# New 160 gallon set up



## calebjimz (Aug 10, 2009)

alright so i just bought a 160 gallon acrylic tank for 140 bucks off craigslist. STEAL. its a custom tank too, pictures will be coming soon. I have to build a stand for it due to the fact that it didnt come with the tank. heres a little bit of what *** done.









The tank has three drilled holes along the bottom for plumbing from the previous owner. I have yet to decide how to utilize these holes. I wanted to try to make this tank and stand somewhat ADA style, like so:









i like the way it looks with the lights over the tank not in a canopy, it gives it a more modern look. Dont get me wrong, i love canopies too, but i wanted to try something different. BUT i ran into a problem. i dont want to have the hob overflow behind my tank, but i also dont want to rig a canister filter, so i came up with this idea.









I wanted to intergrate a spray bar and a simple tube overflow using a clear pvc type pipe, obviously covered by some type of mesh material. the bulkheads on the bottom of the tank would not be visible due to it being covered by sand. i was also thinking of adding jets at the bottom of the tank, but am not too sure what that would do to the spraybar's flow. i may simply just add a powerhead or another pump to my sump/wet dry underneath the tank. anyways, let me know what you think and any advice (such as where to find clear aquarium safe pipe, what size, how to set it up, etc.) enjoy![/img]


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

I learned from a failed experiment of mine (don't worry, no fish involved!) that if you try to split the flow from your sump pump between a spray bar and undergravel jets, you fail. It takes about 2-3 times the power to shoot water into water (undergravel jets) than to shoot water out above the water (spray bar). My pump was 900GPH and I got rudimentary flow at best. MUCH easier to just buy a separate powerhead for the ugjs!


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## calebjimz (Aug 10, 2009)

Thanks for the reply. I figured that would be the better route. I already have one pump so I might just add a second to use for the ugjs.


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## calebjimz (Aug 10, 2009)

heres an update of where the stand is at so far. anyone have any ideas on how to brace the tank to the wall? if you do, please let me know. i dont want this thing tipping over haha.


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## calebjimz (Aug 10, 2009)

i finally got the tank and stand in my room today. heres a little look of how massive this thing is in my room. thats a 60 gallon tank next to it -___________-


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## Sand Man (Oct 12, 2006)

That is a monster tank! Sorry for the newb question, but with 3 holes drilled on the bottom of the tank, running into a sump, how do you prevent all the water from flowing out in the event of a power outage?

What do you plan on keeping in the tank?

Good luck!


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## verbal (Aug 16, 2011)

Sand Man said:


> That is a monster tank! Sorry for the newb question, but with 3 holes drilled on the bottom of the tank, running into a sump, how do you prevent all the water from flowing out in the event of a power outage?


You need the drain pipe to basically draw from the top of the water. He is planning to use clear pvc, so that is why they do not show up in the diagram.


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## Sand Man (Oct 12, 2006)

Sweet, so you have 3 clear PVC pipes? How do you keep them from getting algae all over them, or gunk build up that would take away from the aesthetics of the tank. I know the corner overflow in my 50 gets all kinds of gunk on it.


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## calebjimz (Aug 10, 2009)

I thought about that and to be honest.... i dont really know :? . If algea grows on it, which it will, i dont think ill mind too much, it will just give it a more natural look. every now and then im sure i could just take the clear pvc pipes off and then use a nice long pipe cleaner to clear out the gunk. They wont be glued together. and as for the overflow, i probably wont even need to take it out to clean it.


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## calebjimz (Aug 10, 2009)

and as far as whats going into the tank i have yet to decide. I want a lot of color, obviously. I was thinking maybe 1 frontosa, 1 venustus, and the rest has yet to come. I already have a blue acei in my 60 thats going in the big tank and 4 juvenile P. nyererei (ruti island cichlids). I want lots of peacocks and haps though, but not enough to be too crowded.


