# here are some of my 300 gallon pics work in progress 56k warning



## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

here are some pics of my 300 gallon that i built from the ground up, slowly but surely
























































here is my rodi unit for my auto top off unit








here are some parts for my filter i had to build


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Very nice James! Did you make the tank also? Do you plan on adding any wood panels to the stand or are you going to leave it open?

I sure hope you have long arms! That tank is going to be a bear to do maintenance on due to the depth and width but it sure will be nice to see the finished product once it is planted  I'd luv to have a tank that big!

Please keep us updated on the tank's progress


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## bigstick120 (Mar 8, 2005)

That would be alot of fun, is the stand metal, looks like angle iron, what fun that tank would be!!!


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

Looks good... Very nice work :smile:


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

*tank*

Yes i am finishing it with solid oak, going to pick that up this weekend, and i am investing in a 36" set of aqua tongs, and thank you, i did build the tank


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

jamesbrokman10 said:


> Yes i am finishing it with solid oak, going to pick that up this weekend,


Since I was (am) a cabinet maker, I was hoping you would say that  Please let us see some pics when it is finished!



jamesbrokman10 said:


> i am investing in a 36" set of aqua tongs,


I think you are going to need them. I had the chance to see a 300g non-planted tank in person about a week ago. They are truly amazing tanks and it should be a bunch of fun.



jamesbrokman10 said:


> thank you, i did build the tank


Again, very nice work...do you hire out your skills in glass work?  I would love to have a tank this size in my basement but there is no way I could get it down the steps.


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

I found the best way to do glass work is have a shop do it, i went to a large glass shop, the one supplies all of the little ones and had them cut drill and polish all the edges and brought it home and carried it in the basement piece by piece and put it together in the basement, god only knows how i am going to get it out of there if ever need be


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## fish7days (Jul 30, 2005)

To put the scale in perspective, Is that a 55 gal sump?

André


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

nope its a 75 gallon sump


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## Dewmazz (Sep 6, 2005)

:shock: That thing must be _huge!_ Nice work!


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Now that really puts things into perspective!


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

Yah its huge, its my dream tank and its almost done after about 1 1/2 years , alot of money, alot of time and a little bit of blood and alot of sweat, cant wait to get it filled


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## paaschjc (Nov 16, 2005)

I'm very interested to see how you're going to plumb the sump into the main tank to avoid CO2 loss. I'm in the process of setting up a 240g tank with two overflows. I don't know of many people who use sumps in planted tanks, so it's hard to get ideas. What are you planning on putting into your sump and what size pump are you using to pump the water back into the tank.

Thanks


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

James,

Could you take a picture of a person standing by the tank so we all really see the dimensions in their full glory? 

What substrate did you choose? What are the 2 layers that we see?

Thongs are nice but maybe you will need some forceps for finer work. http://www.miles2go.com sells 24" ones dirt cheap if you want to get a pair.

The question of CO2 loss is indeed important. From what I've heard you can provide sufficient CO2 but at the expense of a lot of wasted CO2. Do you have a plan how to keep the CO2 "in"?

--Nikolay


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

Well for the sump filter it is going to have a veggie filter(its like a refugium for planted tanks), and also it is going to be completely sealed along with the tank, the two layers are first the bottom layer is aquatic planting soil from earl may, but i cant remember the name , structure maybe? and that is mixed with pea gravel and then the next layer is sea chem flourite and the top is more pea gravel, I took a photo of me standing in front of it, remember i am 6' 2" 240 pounds, the picture doesnt do it any justice


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

That is a bad pic too, i cut off the left side of the tank, still another 2 feet of tank left


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

Also on that website previously mentioned they only sell 16" forceps, thats the biggest ones i have ever seen


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

James,

Thanks for the quick response. The tank is a monster, no doubt. You will find yourself in hell if this beauty starts to become an algae factory.

Huge sump!

Nice!

My mistake I bought my 24" forceps from some reptile web site. Google around and you will find them, they are almost indispensable for working in a tank like the one you have. http://azgardens.com has them and while you are there get the longest scissors you can afford from them. No other web site offers long scissors like theirs so save yourself the time.

--Nikolay


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## paaschjc (Nov 16, 2005)

James,
How are you going to seal the sumpto prevent the CO2 loss?

Janina


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

full acrylic covers for the sump filter with a gasket and a weight on top of the covers


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## Urkevitz (Oct 26, 2004)

How many people did it take to get the tank onto the stand? It must be pretty heavy thats alot of glass!


