squirrel's 40g CAD 2.0 - Stuff n Junk

[pyrocreep]

I see nothing wrong with using uncured rock. I think it all boils down to personal opinion. Like you said there's the good and the bad to it. I have generally used dry rock for the simple fact that it is cheaper.

 

If you feel like you want to get all of the fun hitchhikers (good and bad fun of course) then go for it). I would expect your going to go through one hell of a cycle with it though.

[squirrelieygrrrl]

i kind of like that part of it, call me sadistic.... i wonder if i could soft cycle things if there is something really neat that i want to save.

 

i think im gonna go on a preliminary run to my lfs and see how the rock looks.

 

heres the other hitch with my lr/scape phase. i only have a little less than 20g of salt water made up, a little less than half of the tanks volume. it usually takes me a day to have 20g made up and ready to use. i dont have the spare cash for setting up another mixing trash can.

 

so once i get the scape made and filled i will probably have exposed rock sticking up out of the water dry for 24 hours. i can actively keep it wet though. im off for the next two days.

[DCUEVAS74]

I too have been tempted with saving some money on uncured live rock. I've set up 3 tanks in the past and every time my local LFS has recommended not to do it. In their opinion in really prolongs the cycle and you end up getting large amounts of decay in the system. I've always used live sand and cured live rock which has shortened the cycle considerably. This time around I'm giving the reef saver rock from Bulk Reef Supply a try. It was really inexpensive and they are very generous with the amount they give you. I also bought some epoxy/super glue gel to arrange and mold the aquascape just the way I wanted. It was a lot easier than I thought.

 

Good luck on your new set-up. It has lots of potential. Oh and I feel you on the plumbing headache with cadlights' kit they send out?!?!?!?!?! Aggravating to say the least!

 

DC

[Just4Derek]

welll since its all assembled and im running fw for my leak test i cant dissasemble atm. when i drain it im gonna have to reapply some more teflon on the return union so i can take a pic of what im talking about then. i have a very very slight leak still, less than 5 drops in an hour. but i can see that getting full of salt creep if i dont fix it.

 

ill try to explain, the bulkheads have pvc connections that are threaded down through the center of the bulkhead, this union of pvc and the nylon bulkheads are what was leaking for me. completely disassemble the entire bulkhead, pvc connections and all. seal every single union with teflon. youll see what im talking about once you get into them. specifically it was my return bulkhead that was leaking, where the blue pvc fittings were screwed into the center of the nylon bulkhead. these pvc to nylon unions was where i was having the prob. simple fix though, just use a crap ton of teflon and it should work just fine.

 

you can use a standard sch40/80 bulkhead if you like, though really the seal from the nylon bulkheads eddie sent work just fine. the fish tank guy that came over a couple of days ago to help me get the plumbing thing sorted used a slight amount of vaseline on the bulkhead gasket, and turned them around so that the smooth side of the gasket was what met the glass, works just fine. you really dont need the bulkhead to be uber tight to work, just a quarter turn past hand tightened is fine.

 

Thanks for the explanation. I checkec the return bulkhead and the PVC. You are right. We should apply a lot of tape to it. I think you can also add a small gasket or o-ring between the bulkhead and the PVC, that's what I am going to do.

 

Standard bulkhead won't work well on our tank. I tried mine. The hole that Eddie drilled is too big for normal bulkhead. We need the oversized one to cover it.

[squirrelieygrrrl]

I too have been tempted with saving some money on uncured live rock. I've set up 3 tanks in the past and every time my local LFS has recommended not to do it. In their opinion in really prolongs the cycle and you end up getting large amounts of decay in the system. I've always used live sand and cured live rock which has shortened the cycle considerably. This time around I'm giving the reef saver rock from Bulk Reef Supply a try. It was really inexpensive and they are very generous with the amount they give you. I also bought some epoxy/super glue gel to arrange and mold the aquascape just the way I wanted. It was a lot easier than I thought.

 

Good luck on your new set-up. It has lots of potential. Oh and I feel you on the plumbing headache with cadlights' kit they send out?!?!?!?!?! Aggravating to say the least!

 

DC

 

i wonder if the lfs didnt recommend because they get more money out of you with cured. all my research on the subject says its not as big of a deal as ppl make it out to seem. provided you keep on top of params, and soft cycle.

 

glad to know im not the only one who has had a headache over that damn plumbing kit. what a pita!

 

thanks a bunch DC! ill have to go check out your custom cad soon.

 

 

Thanks for the explanation. I checkec the return bulkhead and the PVC. You are right. We should apply a lot of tape to it. I think you can also add a small gasket or o-ring between the bulkhead and the PVC, that's what I am going to do.

 

Standard bulkhead won't work well on our tank. I tried mine. The hole that Eddie drilled is too big for normal bulkhead. We need the oversized one to cover it.

