75 Gallon Established Reef Tank

[Roland]

The tank was originally a 65 3' long about 5 years ago but I moved to Ottawa and our excellent water here made all the difference. The tank was expanded to a 4'long 75 gallon 2.5 years ago.

There is a 25 gallon sump powered, a Tunze 9410, and connected is my home spun algae turf scrubber.

I put this together piece by piece with the advice and guidance of Marinescape and have achieved success. There is always room for improvement however.

I love DIY. For me DIY is not about saving money. It's about the ability to control and customize the artificial environment and try to understand the science and physics of the aquarium. Plus I simply love to calculate and tinker.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1peMCJk1UKE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=148hfJ_e-a4&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAOQVuQKB2s&feature=youtu.be

[Roland]

I'll have to add some shots taken under the LED lighting. They look very blue from the camera however. The shots above are under 4xT5.

Every home needs a fish closet.

[cdylnicki]

OMG nice tanks

[Greatwhite]

Couple things..  Nemo and his brother is not entirely accurate. 2 males in close quarters will establish dominance, and the winner becomes female. So it's reverse jailhouse rules, but one is definitely female now.

Also..  You used abs in your overflow because it's cheaper and easier?  Abs is used for drains to sewage systems and is not "safe" for use in a reef tank. You should really consider replacing that small section with PVC before it breaks down and releases toxic chemicals into your tank.

Very cool setup behind the scenes though. Thanks for sharing

[alexv]

I'm not so certain about your ABS claims are accurate. I've been using ABS piping for my 220gal for 5 years now and have never noticed any signs of a problem. Granted, it's a freshwater setup not salt, but still.

In fact, half of the bulkheads sold in aquarium trade are made of ABS. Also it looks like the volute on my Reeflo pump is also made of ABS..

[Greatwhite]

I am fairly certain that you won't find pumps and proper aquarium bulkheads made if abs. Black plastic perhaps, but not abs.

With aquariums in general, food grade or better.

Abs cannot be used for potable water in building...  So should not be used in aquariums.

[alexv]

The main reason why ABS isn't used for potable water pipes because of pressure. Abs can become brittle over decades and crack easily. That's the reason why ABS pipes are not used in some US states even for drains. There is food grade Abs the same way there are tons of non-food grade PVC piping.

I guess PVC vs ABS debates in online forums will continue, so I won't post on the subject. But as I said, I've been using standard ABS pipes for my planted community tank and my fish seems ok (great colors, feeding and breeding) as my plants and invertebrates. So I wouldn't sweat about it. If you find ABS pipes better for your budget, go ahead and buy them. Your fish won't care...

[Roland]

If I remember correctly, it was five years ago that I used the ABS for the simple fact it was laying around and I wanted to create a drain that would muffle the noise of air and water rushing from the standpipe. The PVC from the tank drain fit the ABS, the supplies were available that afternoon and I set to work with the prototype. There is really about 2' of 1-1/2" pipe in the project and half of that is in the water. 

The setup is kinda nifty in that it's in an H shape with two vent pipes. I can't photograph it as it's to tight a spot and under water. There's even some some protein skimming action from the vents. 

Until there is a demonstrable study done to measure chemicals in the tank from potential degradation of the ABS we can't be really sure what effects are taking place.  There are so many variables. It's not something I would dwell on. I prefer PVC because of the various types  of valves, unions, elbows and tees etc for customization.

The LED lighting system is new. We'll see how that goes in a year from now. So far so good. That was a fun project. I'd recommend using a slotted heat sink and not drilling and tapping.

[Greatwhite]

I have read that abs can't handle pressure, which is why it is used for drainage. I have also read that it can (and will) leech arsenic and other toxins into your tank over time. And yes, there are lots of people who swear that it is great to use for all aquarium purposes because charcoal can get anything bad out of the water.

But I have always been told that PVC is the only definitely safe product to use.  I am not about to chance problems in my system with abs sewer drain lines.

[Roland]

Perhaps a member here has an arsenic test kit. I'd gladly volunteer my tank as a test case. I had not even thought about ABS as a long term issue due to the minute amount of it used in the plumbing of the tank until some guy from who knows where posted on a Youtube video I made. I believe an OVAS member set the guy straight. Thanks for the vote of confidence!

The tank has been doing better since  the Tunze skimmer replaced my airstone driven column skimmer, and I constructed the algae turf scrubber. The bi weekly, I'd like to say weekly but, 15% water changes help keep that population of xenia down and no more issues with nuisance algae. I have no complaints about our city water. Granted there are no sensitive corals or clams. Yet.

[Greatwhite]

To be honest, the only reason I said anything here was because you have so much nice PVC work back there, and a small chunk of abs. It just seemed odd to me that there was a change in material there.

My experience comes from other forums where very people are very "passionate" about not using abs. There were long discussions there with scientific sounding backing info...  I used PVC and have never had to worry as a result.

I believe someone once mentioned that there is a type of abs that is acceptable for drinking water, but it is not easy to find.

The thing with leeching is that it happens with heat. Warm water will leech more than cold. An 80 degree water line may not be hot enough to cause leeching to occur even.

Plastic water bottles are bad for this, yet people still produce and sell them. Women were recently advised against drinking water from a bottle that has been sitting in a car in the summer because of leeching that can cause breast cancer. But when properly stored, no problem.