dictatoradam84

well i did a little tweakin on a wet/dry and made a nice sump/refugium (posted a while back that i was going to make one from the ground up, but opted to test the water before jumping in). i have a chamber that is large enough to fit my deltec mc500 and a seperate chamber large enough to put at least 6inches of live sand some rock and some chaeto... now as far as the slow rate through the sump, i can say thats what i was thinking...i actually read something about it on reef central and a guy on there said the same thing. which overall makes sense.. as far as a closed loop system goes, i would love to to do it. my pvc skills are pretty decent, i just dont know a way to "make it look good" on a glass tank. i know on acylics its as easy as drilling some bulkheads and then all the piping is behind the tank. i know that glass can be drilled, but i would really rather not attempt it. any ideas or links to some ideas about nice looking closed loop systems without the use of bulk heads? also as far as money constraints go, as of right now i have a Mag12 that came with a 90 gal tank that i have opted to get rid of. right off the bat 1200 gph seems like it would be a little overkill on a 75, but im guessing if i were to do a closed loop system i could even it out quite nicely and probably still get the slower rate of flow through my sump that i want. also personally these mag 12's are like 170bucks and instead of purchasing a mag 7(which seems to be the average consensus between mag5 and mag 9) and a bunch of koralia powerheads which will cost about the same amount, i would just rather use it. and one other question i had...as far as "dialing back" my flow. i hear people say as stated above, "just add a valve after the return to control the flow", im totally down for that, but does it actually affect the pump in some way. seems like it would put alot of stress on the pump and possibly burn it out over time. is this a possibility or am i just thinking into this way too much?

Ok...might have phrased that wrong...basically im trying to find out what the best return pump for a 75 gal rr tank would be. I know alot of this is going to come down to what am i going to use it for. well im just starting out so im not gonna go too hardcore right off the bat at adding livestock but i would eventually like to have a healthy population of "a little bit of everything"... thus far the info i have found online has given me two options...i wanted some opinions on what would be the best way to go. One says 10X the volume of the empty tank.... 750gph and some say 5x the Total volume of the sump and tank so im lookin at around 100- 110g total so like 500 to 550... anyone have any input and possibly some explanation for the two different answers?

Hey Brian, Holy Crap Man!! Awesome links lol...Im glad you posted these...i was looking at this site the other day on a gov't computer and alot of the stuff was blocked lol...all i saw was the "how a sump works" diagram so i didnt think anything of it.... good stuff, greatly appreciated

hey, thanks guys for the help with the acrylic, this is what i was looking for at home depot lol just didnt know it, im guessing they dont sell anything that comes close to it, because i read just about every epoxy/bonding compound they had and nothing was specific for acrylic....although this definitely clears up some questions that i had... when i first started kicking the idea around i figured there was some sort of heat bonding that would have to occur, now after the explanation of the chemical bond it makes alot more since... and seems a little easier than using a heating gun or some sort of pressure bonding... i actually googled weld on #4 last night and found it for aobut the same price i paid for the epoxy... so definitely works out for me, ill just take the epoxy back and order this stuff...i will keep you guys updated as i continue this project...as far as the automation goes, this is something im also really considering, it seems i get the same answer everytime its brought up, "a little expensive, but well worth the money"... im gonna dig a little deeper into this and see what i can work with... thanks guys all this info is really helping me out..

hey, thanks for the suggestion, as far as the welding agent, i had planned on using some loctite heavy duty epoxy then reinforcing all the joints with silicone, though this still may work, ill lookin into a different welding agent before i start... haha i definitely wouldnt say that i know what im doing lol...but i figure it like this, i fix medical equipment for a living... so i if i can troubleshoot the circuit board of multi-million dollar ct or xray machine, i should hopefully be able to to do this... if not but trial by error...and i would definitely hold it to some rigorous testing before i implemented the use of it on one of my tanks... i figure its worth a shot... i mean i dont really know anything outside of what i recently learned about marine aquariums, but im giving it a go..as far as the info though definitely appreciated, do you by chance know where i would be able to purchase these welding compounds? does tough as nails or JB weld qualify as the same? If nothing else should i direct my questions to NAGA?

