Girlina4x4's Tank Switcharoo (65 reef!)

girlina4x4

girlina4x4

Member
Yay! My bf bought me a 65 gallon for Xmas! So now everything is getting switched around.
My 2 freshwater tanks (15g & 18g) are going into my 29g saltwater. The 29g is going into the 65g.
The 65 came with tank (leaking
, have to reseal), stand, crappy sump, canopy, lights, return pump. I plan on getting a new sump, new skimmer, and different lights eventually. The guy also gave me some mushroom and xenia frags!
Im taking pics as I go along, I'll post them in a bit.
I also need fish ideas. right now I have a firefish and 2 pj cardinals. I really want a dwarf angel and gobies....


 
marcb

marcb

Member
Congrats, good luck and have fun!
I am currently putting my 40 gal SW into a 240 gal, so I understand.
BTW, how often do you change your avatar? I haven't been on here too long, but thats got to be the 3rd or 4th one of yours I've seen :)
 
girlina4x4

girlina4x4

Member
Originally Posted by MarcB
http:///forum/post/2882830
Congrats, good luck and have fun!
I am currently putting my 40 gal SW into a 240 gal, so I understand.
BTW, how often do you change your avatar? I haven't been on here too long, but thats got to be the 3rd or 4th one of yours I've seen :)
Haha, I like to switch things up...tanks AND avatars!
 
liljay0418

liljay0418

Member
Is it leaking around the silicone?
If so I would scrape out all the old silicone and re-seal. Let silicone sit for @ least 24 hrs (then fill with h2o and let sit for another 24 hrs.) to make sure there are no more leaks!! JMO.... I had a 90 gal. re- sealed and worked fine for like 7 years.
 
girlina4x4

girlina4x4

Member
Heres some pics. The freshies are already in their rubbermaid container, with the sand in a bucket. The salties are still in the tank for now, while I mix up water and wash the new ~45 lbs of base rock. The new 65 stand does have doors, but theyre still in the car. I can only make it up and down the stairs so many times...




 
girlina4x4

girlina4x4

Member
Originally Posted by liljay0418
http:///forum/post/2882839
Is it leaking around the silicone?
If so I would scrape out all the old silicone and re-seal. Let silicone sit for @ least 24 hrs (then fill with h2o and let sit for another 24 hrs.) to make sure there are no more leaks!! JMO.... I had a 90 gal. re- sealed and worked fine for like 7 years.

Its leaking through the front right corner, coming from the bottom of the tank, up and out of the plastic frame. I have the boyfriend at home depot right now buying silicone, I think we are just going to do the whole tank just in case.
The crazy thing is, I saw the tank up and running as a full reef 3 days ago! I think something happened while loading it into the car
 
girlina4x4

girlina4x4

Member
Does anyone think it would be possible to turn the bigger rubbermaid container into a sump/fuge with cutting board baffles (a la Mr. X)? If so, please give me directions, I listen well!
 
liljay0418

liljay0418

Member
Looking good!! ( the tank too lol....) beside the leak!! I got a 65gal. also (but dont have to worry about leaks. ) its acrylic
. Thinkig about changing my avatar for christmas also Let me see what I can dig up
 
liljay0418

liljay0418

Member
Thats too funny mine was leaking in the exact same spot
I re- siliconed the whole tank and like I said held for like 7 years. You know what brand the tank is?
 
liljay0418

liljay0418

Member
For some reason I want to say mine was an "all glass" not for sure though. On another note when you get a chance could you come up here and throw a transfer case in my 4x4 went out last year and with all this snow and ice up here I sure could use it!! lol............
p.s. I am cheap and just took out the front drive shaft ( 2 wheel drive now)
 
girlina4x4

girlina4x4

Member
Originally Posted by liljay0418
http:///forum/post/2882868
For some reason I want to say mine was an "all glass" not for sure though. On another note when you get a chance could you come up here and throw a transfer case in my 4x4 went out last year and with all this snow and ice up here I sure could use it!! lol............
p.s. I am cheap and just took out the front drive shaft ( 2 wheel drive now)

The leaking tank was an All Glass Aquarium too. The sticker on it said built in 2001. Indiana is waaaay too cold for me!
 
girlina4x4

girlina4x4

Member
Ok, well Ive made lots of progress! My LFS happened to have a 65gallon in stock, so I just bought a new one and will still reseal the old one but then sell it on CL. Less worrying!
The freshies are in their new tank. The 65g has water, base rock, and LS in it, mixing with salt right now. Once thats done, the rock and everything will be going in. Ill prob put the fishies in when I get back in town on Sat.
It was such a nightmare to get the water circulating. I guess I missed the day of class titled "Siphoning 101". We had to use the vaccum to get the dang thing siphoned. Almost overflowed the tank, and then DID overflow the sump (if you can call it a sump). About 2 gallons went on my carpet. Took a million towels and Ive had the fan running on it for about 24 hours now. I didnt realize that once its been running and then unplugged, the return pump will siphon water back into the sump
The guy I bought the setup from said that if all the air bubbles are out of the siphon tube, the tank wont overflow if the power goes out. Everything will just stop and stay where it is. Is this true? I really hope so!
I cant wait to get a new sump. Basically what I was given was a rubbermaid bin. The overflow tube goes down into it, and the return pump sent it back in. The only form of "filtration" was the sponge thingy that sits in the HOB overflow. So in the meantime, I got a filter sock and carbon and zip-tied it to the overflow tube down in the bin. At least this way there is something to catch all the crud. I also have my HOB skimmer attached to a side of the bin. A new one is on my to do list...
 
girlina4x4

girlina4x4

Member
Now im thinking of my stock list.....
Currently have 2 pj cardinals and one firefish
I want:
flame or pygmy angel
blackcap basslet
velvet fairy wrasse
maaaybe a pair of false percs
Suggestions welcome!
 
girlina4x4

girlina4x4

Member
Arg! This tank is cursed (or maybe just me!)! I was finally transferring my live rock and aquascaping and some weird vodoo happened
The overflow box filled up with water, and my stupid sump started filling up with water again. This time I knew to take the return pump hose out of the tank, unplug it, took out the U-tube from the overflow.
Then I called my LFS and they gave me a number for a guy who could help me set it up. He came over, fixed everything, I gave him $20 and told him I loved him (was $20 enough for that sort of thing?!).
Turns out, the guy I bought the tank from forgot to mention I needed a small tubeline to get the siphon going. Here I was using a dang vaccum! My savior (Robert) also suggested that I drill a small hole right below the water line so too much water wont get sucked back into my sump in the event of a power outage or something.
Now, Im going to finish aquascaping and get this thing finished!
 
liljay0418

liljay0418

Member
Sounds like you are back on track.........I think $2o was enough as long as he did not spend all day there or anything!! Will be waiting for pics
 
girlina4x4

girlina4x4

Member
Originally Posted by liljay0418
http:///forum/post/2889849
Sounds like you are back on track.........I think $2o was enough as long as he did not spend all day there or anything!! Will be waiting for pics

Thats good! I thought he was going to think I jipped him! I will post pics in a bit, unfortunately the genius idea I had with the filter sock and carbon was a bad one! I apparently didnt rinse the carbon enough and now there is black dust EVERYWHERE! And I dont know how to fix it!
 
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