Adult Supervision Required

[aquakj]

Everything else we have been very deliberate in selecting so I thank you for the added information. The last thing I want is to have something that will cause an unnecessary battle with water parameters. I am wondering if it has been leeching all along and the rock is absorbing and would explain why the rocks are turning brown? I'm going to research, but what are your thoughts?

The rocks will turn brown, thats just algae if you dont want so much algae try leaving your lights on a little less, maybe 5 hours daily, but algae is also caused by high nutrients in the tank, your tank is fairly new so its going to go through that algae stage regardless, you can scrub it in the tank, but you will find it to become tedious and its no harm. some fish will even enjoy eating it, as well as inverts dont stress on algae so much though its natural.

 

[Altmann]

And kudos to you for being so dedicated to something that interests your teenage son. There are many other things he could become interested in that aren't nearly as wholesome as saltwater/reefing.

I always wanted a reef but knew I did not know enough and was scared to join forums and embarrass myself. But He is an amazing young man and when he started talking about - it we started researching and learning. Once the basic setup was running he stated talking about adding and doing more and we realized we needed to rethink the initial plan.

We could just buy everything already and hire someone to set it up, but I believe it is important to really understand the entire system knowing all the things that can go wrong. Plus I believe it adds value and character creating something yourself. And he really enjoys it. I gave him the option of vinyl or painting. He would rather paint. He chose to make his own rock as opposed to buying them. I will gladly support this as he could be sitting on video games or much worse. He has the brand new Xbox and all the extras, but he is out here with me asking what's next!
He is a senior and most of his friends are ignoring their parents, but now I only get mostly ignored (lol). Plus - when he goes off to college I have this and the cat so I should know what's going on!

I cannot thank you enough for the advice and suggestions.

 

[sunken3]

This is VERY BASIC. (like the tank) once we figure it out, I will build the base and finish letting it prime itself before it does anything with the display tank so feel free to offer suggestions and advice.

This is by no means attractive though it works. Do you recommend attaching to an overflow box instead?

this is a basic Aqueon 2500 grabbed quick at the lfs just to give me a basic visual. They are going to grab a check valve for the return.

do you just have a pipe in the tank pulling suction? if so, yes I would suggest either drilling the tank and/or getting a proper overflow. the way you have it now, you are almost guaranteed to end up with either your tank flooding or your sump flooding. if for any reason you loose suction, your tank will flood. if you lose power your sump will likely flood.. and even if it doesn't, as soon as the power goes back on, your pipe will have lost suction and your tank will overflow and flood.

the way you have it now is only good while you are sitting there watching it (similar to a water change).

 

[Altmann]

The rocks will turn brown, thats just algae if you dont want so much algae try leaving your lights on a little less, maybe 5 hours daily, but algae is also caused by high nutrients in the tank, your tank is fairly new so its going to go through that algae stage regardless, you can scrub it in the tank, but you will find it to become tedious and its no harm. some fish will even enjoy eating it, as well as inverts dont stress on algae so much though its natural.

Any thoughts on the pink and purple live coralline algae kits? He wants all the bright reef colors. He loves all the bright corals and colors you see in beautifully established aquariums. And I would love anything that isn't brown. I stay out of the inside of his tank. If I see the slightest algae in mine I get bothered. In his he tells me to let the system work.

 

[sunken3]

Any thoughts on the pink and purple live coralline algae kits? He wants all the bright reef colors. He loves all the bright corals and colors you see in beautifully established aquariums. And I would love anything that isn't brown. I stay out of the inside of his tank. If I see the slightest algae in mine I get bothered. In his he tells me to let the system work.

they work.. but slow and expensive.. if you know anyone else with coraline in their tank.. just scrape a piece off for free.

 

[Altmann]

do you just have a pipe in the tank pulling suction? if so, yes I would suggest either drilling the tank and/or getting a proper overflow. the way you have it now, you are almost guaranteed to end up with either your tank flooding or your sump flooding. if for any reason you loose suction, your tank will flood. if you lose power your sump will likely flood.. and even if it doesn't, as soon as the power goes back on, your pipe will have lost suction and your tank will overflow and flood.

the way you have it now is only good while you are sitting there watching it (similar to a water change).

Got it. Fix it or regret it. So glad I am posting and sharing and y'all are advising as we go. Any suggestions for the proper overflow, or any particular one to avoid?

 

[sunken3]

Got it. Fix it or regret it. So glad I am posting and sharing and y'all are advising as we go. Any suggestions for the proper overflow, or any particular one to avoid?

yes.. the way you have it now will absolutely fail at some point.. Murphy's Law.. when you are away or asleep.

all my tanks have them built-in, i have never used a retro-fit. plenty of people do - hopefully someone can chime in.

 

[sunken3]

yes.. the way you have it now will absolutely fail at some point.. Murphy's Law.. when you are away or asleep.

all my tanks have them built-in, i have never used a retro-fit. plenty of people do - hopefully someone can chime in.

i cant stress this enough....

also, usually you want the overflow pipe bigger than the inflow (return).. gravity fed vs power fed.. you can get away with this as is (pipe-size) by putting a value on your return pump pipe so that you can slow down the water (otherwise the pump pushes more than your overflow drains... and you got it.. flood.

lastly, again, put a check valve on the return pump pipe.. or when you lose power... the tank drain back into your sump.... and... (not gonna say it).

 

[DaddyFish]

Drilling a tank may be over the top for you, maybe not?

If you decide to drill I would recommend a Fiji cube overflow. Comes with the diamond hole saw, instructions and is excellent quality successfully used by many.

If you prefer not to risk ruining your tank and decide not to drill, Eshopps is a well known brand of HOB (hang on back) overflows.

