How does an overflow work

[Sillyfishies]

Wow! Really nice!

I would suggest getting dry rock off of dr. Foster and smith. It's a little over 2$ a pound. You should be able to get free shipping too.

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

Okay thank you for all the help!

It will just be live rock in the tank for awhile, I'm looking into making my own rock so I can supplement some live rock. Where I live, the live rock is $12 a pound, over $1400 on live rock seems way to steep for me... I get that it's an expensive hobby, but when the live rock costs more then my entire set up will just seems ridiculous.

Have you looked for dry rock or base rock it's usually at lest half as much as the live rock and it all ends up the same in the end

 

[chevypride]

Free shipping on rock? I thought that would be nearly impossible... I'm really hoping to go to the city soon and see how much I can get live rock for (I'm wanting $5/pound...) it just sucks we don't have a lot of sw hobbiests here, every once and awhile you see sw stuff pop up online in my area, and it's all dirt cheap, but until now it didn't matter.

 

[mr_X]

Buy it on ebay and have it mailed to you. Get dry rock, it's definitely cheaper.

 

[chevypride]

Hey guys! I tried my hand at some DIY live rock. This is the out come. I tried 3 different recipes.... And only one of them seems to be holding up.... Hopefully the rest harden more because they're really crumbly. But I like the way they look (couldn't find white cement sadly)

 

[Sillyfishies]

Don't they have to cure for a crazy amount of time or something?

 

[chevypride]

There sitting in freshwater right now. They'll be in there for a few months with lots of water changes until I can get the rest of my tank together. Everywhere says around 6 weeks though.

 

[Sillyfishies]

For some reason I remember it being around 8 months. Not as bad as I thought.

They definitely look cool.

 

[chevypride]

Today is the day to get all the plumbing... Problem is. I can't find 1 connections! Just pipe.... Can I use a flexible hose to bring the water into the sump (then I won't need any connections)... Does it actually matter what the plumbing is made from?

 

[kenny69]

Absolutely you can.

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[chevypride]

How far under the waterline should my intake be?

 

[kenny69]

The depth of your intake depicts the depth of your water. Well It should anyways.

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[chevypride]

Well my over flow boxes are about an inch or 2 from the top of the tank (over flow box is 21 1/2 inches high), and my sump is 18 inches high. I just am not sure how many inches I should put it under, I don't want a flood if something ever goes wrong.

 

[mr_X]

Your overflow box will stop water from entering the sump in the event of a power outage. Generally, a couple inches drop is fine. Your overflow box is what dictates the water level in the DT. As for the return, you'll need to drill a hole in it just below the water surface to make a siphon break, so that in the event of a power outage, it doesn't back siphon a ton of water.

 

[Dmann]

What did you use to makd this rock? It looks like you said cement. Where are you located?

dino

 

[chevypride]

I used cement, crushed oyster shells, and salt.

And in Manitoba.

 

[Dmann]

Itns the cement going to leach phosphates like crazy?

dino

 

[chevypride]

That's why you let it soak. Everything leaches out..

Mines sitting in a Rubbermaid container, I do 50% water changes everyday and then 100% once a week. A lot of people will put them in a sac and then stick them in a river or stream and come back to them. Sadly I don't have a river or stream that isn't frozen rock solid.

 

[Dmann]

Hahaha. I hear ya. Im in fl. So I dont have that problem lol

dino

 

[chevypride]

Yeah I'm waiting to make my next batch until Mother Nature learns that's it's April and we don't need anymore snow... And then I'm going to put them in a stream at the farm... Doing water changes is quiet a hassle...

But after soaking them they are a lot harder, and when i pick them up from the water they take quiet awhile to drain, so I'm sure they'll work just fine. I just really wish I could have found white cement.