Leaellynasaura's 135g reef/fish tank thread

[Leaellynasaura]

Hey everyone! I finally got my tank into my house!

I sure am glad I have been weight lifting for 2 years because 2 manning this down the hallway is not easy!

It is Oceanic brand.

My dad kept African Cichlids in this 8 years or so ago.

I did not know it before, but my dad also had an extra refugeum for me

I plan to use it later on to add a deep sand bed / copepod sanctuary.

I have started working on my algae scrubber. I also could not help but getting a Blue Tang and Octopus before I even had water in the tank!

Here you can see the insertion slot for one of the two plastic grids for the algae to grow on:

I have ordered a 800 GPH hang on back overflow box and a 1262 model Eheim pump to get the water back in the tank. I am going to use some kind of large rubber made type tub for the sump to contain the algae scrubber. It will also house the heater.

I am working on properly roughing up the grid to better allow the algae to adhere.

I currently need advice on how to best clean this tank that has been in storage for almost 8 years!

I am thinking I will use my shop vac to try and get the gravel and dirt out and then maybe vinegar/water and a sponge to try and clean the glass? Do you guys have any advice on how to clean this?

 

[ehsheridan110]

Fill it with vinegar and water and then toss a pump in there to circulate the water (optional). It's up to you whether you want to siphon out the gravel once you have some water in there or if you want to shop vac it out. Good luck!

 

[Leaellynasaura]

So as in fill the entire tank? How many gallons of vinegar would you suggest to mix with the water?

 

[revhtree]

Congrats!

 

[ehsheridan110]

So as in fill the entire tank? How many gallons of vinegar would you suggest to mix with the water?

Yep fill the entire tank. I did 1:10, one part vinegar for every 10 parts water. It will loosen up any stubborn gunk and then you can easily wipe it off. Just ensure that you rinse it out thoroughly with fresh water before you start your tank. You definitely don't want vinegar in your tank. I would rinse it out and then let it dry completely so the vinegar evaporates out.

 

[ksfulk]

So as in fill the entire tank? How many gallons of vinegar would you suggest to mix with the water?

More importantly, you want to leak test the tank to make sure that the silcone is still sealing the glass after being dry for eight years. After leak testing, I would shop vac out all the big stuff (or use a dustpan - they work well as a mini-shovel) and then use vinegar on a rag to wipe down everything. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes and then go at coralline and salt residue with a metal bladed scraper or razor blade and wipe down with vinegar as you go. There shouldnt be much you need to soak if its been dry that long. Just lots of elbow grease

 

[Leaellynasaura]

I did some cleaning today.

First I used a shop vac to get the big stuff out of the bottom.

After the shop vac:

Then my dad and I used 1 part vinegar 1 part water to clean the inside out pretty good. After that we used fresh water and a siphon to remove the vinegar and dirt.

My return pump came in:

It can be used inline:

I am going to use it inside the sump:

There is a nice foam pre-filter inside that light grey section. When I was researching this pump I realized the 1260/1262 models differed possibly only by the impeller itself. The pump housing is identical so one could buy a 1260 and later upgrade to 1262 by swapping out the impeller supposedly. Before I bought this I suspected it was just rumor, but it shipped in a 1260 box (2400/3000) and had a sticker on the box and pump for the 1262 model. This further confirms the rumor.

Next steps:

• Decide if tank needs leveled. Front to back it is level. Side to side there is about 1/4 inch difference across the entire length. What are your thoughts on that?
• Replace electrical outlet behind tank with GFI before it gets too heavy
• Finish algae scrubber
• Obtain aragonite sand and order dry rock.
• Plumb the alage scrubber/return pump/overflow box when certain xmas goodies arrive

 

[Joey waid]

Tank cleaned up nice. I'm wondering if that return pump is big, if that's what it is. Anyways it's going to be nice!!

 

[Leaellynasaura]

Tank cleaned up nice. I'm wondering if that return pump is big, if that's what it is. Anyways it's going to be nice!!

I am basing my pump selection on this chart:

It should be about a 5 ft head so around 600 or so gph return. My overflow will be 800 gph. I am hoping they match well.

 

[Joey waid]

I have a 500gph pump on a forty and is just big enough. If you add anything to your system like uv ar reactors, I just don't think it will work. Even by itself I don't think it's big enough, but that's just me.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Cool build! Following!

 

[Leaellynasaura]

Yesterday and today my step dad helped me work on the shelf for my basement sump and we hung up the RO/DI system, but have not yet plumbed it. The next project is to build the shelf for my Refugeum and my external return pump. I sent the Eheim pump back and ordered a more powerful external pump made by Pan World in order to accommodate the increased head pressure going up a floor.

Here is the basement sump platform support system being built:

Here is the platform being placed onto the supports:

Here you can see that I also have some extra beams going up to help support the weight of the tank itself:

Sump on platform:

RODI System (Not hooked up yet)

 

[Leaellynasaura]

I cleaned up the refugium today. I may replace the gasket even though it seemed in pretty good shape.

I also finally finished my work on the algae scrubber grids.

I have some concern that the two slots I have cut will not be able to process the 325 gph each I want so I have to test it when the system is plumbed. The easiest fix would be to remove the three tabs I put on the grid. Their only function is to help hold them in place. If that is not enough I will widen the slots themselves.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

This is shaping up very nicely! Can't wait to see how it all comes together!

 

[Leaellynasaura]

I am doing a leak test this weekend and maybe some more work on the basement sump.

Any tips for the leak test? I am watching the seams and trying to look through the bottom at the top of the stand. How long would it take to know if it was leaking? 24 hours?

 

[Ocean Lotion]

Looks nice. A strong recommendation to you is to drill your tank before setting it up and forego the overflow box. Will make life much better. Less chance of a problem and less maintenance. I have a overflow box on mine and switching to a drilled tank soon. Bean Animal overflow would be a good choice.

 

[Leaellynasaura]

I am happy to report there were no leaks over night.

I am aware of the vast benefits of a drilled system, but I am going to move forward with the overflow for now. I feel I can minimize my risks by using the aqua lifter and a safety float switch return pump cut off.

 

[Leaellynasaura]

Today I finished the wood working with my step dad and bought 90% of the remaining plumbing supplies for the filtration and RO/DI system.

Here is the pump stand:

Here is the refugium on its stand:

Here is the whole basement setup minus the plumbing and algae scrubber:

 

[Leaellynasaura]

I did some rethinking on my plumbing plans. Instead of being gravity fed the algae scrubber will now run on its own small submersible pump. This will allow the tank and refugium to drain into a filter sock. Also, even though my tank passed the leak test, it is fairly old and the silicone seams don't look so great on close inspection. I have decided to be redo the silicone after watching a video of it being done. Wish me luck!

 

[Leaellynasaura]

I started working on resealing the tank today. The corners were in worse condition then the bottom which looked pretty good. I did not mess with the top.

Old corner silicone:

After removing old silicone:

Masking Tape:

I did not have time to apply the new silicone today.