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## John P. (Nov 24, 2004)

Wouldn't that be amazing with a couple hundred microrasboras? 

Glad it's in your basement!

Keep us posted--great project.


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

I built it in my basement but it took 6 guys too pick it up off of the floor and put it on the stand


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

*updated pictures*

Here is a pic of my switched outlets, each pair of outlets have there own swistch









here is a few pics of my overflows

























here is a few pics of underneath my stand, only half is painted because i have to paint one side and let dry and then slide my sump to the other side and then paint that side


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## fish7days (Jul 30, 2005)

James,

What did you use for strainers on the standpipes?

André


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

*just got parts for my auto water change, so easy pics?*

Just got the parts to do my auto water change here is my idea,









the 12 v valve needs a 12 v power source like an as adapter that would be plugged into a timer


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

Thery are pvc strainers made for pvc pipes, i can get em, they have all different sizes and hieghts


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

on the previous reply i tried to show how my auto top off works but i think the pic is too small


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

Dang skippy! That's an awesome setup, literally and figuratively, James. If I could make some suggestions from experience, turn your sump around so the intake side is near the wall and the pump is toward the middle of the tank. Easy access to the pump is a godsend in the long term.

I'm not sure if you've already thought of this or not, but make your return plumbing as modular as possible. Put ball valve/union combos on every input and output you have. There's no telling when you'll need to remove just one section of pipe without messing with the rest. They're especially important for the pump. It's a real bummer to find that the pump is hardplumbed into the system when it comes time to replace or clean it. Replumbing a tank is fun when it's planned out and the tank is dry. It's not so fun when the tank's full of water [and a client is having an emergency leak/dead pump].

Regards,
Phil


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

*Updated pics of my long weekend of plumbing and stuff*

First here are some pics off the custom fittings i had to make for my automated water change system, at the hardware store i couldnt come up with anything with fittings to do it right so i made them myself

























here is my automated water change selenoid valve, its actually a sprinkler valve









here is just some pics of all of the plumbing, got all of the lines ran for the rodi unit but waiting for the float valve for it to come on thursday


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

*omg another one?*

had to build another stand today for another lil tank, ill post a pic in a lil bit, its a little foggy because it was outside and it got cold and i brought it in and now its all steamed up


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## MiamiAG (Jan 13, 2004)

James,

Excellent! I love seeing these tanks. Most of the time, you only see them for reefs.

What type of equipment will you have?


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

*heres my 150*

Heres a pic of my new addition is just another lil one , its a 150, needs new top trim but i think i can handle that. I built the stand in about an hour and a half i still have to add the diagonals but i wanted to make sure that it sat level after i set the tank on it, let it smash the carpet down a little bit and later i will put the diagonal pieces on the sides and back and then skin it with oak veneer plywood and oak trim, i think this one will be canister filters with an sms122 co2, odno lighting, inline heater, i have alot of stuff left over from my big tank so it shouldnt cost much.


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

And im just a newbee to planted tanks. Who knows it could be a big disaster, but with all of you guys and gals help i think i can do it, you guys have helped me out more than you know, thanks everybody.


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## raven_wilde (Nov 16, 2005)

Wow, nice job James, I'm sooo jealous... but you've obviously worked super hard and I'm sure you can't wait for it to be all up and running... what are you going to keep in it- Fish/Plantwise? I'm sure you've got some plans, you've had a long while to think about it during construction...

Oh man, there is so much you could do with this, I don't know how I'd choose if I had the chance.

Jen


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

Well for fish its going to be discus with a shoal of cardinal tetras and maybe a couple of zebra plecos if i can get my hands on them, because they are banned now for export in brazil so a big price hike on an allready expensive fish and as for plants ive got a few up my sleeve, and some more rocks and driftwood is a must, ive been looking for a stump but i cant find one anywhere


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## oceanaqua (Oct 24, 2005)

Grr...Im Jealous.:-o My 200 gallon aint nothing compare to it, even your sump beat my 55 gal sump AKA veggie Filter.Lol, Have fun Fertilizing. NICE TANK btw.


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## fish7days (Jul 30, 2005)

Here's some more perspective..... When you have lighting UNDER your aquarium, IN the cabinet...then you know it's just a little above average  

It's starting to look really good !!

