stankyd

I had a tremendous amount of micro bubbles in the display so I added sock filters to my return pipes. this helped only a bit so i added a bubble trap by adding 3 baffles in the typical design this worked great at keeping my return pipe and skimmer bubbles controlled. I can actually see it working. Now my problem is there is a waterfall of about 3 inches from the last baffle into where my return pump is and the bubbles are worse than ever! note the tunze was moved to the other side of the baffles. Should I lower the height of the last baffle? Raise the water level to reduce the waterfall height? ? For now, I put a plastic basket with some filter media and rock and that seems to have completely addressed it but that looks pretty ghetto. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Dave

Cycling is in full swing, we had snow crab the other day and I tossed in some left-overs. Clouded up quite a bit. Here are some pics of the rock work, i also added 4 96 watt 10k power compacts cause I had the ballasts taking up space in the garage. it looks something like this model - http://www.directaquarium.com/product-p/8020.htm before the PCs' and after Also bought a sump light but have no chaeto, anyone selling? Dave

Sand, rock and salt installed, waiting for it to clear up. The aragonite has SOOO much dust even after being rinced. I am pleasantly surprised how much the rock I had in my 220 fills the 300. cycling has begun, had significant amonia/nitrate/nitrite readings but going in the right direction. Next up, improving the lighting, soundproofing the stand and installing the auto top off. Dave

So as far as snails etc. should i wait for the cycle to end or wait until I begin to see algae (food source). I am afraid to add them too early and h have them die off due to lack of food. Dave

I am about to add salt, sand and rock to a brand new tank and start my cycle. When would you suggest adding a cleaning crew and when would you suggest adding chaeto? Neither the sand or rock are live at this time. Thanks in advance, Dave

Your absolutely right, poorly written sentence on my part. Adjusting the overflows will adjust water level in tank when the pump is on and the sump when the pump is off. My intake sucking air problem is a matter of sump level when tank is on so i need as high a level possible in the sump when running but not too much to overflow the sump when the pump is off. I hope that's right. Dave

Water test has passed Electrical - pump, lights, chiller, skimmer hooked up and functional Washed off the rock and the aragonite i purchased last week (really nice stuff). Rock collection and my number 1 helper since we had our first tank when she was 3. the rest of the recent photos Tomorrow I'm adding salt, sand and rock to start the cycling.

ok, so the new sump is in place, a pretty nice fit but worried it wont have enough water to run my new skimmer. We shall see, it will be weeks before I need it. Connected the sump to my external iwaki. Replaced the missing 0-ring on the pump output, eliminating a leak. Had to replumb the chiller to be on the output of the pump instead of the return line from the overflow. For some reason, the overflow was just not cutting it. Thanks Coral Hind for the advice on the chiller earlier in the thread. I also went flexible hose which lets me see whats going on in there. Leveled the tank stand completely so the overflows are working much better. Remaining Issues Adjust overflows to allow more water in the sump for the skimmer and to avoid sucking air into the pump (happened twice for a second each). Next up Install RO/DI and float valve. Try this bad boy with salt water sand and rock and begin to cycle. I bought Argonite for the display. Can anyone reccomend a decent source of play sand? All I saw in home depot / lowes was really yellow and large grained. Dave

I am on the home stretch of my build and need a 1" bulkhead, anyone have suggestions on LFS's I can check near Springfield? Dave

Thanks, I was not aware there would be phospates on the rock. When you cycle, are you cycling with fish in the tank or some other method? I have heard of people simply putting some shrimp shells/carcases and monitoring ammonia. btw, the tank looks great.

I am curious about what you mean by "cure". I have some what used to be my live rock from before I moved. I bleached it a couple of years ago to kill off any live matter on it before packing it away. Now I am getting ready to use it again and have had it in fresh water for about 2 weeks. I guess I am asking what is the goal here? For me, it is to remove the bleach. Dave

Just ordered a 65g (48 x 18 x 17) acrylic tank from glasscages to finish this off picking up 8/4. now the wait begins!

Hi, I am considering purchasing a sump made of high density polyethylene. Does anyone know if this is safe or toxic to salt water fish/crabs etc.. Dave

The lights look really good and I love your rock work! Dave

Very cool. I saw a similar DIY chiller running pipe through a freezer and back into a tank.

Really! That was a good eye. I was raising it for ventilation, thanks for the tip, I think you nailed it! I am really bummed at the moment, its been hard finding a sump substitute and really can progress until I do. Looking for something ideally acrylic (or pre drilled glass) about 48"x 16 x 16. I consider something like this perfect. My link Dave

Well I was excited to do my fresh water test today. Can you say "Catastrophic"? full of water, running the pump and about to address a small leak somewhere and vahvooom! Busted like a 5$ crack *****. On the bright side, 1. I was home at the time. 2. the family was home at the time to help clean up. 3. It was up and running long enough to find a few problems with the setup. 4. found a missing one o-ring on the cut off valve on the output of my pump. 5. Detected the flooring was more slanted than i originally thought. Its really obvious when filling the tank. wish me luck in round 2.

Its a Tunze 9011, rated for 294 gallon so its slightly small when you factor in the sump volume.

Completed the plumbing yesterday, went pretty much according to plan except for the 4 trips to home depot. pics from right to left: next up: fresh water / leak test temperature test with pumps and lighting sand the rough spots and touch up paint. 160lbs of aragonite sand is in the mail

So, after drilling the holes for the bulkheads in the teeny tiny overflow boxes and getting molten plexiglass in my hair, i realized that the tank stand i got with the tank's supports were exactly where the overflow holes and pvc had to go, meaning i would have to cut/move them. Flash forward 20 hrs and 400$ later (including cheap table saw), I built most of a new stand. Had to stop when 2 drill batteries drained.

I used to buy them at the LFS called Big Al's in Fort Lauderdale. Have no idea in the NOVA area.

I was wondering if anyone had any advice regarding refugium lighting. My fixture holds 2 36" 4 pin straight bulbs and i am seeing alot of choices, 10k, 7k, various wattage, daylight, atinic etc. as shown here http://premiumaquatics.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_code=Ultracompacts Planning to stock with chaeto if I can find some. Considering how much of that stuff I threw out over the years, I cant believe what they are charging for it online! Dave

The only requirement I have is that anything I put under the tank can be removed without a complete breakdown/drain of the tank and the 55 fits the bill. I had the 55g lying around gathering dust. Dave

Great questions. I am playing it by ear for now and balancing the benefits of increased fish selection if I don't go SPS versus the joys of SPS. My last tank was really SPS dominated and probably added $300 a month in electric bills! On the bright side (no pun intended) I have hundreds of pounds of coral to install so there will be light just a few inches from the placement of any SPS. I too am skeptical about the intensity and now am considering installing my VHO's because they are really good at eliminating shadows. Dave

That's very funny, I thought the same thing when we bought the house. Funny little wet bar right there but its kinda nice having water and a sink next to the tank! Maybe I wont plumb the chiller in after all. lets see what the temp looks like. Dave