Vadim

alright well it's going down the drain

People that use the RO/DI system, what do you guys do with the waste water?

usually recommended amount that you want your tank cycled is 9-12 times per hour. My 75 gallon tank is cycling at about 10 times per hour. Usually when you buy a pump there will be a graph on the back of the box telling you how many gph it'll do depending on your length of return and intake.

maybe the powerheads?

question now becomes. do i use the same sand or do i go 50/50 or just go with brand new sand? definitely beneficial to go with atleast some old sand. I'll definitely be using some old rock. Most of the rock will go in the sump and refugium area. Not a lot of old rock will be used in the main tank. In regards to having minimum cycle time what's the recommendation?

well i got everything i need to replace everything that was in the overflow. Going to do that tonight. I'll finally take some pictures. My goal is to hook everything up tonight and this week start transfering stuff from the old tank to the new one.

so i feel like i am living in home depot, i finally got all the water out of the tank, and inside the house. I got the old bulkheads off, so i have to go to my lfs and get 4 different bulkheads and some pvc. Man i love this new experience of pretty much setting up a tank from scratch. It's great experience but can be a headache. Something interesting happened last night. I was at home depot, this guy that works there helped me out. I was telling him i needed some pvc for my saltwater fish tank. As soon as i said that. The guy started telling me about the show on animal plant about the fish tanks. He said he worked for them in vegas as an electrician. Not sure if he was blowing smoke up my behind but he was telling me some cool stories.

i dont have either if i wanted to replace what i got. would you recommend a store that does have them?

i'll have to measure tomorrow morning. there's no way to take off the old pvc pipe is there? without having to cut anything.

Ok, made my decision. It's going to be internal pumps. I need a new impeller for my mag 12 though. hopefully lfs carry some parts. i need to start on my plumbing really want to go with flexible hoses. But i think the problem is when i bought the tank the plumbing was cut at the thickest part of the pipe. not sure if i can get a flexible hose to fit the thickest part of the pipe and just use something like a clip but that sounds like it'll have so much back pressure.

would you say there's more risk with external pumps?

Thanks, right now it wouldn't cost me to go either way. I have 2 mag 12 pumps that are internal. I also have 2 iwaki external pumps.

some of you that are following this do you guys like external or internal pumps?

so quick update. got the tank on to the stand. filled it with water just now. so far so good. not sure if i'll keep it full of water till tomorrow night or sunday. any recommendations?

thanks

anyone know where i can buy some star board locally va md or dc?

well finally secured the plywood to the stand. used the t plates or joint t plates. looking good. i'll take some more pictures tomorrow. Just need to figure out how to get the tank on top of the stand to check for any leaks.

major fail, i tried putting the bottom brace. The way i wanted to install is screwing in screws at an angle. Wow did that fail. Problem is i don't have the necessary tools to do it correctly and the screw heads are to big for the width of the wood. Plan B is going out and buying joint plates. That's the only thing i can think of, unless anyone has suggestions?

So these last couple of days have been beautiful outside, so i've had the chance to do more work on my stand. On monday i put on a clear coat inside the stand, tuesday i put on another clear coat inside the stand, and i bought myself a new toy. A circular saw. I needed this bad boy, can't go wrong with a milwaukee. I cut a piece of plywood that would fit as a brace at the bottom of my stand. When i bought the plywood from home depot i gave them the dimensions, got home and it didn't quite fit in. So now it fits and i gave that piece of plywood a bath of clear coat. On thursday or friday i am hoping to put my tank on the stand, so i can fill it with water and make sure it can still handle the water and there aren't any leaks. Of course the tank will be outside. Only thing is i need a couple of people to help me out. Anyone? I live in Arlington and it would most likely take about 20 minutes or else. beer will be provided and dinner if anyone will be willing to stay.

the lights, sorry.

how much did it cost to build?

I've been wondering for awhile if anyone uses particular flooring or paint on the walls where the fish tank is located? Are there such products out there, that are specifically made to resist the moisture/salt? I know we can purchase linoleum flooring and just wipe it or plastic paneling on the walls and just wipe them down. But that doesn't always make it eye appealing to every home owner.

lol Langland I was about to input a statement saying "how do you guys like my 125 tank on top of the stand?" i'd wonder how many people do a double take at the picture.

thanks for reminding me roni, i'll post an equipment list tomorrow.

Just recently moved to Arlington. I bought my 125 gallon tank and stand couple months ago maybe even longer. But finally i can work on getting my 125 Gallon up and enjoy it. i didn't start taking pictures till i installed new flooring where the tank will be. With the stand, i had to sand it down to the wood. Then i had to install new brace underneath the stand because there was water damage. I stained the stand a couple coats, then i did a couple coats of clear coat that protects from water damage. I did about 2 stain coats and 3 clear coats. So the pictures below are of the new flooring. More pictures to come soon. hopefully i'll have the tank going within the next 2 weeks. Mean while my 75 gallon is still in my old place me going there every other day to feed the fish is a pain. In this first picture I took off the shoe molding, and ripped up the carpet. Then i cleaned the concrete, and spread a latex adhesive. It'll bond better with the linoleum flooring from what i was told. In this second picture is where i laid the linoleum flooring, i didn't finish the corners yet. It's amazing how the walls aren't straight. sux. In the third picture, i moved the stand over to the area where i just laid the flooring down. This will keep the flooring from coming up. Fourth picture, just shows the front of the stand. I didn't finish the inside of the stand yet. I needed to get the sump from Naga before i closed the bottom of the stand. But inside the stand i am only going to put on the clear coat to protect the wood from moisture. I did sand it, have to sand it a bit more and ready for the clear coat to go on. Probably do about 3 coats. This last picture is just here doesn't show anything different. But more pictures to come within the next couple days. Open for suggestions/opinions. Thanks and Enjoy.