My slow 135g build

[tbittner]

It's a really crappy pic but with a black background, they blend right in and aren't visible. The pipes are 6" long in order to get them above the DSB that we put in the tank.


Then we stacked rock around them and hid the pipe and the basket. They aren't visible at all.


I've seen cleaner shrimp walk across the top of them safely. Granted, I have two 1" and one 1.25" feeding a hammerhead so the suction isn't too bad.

[JoJo]

thanks T, i'm not sure how bad my suction will be with (2) 1 1/2". the only this is they are so close together, i wish i had them on seperate side of the tank like yours. but i do have the 3/4" (auxilary) bulkhead with a ball valve on it just in case i need more flow to the Snapper, and thats on the other side of the tank.

man i just cant believe how gorgeous that tank is! yall did a amazing job on it. i bet you feel like you're really in the ocean after a couple of drinks and those beer goggles come on!

[tbittner]

With two 1.5" drains, you won't have any suction to worry about. The snapper moves 2,500 gph and a 1.5" pipe (gravity fed) will handle 1,800 gph EACH.

Yeah, the tank is MASSIVE! The fish love it. Even the mandarins are out swimming IN the water now. I've NEVER seen them do that before.

I have a feeling that it's because of the 3 foot water depth. It's a serious pain reaching anything on the bottom of the tank though.

[Woodstock]

Way to progress JoJo! Very nice work!

Tbittner - awesome tank!

[framerguy]

Aquatic Eco-Systems: Strainers I ordered some valves and bulkhead fittings from these guys and they have strainers as well.

[JoJo]

the sand & salt has just been delivered. i was shocked to see that the sand is dry, i thought it was LS. will i need to go by some LS now?

Terry thats good to know, i dont want to be worried about fish being swallowed by the screens. i love mandarins, cant wait until the day i can have one.

Thanks Doni, i'm trying to keep the progress going smoothly.

thanks for the link Greg, i'll check it out.

[JoJo]

here are some shots of the sand & salt.

[lcstorc]

Don't worry about the dry sand. It will become live very quickly once the rock goes in. If you want to speed it up a bit get a cup or two from somebody's established tank.

[tbittner]

I agree. Don't worry about the sand. Did you know that "live sand" has an expiration date on it? If you DO feel the need to go buy a bag of live sand, check the date. You could buy a small 10 lb bag at PetCo or some other LFS, but I honestly don't think it's necessary. If anything, order a refugium recharge kit from Inland Aquatics and/or a few bags of copepods from some place like saltwaterfish.com. Don't add those critters though until your cycle is done.

[JoJo]

thanks Lynn & Terry. i wont worry about the LS, i thought i bought the same types of as you Terry but wanted to be sure. thats crazy about the expiration dates. since i plan on buying some TB rock, i'm not worried about the "liveness".

i'll follow that advice & add pods & refugium mud after the tank cycles.

[JoJo]

i got some progress done today, finally got the electrical completed. here you go Heinz & Varga, hope these are good enough for now.

[JoJo]

it may be against everyone's opinion but i'm really tempted to by the 2 of the 1" SCWDs to incorporate into the CL.

[okiejaco]

Man, you are coming right along. I think I got the same kind of sand that you did. I bet you got a lot more than I did. I got 2 bags for my tank. Looking good. Looking forward to seeing it up and running. Are you going to do your rock the tbittner? I really like all the swimming room he has.

[JoJo]

thanks. yea, i want the 2 island set up if theres enough space

[framerguy]

I've had no problems with my SQWD's, I like 'em.