Azfishguy Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 Its been a while since i checked up on the tank. Its looking great and i hope you fix that leaking bulkhead. They can be such a pain! Quick question though. How low is the water line from the top of the tank? It looks like your tank is full to the brim. Maybe just the picture though. Link to comment
Kimberly63 Posted May 15, 2009 Author Share Posted May 15, 2009 Its been a while since i checked up on the tank. Its looking great and i hope you fix that leaking bulkhead. They can be such a pain! Quick question though. How low is the water line from the top of the tank? It looks like your tank is full to the brim. Maybe just the picture though. Ha it's a little unlevel where the it's sitting now, but I'd say almost 1/4" - not very much - maybe a lil under. Also, everything has been running for 5 days straight and there is no more leaking! I think the slow drip was water from under the tank that was soaked into the liner. My bulkheads have been dry for 2 days! so now I can drain it, get some rock and start scaping! Looks great!!!! Thanks girly! Link to comment
Azfishguy Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 The only thing im worried about is if that plastic canvas gets debris in it and you know . Just adding my 2 pennies! Link to comment
Kimberly63 Posted May 18, 2009 Author Share Posted May 18, 2009 Looking really awesome Kim:) Thanks Monkfish! The only thing im worried about is if that plastic canvas gets debris in it and you know . Just adding my 2 pennies! I know - I thought about that too. the plastic canvas isn't level with the tank - it's a lil lower so water will be able to go over it until I clean/replace it. I won't have it there forever though - I'll make wider teeth for it. My baby clown is so small that I had to use something with small holes for now. In a few months, he'll be big enough and I can change it out. Or I can snip out some sections in it to make the holes larger. Just a question, while I cycle this tank, do I have to have a powerhead or will it be okay with just the return pump? Link to comment
sammy113 Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 Canvas is very easy to cut and you can enlarge its holes with an x-acto knife while cycling you can run the system with just your return pump, but if you do have a power head it don't do any damage. I'd put it in just because its new rock and its easier to clean any debris from it before you put in corals. Link to comment
dtfleming Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 Are you planning on using a PH for flow? if so the return from the sump is fine. If not I would def get a new pump. Link to comment
Phixion Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 The return if fine for now. You don't really have to worry about flow as much till you get stuff in there. Link to comment
Kimberly63 Posted May 19, 2009 Author Share Posted May 19, 2009 Canvas is very easy to cut and you can enlarge its holes with an x-acto knife while cycling you can run the system with just your return pump, but if you do have a power head it don't do any damage. I'd put it in just because its new rock and its easier to clean any debris from it before you put in corals. Are you planning on using a PH for flow? if so the return from the sump is fine. If not I would def get a new pump. I have a powerhead but it's in my current tank and I'm gonna wait until the new tank cycles to move everything over. I just figured I'd use just the return pump while I cycle. The return if fine for now. You don't really have to worry about flow as much till you get stuff in there. That's what I figured - so good, I won't have to worry then! Link to comment
Azfishguy Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Any updates? Im hooked, I need my fix! Link to comment
Kimberly63 Posted May 27, 2009 Author Share Posted May 27, 2009 Well, I don't have pictures right now until later, but I just got the tank filled 2 days ago with dead sand and saltwater. I didn't add any live rock yet since I haven't had any extra money but I seeded the sand in the tank with about 2 teaspoons of live sand from my existing tank. The tank took about 24 gallons including the sump capacity so not too bad. I'm sure it'll take forever for any type of cycle but oh well. Everything is working good so far! Pictures later... Link to comment
Kimberly63 Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 Well, I didn't do a whole lot on the tank but boy, I got lots of pictures! Here's a bunch of random pictures of my tank while doing the tap-water test: Lots of microbubbles I adjusted the loc-line to hit right on the water surface because I don't have a stop valve on my return yet. I don't have too much surface agitation so it really doesn't bother me. When I get clams, I'll add a stop valve and adjust the loc-line so I can see better top-down. Overflow is really quiet - I'm very pleased. Sump: I had my desklamp so I could see inside to look at my bulkheads. It's dark in there! Next was to make my door. I hate curves and I wanted this stand to be as square as possible so I wanted minimal design and kinda modern/contemporary looking. I decided I didn't want trim on the door because it would be a bit much for me. I didn't even want trim on the stand but I didn't think about my design well enough before I started and needed the trim. I went with 1/2" birch - 25"x 15". 3/4" is standard for cupboard doors but it was too thick for me. I sanded the edges for the birch laminate tape. The tape comes in 3/4" inch so it needed to be trimmed after being applied. They make a handy trimmer that trims the excess off in one swipe but I wasn't paying $20 for the stupid thing so I did it by hand and a razor blade (only cut myself once). The laminate tape is used so you won't see the layers of laminate on the board. By using the tape it covers it up and thus looks like a solid piece of birch. The tape is applied by a clothes iron. I just made sure the tape was lined up perfect along the viewable side of the door and you adjust the iron on cotton setting and just iron on. If you screw up you can apply heat so it'll soften the adhesive and move the tape where you want it. After the tape was applied, and trimmed down, the door was ready for stain and poly! I then gave it a couple days to dry. For the record, I only bought the sponge brush just in case and used it one time. I don't normally use brushes to stain - just old rags. I think it works a lot better. Next I needed to get hinges. I went with the 1/2" overlays so I wouldn't needed a magnetic closure to