My first tank

[cableguy69846]

So, I have been stalking saltwater tank forums for a while now. A few years to be exact. It is what I wanted to do originally. About 3 years ago, maybe 4, I acquired a 45 gallon tank. Was going to set up a reef. Didn't have the money. So it sat empty. Finally got a decent job. Acquired a tank on CL. At that point you would think I would start setting up a salt tank. NO! I did a freshwater tank. Fast forward 2 or 3 years. Many fresh water tanks later I have 2 planted tanks. A few days ago the fiancee asked me what I would need to do a salt tank. I told her some rock and water. (I had a mess of tanks and supplies sitting in the garage). She got the rock and some salt water for me. I set up a 10 gallon.

 

 

That is it right now. Nothing fancy and not all the equipment I want for it yet. I was going to get some more gear in a week when I get paid. Now, I am going to get a bigger tank. Why? Cuz I wanna live, that's why. I can see it now. I get the 10 gallon all set up and stocked to the gills, then say "I want a bigger tank." My life would end. She would kill me for spending all that money then doing it all over again.

 

So, here is the plan. I am going to upgrade to a 20high. More live rock and some sand. Not sure on the lighting yet. I would love to do LED, but don't think that will happen for a while. Will probably go with some T5HO for now. I have one powerhead rated for 170PGH in there now, but am planning on changing that out for a Koralia or two. Also going to get an AC110 and do a fuge mod to it. I would love to do a seahorse tank, but may need some more reefing experience first. I may just stick with some simple hardy fish and I will definitely have coral in it. That is all for now. Until next time.........

[cableguy69846]

I have been a busy dude. I got an awesome deal on a 15 gallon tank that is drilled for a 1" drain and 3/4" return with a stand, 10 gallon sump, return pump, and bunch of live rock. I jumped on it. Once I got it I set it up and ran it. The plumbing was not pretty but functional. I decided to change it. The 10 gallon sump was not modded in any way, so I decided to change that too. I also modded the stand so the entire back of it would be open.

 

 

I also decided I didn't have enough room in the sump for a fuge, so I am going to pipe in a 2.5 gallon tank to do that.

 

Ok, down to the details.

 

I split the sump into two sections.

 

On the left is the 3" pvc rock rubble stack where the water will enter the sump. It is on an eggcrate riser so the water will flow out of the bottom and blow any detritis out.

 

The first section of the sump is going to be jammed with live rock and later a skimmer. Probably going to be a Coralife Super Skimmer rated for a 65 gallon tank.

 

The second part of the sump is the return. Right now I have a return filter from a BioCube 29 but am going to replace it with a Mag Drive 3 in the near future.

 

The return is 3/4" pvc and the drain is 1" pvc. The drain is going to be split so I can drain into the 2.5 gallon fuge and the sump.

The drain to the fuge is 3/4" with a valve on it so I can shut it down.

 

The fuge is going to be drilled for a 3/4" drain to the sump and be sort of slow flow. I have a 10watt 6500K mini CFL lamp in a 12" hood for it.

 

Ok, on to the nitty gritty. I had all the plumbing and all that mocked up the other day when I noticed the drain had a small leak in the bulkhead. Silly me tried to teflon tape it and crank the nut down which resulted in it breaking. The new bulkhead won't be here until late next week. So, I am sort of stuck until then.

 

On a more minor note, I made an eggrate top for the display tank.

 

On the list of things to do, I still need to paint the back of the DT black, and get the plumbing taken care of once the bulkhead gets here. After that, it is going to be flooded and everything else will get taken care of while it is up and running.

 

To do list:

Drill and plumb fuge

Purchase skimmer

DIY LED fixture for DT

Set up ATO system

Paint back of DT

Glue plumbing

Purchase Hydor Koralia Nano powerhead(s)

Purchase Mag 3 return pump

 

After all of that, I should be good to go. This is going to take a while though. The good thing is this, I don't really have to get any more live rock though.

 

My original 10 gallon is stacked with it.

 

That is all for now. I know this post was a bit all over the place, but I hope you get the idea so far.

[JayMC]

looks cool, good luck

[cableguy69846]

looks cool, good luck

 

Thanks.

[cableguy69846]

Got the back painted. Need to paint the eggcrate top, get the bulkhead installed when it comes in, and glue all the PVC together and this thing will be ready.

 

[cableguy69846]

Bulkhead is here and installed. Plumbing is glued and curing. Now I need to break the 10 gallon down into buckets so I can do some minor furniture rearranging. Other then all that. I need to let it cure for a few hours.

 

 

 

I still need to get a bulkhead for the 2.5 and drill it for a 3/4" drain. And I need to paint the back and one side of it black. After that, just some upgrades left.

