Got a lot done in the past week... well, IMO.
The tank has been cycling for a few days now. The rock, a bit longer. Here's a bunch of pics:
Found out why they put that center brace in there. Ha!
Don't recall if I posted this, but this is when I was giving the skimmer a vinegar bath (5 parts water to 1 part vinegar). It was pretty grimy (as they should be), and I had to replace the pump to feel comfortable with it. Other than some alignment issues (volute into body, mostly) it actually skims rather well. A bit surprised, to be honest. Time always tells though.
Don't recall if I posted this one either. This a mock-up of my plumbing. Simplicity at it's finest. It's also louder than using PVC when you do it this way. And weaker. And more prone to leaks. I didn't feel like getting too crazy under here.
Here's the Apex I got. I had to get a new display. The original was broken when I got it home. Right where the connector meets the wire.
Ah well... still a great deal, nonetheless.
Here's what I did to my bigger rocks.
To prevent detritus build-up and create a "floating rock" look. I like how it turned out, and it was super easy to do.
Oh, and believe it or not, the above is about the size of two basketballs!
Leak testing and cleaned the glass with an EZ-Bladed Piranha.
An interesting/funny thing that happened to me, during this process... I accidentally put all the gaskets on the nut end of all four of my bulkheads vs. the flange-end on the inside of the overflows. HAHA! ::cough::NEWBIE::cough:: I did a quick
then fixed it. Duh.
More as it comes.
I need to update my spreadsheet, too. Been pretty busy...
