How did that happen.......there is a 260 gallon aquarium in our walkout basement family room now....Not anymore

OP
OP
Jeto2004

Jeto2004

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 6, 2019
Messages
1,130
Reaction score
7,835
Location
Fairfield County, CT
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Following. It is looking great! And welcome to the salt world from a fellow IN person.
Thanks for following. Excited to be part of the Saltwater world. Just joined INDMAS yesterday. Missed the September retro frag meeting - not that I’m ready for that.... Looking forward to meet some local reefers. Now I have to forums to look out for....
 
OP
OP
Jeto2004

Jeto2004

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 6, 2019
Messages
1,130
Reaction score
7,835
Location
Fairfield County, CT
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Our cats showed an immens interest into the sump. My daughter was concerned for their health and made me cover up the sump. Had some 1/8 inch acrylic sheet left over laying around that I “ temporarily” use as a cover. Well that has been now in place for over 3 weeks. Noticed it starts to warp. Either will have to start building the stand doors soon or will have to make a nice cover out of polycarbonate.

EB6C564B-4B45-4F02-92C9-90FCE205386D.jpeg
 
OP
OP
Jeto2004

Jeto2004

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 6, 2019
Messages
1,130
Reaction score
7,835
Location
Fairfield County, CT
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Started to work on the face frame for the canopy and storage cabinet.
90CCB677-3A9C-4BC2-8F79-F355CD76F176.jpeg

One think that always cracks me up working in old houses is that nothing is plum and no 90 degree corners can be found.

Once again that was showing up while scribing the upper rail.....
0EBCC272-13D8-41AE-9A5D-0880F07FAFC3.jpeg


Going from one inch to a less than quarter of an inch back to almost an inch.....
 
OP
OP
Jeto2004

Jeto2004

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 6, 2019
Messages
1,130
Reaction score
7,835
Location
Fairfield County, CT
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Was playing with the lights and noticed a film developing on the glass - not sure what it was, but it gave me the opportunity to give my Tiger Shark Float a good try out. The magnets are so strong that cleaning the glass is almost a workout.... but works great and I like the woodblock style of the outer magnet. If you haven’t noticed yet I have a thing for wood. However I thought I share a picture from the side view and the back side off the hardscape

8FD11BC2-BE76-46E9-9971-A5D8BE0C6F36.jpeg 0EEB4988-A6DC-4644-91F2-C446CC4D2B69.jpeg
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
Jeto2004

Jeto2004

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 6, 2019
Messages
1,130
Reaction score
7,835
Location
Fairfield County, CT
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Quick update on cycling on the tank:
2 week: 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate
3 week: 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate - Since I never had seen ammonia I thought I just add on other shrimp
Went to the LFS to get Salifert-Nitrate test - That test gave me a 5ppm nitrate reading
4 week: 0 ammonia, 0 nitrate, 5ppm nitrate

Looking good in my opinion - yes/no?

And that’s how a shrimp looks likes after 4 weeks in an aquarium

4F3BA134-F014-4F8E-A41F-E50FE590DE54.jpeg
 
Last edited:

BayouReefer

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 21, 2019
Messages
1,090
Reaction score
5,898
Location
Louisiana
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Fun watching your build progress looking forward to seeing fish and Coral in it. Looks like your thinking things through and taking your time to do it right. I wish you success in this adventure, and hope that it brings you and your family as much enjoyment as mine has brought to my family.
 
OP
OP
Jeto2004

Jeto2004

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 6, 2019
Messages
1,130
Reaction score
7,835
Location
Fairfield County, CT
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Fun watching your build progress looking forward to seeing fish and Coral in it. Looks like your thinking things through and taking your time to do it right. I wish you success in this adventure, and hope that it brings you and your family as much enjoyment as mine has brought to my family.
Thank you BayouReefer. Me too, would like to see some moving life in the tank. Well there is plan in my head, but that is evolving the more I learn, and than comes the question should it be incorporated......

For example: Would it be OK to route the AWC discard through a QT tank. How would I set up, that if I choose to medicate, it does not dilute the medication. Would I need to drill the tank for an overflow? Etc. etc. Luckily a lot of the questions have been already ask and I like reading through old threads. And if not I guess I always can ask R2R folks........
 

BayouReefer

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 21, 2019
Messages
1,090
Reaction score
5,898
Location
Louisiana
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have not been in this hobby very long in comparison to most on this forum. So I don’t have answers to complex questions, but I am using my discarded water change water from my 125 gallon display tank to do 10% water changes in my 40 gallon QT. It is working for me. Doesn’t the AWC run constantly? And I think that would affect the ATO in your smaller QT. That would increase the salinity of your QT unless you also had the AWC in your QT. Not really sure because I don’t have an AWC system.
 
