Crakeur Posted June 10, 2003 Author Share Posted June 10, 2003 supple nipples? I gotta go hit the bathroom. Well, I put two powersweeps on the tank last night and this morning I am actually able to see the rock work. It's pretty damned good for doing it blind. Lots of nice caves. Hopefully the tank will be clear enough by the time I get home to take a pic or two. Next stop, add the cpr skimmer, re-work the rock a bit for stability and then start planning on the first corals to be added end of June, beginning of July. So excited I have a chubbie. Link to comment
Masoch Posted June 10, 2003 Share Posted June 10, 2003 So excited I have a chubbie. It's no longer your tank I want a picture of:D EDIT: whoops, this post was a little vague. It's actually your rock work I want to see Link to comment
Crakeur Posted June 11, 2003 Author Share Posted June 11, 2003 well, the skimmer is on and running and I am now stuck with some new issues. first, my rockwork is great but will need to be redone to accomodate the skimmer, the fuge, the two powersweeps and the extra powerheads for the lower portion of the tank. It's real sad because I have tons of awesome caves and overhangs. Hopefully I'll be able to redo the rock without losing too much of the look. Problem number two. Can't figure out which way the bubble trap goes on. This is easy enough to solve and will be a top priority issue as the skimmer is sending way too many bubbles back into the tank. The trap requires more room so the scaping issue comes back into play. Last and biggest problem. The skimmer and the fuge take up the entire back wall of the tank. The lights should come next week and I will see if the chiller is going to fit on the side of the tank (and if it is needed - probably will be). If it is needed and it doesn't fit on the side, I have a serious problem with three solutions to chose from. Solution one - get my teclima back from a friend and lose my storage space under the tank. This is actually the best solution as it allows me to chill and heat the tank and gives added flow without another powerhead in the tank (spray bar will have to be squeezed in somewhere). Option two, find a way to get the iceprobe to work in the fuge. Option three, remove the skimmer in hotter months and use the picollo when the chiller is running. My last problem is an unfixable problem. As mentioned earlier in the thread, my floor is warped and the water level is about an inch higher on one side of the tank. This means the water is right up to the top on one side and nowhere near the top on the other. Makes for ugly work trying to get the equipment to function correctly. Such is the pain of living in cheap space. Hoping to have the lights here by next week and some clear shots of the rockwork in a few days. That southdown just won't settle all the way. Link to comment
SAILFIN Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 did u try shimming your satnd? trying to get it as level as possiable? jsut a thought i had to do it to my 100gl because of my floor is a spanish tile that is rustic but un even as hell...... Link to comment
Crakeur Posted June 11, 2003 Author Share Posted June 11, 2003 that won't help the water displacement due to the tilt. it will help the view of the tank and it has been done. Link to comment
kennerd Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 Crak: I think he's referring to using a wedge to lift up one corner fo the stand to level it out. Bubble trap should have a screw on the out side of one of the panels: just line it up so that the screw tightens against the downspout of your skimmer's outlet pip. EIther turn the elbow sideways so it fits into the trap, or just remove it. BP's take some break in time. It's a surface tension thing with the plastic or something....give it a few days to calm down and start foaming. Link to comment
Crakeur Posted June 11, 2003 Author Share Posted June 11, 2003 ken, it is foaming and I emptied a cup full of dark liquid so I know it works. The bubble trap doesn't have a screw but I figured out which side is up so I will try and re-scape tomorrow night (anniversary tonight so dinner at Mr. Chow's). The tank is almost fully cleared now and my next step is going to be pulling out rock, scrubbing off the dead stuff and re-scaping it to make room for the sweeps, the bubbletrap and the extra powerheads. I have a wedge under the stand but the problem that I have is the floor is warped so the tank cannot ever be full leveled off. One of these days you'll see the house of fun floor. Link to comment
MacnReef Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 Originally posted by Raise Sounds good! Get 'er done! Once I say that, I figured you must be from around here (Orlando). Then I saw your profile. 104.1 Link to comment