André


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

Im trying to do it right the first time, dont really want to do it again, way too much work, and alot of money, i got over $500 just in bulkheads and fittings and hoses etc, not too mention the equipment,oh well It was fun though and now i got the 150 i get to do it all over again.


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

*updates*

Here are some pics of my diy acrylic co2 reactor built with 2" acrylic tubing and bio balls built in, i still have to drill and tap the holes and add the fittings and hook up the feed lines but too tired tonight too go to the hardware store to get parts
























and here is a pic of the acrylic piece on the sump with the bulkhead fitting for the return line


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## plantbrain (Jan 23, 2004)

Ah, there's the reason for 3, you will need them for the 300 gal.

I'd suggest a maxi jet for each(260gph or so) and feed the CO2 directly into the suction side of the powerheads.

How you return the water wikll matter also, eveness is key. Spray bars etc.

You might consider an auto water changer and have it change water from the sump slowly and refill with a float switch(drain at the start of the sump, refill at the end of the sump, use a small loop off a powerhead or canister filter to supply the drain line pressure(this has the timed solenoid on it). Using 1/4 RO water poly tubing, you can slowly change the water over 1-2 hours any time you desire.

You can change about 25-30% in 2 hours(this takes into account some mixing of new and old water).

Add a dosing pump, like the dual AM's and you will only need to prune/feed fish etc.

Regards, 
Tom Barr

www.BarrReport.com


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

James,

Speaking from some personal and saturating experience, you're much better off turning your sump around so the pump is near the middle of the tank vs. the wall. It'll give you easier access when once of those "I've got to get this fixed fast" moments comes around. It'll also reduce head pressure which will give your pump longer life and better flow.

Also, go out and invest in some quality ball-valve/union couplings. Making your return plumbing as modular as possible will save you time and water loss when it's time to do maintenance. I used to do commercial maintenance and had more than a few emergency calls to homes where the tank was leaking from the plumbing and there was no way to shut the flow off. Ball valves at every intake and outlet will solve many of those problems. They're especially important between the sump and pump, and on the return end of the pump. Isolating it like that makes for quick and easy cleaning.

Looking at your CO2 reactors I noticed that their ends are higher than the baffle. That's where water's going to be lost from first with evaporation. Unless you're sealing that end of the sump CO2 will be lost when the effluent water sprays onto the water rather than into a reservoir.

Ok, I just went back and looked at some of the sump pictures again and am confused. Where are you going to have the water come into it and where is it leaving? Am I correct in thinking that you're going to have your return pump inside the sump near the middle? Are you going to have six intakes, three on each side? If so, BAD IDEA! The only sumbersible pumps strong enough to work on a tank that big are the MagDrive series, or whatever the corresponding pond brand is. They -suck-, don't get one. They're hot, noisy, drink electricity, and don't work as well as they say. Go with a quality external pump, they're quieter, cooler, push more water, and are more energy efficient. The GenX brand is one of the quietest pumps I've used. Hop on over to www.reefcentral.com and check out some of the large tank build threads. Folks over there know their pumps, just keep in mind that they're talking 10-20 times more flow than what you're looking for. 

Regards,
Phil


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

first for the water coming from the tank comes from 4 1.5" lines that feed into the left side of the tank and go thru mechanical filtration and to the center return area where it goes thru a 1" line back to the tank thru 2 returns t'd off thru 6 3/4" locline returns with flare nozzles that will be below the water level, and also an anti siphon valve so it doesnt siphon water from tank when power is cut, as for the pump, brand x pumps are cheap and do not work to there rated capacities even close, i get all my stuff wholesale thru my business and brand x pumps if you will "suck", ive had em and dont like em, i have a mag drive 24 that is going into this tank and will be in the center off the sump, i do have an automated water change system, i do have a quadro 4 pump dosing pumps, also i have alot of negative feedback in recent posts, i want to see some pics of some of you negative peoples tanks and setups , for all of you that have helped me a ton thank you and keep on plantin


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

Also its not like ive never ran a tank before at one time i had 170 tanks running at one time and then i moved and they are all empty in my basement currently until i find a better supplier for my discus, as i breed them at one time. 
Here is a few pics of return area or where the water comes from the tank

















here is the area where the pump will be








and here is the bulkhead the pump plumbing attatches too








and here is a pic of my machine that we just got done taking apart today and off to the next job, i know that it has nothing to do with this post but kind of sad its gone, but its just a little one


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

Anybody wants to see all of my aquarium and crane pics go here
http://photobucket.com/albums/c328/jamesbrokman99/