OP
OP
Jeto2004

Jeto2004

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 6, 2019
Messages
1,130
Reaction score
7,835
Location
Fairfield County, CT
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have not been in this hobby very long in comparison to most on this forum. So I don’t have answers to complex questions, but I am using my discarded water change water from my 125 gallon display tank to do 10% water changes in my 40 gallon QT. It is working for me. Doesn’t the AWC run constantly? And I think that would affect the ATO in your smaller QT. That would increase the salinity of your QT unless you also had the AWC in your QT. Not really sure because I don’t have an AWC system.
Thanks for the info. Good to know that you use your change water for the QT tank and that it is working for you. Have not set up AWC but, my understanding is that you can set it up in multiple ways (constant or at prespecified intervals, or push button) I think you are right, unless it covered well for low evaporation but think you would have to check for salinity and adjust as neccecary.

I just know me and would want to set something that fits my nature.....
 

BayouReefer

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 21, 2019
Messages
1,090
Reaction score
5,898
Location
Louisiana
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Yea I don’t always have livestock in my QT so by using the discarded water from my DT it keeps enough nutrients in the QT to keep the skimmer happy and producing good skim material. I never thought much about it but I’m curious to what other reefers do and think about this practice
 
OP
OP
Jeto2004

Jeto2004

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 6, 2019
Messages
1,130
Reaction score
7,835
Location
Fairfield County, CT
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Ok, I set up the tank with 3 MP40 two on the overbox side (one for flow behind the rock work) on in the front and one on the opposite site. Currently I set them at reef crest mode with variable intensity during the day. The eclipse overflow box is fairly noise out of the box and read a couple of threads to raise the emergency overflow pipe to make it more quite. So depending on what pump is doing what at the moment it can go from to much flow and run off into the emergency pipe to the gurgle of braking suction in the secondary drain pipe. Any suggestions to improve this? If I set the MP40 to constant flow everything is just dandy.....

 
Last edited:
OP
OP
Jeto2004

Jeto2004

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 6, 2019
Messages
1,130
Reaction score
7,835
Location
Fairfield County, CT
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Just to let you guys know, I’m now more or less up to date and caught up in my build thus far. So everything now will be close to real time.
Thank you for all the encouraging words along the way, I find these really motivational and help to tucker along.

By the way is it to early to dress up your tank for Halloween?
E90BE876-F451-40F1-9F5D-7053A4B77E00.jpeg

Had to drill some pocket screw holes into the canopy structure and wanted to prevent to many wood chips falling into the tank!
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
Jeto2004

Jeto2004

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 6, 2019
Messages
1,130
Reaction score
7,835
Location
Fairfield County, CT
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Since I will not be able to have a dedicated fish room (sigh - see more I see on R2R, so more I envy the people you have the space), I had to rearrange some storage in our utility room to make space for a QT tank that I picked up over the weekend. Tank is from Petco, but was happy to support LFS by buying a seachem tidal 35 HOB, heater, light and thermostat.
To fill the QT with saltwater, I made my first batch of saltwater in the mixing station. Worked flawless. After salt water was ready it was easy to transfer water with my python to the QT tank. Well this will be the first and last time the python touched the QT tank or at least until it will be bleached......

7BA252BD-A173-49BB-A8EB-F32AFEC1DEAD.jpeg
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
Jeto2004

Jeto2004

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 6, 2019
Messages
1,130
Reaction score
7,835
Location
Fairfield County, CT
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
The media for the HOB still sits in the sump of the DT over the weekend. Or at least couple of days before we plan to get the first fish. But QT is up and running

C614C67D-47A9-4DC9-8F83-D740EC9715AF.jpeg
 

Dierks

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
May 3, 2018
Messages
1,601
Reaction score
3,274
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
This is a great build, This has been a blast to follow along to. I started reading this last night and finished tonight... Very excited for you and very excited to come into this build right at the fun part. Even though I have as much fun building and planning as I do enjoying my fish!

Keep up the great work and craftsmanship!!
 
OP
OP
Jeto2004

Jeto2004

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 6, 2019
Messages
1,130
Reaction score
7,835
Location
Fairfield County, CT
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
This is a great build, This has been a blast to follow along to. I started reading this last night and finished tonight... Very excited for you and very excited to come into this build right at the fun part. Even though I have as much fun building and planning as I do enjoying my fish!

Keep up the great work and craftsmanship!!
Thank you for the complement! Still there are lot of things to get accomplished! Your craftsmanship looks pretty good too. Like your cabinets you build, including your home theater.
 
Last edited:

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 64 36.8%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 59 33.9%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 14.4%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 26 14.9%
  • Other.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
Back
Top