kennerd Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 Originally posted by Crakeur (anniversary tonight so dinner at Mr. Chow's). For non-Ny'ers you sound like you have as much class as Fly's treating his wife to an anniversary excursion to the Mall of America. have fun! Link to comment
FlyGTI Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 Listen here Kennerd, she picked it, not me. And what's not classy about that anyway? She got to go shopping all day long for almost two straight days at the biggest mall on the continent! I gave of my time, and definitely the pocketbook, in order to make the anniversary fun for her! Crakasan, the skimmer will stop releasing bubbles soon. Takes a little while for the plastic to get properly seasoned, in my experience (and I've got 3 of 'em). What'd the skimmate smell like, if you don't mind me asking? Mine almost always smells a little like mothballs, and I don't know why. Wondering if it's my water, or a thing with CPR skimmers. Berlins pull out some seriously nasty smelling ######, but the CPRs don't seem to. Anyone else experience this? Link to comment
kennerd Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 I'm quite obviously pulling you out of your hole there! Mr. Chow's sure sounds like the restaurant in "Christmas Story," though, doesn't it? Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra .... You probably shelled out about as much, or more, as I shelled out for our 5th in Napa Valley, including a night out at the French Laundry Restaurant....believe me, it's all fine by me! I agree with the BP not pulling out nasty smelling crap, but the color was nice & dark once it broke in. Crak: any reason why you didn't get the combo pre-skimmer and bubble trap? would have really neatened up the back of your tank. Man, I literally JUST sold 1 bakpak this week and another about a month ago, as well as 2 combo boxes. Link to comment
Crakeur Posted June 11, 2003 Author Share Posted June 11, 2003 lmao. ok, for those not local, Mr. Chow's is an upscale chinese retaurant that is frequented by celebs and the rich and famous. Costly cat food basically. It is, however, one block from my apartment and the food is supposed to be awesome so we are heading there to celebrate three years of love and friendship (excuse my while I puke) Link to comment
Crakeur Posted June 11, 2003 Author Share Posted June 11, 2003 ok, the combo option was a huge mistake on my part. didn't see it available anywhere until last night. no biggie. the skimmer pulled out almost a cup full of dark liquid and it did smell oddly like mothballs, but so did the crap out of the picollo. It works real well but the bubble back into the tank issue is a pain that will be rectified. I was checking out the rockwork last night and I'm not sure if it will be a real pain to rescape as the work consists of one momma rock and about 8 smaller ones. So, a scaping I shall go. Link to comment
kennerd Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 Which version of the BakPak did you get? If you have that POS biobale, go ahead and throw it in there for the cycle, since it will hold back the bubbles. Also, make sure you use one of those ends on the airline that streamlines the air, rather than an open ended aitline...No idea what the technical terms for it is. Ken Link to comment
Crakeur Posted June 11, 2003 Author Share Posted June 11, 2003 I got the 2r (no biobale). the airline has that filter thingy on the end. Leaving it as is for now. Link to comment
Satchmo Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 Coming along, coming along... Where are you in the cycle, or have you bothered to check yet? Looking forward to the frag n' booze fest in the funhouse. Went to the Museum Mile Festival yesterday which blew. No food (except for the street cart rat-on-a-stick guys, but they don't count), most of the bands were awful, and you had three hours to check out 15 museums -most of which had two hour lines to get in. Bloomberg just doesn't know how to throw a party. I did get to meet De La Vega (the sidewalk chalk artist guy). He's one wierd dude. Was riding around in a shopping cart wearing a Ronald McDonald wig and singing the "Scratch an Elephant" song from the lotto commercials. Haven't had a moment's rest lately. Put in 104 hours the past two weeks. Saw Movin' Out on Friday (don't bother, unless you wan't to see the Billy Joel Ballet Troup, I expected SO much more). BBQ at mom & pops' for my sister's graduation on Saturday (that was fun -had the cops there twice around 2am for noise violations). Then work on Sunday with 2 hours of sleep and a monster hangover. Worked in the city the past 3 days, and now I'm sick with a sore throat, sweats, and coughing up stuff that looks like wasabe sauce. Picked up a $7 bootleg DVD of the Matrix 2 from the shuttle platform under Grand Central. Now I'm home, about to OD on Nyquil and see if this thing actually plays. So how've y'all been? Link to comment