 

Upgrades planned

 

2x Hydor Koralia Nano 240's to replace the 2 existing powerheads

Mag 3 to replace the Oceanic return pump

Some loc-line to replace the existing

 

Then I need to figure out some permanent lights. Probably going to do LED's but I may do a T5HO fixture. Not sure if I should do 2 bulbs or 4 bulbs for the T5 though. Any thoughts?

[cableguy69846]

Tank and stand are in their spot. Here it is all lit up. Cable's Lagoon lives!

 

 

Not the final lights for the DT, but that is the light for the fuge.

[cableguy69846]

It is running with freshwater in it at the moment. No leaks so far. Will most likely go salty on Tuesday when I get paid.

[cableguy69846]

Tank is going salty as I type, and I got 2 Coralife dual lamp 24" T5HO fixtures for $50 apiece. I love used stuff.

[cableguy69846]

The bulbs in the fixtures I got need to be replaced.

 

Both fixtures on.

 

Rear fixture on.

 

Front fixture on.

 

Both fixtures have a 10,000K and Actinic bulb in them. You can see how far gone they are.

 

And this tank needs to clear up. ASAP.

[cableguy69846]

I snapped a couple of pictures before work but did not get to post them as I got called in early. Pretty much answered the phone with my arm in the sump. Ruined my night. Any way, here they are.

 

Not sure how I feel about the scape and I think I could use more rock. Then again, maybe I should just fill it with corals.

 

Had quite a bit for the sump, but I think I want some more.

 

That is all for now. Need to see how badly my salinity swings overnight and throw together an ATO.

[Singlefin]

Looks good. Don't see to many with a separate tank as a fuge. Does the egg crate over the DT diffuse your light much?

[castiel]

Nice going for your first saltwater set up! Definitely don't need more rock, need room for corals!

[cableguy69846]

Looks good. Don't see to many with a separate tank as a fuge. Does the egg crate over the DT diffuse your light much?

 

A little bit, but not a bunch. I may end up replacing it with a glass top depending on temp and evaporation. We shall see though.

 

Nice going for your first saltwater set up! Definitely don't need more rock, need room for corals!

 

Lol. Thanks. I will not put any more rock in there then.

[Whys]

Really like the rock rubble PVC and riser. Feels inspired.

[cableguy69846]

Really like the rock rubble PVC and riser. Feels inspired.

 

Thank you. It is my own version of the one Melev uses. I copied his sump design but changed it a bit. Not being able to manipulate acrylic and lacking some power tools made me get inventive. So far it seems to be working, I still had to make the drain so that it extended under the water cuz the splashing was a bit crazy. But, hey, nothing is perfect.

 

By the way, totally subbed to your sexy breeding thread. Need to go and read it all when I have the brain power to do so, but the snippets I read made me laugh and think all at the same time.

[cableguy69846]

The tank is chugging along. The temp is running about 4 degrees higher than I want it. Could be cuz the AC sucks. I need to put the window unit in. Anyway, things are growing and I finally got my ATO semi-installed today. It is not the permanent setup, but it will work until I can get the fancy stuff.

 

FTS first.

 

Some feather dusters.

 

The sump. The fuge should be drilled, painted and installed tomorrow afternoon if I can get the PVC fittings I need.

 

The ATO water reservoir. A 2.5 gallon baby water jug. It is gonna work great.

Just used airline tubing cuz I didn't have any 1/4" tubing and can't get it until I get paid again any way. It was a little lose in the float valve so I took a part of a "T" connector and shoved it in the end. Fits nice and snug now.

 

 

Made the bracket out of eggcrate cuz I didn't want the float to be attached the the tank itself. Works like a charm though. Watch for more tomorrow.

[Whys]

Don't you love the way this hobby metastasizes into every nearby nook and cranny? Just watch as the books get shoved aside. Need external ballasts for your fixture? Top shelf. Need a deep cycle marine battery for emergency backup power? Bottom shelf. Need a place for gloves, cleaning equip, etc? Well, books just get wet anyway and who has the time to read when you have a reef?

 

Is that ATO gravity fed via siphon? I like the eggcrate. Endlessly useful stuff.

 

Just so you know, air conditioning has been known to affect pH via changes in ambient CO2. Something to watch for if you put that window unit in.

 

So having rock work above a bare-bottom, doesn't worry you at all?

[cableguy69846]

Don't you love the way this hobby metastasizes into every nearby nook and cranny? Just watch as the books get shoved aside. Need external ballasts for your fixture? Top shelf. Need a deep cycle marine battery for emergency backup power? Bottom shelf. Need a place for gloves, cleaning equip, etc? Well, books just get wet anyway and who has the time to read when you have a reef?

