Jeremy0322's 55 gallon build

[Jeremy0322]

Thats fine, if the positions were switched i probably would have done the same exact thing. Anyways, do you still think it would be that bad of a move?

[tbittner]

Nope! I think it's time.

And like you said, you'll take it slow and let the tank adjust to the new load. Sounds like you know EXACTLY what you're doing. It's going to be awesome!

[Jeremy0322]

Thank you for the kind words. I have read alot and posted alot on other forums, so i hope the time i have put in prior will show in the tank later.

[Jeremy0322]

Just a little update. The pump and plumbing and lights came in, along with everything else i ordered. It is all up and running and all I need to do is get some pictures to post. Also, if anyone has any kind of pictures or instructions for sound proofing a stand please let me know. So far it is a tad louder than I would like it, and most of the noise is coming from under the stand. There is the sound of the Durso, but that is not very bad and after tinkering with all the on off valves for a while I think that is there to stay, but if i can make the sounds from under the stand go away than I will be a happy camper.

[Jeremy0322]

Alright, so my entire night has consisted of finishing this tank, and I am happy to say it is finally done(all the major work at least). I went to the drop ceiling section or Home Depot and got noise canceling tiles, which was only about 26 dollars for a huge box of them, which was way way too many, but whatever. I got the doors on, for the plumbing finally all finished, and I think everything that I will need for a while.

Here is the finished stand, as well as my "work area'..lol


And here is the paneling that I was talking about, it worked wonders. The difference was noticeable as soon as the stuff was on, definitely worth the 26 dollars.


Here is the paneling in the stand on the corner next to the wall.


And this is how it looks on the front doors..



by the way, the paneling is fire resistant, acoustically canceling, and mold resistant because of the "humid" environment that it will be residing in.

[Jeremy0322]

Some more pictures for the chronicle..

This is the paneling on the door on the side of the tank so that I can take the skimmer and fuge in and out easily..


And here is the sump/fuge in all of its glory. Nothing too complicated but it houses the skimmer, extra heater, and a refugium, as well as eliminating all the damn microbubbles that come from my skimmer..


Here is the final design of the vertical spray bar. It is working alot better now that i closed off the loc-line return i had set up, the distribution of the water was making them both pretty weak because the loc line was 3/4 of an inch and the spray bar was 15 inches long, but now that its just the spray bar it is working really nice..


And here is the overflow doing..what it does..

[Jeremy0322]

And here are just a few tank shots, because that is what its all about. Notice that Nemo is not in the tank like i had talked about, because when i put the sand in the fuge the tank got SUPER cloudy, and that was about 2 hours before i planned on putting him in the tank. Thank god i waited..

Full tank shot


Right side of the tank with the AWESOME cave. That one piece of rock was a godsend.


Left side of the tank, with two overhands, so my shrimp can pick whichever suits him best, and then something like a goby can call the other one home.


And as I was taking the pictures the daylights shut off and the actinics were the only ones on, so i figured why not get a picture of it.


And that is it, there will be more pictures as fish start to call it home slowly, but I am just happy the actual construction part is finished.

[Jeremy0322]

Also, i thought it would be a good idea to union every pipe going into the sump and fuge, so that on the offchance i had to take it out I didnt have to take all the plumbing apart. And the powerheads are not in their final positions, and there is still an aquaclear 70 to go in, but they are set up now to push the stuff off the rocks and i have just not felt like moving them in the last week..lol

[plecosword]

THat looks liek a sw turtle tank lol, its coming along nice!

[elliottb]

Everything is looking great! I like your idea for the noise-canceling tile stuff. I may have to borrow that idea?

[Jeremy0322]

If you lived closer i would just give you some. I does not take much to make a big difference. But sadly they only sell it by a bundle of about 64 square feet, which could do about 10 stands completely.

And does anyone know why the water level in my skimmer is low, and what I can do to fix it. I dont know if it is a problem yet because there is really nothing to skim out of the water right now, but it just looks really low to me.

[tbittner]

I love your aquascaping. You are so lucky to get that big rock with the cave built into it. I really like how your aquascaping goes from high to low to high. Fish will have lots of hiding places and lots of fun exploring everything.

[Jeremy0322]

Alright, so i came home tonight to find a tank that was almost 83 degrees Some of it may have to do with the PC lights which are 5 inches off the waters surface, but i feel that alot of it has to do with the poor ventilation in the stand. What does everyone out there do to make it cooler down there, because I am assuming that would make it much cooler in the actual tank. I know some people use computer fans, but i would be confused about how to power them. I would also like the most quiet solution there is, since i sleep 10 feet away from the tank.

[tbittner]

I've seen pics where people buy the small desk fans at Walmart and attach them under the stand to blow across the water in the sump. They are much bigger than computer fans but will small enough to fit in there. They move a lot more air at lower speeds, and whisper quiet.

Are you sure it wasn't a heater that needs to be adjusted? Or did the ambient temp in the room get that warm?

[Jeremy0322]

I turned the heater in the room off last night because i thought this was going to happen. I also triple checked the heaters and they were all good. My suspicion is that the mag 9.5 is not helping, nor are the lights. So I think I am going to run the pump external to get it out of the water, and buy a fan or two to blow on the surface of the display tank which would just be on a timer with the day lights. There will also be a fan blowing across the sump to cool that down and if worse comes to worse I will have to cut holes in the stand, making it a lovely loud time....lol