24X24X20 Chalice Palace

Dave3112 · Jul 17, 2011

lps1212 said:
Man this will be a nice lookin nano I can picture it now what a great job bringing this tank back from the grave yard will be following and the stand looks good with the side door

Thanks! I really like the access to the stand for sure. The only thing I don't like is how tall it is it is 41" tall! I am 6'3" and will probably need a step ladder to get to the bottom of the tank without making a mess. LOL

Coral Pimp said:
what was the solution you cleaned your glass with? I just got a cube myself and want to clean the glass.

Just plain old white vinegar!

skinz78 said:
Nice looking tank Dave, I can't wait to see this one up and running!

Thanks Chris! I am excited myself! I need to tell myself to slow down it's not a race!!! LOL

macawmagic · Jul 17, 2011

if you're looking for metal halide and led's I really love this fixture! I saw it at macna and loved how clean it was! I had the idea a while ago to do something like this, but never got around with doing it and then someone else came out with it.
ReefBrite HALIDE HYBRID | ReefBrite.com

I personally am going to be going with all LED's on my tank build. (if I ever find some time to get it done!)

I think if you go 2x mp10's. a nice skimmer like the one I mentioned earlier. a nice light fixture. you should be good to go.

recomendation. design your sump with an "overflow" for water changes. that way you can add new water to the tank and it'll push out the old water from the sump to the outside. Makes life so much easier, but sometimes is not possible as some people don't want to drill a big hole in the their house.

also get a nice topoff system. whichever you believe would work for you! I personally have always used gravity fed to a float valve, but have just recently added an electronic float system to my rodi barrel.

and then you need to decide between kalkwasser, 2-part, or a calcium reactor. I personally would use kalk on a tank that size, but that's just my opinion. 2 part would be easy too, but a little more expensive to buy all the dosers.

hope that helps!

BigFeesh · Jul 17, 2011

1smile1 Congrats im so jealous!!

Dave3112 · Jul 17, 2011

macawmagic said:
if you're looking for metal halide and led's I really love this fixture! I saw it at macna and loved how clean it was! I had the idea a while ago to do something like this, but never got around with doing it and then someone else came out with it.
ReefBrite HALIDE HYBRID | ReefBrite.com

I personally am going to be going with all LED's on my tank build. (if I ever find some time to get it done!)

I think if you go 2x mp10's. a nice skimmer like the one I mentioned earlier. a nice light fixture. you should be good to go.

recomendation. design your sump with an "overflow" for water changes. that way you can add new water to the tank and it'll push out the old water from the sump to the outside. Makes life so much easier, but sometimes is not possible as some people don't want to drill a big hole in the their house.

also get a nice topoff system. whichever you believe would work for you! I personally have always used gravity fed to a float valve, but have just recently added an electronic float system to my rodi barrel.

and then you need to decide between kalkwasser, 2-part, or a calcium reactor. I personally would use kalk on a tank that size, but that's just my opinion. 2 part would be easy too, but a little more expensive to buy all the dosers.

hope that helps!

I already have the MH ballast and reflector so I will re-use those. That light is kinda what I had mine looking like in my mind. I believe I will have to have my sump custom made and I like the Overflow idea for water changes. Now on my 220 I have a pump in my fuge that I turn on and pump the water to the deep sink so it is pretty convenient to do the WC's that way. But this one will not be close to the sink so I don't have all those logistics worked out yet. I also have the dosing pumps for 2 part. I like the ability to dose just what my tank needs and I always run Kalk too.... I know that it gets kind of costly doing it this way as opposed to the Ca reactor but I like the control I have plus whats NOT costly in this hobby?! LOL. Thank you for all of your suggestions. I really do appreciate the input. I will most likely go with the SWC 160 BTW.

Dave3112 · Jul 17, 2011

BigFeesh said:
1smile1 Congrats im so jealous!!

Thanks! I wish I was rich so I could get all the stuff I want to put water in this thing NOW!!!!!:cry:

BigFeesh · Jul 17, 2011

I know the feeling. Im a Senior in HS and parents arent into the hobby at all. So i buy things very slowly

i mow lawns and sadly grass doesnt grow to fast when its 100 degrees out

Dave3112 · Jul 17, 2011

BigFeesh said:
I know the feeling. Im a Senior in HS and parents arent into the hobby at all. So i buy things very slowly

i mow lawns and sadly grass doesnt grow to fast when its 100 degrees out

I remember those days! Sometimes I think life was easier then. At least you get to keep the money you make and not pay taxes on it! LOL! I hope that the love for this hobby stays with you for a long time! I have had freshwater tanks and kept up the maint. on them since I was about 10 or 11 years old. I didn't get my first saltwater tank until I was 20 or so. It can be very frustrating at times and I have almost given up a time or two and I am glad that I stuck with it. It is nice to see younger people with a passion for the hobby and it's future!

BigFeesh · Jul 17, 2011

Yea i love the hobby!! This week ive gotten a bunch of corals!! it feels good because its been awhile!

Dave3112 · Jul 19, 2011

I have been racking my brain trying to figure out what kind of overflow to use for this tank that would be the LEAST seen inside the tank. I can't think of anything that would look "clean and neat"! Do any of you have any suggestions? Ideas? I also want it to be pretty quiet.

Troylee · Jul 19, 2011

Looks like it had the bean animal setup before I would throw it right back on there it's the best in the business....

Just in case hehe...
BeanAnimal's Bar and Grill - Silent and Fail-Safe Overflow System

Dave3112 · Jul 19, 2011

Troylee said:
Looks like it had the bean animal setup before I would throw it right back on there it's the best in the business....
Just in case hehe...
BeanAnimal's Bar and Grill - Silent and Fail-Safe Overflow System

I was thinking about that as I typed the last post actually. I most likely will go with that again and just run the return over the back of the tank instead of through one of the holes. Thanks for the insight!

Troylee · Jul 19, 2011

I would run the bean set up without the emergency drain myself and use that third hole for the return..

out of every tank I have owned that emergency drain has never came into play and honestly can't if you have teeth on your overflows IMHO...

five O · Jul 19, 2011

This is how I did my cube, Bean Aminal / Coast to Coast. Its super cheap to build and dead silent. I used an emergency drain, but drilled on additional hole for my return.

When I done, I put a piece of black acylic on the front to conceal everything. You cant even tell I have an overflow

five O · Jul 19, 2011

one quick pict

Troylee · Jul 19, 2011

ahahahahahah got the popo watching judge judy!!!! rotflmbo... hehe... looks good matt...

Alkamist · Jul 19, 2011

wow!! nice cube! this will look rally cool when its done.

Dave3112 · Jul 19, 2011

five O said:
one quick pict

That looks really nice! I think that is what I'm going with! I just ordered the black acrylic for the overflow from US Plastics! Next challenge???? DIYing the acrylic overflow! Never done one before....Should be interesting to say the least! LOL

Dave3112 · Jul 19, 2011

Alkamist said:
wow!! nice cube! this will look rally cool when its done.

Thanks! I hope so!

five O · Jul 19, 2011

Dave3112 said:
That looks really nice! I think that is what I'm going with! I just ordered the black acrylic for the overflow from US Plastics! Next challenge???? DIYing the acrylic overflow! Never done one before....Should be interesting to say the least! LOL

If the tank is glass, use glass to make the over flow. Thats what I did, it seems to adhere better & will give you a stonger overflow. I then siliconed the black acylic over the top of the glass to conceal all the plumbing. Sorry, I dont have any pict's avail right now of the completed project. All these photo's were just left overs in my phone 8 months ago.