Setting up a New Coral QT

sweatervest13

sweatervest13

Active Member
UGG. I hate using a laptop!!! The darn T key does not work and I just don't like typing on the small keyboard. Sorry, this is for the above post.
So, tonight when I get home from hockey I am going to put the tank back in the garage and leak test it. When I did this last weekend, I only did it for a about 12 hrs. I did not shim the wood blocks I used to support the tank and it was way off level. So I did not want to long term test it that way.
We will see if I can still use this baby.
 
novahobbies

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
Well, I have to say I like the dimensions and footprint of this tank, but.....you know your stuff. If you have a "gut feeling" that you shouldn't use the tank, then you may want to listen to that intuition.
I just finished up dinner....homemade bourbon chicken. Right now I have a "gut feeling" that I ate too much. Ugh.
 
reefkprz

reefkprz

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by sweatervest13 http:///t/392802/setting-up-a-new-coral-qt/20#post_3491579
We will see if I can still use this baby.
just reseal it and save yourself the headache. even if it passes a leak test who's to say the seals wont fail in 6 months. I reseal any tank thats dry before I re-use it. 5$ in silicone is worth the heachces prevented. IMO I have had newer tanks fail and older tanks fail. no rhyme or reason. new silicone holds up the best plus if you redo it you know its tight.
 
novahobbies

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by reefkprZ http:///t/392802/setting-up-a-new-coral-qt/20#post_3491735
just reseal it and save yourself the headache. even if it passes a leak test who's to say the seals wont fail in 6 months. I reseal any tank thats dry before I re-use it. 5$ in silicone is worth the heachces prevented. IMO I have had newer tanks fail and older tanks fail. no rhyme or reason. new silicone holds up the best plus if you redo it you know its tight.
Hey, have you ever thought of doing a youtube video with resealing a tank? I'd watch it....
 
sweatervest13

sweatervest13

Active Member
your not kidding it gets expoensivfe quick especially if you keep up on changing your bulb with the regularity that you should.
Yup and I am right at that time .. something has got to give. New bulbs. Or new lights.
I am totally fine with resealing the tank. A bit above my pay grade but I can try.. the tank was 10 bucks. Why not?
 
sweatervest13

sweatervest13

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by reefkprZ
just reseal it and save yourself the headache. even if it passes a leak test who's to say the seals wont fail in 6 months. I reseal any tank thats dry before I re-use it. 5$ in silicone is worth the heachces prevented. IMO I have had newer tanks fail and older tanks fail. no rhyme or reason. new silicone holds up the best plus if you redo it you know its tight.
** UPDATE**
Well, I took your advice and resealed the tank. I researched online on "how to reseal a tank" and found a few videos. Pretty simple. Remove all the silcone (must remove all the silcone from the inside. when you think you are done... Start over and there will be more.. Repeat, repeat, repeat), then clean with achohol. I taped the insides to give me clean seams (helped a little, but not much). I bought a tube of aquarium silcone from Great Lakes Aquariums for 5 bucks. Took me three or four days to scrap off all the silcone and clean the tank. I let the tank dry for 3 days.
Then because it is a somewhat homemaid tank, I had to reseal the underside of the tank. There is about a 1/2" overlap of glass that the tank sits on. I repeated the same steps. Right now the tank is still curing. I will leak test it later in the week. So far I am super happy with the way it turned out.
 
sweatervest13

sweatervest13

Active Member
Well, it has been over a week so tonight I think that I will start the leak test. I am not worried, but you never know. Better to test it out now and address any issues.
I have also decided to use a 29g tank (my first SW tank) I had sitting around for the sump for this system. On my big system I have a larger sump made by Great Lakes Aquariums, they use a very simple design that I like. They don't use any sort of bubble trap and instead of a filter sock they use a "media box". I bought the silicone I used for resealing the tank at GLA a few weeks ago. While in there I asked if they cut glass, and of course they do. I talked with the owner and he said he can hook me up for a good price on the components that they use to make my own sump. Should be fun, and I am already comfortable using the silicone.
I do need to figure out what type of skimmer I would like. I need something smaller but all I seem to find online are skimmers rated for tanks 125g and up, unless its a HOB style skimmer. I need a small in sump skimmer that works well... Any suggestions??
This is turning out to be a bit of a slow build, and I am okay with that. I don't see any reason to rush this project. I would like to get it up soon though. I plan on using this more for a frag tank. Hopefully to grow out some nice SPS's I know that they need a very stable tank, so I figure that the quicker I set it up the quicker it will be seasoned. We will see...
 
sweatervest13

sweatervest13

Active Member
Fingers crossed... I filled up the tank last night. I have not drilled a hole in the stand yet so I had to get some 2x4's to prop it up so I could fit in the bulkhead.
It all look good last night, and when I checked this morning before work, no leaks. Lets keep it that way.
I am looking to skimmers and would like to decide on one before I set the dimensions of the sump. Right now I am leaning towards a SWC or Reef Octopus.
 
