My new 135 build!!

[BroccoliFarmer]

What the heck do you have getting into your overflows through the wiers that is clogging the drains?

Just bits of algae, schmutz, etc. Doesnt happen always..just when I am on vacation or traveling. The Strainer that came with my tank just has real small openings and clogging even ONE of the openings causes a back up.

 

[AydenLincoln]

Ok folks.. I know you all want pictures so here goes...

Ooo that’s a nice stand! Looking forward to seeing the progress.

 

[Jedi1199]

Just bits of algae, schmutz, etc. Doesnt happen always..just when I am on vacation or traveling. The Strainer that came with my tank just has real small openings and clogging even ONE of the openings causes a back up.

This morning, while feeding the tank, I got a good idea where you are coming from in regards to these screens when I saw a random mysis shrimp get caught in one.

Looks like I will definitely have to start looking for larger screens myself.

Thanks for the heads up on that one!!

 

[tbrown]

This morning, while feeding the tank, I got a good idea where you are coming from in regards to these screens when I saw a random mysis shrimp get caught in one.

Looks like I will definitely have to start looking for larger screens myself.

Thanks for the heads up on that one!!

@BroccoliFarmer is a good resource! Especially if you ever get caught in the middle of a good tax law debate...

 

[Jedi1199]

The only thing I don't necessarily care for is the low water level in the skimmer section. Mine has that too.

Facebook marketplace has a R-300 for $70... I really want it but my wife said no. It's basically the same as yours but with an included ATO valve.

That is adjustable with the flow gate between the skimmer and return pump chambers. I have it fully open now to keep the level right for the skimmer. I actually really like that feature as it means I can never get the level below optimal for the skimmer to operate correctly.

 

[tbrown]

That is adjustable with the flow gate between the skimmer and return pump chambers. I have it fully open now to keep the level right for the skimmer. I actually really like that feature as it means I can never get the level below optimal for the skimmer to operate correctly.

Yeah. That's the part I was talking about. The water level drops in both the skimmer section and the return section. I guess it also makes it so if the water drops enough to affect the skimmer it's past time for a top off I guess.

 

[Jedi1199]

I think I am just about ready to rehang the doors on the stand! I have all the wires bundled neatly, the plumbing is in and sump is dialed in.

There IS still a very small drip coming from the right side drain, I may still go ahead and rip out that pvc and replace it with the soft ribbed tubing I have. The PVC looks cleaner, but I would rather not have any drips if I can help it. I could however just place the ATO reservoir below it and let the few drips fall into there. By small drip, I mean over a 24 hour span, not enough to fill a shot glass halfway.

One thing I forgot is handles for the doors. I am not a big fan of handles personally and if I had made the stand, the doors would have finger pulls. Debating between brass wire pulls, or brass mushroom knobs. I could go ultra cheap and get the black plastic wire pulls... Since the hinges are exposed (another thing I would not have done myself), I think the brass mushroom knobs will be the best option.

 

[tbrown]

I think I am just about ready to rehang the doors on the stand! I have all the wires bundled neatly, the plumbing is in and sump is dialed in.

There IS still a very small drip coming from the right side drain, I may still go ahead and rip out that pvc and replace it with the soft ribbed tubing I have. The PVC looks cleaner, but I would rather not have any drips if I can help it. I could however just place the ATO reservoir below it and let the few drips fall into there. By small drip, I mean over a 24 hour span, not enough to fill a shot glass halfway.

One thing I forgot is handles for the doors. I am not a big fan of handles personally and if I had made the stand, the doors would have finger pulls. Debating between brass wire pulls, or brass mushroom knobs. I could go ultra cheap and get the black plastic wire pulls... Since the hinges are exposed (another thing I would not have done myself), I think the brass mushroom knobs will be the best option.

You could always add those push/popper magnets... Push to pop open, push to close.

