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CMG · 06-21-2007, 10:37 AM

Wow, what a night last night! I woke up that morning and noticed a missing fish in my FW tank. Unfortunatly he had jumped out of the tank because I left the lid open and has perished....my first fish loss ever......RIP (marble hatchet fish).

To the good/frustrating news! I recieved the rest of my shipment last night to include bio balls, salt mix, heaters, return pump for wet/dry, hydrometer, and some mechanical filters stuff that I threw away because it wasnt what I wanted and I tried using it but it didnt work. I think it was really made for a canister filter. I need more of a sponge and this stuff was very fine like a big cotton ball for removing nail polish.

After trying to fit the pumps and skimmer on/in the tank to where it all fit I took some measurments and went to the local hardware store to get some tubing and a new elbow that would fit the new tubing as mine was too small. Unfortunatly due to the limited space in the back section of the tank the elbow I bought was too big and didnt fit so I had to cut it down which took 30 minutes due to its small size and even then it wouldnt fit so I have jerry rigged a hose nossle connector thingy in there which makes a lot of waves and noise because it points strait out from the tank and is not angled down like an elbow but will work until I can get to the store and find a smaller elbow.

I connected all my hoses to the skimmer and power head and return pump. I filled the bio ball section with the balls and then Filled her up with water. I just used regular water because I was just going to do test runs on everything to make sure it all works before I go through the trouble of mixing salt and all that.

It all seems to work fine although my skimmer is not producing any film/foam but the booklet says that this is expected. It was very difficult and time consuming/nerve-racking to try and balance the water level between the tank and the built in wet dry. I had to constantly watch the return pump area to make sure the water was going through the network of acrylic and keeping the pump submerged, this took about another 30 minutes until I didnt have to stop unpluggin the pump because the water was getting too low. Then after I balanced it so that it returned water to the pump just as quickly as the pump was pumping it I turned on the skimmer which sucked a bunch of water up and ruined my balance! So I had to re-adjust, I had brought the garden hose through my window so it wasnt hard to get water quickly. I recomend doing this! hehe. All said and done it was about 10pm when I finished.

Earlier that day I had ordered LR, so now all I need is a tub to put it in for curing and a power head for water movement which I will transfer to my tank after the rock is cured. Then its on to LS and puting everything in the tank for cycling. I will post pictures later tonight, its not much to see since everything is put together and its mostly black and hard to see.

06-21-2007, 10:37 AM	#15 (permalink)
CMG Torch coral Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Sonoma County, CA Posts: 586 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: 50g FOWLR Setup Wow, what a night last night! I woke up that morning and noticed a missing fish in my FW tank. Unfortunatly he had jumped out of the tank because I left the lid open and has perished....my first fish loss ever......RIP (marble hatchet fish). To the good/frustrating news! I recieved the rest of my shipment last night to include bio balls, salt mix, heaters, return pump for wet/dry, hydrometer, and some mechanical filters stuff that I threw away because it wasnt what I wanted and I tried using it but it didnt work. I think it was really made for a canister filter. I need more of a sponge and this stuff was very fine like a big cotton ball for removing nail polish. After trying to fit the pumps and skimmer on/in the tank to where it all fit I took some measurments and went to the local hardware store to get some tubing and a new elbow that would fit the new tubing as mine was too small. Unfortunatly due to the limited space in the back section of the tank the elbow I bought was too big and didnt fit so I had to cut it down which took 30 minutes due to its small size and even then it wouldnt fit so I have jerry rigged a hose nossle connector thingy in there which makes a lot of waves and noise because it points strait out from the tank and is not angled down like an elbow but will work until I can get to the store and find a smaller elbow. I connected all my hoses to the skimmer and power head and return pump. I filled the bio ball section with the balls and then Filled her up with water. I just used regular water because I was just going to do test runs on everything to make sure it all works before I go through the trouble of mixing salt and all that. It all seems to work fine although my skimmer is not producing any film/foam but the booklet says that this is expected. It was very difficult and time consuming/nerve-racking to try and balance the water level between the tank and the built in wet dry. I had to constantly watch the return pump area to make sure the water was going through the network of acrylic and keeping the pump submerged, this took about another 30 minutes until I didnt have to stop unpluggin the pump because the water was getting too low. Then after I balanced it so that it returned water to the pump just as quickly as the pump was pumping it I turned on the skimmer which sucked a bunch of water up and ruined my balance! So I had to re-adjust, I had brought the garden hose through my window so it wasnt hard to get water quickly. I recomend doing this! hehe. All said and done it was about 10pm when I finished. Earlier that day I had ordered LR, so now all I need is a tub to put it in for curing and a power head for water movement which I will transfer to my tank after the rock is cured. Then its on to LS and puting everything in the tank for cycling. I will post pictures later tonight, its not much to see since everything is put together and its mostly black and hard to see.