Neptunes 125 Reef Diary.

[king_neptune]

ya weather here is warming up. i went outside early am and it was tolerable in shorts with no shirt on. besides...its a covered pickup. no wind to gust around. And I will most likely add plastic wrap over the top and tape it tight. ill have them in and out in less than an hour.
there is lots of feasible methods to do this quickly, and they all range from 20min to 1 hour tops. 9 miles simply isnt a long rid in an unheated water bin, inside the back of a covered pickup.
right now Im putting every thing on this project on hold for at least two weeks. Its a heavy month for gaming, several great new releases.

 

[oceansidefish]

Let me just warn you from experience....Moving a tank is NOT that easy... A few rubermaid bins and a powerhead sounds easy enough. It took me 8 hours to move my 60g when I had it 4 miles. Don't even get me started on my 120...

 

[detane]

Originally Posted by Oceansidefish
http:///forum/post/2977700
Let me just warn you from experience....Moving a tank is NOT that easy... A few rubermaid bins and a powerhead sounds easy enough. It took me 8 hours to move my 60g when I had it 4 miles. Don't even get me started on my 120...
I agree 100%. Moving tanks is not easy! I took 5 people just to move my tank alone, 4 people for the stand, 2 people to take the rock and sand out to place in in containers, and about 16 hours total to reset everything back up. Dont let me get started on how long it took to catch the fish. hahahahahaha
In the words of THE JEDI, " MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU".

 

[wattsupdoc]

This is where experience becomes revealed it ones own words.....
"No big deal"........
Oh, just you wait.....

 

[king_neptune]

Originally Posted by Oceansidefish
http:///forum/post/2977700
Let me just warn you from experience....Moving a tank is NOT that easy... A few rubermaid bins and a powerhead sounds easy enough. It took me 8 hours to move my 60g when I had it 4 miles. Don't even get me started on my 120...

Originally Posted by DETANE
http:///forum/post/2977748
I agree 100%. Moving tanks is not easy! I took 5 people just to move my tank alone, 4 people for the stand, 2 people to take the rock and sand out to place in in containers, and about 16 hours total to reset everything back up. Dont let me get started on how long it took to catch the fish. hahahahahaha
In the words of THE JEDI, " MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU".

Originally Posted by wattsupdoc
http:///forum/post/2977754
This is where experience becomes revealed it ones own words.....
"No big deal"........
Oh, just you wait.....
lol, I know. Believe me it weighs heavy.I don't take it lightly, but it really is no big deal. Its not like I am talking about a fully stocked tank with dozens of fish and coral. I haven't come to a final conclusion yet, like I said I'm taking a couple weeks off to do some hard core gaming anyways. the way I see it.... less than 3 months, I wait. More 3-6 months....mabee. past 6 months or more...for sure ill fire it up.
Like I said, with a proper game plan I'm not worried. I take my 55 gal and setup at the new place. Throw in some heaters and get everything ready. I wont have a lot of rocks and livestock to put in it. mabee 50lbs and a couple fish. they will be out of the 125 and into the 55gal within minutes. Then I come back and break everything down and haul it empty. Setup and transfer back. I got the over all picture in my head, and have ran many scenarios. It is doable.totaly doable.

 

[kjlondry]

Sounds like you got it all figured out. Looks good on paper....
Originally Posted by King_Neptune
http:///forum/post/2977434
right now Im putting every thing on this project on hold for at least two weeks. Its a heavy month for gaming, several great new releases.
What do you play on? xbox or ps3?

 

[fishstick4sale]

what is this?

 

[deejeff442]

i am in the same boat as you neptune.in the process of losing my house.
i tried a modification but i make half the money i did two years ago when i bought it.
we are moving to a lease purchase 6 miles downthe road.
the house has a huge walkout basement so plenty of room for a fish room.
i have a 150 gallon running here now.
most of our furniture is gone there already.
the house was auctioned last tuesday but i still havnt heard anything about when we have to leave.gunna miss the neighbors mostly but it is just down the road.
i found a 225 tank and a 120 for a sump which is alreadt there and running with 120 lbs of lr.i checked yesterday and it has cycled nice.
i need to move my fish and 200 lbs of rock there in the next couple days .
unless you have a

[hr]
with fanny/freddie this obama bailout wont do a thing to help.and a modification goes on your credit almost as bad as a foreclosure so i figured my tiss well start over as soon as i can and get back to getting my credit back up.
good luck.

 

[snowrider84]

any updates

 

[eric b 125]

what's crackin nep? hope the gaming is going well. i was just about to order from glass-holes and it occured to me that i over-complicated my plumbing plan. how are you planning your plumbing? i was going to grip up a 1500 gph overflow from them and put it in the middle w/ corner returns, but i think if i get two 700 gph overflows and toss em in the corners, with two center returns, then it is a massive difference in head-loss. now i'm playing the waiting game to get more opinions on this before ordering, just wanted to see how youre planning things. thanks homeslice.

