Chuck's DIY journal
- Thread starter chuckcac
- Start date
chuckcac
Member
Hey everybody - thanks for the feedback! things are still moving along great! to answer everyones questions;jennythebug - thanks! you should give it a shot it was actually alot of fun (and really inexpensive considering how much everthin in this hobby costs)
Scubaguy - the rocks have been soaking in a big 22quart rubbermaid for 2 weeks now the first week i added a 1/2gallon of distilled white vinegar to make the water more acidic to counter the alkalinity of the rocks. day 8 i changed out 100% of the water and added another 1/2 gallon vinegar. day twelve i changed 100% water and plan to do the same tommorow (day 15).
the pH has been all over the place (i suspect thats due to the vinegar) but on day 13 (yesterday - the first 24 hours of fresh water only- the ph was off the charts - higher than 9.0)
mmm33732 - yes - i cut and placed that on sunday when i moved the stand back down into my home/office.
DragonZim - you da man - ive got a nice DIY cave curing for you
crt81 - if you check out my older thread titled 'i heard squidd is the man' the plans are all dimensioned out on there for ya !
marcelostank - something small, expensive, and sparlky can convince a wife to go along with many things...
grubsnaek - yep i used the same ratio every time - read the DIY rocks section i9n the archives about a dozen times and found that to be the most popular combination of pourosity/strenth...
again - thanks everyone - i love all the feedback - i'm pretty proud of myself so far... the true test will be when i finish the plumbing this weekend... hopefully i have enough time to make water and give it a 'wet-run' (fingers crossed) ---- more pics to follow, of course!
Scubaguy - the rocks have been soaking in a big 22quart rubbermaid for 2 weeks now the first week i added a 1/2gallon of distilled white vinegar to make the water more acidic to counter the alkalinity of the rocks. day 8 i changed out 100% of the water and added another 1/2 gallon vinegar. day twelve i changed 100% water and plan to do the same tommorow (day 15).
the pH has been all over the place (i suspect thats due to the vinegar) but on day 13 (yesterday - the first 24 hours of fresh water only- the ph was off the charts - higher than 9.0)
mmm33732 - yes - i cut and placed that on sunday when i moved the stand back down into my home/office.
DragonZim - you da man - ive got a nice DIY cave curing for you
crt81 - if you check out my older thread titled 'i heard squidd is the man' the plans are all dimensioned out on there for ya !
marcelostank - something small, expensive, and sparlky can convince a wife to go along with many things...
grubsnaek - yep i used the same ratio every time - read the DIY rocks section i9n the archives about a dozen times and found that to be the most popular combination of pourosity/strenth...
again - thanks everyone - i love all the feedback - i'm pretty proud of myself so far... the true test will be when i finish the plumbing this weekend... hopefully i have enough time to make water and give it a 'wet-run' (fingers crossed) ---- more pics to follow, of course!
chuckcac
Member
grubsnaek - good luck man... i didnt get as far as i'd hoped this weekend.
the doors are build & stained. but i bought the wrong hinges (oops) so i couldn't install them.
i ran into a couple of snags while completing the plumbing - (gotta do it right the first time so i stopped where i was to re-think some things out)
1st - i want to run flex-tubing from the return pump to the plumbing so i can adjust or move it if i need to clean that area
2nd - i need a union in the return plumbing somewhere (just in case)
3rd - i bought the wrong size reduser for the overflow --- i swore it was 1.1/4" but its 1.1/2" so i need a new 1.1/2" ---> 1" female---> male adapter
4th - i want to take the pvc out of the DT and put some of that adjustible black ball/socket tubing in tis place... i just dont like the look of the white pvc and i reeeeeally dont like not being able to adjust the direction of the flow easily... so that has gotta change...
heres some pics...
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the DIY rocks ph is coming down a bit... the pH reading is almost about 8.8 so its about 1/2 a shade awy from being "on the charts!"
getting there...
the doors are build & stained. but i bought the wrong hinges (oops) so i couldn't install them.
i ran into a couple of snags while completing the plumbing - (gotta do it right the first time so i stopped where i was to re-think some things out)
1st - i want to run flex-tubing from the return pump to the plumbing so i can adjust or move it if i need to clean that area
2nd - i need a union in the return plumbing somewhere (just in case)
3rd - i bought the wrong size reduser for the overflow --- i swore it was 1.1/4" but its 1.1/2" so i need a new 1.1/2" ---> 1" female---> male adapter
4th - i want to take the pvc out of the DT and put some of that adjustible black ball/socket tubing in tis place... i just dont like the look of the white pvc and i reeeeeally dont like not being able to adjust the direction of the flow easily... so that has gotta change...
heres some pics...
the DIY rocks ph is coming down a bit... the pH reading is almost about 8.8 so its about 1/2 a shade awy from being "on the charts!"
getting there...
chuckcac
Member
Originally Posted by grubsnaek
looks good, why not put the heater in the return pump section. also hows the DIY live rock
i suppose i could... i have one heater in the sump and one in the fuge. Each are 200W. i could put one in the return area and keep the other in the fuge...
either way i guess...
the rocks are doing well... the pH has come down to almost 8.8... after the first week it was off-the charts (probably 9.0 or 9.2)
the first week i soaked them in water/white vinegar
the second week - the same...
thsi saturday i changed out 100% and put only fresh water - tested after 24 hours and it was almost 8.8 - like the color was just slightly darker than the 8.8 on my chart...
i plan to change out the water every other day from here on... so tonight - then wednesday, friday... etc...
looks good, why not put the heater in the return pump section. also hows the DIY live rock
i suppose i could... i have one heater in the sump and one in the fuge. Each are 200W. i could put one in the return area and keep the other in the fuge...
either way i guess...
the rocks are doing well... the pH has come down to almost 8.8... after the first week it was off-the charts (probably 9.0 or 9.2)
the first week i soaked them in water/white vinegar
the second week - the same...
thsi saturday i changed out 100% and put only fresh water - tested after 24 hours and it was almost 8.8 - like the color was just slightly darker than the 8.8 on my chart...
i plan to change out the water every other day from here on... so tonight - then wednesday, friday... etc...
mach03infront
Member
neat rock that you have made can't wait to see them in the tank
chuckcac
Member
Originally Posted by grubsnaek
i would start soon just dont know where to get crushed oyster shells, the cement home depot, sand (my back yard is the beach) easy.
if you have a local 'feed store' that sells feed to livestock - namely - chickens... farmers feed chickens the crushed shell to help increase the hardness of their eggs... i found a local feed store in the phone book... its only $15 for 50lbs...
claymc - yep grub's right. it keeps the rock from scrathicng the bottom...
i would start soon just dont know where to get crushed oyster shells, the cement home depot, sand (my back yard is the beach) easy.
if you have a local 'feed store' that sells feed to livestock - namely - chickens... farmers feed chickens the crushed shell to help increase the hardness of their eggs... i found a local feed store in the phone book... its only $15 for 50lbs...
claymc - yep grub's right. it keeps the rock from scrathicng the bottom...