 

no prob derek,

 

glad i can be the one to work out all the issues before hand so you know how to work around them during your build!

 

i thought about adding a small o ring in between the pvc unions but the ones i had laying around the house were too large, and i was in the middle of setting it up. i had no time to go run out to get the right size. im sure it would help though.

 

another thing i discovered is that the pvc slip fit on the sump side of the return line leaks as well(the one that slips into the thread fit). make sure to use some pvc glue to seal that up well.

 

what a janky kit! urgh.

 

 

 

 

 

some more news on the build.

 

a few days ago i did go to my lfs to check out the rock, it was all in and looking great. as i was waiting to talk to the salt dept manager one of the newbie guys was selling my rock to some one else!!!!!

 

i stopped him to ask wth he was doing. he said "well you only need 25lbs right?" i grumbled and walked away.

 

i didnt want to make a scene, as Dean the manager and i are friends and ive been a customer there for years. much to my dismay i watched my rock walk out with another customer. as they were leaving i went to see how much was left. we weighed it and 16lbs was all that was left over.

 

i wanted to strangle that guy that sold my rock out from underneath me. right in front of me!!!!! i was promised to have first pick, as i was the one who asked them to place the order.

 

so now i have to wait and cross my fingers that they can still get more. the tokota rock that im after is kind of hard to get and has to be imported.

 

i was so hot about this, really really hot. thankfully dean is gonna give me the rock at cost ($2.50 per lb). i decided to take what was left home with me that day(impulsively because i was mad).... the damn left overs. dean let me leave with out paying for the rock, he could tell i was upset to say the least. he also cut me a deal on a new fish i got for the 40 and a small yellow pollicopora frag. got the McCoskers and the frag for 20 bucks.

 

still though i wandered around the house that night cursing that ###k tard that sold my rock. occasionally i still have a burst of expletives about it when i look at the tank. this means that i may have to wait weeks before i can finish my setup. ARRRGGGHH!

 

or not! lol just as i was about to hit add reply, Dean calls and says that more rock will be arriving today. thank god.

pics of the tank, and of the new fish and frag in the 16 soon. im still in the cloudy phase of the set up with the 40.

[mikellini]

Hahaha you're funny, I can just picture it...

 

Btw, when I soft cycled my lr, what I did was put it in a rubbermaid and poured 10 gal of mixed sw over it, draining it by half every other day. Started with 20 gallons, it covered 45 lbs of rock. Everything lived, sponges and crabs, even an LPS Favia variant. Very easy too

[Weetabix7]

I would have been mad too.

Hopefully the new rock they have coming in will more than make up for it.

[squirrelieygrrrl]

finally!!!!

 

 

 

 

feedback please!!! nothing is set in stone (pun intended) for the scape. i kinda like it, but id like to know what every one else thinks!

[_Mitch_]

Wow, crazy rock work you got there. If you'd like suggestions I'd leave the right side the way it is and for the left side I'm not too crazy about the rocks jutting out like that... looks sort of unnatural too me. Maybe a "softer" too could be more pleasing to the eye and less distracting.

[Cyclo]

Left side looks stellar.

[latteslave]

Personally... I love it! That left side ROCKS <-- pun intended.

 

I see some pretty awesome coral placement opportunities!

[Rehype]

I think it looks absolutely incredible squirreley. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience at your lfs but you did an amazing job with the rock you have.

[squirrelieygrrrl]

Wow, crazy rock work you got there. If you'd like suggestions I'd leave the right side the way it is and for the left side I'm not too crazy about the rocks jutting out like that... looks sort of unnatural too me. Maybe a "softer" too could be more pleasing to the eye and less distracting.

 

thanks!

 

at first i totally felt the same way about the left side, but its been growing on me over the past couple of days. the only thing i dont like about the right is that in form it is very similar to the overall shape of the left, i wondered if the fts looks too symmetrical.

 

 

Left side looks stellar.

 

 

 

Personally... I love it! That left side ROCKS <-- pun intended.

 

I see some pretty awesome coral placement opportunities!

 

thanks b,

 

im right there with ya.

 

 

i probably should have explained my overall ideas on coral placement. id like to do the left side with almost exclusively sps branching types. the right side will be for primarily plating and deep water sps. with probably a few oddballs tossed in for fun. the sand im going to try to keep clutter free.

 

im not sure what is coming over from the 16 and what is not or not entirely coming over. i may put frags of my colonies in and sell the rest. ive also been toying with the idea of keeping the 16 going, sans any sps or other picky critters.

[Bonus Joe]

I like it. Has a lot of uniqueness and personality. I'd keep it the way it is.

[squirrelieygrrrl]

I think it looks absolutely incredible squirreley. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience at your lfs but you did an amazing job with the rock you have.

 

 

thanks hype,

 

i really appreciate that considering the source.

