Tank planning-65 gallon sps build (2 Viewers)

[NarnyTheGreat]

Dont be a schmuck alex. No one needs it, least of all me.

 

[alexrex20]

I love the Ignore List. You should try it out.

 

[NarnyTheGreat]

I dont take direction from trolls but thanks anyway.

 

[NarnyTheGreat]

Back to the point at hand, I think I do plan to add at least some sps corals. I certainly want the option if I do decide to do so. Nothings more annoying than wanting to break into something new and then realizing you havent got enough money to do it at that time.

The obsession is what drives my husband even nuttier. If I have everything I need for the upgrade then there shouldnt be as much of an obsession than if I have to wait months for something (like my new tank).

Slow and steady wins the race. Thats what I always tell my kids but man it can be a pain lol.

So, my plan at this time will be to collect all the things I will need for the auto feeder and for getting the sps tank together ie the controller, GFO and/or reef boosters led lighting upgrade etc.

Since I have many things to do in the mean time, getting the tank for starters plumbing etc. I can disguise my obsession in this tank set up .

 

[Chewy]

How are your tankmates holding up?

 

[NarnyTheGreat]

They are doing well.... ok well the wrasses are doing well... the assessors I havent seen since the morning after I added the wrasse.

I am in the process of trying to figure out what I should do for the assessors. I was thinking about putting a divider in and separate them so the assessors can have more time to get used to them... I dont know that this will work though.

 

[NarnyTheGreat]

Update-

I ordered the wine chiller for my automated feeder. It should be here in about a week.

I am still looking for a reasonably priced feeding pump. I find them on Ebay all the time but the
EnteraLite Infinity pumps are PRICEY!

My tank should be in on the 2nd so I should be able to get moving on it.

I am still unsure how I will be handling the plumbing. My husband wants to use the current sump we have which is to big to fit in the stand so I will have to set it up next to the tank. He also wants to build a water proof box with lifting lid for it so plumbing is going to be interesting. I am worried about how this is going to go over and that I might not like it. I dont normally get a lot of say in what/how he designs things for my tank so its a little frustrating. He is supposed to be starting the box this weekend. First though I think I will bring the sump up and put it next to the stand so that we have a more practical idea of how much walking room there will be once the box is built.

On a different note, I have got to figure out saltwater supply storage. I have this stuff everywhere because there is no one place thats designated tank space so it all just ends up everywhere and I hate it. The garage is his, then he has his office. We turned our formal dinning into a pantry so there is no room there either. I have got to figure this out.

 

[flexrac]

How about an aqua lifter on a timer or a dosing pump from brs?

 

[NarnyTheGreat]

How about an aqua lifter on a timer or a dosing pump from brs?

I thought about that. I read some people tried/wanted to use an aqualifter for dosing 2 part and all the posts seem to say the same thing... not accurate enough. I just assumed that this would be true for the feedings. I dont want it to get stuck feeding one ml 5 times a day! That would be... a lot of food... or would it? I'm not sure how much on average I feed now so maybe it wouldnt be to much? I dont want to pollute the water and cause everything to freak. The bonus with the feeding pump (while very pricey) it will feed a min of 0.1 ml per hour as instead of 1 ml per hour.

I did see another pump for sale that was designed for dosing on ebay that I could use. Heres the link. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Litermeter-...231?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb703f37f

Its got about a 1/6 ml per hour dose but I would have to buy an timer for that one too so that it didnt feed that every hour.

 

[NarnyTheGreat]

I will begin the plumbing of my 65 gallon this week and was looking into bulkheads.

What is the difference between the slip on ends and threaded ends and why would you pick one over the other?

 

[tektite]

Slip can be more leakproof, but its a permanent connection. If you put enough teflon tape/paste on the threads they're perfectly fine too, plus in the future they can be taken apart and re-used. I prefer threaded for that reason.

 

[NarnyTheGreat]

Thank you, I have never understood the difference.

 

[flexrac]

Another option is to use slip and put. Union on it.

 

[NarnyTheGreat]

So excited! I have been STRESSING the sump situation pretty hard. The stand is SO small (less than 11.5 inches wide) and putting anything of size is impossible. So I was building a model of the sump I was thinking about buying to see if there was a creative way to get it in the sump and low and behold the center brace can be removed! Its screwed in there with some weird square tipped screws so I couldnt just use a philips or other regular screw driver ut get them out but this means what I lack in width can be made up for in length... (yes I know insert man humor here)

I just need to find one of those screw drivers that will strip out the screws and I will be all set!

Now on to lighting. Any one know of a way to have a REALLY kick ********* LED set up with out A) spending at least 1000$ or B) me doing it myself?

 

[tektite]

You can get a basic screwdriver set at most hardware stores that have square tips included.

 

[reefling]

I cannot seem to find it now, but someone used an ro canister to add calcium to the water. they ran their makeup water through an ro canister full of aragonite... think about it guys. we spend all this money to add co2 to seawater to make it the ph of RI/DI water. I saw this thing like a year ago at least. it was one of those... why hasnt anyone else thought of this yet.... lol that might make your calcium additions cheaper. your hubby can use the extra money for assult rifles or something lol

 

[flexrac]

I cannot seem to find it now, but someone used an ro canister to add calcium to the water. they ran their makeup water through an ro canister full of aragonite... think about it guys. we spend all this money to add co2 to seawater to make it the ph of RI/DI water. I saw this thing like a year ago at least. it was one of those... why hasnt anyone else thought of this yet.... lol that might make your calcium additions cheaper. your hubby can use the extra money for assult rifles or something lol

the reason why we add c02 is because it melts the aragonite and turns it to a calcius state. if your ph is not low enough, the aragonite will not dissolve.
simply running water over it will not work. most it did was balance the ph in the water, nothing else.

 

[NarnyTheGreat]

The tank is here! And really really NEW. Its so new the silicone still needs time to cure (you can smell it). Thankfully I still need to paint the back and get the sump before I can plumb it so I dont mind having to wait.

The only thing I really dont like is that the over flow is HUGE looking. But I cant complain really, they gave me some free macro and free lids to cover their mistake. So I am happy.... for now . Next time, starphire.

 

[flexrac]

Yay!

 

[Mark L.]

Post some pics!