hold the door in place. When you get these hinges, you have to make sure the door is cut 1 inch wider than your opening on each side or you will have an off-center door. Like if your opening is 20" wide, get the door cut 22" wide. The color of the hinges are a brushed copper and they look sweet with the stain color. The only thing I need left for the build is my door handle. I'm waiting for lowes to get it in. I ordered a handle that I got in yesterday - it's a seahorse and I thought it'd look really cool but it looks girly so I'm not gonna use it. Plus I couldn't get one in to match the color of my hinges. Since Minwax hole filler is a joke and doesn't harden nor match the stain color, I was told to remove it and use a hardening putty that's a neutral color and stain it. I'll do that someday when I have nothing better to do. Next I applied a brace/bracket thing on the back, right-hand side behind the overflow to hold the conduit for the light. It's made for 3/4" and holds the pipe in place but it's not too snug so it's perfect to swing the light out of the way when I'm messing around in the tank. I've hit the fixture with my hand a few times and kinda fried it. No, not pleasant. When I bought sand I originally wanted fiji pink sand because it's a fine grade sand but I got this crap sand that has massive chunks of shell and other stuff that discolors to a greenish gray like live rock does and makes the sandbed look dirty so I made a lot of work for myself, and used a fine strainer and strained out all the stuff that isn't sugar-sized. The sand used to be live sand but that was well over a year ago so I washed it in distilled water in a bucket and then strained it. I moved my light over to the tank to see how it would look and I think it looks pretty good. Super bright. I put the sand in the tank then added distilled water. I have roughly 24-25 gallons in the tank and sump combined. I then added my salt to the display and let it mix up. I don't have large enough buckets for mixing 25 gallons of water so I just dumped it in. After I got my salinity to the right levels and waited about a day, I seeded the sand with some sand from my other tank. I had to do this because I don't have any new live rock yet (i'm broke-donations are welcome). I'll probably add one or two pieces of rock total before I transfer my 10g over. Sand dunes Now I'll just sit back and wait until I get my rock and just let everything take it's course. After the cycle, I'll probably seed the tank with different pods and setup my fuge with macro and get a cheap light. I didn't want a deep sandbed but I might change my mind later. Not sure yet. I have time to decide though. Next I need to figure out a lid for the tank so I don't have anymore jumping fish - either a custom cut piece of 1/8" acrylic with drilled holes for air flow or netting. Not sure yet. Well that's it for now. Here's an updated pic of my clown. My other one jumped and died since I wasn't home and accidentally left the lid off. He buddied up with my blenny so it's quite cute. Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Hooray for water and sand! Link to comment
Kimberly63 Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 Hooray for water and sand! Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Looks great! I like your DIY skills, will you come build me a canopy if I give you frags? What's the white stuff under the tank? Looks kinda like that spongy shelf-liner. Link to comment
Kimberly63 Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 Looks great!I like your DIY skills, will you come build me a canopy if I give you frags? What's the white stuff under the tank? Looks kinda like that spongy shelf-liner. Sure Weetie! I'll come help you! I needs a vacation Lol that is my good bath towel. My floor was soaked under the shelf which you can see because I quickly made a shelf out of a straight piece of wood. That's when my bulkhead leaked. Link to comment
Monkfish Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Dont ya love that black crosstitch plastic screen or whatever its called...Its so easy to work with and really does a great job of catching stuff withough slowing the flow down much or anything. Its cheap too I got some of that at wallmart it was like 2 bucks for one sheet. Link to comment
Kimberly63 Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 [Dont ya love that black crosstitch plastic screen or whatever its called...Its so easy to work with and really does a great job of catching stuff withough slowing the flow down much or anything. Its cheap too I got some of that at wallmart it was like 2 bucks for one sheet. It's good stuff! actually Walmart carries it in packs of 5 for $2. It does a great job of catching cat hair Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Sure Weetie! I'll come help you! I needs a vacation Lol that is my good bath towel. My floor was soaked under the shelf which you can see because I quickly made a shelf out of a straight piece of wood. That's when my bulkhead leaked. Well I'd love to have you anytime and I guarantee your stay would be eventful, but I'm not sure how much of a "vacation" it would be between my Horse-Puppy and the 2 Lil Destructobots lurking around and waiting to pounce on hapless travelers. But hey, if you like adventure, we'd love to have ya! I could prolly even give you a little LR! Link to comment
Monkfish Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Well I'd love to have you anytime and I guarantee your stay would be eventful, but I'm not sure how much of a "vacation" it would be between my Horse-Puppy and the 2 Lil Destructobots lurking around and waiting to pounce on hapless travelers. But hey, if you like adventure, we'd love to have ya! I could prolly even give you a little LR! Is there room for me? Link to comment
Kimberly63 Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 Is there room for me? Me and Monk can both ride down together! Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Is there room for me? Always. Me and Monk can both ride down together! So when should I book you for? Link to comment
Kimberly63 Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 So when should I book you for? I don't get any vacation until next April. Maybe on a saturday sometime?? You aren't too far from Pittsburgh are ya? Link to comment
Kimberly63 Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 I have a question. If I washed my sand with distilled and have no new rock, can I just move everything over? I won't even have a cycle right?? Link to comment
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