 

[chevyrulzs2010]

Originally Posted by King_Neptune
http:///forum/post/2961772
Its shallow. About 2-5 inches deep. What the camera doesn't really show is the protruding rocks throughout. They extend another 3-6 inches. This will let me put stuff all the way up the rock work. And how grainy it looks. I added a few shells hear and there to give nice texture as well. The "Tripod" is about 12inches tall and 6 inches wide.
Base rock wont add another cycle. It will simply be populated with good bacteria over the next 2 years. The foam will be populated much sooner.
The lights are comming this weekend, but you don't cycle with lights on. This just speeds up the algae growth. A tank will cycle fine without light. I wouldn't be able to cycle till the stand is made, and the plumbing is in. I haven't evin started on that yet. I got a few ideas swimming in my head and haven't finalized anything. If it turns out I might get to keep the house...I'll cycle hear and now. But as it stands, I probably will lose it, when I know for sure Ill make final plans.

Ok, I just read this whole thing, front to back, didnt skip a post. Very interesting. I learned alot from this not going to lie. I learned about my sump system i am planning right now. Also made me think of going with a bigger tank. I am going to do the rock wall thing in what ever tank i eventually get. I love that idea. I have been searching CL for a good tank in my area. There is a few things but i dont have any money to spare right now

I have to pay $200 dollars for a trip to chicago for a school trip this week. I have a 600 dollar EMT-B class i am taking this summer. I have a 150 dollar SCUBA tank to buy soon. I need to pay 200-300 dollars on my motorcycle class so i can get my license.

and i have no money the way it is. I hope to beable to make a nice tank like this someday.
The only thing i would change about your wall is I would have added a shelf that runs the length of the wall, and moves up. I dont know why, i just think it would have been a nice touch and get away from the "great wall of china" look that someone mentioned before. This would be good for some corals to mount on besides the rocks.
Keep going with this I love it.

 

[king_neptune]

Originally Posted by kjlondry
http:///forum/post/2978456
Sounds like you got it all figured out. Looks good on paper....
What do you play on? xbox or ps3?
On paper, ya I'm in no rush, I wont step in lightly, I can wait or not wait, there is always room for decision. Besides, I got a 28gal cube going at a different location. I can focus on that for the time being, and use it to culture my 125.
BOth, PS3 i am going through some classics, and then killzone. Latly I been p33nin nooblits on Halo Wars 2v2 with my teammate, top 200 global.....163 i think, it dips up and down constantly. We get beat, but mostly we win a dozen in a row or more before that happens. We warthog rush in a way that really stomps out low end players fast. If it fails we withdraw and prepare for counter attack. Fun game, I highly recommend it if your into RTS, or think maybe you could get into them.
Also been playin Resident evil 5 pretty hard last week. I still got a mountain of games to go through, so my reef can sit a while longer^^
Originally Posted by fishstick4sale
http:///forum/post/2980333
what is this?

I do not know.....
Originally Posted by snowrider84
http:///forum/post/2990935
any updates

yup but none you want to hear
Im putting it on hold.
Originally Posted by Eric B 125
http:///forum/post/2992485
what's crackin nep? hope the gaming is going well. i was just about to order from glass-holes and it occured to me that i over-complicated my plumbing plan. how are you planning your plumbing? i was going to grip up a 1500 gph overflow from them and put it in the middle w/ corner returns, but i think if i get two 700 gph overflows and toss em in the corners, with two center returns, then it is a massive difference in head-loss. now i'm playing the waiting game to get more opinions on this before ordering, just wanted to see how youre planning things. thanks homeslice.
Plumbing plans change slightly on a constant basis, best advice I can give is make it modular so that you can unskkrew segments for upgrades and eventual tear down. That is what Im doing. I havent evin started on the stand yet, when I finish that I will finalize the plumbing.
I got a Pondmaster Mag 1800 I will throttle it down via valve on the return. My overflow is overkill for this pump at full capacity.
I will try to get close to 1100-1300 GPH split unevenly between the 2 sides of the sump.
The main thing is it is designed in my head to go way high or way low on flow, and I can and will adjust each side so it works right. I will have stand pipes in the back and I will have adjustable air bleeds to dampen the slurping sucking noise such systems produce. Because my current plumbing allows for a 2600 GPH flow, and I'm going far below that, I can afford more bends and twists in my pipes, but it doesn't mean I will be overly wasteful. I will still keep it to a minimum of hard turns.
Id like a link to your build if you make one.

 

[kjlondry]

Originally Posted by King_Neptune
http:///forum/post/2999721
On paper, ya I'm in no rush, I wont step in lightly, I can wait or not wait, there is always room for decision. Besides, I got a 28gal cube going at a different location. I can focus on that for the time being, and use it to culture my 125.
BOth, PS3 i am going through some classics, and then killzone. Latly I been p33nin nooblits on Halo Wars 2v2 with my teammate, top 200 global.....163 i think, it dips up and down constantly. We get beat, but mostly we win a dozen in a row or more before that happens. We warthog rush in a way that really stomps out low end players fast. If it fails we withdraw and prepare for counter attack. Fun game, I highly recommend it if your into RTS, or think maybe you could get into them.
Also been playin Resident evil 5 pretty hard last week. I still got a mountain of games to go through, so my reef can sit a while longer^^
Ya halo wars looks like a lot of fun, would buy it if I had the time to enjoy it. Not big into resident evil games but they are pretty intense! Also heard killzone was BA but never played it either. Ever play just Halo3? or any other FSP like call of duty? I suggest you try some NAZI Zombies if you want a challenge. That's mainly what I play besides when I'm working/taking care of my many animals. It is one of the hardest games ever, I would imagine....

