Dustins reef bowl

[NHreefguy]

Did you ever get your lid?

 

[Dtackett]

not yet. we only have 1 glass worker in our town and he does all the work for the town, im not exactly high on his priority list lol. but it should be done soon. and when its done things will get much easier.

 

[NHreefguy]

I ended up retro fitting some l.e.d.s for My jar lid this weekend and sealed it all up. I haven't had any evaporation in three days.

 

[Dtackett]

I ended up retro fitting some l.e.d.s for My jar lid this weekend and sealed it all up. I haven't had any evaporation in three days.

yeah even with a 2x2 hole in my "lid" I still didn't have to top off for 5 days.

 

[NHreefguy]

You said that's an anchor Hopkins bowl right? Do you still have the sealed lid to it? This is what I did

 

[Dtackett]

yeah its AH but mine is an actual fish bowl. didn't come with a lid. just a little piece of plastic.

 

[NHreefguy]

Oh. I do like your idea with an external pump. Would that be considered a closed loop?

 

[Dtackett]

Yeah that's what a CLS is. but like I said, it would add more complication and that's what these tiny tanks are setup to avoid. but I just don't think im getting enough water movement out of this air pump and its already a pump rated for a 60 gallon tank, it should provide decent flow. but I can barely see my duncans moving which means theyre not getting enough movement.

 

[NHreefguy]

Well it's an air pump. The only movement you'll get from them is what the bubbles displace and that ain't much.

 

[Dtackett]

im thinking I may take about half the rock out. I don't really need that much rock in the tank and I think that's a big part of the flow being so low. the rock slows it as it comes up. I also think I need to build some upflow pipes to run the airlines in to pull more water from the bottom.

still got a lot of tweeking to do before I get this the way I want it. but once I get everything figured out the way I want it to be, ill be redoing the whole setup in a new bowl and going from there. I may try to find an acrylic bowl or a higher end bowl so the glass is flawless instead of being cheap like this one.

 

[Dtackett]

Well it's an air pump. The only movement you'll get from them is what the bubbles displace and that ain't much.

actually, there used to be a lot of large tanks ran purely off airflow without using massive oversized pumps. its just the way they set them up. and im still working on the setup aspect of it. now a days we run pumps because theyre quieter and cheaper to run.

 

[NHreefguy]

I'm only 25 haha before my time. I did notice after you said there were a imperfections in the glass I filled mine with water and there are tons of air bubbles. But for like $20 on Amazon It doesn't matter. Take pics soon. I'd like to see it

 

[Dtackett]

yeah my granddad was a breeder back in the 70s-80s. lol used to see pictures of his basement business. things were much different. he had dozens and dozens of plywood tanks with a cloth pond liner draped in them, couple massive show tanks, tons of random sized tanks for breeding different fish. he ran the whole basement off an air compressor and a piping system he built that ran all the tanks with UGF or sponge filters. I grew up around the stuff. granted that was all freshwater but water movement is water movement. I still have a couple buddies who are breeders (fresh and salt) who run their entire system off an air compressor with a similar setup. air moves a lot of water with the proper setup.

 

[NHreefguy]

That sounds pretty cool. That's why I respect the good ol' boys. There ingenuity was unlike anything today. I bet it was quite the set up

 

[Dtackett]

yeah it was. individual lines to every tank with a gang valve so he could control airflow and circ on each tank, grandma hated it cause he kept the heat up so he could heat all the tanks instead of individual heaters. saved money, but it was always hot in their house lol.

 

[Dtackett]

this is what I am thinking about adding to the bowl. just gotta build a heatsink and canopy that will house both the par30 im currently using, and these 8 leds in a circle around the outside of the par30.

the par30 im using is a great light but doesn't provide enough blue for me, but with this setup I can run my blues however I want to and adjust them as I desire.

 

[NHreefguy]

What is the website you're using? I've always wanted to make a light but not very good at soldering. Are those 3 watt lights? Do you think the blue can melt zoas?

 

[Dtackett]

rapid led. im still researching what I want to do. the above is just a rough plan that will likely be changed several times before I order lol. diy leds are pretty easy, especially if you buy the ones like those above. no need for soldering, just connect the clips.

 

[Dtackett]

so no real update today, sorry for the water spots but this shows the low quality of the glass and why I want to try to find a better bowl. I need something smooth and that's why im looking at acrylic. I could do plastic but im told our lights will turn the plastic yellow over time.

duncans are still adjusting to the lights but duncans are doing good. that one frag seems to open whenever it wants to but the other is doing great. and considering its a fresh cut frag im happy with it. I lowered the light down about 4-6 inches today so we will see how the coral responds. it should work out well. next obstacle will be getting the right flow. this air pump is working decent but I think I need to get a bigger air pump. at full flow, this air pump just isn't providing the flow I would like to see.

overall I still have some tweeking to do but im happy. little over a week into the bowl and levels are stable, water change went smooth, temp is stable at 75 at night and 78 during the day. not sure how it will be come summer when im running the ac, ill cross that bridge when I come to it. by then ill have my big tank setup so I will move all the coral into it while I figure out the heat situation in the bowl.

 

[NHreefguy]

I'm gonna go check them out. Looks good dude!