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Coral Vue Hydros

GrenDeL's 45g Project


Grendel0501

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To catch everyone up to where I am now:

 

Afew months ago I decided I was going to try and get into the hobby. A buddy has a tank , and after acouple of visits to lfs's I really wanted to try it for myself. My apartment allows aquariums the only requirment is renter's insurace , which I now have.

 

Orignally I was going to stay on the smaller side and get a 29g , but I got luckey and found a used 45g tank , stand and coralife light all for cheap. Also included in the deal was 50lbs of dry rock. To seed the dry I picked up 50lbs of live rock from a established tank , which I moved to my buddies tank where it is waiting for me.

Aquarium005.jpg

I removed the gravel substrate , and as a precaution I lined the bottom with plexiglass , bc I didn't know wether the bottom was tempered or not.

 

After that I order some accessories , 2 koralia #2's , 2 thermometers , replacement filters for emporer power filter , algae multi-tool , tongs , prime , magfloat , visitherm 200w heater , refractometer and 2 7g jugs for transporting water from LFS.

 

I kept a eye on the local reef club's classified ads , bc otherwise I wasn't going to be able to afford half the stuff I wanted. Through those I picked up a Sealife Systems wet/dry rated for 90g , and a mesh modded 220g coralife super skimmer.

 

I guted out the wet/dry and converted it into my sump. I turned a emporer power filter into the intake for the sump. I figure this way I get a good prefilter for the sump. It has a NO 18in fluorescent fixture with GE aquarium bulb to grow chaeto and help with nighttime ph fluxuations. For the plumbing I have a Eshopps pf-800 overflow , 1' intake tubing down to the emporer and a rio 2100 (~375@4ft) pushing through 3/4 back up to the top where I have a U tube.

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For lighting I ordered a Odyssea w/ 1x250w MH , and 2x96w PC's.

The MH ballast only pulls ~185w , but I plan on doing Evil's ballast mod to increase the wattage. If that isn't enough wattage I'll replace the ballasts. I also intend to replace the bulbs , but the stock ones are plenty for the first few months.

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Since I live in a apartment I can't hang the fixture from the ceiling , I first tried to build a wooden arch over the tank that I would hang the light from , something similar to a book shelf , minus all the shelfs. Problem is my "buddy" with a table saw never had time to help out. So I looked for a cheaper/easier way to hang my fixture. I found acouple of threads where ppl were hanging their lights from EMT conduit and tried it out.

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Worked out pretty well , and when I need to get to the tank , I can simply pivot the fixture out of the way.

 

After all that I put together a small shelf to hold all stuff this hobby is accumulating. I mounted 3 timers on the side of the shelf , pretty close to where the wires come down from the fixture.

 

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That catches us up to today.

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On a personal note , I am kind of a worrier and having a 45g tank of water in my apartment may not be the best idea , I imagine from now on when I go out , I'll always have this image in the back of my mind of ~500lbs of water , rock and equipment falling through the floor and crushing the little old lady below.

 

 

That being said , I decided to finally add water :D . Today I went to the lfs with my 2 7g containers and picked up premixed saltwater.

 

Sadly I didn't have time to make two more trips to the lfs , or I would actually have a full tank.

 

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:D

 

 

I also plugged in the timers and began the light cycle.

I know it's a crazy cycle , but for now I plan to run the cycle like this.

PC's from 12p-2p and 10p-12a

Halide from 2p to 10p

Moonlights and sump light will run from 12a to 12p.

 

I'm already thinking about changing it , the halide runs till 10p and lights the whole living room. Maybe moving the whole cylce 2 hours earlier.

 

 

 

Tommorrow I plan to pick up the rest of the saltwater , and maybe my live rock from my buddies.

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Getting it filled up today , no tank leaks and only a small spill.

 

Only problem that I have seen is , the panel I siliconed into my sump has two leaks , their tiny and I think I might keep it like this , instead of emptying the sump and sealing it again.

 

Doesn't seem like a big deal bc the 2 holes are rather small and the flow is minimal.

DSCF1931.jpg

This pic was after a minute or so of filling the other side of the sump.

Gives you a idea of how slow it is coming through.

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Hi, I'll be watching this with interest--I also have a 45g (I think the same one) and live in an apartment. And I have those same nervous moments. :o I've also got a 20L underneath that I'm using as a sump.

 

I haven't seen too many 45s on here. And yup, Lalani, it's a tall tank. I have to get on the step stool to do any work in the tank. :lol:

 

Good Luck, GrenDeL, looks like you're off to a great start. :)

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How tall is it?

The tank is 24" , the tank and stand is......... crap I can't find my tape measure.

 

 

Full tank dimensions are 36x12x24.

 

 

 

AP , I also have a step stool , which I bought only for the tank. I wish I had bought a 6 foot A frame ladder instead. To add water to the tank I have to lift a 7g container 5-6 feet up and hold it above the tank while it empties.

Which makes me sad.

crying.jpg

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Todays updates.

 

Picked up 42 gallons of water today. 4 trips to and from the LFS. Man lugging those things is a pain , no wonder most ppl use the 5g type containers instead of my 7g's.

 

 

I also picked up a poly-filter pad which I was going to fit in the empty media container that came with the Emperor. That way I have 2 particle filters to deal with all the DOG HAIR in the tank. Problem is the media conatiner has compartments which really don't allow me to put the filter pad inside.

 

DSCF1937.jpg

 

Still working on a plan for this one. I might cut the filter to fit the lateral compartments , I might cut the plastic in the conatiner to fit the pad , I might just go back to the LFS get some floss and stuff that in there.

