Auhiwayman
Community Member
Got a sweet deal on this 135 oceanic tank. Now the fun begins:bigsmile: Will add more pics as things progress!
Rick's 135 gallon tank upgrade
- Build Thread
- Thread starter Auhiwayman
- Start date
- Tagged users None
Got a sweet deal on this 135 oceanic tank. Now the fun begins:bigsmile: Will add more pics as things progress!
OP
OP
Auhiwayman
Community Member
Thanks. The new tank is replacing the 90 gallon sitting next to it. The new one is only 2 foot longer but it looks a lot bigger! All the plumbing is done. Tonight I'll start adding the new live sand and water.
OP
OP
Auhiwayman
Community Member
Here's pictures from tonight. Sump plumbing and 140 lbs of live sand over egg crate and 40 gallons of water. Making the next batch of water.
YoungReefer
New Member
Follow
yes, I'm going to watch this progression - keep post ing
Ben Belton
New Member
Thanks for asking the question I wanted to. :tongue:
OP
OP
Auhiwayman
Community Member
Hey, no ignorant questions. We all learn from our mistakes or others. The egg crate goes on the bottom of the tank to stabilize the live rock. I have a diamond watch goby that likes to dig caves under the rocks. I didn't know about this trick then and had a couple of rock slides! Luckily I didn't lose anything, but it could have been bad. Better safe than sorry this time around.
OP
OP
Auhiwayman
Community Member
Here's some new pics with more water and about 45 lbs of cured live rock. The tank is now about half full. I'm waiting for my LED's to be shipped from Reef Radiance. I was told they should be here late next week.
And my constant helper, Bailey!
And my constant helper, Bailey!
OP
OP
Auhiwayman
Community Member
Latest picture of tank full now. Found an interesting hitchhiker Saturday night in apiece of live rock - it was a snowflake eel!! He was about the size of a pencil in diameter and around 10 inches long. I fed him a piece of silverside but didn't want to keep him in my mixed reef tank so I made a deal with a LFS to trade him for 3 or 4 large Chromis. You never know what you might find in live rock!
OP
OP
Auhiwayman
Community Member
I think my wife got a picture of it. I'll try to get it posted on here today. I'm always amazed at what can happen in a reef tank! The latest issue I'm dealing with is trying to quiet down a loud little giant return pump. I've tried a number of things including putting pads under the pump, dialing back the flow, adding a few drops of oil to the pump bearings and adding insulation in the stand but there's still an unacceptable humming noise. Next thing to try is re-plumbing with flex hose and putting some matting under the sump to try and dampen the sound. Otherwise, I'll need a new (and quieter) return pump.
OP
OP
Auhiwayman
Community Member
Tried re-plumbing with flex hose and added a mouse pad under the pump but it was still too loud and I continued to have small external leaks. So I did some research and ended up buying a Sicce Syncra 5.0 submersible pump. This thing is Quiet! The pump is actually rated for 1321 gph and I had to dial it back some to slow down the flow rate thru the sump. Everything is pretty quiet now. By going with a submersible pump and capping off the bulkhead out of the sump, the external leaks stopped and I now have a lot more room under my tank. I also finally got the cord for my Reef Radiance Lumentek Pro Fusion 360 lights. It was missing from the original shipment of the light fixture. Still playing with the lights, but they look like there going to do the job. Here's a few pictures.
OP
OP
Auhiwayman
Community Member
So here's an update. Went to pick up the live rock that I left at the LFS that the snowflake was in and get the Chromis I traded it for. The owner and I looked over the rock for about ten minutes with a flashlight to make sure he wasn't still in there. So when I came home I floated the Chromis bag before I started to acclimate them and put the rock back in the tank. Guess who popped his head out?
Mr. Snowflake! I guess the little booger likes his rock and wants to live in my tank. I started doing some reading and it looks like some people have kept them in their mixed reef tanks. I know that he could eat small fish, snails, crabs and ornamental shrimp if not well fed. What do you guys think? Should he stay or go?
I also started doing some aquascaping. More pictures to follow.
Mr. Snowflake! I guess the little booger likes his rock and wants to live in my tank. I started doing some reading and it looks like some people have kept them in their mixed reef tanks. I know that he could eat small fish, snails, crabs and ornamental shrimp if not well fed. What do you guys think? Should he stay or go?
I also started doing some aquascaping. More pictures to follow.
OP
OP
Auhiwayman
Community Member
Here's the right side of the tank with most of the new live rock. The rest is in the 90 gallon. I think I'm going to start moving some of the corals not glued down later today.:bigsmile:
Fin
Professional Procrastinator
Ha! An old school EuroReef skimmer! I have a couple of those laying around the house from past tanks (10-12 years ago). I dug one of them out and plan to use it on a new cube build I am working on. I am going to try a gate valve mod to adjust the level inside the skimmer this time around. Never cared much for all the splashing with that sponge on the riser pipe. Hope it works, because those are good skimmers.
Similar threads
