Paul's First Saltwater Tank

PaulPerger

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As the title says, this is my first Saltwater Tank. I currently have 7 FW tanks, and I have 8 tanks with no water in them. I am in the process of finishing my basement and I promised my wife I would finish the "family's portion" first and my office/fish room would be the last piece of the project. So, I plan to take things slowly and carefully. Starting now will give me an incentive to complete the basement and will create a "deadline" to get that project finished.

I am still undecided as to which tank I am going to use for my display tank. I have a 40 Gallon bowfront, a 40 Gallon Breeder and a 55 Gallon tank. I think I am going to go with the bowfront as I think it will make the most attractive tank, but that may change.

Maybe this build thread is a little pre-mature, but I have started preparation, so to document every step, even the boring ones, today is the day to start it...

So, the first step, lay out all the rock I purchased and see what I've got.
IMG_20171021_152158-XL.jpg


As I was laying it out, I found that several rocks had this holes in them. These were clearly drilled and I presume there was a rod of some sort used to stack and keep rocks in place.
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And then it was time to carefully stack them all in a tub and give them a bleach bath. I am going to soak them in bleach for 1 week, then I will rinse the rock for two days with dechlorinator before starting the actual curing process.
IMG_20171021_162917-XL.jpg


So. I have rock. I have a "tank". and I have water. Of course, I still don't have salt, but that is coming...
 

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Good choice for the tank. Also the drilled holes may come in handy.
 

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Eplastics.com. they have all kinds of different sizes, but they are all acrylic. These should work. You can also just amazon.com too.

Andrew
 
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PaulPerger

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I purchased a Skimmer from a member here on Reef2Reef, opened it up last night and cleaned it thoroughly and got the pump pumping water. Having never had one before, I relied on pictures from the net to put it together. Does it look like I've done it correctly? If you see something that doesn't look right, PLEASE let me know!!

My first question (and I have asked the member I purchased it from, but I'll ask here too...) Should this "lid" be secured to this "bowl" in some fashion? I feel like the power of the powerhead is going to simply push it up out of the way... AND as I was typing this, I just answered my own question looking at the photo... That long plastic bolt was "left over" when I was done putting it all back together, and I just saw the hole in the bottom of the bowl... I'll bet that screw goes through one of those holes in the lid, and secures the lid by screwing into that little hole on the bottom of the "bowl"...
IMG_20171114_225618%5B1%5D-X2.jpg


There is a small "drain plug" on the underside of the bowl that has a nice tight cover on it... Can I run a tube from that to a drainpipe and then simply rinse the cup without removing it to get rid of the waste collected here? It looks like that is what it is for...
IMG_20171114_231642%5B1%5D-X2.jpg


This is completely assembled. With the exception of the clear rod with the threaded end. The threaded end broke off during shipping and in this photo it has just been glued back into position and it is drying, but I know it is the "lever" mechanism that lifts the "door" at the bottom of the skimmer.
IMG_20171114_231657%5B1%5D-X2.jpg


The threaded rod glue job hopefully drying straight!
IMG_20171114_231744%5B1%5D-XL.jpg
 

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That plug is for a tube to drain your skimmate into a jug so you don't have to empty it as often. If you do this, you will want a carbon filter on the jug to clean the air coming out of the jug. It will get VERY smelly
 

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Looking good!

As far as rod to use for your rock.....I've always used plastic coat hangers. Custom cut to fit, and my wife doesn't even miss them.
 
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PaulPerger

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That plug is for a tube to drain your skimmate into a jug so you don't have to empty it as often. If you do this, you will want a carbon filter on the jug to clean the air coming out of the jug. It will get VERY smelly

That's what I thought. I plan to have a drain pipe plumbed for sump emergency overflow and to make water changes easier. I think I my just tap directly to that pipe. Then I can rinse the cup right there and the waste will go straight down the drain.
 

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No, not silicone. I use epoxy putty...and buy Rectorseal EP from HD (in the plumbing aisle). You can also buy epoxy putty from your LFS....or Amazon, etc.

I guess you could use silicone if you have the time to let it fully cure.....in rock, I'd want to wait a good week, if not longer. And if you want to use HD silicone, you want GE I (NOT GE II).
 

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GREAT IDEA!! I assume that I can use aquarium safe silicone to secure them and rock in place.
I like to use aquarium cement for making rock structures, its much easier than trying to drill rocks and use tubing of some sort. E-Marco 400 is what they sell at a LFS near me and it works great.
 
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PaulPerger

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One more entry to the Sumptacular giveaway!! I plan to build a sump, but ONLY if I don't win this one!

Please Do not enter the giveaway, I don't want anymore competition! But here's the link so I get another entry. Better yet, if you don't need a new Sump, ENTER and if you win you can give it to me!!!!

SUMPTACULAR GIVEAWAY HERE
 
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PaulPerger

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After a 2 week bath in Bleach Water, and a 3 week rinse in FW, 100% water change every other day until there was no sign of any chlorine, and then another week in this tank with a powerhead moving the water, I finally got a chance to clean the rock with a scrub brush and I picked out a bunch of dead sponge from some deep crevices along with some chunks of some other kind of coral that had found it's way into a crevice of rock and two decomposing snails.

Later this afternoon after this dirty water is syphoned out, I plan to change the water, clean the tank and significantly increase the flow in this tank and start measuring Phosphates.

DIRTY water after a good brushing of the rocks...
IMG_20171125_111745-L.jpg
 
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PaulPerger

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After changing the water and replacing the rocks... Believe it or not that water was CLEAR before putting those rocks back in the tank. I guess I didn't rinse them as well as I thought I did!
IMG_20171126_121029-L.jpg


So, after attaching a few socks to filter the water and turning on the pump and waiting a few hours... It is very nice and clear!
IMG_20171127_173739-L.jpg


I picked up more wood for the stand. Hope to get some serious work on it done this weekend!
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

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