Carey's LAST Build- 125g Reef

[leftyfish]

Just make sure the sump fits under the stand before filling the tank. I had to lift my stand over my sump, lol! Will need a bat to get it out with tank in place.

 

[carey]

My sump actually fits through the front center doors. The sump is already in just waiting on the water and need to start rinsing the sand.

The only issue I may have is that theres a support beam for the stand underneath in the dead center of the stand. I also have 2 support bars in the frame of the tank so it may be a tight fit for the overflow box and hoses. I'm still figuring out how I want everything underneath. To make matters worse i only have 1 double socket to work with so i will be tight on plug in ability too.

Always something......

 

[Gti_Leo]

I would add the sand, then the water, then the rock, keeping the rock wet in their buckets as long as possible. I'd also put a plate or something flat down to try not to stir up the sand too much. I always try too push the rocks into the sand too so any burrowing fish don't get squished when they remove the sand underneath.

she wants to use a DSB so its best to put the live rock in first then the sand. so i'd fill it up to first, then add the rock and then the sand last then fill the sump up.

also carey its not a bad thing to mix the water in the tank when you're first starting it up and have no live stock

PS: you have an aqueon heater in your 55? how do you like it? i have a glass aqueon and i love it, it keeps the water temps steady

 

[carey]

Thanks leo. forgot about the dsb. And yeah I have those heaters in most of my tanks and so far no problems.

 

[Gti_Leo]

no problem i'm always here to lend a hand where i can

 

[mr_X]

anyone tried the aqueon power heads yet? anyone seen them in person?

 

[carey]

I have seen them, I was not impressed. lol I prefer my koralias. Can't live without the magnets....

 

[Gti_Leo]

i've seen the aqueons, the stats seem incredibly awesome, low watt and high circulation.

when i find a wet saw to cut this glass i have to build myt new tank i'm goign to try them out and see how powerfull they really are.

i have an aqueon30 power filter and for its size it has a surprising flow rate and is extremely small. i like it better then my emperor 280, even though it has a small filter pad, i just put in some PURA pads in the baffle and it is pretty impressive

 

[carey]

The update for today is that I managed to get about 1/5th of the water in. Tomorrow is sand rinsing day and making more water. I actually managed to fill a garbage can with ro/di water, added the salt and two powerheads and voila, 30g of water. I'm using my return pump right now to get the water from my back porch to the tank in the living room. Just have to get another pump so I can do my pwc's like this too.

Overall, not a highly productive day but I got something done at least.

I do have a question though, as usual......
The fill line on my sump isn't very high, in fact it's not high enough to cover my return pump or the skimmers pump....Can I just keep a higher level in the sump?

 

[0o.Kelsey.o0]

You should be able to keep your sump at whatever height you want.

 

[Rscomia]

My sump actually fits through the front center doors. The sump is already in just waiting on the water and need to start rinsing the sand.

The only issue I may have is that theres a support beam for the stand underneath in the dead center of the stand. I also have 2 support bars in the frame of the tank so it may be a tight fit for the overflow box and hoses. I'm still figuring out how I want everything underneath. To make matters worse i only have 1 double socket to work with so i will be tight on plug in ability too.

Always something......

Did you get the sump that you were looking at on craigslist?

 

[carey]

Nope. Went with an eshopps refugium from aquacave. It's quite pimp.

Ok, so I can fill the sump to whatever level I need. it's better not to fill it too much right, in case of a power outage? The overflow will fill the sump in that situation correct?

 

[0o.Kelsey.o0]

Nope. Went with an eshopps refugium from aquacave. It's quite pimp.

Ok, so I can fill the sump to whatever level I need. it's better not to fill it too much right, in case of a power outage? The overflow will fill the sump in that situation correct?

Yup you got it!

 

[Rscomia]

Thats cool! I would make sure its a good ways over the pump if mine gets within a couple inches of the pump it will suck air down from the surface putting all kinds of microbubbles in the tank

 

[carey]

Thats cool! I would make sure its a good ways over the pump if mine gets within a couple inches of the pump it will suck air down from the surface putting all kinds of microbubbles in the tank

Good point! I wouldn't have thought about that til I was getting the bubbles. LOL

I wanna have it high enough to cover the pumps plus maybe an inch or so. I am terrified of an overflow, we lose our power frequently and the setup is inches from my big screen tv and all the electronics.

 

[Rscomia]

I cant blame you mine is a diy overflow and it took me weeks and several simulated power outages to trust it

 

[Space lord]

Don't know if you got room but I put my sump inside a clear storage tote just for a little extra overflow after I had a couple minor floods.

 

[mr_X]

you can't keep the sump any level that you want. you need to keep enough space in it to accommodate whatever water is going to come down in the event of a power outage.

 

[Space lord]

It's nice to be able to put some extra water in the sump though when your going away for a couple of days.

 

[carey]

Don't know if you got room but I put my sump inside a clear storage tote just for a little extra overflow after I had a couple minor floods.

Nope No room for a tote. That would have been an awesome backup plan. lol