 

my experience really wasnt that bad at all, im just a whiner. plus they more than made up for it, i got the rock at $2.99lb

 

I like it. Has a lot of uniqueness and personality. I'd keep it the way it is.

 

 

 

i had no idea you guys were gonna like it that much! thanks to you too joe.

[gena]

WOW! I definitely say you nailed it!!!!!! That's awesome rock!

[pyrocreep]

I love the left hand side. It'll be interesting to see that grow in. The only thing that I would change personally is to bring the lower rock work (the stuff in the sand) on the left hand side of the right island out a bit and give it a slight upwards angel. It may just be the shot, but I would think a little bit of depth there would be sweet. Make it a really slight incline, but a large area for different corals.

[squirrelieygrrrl]

WOW! I definitely say you nailed it!!!!!! That's awesome rock!

 

thanks gena! i really like this tokota rock too, interesting shapes, little to no algae visible and its sort of like a natural frag rack.

 

 

I love the left hand side. It'll be interesting to see that grow in. The only thing that I would change personally is to bring the lower rock work (the stuff in the sand) on the left hand side of the right island out a bit and give it a slight upwards angel. It may just be the shot, but I would think a little bit of depth there would be sweet. Make it a really slight incline, but a large area for different corals.

 

thanks pyro, i think so too.

 

i would totally create some more depth but the right side is limited because its made up of one large rock with two stacked on top and the one small branching one on the right of it. probably that side will have a few lps and the clam down on the sand. it may lend to more depth once i add corals and critters to it.

[squirrelieygrrrl]

while i wait on the cycle ive been thinking about fish stocking.

 

heres what i came up with.

 

lunch the maroon clown

mccoskers wrasse (hes in the 16 atm, and quite small @2in)

gold assessor

potters angel

 

maybe's

leopard wrasse (i so want one)

pyrmaid butterfly

gumdrop coral croucher (if i can find one)

if the gumdrop dosnt work out ill probably settle for a goby or blennie of some sort.

 

ive got no plans for inverts as of yet other than no pistols!

 

as far as corals go sps dominant.

 

any one have any suggestions, thoughts or opinions on my tentative stock list? on the maybes ill only be adding either the wrasse or the butterfly, and either the coral croucher or a small blennie or goby.

[Weetabix7]

I think it looks absolutely incredible squirreley. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience at your lfs but you did an amazing job with the rock you have.

 

COMPLETELY agree!!!

[squirrelieygrrrl]

aw thanks weets!

 

btw, im sorry imma have to scrap getting that stuff from you, i need a pump with a higher flow rate, and that test kit gets pretty bad reviews.

 

got any thoughts on my stock list?

[Arkayology]

while i wait on the cycle ive been thinking about fish stocking.

 

heres what i came up with.

 

lunch the maroon clown

mccoskers wrasse (hes in the 16 atm, and quite small @2in)

gold assessor

potters angel

 

maybe's

leopard wrasse (i so want one)

pyrmaid butterfly

gumdrop coral croucher (if i can find one)

if the gumdrop dosnt work out ill probably settle for a goby or blennie of some sort.

 

ive got no plans for inverts as of yet other than no pistols!

 

as far as corals go sps dominant.

 

any one have any suggestions, thoughts or opinions on my tentative stock list? on the maybes ill only be adding either the wrasse or the butterfly, and either the coral croucher or a small blennie or goby.

I would do a leopard wrasse, though your tank may be too small for it.

[squirrelieygrrrl]

if i were gonna do the leopard id go with the bipartitus sp. they tend to stay a bit smaller than the others at around 4-5in max. also my research dictates that this sp. tends to be slightly more hardy than the others.

 

my lfs was willing to have him specially shipped for me in a large bag with sand so he dosnt beat himself up on the bottom. i worry about him jumping though. truthfully the mccoskers probably has a higher potential to jump than the leopard. if i did decide to go for it the mccoskers would go back to the lfs, and id probably scrap the potters angel as well. i only really want one larger fish in the tank.

[Arkayology]

if i were gonna do the leopard id go with the bipartitus sp. they tend to stay a bit smaller than the others at around 4-5in max. also my research dictates that this sp. tends to be slightly more hardy than the others.

 

my lfs was willing to have him specially shipped for me in a large bag with sand so he dosnt beat himself up on the bottom. i worry about him jumping though. truthfully the mccoskers probably has a higher potential to jump than the leopard. if i did decide to go for it the mccoskers would go back to the lfs, and id probably scrap the potters angel as well. i only really want one larger fish in the tank.

It would be worth it. Leopard Wrasse are so personable and interesting.

[bobmonkey11]

maybe im just bias, but i think if you have the time and resources that you should keep the 16bow running, yours has been an inspiration for mine as it comes together almost to the point that i dont want to build my 22g cube and transfer it over when i move