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## newforestrob (Feb 1, 2010)

A black background would be good to hide your drain pipes,many people decide to do this after the tank is set up,a can of black paint and foam roller is all that is required,also the colors of fish really stand out against black


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## calebjimz (Aug 10, 2009)

newforestrob said:


> A black background would be good to hide your drain pipes,many people decide to do this after the tank is set up,a can of black paint and foam roller is all that is required,also the colors of fish really stand out against black


yes a black background would not look bad at all. my only problem with that idea is that if im gonna paint it black, i might as well make a diy bg -_______-... another project to add to my to do list. we'll see what happens with that. i might settle with painting it black but im afraid that since the sides of my tank are already black (due to it being a room divider style tank) then it may feel to covered up. as of today, i have finished painting the doors, but have yet to spray clear coat on them as well as attach hinges. I have also started with the plumbing, as shown in this picture. sorry for the horrible quality.










as you can see, the spray bar is hanging down a little bit which is a problem. im not too sure how i can fix this. i already tried magnets, that didnt work, so my next option is sunction cups with some fishing line.... ironic. any suggestions with that would help.

eventually, i will replace the pvc with clear pvc (its gonna cost a small fortune, but i feel it would be worth it). Im not too sure on what to use to seal the pvc though. should i use pvc cemment? is it aquarium safe? how fast does it bond (im in a rush to get this freaking thing done)? or would aquarium safe silicone work better?


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## Tadgo (Jul 31, 2011)

Use PVC cement for the PVC. It's safe. It cures pretty quickly. The jar will have better cure time then what my memory has. But it is way less then silicone cure time. Also, not sure how well sealant will seal the PVC. Constant bumping might cause it to get loose over time.

Nice find on that tank. Look forward to seeing it up and running.


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## mel_cp6 (Feb 3, 2009)

very nice.
is that an 8' tank?


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

mel_cp6 said:


> Is that an 8' tank?


I was also wondering this.


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

Instead of buying clear pvc pipe, why not just cover the rock with something? Rocks, styrofoam background/ custom rocks, plants?

I'd use pvc cement, yes it is aquarium safe. It's pretty solid after 5 minutes but I'd let it cure for at least 24 hours to make sure that it's nice and stuck!


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## calebjimz (Aug 10, 2009)

The King Crabb said:


> mel_cp6 said:
> 
> 
> > Is that an 8' tank?
> ...


yup! 8', custom tank, hence why it did not come with a stand initially. But it was a fun little project for sure.



> Instead of buying clear pvc pipe, why not just cover the rock with something? Rocks, styrofoam background/ custom rocks, plants?
> 
> I'd use pvc cement, yes it is aquarium safe. It's pretty solid after 5 minutes but I'd let it cure for at least 24 hours to make sure that it's nice and stuck!


i was thinking about doing a 3d background, but i still haven't decided. and all the plumbing is practically done, i just need to finish drilling holes in the spray bar.










I made a couple minor adjustments. I moved the return all the way to the other side of the tank, i didnt like the way the pvc came out of the middle and then T'd off. looked like it took up too much space. also, underneath, i was thinking about having another spray bar that dumped into a ten gallon which would be connected to a 20 gallon tank right next to it via a syphon/simple U tube. the excess water in the spray bar would dump out of the 90 degree bend into the 20 gallon. The ten gallon would just be used as a refugium, where i would keep fry, and would also set up some plants in there to impede algae growth in the main tank. Let me know if you would like more clarification cause this sounds kinda confusing after reading over it :lol:


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## calebjimz (Aug 10, 2009)

Alright, unfortunately its time to take a break from the project. I'm heading up to berkeley to visit a friend for the weekend, but when I get back I am planning on finishing it asap. I figured since I have already don't so much work, I might as well make the tank perfect and sand out all the scratches, buffer, and polish it. Does anyone have any recommendations on the products and process I should use on completing this task? I am also going to be getting some lighting fixtures to go over the tank. Either t5's or a MH setup. Not too sure which one to use. There will be someplants growing, and its an 8 ft tank so if anyone has recommendations on the lighting, let me know.


