NRehman January 5, 2007 Share January 5, 2007 Foam is not as compressive as you might think, it can be placed under a sub-floor. For more information on compressive strength, there was an article in Fine Homebuilding late in 2005 or sometime in 2006. Enjoy. Will do. Thats another question I had actually... what type of Styrofoam do you normally use? Just the typical huge sheet you can buy at Lowe's? I figured that once its got 800 lbs sitting on it, it would be pretty much worthless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicSkimmr January 5, 2007 Author Share January 5, 2007 Jason, I bought my foam at HD for 4.00 on a 4X8' sheet, blue in color and found it in the insulation isle. Raf Ok, thats the same stuff I was thinking of. The bigger question is how am I going to fit it in a MINI? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsaavedra January 5, 2007 Share January 5, 2007 Ok, thats the same stuff I was thinking of. The bigger question is how am I going to fit it in a MINI? I don't know about a Mini but I fitted mine on a VW (pssst don't tell anyone I cheated, I asked the HD lady for a blade and a tape measure, you can figure out the rest ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicSkimmr January 8, 2007 Author Share January 8, 2007 (edited) I painted it last night as well. Its almost time to get my hands wet Oh, I've got a question though. The rock I'm using is 90% well matured live rock (I've had it for 5 years) thats been sitting in a rubbermaid container with a good deal of water movement for the past 3 weeks. The other 10% is baserock. Now, when I introduce it all to the tank, I know I'll see little to no cycle (which has been the case with the past 3 tanks I've used this rock on). So, my question is... how long after I add the cleanup crew should I wait before it would be safe to add some zoanthids and maybe a couple of frags of the hardiest SPS? Edited January 8, 2007 by VicSkimmr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicSkimmr January 9, 2007 Author Share January 9, 2007 Actually, I've got another question... at what size should I be concerned with the structural integrity of my floor? Since I live in a townhouse, and the first floor is taken up by the garage and basement, the tank will be on the second floor. I hadn't thought about it until this point, but should I consider strengthening it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicSkimmr January 15, 2007 Author Share January 15, 2007 The tank has found its final resting place. Don't mind the rest of the house... I've still got a good bit of work to do on it as well. I also finished off the plumbing today, at least until I re-do the sump area. Durso Standpipes Hopefully, provided I can get my RO/DI filter to cooperate, I can start filling her up tomorrow! I'm trying to figure out the setup for my sump (right now its just a 10 gallon, hopefully it'll work out short term). I'm thinking I could fit 2 10 gallon tanks side by side, and have one elevated to act as a refugium, that will overflow to the lower one. My concern is whether or not 1 10 gallon tank can handle the water level fluctuation of a pump failure. The reason I can't go bigger is because I have to fit all my equipment under the stand, so I'm looking at a kalk reactor/stirrer, a calcium reactor, and a topoff system all fitting in a 36x24" area eventually. I guess my other option is to get Jeff to build me a cube-like sump, but the dual 10 gallons would be a lot easier (or maybe I should make one a 15H!). Suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak January 15, 2007 Share January 15, 2007 I don't know a whole lot about overflows, and I don't know a ton about your tank, but it looks awsome... thought.... I've noticed a lot of people using the stand pipe have an extra emergency overflow pipe, just open incase of a clog in the stand pipes, you saw no need for this or didn't have room for one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phisigs79 January 15, 2007 Share January 15, 2007 i see two pipes jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicSkimmr January 15, 2007 Author Share January 15, 2007 Yeah, I've got a pair of them in. Seriously though, if anybody sees any major problems please let me know, thats 90% of the reason I started this thread. One thing I know I need to do is somehow screen off that overflow so the fish don't get swept into it, I just haven't figured out how to do it and make it look clean. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak January 15, 2007 Share January 15, 2007 Well the over flows are going to be hidden right? Why must it look clean, I used to use a thin disk of filter sponge in my overflow, and the just made sure to rinse it out periodically so it didn't get clogged... As for what i meant about the back up over flow, was a third pipe just as a drain, higer than the water level of the two stand pipes incase they got clogged... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phisigs79 January 15, 2007 Share January 15, 2007 plastic mesh gutter gard will work. Attach it from the back of the tank and it would look good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicSkimmr January 15, 2007 Author Share January 15, 2007 plastic mesh gutter gard will work. Attach it from the back of the tank and it would look good I'll have to look into that. I've got some plastic window screen I used for my frog tank, but I think that would restrict the flow too much, and I've got eggcrate, but I think that might not work well enough. This gutter guard mesh might be just right! Oh and Jason, I hadn't really thought about having something like that. Now that I think about it though, with 2 1" bulkheads, it would be fairly difficult to clog them both up I think, because it'll first have to get through whatever I use to screen off the overflow, and then be large enough to block them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicSkimmr January 22, 2007 Author Share January 22, 2007 Ok, so the tank has been up and running for about a week, and there hasn't been any noticeable cycle. I've already hit the diatom and hair algae bloom stage it seems, so now I'll have to scramble to get to D.C. this weekend to get a cleanup crew. I also added my first fish yesterday, a Canary Blenny. I wasn't going to get him, but after seeing his living quarters in the LFS and noticing his price tag was only $9.99, I couldn't pass him up. On to the aquascaping pics: From the left From the right From the front Angled shots to help show how it truly looks I'm terrible at getting depth to show up in my photographs, so these can't come close to doing it justice, but I think its a pretty good foundation to start with as far as SPS is concerned. Thanks for looking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMsAquarium January 22, 2007 Share January 22, 2007 Ohhhh!!! Me like it!!! Very nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeperofthefish January 22, 2007 Share January 22, 2007 Very nice. Perfect aquascaping! You may, however, want to think about adding a bit more height to keep those light loving corals at the very top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller January 30, 2007 Share January 30, 2007 That's a very nice job aquascaping and a nice size/shape tank. I really like the overflow. I get my 5' NAGA sump this weekend and hope to put it in place next Wednesday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowardofNOVA January 30, 2007 Share January 30, 2007 Jason, tank is looking great! Couple of issues that I see, since we bacically have the same tank. I'm losing about 2g a day with my open setup, you should loose about the same? Also, in my testing and mods with an electrical outage, I'll loose about 3-5g+ before the air vacuum is broken. I also have my 30g frag tank hooked up to the same system draining into a 30g sump. So that is 5-7g of ERROR space not including water needed in the sump to be PUMPED back into tank. 2 or even 3 days of evaporation and I believe your 10g sump is going to be under equiped to do the job!! I would go to a 20g+ for sump with the 30g that I'm using even better! Again, if your in the area, please stop in!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicSkimmr January 30, 2007 Author Share January 30, 2007 Jason, tank is looking great! Couple of issues that I see, since we bacically have the same tank. I'm losing about 2g a day with my open setup, you should loose about the same? Also, in my testing and mods with an electrical outage, I'll loose about 3-5g+ before the air vacuum is broken. I also have my 30g frag tank hooked up to the same system draining into a 30g sump. So that is 5-7g of ERROR space not including water needed in the sump to be PUMPED back into tank. 2 or even 3 days of evaporation and I believe your 10g sump is going to be under equiped to do the job!! I would go to a 20g+ for sump with the 30g that I'm using even better! Again, if your in the area, please stop in!!! Le sigh, I know exactly what you mean, the evaporation on this thing is incredible! I can't figure out why I'm losing so much I was going to get Jeff to build me a 20ish gallon sump, but I realized that I could plumb 2 10 gallon tanks together and get the exact same dimensions for 1/4 of the price, so I've decided to work on that. For right now I have an 18 gallon rubbermaid container thats acting as a temporary sump which is working ok except for some microbubbles (there's no baffles in it). When I calculated how much water drains out of