 

[MarsReefer]

I’m curious how your sand transfer experience will go. Ryan said in the latest video that using established sand turned out pretty poorly and he won’t ever do it again. It seems like it should work well in theory.

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

This morning, while feeding the tank, I got a good idea where you are coming from in regards to these screens when I saw a random mysis shrimp get caught in one.

Looks like I will definitely have to start looking for larger screens myself.

Thanks for the heads up on that one!!

Out of curiosity, what type of drain are you doing? Duroso? I have one and i am also looking at ways to address excess ambient air getting pulled down into my tank. My PH is suffering. I ran a skimmer line outside, but the amount of air that is being pulled down into my sump has to be a culprit to excess CO2 getting into my system. Its like there is a boiling pan of water on my downspout. Ideas? Only thing I can think of is reducing my down spout flow.

 

[Jedi1199]

Out of curiosity, what type of drain are you doing? Duroso? I have one and i am also looking at ways to address excess ambient air getting pulled down into my tank. My PH is suffering. I ran a skimmer line outside, but the amount of air that is being pulled down into my sump has to be a culprit to excess CO2 getting into my system. Its like there is a boiling pan of water on my downspout. Ideas? Only thing I can think of is reducing my down spout flow.

Yes, I have a basic Durso setup.

How much surface agitation do you have in the DT? Since O2 exchange is made largely by the most surface area available, which is your DT itself, you must have a method to break surface tension. I run 2 fairly powerful wavemakers aimed mostly from the 2/3 level of the tank towards the surface. Enough to break tension, but not whitecaps. lol If you are getting microbubbles as a result, turn them down if you can or aim them a little lower. You want a constant ripple on the surface, but not enough to actually cause bubbles, If that makes sense.

 

[Jedi1199]

I’m curious how your sand transfer experience will go. Ryan said in the latest video that using established sand turned out pretty poorly and he won’t ever do it again. It seems like it should work well in theory.

Just under 2 weeks in. I see some brown patches on the sand. Had to run the glass cleaning magnet for the first time 2 days ago, although I didn't do it till today.

Overall, it is progressing exactly as I anticipated. Still have to figure out that drip issue on that one drain.

One other issue I have, that I had not figured on... the overflow boxes have 2 cutouts for the return "Lok-Tite" return nozzles. I cut out the left side one to be on the back glass side. I did the right side one for it to be in the front. What I did not realize, until it was too late is that I can't run the return that way because the drain is in the way. I have a huge opening in the corner of both overflows! Now, I have THREE fish inside the same overflow!!! Gonna have to close that off somehow...

If you have never had to get a fish out of an overflow chamber, I promise you it is not a simple task!!!

EDIT: Fixed the rest of the missing thought and adding here: found another fish in the other overflow this morning. I have a temp fix on it now that I hope will keep the fish out till I can fix it properly.

 

[Jedi1199]

Holy cow!!!!

What a difference cleaning the OUTSIDE glass made!!

Ok, you call all laugh at me now... I haven't cleaned the outside glass at all since day 1. I knew it was dirty, with leftover water drops on it and such.. but WOW!!! What a difference!!! It looks as clear as my old tank now!!

 

[tbrown]

Holy cow!!!!

What a difference cleaning the OUTSIDE glass made!!

Ok, you call all laugh at me now... I haven't cleaned the outside glass at all since day 1. I knew it was dirty, with leftover water drops on it and such.. but WOW!!! What a difference!!! It looks as clear as my old tank now!!

I ran the magnet cleaner and cleaned my outside glass today for the second time since startup.... It makes a difference. A big difference.

 

[Jedi1199]

You could always add those push/popper magnets... Push to pop open, push to close.

No. First, I don't like those. Second, they rust and fail quickly. I will go with the brass mushroom knobs for the final hardware. Simple and not too intrusive.

 

[tbrown]

No. First, I don't like those. Second, they rust and fail quickly. I will go with the brass mushroom knobs for the final hardware. Simple and not too intrusive.