sweatervest13

sweatervest13

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by florida joe http:///t/392802/setting-up-a-new-coral-qt/20#post_3498266
when all is said and done and you are up and running remember to dip your corals
For sure!!
I have been dipping in iodine. I think I read a post from you (from years back) that recommended doing this. You said that it was the active ingredient in Lugo's dip. Does that sound like something you would have said??
If it was what concentration do you mix your iodine dip at?? How long do you dip them for? Do you go from a coral dip to a freshwater dip??
Thanks for your help Joe!!
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Actually I was using Providone iodine 10%solution that you can get at any drug store. I was adding it to 2 cups of water until the water was the color of weak tea. I dipped for 5 min then a rinse with tank water.
The link below is what I am now doing which most of the people in my reef club also do. IMO it’s the best thing for red bugs other than getting a prescription from a veterinarian for interceptor which is a treatment for parasites on dogs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UubUsZ2CSs&feature=related
You will need to mix 0.5 ml of the insect killer for every 2 cups of tank water. Dip the coral for 5 minutes, .
Pull the coral out and give it a good rinsing. This stuff is not friendly to invertebrates so a good rinsing will keep it from contaminating the tank water. Remember to rinse your hands as well (I would suggest using gloves if you have them).
I will do this twice to ensure that every one of those red bugs is eliminated. The people who have tried this method reported great success, even for AEFW and other pests.
 
sweatervest13

sweatervest13

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by florida joe http:///t/392802/setting-up-a-new-coral-qt/20#post_3498306
Actually I was using Providone iodine 10%solution that you can get at any drug store. I was adding it to 2 cups of water until the water was the color of weak tea. I dipped for 5 min then a rinse with tank water.
The link below is what I am now doing which most of the people in my reef club also do. IMO it’s the best thing for red bugs other than getting a prescription from a veterinarian for interceptor which is a treatment for parasites on dogs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UubUsZ2CSs&feature=related
You will need to mix 0.5 ml of the insect killer for every 2 cups of tank water. Dip the coral for 5 minutes, .
Pull the coral out and give it a good rinsing. This stuff is not friendly to invertebrates so a good rinsing will keep it from contaminating the tank water. Remember to rinse your hands as well (I would suggest using gloves if you have them).
I will do this twice to ensure that every one of those red bugs is eliminated. The people who have tried this method reported great success, even for AEFW and other pests.
Yup.. Providone iodine... That's it!! I wrote it down at the time and went right to the store and picked some up. I have been doing that, but rinsing off in RO water. I will switch to tank water. I will check the link later. I love the info Joe, thanks a ton!!!
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by sweatervest13 http:///t/392802/setting-up-a-new-coral-qt/20#post_3498307
Yup.. Providone iodine... That's it!! I wrote it down at the time and went right to the store and picked some up. I have been doing that, but rinsing off in RO water. I will switch to tank water. I will check the link later. I love the info Joe, thanks a ton!!!
weclome
and do check the link this new method and product IMO is the way to go
 
sweatervest13

sweatervest13

Active Member
Wow. That's some crazy stuff right there. How many ml per L is the mix?? Just use tank water to dip and rinse? Can I find it lowes?
Great link Joe!! There was some major carnage in the dip at the end.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by sweatervest13 http:///t/392802/setting-up-a-new-coral-qt/20#post_3498361
Wow. That's some crazy stuff right there. How many ml per L is the mix?? Just use tank water to dip and rinse? Can I find it lowes?
Great link Joe!! There was some major carnage in the dip at the end.
Here is a picture of the product. I purchased it at Lowes. I use 4 cups tank water and 1.0 ML of product. so thats I ml to 0.946 liters.
 
sweatervest13

sweatervest13

Active Member
Okay it has been some time since my last update on this.
The coral frag/QT tank project is still on going. This is a slow build, but I don't mind taking my time. I have found that this gives me a lot of planning time and I have been making sure that it is set up the way I want it to.
The frag tank was stripped of the outside silicone and resealed. I leak tested it for a good month and a half. The only water that left was through evaporation. The tank still has some calcium scale on it (on the inside and outside glass). I plan on giving it good whip down with vinegar.
I thought a lot about what I wanted to do for filtration. I decided a while ago to go with a sump.
I like a simple sump design: Skimmer chamber, refugium chamber, and return pump chamber separated by a single glass partition. The overflow line in will go into a media box (just a simple box with egg-crate and poly-fill changed twice a week) that will spill half into the skimmer chamber and half into the fuge. I use gutter guard to separate the fuge from the return pump chamber so I can have a higher water level. This in essence makes the return pump chamber a lot larger (I used a 6" baffle to separate the two and I will fill it up about an 1.5" above the 6" baffle).
I had a 29g tank sitting in storage and I went to a local tank manufacture to get the glass baffles cut. There I also picked up the media box with bulkhead and the gutter guard, along with some aquarium safe silicone.


 
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