ohaverd

Does the vinegar part of the Kalk drip not count toward that? I didnt mean I dose kalk and vodka together... I have a constant dose of kalk (pickling lime/vinegar) going through my ATO. And dose the vodka once a day strait into the sump. Or are you saying I could dose extra vinegar by itself instead of the vodka?

CoralHind - Ya that is the sand I ordered... Is there a downside to rinsing the sand? Am I just being paranoid? Redetheducati - Biological - live rock and sand Chemical - dose kalk and vodka Mechanical - skimmer and uv sterilizer, and maybe filter sock... Does the filter sock need to be thrown away after use? Like once a week? or can you rinse it out?

ok, so my sand should be here tomorrow, so I start to fill the tank back up shortly after I rinse the sand. Quick question though... Filter socks in the sump... I've never used them, should I? why?

thanks origami, I'm done cutting corners... what do you guys think of this stuff from MarineDepot? CaribSea Dry Aragonite Special Grade Reef Sand 40 lb http://www.marinedepot.com/CaribSea_Dry_Aragonite_Special_Grade_Reef_Sand_Dry_Sand_for_Saltwater_Reef_Aquariums-CaribSea-CS0020-FISSDS-vi.html and if any LFS has equivalant? I'd rather not pay for shipping...

OK, heres an update... So I got all the rock walls off, scraped out the old silicone... (the residue was a a real b**** to get off) and then I placed them back on using daps aquarium grade silicone, and I have let that cure for 4 days now. I think I'm going to wait an entire week. I have a question now... I've decided to put sort of a pool of sand in the middle of my tank now, and I have heard of people using sand from the beach... I have a beach on my community lake that they imported from an actual beach... could I use this sand? And then just use like a bag of live sand from LFS to seed it? Or would sand from a fresh water lake have stuff in it that shouldnt be in a reef tank?

Yiatz - I only have to rebuild one of the walls... and to get the proper effect I would need to put the tank on its side and and back when I put foam on it. Its just too big and heavy to do that. Origami - what would you suggest is a "safe" cure time?

Well, Jan kind of motivated me not to hang my head and let all my little critters die. So I scrubbed my rock and put them in a 30 gal tub along with all my plants and CUC. I decided to just go ahead and take everything out and start over... So far i've got all the walls off and all I have to do is scrape the silicon off. I am going to play it safe and use that silicone that comes in the small tube in Home Depot that says "aquarium safe" on it. its more expensive but worth it I should say. At least now we know what happens to a skimmer when you use the wrong silicone. I can literally scrape the bright green silicone out of the collection cup and roll it into a little bouncy ball in my hand, so I am pretty sure that is what it was. If mods want to move this to the build forum and change the name to "ohaverds 125 rebuild" I'll keep you all updated.

Well... does anyone know if you use the wrong silicone that eventually goes away after time and water changes? Or if that is the case am I SOL?

a quick update on this... there doesnt seem to be rubbery bright green stuff in the skimmer anymore. Now it is a little darker green and comes off easily. To answer your questions, it is clear silicone. There was two corals on my live rock that I thought would live through the move... but they didnt. And they are hardy so that means there is or was something really bad in the tank. The PH is 8.4, and alk is 150ppm. I did a 50% water change last night, and have no choice but to add the 25% of my CUC thats comes in today (forgot to cancel order)... its all snails... we'll see how they do I guess and I'll go from there. My plan is just to take it extremely slow. I've gone way to far to start over now. I'll just keep doing water changes until whatever is in there is gone. thanks for the help and I'll keep yall updated.

MBvette, the "adhesive" was not the best word when I described it... I said later that is is GE type I silicone. like in a tube with a caulk gun. I allowed the foam and silicone 24 hours to cure btw. The only thing I can think of is if one of the tubes of silicone I used was accidentally not the right kind. Unfortunately I threw them away and cant check... zygote2k - as soon as I get off my butt I am going to add trim to the sides of the tank where you will not see where the black foam meets the front of the tank. theoretically after a couple of years or so this tank should look like one big rock. that's what I'm going for anyways. Hopefully it will be the opposite of a cleaning nightmare, as the only coraline I'll have to keep off is the front glass. I'll just have to rely on a large CUC for everything else.

the green stuff is not growing... It is just inside the collection cup... on the inner wall of the main chamber. I can see the adhesive through the glass and it does not appear to be breaking down. I am still in the ammonia spike of my cycle... no nitrite or nitrates yet... havent checked phosphates yet because I am just cycling the tank. I'll check them tomorrow. the only place I see it is in the inside of the collection cup where you would normally get the fish poo. I don't see it anywhere else. Its hard to describe the texture of this stuff. It will scrape off with my finger nail, but it would take some doing to get it all... Also the silicone I used was GE Type I... which I think is safe.

as you can see in the post above... it was alot of adhesive...