 

 

 

That will be my friday night , maybe I'll wash off the dry rock (dog hair) and add it to the tank tonight , hoping to get my live rock tommorrow. Waiting on my "buddy" to have time for my to come by and pick it up.

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DSCF1949.jpg

 

 

Started scaping , I don't see how I'm going to get the scape like I want it , to do a tall scape it's gonna be really dangerous. Risking a possible topple over.

 

On the left you can see my favorite peice. It looks great , but it is a terror in the tank , I've hit the walls of the tank with rock 4 times now , each time I freeze in fear and wait for the sound of cracking glass.

 

I want to put some rocks under it and lift it up somewhat so it is higher in the tank , have to wait until tommorrow when I have my foundation rock.

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That's not the finished product , I just put some of my rock in the tank to get a feel for it.

I really want the scape much higher , I guess I'm going to end up with something like 12" of space from the top of the rock to the top of the water. Which I really don't want.

 

I still have 50lbs (25 foundation , 25 fiji) live rock at a buddies house waiting to be added.

 

 

I took the big peice out , now I'm waiting till tommorrow to get foundation rock.

Minus what's on the right side of the tank , I have this much dry rock left to work with.

 

I guess I kind of went overboard on the rock.

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Hey Grendel,

 

I love the rocks you've got so far. Very interesting pieces, the scape is going to be beautiful. :D I went light on the rock, because I was trying to avoid the wall o'rock look. I will probably add a couple of more pieces at some point, but for now I'm glad I did it this way. I added a six-line last week and he is very, very active, all over the tank going through the nooks and crannies. If you're curious you can click the link in my sig. :)

 

In terms of filling the tank, I cut the top off of a 1g distilled water jug, and keep filling that to put fresh saltwater in, I do the same for top offs. Not very manly, but then again, I'm not a man. ;) It isn't bad, I do a 5g water change every week. My living room is filled by three 5g Homer pails and asst 1g jugs. I'm ready to write an article for Better Homes and Gardens, "Decorating with Water Jugs." :lol:

 

The occasional dog hair finding its way into the tank hasn't been a problem so far, but I have to warn you. If your sump is ever accessible to your dog be careful. Mine drank from the sump, and became so sick I thought he was going to die. He got sick right away, seemed better in a few days, but then was much more sick about three weeks later. The vet was sure it was still from the saltwater. Poor guy lost 9 pounds (more than 15% of his body weight) and still looks scrawny. :o

 

~Anne

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I really have been thinking of downgrading to a 30g.

 

Acouple of reasons , I don't think I am going to be able to get the scape as high as I would want it in the 45g. To get a stack that high , w/ such a small width is not safe. Less water = less weight in my second story apartment.

 

A new tank would have thinner glass though , the glass on this tank is thick.

 

 

I really need to relax , I think I am worring about it way too much. I feel like I am on the verge of a panic attack every time I think about a leak or some kind of tank failure.

Getting sued by my apartments and being unable to find another place to live.

Ahh the life of a worrier.

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Do you have a GFCI?

 

That's what saves me and keeps my apartment worries down to a manageable level.

 

My DT did overflow--twice :scarry: but both times the GFCI tripped so what I was dealing with was a mess, not a disaster. BTW, my overflows were both caused by nerite snails crawling up the u-tube and blocking the flow of water being pulled down to the sump. Well, actually, the first overflow happened when I was trying to block it with pantyhose so the nerites couldn't get up there again. :eek:

 

My neighbors never knew what happened, because there was never enough water spilled to effect them. I've got egg crate over the top of the overflow box now. One of these days I'll have enough $ to have the thing drilled. :huh:

 

Good luck with whichever you decide.

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No I don't have a GFCI , just a standard surge protector.

 

Where would I find a GFCI surge protector? Or do I have to change out the wall socket?

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I'm still waiting on my buddy to get my live rock to me so I can finish the scaping.

 

 

Right now , the tank is full of water and dry rock.

I am running the lighting cycle , I am not running the sump all the time. I need to fix two things with the sump to get it to where I can run it without making alot of noise.

I need to make a Hofer Gurgle Buster , or something similar.

And I need to add a plastic slide to the lip of the emporer filter , to stop the waterfall sound.

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memphis sucks......its hot there....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

yeah i got nothin as far as help....im just here for support.....

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memphis sucks......its hot there....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

yeah i got nothin as far as help....im just here for support.....

As long as you don't get any pubes in my tank. Again.

 

It took me forever to get them out last time.

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you actually told your apt you had a tank close to 55 gal?

 

you live in cordova or something?

 

id go ahead and do the 30 gal downgrade......it will be more managable in the event of a move....

 

or just get a house....i got a bad axx deal out close to getwell and park..... i could get you my landlords #

 

695 a month for a 3 bedroom.....id still be there if i made it through emt school and had less children

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you actually told your apt you had a tank close to 55 gal?

 

you live in cordova or something?

 

id go ahead and do the 30 gal downgrade......it will be more managable in the event of a move....

 

or just get a house....i got a bad axx deal out close to getwell and park..... i could get you my landlords #

 

695 a month for a 3 bedroom.....id still be there if i made it through emt school and had less children

Yeah I'm in cordova , I'd love to get a house , I'm paying $780 rent for a 1 bedroom. I don't think my credit is good enough though.

 

And yes the office allows aquariums of any size , as long as you have renter's insurace. If it's more than a 50g they "suggest" you live on a first floor unit.

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well at least your close to kermit....

 

your not trying hard enough.......i got a house no problem.....it just depends on the landlord and location...

 

if your brave there are pockets in east memphis near getwell or orange mound that have nice houses.....

 

try to get one near a church or a daycare............or enlist like a dumnaxx like i did....

 

Never Again Volunteer Yourself ......go n.a.v.y.

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