R
rcreations
Guest
Yeah, I can see that being a problem. Not an issue with my sump though since the skimmer is in an entirely different chamber and there are baffles in between that eliminate all micro bubbles.
prime311
Active Member
I have baffles too, but even with the skimmer off I still get some bubbles in my return area just from the water pouring over the 2nd baffle between my fuge and return. That could be a design issue though since I bought the sump homemade from someone, but it happens in a lot of sumps, just like you see in kjr's sump here.
aquaknight
Active Member
Yea, you can always get creative too. Since my sump is just two rubbermaids, one with a slit so the water can pour into the return area, I had some massive bubble problems considering I was using a Mag 18 on a 125. I used two sheets of acrylic, to more or less deflect any water pouring in on the one side, and then cause pump to suck the water around the acrylic, which is free of any bubbles.
kjr_trig
Active Member
In the picture the filter media is not in a very good spot, I have it under the cascade of water which decreases the bubbles to pretty much non existent, I had to play around with it quite a bit to get it that way though.
Reminds me that bubbles were one of my biggest early frustrations with the tank.
Reminds me that bubbles were one of my biggest early frustrations with the tank.
G
gtdarock
Guest
Hey guys ! Sorry for the late reply, I've been busy at work.
So Aqua, can I paint over the stand -? In cherry or walnut. If not can I just put more Polyutherane on it to make it shiny, maybe high gloss-? So R, if I go with the Mag 24, you are saying that the 1in line can't handle it-? Hey KJR, the reason why I am so worried about flow in my tank, is because in my old 175, I always had a problem with my fish breathing heavy, and my Nitrates was always low, so I thought its because of a flow problem. Howdy CA1, na that fish in the tank is for decoration
.
So Aqua, can I paint over the stand -? In cherry or walnut. If not can I just put more Polyutherane on it to make it shiny, maybe high gloss-? So R, if I go with the Mag 24, you are saying that the 1in line can't handle it-? Hey KJR, the reason why I am so worried about flow in my tank, is because in my old 175, I always had a problem with my fish breathing heavy, and my Nitrates was always low, so I thought its because of a flow problem. Howdy CA1, na that fish in the tank is for decoration
aquaknight
Active Member
You could 'paint' over it sure. As in actual paint (not a wood stain), either from a roller/brush or a spraycan. I would recommend giving everything a little sand with some semi-aggressive sand paper so the paint has something to stick it. My parents old tank was a old 90's light tan color, and I have seen a couple done in black, that look really sharp.
As far as maybe getting it a bit shinier, that's going to be a lot of work too. That's one of the drawbacks to polyurethane, is it's not the shiniest varnish in the world. I'm not sure if you familiar with the process of painting a car, but it would similar. A ton of wet sanding (all by hand), starting with 500grit sand paper over the entire thing, then 1000grit, then 2000grit, and finially a 5000grit with some rubbing compound as a buff afterward. We only did the top of my 125 canopy.
I'm just sharing the pics to illustrate, I'll take it down in a bit so not to derail your tank thread
As far as maybe getting it a bit shinier, that's going to be a lot of work too. That's one of the drawbacks to polyurethane, is it's not the shiniest varnish in the world. I'm not sure if you familiar with the process of painting a car, but it would similar. A ton of wet sanding (all by hand), starting with 500grit sand paper over the entire thing, then 1000grit, then 2000grit, and finially a 5000grit with some rubbing compound as a buff afterward. We only did the top of my 125 canopy.
I'm just sharing the pics to illustrate, I'll take it down in a bit so not to derail your tank thread
kjr_trig
Active Member
Originally Posted by AquaKnight
http:///forum/post/2778720
I'm just sharing the pics to illustrate, I'll take it down in a bit so not to derail your tank thread
I didn't realize posting pictures to give people ideas was derailing a thread
How insensitive of me
http:///forum/post/2778720
I'm just sharing the pics to illustrate, I'll take it down in a bit so not to derail your tank thread
I didn't realize posting pictures to give people ideas was derailing a thread
aquaknight
Active Member
Originally Posted by kjr_trig
http:///forum/post/2778742
I didn't realize posting pictures to give people ideas was derailing a thread
How insensitive of me
I just said that because my pic pretty large (no photo software here at work), and didn't want to imply I was showing off or anything.