Oil rubbed bronze or antique brass would be my choice. Maybe a brushed nickel for a lighter color.

 

[Jedi1199]

Ok guys... Time for anther update.

Today, I received my CUC shipment from "Reef Cleaners" Several snails DOA. One large crab, also DOA. Seems the larger specimens didn't ship well at all. Going to be e-mailing vendor in the morning about the dead ones.

So, I cleaned the glass inside and out when I got home from work last night, looked fantastic while I was up, this morning, the glass was fully coated on the inside again. Looks like that will be a daily battle for a while.. The snails will help, but won't do it all.

Tonight, I removed all of the rock I have been curing for the last several weeks and placed them on a towel to dry out. I really like idea of what Ryan at BRS calls the HNSA scape design. Instead of an elaborate NSA scape, I think I will build a bunch of smaller interlocking pieces. I wish I had seen that before I started curing the rocks. Will set my timetable back a few weeks as I will have to dry the rocks out, then build the structures and then cure them again.. Oh well, it is what it is.

In the morning, I should be getting one of my coral shipments from past live sales. This one should be the one with the 5 RFA's and beautiful Goni that I ordered.

 

[Jedi1199]

Oil rubbed bronze or antique brass would be my choice. Maybe a brushed nickel for a lighter color.

Looks like the hinges are antique brass. I will have to match that or the whole thing will look wrong.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Just under 2 weeks in. I see some brown patches on the sand. Had to run the glass cleaning magnet for the first time 2 days ago, although I didn't do it till today.

Overall, it is progressing exactly as I anticipated. Still have to figure out that drip issue on that one drain.

One other issue I have, that I had not figured on... the overflow boxes have 2 cutouts for the return "Lok-Tite" return nozzles. I cut out the left side one to be on the back glass side. I did the right side one for it to be in the front. What I did not realize, until it was too late is that I can't run the return that way because the drain is in the way. I have a huge opening in the corner of both overflows! Now, I have THREE fish inside the same overflow!!! Gonna have to close that off somehow...

If you have never had to get a fish out of an overflow chamber, I promise you it is not a simple task!!!

EDIT: Fixed the rest of the missing thought and adding here: found another fish in the other overflow this morning. I have a temp fix on it now that I hope will keep the fish out till I can fix it properly.

If you have not fixed the knock outs for the loc line yet, here is what I did when I decided to run my returns over the back in my 180.

Found some scrap acrylic in the garage (you can buy a very small piece for cheap)
Found a hole saw that matched the roundness of the knockout on the overflow.
Drilled the scrap acrylic with the hole saw and made 4 round plugs.
Checked to make sure they fit in the roundness of the half circle knockouts
then while doing that, marked the plug with a sharpie for where it would sit flush with the top of the overflow.
I then cut that plug
From there, I just super glued the plug into where the old knockout was and 2 years later, they are still there with no issues.

I also decided to paint the plug black with krylon fusion, so that it was not seen.

 

[Jedi1199]

If you have not fixed the knock outs for the loc line yet, here is what I did when I decided to run my returns over the back in my 180.

Found some scrap acrylic in the garage (you can buy a very small piece for cheap)
Found a hole saw that matched the roundness of the knockout on the overflow.
Drilled the scrap acrylic with the hole saw and made 4 round plugs.
Checked to make sure they fit in the roundness of the half circle knockouts
then while doing that, marked the plug with a sharpie for where it would sit flush with the top of the overflow.
I then cut that plug
From there, I just super glued the plug into where the old knockout was and 2 years later, they are still there with no issues.

I also decided to paint the plug black with krylon fusion, so that it was not seen.

That is a great idea. I have a temporary fix on there now in the form of a couple plastic clamps to hopefully stop the fish from getting through as easily. Was thinking maybe some mesh top material would work, but your idea sounds better for a long term fix.

Thanks!!