29 Gallon Build

[showjyr]

Thought of quick disconnects( QD-Duh) after I posted. Good idea, I'm looking them up right now.

Guess I'll have to hunt something else down.

 

[SkiFletch]

I wonder if there are any watertight plastic electrical enclosures big enough for your purposes

 

[showjyr]

Possibly. Did you have something in mind as I wouldn't know where to start looking?

Are these what you were thinking for disconnects? Think you have to buy a lot.
It won't link to the exact product but I'm sure you can find them.

 

[SkiFletch]

This one for the tank connector

And one of these for the male end

 

[showjyr]

Perfect. Once I find an acceptable container I'll order both. I do have one concern. If the container I use is thin walled what would be the best way to ensure that the the threaded side that will be screwed into the container is secure and air tight. I won't be able to put any kind of nut on it from the inside and not sure if I would trust silicone.

 

[SkiFletch]

Good point, I don't know how you'd get around that issue

 

[showjyr]

I'll figure something out when the time comes.

When I got home from work today I had 2 big packages waiting for me. I was like a kid on Christmas morning. It was all my stuff from MarineDepot.com and there wasn't a single thing missing, wrong, or back ordered. Good call on the pump, that thing moves some water. I tested it in a bucket with loc-line and 5 nozzle jets.....should spread out the return flow nicely.

The light is also awesome and very bright. I tested it on my 20 gal and it overhung the front. I can't leave well enough alone so within minutes I had it apart. Don't know If you've seen the mod for it but it involves cutting a piece out to get around some wires and turning the bottom clamp/support around. I wasn't about to start cutting so I pulled off the tiny back cover un-spliced the wires, turned around the bottom piece, re-nutted the wiring, sealed it, and put everything back together. I gave it a test run and it's perfect.

I know you've said that a 29gal is terrible to scape but my sister has a brand new one in her basement thats never had water in it....she said I could have it as she got a slightly bigger tank to fit her space. I think I've got around the scaping part too. My LFS store usually gets in basketball(or bigger) sized pieces of LR. They're huge with tons of holes/caves and weight about 15 pounds.

Do you think with 1 or 2 of these and a bunch of smaller stuff I could manage to get a pretty good scape? Also would what I have(pump&light) be sufficient for a 29? I still have to get a bigger powerhead so I can make up for the water flow.

 

[SkiFletch]

I'd search the net for creative ideas for LR stacking if you want to go with the 29g. Consider constructing frames from PVC rods (almost like coat-racks), drilling your rock, and sliding the pieces on to the PVC frames. Will help you stack rocks high with a thin base. Also consider using marine epoxy to help secure rocks together. You CAN do it, just don't say I didn't tell you so . Good news is, if you can't scape the 29g, you can just go buy a 20 long and be done with it

 

[showjyr]

I think I'm gonna give it a go with the 29g. What do you think about lights and pump are they enough for the added height and volume?

 

[SkiFletch]

Well you'll need to get a decent sized internal powerhead but the lights and return pump should both still be fine

 

[showjyr]

I planned on getting a Tunze Nanostream 6025. It is supposed to move 660gph. Combined that and my sump return should be around 30 x an hour turnover for the main tank.

 

[showjyr]

Tomorrow I plan on setting the baffles in my sump tank and was wondering if you were setting up this sump/fuge how would you place them(height/spacing)?

Tonight I also threw the return pump and skimmer in the tank to get an idea of how much room they would take up. I filled it and tested the skimmer to make sure it worked properly...it did. I turned on the pump just for the heck of it and to pump the water out. The pump makes a fair amount of noise on the bottom of the tank and I wanted to know if you knew of a way to remedy this. I'd imagine in a closed stand it would make a lot of noise so I want to eliminate the problem before final setup.

 

[SkiFletch]

My pump sits on a sheet of silicone rubber to muffle its noise. Works well for me. As for the sump, my biggest rule is to make sure you leave enough room in the final chamber so that evap isn't too big of a problem

 

[showjyr]

Silicone rubber...where in the world would I find that?

For the sump I was planning on about 4 inches by 9 high for the first/skimmer section, and split the remaining 16 inches into two equal sections with three 7 inch baffles arranged in low high low. The center would be the fuge and the last would be for return. Sound good?

 

[SkiFletch]

Sure, sounds good. You'd get silicone rubber if you made it in an attempt to design a new wetsuit for the Navy using silicone rubber and aerogel. Doesn't everybody do that? . Seriously though, I'll toss some in the box for ya