I've seen it before, where someone posts pics and everyone chimes in with them own pics and it's not really the OP's thread just another share thread. Not here though, and I really am pretty confident that GT doesn't mind in the least, just him letting know that if he did want it down, no problem.
It's sort of old practice from long ago. Where in the past, nearly every forum you could come back and edit your old posts. Where people selling stuff for legitimate and the board didn't have to protect itself from this fools.
http:///forum/post/2778742
I didn't realize posting pictures to give people ideas was derailing a thread
I just said that because my pic pretty large (no photo software here at work), and didn't want to imply I was showing off or anything.
I've seen it before, where someone posts pics and everyone chimes in with them own pics and it's not really the OP's thread just another share thread. Not here though, and I really am pretty confident that GT doesn't mind in the least, just him letting know that if he did want it down, no problem.
It's sort of old practice from long ago. Where in the past, nearly every forum you could come back and edit your old posts. Where people selling stuff for legitimate and the board didn't have to protect itself from this fools.
R
rcreations
Guest
You can always put a valve on the line to control the flow. That way if it's too much you can turn it down a little. I have one on my line but I leave it fully open.
G
gtdarock
Guest
Hey guys ! Sorry for the late reply, I was out of town. Hey Aqua, you did a great job, it looks great. Thanks for the pic !
You've always been great help, thanks man. So after thinking about it for a week, and getting use to the stand, I'll leave it alone. I can work with the color. Its just that, its a new piece of furniture and it was just standing out. So that's that
This week I'll stain the inside and put some polyutherane on it.
I also am picking up a 55 gal 48 13 by 21 for the refugium.
Is that ok-? And I'm getting a Mag 18. Thanks for tip "R" on the ball valve.
You've always been great help, thanks man. So after thinking about it for a week, and getting use to the stand, I'll leave it alone. I can work with the color. Its just that, its a new piece of furniture and it was just standing out. So that's that
This week I'll stain the inside and put some polyutherane on it.
I also am picking up a 55 gal 48 13 by 21 for the refugium.
Is that ok-? And I'm getting a Mag 18. Thanks for tip "R" on the ball valve.
G
gtdarock
Guest
aquaknight
Active Member
For the 55gal sump, is it for the sump/return area and the fuge, or just solely for the fuge? You might want to see how much space you might have inside your stand, and if you could actually get the skimmer in and out, without the top of the sump being to close to the top of the inside of the stand.
Mag 18 might be a bit much. I have one on my 125, with a 1200gph hang-on overflow (flowing only about 900gph realisitically with the bends in the pvc), and the return pipe is over 4' long, with a spilt Loc-Line nozzle on the end, and it's still pretty restricted on the ball valve. If you have plently of PVC parts lying around, you could 'T' the return line off one or even two or three times. Nothing kills flow like doubling up the work the pump has to do.
Mag 18 might be a bit much. I have one on my 125, with a 1200gph hang-on overflow (flowing only about 900gph realisitically with the bends in the pvc), and the return pipe is over 4' long, with a spilt Loc-Line nozzle on the end, and it's still pretty restricted on the ball valve. If you have plently of PVC parts lying around, you could 'T' the return line off one or even two or three times. Nothing kills flow like doubling up the work the pump has to do.
R
rcreations
Guest
That's a good point on the sump. I learned it the hard way with my last tank. You want to make sure you can put the sump in without removing the DT. It has to be small enough to fit through the front of the stand. You never know when you'll have to take it out again. Sometimes it's better to have two small tanks for sump, instead of just one big one. You can have one as a sump and one as a refugium.
G
gtdarock
Guest
Hey guys ! Sorry for the late reply, just been busy with work.
So the refugium is set,its 55 gallons, I'll have pics up soon. It does fit through the front of the tank with no problems. As for the Mag 18, I'll "T" it off and use it for my fluidized bed. I added two coats of Polyutherane to the stand,it now has a nice shine to it. Also I just noticed that the tank is not sitting flat against the floor in my basement. So I'll get some shims and fix it up. I'm doing the piping on Tues,water on Wed. Oh by the way, I gotta clean up the inside of the tank. Should I use Vinegar-?
So the refugium is set,its 55 gallons, I'll have pics up soon. It does fit through the front of the tank with no problems. As for the Mag 18, I'll "T" it off and use it for my fluidized bed. I added two coats of Polyutherane to the stand,it now has a nice shine to it. Also I just noticed that the tank is not sitting flat against the floor in my basement. So I'll get some shims and fix it up. I'm doing the piping on Tues,water on Wed. Oh by the way, I gotta clean up the inside of the tank. Should I use Vinegar-?
aquaknight
Active Member
What do you have to clean? Vinegar is usually used for anything calcium based, like coralline. If you just have like finger/smudge spot, I'd just use water and a towel, then vinegar if you had to, since it will be hard to get everything out. Definitely don't use Windex or anything like that on the inside of the tank!
G
gtdarock
Guest
Yea, its only some smudge spots. I'll use water and a towel, thanks !
hefner413
Active Member
Wow! sweet looking tank!
Regarding your stand finish - I think it would have been somewhat tedious to try to refinish, but do-able. I re-did my 55 gal - it was jet black and I did it in a dark oak finish, but it didn't have any decorative trim so was very easy to do actually. I see yours has some trim, so you probably could have done it by taking off the trim and buying new - but that can be difficult too b/c the new wood can stain differently than the rest of the tank. BUT sounds like you're happy with the higher gloss poly that you've put on. That's the easiest answer if the sheen is the issue.
regarding transferring your LR - I see the buckets in the 5th pic. I always kept heaters in my while transferring... I thought this was needed to keep the bacteria alive. I see yours don't - are they ok without them? I've actually asked this Q before, but the people who answered didn't know for sure.
The tank is glass right? I couldn't tell for sure. If it's acrylic and has some scratches, Novus makes an awesome 3 step buffing product that will take out most all scratches.
it's awesome that you got that 55 gal in there. I think that will be a great size for that tank.
regarding stock list - are you going with a lot of the same fish? you had some amazing specimen in the 175.
Regarding your stand finish - I think it would have been somewhat tedious to try to refinish, but do-able. I re-did my 55 gal - it was jet black and I did it in a dark oak finish, but it didn't have any decorative trim so was very easy to do actually. I see yours has some trim, so you probably could have done it by taking off the trim and buying new - but that can be difficult too b/c the new wood can stain differently than the rest of the tank. BUT sounds like you're happy with the higher gloss poly that you've put on. That's the easiest answer if the sheen is the issue.
regarding transferring your LR - I see the buckets in the 5th pic. I always kept heaters in my while transferring... I thought this was needed to keep the bacteria alive. I see yours don't - are they ok without them? I've actually asked this Q before, but the people who answered didn't know for sure.
The tank is glass right? I couldn't tell for sure. If it's acrylic and has some scratches, Novus makes an awesome 3 step buffing product that will take out most all scratches.
it's awesome that you got that 55 gal in there. I think that will be a great size for that tank.
regarding stock list - are you going with a lot of the same fish? you had some amazing specimen in the 175.
G
gtdarock
Guest
Hey Hef ! Thanks for the comment, glad you like the tank ! I should have everything running by the end of the week. The Poly worked out fine for the stand. I added an extra coat this evening, and it looks great. Regarding the rocks, I have had them in the bids for a month. I didn't know I had to put a heater in there. I hope everything will be fine. The tank is glass, it was a good deal with my LFS, since they took my old tank back. As for the stock list, I will definitely take it slow. I'll go with a Yellow and Purple Tang,a lion, I hope I can have a puffer with the lion, and most definitely a Queen and a Emperor.
G
gtdarock
Guest
Hey guys, I'm doing the piping tomorrow. I was wondering if I should put some base rocks first in the tank, then sand and then water-? I just want to get it right this time, thanks