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## plantbrain (Jan 23, 2004)

jamesbrokman10 said:


> first for the water coming from the tank comes from 4 1.5" lines that feed into the left side of the tank and go thru mechanical filtration and to the center return area where it goes thru a 1" line back to the tank thru 2 returns t'd off thru 6 3/4" locline returns with flare nozzles that will be below the water level, and also an anti siphon valve so it doesnt siphon water from tank when power is cut, as for the pump, brand x pumps are cheap and do not work to there rated capacities even close, i get all my stuff wholesale thru my business and brand x pumps if you will "suck", ive had em and dont like em, i have a mag drive 24 that is going into this tank and will be in the center off the sump, i do have an automated water change system, i do have a quadro 4 pump dosing pumps, also i have alot of negative feedback in recent posts, i want to see some pics of some of you negative peoples tanks and setups , for all of you that have helped me a ton thank you and keep on plantin


Wanna be a negative person I genenrally will work with what ever they have unless they really are in a tough pickle and will not budge. But it's pretty obvious stuff.

I did this to a poor new member to our club. I took his tank over and killed all his algae and crust on his 100 gal. Here's the tank now:

http://www.pbase.com/ebn/image/52553704

James, have you considered bag filters? Gavity fed? They go to 100, 50, and 5 microns, easy to clean, huge capacity etc.

Might be something useful in place of the inlet section, add eggcrate for supporting the bag filter rings.

I have not found a need for more than a 2 system doser, one for macro's and the other micros.

Auto top off is nice and autowater changers etc.

Now.........what about the scape? How much more work do you want to do? haha, this is the harder part.

I redid Buon's tank with less work in mind, mainly ferns, Anubias, Crypts, and the moss in the front is the only really regular work he needs to mess with.

Use lots of wood to build the design up, this will keep the scape looking decent.

I use Iwaski pumps, rarely others. There are some decent ones out there.
Overall, you get what you pay for.

I have a 1500 gal tank to do coming up, I'll post some picks for ya, it's a Discus tank also, about 40 will go in there as wella s many other fish.

The 350 I did has smaller fish, no Altums, Discus etc, I wanted to recreate many schools of smaller fish.

This gave the feel of a much larger tank and loo than if I add large fish. Like adding a huge rock to a tank that is too small.

A school of 500 cards vs a school of 5 Discus is quite different. Many folks have 5 discus, few have 500 cards................

Generally darker cooler scapes accent both those fish.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## trc_pdx (Mar 22, 2004)

plantbrain said:


> You might consider an auto water changer and have it change water from the sump slowly and refill with a float switch(drain at the start of the sump, refill at the end of the sump, use a small loop off a powerhead or canister filter to supply the drain line pressure(this has the timed solenoid on it).


Tom - would you mind explaining this a little further? In particular I don't follow "use a small loop off a powerhead or canister filter to supply the drain line pressure(this has the timed solenoid on it)."

Thanks,

Tim


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Ah, cranes! Now I know how he moves all these huge heavy tanks!


--Nikolay


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

i wish lol.


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## jamesbrokman10 (Nov 4, 2005)

new stuff today
here is my mag drive 24 pump








heres my sms122








heres my regulator








heres my digital temp guage








heres my float valve for my ro/di also a part of my auto water change


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## plantbrain (Jan 23, 2004)

Are you adding a solenoid to drain on timer?
Some use a canister filter/powerhead to maintain the positive flow presssure for the drain, some use gravity siphons. I've found the powerheads work best(this size depends on where you want and at what head pressure the drained wastewater is sent).

Tim, you see James has a float valve, he will likely detail out his auto water changer here.

Some folks are very interested in this idea(because we are smart and lazy!) and are writing an article sometime in the next few weeeks so that many folks can use this.

If you can run cable TV to a room, you can use auto water changing.

As the sump drains, the float switch refills it.
This is always "on"(the incoming water pressure) and is controlled by the float switch.

To drain at a timed interval, a small powerhead can be used if you plan on having head pressure(the elevation must be less in the sump), so no siphoning occurs. I do not like that set up.

So we added a 3/8"(or whatever size you need, 1/2, etc) solenoid that is controlled by a good timer or if you want the computer to do it, an X10 module.

In general, it's wiser to drain slowly with smaller tubing, say the hard plastic potable water tubing, like the RO filter tubing.