as far as the sump/refugium, im actually in the process of fabricating my own... i had a hard time trying to find an aquarium that i wanted to use so i decided just to do it all from scratch..seemed like all the 30L tanks i found were the same dimensions as a 20L just taller, they were all about 30 inches in length and i have projected that i need one at least 36 inches for what i am trying to accomplish....sooooo i found a guy who hooked me up on some .220 acrylic sheets (28" X 65" for 35 bucks.. pretty good deal if you price this stuff at home depot) the only xfactor i have is the fact that the acrylic is shaded...about the same color as the tint on standard cheap sunglasses... while i dont believe this will effect anything as the light will be shinning in from the open top, im still weary about if it will have any kind of effect...guess its all trial and error though...if anyone has ever made one of these things from the ground up and has any kind of input on this please feel free to let me know

hey, thanks to all you guys who threw in some advice... as far as what i plan on doing, well im gonna take it slow, and i have have 2 75 g, a 90g bowfront, and my qt...i plan on doing at least 2 if not all 3 as reef tanks, but i am considering doing an aggressive fish only tank... havent totally made my mind up about that one yet, but i figure i have time to decide if i want to do it or not... happyfeet: thanks for the advice, but i gotta admit im a little weary of peeing in my tank... kinda sounds like one of the jokes we would play on the new soldiers that come to us...lol...that's not anything like a "desk pop" for the new guy is it? piper: thanks and i will heed what you said about just doing one... i have been mulling that over for a while, and i plan on at least concentrating on one through at least its cycling process opposed to trying to start up all three at once... origami: definitely appreciated!! alot of good info, i checked out the links you sent me...guess it is just as easy as throwing some super glueon them and sticking them on a rock... zygote: ummm... thanks.. do you umm ya know possibly have any good suggestions as far as books go? there are quite a few out there... and i actually have about 3 or 4 as is right now.. i can even say i own the "saltwater aquariums for dumies"...found it cheap at a used book store... alot of good info but not alot of explanation about the info... maybe you know a few you could point me in the direction of

