The Amazing 100

[lcstorc]

When is the leak test?

[Reddog170]

Should be doing it this week. Keeping my fingers crossed. I did have a small leak when it was filled with vinager water but that was a bad seal for a bulkhead. Now I have all the plumbing to do to. If this makes a mess I will NEVER hear the end of it. Shaun

[lcstorc]

Just add a lot of valves to be able to shut it off at many places and be ready to stop quickly if you get any leaks. Our plumbing has valves and connections everywhere so we can shut off the flow to an area and replace a piece of pipe or unclog something without taking the whole thing apart. So far we have only had to do it once but it was well worth it.

[Jeremy0322]

I like the lavender tang idea, in my opinion there are brighter ones out there, but thats not a fish you see every day. And that tank looks icky, its time for a good cleaning!

[Reddog170]

I have got all the algae off. Now there is just about a billion scratches inside and out that need buffed out. The guy I got it from must have used a mag float for a glass tank instead of one for an acrylic. I am about 45 minutes from an acrylic company and they say they have everything I need to get it clear again. My problem is they recomend doing the inside buffing under water as it is not treated on the inside. Will have to see what happens. Shaun

[Reddog170]

Ran into a problem. See I do not build cabinets. I do rough framing, general construction. So when I decided to build this myself I was a little worried. I had a friend that was supose to help but he was unable to. So now here I am with the doors that work well until you put the outer finish on them. They are cut right but the doors just do not work right with the all together. I find myself getting very fustrated and po'ed. I have no idea what to do to make everything work right. I still need to buff out the tank, build up all the electricl, leak test everything. On top of all that I have every tank and sump in the house filled with all the LR as I have no where else to put it all. I also have a new pest in my tank, looks kinda like apastaisa but is a clear whit and the pepermint shrimp have no intrest in them, they are spreading at an alarming rate. I made a list of everything that still needs to be done and about passed out.
And lets throw in one more twist I over spent on all this stuff for the stand and all so now the RO unit has been put on hold. I think this is where you go running down the street screeming and pulling your hair out. ANY help would be welcome, Shaun

[Reddog170]

Starting to think that this was just a mistake. I have spent all day trying to get some advise and get the doors working right and have got 1 out of 3 doors working. I have gotten no advise or sugestions. It seems that I have made people mad at me or something. I can only get this reef site to load and I asked but nobody is willing to offer any advise, or even comment on the stand/cabinet. I guess that I just am bothering everyone, sorry. Shaun

[rmlevasseur]

Shaun - not a lot of people have cabinet skills. Is that the advise you are looking for?

Acrylic can be buffed underwater but I have never heard it described as being easier.

Don't take it personal when people don't respond to your thread (I've never seen your name on mine, wink wink). I think we've all felt that way at times. There are a lot of threads to peruse, but people here are always willing to help. If you have a specific question, post it on the general boards if you get no help in your chronicle.

[Reddog170]

I am just getting very fustrated. I am sorry about not posting on your threads, i try to chime in whenever and where ever I can. When I start to get to the point where things are going wrong I try to get things right but usualy by then it is to late and well, the domino effect. Then I start asking for help, by then I am usualy steaming, everything going wrong, I tried to fix it but failed. And today to top things off Found out that my entire thing is off by 1/4 inch whitch is where all my problems are coming from.
Ever feel like you are on the Titanic?

[rmlevasseur]

Yea, it can be frustrating. I nearly crashed my whole system a few months ago just by replacing one sump with a larger one. I estimated about 2 hours of work and it took all weekend. Go figure. Its hard to go slow but sounds like just what you need. One thing at a time.

[Reddog170]

ran into a couple problems this morning while running leak tests. The first is a drip leak from the return bulkhead, this can be fixed fairly easy. The second is the return pump. First off it is an Iwaki pump. It is a pain in the .... to get going. Once I got it running it seemed to work well. It ran for about 30 minutes then started to cavatate. I cleared it up spent another hour getting it going again and again after 30 minutes or so it started to cavatate again. It just will not run continiously. I have taken it apart and cleaned the entire thing out but just end up with the same results. If the pump is mounted beside the sump it will not work at all. I know this is a good pump I just do not know what I am missing. If anyone can direct me as to what I am doing wrong with this pump please let me know. Other than those two little problems everything went well. Once again I will say saltwater tastes like crap.
On another note I had one of the hermit crabs that kills everything it come around, snails, other hermits. Anyone ever have this before? it may just be my luck. Shaun

[jgking21]

sorry, can't help on the pump.
hermits, i've had a few get really big and that is when they start eating snails and others. i usually take them back to the LFS or toss them in the woods for the 'coons.
also, did you get the doors working on your stand? my father just built a custom stand for me, if you put up a picture we will look at it.
good luck! keep at it, one day is frusterating, the next you marvel at what you've created!

[themanthelegond]

the pump cavatates? as in the blades are spinning and no water is moving? or there is a ton of bubbles? I am not the most experienced but here is what i have seen personally.
I use an Iwaki WMD40RLXT Pump for my return. my sump is not drilled so it has to pull the water in then push it to my tank. i had a problem where it was sucking air in at the threaded fittings. it made a sound that i cant think of how to describe right now and it dumped a ton of microbubbles in the DT. a little more Teflon tape on the threads and problem was fixed.I hope this helps. if not, im sure the pros will know.

**edit**
I also had a problem where a whirlpool would form right by the pipe in the sump funneling air into the pump causing the pump to actually move a little whenever it happened and of course a ton of microbubbles. I had to extend the pipe an inch lower to fix it.

[Reddog170]

I do have a pic up on the previous page. I am going to get some different hinges, think they may be some of my problem. I just talked to someone from the reef club that says I am using to big of an intake for the pump so i will downsize the intake and see what happens then. I am getting nervous the reef clubs spring tank tour is comming up and I wanted them to make a stop and take a look at my tanks but I dont know if I want them to see this mess right now, LOL. But on the other hand it may get me some helpfull advice. I also found out that when I polish the inside of the tank that it works better when the tank it up and running, dont know why. Maybe the salt and heat helps or something. I have a cbinet builder that is supose to stop by and help out for a bit too.
We had some company this morning and everyone says that it looks really nice to them but I guess that sense I built it I know where the mistakes are and am just seeing them right now. Shaun

[rmlevasseur]

Never heard of a pump intake being too big. You mean the bulkhead? I always oversize if I can.

Take some pics of how you have it plumbed up and we can help better.