75G Build, First Timer

[Patterson333]

im calling the overflow to the sump the supply line.

caution because if your return from your pump back to the tank is not EXACTLY balanced (same flow to and from) with your supply you can flood.

Ah, makes sense, thanks! I might still have it on there, but just always have it either completely open, or completely closed (i.e. when I'm going to perform maintenance in the sump and I don't want water flowing in.).

I'm really hoping I won't be faced with a flood. My supply line has a built in siphon break, which will hopefully work

 

[Patterson333]

Hmm, the more I look into it, the better this flexible PVC is looking. I think I might pick some up tomorrow. Thanks carey!

Once all is said and done I'll just go back to home depot and return anything I didn't use.

 

[Patterson333]

Update! So the guy came over today, and we worked for hours on the tank. I had a feeling that I would want to rearrange the rock, but he did such a gorgeous job that I don't want to mess with it lol.

Oh, we also set up the return pump plumbing, and put the union valve between the ball and pump (thanks coffeetwitch!)

I would take a photo, but it's completely cloudy due to the sand.

 

[carey]

Well, now that we all know its done you come and say no photos? Shame !! LOL

Waiting patiently for the pcitures.....

 

[coffeetwitch]

take it anyway!!!!

oh and your welcome but that lil bit of info i cannot take full credit for, i forgot who i read say that. this is a great sight!

 

[Patterson333]

Haha you guys sure are persistent. Anyways, here's some photos of the tank itself. I promise somewhere underneath that murky mess, there's some live rock lol.





Here's a photo of the sump. I ended up going with a dsb, it's about 6" in depth, and I ended up using live sand as opposed to pfs. Those of you with a keen eyesight might notice that my temp is way up at 84. He filled it with water that's been sitting in his van all day, so I'm really hoping it'll go down. Otherwise I might consider an in-line pump.




Oh and here's an image of the return plumbing. I think he did a really nice job. Everything's neat and fairly simple. I watched him like a hawk the whole time, so I know how the setup works.





And here's a photo of my return area, with that cleverly placed union jack. He also proposed this idea which hadn't occurred to me, which was to put a piece of gym mat rubber under the pump to reduce noise. It was brilliant! Pump doesn't make a sound. Time will tell how much heat it adds...





Oh and lastly, he said my live rock is going to need to cure for quite a while, and the smell might be ungodly during that time, so he suggested I run carbon in the sump for a while.

 

[carey]

Looks user friendly! LOL Nice setup.

 

[coffeetwitch]

great set up. dont worry about the live sand. it will do it on its own. lr is more important than live sand.

thanks for the pictures! now we can see how fast sand will settle. mine always settled fast in all my tanks.

 

[coffeetwitch]

oh and dont stress too much about the smell. ours didnt. if it came from a curing tank then i think you should be ok.

 

[Patterson333]

oh and dont stress too much about the smell. ours didnt. if it came from a curing tank then i think you should be ok.

I'm really hoping smell won't be an issue, but my live rock is very "uncured" which causes me to worry. And leads me to another question.

The guy who was setting it up for me recommended I go out and buy myself a massive CUC and put them in during the curing process. He said they would help dispose of decaying matter, though he also warned me that some might die off due to the harsh conditions. What do you guys think I should do? Is it wise to get a CUC during curing/cycling? Or should I wait?

 

[matthewh133]

I'd imagine it's the same as fish, it's doable but it would probably be quite cruel and painful to the poor little guys. Take what I say with a grain of salt, but if he says there could be die off due to "harsh" conditions, this means they would obviously be in pain. I'm sucking up the smell for 4 weeks, making sure I leave windows open. I just started my cycle with a little live rock, the rest will be coming in a weeks time.

 

[coffeetwitch]

the same advice was given to us, we had 2 hermit crabs hitch hike to our tank with the rock. and if it very uncured rock and the smell gets too bad carbon wouldnt hurt.

i guess for us, we where lucky that our rock came home very cured.

 

[Patterson333]

Well, the tank sure did clear up quickly. What do you guys think?


















It's kind of smelly, so I put these "odor remover" things on top, and they seem to be doing the trick, as you could only smell if from directly above the aquarium.

As far as the CUC goes, I'm gonna wait a few days, maybe a week or more.

My temperature has dropped down to 82.5. Still a tad on the warm side, so hopefully it'll drop down a bit more. I plan on running a fan in the fuge, not sure how much that'll help, but I've read that they can help sometimes.

 

[coffeetwitch]

Amazing looking set up!

I would rather run carbon than those Oder things but that's just me.

 

[carey]

I'd wait for sure on the cuc. No need to kill them off now. lol The more decaying stuff you have to die off the more ammonia youll have and the stronger system you'll end up with

 

[rdnelson99]

+1 on what Carey added in my opinion. I see no need whatsoever for a CUC while the tank is cycling. Also, the tank looks assume. Very nice rockscaping.

 

[scottayy]

I see you're using maxijet pro's.. correct? I loved the current mine put out in circulation mode but the propeller was just so LOUD I couldn't run them. Do you have any problem with the noise?

 

[Patterson333]

Yea, I'll definitely hold off on the CUC for a while. Oh and I'm running carbon in addition to those "odor removers." The tank is in the living room, so I'm doing all I can to reduce smell so as to not inconvenience my family lol

 

[carey]

I never had any smell from any of my tanks. Maybe I just got lucky. I;ve always added established live rock though so maybe thats why.

 

[Patterson333]

I see you're using maxijet pro's.. correct? I loved the current mine put out in circulation mode but the propeller was just so LOUD I couldn't run them. Do you have any problem with the noise?

Oh yea. These things are really loud. However I didn't have anything to compare them to, as it's my first SW build, and my first experience with circulation pumps. But seeing as how you've experienced the same thing, I think I might want to opt for something quieter.

I'm still within 30 days of having purchased them. I'm gonna call the store and see what their return/exchange policy is. What would you guys recommend I get?