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Oceanic 70 Gallon Tech Tank

Xavier613

Xavier613

Hello all,
Yaay im finally out of the "Nano" section... *no offense :p


This is going to be my "build thread" I guess... mostly pictures when I get the energy to upload em...
Equipment:
Tank: Oceanic 70 gallon Tech Tank
Light: Aqua Medic Ocean Light 2x250w HQI w/ 2x39w T5 actinics (14k phoenic bulbs)
Filtration: Aqua C Ev 120 w/ Mag 7 for skimmer and 20L sump with fuge
Gadgets: Aquacontroller JR. With Temperature probe, PH probe, and DC8.
Powerheads: For now it is 2x Tunze 6045 and maybe something else if in the future i find that isnt enough.
*I think thats it... might be overlooking something*

Today was filled with the fun of opening tons of boxes, lifting much weight and waiting.
I took the 20 long sump i made off of my current 29g tank and cleaned it up reall nice. Took apart the overfow on the tank and scrapped everything but the hose which i cut and used on the new tank. Got the return pump nice and clean and hooked that up to the bulkhead so all the plumbing is set!

I then tried to hook up my skimmer and found that with the ball valve between the pump and the skimmer, the footprint is ridiculous and i cant fit it, so i need to find another way to plumb the pump in, or see if i can run it with just the straight Mag 7 and no ball valve... (Anyone got a clue on this one?)

Sorry for the long and no pictures post, i promise to have some tomorrow!!!
 
C

calaxa

Run the skimmer out of sump on a stand. Have only the Mag 7 in the sump. Let me see if I can do a picture.
 
C

calaxa

Have same skimmer in a 20H and using a Mag 9 to overdrive it. Here is what I do

DSC_0066.jpg
 
Xavier613

Xavier613

Thattl work... Do you use anything to cut back the flow? or is it fine wide open with adjusting the gate valve? It doesnt look like you have anything to decrease flow
 
C

calaxa

Sorry the pic wasn't clear. There's a ball valve on the mag 9.5 I'm using to drive the skimmer. I leave it wide open right now (not skimming much except the silt from the new substrate). It's very very watery skimmate right now. I can adjust from the ball valve, the gate valve or actually by turning the pvc pipe (it's not glued so it can spin according to water level and noise level I accept).
 
Xavier613

Xavier613

Ah. well i got the tubing to bed enough without creasing (yaay hairdrier.... just heat it up and boom, flexibility.) so now everything is running. Tank is up to temp, and water is starting to un-cloud.
 
R

rgarofalo

cool
thanks
I'm trying to get ideas because im in middle of a build with the same tank
your thread will be very usefull to me. Hopfully i'll have mine up in Jan
Thanks
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

Did you end up picking up a EV120?

I used a mag 5 - no dial back or ball valve. I forget but I might have upgraded it to a mag 7 - but it's been a while. I can check the set up around christmas when I visit the family.

The skimmer is really sensitive. Any hands in the tank will result in zero foam immediately.

I don't recall throttling the gate valve (if i did - I did it once and never touched it again) - but I did always tune the air valve (smallest setting first). As the slime/gunk built - I would open the air valve up. Eventually you hit a sweet spot and never have to touch this valve again (until you clean the skimmer - then you start over). Most of the time you play with the air valve. As time goes one - salt spray will jam up this valve and reduce skimming capacity. You'll need to unscrew it (easy) and use a Q-tip and a blast of water to clear out the black gunk.

Did I ever overflow the cup? Absolutely. You need to hook that small outlet to a small plastic jug or something.
 
Xavier613

Xavier613

thanks to those who replied to my skimmer ?'s. and yeah i did end up picking it up. got a mag 7 on it now, i guess ill just let it run for a bit wide open and then adjust the air. corals are in the process of being moved into the new tank so that means when the glass is cleaned, PICTURES!
 
Xavier613

Xavier613

Alrighty.... no update in a while, been real busy at work.

Tank is doing quite well, most of the corals with the exception of the SPS are doing very very well. I do not seem to be able to keep SPS. I do not know why. So i did all the tests i could find today.

Salinity: 1.025 w/ refractometer
Ammonia: Undetectable
Nitrite: Undetectable
Nitrate: Undetectable
Dkh: A little on the low side, at 7.
Calcium: 420
And Magnesium, I dunno whether my test kit is defective or what, but it read at <400.

That is most likely the problem, i do not have a clue how the heck that ended up like that, Not in the least, unless the salt batch i got was barren of any sort of magnesium.

So i added Brightwell's Magnesion and Kent's Coral Builder. Ill continue to test these two daily until they are at a correct level, and possibly try a different test kit. perhaps mine is old or something contaminated it. Possibly i may just not be a good enough chemist to understand the readings correctly, i dont know :( im just pissed at losing a buncha money in corals already in this tank :-[
 
C

calaxa

X,

Get another test kit or reread instructions. There's no way Mg is at 400. You're missing a 1 in front of that number.
 
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