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

calebjimz said:


> its an 8 ft tank so if anyone has recommendations on the lighting, let me know.


I have just the thing for you! This is probably the best deal lighting you could possibly get for the money. What I would do is build a canopy to go over the tank, hooked onto this canopy are (4) 4' shop lights that carry (2) t12 40 Watt bulbs each - only $12 per light (bulbs not included)! I like the lighting these give, I bought some 10,000k natural daylight bulbs (2 for $10 at homedepot) to go over my 60G and the lighting is superb! So with (eight) 40 Watt 10,000k natural daylight bulbs that would be about 2 Watts per gallon and plenty of color spectrum!


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## calebjimz (Aug 10, 2009)

That sounds like a great option, but the only thing is that I really didn't want have a canopy over it. Due to the plumbing coming out from the bottom of the tank about 4 inches, I already have to cover that with a lot of sand and with a canopy overhead, it would shrink the tank even more. What I really wanted to do is have pendulum style lighting where the lighting system is supended over the tank via metal wire and a couple metal poles. Not too sure how exactly it will work but I'm sure I can make it happen. Also, I was always told that trying to use lighting from home. Depot that is meant for homes, won't work because the output isn't high enough?


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

I haven't heard that about the lighting there, but I haven't had any problems. The lighting above my 60G is about 6" over the tank and the Angels I have in there look awesome, the light reflects off their scales and they really pop! I'd supply a pic, but I have to scrub down my tank first, my pleco died and I need to get some of the algae off!


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## calebjimz (Aug 10, 2009)

Do you happen to have any plants growing in your tank?


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

I've got Hornwort, Val, and Amazon Sword in there, all doing well! The val hasn't reproduced yet so I've still got some empty space in there (a lot actually, I'm cheap and like to buy 1 bunch of the plant and wait for it to spread all the way through :lol: ) but the plants seem to be doing fine! The Hornwort has grown about 14" in the last month!


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## calebjimz (Aug 10, 2009)

wow well then thats definitely something i will keep an eye out for. cant wait til this thing is done.


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## calebjimz (Aug 10, 2009)

Finally. The plumbing is done, everything is set up (except i need to get the real light set up and attach doors to the stand). Heres a couple pics of the entire set up. 

















Everything except for the tank itself is DIY. DIY stand, plumbing, wet dry. It can be done. Total, i spent:
140 -tank
200 - lumber
200 - hardware, pvc, tools, etc
and then some.
Total this project cost me around 500 dollars. was it worth it? Completely. I have yet to complete aquascaping, but when i do i will post another picture. btw, is having a wet/dry and spray bar going to be a problem for plants in the tank? is there too much co2 exchange?


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

What did you do for filtration?


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## calebjimz (Aug 10, 2009)

dsouthworth said:


> What did you do for filtration?


just a simple overflow inside the tank that goes down into a diy 20 gallon sump. just some silicone and pieces of glass for partitions. Bio media, sponges, etc. went into the wet/dry. I was also going to connect a 10 gallon tank that would be a refugium where i would grow plants and keep baby fish. this would be connected to the main 20 gallon wet/dry through a simple hob overflow style where a siphon would function to keep the water levels the same.


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

Thanks. i was hoping for some non-sump related advise. 
Tank looks good, looking forward to the finishing product.


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## calebjimz (Aug 10, 2009)

purchased the lighting equipment and built the mount today.
















$250 for two 4x54 watt t5 fixtures. originally, the lighting i purchased was used for growing vegetables and whatnot so i figured it would work fine for an aquarium. at first i wasn't too sure if it would be enough light, but it turned out to be plenty. also got some fish for the tank. mostly peacocks and some haps as well as one tiny front. pictures will come soon


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