So you can drain the tank's sump for 1-2 hours, then as it drains, the float switch refills. There is mixing of new and old water, but, you can allow more time for draining to and refilling to compensate.
You can run the drain/refill for 10 hours if you want 2x a week.

James' tank is coming along nicely!
I think he'll lose about 10-20 gal a week to evaporation, so an auto fill float switch is nice!

If you do not have a sump and want an auto fill or auto water changer, an electronic float switch might be more to your liking. These take up little space and can control a pump(so you can add top off water also with one and bucket and small powerhead).

http://www.spectrapure.com/St_alc_p3.htm

You simply place that small probe in the tank and the fill lines add water till the switch says stop.

James, you might consider placing the pH probe for the controller in the overflow where CO2 will be the lowest. Good mixing and flow patterns will help a great deal with larger tanks.

Have fun!!!

Regards,
Tom Barr


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

James,

Here ya go, a link to my sump run tank. 
http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2003.cgi?&op=showcase&category=0&vol=2&id=66

Unfortunately I no longer have photos of the plumbing as I gave the system to another hobbyist. Like I said, modular is great.  The water drained in the overflow on the right, went into a splash reduction chamber, through 144 sq in of pumice with a floss pad on top, then through a coarse foam block, into the reservoir/bubble reduction/equipment holding area and out via a Mag 5. The return line was split via a T controlled by a ball valve to go straight into the tank or through the CO2 reactor chamber which fed back into the main return line.

Attached are pictures of the sump for a 20g reef I did. That's a mag 5 and a mag 2.5 running it. The 5 is powering a SCWD and the 2.5 is going straight into the tank. You can see multiple ball valves, check valves, and unions. I found it very useful to have multiple redundancies with this system. They saved me a lot of grief.

Sorry for the poor quality, I had to chop the heck out of the pics to make them fit the upload requirements.

Regards,
Phil


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## T-Bone (Nov 23, 2005)

Are there any update pictures? I really want to see this tank up and running. Everytime I read your thread I drool over the tank.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Phil,

To me the MagDrive pumps are questionably reliable as external pumps. I have 3 of them and all of them leaked even when brand new.

I've seen these pumps used externally. Is there something that I don't know about making sure they don't leak?

--Nikolay


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## warr40 (Aug 16, 2005)

me2 i cant wait to see updates


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## snapshooter (Nov 15, 2004)

jamesbrokman10 said:


> nope its a 75 gallon sump


Holy moly!!!


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## Dragonslayer73 (Dec 20, 2005)

Very cool!


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## harsh (Jan 22, 2006)

saw this thread for the first time... It's very; very impressive. Boy am i jealous..


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## kilroy (Aug 6, 2004)

Very nice. The only thing that I noticed that I personally would change would be the outlets. It looks like you are using standard outlets but you might want to seriously think about replacing them with GFI outlets as a safety precaution.


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## CanadianCray (Oct 16, 2004)

Very nice. Technicly you only need one GFI outlet in the series of outlets & it will work for all of them.


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## kilroy (Aug 6, 2004)

True. I think there is a limit to how many outlets you can daisy chain off a GFI though. The most I have seen done is 2.


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## harsh (Jan 22, 2006)

Waiting for the UPDATES>>>


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## RoseHawke (Jan 4, 2005)

CanadianCray said:


> Very nice. Technicly you only need one GFI outlet in the series of outlets & it will work for all of them.


As long as the additional outlets are "downstream." So to speak .


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## ODwyerPW (Aug 27, 2003)

James,
That is an impressive tank. Are the dimensions 96"L X 24"D X 30"H? I have to admit, that would be the dream size for me. 96" X 24" is fantastic real estate for nice aquascaping and the 30" height allows you to enjoy it standing or sitting. 

I had a 4'X2'X2' for years and would have loved the extra length and height for real showcasing. But could I ever afford to heat that for Discus/Rams in the NorthEast (especially when it resided in my basement)? I'm older now and have been working to simplify everything, so I'll probably restart the hobby with just a 20L and rams. But how I enjoy reading about the things some of you folks are doing!! Thanks for providing the pictures and information.

Definitely take the suggestions you receive from Tom Barr and Phil Edwards very, very seriously. I've been in and out of Planted Tanks for 15 years. Tom and Phil have been constants in the hobby. They've been around along time. Tom's done allot of DIY fabrication that many have benefitted from and Phil has been the recipient of some serious recognition himself. Their show tanks speak for themselves.

Peter


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