Setting up my 50 Gallon...

[Arie]

After I had scraped all of the nasties off it was time to clean it. I used piping hot water and had to practically crawl inside of it to dig out the crust the previous owner had left inside the tank...

 

[Arie]

Then with my trusty tube of aquarium safe silicone and my boards put in place I started running a bead along the bottom and both edges (and both sides) of each board. I couldn't get a close enough picture of the silicone to show you what a mess I made, but trust me... it's monumental

 

[Arie]

And here's the almost finished product.

 

[Arie]

Okay, so here's my new question.... due to the height of the tank (19 inches) and the height of each cutting board (about 15 inches) is it okay that I had siliconed each one to the base of the aquarium? Will the holes in the boards (6 in one and 9 in the other) be enough to allow the flow of water in order to prevent overflow of one section and the pump going dry?

I have everything set up so that in theory, the right side could be used for the input of water from the DT. I'm thinking of putting eggcrate (or something) on that side to reduce the amount of bubbles traveling through the system.

Moving towards the left, this is where I'd like the coarse and fine sand, some live rock rubble and algaes to be, then to the left again would be the pump to return the water to the DT.

Should this set up work? Also, I don't have any baffles, should the eggcrate idea be enough?

Any tips and comments are MORE than welcome

 

[mr_X]

very entertaining story!
well, i think you would want to keep the water level in the refugium as high as possible, so not to kill all the life in it if you let it run too low. also, some in-sump skimmers (all the ones i have used) do best at a certain water level. so, while your "holy baffle" idea will slow the draining of the return area, it might not be the best design.
you could leave the holes in the section between the intake and refugium, but i'd have a solid baffle between the fuge and the return area.

 

[Arie]

Entertaining stories = My endless babbling. Heh, can't help it. Sorry.

On the refugium/return baffle... Would I be able to take the baffle out now that it's siliconed in? I could just scrape it with a razorblade and remove it I'm assuming. If I do this, and then cut down the height and plug the holes using silicone (or just convince George to let me use his saw again and buy a new one) should this be sufficient? What would the ideal height be for a solid wall there?

 

[ChrisRD]

The tank, I've become chicken sh*t with, and I'm scared to try and use a drill press to cut the holes in the back. Everyone I've asked to help has said no, that the best bet is to bring it to a glazier. I called a few shops and they all said that I'm insane and that they wouldn't do it. Soooo, I dunno what I'm gonna do. I'll have to set it up some other way I suppose.

Not sure where in upstate you are, but I'm in Palenville (do a google map search). If it's not too far, I can drill the tank for you.

 

[shavo]

I see nothing wrong with what you did. it should work fine. I would think

I actually like the holes in the walls idea. this allows you to have the whole sump to compensate for evaporation instead of just the last section. Good entertaining sump build. your on your way!!!

 

[Arie]

ChrisRD - You're about an hour away from where I am, although I have no bloody idea where that town is in reference to Bellevue besides the map.

Thanks for the offer, and I'll definantly consider it. However, I have a lil rinky dink sh*t box car and need to see if the tank will actually fit inside of it, in any way.

--For the stand--

I am trying to figure out if I wanna cop out and do it the easy/more expensive way. I saw a 'scratch and dent' 55 gallon stand for sale at the LFS for 80. I'm hoping if I bat the babyblues and plead poverty that maybe he'll cut me a break. Probably not, but maybe worth a shot.

The problem with that is that it's instant gratification and defeats the purpose of doing this myself.

Food for thought.

Also, thanks for all of the responses about the refuge build so far. I've taken what everyones said into consideration and I think I'm going to atleast try it out the way that I have it set up. If it doesn't work, I'll tackle that problem later. For now, I just keep walking past it and grinning at the mess I've made but how proud I am of it.

 

[Arie]

So - I'm thinking of a Berlin Red Sea Skimmer rated for 25 to 250 gallons. I've found a few on ebay and the likes (rather buy used for now and get comfortable with the entire tank before I do anything else) and was wondering what everyone thought of it.

Any suggestions if you're not particularly thrilled with this option?

 

[shavo]

hey I guess we'll find out together, I have a red sea berlin skimmer, all I can say about it is that it works. a the shaft internally in the pump broke but i found a place that sold the right replacement and it is working again. I found the shaft for 13 dollars. not too shabby

Arie, your doing an in sump skimmer? not a hang on the back right?

I would think you would be fine with that btw I think my skimmer is rated for 250 gallons, i have a 125

 

[mr_X]

you guys are a match made in heaven

 

[Arie]

I just realized that my status is now "reefkeeper" Woot for me!

I'm trying to convince someone on ebay to add an 'end it now price' for their skimmer. We'll see what they come up with and what everyone thinks of it after that.

As far as in sump - I'd prefer that over a hang on, though if that's what I can start out with for now, I'd try it for a while. Although I want to make this a semi-diy project and a penny pinchers guide to starting saltwater, I do want it to look presentable.

Well, I have to get going to the store. It's salmon/trout season and this weekend is the first trip out to the lake. Gotta stock up on the goodies before Friday.

Still taking suggestions on skimmers, though I think I've got my mind set on what's been previously mentioned.

 

[shavo]

funny that your a reef keeper and only built a sump with no water in it yet!!! this is going to be a thorough DIY!