bigeyedfish
Member
Well after three hours of working on my tank the new sump/refugium is in place. Lets just say as a beginner to DIY, there were a lot of lessons learned. As soon as i get my digiatl camera i will post some pics. hopefully by then i will have some caulerpa and mangroves in the fuge. right now its empty and the ball valve is closed so no water is flowing into that section. Here are a few lessons learned for people trying to fit a fuge under a 55gal tank.
1. Containers that fit under the stand are almost impossible to find. And they still might not fit perfectly once you get them in there.
2. LOTS, i mean LOTS of silicone is needed to keep baffles and bulkheads in place on plastic containers. No leaks so far, woo hoo!
3. Turn off your heater before draining the overflow box. I blew mine up when it filled back up. THANK YOU WAL-MART FOR BEING OPEN ON SUNDAY NIGHTS. (I will be getting a new, much higher quality heater tomorrow as soon as the LFS opens.)
4. Re-plumbing under your stand after its already been running is a pain in the a$$!
I also have a problem with the drain, it is very very loud. Right now i have the water hitting a sponge to prevent splash but it still doesnt help much. I might extend the line so it drains underwater. any problems with this? like i said once i get a camera i can post pics and any advice might be easier to give. I am giving myself 24 hours to make sure everything is ok before i actually try and grade my project. So far its a B-. If everything lives then i might upgrade to a B+. I could have done a little better, even with the weeks and weeks of planning. Chalk it up to being a newbie. <img src="graemlins//angel.gif" border="0" alt="[angel]" />
1. Containers that fit under the stand are almost impossible to find. And they still might not fit perfectly once you get them in there.
2. LOTS, i mean LOTS of silicone is needed to keep baffles and bulkheads in place on plastic containers. No leaks so far, woo hoo!
3. Turn off your heater before draining the overflow box. I blew mine up when it filled back up. THANK YOU WAL-MART FOR BEING OPEN ON SUNDAY NIGHTS. (I will be getting a new, much higher quality heater tomorrow as soon as the LFS opens.)
4. Re-plumbing under your stand after its already been running is a pain in the a$$!
I also have a problem with the drain, it is very very loud. Right now i have the water hitting a sponge to prevent splash but it still doesnt help much. I might extend the line so it drains underwater. any problems with this? like i said once i get a camera i can post pics and any advice might be easier to give. I am giving myself 24 hours to make sure everything is ok before i actually try and grade my project. So far its a B-. If everything lives then i might upgrade to a B+. I could have done a little better, even with the weeks and weeks of planning. Chalk it up to being a newbie. <img src="graemlins//angel.gif" border="0" alt="[angel]" />