 

[king_neptune]

Originally Posted by kjlondry
http:///forum/post/3000532
Ever play just Halo3? or any other FSP like call of duty? I suggest you try some NAZI Zombies if you want a challenge. That's mainly what I play besides when I'm working/taking care of my many animals. It is one of the hardest games ever, I would imagine....
I used to do Cod4 alot, but havent been on it in a while. Im pretty good with the G3. COd5 I never played, I took my friends word for it and stuck to cod4 as the superior game.
I heard about the nazi zombies, they tell me its alot of fun to try and survive. I finished Res evil 5, and am now working on the new Star Ocean....great Sci-Fi RPG.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The tank and equipment sits in the garage, I wont set it up or cycle till after I move, its going to be a couple months, so things are on the back burner for now as it relates to this hobby.
I got that 30gal cube over at my dads to keep me occupied till then. We plan to order the LR sometime next week. All the supplies and gear are setup and ready...just a matter of mixing it, and cycling. I'm jealous, he gets to start before me, but this is the best decision for me to make right now, so Ill bite the bullet and wait a little while longer.
Mabee Ill do a light diary for that in the nano section.

 

[king_neptune]

Ahhhh,
finaly got somethign to post and update.
well, i took the solid advice from everyone( i knew deep down all along I would) and put the whole project on hold till i was sure about my foreclosure ect.
better safe than sorry, and waiting the extra few months was fine.house will indeed be lost. I got 90days till its final, so why waste time...i moved out and am in my new living arrangements.
its a BIG upgrade in my lifestyle...back with my parents, normaly it sounds horrible, moving in with parents and all at 30...but im a mommas boy^^, and dad is old and needs help with the porperty, so its win win for everyone.
Were finishing up the re-model on the apartment and when thats done Ill move in and set up shop. Probably 3-4 weeks and it will all be finished.
Right now im mulling over ideas for the tank stand in my head. I am scrapping the one that came with it....way to cramped. I want something taller and mabee evin a little deeper.
so I ask you....what would you suggest I figure in for head room in the stand?
How many inches above the top of the sump do you find acceptable? im thinking 16 inches of headroom, too much? or too little?
And second:
tank placement.....upstairs or down? the tank would be directly above the center support wall w/24inch beam that spans the entire length of the floor.
if it was downstairs it would be on the concrete floor...so basicly weight is not the issue.
Its the risk of the tank exploding, that is what my dad is worried about,any thoughts on this? any bad experiances from tanks spilling hundreds of gallons on the floor?
having the tank upstairs in my office is a big plus. it would be the quiet place to do my studies and homework, with the pretty tank behind me.
if its downstairs....lameness, since I live upstiars...not down in the garage. And who put's thier tanks in the garage, unless it has a hole cut in the wall to some family room or something. I mean the whole point is to enjoy the tank...what fun is it to have in the garage?
i would also really like some input on stand designs..i have seen a few threads already...but Id like to see more, so if yo got em. lemme know.
Gald to be back into this again!! looking foreward to cycling it in the next month.

 

[fishkid13]

The stand I built is just 4x4 (9 totally) and made three rows of three. Put boards around it and in the bottom to hold the sump and it works fine. I made it deeper than my tank to give some room but tired to make if fit snug. Hope this helps.

 

[king_neptune]

RO-DI system is going in sometime in the next few days.
gonna pipe it in after the main house filter(shown at the bottom) in hopes of getting it a little "Pre-filtered", to expand the life of the RO filters.
Im putting in a giant rubber maid bin hear as well to collect the RO-DI water..and the sink to the side will be perfect to catch any spill off if the auto shutoff ever fails. not sure on the size. I was thinking around 25-30 gallons would be ideal, that should accommodate this system, as well as my dads 28gallon nano that we are also working on.
In the next week or two Ill be building the stand, and from there the tanks final setup will be done.

 

[fishkid13]

 

[king_neptune]

Changes changes changes....well glad to have them out of the way^^
Tanks final resting place will be down stars below my apartment, in what we call the "Hobby Room" Its a mess now, mainly been storage for the last decade. Used to use it for building model airplanes when I was a kid. Ill be cleaning it up in the coming weeks.

On the other side of that door in the background is just the underneath of a porch, which was converted to a bathroom for the upstairs room.
Its getting fixed up to make a utility room, saltwater mixing station ect:

Since were gutting everything anyways, all the plumbing is being replaced with copper lines to prevent freezing ruptures in the winter. Upstairs and down^^

And Finally got the materials for my stand

 

[fishkid13]

Yay keep us updated. Can't wait to see it one big fish room.