bige Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 That looks awesome! Great idea cutting hole to other room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted August 10, 2012 Author Share Posted August 10, 2012 I'm still working on buying equipment. How long should I wait after the tank has cycled to purchase / install the skimmer? Is it a matter of the amount of livestock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scutterborn Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Should the baffles leading into the return section be lower or should both sets be the same height? Same height. A friend of mine here in San Antonio is really, really good with acrylic. He is who built it. His screen name is Hobogato on MAAST. -Ben- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scutterborn Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Looking good btw! -Ben- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted August 11, 2012 Author Share Posted August 11, 2012 One more update. Next is to paint it and get the baffles added to the sump tank. I probably won't have the existing tank out of the way till next weekend so I can cut the rest of the sheet wall out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 I'm still working on buying equipment. How long should I wait after the tank has cycled to purchase / install the skimmer? Is it a matter of the amount of livestock? You can install it from the start, but without anything alive in the tank it won't have any protein to skim. It will let you start to determine power, heat issues, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted August 18, 2012 Author Share Posted August 18, 2012 Getting closer. The tank is going on the stand tomorrow. I did a mock up of the tank out of cardboard and made my first attempt of aquascaping. It's hard to see the details / depth of the rock. Each side has a cave area that goes through it. This eco dry rock works great. You just stack it and it pretty much locks itself together. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bige Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 Looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted August 19, 2012 Author Share Posted August 19, 2012 Well...it's finally done! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 That's looking great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Cob Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 this is going to be a sweet tank, love the build Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted August 21, 2012 Author Share Posted August 21, 2012 Is there a good trick to removing the glue left behind when you peel labels off? I've scraped the paper off by the blade isn't doing a good job on the gunk that's left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scutterborn Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 (edited) I've always found a fresh blade will take care of the residue. Other than that, a fresh cut lemon will break it down with enough elbow grease -Ben- Edited August 21, 2012 by Scutterborn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted August 26, 2012 Author Share Posted August 26, 2012 I'm making progress slowly but surely. Spent the last two days putting down the flooring. I picked up everything for the plumbing yesterday...holy crap...I spent almost 2 hrs in Lowe's with my diagram trying to find all the right parts. Hoping to get that completed through this next week. I just placed an order for a return pump, parts to make a cover screen and parts to move my RO/DI unit into the room. Planning to set it up along the wall on the right side of the tank where I'm planning on keeping a trash can for water changes. I think the only things left are sand, some extra live rock and to order the lights. Due to budget I'm leaning toward the AI Vega's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bige Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 That looks awesome!! I'm going to do this. Great idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted August 27, 2012 Author Share Posted August 27, 2012 Cost me $160 at lowe's...it's just vinyl faux wood strips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 Hopefully within the next two weeks I'll have my tank ready to fill. I've got 150lb of eco rock from BRS to go in the tank. I had also been planning to buy 30-40lb of live rock at the LFS. I've got 30lbs of rock in my 29g that's been running for about 5 mths. Question is...rather than buying additional if I move the current 30lb into the new tank would that be enough to cut down or even eliminate the cycle time? Or is it even possible to avoid cycling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 I would think that adding the rock from the 29 would aid in establishing bio, especially if you're running a tank with a sand bed. I don't know that you will completely skip a cycle, but i would think that "seeding" the new 150 lb rock with established rock will certainly help. Many people (mr. saltwater reef in particular) are very high on bug additives (dr. tim's) to speed up or negate a cycle. One of the mod's here (RichardL) recently setup a tank using this method and appears to have had success. Perhaps he can chime in with his experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Are you going to have any substrate on the bottom of tank? As I normally set up DSB, I allow bacteria populations in the sanded to cycle tank for the first 2-4 weeks. This is much cheaper than live rock. Bacteria populations in sandbed reduce the need for large amounts of live rock. Add decorative live rock after the first month. In this manner, you reduce stress on expensive live rock during the initial cycle. Also at this first month, you should start adding some herbivore janitors. I like Cerith and Nasarrius Snails that will reproduce in your sandbed. To inoculate the system, I use mature sand from an established system. From my point of view, the more biodiversity the better. Get a handful from a fellow reefers tank. Go to LFS and get some reef rubble for the initial inoculation/cycle. Enjoy the ride, Patrick This is my 135G lagoon tank that is cycling at this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+olaggie01 Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 I was going to ask if you were going to remove the carpet. Great job so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 (edited) I am going to do sand...probably about an inch and a half. I had been planning a full cycle but was just wondering what would happen when adding some live rock. Making a little more progress. I got the baffles done in the sump. Received another order from BRS and just got home from the sale at Aquatek and picked up a few goodies. Got the skimmer for $300... 25% off internet prices! The guy was setting all of the equipment up and had a 10g tank sitting on the table. He had a smaller version of the skimmer. He took water from the live rock tank, poured it in the 10g, turned on the skimmer, made a couple of adjustments and it started foaming like crazy. This weekend will be plumbing and doing a water test on everything. Edited September 1, 2012 by Jimbo662 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted September 2, 2012 Author Share Posted September 2, 2012 Well, I've been a busy boy today. Got my RO/DI unit moved out of the guest bathroom. I counted wrong and didn't order enough elbow connections to finish the setup so I see yet another BRS order in my near future! Just finished the plumbing. Tomorrow will be a test run with water. Anyone got any words of wisdom before I start that??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bige Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Looks good. Crazy plumbing. Looks like fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted September 3, 2012 Author Share Posted September 3, 2012 Woohoo!!!!! The tank is full and no leaks anywhere! I kept a level on the tank the entire time and the bubble never moverd...my little homemade stand held up. :-) Only thing left now is adding the trim to the living room side, getting some more sand and lighting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Very cool build, I am planning a upgrade to the same tank in the coming months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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