is some nasty stuff to work with. Very runny and stains like no tomorrow. Here are some shots of the plumbing.





And finally, I started working on the sump. Glass took longer to cut than I was expecting. Anyhow, first pic shows assembly of the first chambers, second and third shows the first chambers in the sump, and the last pic shows the last of 3 baffles going in.





That's it for now. I should have quite a bit more done by this weekend.

 

More progress.

The biocube has now been moved out a few feet from the wall, and the 65G is in it's final resting place. I've nearly finished all the plumbing, just waiting for it to cure now. I got the sand and rock from a local supplier of marcorocks.com. The sand is SUPER fine. Took a few good rinses to get it nice and clear. The rock (dry rock) is some of the most beautiful rock I've seen. I was able to pick and choose which rocks I wanted. I grabbed about 75lbs. The sump is also all complete.

Now some pics.....

Sump with the skimmer in place.


Here you can see the riser I made for the skimmer and the pump support platform. Basically glass panes on acrylic supports.


Pics of the rock. The pictures don't really show the beauty of it. Once I rinse it and get it wet, the pics will look better.



This is a snug fit in the frame. It's to prevent spills out of the sump. It can also hold a bit of water if the sump overflows for any reason.


Tank in it's final resting place. You can see the biocube in the middle of the kitchen now. lol. Gonna be there til I'm ready to do the transfer.


Shot of the sump and refugium under the tank.


Pic of the tank.


I lined the bottom with eggcrate. I don't want the rock sitting on bare glass.


I've also put all my sand in after rinsing it for several hours. It was too late so no pics. Will take some with sand and post them sometime tomorrow.

If all goes well, I will have water in it this coming weekend.

 

here's a pic of the tank with sand in it