OK, so i have been wanting to do one of these for a long time now. The tank has been up and running since March 25th 2006. So here it is!!
I had fresh water for around 5 years. i had two oscars messuring in 13 and 14 inches. i went away on vacation to come back to two dead fish, why you ask my cheap heater i used for the hole time broke. but thats in the past, time to start a new and more exciting hobby.
The tank i had at the time was a 40 gallon bow front, so i decided to use it..
This is a picture of the first day with the sand and salt water in it. Notice the live rock to help the cycle along jk.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Just Kidding" class="inlineimg" />
ok after about two weeks of closely watching over the levels i went to the local fish store. there are two here localy and i love them both. my good friends work at both locations and if your ever in the area look me up and i will take you there..
Ok at first i wasnt for sure what type of tank i wanted or what i wanted the tank to look like.. so after about 3-4 months of leaving the rock strutcher alone in the picture i decided to rearange all the rock and add some. also at this point i do not have a sump but i ordered everything the other day to do a 20 gallon high sump..
here is a picture of what my rock structure looks like at the moment..
Upgraded Lighting
Coralife 65watt Power compact
10,000k Daylight Actinic's
2 Lunar Lights plus i added one more for coverage
Get rid of Filter
Added a Phosphate Reacter 150 from Little Fishies.
I really wish i would of Logged all of this better as i did it, but i didnt think of doing a Member Tank Project Thread so if you have any questions ask away..
Ok, over the weekend i decided i needed a sump ( or wanted lol ) so i went to the local store and ordered all the stuff i needed and then i came home and got on visio to design my new to come sump..
I am going this weekend to get the tank for the sump and to get some Plexyglass for the deviders and the shelfs..
I know the history of my tank was really quick and said in fewer words. but from this point on i plan of posting everything. and the new sump will just be the start.
just an update,
i ordered my floats lastnight for the sump/refugium from www.aquahub.com. two floats for $15. i dont think thats bad at all. all my stuff should be in this weekend however with space not availible i have to a get a 15gallon high tank for the sump. 15gallon high is the same width as a 10gallon, it stinks but its all i have to work with right now.. i will keep my journal updated as it goes. i need to get the tank and then the acrylic and then the fun begins
ok first off, im dangerous when im bored lol.. here's why.
i took my old setup.
to a new stand.
the switch was pretty easy considering.. i have a small tank so it wasnt that bad to move a tank with about 10 gallons and the sand in it. ( wasnt easy though ) i syphoned out all the water i could into holding tanks and placed my corals inside of a 10gal i has laying around. also if you use the same water that was in the display tank before reenterducing the water will not cause a cycle..
after i was finished moving in the new stand and getting the power figured out i simply put the water back into the tank and added the corals..
the new stand use to be a hutch. with about three diferent colors on it so i painted it.. i still have some work to do on it but its in my house and thats all that matters
i want to go with a diferent stand so i could have more room under the tank for more stuff. like a sump/fuge. my old stand could only fit a 10 gallon tank under and who wants that?
right now i have a 15gal wide in place but i am thinking about a 20gal wide. not sure yet..
ok next on my journey was doing the plumbing for my sump. i have the overflow box already so i can go ahead with making the overflowtube. i went with a CPR overflow box because i cant drill my tank and ive seen them in action and they seem to work pretty good. here are some pictures of the plumbing..
this is a picture of the overall look and design of the drain from the DT.
i know i need to finish painting lol
i went with two vavles because i plan on sectioning off and blacking out the right side of the sump for a fuge. the valve is so i can adjust the flow to the fuge area. which will be low current. and the drain on the left is for the skimmer area.
i still have to glue everything together and make sure all my ducks are in a row. i will be doing that as soon as i decide if i want the 15wide or the 20wide..
ok on the return i decided to go with Loc-Line as the outlet at the DT i love the look of it and the ability to move it where you want it to without having to redo a bunch of stuff..
on the sump i want to add as much water as i can. but of course i have to worry about return syphon when the power goes out. so my fix. i plan on getting the overflow in the place and height i want it in. then i will start the return pump up and wait for everything to settle and make sure i dont have any leaks. then i will take my locline which will be located on top of the water and adjust it to barely touch the top of the water line. i did some testing outside and sure enuff it doesnt make alot of noise. it is actually more quit than a hang on filter.. so im happy about that. in this picture you will see how it will be setup and how close it is to the water line.
the tests i was doing showed that i wont get that much return syphon at all. once i killed the power the loc-line started sucking air and within 5 seconds it was done. so i am guessing i wont get more than a half a cup out of the return line..
oh yea and i almost forgot to mention, add as many quick disconnects as you can, for it will be easy to take apart and clean..
when i put everything back together i decided to layout the rock to look like a cove. not sure why i just like how it looks. here is a picture of the begining steps in figuring out the best way to lay the rock..
i plan on adding more rock as well. but i figure i will do that after i get the sump up and running..
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