elusive_fish Posted September 14, 2010 Report Share Posted September 14, 2010 I'm in the process of changing across my freshwater tank to tropical marine. It's something I've always wanted to do, and after talking to a few people 'in the know' it sounds like it doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg. I've created this thread to ask questions, but to also hopefully provide a resource to others contemplating doing the same. I plan on keeping a Fish Only With Live Rock type set up, but i will likely get in to keep some easy/hardy soft corals at some point. While my tank is empty, I've decided to plumb it for a sump. I won't have a protein skimmer to begin with, but this will provide a place to put it down the track (as well as other benefits) As a reference for others, so far I have spent: Coral rock (approx 10kg from 2 different sources) - $95 1400L/hr Pump for sump - $45 5000L/hr wave pump - $38 35mm diamond dusted drill bit - $25 Glass cut to size for overflow - $18 Silcone - $14 Plumbing pieces - $62 (about $25 of this was a good quality gate valve, which is necessary for the sump design i've decided to go with. Total cost $297 Drilling the tank proved to be relatively easy, once I'd got the nerves out practicing on some scrap glass courtesy of spoon. There were a few small chips on the exit side, but nothing im overly worried about structurally. One thing that really helped drilling the holes was pre-cutting a template - starting the drill on slippery glass and making sure the hole is exactly where you want it proved to be difficult for me without it. It looked like this: My silicone job left a lot to be desired, but it looks well covered. I might go back tomorrow and put some more on, just to make sure its not going to leak. Today I collected some Natural Sea Water from the beach. This is just enough to 2/3 fill a rubber maid to cycle my rock. It wasn't a particularly pleasant experience wading out to my waist in a strong wind... man that water is NOT warm. Then walking 40L/Kg of water back to the car was bad enough ... I really have no idea how im going to collect 240L to fill the tank! Anyone got any ideas? So the coral rock is in the rubber maid with a heater and water pump. Should I be changing the water in this from time to time? Does it need lights over it? Should I bother testing water parameters any time soon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navarre Posted September 14, 2010 Report Share Posted September 14, 2010 You could try skimming the rock to help get rid of any waste? maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seahorsemad Posted September 14, 2010 Report Share Posted September 14, 2010 In terms of collecting water one of my best investments was buying a bilge pump and hosing. I had a very kind gentleman rewire it so that it runs off the car. I collected approximately 400 litres in ten minutes. Throw the pump in so no more wading into the sea in the middle of winter, trying to avoid waves and a cold, line your collecting containers up and you are away laughing. In the end it cost about $90.00 to do, but well worth it. I am sure you could find a bilge pump on trademe cheaply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted September 14, 2010 Report Share Posted September 14, 2010 A friend of mine did the same thing with a car battery operated pump. Just backed his Ute as close as he could and filled a Shultz tank. Sounds like a good idea to me because I sure wouldn’t be wading out mid winter collecting sea water. This is looking like a great project elusive_fish, cant wait to see more pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted September 15, 2010 Report Share Posted September 15, 2010 dont worry about light over your rock at the moment it will just cause algae im not sure if a skimmer is needed at this stage but if you find out its benefical you can borrow mine as i wont be using it for at least a month anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elusive_fish Posted September 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2010 wow that tank already smells like an estuary at low tide. Man I'm glad I decided to set it up in the sleep-out! (but im pretty sure my wife is going to be unhappy next time she goes out there!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony law Posted September 15, 2010 Report Share Posted September 15, 2010 cool cant wait to see it all up and running.whats fish are you going to have in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toppom Posted September 22, 2010 Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 should be cycling your rock in the dark my friend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted September 23, 2010 Report Share Posted September 23, 2010 should be cycling your rock in the dark my friend That depends if you are cooking or cycling the rock, cycling in light is fine, if fact it helps to get the coralline and sponges etc growing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elusive_fish Posted September 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2010 I'm no wood worker, but i've almost finished my cabinet. Still not sure about how I'm going to attach the panels, or how the door hinges will work exactly, but its looking pretty good. Being made out of 17mm ply its pretty heavy. Which got me thinking, with main tank, cabinet, sump and rock it will probably weight about 350kg when finished and resting on four small feet. Could this weight potentially be a problem with the wooden foundations in the house? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted September 23, 2010 Report Share Posted September 23, 2010 and resting on four small feet spread the load with a flat base instead of 4 points of contact Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elusive_fish Posted September 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2010 The four legs are from the welded steel frame. Would I be able to spread the load better by getting a thick piece of ply or similar and put the stand on to that, rather than directly on to the floor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 i woundt be too worried about it i mean how heavy was it when set up with africans ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elusive_fish Posted September 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 Well, it didnt have a sump or cabinet made of 17mm ply. So it will be about 70-80kg heavier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted September 24, 2010 Report Share Posted September 24, 2010 think about it this way if i stand next too it you have 105 kg extra add a few more mates etc i think it will be fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elusive_fish Posted October 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 I started with my fresh water checks today. The overflow/weir i have created in the corner has a very slow leak, say a cup over 20 minutes has made its way into the overflow. I cant even see where in my seal it is leaking through. Could this cause any problems in the long term? I'm hoping not, as I really can't be bothered trying to re-silicone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 depends on how high the outlet to the sump is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elusive_fish Posted October 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Sorry, I don't quite understand what you mean? :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 if your power turns off or sump pump stops tank will drain to the level of your outlet to sump if the outlet is low in your overflow and that is leaking then it will drain to where the leak is if you have a standpipe in the overflow then it can only leak to the outlet of the standpipe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elusive_fish Posted October 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 if your power turns off or sump pump stops tank will drain to the level of your outlet to sump if the outlet is low in your overflow and that is leaking then it will drain to where the leak is if you have a standpipe in the overflow then it can only leak to the outlet of the standpipe Ok, gotcha. But from what I understand thats not quite right. The tank will only drain to the top of the overflow partition height. The contents of the overflow would drain down the the standpipe level. Right? At it stands I have two outlets in the overflow, one with no standpipe (ie a bulkhead in the bottom of the glass) and the other, a backup, has a standpipe near the top of overflow height. I might find a way to press a pipe into the bulkhead to create a standpipe, but the entire overflow area only holds about 14L of water. Not much to contain in the sump in case out power out. I'm still not sure how that pertains to the leak. I've had the tank full for about an hour and a half now and there is like 3mm of water in the overflow partition. Its a very slow leak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted October 3, 2010 Report Share Posted October 3, 2010 I wouldn't worry about it, draining that slowly into your overflow box isn't going to be a problem by the time it mattered you would have bigger problems to worry about, like the tank getting too cold and lack of water movement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elusive_fish Posted October 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2010 After a couple of fresh water tests, im about to fill the tank for real. The coral rock I ahve has been cycling )or should i say cooking?) in a container of NSW in the garage for the last few weeks. When I've got the tank filled with salt water and add my rock, do I turn on the skimmer at this point? Or do i leave it off while cycling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted October 6, 2010 Report Share Posted October 6, 2010 wont hurt to turn it on as rock will make the water dirty and expell crud when cycling , set up ur flow pump to keep the crud in suspension and slap that skimmer on will give you a change to play around with producing the skimmate and adjusting the skimmer to how you like it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted October 6, 2010 Report Share Posted October 6, 2010 Just bear in mind the skimmer will take a couple of weeks to break in, so you might not see much skimmate for awhile and it could be very hard to tune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elusive_fish Posted October 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2010 Not that i have any idea how to 'tune' a protein skimmer! :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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