 

Lol. You should have seen when I had 7 fresh planted tanks. Had at least on on each book shelf. It was nuts. Lol. I know what you mean though. Tanks and equipment everywhere.

 

Is that ATO gravity fed via siphon? I like the eggcrate. Endlessly useful stuff.

 

Yep. When I disconnect it for whatever reason, I have to restart the siphon. It is attached to a cheap float valve that is working well so far. I am planning on some better tubing and some type of shut off valve in line so I won't have to do that. And I think eggcrate has become my new favorite friend.

 

Just so you know, air conditioning has been known to affect pH via changes in ambient CO2. Something to watch for if you put that window unit in.

 

Good to know. I am going to have to keep an eye on it now.

 

So having rock work above a bare-bottom, doesn't worry you at all?

 

Well, it does now. Lol. I think I am gonna throw some eggcrate down. Thanks man.

[Whys]

The bottom pane might be tempered glass, which helps. I'm not sure what solutions others use, but gluing down any lose rocks on top might eliminate the danger without any unsightly eggcrate.

 

I hate vacuuming display sand, but this is what has always prevented me from going bare-bottom. Glue too many rocks together and you'll regret it when you eventually need to tear it apart for some reason. I know for larger setups, people use acrylic rods and a masonry drill, then just thread the rocks onto the rods.

 

Did you paint the bottom as well as the back? I've read that'll help with glare from the light fixture. Otherwise, you can just wait until it all covers with coraline. It will eventually anyway.

[cableguy69846]

The bottom pane might be tempered glass, which helps. I'm not sure what solutions others use, but gluing down any lose rocks on top might eliminate the danger without any unsightly eggcrate.

 

I hate vacuuming display sand, but this is what has always prevented me from going bare-bottom. Glue too many rocks together and you'll regret it when you eventually need to tear it apart for some reason. I know for larger setups, people use acrylic rods and a masonry drill, then just thread the rocks onto the rods.

 

Did you paint the bottom as well as the back? I've read that'll help with glare from the light fixture. Otherwise, you can just wait until it all covers with coraline. It will eventually anyway.

 

I don't want to have to glue any rock. Lol. I am planning on having some sand in the tank. Just have not gotten that far yet. Was trying to get everything else squared away first for the most part. I am thinking of covering the bottom in eggcrate except keep it about an inch from the glass. Then when I put the sandbed in, you won't see it at all. I am not a big fan of BB setups. Some of them are good, but I like the sand even if it is a pain. I would rather have a bit extra work than something I think looks bad.

[Whys]

When I say glue, I actually mean this stuff.

 

 

It's epoxy and dries similar to rubber cement. It can be a little troublesome to use, but helpful none-the-less.

 

And yeah, I hear you. That's why I use a DSB in the display. I never have to vacuum it.

[cableguy69846]

When I say glue, I actually mean this stuff.

 

 

It's epoxy and dries similar to rubber cement. It can be a little troublesome to use, but helpful none-the-less.

 

And yeah, I hear you. That's why I use a DSB in the display. I never have to vacuum it.

 

OH. Now I see. I hear of people using super glue in freshwater tanks all the time, but I didn't think you could do that in salty ones.

 

How deep is your sandbed? I was thinking of going about 2" in the front and 3" or more in the back.

[Whys]

You can use superglue. It's used almost ubiquitously for attaching frags to plugs. I can't tell you how you're supposed to use it tho, as I've never done so.

 

I have 5 inches of OceanDirect Original Grade. Grain size plays a significant role, but in general, you need at least 3 inches for effective denitrification, probably 4. Not everyone is fond of the appearance or the space it takes up. You also need to know how to properly maintain it. If you're interested, start here: Deep Sand Bed -- Anatomy & Terminology.

[cableguy69846]

You can use superglue. It's used almost ubiquitously for attaching frags to plugs. I can't tell you how you're supposed to use it tho, as I've never done so.

 

I have 5 inches of OceanDirect Original Grade. Grain size plays a significant role, but in general, you need at least 3 inches for effective denitrification, probably 4. Not everyone is fond of the appearance or the space it takes up. You also need to know how to properly maintain it. If you're interested, start here: Deep Sand Bed -- Anatomy & Terminology.

 

Thanks man. I am gonna have to sit and read that at some point now.

 

News on the 2.5 drilling. It cracked to hell. Doh! That is ok though. I have a busted 10gallon tank sitting around, that I can take a pane of glass from. Going to do that and get it cut. Then replace, and try to drill again.