My 180 Slow Progress Report

casper1875

casper1875

Member
The aquarium is 6 feet long. I put a very thin pad under the tank. It's almost like the padding you use to line shelves with. I'm glad you like the room, I have a hard time staying away from it. I feel bad for my aquarium upstairs. The poor fish only see at feeding time and when I do my water changes.
I try to make myself feel less guilty because I'm going to be giving them a much bigger home.
 
casper1875

casper1875

Member
Well, slow is even going to be slower. I have to take it down and level this thing out. I just need to come up with the best way to get it accomplished.
I don't think I can move it without taking out all the plumbing. Then I need to make everything level. I'm going to use my brothers digital level.
 
casper1875

casper1875

Member
We spent last Saturday making a mess, but the floor is now level.

My husband was wonderful. I could not have done it without him.




It took about 3 hours to grind it down. I would have liked to have leveled the whole floor but there was not enough time. It cost $260.00 to rent it for 5 hours. When I called to order it, the man did not tell me that it was an extra $95.00 for the diamond cutters. I went in with $180.00 in cash, and had to put the rest on my mac card. When I returned it the manager apologized for the mix up and split the difference on the cost of the cutter.
 
mie

mie

Active Member
Nice work, Me thinks your husband is getting into this tank. I wish my wife was more involved, she just likes to pick out fish and corals.
 
posiden

posiden

Active Member
WOW, very cool. Now you have nothing to worrie about. Good solid level floor.

Yea, either your husband is falling into the hobbie or, you are one sweet talker.
 
rlablan

rlablan

Active Member
looks good. I am glad you took the time to level out the floor and do it right
I think you will be happier in the end.
 
E

eric b 125

Guest
Sssaweeet! to hell with the shims, you went the extra mile and like rlablan said, you will be happy that you did!
 
casper1875

casper1875

Member
Thanks. At least I know I did all that I could. My husband's not really into the tank at all, but he can't stand to see me so upset.
The water is in the tank and I'm working on a few issues. I have 2 heaters in the sump and the temp is at 76, so I'm very happy with that. I was hoping that by having it in the basement I wouldn't need a chiller.
 
casper1875

casper1875

Member
No more flushing sound.
I didn't think I would ever get it quiet and last night I took the drill to the standpipes. Oh the beautiful sound of silence. I wish I had video with sound.
Now I wish I had someone to come here and sit and enjoy it with me. My friends think I'm crazy and my family really doesn't care much about it.
Ah well, alone but happy.
 
casper1875

casper1875

Member
I've waited a long time to have this and I just want to know that I did all I could. My boys are full grown men now
(still can't quite grasp it), and now it's time for my dream.
I hope I'll be able to sleep better at night. I'm still getting up at least twice a night. I'm just so excited.
In the next few days I plan on taking some of the rock and sand from my 75 and putting it into the 180. I'll get some pictures and post them when I'm done. I don't think there will be much of a cycle. Should I add some raw shrimp?
I also need to get my qt set up. I had a 10 gallon, now I have a 30. When I need to put something in there I want them to have more room. It's such a great adventure. I can't believe I've got this far.
 
casper1875

casper1875

Member
Originally Posted by FirefightrEMTP
http:///forum/post/3170565
I agree, I am fixing to spend a few hundred on a set up and my wife is ready to shoot me.. I wish I could spend what you, and a lot of you are....
~grace
This March is our 28th anniversary, and about a month ago my husband told me that this aquarium was going to be the end of our marriage. I was really hurt. I have always supported the things that him and our boys were involved in, and I told him that is was now my time.
He has a good point about the money, we're far from rich.
 
rlablan

rlablan

Active Member
How sad.
My bf just had to deal with it, and now he likes it. lol He knows if he tried that, he would be in my aquarium too. :) He is mine.
I think once it is set up, he will be surprised at how much he enjoys that critters and how nice it is to look at the system and all the live that is inside of that little glass box.
Any more updates?
 
calbert0

calbert0

Member
What is the point of the fake wall with the porch blinds?
Why did you paint the wall behind the tank if you were just planning on putting the blinds up?
 
casper1875

casper1875

Member
I wanted to have it feel like a room and not spend a lot of money. The rest of the basement is not finished at all. One of the things I don't like about the 75 is that I can't get behind the tank. I had a problem with the sump and skimmer, they wouldn't fit under the stand. Now I have it all on the floor behind the tank. I really like it. I can change the filter on the pump and I'll be able to clean the skimmer with dislocating my arm.
Remember that this is still a work in progress and I am a women and we change our minds all the time.
 
mkroher

mkroher

Member
Originally Posted by casper1875
http:///forum/post/3170919
I've waited a long time to have this and I just want to know that I did all I could. My boys are full grown men now
(still can't quite grasp it), and now it's time for my dream.
I hope I'll be able to sleep better at night. I'm still getting up at least twice a night. I'm just so excited.
In the next few days I plan on taking some of the rock and sand from my 75 and putting it into the 180. I'll get some pictures and post them when I'm done. I don't think there will be much of a cycle. Should I add some raw shrimp?
I also need to get my qt set up. I had a 10 gallon, now I have a 30. When I need to put something in there I want them to have more room. It's such a great adventure. I can't believe I've got this far.


I upgraded to a larger tank, and this is what I did.
I didn't have much live rock, only about 30lbs, a small tank, and a couple fish. When I started my 75 gallon, I knew I would need much more rock. I bought 50lbs of marco rocks (which is dry rock, and much cheaper). I put the marco rocks in the 75, did the aquascaping knowing I'll be adding an additional 30lbs when I move the fish over. I bought new sand, added that too. After the sand cloud of doom settled, I was ready to move the critters and live rock over.
I moved the live rock over, placed it on top of the marco rocks. Moved the fish over. I tested the water constantly... ammonia was always 0. I know it's not much live rock in the tank, but it's enough for my current bio load. And I know the marco rocks will eventually become live rock over time. I'm satisfied.
Just my .02 :)
 
casper1875

casper1875

Member
I have about 90 lbs of of base rock in there right now. I thought I'd add about half of my live rock to the new system and wait for the cycle. Don't I have to wait?
It would be wonderful if I could just transfer everything over without the wait.
 
rlablan

rlablan

Active Member
I had a 45 gal and I upgraded to a 200 gallon. I had tons of corals and critters to move, so I did a big water change into a trash bin like 1 weeks before the big move and then added new water to the tank, and I put a light, some chaeto a few power heads over the trash bin. The water maybe sat there for like.... I dk, maybe 5 days, tops. I also had a bunch of base rock curing in this water too. This way, it would be populated with bacteria. I had about 60 lbs of mature LR in the 45 gal tank too.
On moving day, I added that trash can water, new LS and the cured rock, then I started to remove all the rock from the 45 gal tank and put it in the 200gal. I then removed the critters and placed them in buckets and bins and what not, drained the tank in to the 200gallon, and then filled the remaining 100 gallons with fresh, new salt water. Then I tested and tested. Everthing thing was fine, never had a spike, never lost a single fish. All the corals and everyone lived happily in there.
I think this would be a better alternative then putting half of your livestock through a mini cycle. JMO.
 
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