Officially joined the hobby today!!!

gcgrad

gcgrad

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///forum/thread/383014/officially-joined-the-hobby-today/240#post_3367358
Personally I wouldn't use it in the tank. I think some people believe that it helps disperse the weight of the rocks from creating pressure points on the glass. I've never had or personally seen rockwork create any issues with being placed directly on top of the glass. And if you think about it, the rock itself is less dense than water is, therefore a tank full of rock seems to me like it would weigh less than a tank full of just water IMO. Anyway, I wouldn't use it for the fact that it will restrict the micro organisms that live in the sand bed from being able to travel around like they should. I wouldn't...but that's me. We'll see what others have to say.
Good point Corey! Maybe the pvc and egg crate thing is just a precaution.
Quote:
Originally Posted by florida joe http:///forum/thread/383014/officially-joined-the-hobby-today/240#post_3367361
Ok Dean I realize this is after the fact but please humor a simple old hobbyist. What I would have done is cut four small pieces of PVC pipe placed them in the corners then the egg create. Over the egg create I would put some vinyl screening. Then some fugi mud and then the rock. Now you have a nice little refuge with a PLENUM.
As Cory alluded to IMO the egg create is more likely to cause the sand to impact
Well the bubble tower is actually in my skimmer area. Maybe I wasn't supposed to do it that way.
On a different note my rock and bulkheads arrived today. They came from BRS and for some reason the bulkheads were packaged with the rock (REALLY????). Therefore, each $11 1" SCH 80 Bulkhead Thread x Thread was damaged. They may still be able to function, but something purchased brand new and for that price shouldn't arrive looking like s*@#. However, even when I took them to see how they fit they were too big. I guess I was under the impression that all 1" bulkheads fit the same. Clearly I am wrong. Spoke to customer service and they said they would refund the $22, but I would need to place an order for the correct sized bulkheads. This looks to be the bulkhead that I need.
http://www.**************.com/store/1-abs-bulkhead-slip-x-thread-slip-on-the-flange-head-side.html
I assume slip on the flange/head side means the drain line pvc (in the overflow itself) will slide into this. And the threaded part means that the first drain piece will screw into the bottom of the bulkhead, which will provide for easy removal. Advice please!!
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Well the bubble tower is actually in my skimmer area. Maybe I wasn't supposed to do it that way.
no i misunderstood
in general looking at the bulkhead you linked
Dean in general the fixed bulkhead lip (the slip fit side) goes into the vessel holding water. The threaded side both internal and external in your case goes outside the tank. You can reverse the positions if space or for ease of disassembly BUT if you are going with this reverse installation I would definitely go with gasket inside and out
 
gcgrad

gcgrad

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by florida joe http:///forum/thread/383014/officially-joined-the-hobby-today/260#post_3367447
no i misunderstood
in general looking at the bulkhead you linked
Dean in general the fixed bulkhead lip (the slip fit side) goes into the vessel holding water. The threaded side both internal and external in your case goes outside the tank. You can reverse the positions if space or for ease of disassembly BUT if you are going with this reverse installation I would definitely go with gasket inside and out
Thanks Joe! I'm not going to do the reverse, I'll stick to the one I linked. This will allow my overflow drains to slide in easily, then I can find a threaded fitting that will screw internally into the bulkhead to begin the drain plumbing. Never thought the bulkheads I ordered wouldn't fit. Guess I will hold onto them unless someone on here wants them.
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by gcgrad http:///forum/thread/383014/officially-joined-the-hobby-today/260#post_3367457
Thanks Joe! I'm not going to do the reverse, I'll stick to the one I linked. This will allow my overflow drains to slide in easily, then I can find a threaded fitting that will screw internally into the bulkhead to begin the drain plumbing. Never thought the bulkheads I ordered wouldn't fit. Guess I will hold onto them unless someone on here wants them.
Sorry, Dean...I probably should have caught that before you ordered them. All sch 80 require a slightly larger hole. So unless you wish to enlarge the holes then you'll have to stick with the standard sch 40's. I would just hang on to them. If you stick around in the hobby long enough then odds are you'll end up with more than one tank eventually and you may want to try your hand at drilling, ya never know.
How local is your closest local fish store? If it's an actual fish store and not a pet shop then they probably have the sch 40 bulkheads. Might be able to save your self some time and shipping. Just a thought. Maybe they'll trade ya.
 
gcgrad

gcgrad

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///forum/thread/383014/officially-joined-the-hobby-today/260#post_3367466
Sorry, Dean...I probably should have caught that before you ordered them. All sch 80 require a slightly larger hole. So unless you wish to enlarge the holes then you'll have to stick with the standard sch 40's. I would just hang on to them. If you stick around in the hobby long enough then odds are you'll end up with more than one tank eventually and you may want to try your hand at drilling, ya never know.
How local is your closest local fish store? If it's an actual fish store and not a pet shop then they probably have the sch 40 bulkheads. Might be able to save your self some time and shipping. Just a thought. Maybe they'll trade ya.
Nearest one is about one hour away. So driving up there to purchase $10 of bulkheads may not be worth it. However, that is a good tip on the trade. I can call them and ask, couldn't hurt. If they want to trade then I may drive up that way to trade them out. This will insure that I get the appropriate size. I'm going out of town this weekend and that place will be on the way. I may stop by and check it out.
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by gcgrad http:///forum/thread/383014/officially-joined-the-hobby-today/260#post_3367476
Nearest one is about one hour away. So driving up there to purchase $10 of bulkheads may not be worth it. However, that is a good tip on the trade. I can call them and ask, couldn't hurt. If they want to trade then I may drive up that way to trade them out. This will insure that I get the appropriate size. I'm going out of town this weekend and that place will be on the way. I may stop by and check it out.
Hey, were abouts in GA are you at anyway? I did a bunch of work down there some years back and stayed in the jonesborough area for a while.
 
