Tank Size

Brucemg said:
Yes it should be but now I have a decision to make. Either wall security[waiting quotes] or Reef[waiting quotes], as we had a little incident at my place on Tuesday evening late. But we fine just a little bit edgy.
</IMG>
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear this, what happened, glad to hear all is OK.
 
My dog was a bit uneasy [sleeps inside]I woke looked out the bathroom window saw nothing.Went back to bed, dog still not happy,went to the study and thru the curtain saw their silohets, busy with my sons car. Opened the window and tried to grab but they where to quick. Any way they got away with only his radio thank goodness as his GPS, scanner,laptop and printer was there. Call the necessary,they arrived within minutes took statements then left.20min latter they where back for my son to identify the radio,with the ASSH??????S in the back.So one up to cops.We are just a bit shaken but okay.
 
Shite, they bring them back, man. Well glad you guys are Ok and keep your eyes open for now
 
tanksetupwithflowdirection.jpg
 
Bear in mind when the pumps stops, water stops flowing over the overflow hence everything stops

Just make sure the inlet is not deep 5mm or so, and have a siphon brake in there
 
Good pic Kanga. Also make sure your sump can handle the extra water when the tank loses power and the water level in the main display subsides.
 
Glad you're Ok Bruce !
 
Hi Bruce - firstly - unbelievable about the break-in - BUT glad you got such decent service from the coppers...

To your last question - I am not expert when it comes to glass or tanks - bUT I think personally that a safety factor of 2 is a BIT on the low side- I know that glass is expensive - but you would rather want to spend that now, than having to redo your tank, AND mop up a LOT of water over the floor in the house! (and perhaps have carpets stink, other electricals blow etc)....

I would not say that 14mm is necessary - and personally I would think that 10mm is good enough for a 1metre cube (or near-cube) - BUT, perhaps for safety sake you could perhaps get quote for 11mm, 11mm and 12mm?

My tank is 2 metres and I have 12mm thick glass - with braces all around.....

My 1.2 metre tank is 10mm..... and I have never had any problems - BUT you decide....
 
Thanks I have asked for 12mm quote as well. Ive priced glass to see if I can DIY but its cheaper at the LFS.So looks like I will be visiting the LFS soon. You know the display and the sump is not so bad in price but all the other gadgets are.But Im almost sure I will start soon, even got the wife interested and thats a BIG PLUS.
 
Brucemg said:
If I do the calc using a SF of 3.8 I get to 14mm if I us SF of 2 then10mm.What is recomended, is a SF of 2 okay.
Click to expand...
The recommended safety factor is 3.8.

If the tank is well braced (Euro-bracing top and bottom) you could drop that to about 3.0 if you're happy to assume some risk, but I would not easily go less than that, unless the tank was supported by a strong and rigid enough slab that NO deflection would occur during the lifetime of the tank. Unfortunately that would require a strong and rigid concrete floor and slab, properly designed by a structural engineer for this purpose.

The calc, does it take strenghting supports across the top into count as well or not.
Click to expand...

As far as I know it does not take bracing into account.

jacquesb said:
... I know that glass is expensive - but you would rather want to spend that now, than having to redo your tank, AND mop up a LOT of water over the floor in the house! (and perhaps have carpets stink, other electricals blow etc)....
Click to expand...

I fully agree - goedkoop koop is duur koop :)

I would not say that 14mm is necessary - and personally I would think that 10mm is good enough for a 1metre cube (or near-cube) - BUT, perhaps for safety sake you could perhaps get quote for 11mm, 11mm and 12mm?

My tank is 2 metres and I have 12mm thick glass - with braces all around.....
Click to expand...

It's not so much the tank length - the important dimension is the water height. If your tank's glass height is (say) 750mm, your water height will only be about 710mm - 720mm, so do the calcs using that height, and not the glass height.

Hennie
 
Brucemg said:
Hennie if I change as sizes then I come out at 12mm.
Click to expand...
My tank is 1800 x 700 x 700 high, and I used 12mm glass.

Must the btm of the tank thickness increase or will 12mm do?
Click to expand...
That would depend on the possibility of movement, maximum deflection of the stand, and on whether the tank bottom is fully supported over the total area, or just on the outsides - if the tank is placed on a thin layer of Styrofoam on a concrete slab which support it over the full bottom area, then 12mm would most likely be OK (I used 12mm for my tank's bottom glass as well). If it's placed on a wooden stand, with one side resting on a brick wall as you originally planned, then you should stick with the recommended bottom thickness as calculated.

Over the past few days Ive been surfing the web and always seem to come across CO2 cylinders is this a necessity or not if so how does it work?
Click to expand...
CO2 is used to dissolve crushed coral substrate inside a calcium reactor. If you are planning on keeping many hard corals, and especially SPS corals, you will need to supplement calcium. This can be done with a calcium reactor, of by adding chemicals or dripping lime water (kalkwasser). To start up with, I would not stress about CO2 - rather use additives when needed for the first 6 months or so.

Another question how many times must the water be turned over per hour?
Click to expand...
Like so many other things, it depends...

A SPS tank should have as much water movement as possible (20x to 40x are not uncommon). A LPS and/or soft coral tank would be fine with a total turnover rate of 6 to 10 times per hour.

Keep in mind that "turnover" refers to total water movement, NOT flow through the sump. You could have (say) 3x turnover through the sump and (say) 10x turnover created by power heads and/or closed loop pumps.

More important than turnover, though, is turbulence. You want what's called "chaotic" water movement, with eddies and currents constantly changing direction (swirling, like when waves break...), rather than laminar flow with water always moving in one direction (like in a river).

Hennie
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom