Another new guy to the hobby. Need suggesstions.

[mmyuki]

Hello everyone! sorry I havnt been able to get online, My laptop got a ton of viruses and needed to have a friend clean this up for me. Good news is I did get my 75 from a friend, included was a dual bio wheel marine land 350, and a dual bio wheel 350 by millenium, also a canister filter rated up to 100 gallons the tank and stand itself all for 150 not bad. I need to head to work but I will take some shots and post them later. Also have a few questions for some of you guys as well but will get to those later.

 

[mmyuki]

Alright had some new ideas running through my head for the past few weeks about what I am going to do about LR in my 75. Since the shit is so pricey at the LFS I have decided to do a nice DIY project and make the rock myself and seed it with some LR from my current 30. Bought a 50 lb bag of crushed oyster shells, some rock salt, some white portland cement type 1 and some buckets. I will be making this rock next week sometime and hopefully I can find a camcorder or use my cell phone to show all how I did it. Now some questions I have are
1. The tank is pretty dirty, what do I use to clean it up with (Inside and outside) ?
2. The filters I got from the guy are pretty crusted up with what looks like a salt sludge from years ago but functions fine from what he said, can I soak these in something to clean them up a bit?
3. My local glass shop wants $50 to drill in the tank, seems pricey so I will wait and might even order something online as a kit.
4. As a sump for this tank, I am going to wait until ***** or a similar store is running a $1 per gallon sale I was thinking a 30 long? which would fit under my stand but do I need it? or can I just use a normal 30 or 40? I want something that will be 36" wide so I can use some space for lighting, storage of chemicals and what not also.
5. I would like to get the tank drilled and then paint the back of the tank black, spray paint ok?
6. I wanted to make a DIY overflow out of acrylic but was thinking with the cost of the hole drilling I could probably order an overflow with diamond bits for around the same price? ( If anyone know a good site to check out please let me know. )
Alright now for the pictures of the new love of my life (For now at least) If you notice on the stand, the current owner didnt use the entire space for the tank, there is a 4" or so gap from the back of the tank to the end of the stand which I was thinking I could use for plumbing.

 

[travelerjp98]

I actually like the 4" gap... It provides some room to hang wires, etc..!

 

[mmyuki]

Yeah I was thinking the same as well, just need to buy a stand of some cool figure to put on that side of the tank so people don't "look" at all the wires and plumbing lines.

 

[2quills]

What kind of room do you have under the stand? It looks wider than the tank from front to back. You may be able to do a 40g breeder tank for a sump (36x18x17).
A light viniger and water mix will clean the inside up real good as well as your equipment. I've always just used windex on the outside and haven't had any problems. Just try not to get it on the inside.
Krylon fusion is a spray paint that will bond well with glass.
You can get your overflow kits here that come with everything you need to DIY, drill bit, overflow, bulkhead and elbow. Check out the 700gph kit for $79 for your size tank....http://www.glass-holes.com/Complete-Overflow-Kits_c3.htm

 

[mmyuki]

That kit is nice but does not include the 3/4 return drill bit or any of the return stuff. Also the overflow box I would like to build goes from the bottom of the tank on the inside to the top of the tank so I can add in the return loc lines.

 

[2quills]

Well you can do loc-lines anyway you want to. That site does sell stuff individually so at the very least it's a cheap place to get the bits you need. Do you know if the bottom of your tank is tempered or not? Most tanks that aren't pre drilled are tempered on the bottom. Look around the bottom of the tank for a sticker that says anything about tempered glass.
Also, if you sent them an email I think they'll make you an overflow to whatever dimensions you want. But diy is fun as well.

 

[mmyuki]

Eh either way I could always just buy the two hole saws I need for the bulkheads and the bulkheads for around $40, order the loc line fittings and all from there site for around $40 or so then hit up home depot for the acrylic to build the box for around $30 I have just never drilled glass before and don't want to ruin the tank hah.

 

[mmyuki]

I do not see any sticker that says its tempered but I do see something that says "This bottom is for strength and reliability" so I am assuming yes its tempered. which is fine Im drilling into the back anyways and throwing two 90s on. well that's the plan.

 

[2quills]

Quote:
Originally Posted by MMyuki http:///forum/thread/382927/another-new-guy-to-the-hobby-need-suggesstions/300#post_3389888
I do not see any sticker that says its tempered but I do see something that says "This bottom is for strength and reliability" so I am assuming yes its tempered. which is fine Im drilling into the back anyways and throwing two 90s on. well that's the plan.
Yes that means it's tempered. I'm a little bit confuzzled, why do you want to go with a full size overflow from top to bottom if you're drilling the back again?

 

[mmyuki]

I plan on putting a full size in there just because I like the look of it, it will also hide the tubing for the return lines and the overflow stand pipe as well.

 

[mmyuki]

Alright just bought some white vinegar and a spray bottle to clean the tank with. Going to scrub this bad boy down and I will rinse it out tomorrow or sunday perhaps

 

[mmyuki]

After cleaning the front and the sides with some water and vinegar I noticed the tank has a lot of minor surface scratches, im not to worried about it since they are very small but if there was something i could do about it i would be interested in hearing..

 

[mmyuki]

Alright I have decided I will be going with a DIY overflow, the measurements will be 19.5" tall x 9" wide x 3" deep made out of black acrylic. I will be ordering the bulkheads and drill bits from glass holes and will be picking up the rest of the plumbing materials from home depot.

 

[mmyuki]

Been searching everywhere on the net and cannot find an answer, How low am I able to drill to the bottom of the tank? and how far apart should the return hole be drilled? I was thinking about drilling the 1.5" hole about 4 inches from the bottom with a 90 and a stand pipe and the return about 2 inches from that with a 90 and some tubing to connect to the loc line

 

[kilofey]

Hi Mmyuki... First off, im in the same spot you were when you started this thread (my tank is still dry lol) I dont wanna look like a total goof ball, bit we are all here to learn, so I was wondering if you (or anyone else) could help me with a few questions I had. Btw, I read every word of this thread, took me a couple hours, but I learned a TON, so thanks ) oh yea, and im starting a 75 gal with 30 gal sump/fuge (i think 30)
Questions:
1. Whats an overflow box?
2. Is it absolutely crutial to have RO water? I mean, until I have the $, can I use regular water? I have well water, so there is no chlorine in it.
3. whats the difference between base rock and uncured rock?
I dont mean to hijack this thread, im just not getting any answers to my other 2 threads and theres alot of activity on this one and u started at the same place im at now, I just had those quick questions
PS- Awesome 30gal dude! Its pretty ) ur thread actually made me feel less "panicky" about starting the tank and more excited yay!

 

[mmyuki]

Questions:
1. Whats an overflow box?
2. Is it absolutely crutial to have RO water? I mean, until I have the $, can I use regular water? I have well water, so there is no chlorine in it.
3. whats the difference between base rock and uncured rock?
1. An overflow box is something that sits inside the tank to hide a hole drilled in the tank behind it, once the water level inside the tank reaches over the top of the box, the water will go out of the hole in the tank and through the tubes into your sump.
2. I would say yes on the RO water, you could use your regular water but I stay away from it, the chemicals in it may be bad down the line.
3. Base rock and uncured rock are the same thing, there dry rock with no life on them. At least that is what I am under the impression of.

 

[travelerjp98]

good job MMyuki on answering those questions, I bet that you learned them here!

 

[deejeff442]

uncured rock is from the ocean and has die off .it is live rock but is making ammonia due to it not being cured yet.cureing creates a cycle where the die off is consumed by the ammonia,nitrite,nitrate cycle.alot of people use uncured rock in a new tank to start the cycle.if you buy cured rock that has gone through this cycle you probably need a source to kick off the cycle.

 

[kilofey]

Thanks guys! *thread un-hijacked* I had alot of fun reading this thread and seeing your freebee PSP (i think thats what it was) pink star polyp rite? I loved seeing its growth! Very cool.