gcgrad

gcgrad

Member
Ordered my sand and canister filter for my QT today. Also ordered the new bulkheads, waiting for the bulkheads to come in before I can work on the plumbing. Still waiting to paint the tank as we have been having horrible weather. I have been thinking of my first fish and my egg crate. It just occurred to me that smaller sized fish will probably be able to jump through the egg crate such as wrasses and firefish. I went with egg crate in the first place to promote better gas exchange than the glass top and thought fish leaping through it wouldn't be a problem. Is there a way to mod the egg crate I have on the tank now to keep fish from jumping through?
 
deejeff442

deejeff442

Active Member
id depends if you fish known to jump.over the years i have only had two things jump a flame angel which i was actually in the room when he jumped and he is stiull in my tank and an eel that didnt make it.
 
gcgrad

gcgrad

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by deejeff442 http:///forum/thread/383014/officially-joined-the-hobby-today/260#post_3367786
id depends if you fish known to jump.over the years i have only had two things jump a flame angel which i was actually in the room when he jumped and he is stiull in my tank and an eel that didnt make it.
Hmmm... well the easiest solution would be to change the stocklist around and buy specimens which are too large to make it through these holes.
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
I don't have any covers on my tank and haven't had any jumper, yet (knock on wood). I have a firefish and have never even seen him swim past half way up the tank. Alot of folks around here have made covers out of pond netting or tree guard. It's like flexible plastic netting.
 
gcgrad

gcgrad

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///forum/thread/383014/officially-joined-the-hobby-today/260#post_3367828
I don't have any covers on my tank and haven't had any jumper, yet (knock on wood). I have a firefish and have never even seen him swim past half way up the tank. Alot of folks around here have made covers out of pond netting or tree guard. It's like flexible plastic netting.
Interesting Corey! I may chance it. If I encounter a problem then I will make adjustments. I only ask because I'm thinking of getting a firefish or pair (male and female) as my first fish. Since they are rather small it got me thinking, "crap... can they jump out."
 
gcgrad

gcgrad

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by deejeff442 http:///forum/thread/383014/officially-joined-the-hobby-today/260#post_3367830
i am more into corals now and dont want to shade my lights so i get fish that dont (or not known to) jump.
I will get into corals down the road. I would like to get comfortable with maintaining the tank with fish beforehand, especially with it being my first. I also can't afford to spend a lot of money on lighting right now, so I will be using fluorescent lights for my first several fish (may supplement the bulbs with T5s in the meantime.) Then once I get my feet wet and funds are appealing, I can upgrade my lighting and start getting into corals and such.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Reach out to spanko I think he has some pics of modified egg create with screen attached. I had a cleaner wrasse once that would not jump out of the tank BUT would just into the in tank overflow boxes. That’s something IMO you will need to check if you have jumpers and they disappear
 
gcgrad

gcgrad

Member
Ok. So the new bulkheads came in this weekend so I dry fitted the plumbing. Here are the pics!!!
Here's how the bulkheads are connected to the plumbing. Flexible tubing with clamps for the return (left) and 1" pvc (right). A 1" adapter was used to screw into the threads on the bulkhead. Towards the bottom is the 1" 90 sweeps (purchased online).

How the plumbing runs to the sump. The left side is the drain into the fuge (ball valve is there, handle is on opposite side considering this is a shot from the back of the stand.

Shot takin looking down into the stand. Protein skimmer is directly below.

Ball valve for the drain into the fuge.

This is the 3/4" wye fitting (purchased online) for return plumbing. The bottom thread is clearly not connected to the return pump yet.

Drain going into bubble tower. The protein skimmer is sitting on the test kit box to mimic the height at which it will be functioning with water. The baffle here is 10" high, so I'm thinking of elevating the skimmer 4" so it runs in 6" deep of water.

Quiet One pump 991 gph (712 gph at 4ft headspace).

Another shot takin looking down into the stand.

I personally think the plumbing looks clean. The pvc hasn't been glued yet, just pieces cut and dry fitted before everything is glued. By using the 1" adapters with threads and 1" bulkheads with internal threads, I will be able to remove the pvc if necessary. The next step will be gluing the pieces in place and then filling everything up with tap water and doing a test trial. Also, there is a very good chance I will be painting the stand and tank trim black. Thoughts on everything are welcome!!!
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Looks pretty good, Dean. I may have increased the drain size on the skimmer side but just using a larger T but all in all I think it will work fine. Also I would cut the pipe accordingly so that you can support the drain plumbing by clamping it under the center cross brace under the tank. Water will add some weight to those pipes and you don't want to put alot of stress on those bulkheads.
It looks like the previous owner removed one of the cross pieces already. I would add another one back for further support (just me).
 
gcgrad

gcgrad

Member
Got my Quietflow 20 Filter to be used for my QT. May purchase an airstone as well if you all think the filter doesn't promote enough oxygenation. In the meantime I'm still waiting to paint the back of the tank. I am also going to paint the stand. Think I'm going to use behr ultra premium paint. Probably go with satin.

I found a picture of someone's stand, which looks a lot like mine in terms of structure. The aforementioned paint was what they used in this is how it turned out.

 
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