planning phase of a new 180 tank ???

cracker

cracker

Well-Known Member
Evening Folks, I think the rock cooking has finally turned for the good after 3 months . No3/ Po4 has dropped a a little and no more bubble algae. The whole cooking process is not a fun job ! Also the 2 gyres are pretty cool. Still tinkering with the controller which is something of a challenge to me !
Now I'm prepping hurricane Mathew. I'm about 20 mile from the beach just south of Jacksonville. This time I got the feeling we will get it pretty good ! The power will be out for who know's. I have a small dc rule bilge pump and 2 big deep cycle batteries in the boat. I plan to use this pump to turn the 75 over a couple hours a day. Got plenty of water for drinking but I plan on drinking beer if I get thirsty ! My neighbors are all resigned to the fact of no power so The term we use is "Urban Camping " we are already planning BBQ's as the stuff thaws out . Might be a while before I return !
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cracker

cracker

Well-Known Member
Just kidding Folks. However I don't dare add them up ! The tank build got put on hold due to this and that. Almost have the stand finished, Installed 2 250 gyres with the new controller which I have no idea how to control . I'll figure it out someday LOL. They do move a"lot" of water and are a whole lot less intrusive than the huge koralia's I had. Also I'm hosting my local club meeting. I hope to get these younger guys to look at the controller and figure it out. I'm in no hurry the rock is still cooking .P04 is dropping a little so it works just takes a long time. I started the process July 4th. I'll be back soon !

Oh Thanks for the luck from Nano . It must have worked ! I lost power for maybe 18 hours and a few branches in the yard.That was it. Others got it a lot worse though, Prayers to those Folks !
 
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cracker

cracker

Well-Known Member
I got the stand finished !

Still waiting on old rock to cook. I've been thinking about a quarantine setup. I haven't Qed a fish and consider myself very lucky ! Another complication my lazy butt has to consider . Also how I'm going to raise the Lr off the sand bed ? Just another variable. What I don't get is how did I let You Folks talk me into all of this ? :lol:
 
dbetts

dbetts

Member
That stand is awesome! When the wife and I look to buy a house, I think one of my requirements is going to be a room large enough for a setup like this. :)
 
cracker

cracker

Well-Known Member
Thanks Meknudson2 ! So the pic is some of around 180 Lbs of Haitian live rock I've had for a long time. 15 or so years. I will not part with it ! I always suspected this rock of being the cause of my algae probs. So I've been cooking this since July 4th. I keep testing, swishing and changing water every 2 weeks. One week I think I'm getting somewhere,the next right back where I started ! This rock is just about the only thing holding me up. Let's see, all I have left is to figure out how I want to cover the back of the tank and hang the lights . I'm not going to use the "patience"word here so .
 
cracker

cracker

Well-Known Member
"Something else in the meantime" ??? Every day, I trip over the boxes of sand I have waiting. I had to clean the cobwebs from under the stand and off the lighting that's just hanging there. There are no more lingering fumes of clearcoat on the stand, You can only watch nothing but water moving around in a tank for so long. Oh ya, i did put a fishin bobber in there just to watch it float around in a tank full of nothing but fresh water. It was pretty cool watching it go left to right. Then I change the mode . It go right to left ! That was exciting for about 30 seconds. This "patience is a virtue " concept is way overrated ! This is killin me! :crying::crying::crying: :wah:
 
Squatch XXL

Squatch XXL

Well-Known Member
cracker said:
This "patience is a virtue " concept is way overrated ! This is killin me!
Click to expand...
Hahaha, I know the feeling.

Firstly, I have been AFK for a few weeks.

I LOVE the stand/shelves. I really enjoy the elevation that your tank is at. I try to get my tanks at eye level, and you succeeded in making me happy (I am certain that was one of your many goals). The finish looks great, and accentuates the entirety of the room.

I know the "waiting" game. Time takes time. I cooked rock for my 90g 10 months. I "cheated" a bit by using water change from my DT instead of fresh mixed salt water. However, my DT at that time was about 75g with one small fish. It still was clean enough that it did not supply any major excess nutes.

There was no diatoms, and since my 09-2016 setup there is still no algae on the rocks to speak of. It was time well spent. I am experiencing the "perfect setup" and am thinking that I could have coral'd up instantly.

Basically, it looks like you are well on track to get this setup as perfect as it gets. Keep up the slow and steady!

5 stars. Everyone new needs to look at this and get the idea that time spent in planning and prep is well worth the alternative.

Continually great thread!
 
cracker

cracker

Well-Known Member
Well Thank You Squatch ! I got the patience for this ,just looking for an excuse to add a little comic whine . LOL I have the 75 to tinker with. It has it's own issues. I'm getting the idea that this rock is going to take a lot longer than I planned but that's Ok I can do it and it will be worth the wait.
I was apprehensive about the height of the stand but it came out perfect. You should see all the room I have under there ! Thanks again !
 
cracker

cracker

Well-Known Member
You want a pic stir? Comin Up !

The Marbor sign You see is that white plastic cardboard. I got it from my friendly local beer store.
I don't know if we are really friends but I spend a LOT money there ! I want to see if I can paint it and put on the back of the tank. I need one more small piece to have enough to cover. Thanks for following !
 
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cracker

cracker

Well-Known Member
Ok Folks, this waiting is driving me crazy. I was thinking/scheming about how I could start without all this old rock. So I want about 50 lbs more rock. Dry base surely. I could get this rock, put the sand in there and start a very slow cycle. Then when the old rock has cooked, I can add it then. Would I even have to add the sand? I have no prob with a long long cycle. Just want to get "something " in this tank !
I like to slowly cycle my new tanks. I add very little amounts of some fresh seafood (I like shrimp heads) over a long period of time. I put it in a spot where I can observe it. When it disintegrates I add another little piece. Would this work compared to adding ,a whole shrimp at once?
Thanks !
 
cracker

cracker

Well-Known Member
I can't take it any longer ! Last night I dreamed I saw mosquito larvae in my tank ! I drained the fresh water today . The 100 gpd filter is doing a pretty good job of refilling . Maybe late sunday it will be full. When it's 1/3 full I'll add a couple of power heads at the bottom and start adding salt. I bought 50 lbs of South Seas shelf from the Man Jason at Orange Park Aquatics ( shameless plug) It's pretty dusty I'll hose it down and add it into the tank. Before I do, I want to build and attractive structure . I' want the aquascape to have 3 separate piles/islands. what is getting me is if I should add the sand now or wait. We shall see !
 
cracker

cracker

Well-Known Member
Good Evening ! , So I have the tank full with rodi and salt.It took off and on since Friday afternoon to just a few hours ago. The salinity is pretty close.I'll get it right tomorrow. Now this new drybase I purchased is just going to get piled into the tank. I tried more than several differing scapes and gave up.
Today it was too cold to mess with placing rock in my tank. It didn't even make it to 70 degrees ! I know I did it the hard way by filling the tank with water 1st. But this way, as I add rock it will displace some water. I will measure the amount of water removed and I'll have a very close estimate to total gallons in the system.
 
cracker

cracker

Well-Known Member
Ok so Don't get too excited ! I have 46.6 lbs of dry base and 7 bags of sand. This displaced 9 gallons of water. I about had a heartattack. After 10 plus years Photobucket made me change my pass word. I thought I had lost all those pics!
 
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