Well... I used some silicon adhesive (clear stuff) to attach the faux rock walls (walls made of egg crate/great stuff pond and foam) to the sides of the tank. My theory is that this is getting in the water and getting pulled out by the skimmer... If thats it than it will be some time before this tank is ready for any inhabitants. DOH!

uh... so I've had a 55gal set up for about a year and have just recently upgraded to a 125. Right now I am cycling it with live rock and am breaking in my skimmer at the same time. I have been running the cycle and skimmer for about 10 days now and have had to empty the cup 3 times. On the 3rd time I have noticed a bright green adhesive like substance growing on the inside of the collection cup... And when I say adhesive, I mean this crap does not come off, even with a green scrub pad. I literally would have to scrape it off. What is this? I have an idea of what it is... but first want to know if anyone else has seen this.

ya just google great stuff pond and rock... it comes out black. HD and Lowes doesnt carry it though... at least mine didnt. I had to order it online. I checked out your picks, and now I'm going to be brave and just go for it lol. Yours turned out great. Cant wait to see when all that foam is nice and purple.

Yiatz, I've all ready started using the great stuff pond foam... I havent read anything about it desolving over time, but I guess I should probably epoxy it now... Is the epoxy something you can get at Lowes/Home Depot, or do I need to get a marine grade from a boat place?

I am going all softies with the intention of adding LPS once the tank is very, very stable. I also thought about when making my reef cave floor with the rock and foam, to put channels and pools in it where I could put sections of sand. I think the main thing I did not like about my 55g was seeing that 1-3" of sand through the glass. I thought it looked ugly with the algae and worm trails and things like that.

that is one thing I am thinking about... Things like Wrasses, sea cucumbers and certain snails are a no go with BB. That stinks because I've always wanted a 6 line wrasse...

I need help deciding! I've read soooo many forums on the pros and cons of bare bottom and shallow SB in a DT. I'm setting up a 120g in wall tank. I have been inspired by some DIY reef wall designs I have seen using "Great Stuff" foam and egg crate. So my plan is to make a sort of reef cave that is rock on all sides, plus a penninsula shaped rock in the middle. The tank I bought off a member here and is drilled for a closed loop as well. I am planning on a DSB in the sump refugium as well. So what do you all think? Does the reef cave sound cool to you? what limitations do you see with this design?

yup, that sounds like me... you've convinced me to go with a 110 - 120. I have researched and it looks like I am looking for something around 48x24x24ish. found this guy on craiglist, anyone ever deal with him? http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/for/2962328923.html I am gathering quotes now, is there anyone else I should try?

So acrylic is clearer... But easily scraped? Is that right? How do you keep the coraline algae off of it?

Hi all, I've successfully kept a reef tank for almost a year now, but now I'm getting that size upgrade itch. I have a 55g in wall setup. But want to upgrade to a 90. I found one on glass cages that would fit right in the hole that my 55 is in, I believe the dimensions are 48x24x17. (call a 90 4 wide). Anyways, I am just shopping prices now before I chose to just get that one, anyone know of a custom builder in the DC area that might beat the price at glass cages?

Thanks for the advice, I especially liked the trash can one lol... I know it isnt great but until I can talk the wife into letting me upgrade, I'm trying to get the most out of it. I did find a cool mod where a guy turned his seaclone 100 into a nano refugium, maybe I'll try that once I get a new skimmer.

I was looking up ways to improve my seaclone 100 skimmer, I read that a new air adjustment valve works. Anyone know where to get a quality valve at? Is this a pet store thing or can I get it from a hardware store? Also, if anyone has any other tips on seaclone mods, I'd appreciate them.