Crakeur Posted June 11, 2003 Author Share Posted June 11, 2003 glad to hear your suffering. I stopped buying those damned dvds a few months ago. this guy sets up shop in front of my office building every day so I would buy, check it out and return or watch it. he actually let me swap watched ones for new ones provided they were current films. Link to comment
kennerd Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 Well, most of us in the greater NYC area have snot-filled tanks, except for the goateed gremlin who not only has a running tank, but all our frags. Things are fan-fuggin-tastic, and I am tired as snot. We've hijacked the living crap out of this thread anyway....here's a quick rundown: Thursday: Beer #1 @ 8:30 AM @ second hole of Annual Celtic Golf Club Outing (Crak, you'd probably not understand a damn thing there), 3:00PM first beer @ open bar & dinner, 6:00PM first beer @ Davey's Locker for Happy Hour. 9:00 first verbal lash from wife: then to bed. Friday: 7:30 AM in office, 11:00 drive to Brewster for rock, corals & back 4:30 leave for rehearsal dinner for friends wedding, 5:00 arrive @ Restaurant in Mahwah, NJ for dinner, leave @ 6:30PM to attend Wake in Cliffside Park, NJ, 8:30 arrive back @ Restaurant in Mahwah (Satch can do the math, and I had the big rig), 10:00 PM hit Ramapo Valley Brewpub, since I missed all of rehearsal's actual "Dinner", 1:00AM hit Fuchshoehle for 2 pops, in bed by 2:00AM Saturday: 6:40AM: call from mom that sis is in labor....go back to sleep. 8:30AM get call from bro-in-law, kid's out, get up.9:00AM meet landscaper @ nursery, load 10 trees 8+ feet into truck in the rain, go home shower, get to hospital in Livingston, NJ for 12:30PM stay until 5:00PM, leave get home, change & head to bachelor party @ 8:00Pm @ Bogota American Legion....yadda, yadda, yadda...I get home @ 1;30AM to find tank belching smegma. Sunday: up @ 6:30AM, curse @ tank, make coffee, read paper, tests, water changes, curse, etc. 1:000PM, mow lawn, work with neighbor planting a few of his trees, 2:30PM shower & off to wedding in Upper Saddle River & then to Rockleigh Country Club, fantastic time, end night with 10 "Nova alums, spouses and guests of honor @ Pearl River Marriot @ 2:15AM. Bed Monday: up & out @ 8:00AM: Curse tank, clown doing great, tear down and re-build 2' tall, 3' wide, 50' long rock wall in yard, tear out 4 small tress , numerous srubs, discover old tree service boss (college) down street, have him chip everything, mark spots for new tree planting. 7:45PM, head in, shower, grab wife & go to Noonan's in Pearl River for dinner & Devils Game..... Tuesday> work and the jerk thread kept me busy, piny, 2 games of golf & both of us home during daylight hours for the first time in months during the week. Dinner, TV, 2.5 mile walk, laundry and bed by 12:30. Pretty good chance I'm going to crash before Thursday rolls around. Link to comment
Crakeur Posted June 11, 2003 Author Share Posted June 11, 2003 I'm sorry, am I supposed to feel sorry for y'all? party this, drunk that yada yada. I feel no sympathy for you guys. At least you've had fun. Link to comment
kennerd Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 Hey, you got to go jewelry shipping last week.......and WE'RE the ones having all the fun?!? Link to comment
Crakeur Posted June 12, 2003 Author Share Posted June 12, 2003 got home from dinner last night and the tank was cleared! tonight, assuming I get home early enough, I am going to do some scaping and rework the powerheads and the bubble trap. on a side note, dinner at Mr. Chow was awesome. Nothing beats sitting down and saying "bring me your best" and having plate after plate come rolling out. Sadly, that chinese dinner for two cost me $215. Any normal chinese restaurant and that would feed half of Shanghai for a month. Link to comment
Crakeur Posted June 14, 2003 Author Share Posted June 14, 2003 tested for cycle progress last night. ammonia thru the roof and nitrites are starting to rise so things are moving along. did some rock arranging last night to make better room for the powerheads and I'm kinda happy with the layout but will need another rescaping session once the lights come in. I need to get a powerhead or two toward the bottom of the tank to get some current down there but, in all, things are looking mighty decent. need to do a water change and skim some crud out of the tank. Link to comment
Crakeur Posted June 14, 2003 Author Share Posted June 14, 2003 sunday night, if I have the time Link to comment
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