Your tank MUST be empty and you MUST be very comfortable with all the requirements for self-drilling a tank. It's not rocket science, but a simple mistake can easily cost you a tank.

 

[Altmann]

New reefer here - or maybe wannabe reefer? I have always wanted a reef. But when my 17yo son said 'Hey Mom let's do a reef' I dragged out the bags of money I have been waiting to burn and jumped right in!


55 gallon seemed like a safe place to start. After an enormous amount of thinking and research the original plan was an AIO. We fishless cycled, my husband and son made some 'live rock', and after a couple months we added a few critters.

4 months into - it we dragged another tank out of basement and the sump adventure has begun. <<what was I thinking?!>>


Please don't judge me! The main tank is on an older table with a frame I loved specifically for this. The sides drop down leaving the perfect place for the Main tank. Leaving the side down in front of the sump until the system is set (ish). Then I will build the sump cabinet and add a top designed around the lighting so rocking out with a basic hood for now. The more I read the more I realize this can go so many ways. So I debated: I could have a really fancy, aesthetically pleasing display and limit my options or make it what I want it to be and build my aquarium diaplay to accommodate the system. I like options.

My knowledge, lingo and terminology leave a lot to be desired with aquarium and reef design, but I get the most amazing satisfaction from the whole DIY so I am committed and ready to learn.

At the moment we have some
Nassarius Snails, mexican turbo snails, blue leg hermit crabs, an emerald crab, a shark nose goby, and a banggai cardinal. For coral a toadstool leather and green star polyp. Neither of which are impressed with us. At all.

I am going to order more cleaners. But know I need to wait until everything is running properly before I add anything else. I think... I think I know... or I know I should think that I know that I don't really know...

Advice or suggestions is appreciated.

Looking for suggestions for

Drilling a tank may be over the top for you, maybe not?

If you decide to drill I would recommend a Fiji cube overflow. Comes with the diamond hole saw, instructions and is excellent quality successfully used by many.

If you prefer not to risk ruining your tank and decide not to drill, Eshopps is a well known brand of HOB (hang on back) overflows.

Your tank MUST be empty and you MUST be very comfortable with all the requirements for self-drilling a tank. It's not rocket science, but a simple mistake can easily cost you a tank.

Thank you for for that! I have cut glass but I do NOT want to risk ruining the tank and starting again. Not to mention having to worry about water parameters and cycling... I'm already wondering exactly how much I will have to remove to pull the burlap out from underneath...(sigh) I look forward to the day I look back on these days and laugh!

 

[sunken3]

something to read and maybe research....

Sump keeps breaking siphon overflowing my display

I have a eshopps 1200 HOB overflow that broke siphon this morning overflowing my display I unplugged my pump and restarted the siphon and now it nearly outpaced my 1500 GpH jebado dc pump the 5000 model. I had it running perfect but now I’m afraid it’ll screw up when I leave for work in 2 hours...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Altmann]

something to read and maybe research....

Sump keeps breaking siphon overflowing my display

I have a eshopps 1200 HOB overflow that broke siphon this morning overflowing my display I unplugged my pump and restarted the siphon and now it nearly outpaced my 1500 GpH jebado dc pump the 5000 model. I had it running perfect but now I’m afraid it’ll screw up when I leave for work in 2 hours...

www.reef2reef.com

This gave me a few days of research and things to consider. Thank you.

 

[Altmann]

Drilling a tank may be over the top for you, maybe not?

If you decide to drill I would recommend a Fiji cube overflow. Comes with the diamond hole saw, instructions and is excellent quality successfully used by many.

If you prefer not to risk ruining your tank and decide not to drill, Eshopps is a well known brand of HOB (hang on back) overflows.

Your tank MUST be empty and you MUST be very comfortable with all the requirements for self-drilling a tank. It's not rocket science, but a simple mistake can easily cost you a tank.

Hello again! I didn't run screaming for the hills but now that I have a visual and thanks to the suggestions- I had some serious food for thought.

I sat with Drew (my son) since this is his reef and we researched and read and read..... and read some more. We went through the pros and cons.

We are 6 months in with 2 coral frags and a minimum CUC so if any draining is going to happen NOW is the time to do it. (right?)
Risks - if we drill, can ruin tank. But this is immediately evident and then comes another tank purchase. If we use HOB we have the chance that it may run like a champ and all is well and great - or we have a power surge/ loose power/ freak weather anomaly which WOULD DEFINITELY HAPPEN WHEN WE WERE NOT HOME AND AWAKE and there is a failure that causes an overflow or the whole random failure of the HOB.

We seem to lean more towards draining and drilling in that if something goes wrong we know right away.

 

[DaddyFish]

Hello again! I didn't run screaming for the hills but now that I have a visual and thanks to the suggestions- I had some serious food for thought.

I sat with Drew (my son) since this is his reef and we researched and read and read..... and read some more. We went through the pros and cons.

We are 6 months in with 2 coral frags and a minimum CUC so if any draining is going to happen NOW is the time to do it. (right?)
Risks - if we drill, can ruin tank. But this is immediately evident and then comes another tank purchase. If we use HOB we have the chance that it may run like a champ and all is well and great - or we have a power surge/ loose power/ freak weather anomaly which WOULD DEFINITELY HAPPEN WHEN WE WERE NOT HOME AND AWAKE and there is a failure that causes an overflow or the whole random failure of the HOB.

We seem to lean more towards draining and drilling in that if something goes wrong we know right away.

You can reference this YouTube video (among others) to help determine if the glass panel you intend to drill is tempered. You should not attempt to drill tempered glass.

If your 55-gal is an Aqueon tank, you can also check here for more information. But again, make sure by testing your specific tank/panel to see if it's tempered, as manufacturers frequently substitute glass types based on availability.