Bear may be getting salty again

onefish2fish

looking good.. i like the 30s shape

bearwithfish

yeah its shallow but a nice foot print... plenty of room to play with rock scape and what not

trukgirl

Nice! Keep it going!! :)

bearwithfish

UPDATE!!!!!

i took apart another tank and got the glass cut so i have my top now!! its a solid piece on left and right front to back and the center is 1/2 inch from the back so my wires can run out and its right over the filter space so if i wanted to get a fire fish i dont have to worry about carper surfing!! oh and i put a 5.5 inch riser under the tank so its closer to the lights and it looks great ... i will post pix in a day or so .. i re-homed my cichlids in a great swap and got the wife the guppies she wanted so now as funds permit (or when/if i move this 55 gallon i have hanging out) i can really start my build now!! super excited and now its just waiting to get things in the order i want them
here is my remaining shopping list:

Reef Crystals
~25 pounds of base/dry rock
~20-30 pounds of Live Sand
30 gallons of RO or Distilled water (+2 extra for top off)
5 pound of live rock


then the cycle starts and i can turn my thoughts to Macros and stock...

bearwithfish

so last night my kid (6yo) is walking by the tank and says "daddy, do you still have that rock in the drawer?" when i asked her what she ment she went over to my storage drawer and pulls out a little 8" branch of (now dry) live rock i had from my first tank. i said thank you and she insisted i put the rock in the empty tank on the spot... after which she said "there, now its started!!" LOL man kids really do say the darndest things ......

bearwithfish

so the first wet test went... well ... not so great i found a number of issues with my design... i have potential solutions but would appreciate input

1) hoses through side of filter chamber are far to low and unless the pumps are on the chamber fills with water faster than i want it to - solution plug the holes and run the piping up to the top when i switch pumps the pipes will be 1/2 inch PVC so i will need to drill any way not a big deal

2) when i get things balanced out and running the way i want them to the chamber floats!!! possible solution - i am thinking that if i either put my rock next to it to hold it under the rim or attach a piece of rock to it this will not be a major issue..

3) when i change pumps and go to PVC since i need to pipe to the top of the chamber the floss basket i have made will no longer fit. making a new one takes about 5 minutes so not a huge deal the concern is that if i run the pipe through the center of the basket i may have issues when i need to clean the pump (or replace it if any problems) ... now one thought is to not PVC weld the joins for the T at the top of the chamber but i am concerned that being under constant pressure may pop it off and create a issue..

thoughts?

onefish2fish

pond foam might help fill the holes on the overflow, prob wont be the cleanest looking but you can shave it when its dry and once coraline grows on it you'd prob. never tell anyways.

#2 i dont understand. the chamber floats? aquarium silicon it along the top rim. that should keep it in place and be easy enough to remove later down the road.

#3 using PVC glue should hold fine, remember to cover both ends with the purple and the solvent and give it a twist while then holding it in place. it wont be under as much pressure as its rated for, the solvent will bond the 2 pieces of PVC anyways.

bearwithfish

re #2 - the plastic piece i made that is in the pic (the chamber) is the part that floats ... i was considering silicone but was unsure

as to #3 - i know that the PVC weld bonds them the issue being the need to potentially remove the T later with out totally dismantling the unit as once the tank is running pulling it out may be near impossible..

after this post i began to wonder if some sort of threaded coupling may be required.. i will have to play with it some more.. and fast too it looks like i may be ahead of schedule by 30 days or so

onefish2fish

a threaded union, put one as close to the T as you can, but in a place you can still use it. if you need to remove the T you can do it at the union. if changes need to be made at that time, a new union could be purchased and you can replace the plumbing from the thread forward saving you from having to redo all of the plumbing. i like to put them here and there for any cleaning/future mods

bearwithfish

i will have to see how big they are.. i really like that idea man thanks!!!

as i look around hte store i will see what other ideas pop out at me i am not tied to this yet (perhaps going with the full AIO idea is not so bad LOL)

depends on cost.. if i go with what i have (and make it work) i can get up and running faster than if i start fresh and spend the money elsewhere...