Upgrading my 65 gallon Reef - Sump/fuge

[al&burke]

Thanks guys that is good information, I am getting excited - I need everyone's opinion. Remember I said I was going to make a cave for my blennie, well I put one in the overflow box. I bought a plastic cave at Pet Smart today and I cut a slice off to glue to the cave opening, I am not sure tell me what you think. I guess eventually it will get covered in coraline. Also the sump is finished I have it on the kitchen counter with a pump running through it. It is not my best work, but it is functional and more room in it for extra SW. The fuge still needs to be sealed properly then leak checked. Now just remember these were made from scrap plexi I acquired from my work. they were plexi glass ductwork that I modified for these sumps. I sanded the sides, top and back gives it kind of a smoked glass look, left the front as it is so I can see in. The overflow box with be spray painted black with fusion Krylon. Let me know what you think.
First picture - Overflow Box with no fake cave front
Second picture - Overflow box WITH fake cave front
Third - Fuge
Fourth - Overflow box - inside showing cave
Fifth - Sump
Sixth - Sump

 

[2quills]

That little cave is awesome. Good stuff!

 

[al&burke]

OK - maybe I pulled a bone head newbie move again, I bought some live rock - ridge rock flat stuff. As some of you know my fish are in HT recovering from ich and maybe now two of them with lypo. Now I am afraid to put this 22 lbs of new live rock in my tank for fear of the unknown. Should I soak it in a bath of bleach and water 1 to 10, just to be safe, I don't want to tear everything down again. Thanks

 

[al&burke]

 

[2quills]

Hey, Al.
What is that you're worried of? The Ich affecting the rocks? Without any hosts in the tank the parasites are only going to last so long so I wouldn't worry too much there. You might want cure it first to either check it for pests or for any die off that may have occured if you don't want to introduce a large ammonia spike in the 65. I forget, did you still have inverts in there?

 

[gemmy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///forum/thread/383256/upgrading-my-65-gallon-reef-sump-fuge/140#post_3363196
Hey, Al.
What is that you're worried of? The Ich affecting the rocks? Without any hosts in the tank the parasites are only going to last so long so I wouldn't worry too much there. You might want cure it first to either check it for pests or for any die off that may have occured if you don't want to introduce a large ammonia spike in the 65. I forget, did you still have inverts in there?
I agree.

 

[al&burke]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gemmy http:///forum/thread/383256/upgrading-my-65-gallon-reef-sump-fuge/140#post_3363241
I agree.
Yes I still have inverts in the tank, I really want to just put this live rock in and not worry about anything, my DT has been fishless for over 6 weeks now. If I do bleach the rock could that cause a spike or will it just cycle through.
Oh Corey - I had the Eheim 5000 running today in my sump - it is a power house - 1" discharge line was screaming - I am really happy with it once I put it on the suction cup base it was very quite but powerful. Looks like a quality product.

 

[2quills]

I'd be very carefull bleaching anything. It can be done but there is a process to follow when doing it. The rocks would need to be neutralized after wards. I think they have to be rinsed and soaked a couple of times for a certain length of time. I'm not sure, maybe you can ask florida joe about that one. He was talking to sparty about this before.

 

[spanko]

Yes 1 part bleach to 10 parts water soak for a day. Take out scrub and rinse. Then into some RO water with a de-chlorinator soak for a day. Then rinse again and should be good to go.
This will kill everything on the rock. If you just want to quarantine I would do it in a tub with salt water, a heater and pump for flow. Check the ammonia levels maybe once a day or two and just let it be. If you are worried about introducing the parasite back into the display keep it in the tub for 6 weeks and you will be good to go.

 

[al&burke]

Thanks Guys

 

[al&burke]

Overflow - Do you think I should spray paint the fake rock face as well, and here is a picture of my puppy.

 

[2quills]

Leave it!

 

[gemmy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///forum/thread/383256/upgrading-my-65-gallon-reef-sump-fuge/140#post_3363829
Leave it!

What he said.

 

[al&burke]

I have to order an ATO - so I order the sump arragement - the top one keeps the water level where it should be and the other is an off switch if the level gets to low correct. Should I oder a small pump from them as well. Thanks

 

[spanko]

Mine is set up the other way around. Bottom controls level, top one shuts pump off in case the bottom one fails and keep putting water in, so it shuts off the pump before overflowing.

 

[al&burke]

Thanks Henry - that makes sense - I probably don't need to order the braket for it, do you use a pump to get the top off water in.

 

[spanko]

Yes, the Tom's Aqualifter pump. Here is a diagram of how mine is set up.

 

[al&burke]

Thanks Henry that helps me out a lot, appreciate it my friend.

 

[al&burke]

Ordering live sand/argonite for the 40 gallon breeder 36" long x 18" wide - how many inches do I need if I am going to go with some macroalgaes in here. 2" depth would be 75 lbs according to the substrate calculator,
Thanks Al

 

[spanko]

The RC calculator says 53 lbs. of aragonite at 70 pounds per cubic foot will give those dimensions a 2" sand bed. A lot of the macro algae are going to grow on the rockwork anyway so I am a tad confused here. If you are talking about do turtle grass, sea grass you are gonna need to probably do a deep sand bed greater than 4 inches IMO. I have not seen many tank threads that have tried grasses and kept them long term though.
JMO