the tank in case of a pump failure it was 7 gallons! Either way, I've got it working now, and I've got an auto-topoff running to help keep things stable. I just wish I could store some of the equipment I'm planning somewhere other than in the stand, but my agreement with my fiance specifically says that everything must be a neat little package with no equipment visible. I also stopped by Chris' place over the weekend, what a great looking tank and such a nice guy! I've now officially met 2 members of the club and the guys from BRK and I gotta say, you all are a great bunch of fellows (and ladies). Here's some of the fruits of that trip, hehe. These need no introduction: Lunar Eclipse - I hate having to use digital zoom Zombie Eyes Blue Eyed Girls Candi-Apple Pinks Pink Zoas There's actually quite a few more frags I got from that trip, but they are a bit cranky still and haven't given me a photo op yet. I figure if I'm going to drive 2.5 hours to get some corals, I might as well make it well worth the trip, and when Chris found out how long we had to drive to get there, he wouldn't let me leave till I had a good deal more frags than I bargained to bring back. I also got to stop by BRK that day, what a great shop! I came home with 20 Clibonarius hermits and a Lettuce Nudibranch to help fight the good fight against this bryopsis/hair algae that has sprung up: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw January 30, 2007 Share January 30, 2007 Get yourself a rabbitfish and it will be gone within a week!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicSkimmr January 30, 2007 Author Share January 30, 2007 Get yourself a rabbitfish and it will be gone within a week!! Thats funny, I'm actually considering one, but I'd have to find one that was extremely small. They're supposed to be timid fish, right? I just have to make sure that it won't bully a cowfish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadgets January 31, 2007 Share January 31, 2007 WOW. I love your tank. I am thinking of getting the same one built by NAGA. The frags look great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicSkimmr January 31, 2007 Author Share January 31, 2007 WOW. I love your tank. I am thinking of getting the same one built by NAGA. The frags look great! Thanks! I'm sure you wouldn't be disappointed with it, his craftmanship is excellent. You're welcome to drop by and see it, but at least wait until I can make it worth your while, because I owe you big time. All the frags have officially opened, but I'm noticing that the smaller zoanthids get cranky pretty easily. I rarely see 1 polyp of the Mean Greens completely open at any time of the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicSkimmr February 6, 2007 Author Share February 6, 2007 So, I got a couple of new bulbs in tonight. I wasn't happy with the overall color of the tank before, so I ordered 2 ATI Blue+ bulbs to make it look closer to 20k (looks about 14k actually). Before: After: I also picked up a Chaulk Basslet and a photosynthetic gorgonian from BRK last Saturday. I couldn't pass one of those up, they make the tank look complete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstlsn February 9, 2007 Share February 9, 2007 Wow, the tank looks very nice. I had a couple of questions if you don't mind. First, are you running those Turbelle nanostream 6045's on any type of wavemaker? Also, you said you added 2 ATI Blue+ bulbs. Which 2 bulbs did you remove? To me the after picture with the new bulbs looks like the color in the tank is more bleeched. Is that just the result of the camera? Thanks Brad So, I got a couple of new bulbs in tonight. I wasn't happy with the overall color of the tank before, so I ordered 2 ATI Blue+ bulbs to make it look closer to 20k (looks about 14k actually). Before: After: I also picked up a Chaulk Basslet and a photosynthetic gorgonian from BRK last Saturday. I couldn't pass one of those up, they make the tank look complete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicSkimmr February 9, 2007 Author Share February 9, 2007 (edited) It's definitely just an illusion of the camera. In reality, the color now looks truer to the "before" pic. Before I added the new bulbs, the true color looked a lot yellower than the pics were showing. When I added the Blue+ bulbs I removed the 6500k bulb and one of the 11k bulbs, I think it was called an Aquablue Special (ATI). I'd love to run those nanostreams on a wavemaker, but Tunze says they're uncontrollable. I may eventually invest in a pair of 6055's to go with the 6045's so that I can add some random flow, but it'll be a while. Edited February 9, 2007 by VicSkimmr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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