Hello All, Well guess i'll start with my name, I'm Adam... Im new to the washington area (in the military), new to the hobby, and new to Wamas... I got "sucked in" after Christmas when I had a little extra money and decided I would like to try a saltwater tank for my apartment. I have had freshwater tanks before, and figured this would be a better way to go (mostly due to the aesthetic nature of a marine aquarium)... So yeah, after checking out some local pet stores, and finding out my measly 150 bucks would hardly scratch the surface as to what i needed, i turned to the one place that people of heightened frugality such as mine usually turn to, Craigslist... After browsing craigslist for a week or two, i found that i could get the same stuff the pet store was offering me at about a third of the price...which for some reason just meant that wound i up buying 3 times the amount of crap that i probably needed to... Granted someone just getting into the hobby should probably start with one tank and move on to another and another after getting the hang of it, welllllll ive got like 4 systems im going to be starting now... what can i say...i have a hard time passing up good deals... anyways all that aside, i for some reason seem to find an ungodly amount of time in the day that i do research on this hobby...yet it seems, while the internet is informative, it doesnt really give you too many step by step procedures... Nor does it tell you what is ACTUALLY needed and what is "COOL GUY STUFF" that i can add later if i want to... so im gonna throw some topics out there that maybe some of you can help with...and literally its probably just common sense stuff when it comes to this, but i have never been around the hobby, nor have i known anyone involved with the hobby before i started this... (but i might add, awesome hobby...the networking and helpfulness of everyone thus far has been unbelieveable)...so yeah hear are some of the topics that i have questions about: Equipment: 1. What is really needed for starting out... Are things like Uv sterilizers, Calcium/kalkwasser reactors, phosphate reactors, ozone injectors, dosing pumps, auto top off systems, and other things of this nature absolutely vital or are some, or all of these things "cool guy features" that are specific to certain livestock... 2. Refugium/Sump or wet dry? I guess this is the battle between man made filtration and biological filtration... Ive heard both ways... some say wet dry, but you will have to do more tank cleanings, some say refugium, but from what i have seen i am going to need additional equipment i.e. refugium light, sand and rock for the refugium plus algae and plant life... if anyone could elaborate on the pros and cons of these two filtration systems, i would really appreciate it... 3. Water changes and the addition of certain elements needed... OK from what i have read the majority of this is done through your sump, i just want a heads up on the mixing of salts, elements, and a good way of going about it... I rent an apartment and as far as the plumping under my tanks go, i feel i have done a fairly good job as far as the addition of check valves and ball valves, and the construction of pvc pipe to include unions wherever possible for easy disassembly and assembly... my only thing is, whats the easiest way of adding water and removing water without making a huge mess, not to mention does the mixing occur before i replace the water or after its in the tank... this is where the dosing pump questions come in to play... do the elements need to be added over a period of time (which i would imagine) or is it something you just add and youre good to go... Livestock: 1. The cycling process....... i think i have the majority of this down pat..... from what i understand you can kinda take an expensive shortcut by buying all live sand and live rock and your cycle process shouldnt take more than about 2-3 weeks...or you can go with marco rock and not so live sand, and a piece of live rock from someone that you trust and it will populate your tank accordingly, just at a slower pace... my question, which is a better way to go...personally im not strapped for time, and i would like to have somewhat of a grasp of what will be going into my tank...so im thinking all dead rock and sand with a little bit of live rock from someone who has "trustworthy" live rock... is this just a waste of my time? also where would be some good places to acquire some marco rock? i have actually heard of a place in richmond that makes their own, not to mention their own live rock...does anyone have any experience with this? 2. Cycling 2.... also if i am going to take the time to let my tanks bacteria populate from a single or a few pieces of live rock, how important is filtered water? i realize that the go to answer on this is going to be VERY IMPORTANT... but if my tank is sitting for a month or 2 cycling wouldnt the elements that are in tap water be filtered and or evaporate(such as chlorine)? I understand the importance of the filtered water after the live stock as been added and water changes are obviously immediately affecting the fish/corals...but is it so important if the tank will be sitting for a month(s)? 3. Adding fish.... Now i plan on having a qt tank...which im guessing should be the very first tank i have up and running, is this tank specifically used for fish or for both fish and corals? if both should i plan accordingly to buy the equipment needed to support frags and corals? 4. adding fish 2...... haha ok this is probably one of those dumb questions, but im a firm believer in the only dumb question is the one that isnt asked.... alright, How do you do it? fresh water tanks i use to just stick the bag from the pet store in the water to get the temps around the same, then just cut them loose... now im guessing there is a little bit more involved here... if someone could elaborate on that for me id appreciate it... 5. Adding corals.... pretty much the same as adding fish 2...how do i do it? i constantly hear "ahh ya just throw a little super glue on it and stick it on a rock".... hmmmm...ok...well i just see about a million ways i can screw that up... im guessing you put super glue on a rock the frag is already attached to, then stick on another rock... not to mention some of these little buggers are poisonous so im guessing you dont just grab them...there are probably some tools or at least gloves involved....as far as gloves go, is there anything that would effect the livestock in the tank i.e. rubber, latex, certain plastics....and as far as the tools...i know i have seen these "grabber" things, but i notice alot of them are made out of metal.... if im not mistaken certain metals are harmful to live stock in the tank, so is there anything specific i should be looking for? Alright.... i think im gonna leave it at that for right now... im sure i will have plenty more questions as i progress through this hobby... not to mention just in general...ill be cruising the web and read something or see some weird 'add-on' piece of equipment and then bam...whole new slue of questions... but as far as this goes, i have learned the first cardinal rule of this hobby, its expensive... so thats why i ask all these questions... i would like to do it right, or at least mostly right the first time so i can learn good practices and hopefully not jeopardize too many critters in the process... so any help from anyone here would be great.... this site was recommended to me by everyone i bought something from, and thus far, just the responses in the "for sale" forum i have received in lieu of my WTB post have been great... sorry about the book sized posting and thanks in advance... hopefully it wont be long until im reading stuff like this and offering advice opposed to asking for it -Adam