250 gallon reef setup/build
- Thread starter dericcanderson
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dericcanderson
In Memoriam
muttley000
MTS Sufferer!
Nice sump DaveB!
:beer:
dericcanderson
In Memoriam
OMG Thats a great looking fump man. LOL mines isnt that elegant but it gets the job done. I dont see why they seeemed to think the acrylic sheets wouldnt hold i have done that for about 5 years now????
Sisterlimonpot
Premium Member
Deric,
It's not that it won't work, it's that it's not the right application. using silicone to adhere acrylic to glass isn't going to work the way it's intended to. for the simple fact that they both expand and contract to temperature fluctuation differently. Also silicone doesn't stick to acrylic very long. give it a few months and it won't have a water tight seal anymore. So in essence all your doing is using the silicone to form a slot for the baffles to sit in.
With that being said, people do it all the time for 2 reasons. One: Who really cares if the baffles are water tight? as long as your glass tank hods the water in you can have some seepage through the baffles. And second: Convenience, almost everybody can cut acrylic to size, not everyone can cut glass (who wants to pay a glass shop to cut baffles?).
Hopefully this clears things up for you. If your goal is to achieve a water tight seal use glass baffles and silicone them in place. To use acrylic will work it just isn't ideal.
It's not that it won't work, it's that it's not the right application. using silicone to adhere acrylic to glass isn't going to work the way it's intended to. for the simple fact that they both expand and contract to temperature fluctuation differently. Also silicone doesn't stick to acrylic very long. give it a few months and it won't have a water tight seal anymore. So in essence all your doing is using the silicone to form a slot for the baffles to sit in.
With that being said, people do it all the time for 2 reasons. One: Who really cares if the baffles are water tight? as long as your glass tank hods the water in you can have some seepage through the baffles. And second: Convenience, almost everybody can cut acrylic to size, not everyone can cut glass (who wants to pay a glass shop to cut baffles?).
Hopefully this clears things up for you. If your goal is to achieve a water tight seal use glass baffles and silicone them in place. To use acrylic will work it just isn't ideal.
SaltydawgI
New member
+1 sister. I have a 10g under my 55g and used acrylic baffles. This was ideal in my case but may not be in others.
dericcanderson
In Memoriam
Ok guys i filled the tank up today and refixed my rock scape everyhting looks good i just have the power heads running not the sump yet im still letting everything dry with that. and oh BTW I made a DIY protein skimmer today out of a 2 liter coke bottle. I will eventually upgrade but i ddint feel like watsing $100 at my LFS and still need another skimmer so i will use this til i save up for a monster one!!!!!!!! The tank is still kinda cloudy and settling so excues the little bit of cloudiness. currently in the tank i have about $150 lbs of live rock and 200 pounds live sand. I just bought ten blue leg hermit crabs today and 4 turbo snails. I got a pretty good deal at my LFS i got all that for $12. I re added some more chemicals today (STRESS ZYME) and some purple up for the rocks. I will have more pics once the tank has settled but im pretty exicted the tank is going well. I just made 3 pieces of rock that are still drying in my garage. all three together weight about 35 lbs. As usual if i am doing anything wrong guys please tell me!!!!!(IM SURE SOMEONE WILL LOL)
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dericcanderson
In Memoriam
Oh and BTW THATS FAKE CORAL PIECES IN THE PIC. MY WIFE WANTED TO HOW THEY WOULD LOOK!!!!!
seaflea
New member
well i dont think u should have added any animals yet and i hope the leak has had long enough to dry or your ganna be doing this all over again. also i would'nt add much more livestock without upgrading your skimmer. A diy 2 liter skimmer might be ok for like a 10 or 20 gal but it probably wont be able to keep up even with just hemits in there. Oh and purple up is like snake oil. really all you need is good water chemistry and your rocks should color up in no time but that may be my own opinion. Good luck with the tank tho man as long as your having fun.
Sisterlimonpot
Premium Member
+1 on purple up for the same price kyou could have bought 2 part calc and alk and it would've gave you the same results.
and +1 on the adding hermits, why did you add livestock to a tank that hasn't even cycled? You just threw that money away. Wait 4-6 weeks for the tank to cycle before adding livestock
And don't forget to allow the PH to stabilize before adding livestock as well.
And where are the pics of your DIY 2 liter skimmer?
and +1 on the adding hermits, why did you add livestock to a tank that hasn't even cycled? You just threw that money away. Wait 4-6 weeks for the tank to cycle before adding livestock
And don't forget to allow the PH to stabilize before adding livestock as well.
And where are the pics of your DIY 2 liter skimmer?
dericcanderson
In Memoriam
The crabs will cycle my tank
dericcanderson
In Memoriam
I have come to the realization that people on here will be negative forever everyone doesn't have tons of money to buy top grade stuff I wish I could but I can't I dnt think I'm gonna go any further posting my build/setup if I get a ten gallon sump its oh I need a 20 so no water will get on the floor purple is bad but I have used it for over five years and had zero problems I am comfortable adding livestock I'm not gonna over do it guys thanks for the advice but everything u guys r saying itsnt true my snails and hermits look good and healthy and my leak has dissapeared
frillcappa
New member
If you feel comfortable going at this pace, you may have to learn the lesson the hard way. people should stop saying the same thing over and over. Personally i think it needs way more live rock, get some fiji dry rock, its like 2 bucks a pound, or used live rock can be 2-3 a pound. get like 250 lbs or more.
Ive seen purple up make a difference. it delivers the calcium to the rocks with like an aragonite, if you don't like it, then use some other calcium suppliment
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SaltydawgI
New member
Just talking from experience is all. Nobody wants you to throw your money away. I am very new at this and I really want things to hurry up so I can have a beautiful reef tank to look at but I definately would not do things the way you have been doing them. JMO. Good luck man! I have been enjoying watching you go through this.
I don think anyone here is or has been saying YOU NEED this equipment (insert brand name here). Everyone is just stating personal experiences along with known ways of doing things that are right. If it was me I would listen to them. No one here wants to see you fail Everyone here has offered solid and very valuable advice.Just so you know I've personally read the "millionare threads" as you say we all are and even they take alot of the advice and knowledge from others here. Your sump seems to be a BIG problem with everyone..and I can see why. People are seeing this as a possible problem down the road or in the near future. Its your build thread though so do what you think is best.
babarney
New member
This has all cracked me up since the first thread about the plywood build. You ask for people to critique you and when EVERYONE tells you that you are doing it wrong or that there are things you could improve, you get defensive and say that it will work and you know what you are doing. When people asked you if you had a leak at first, you didn't even bother checking for a leak and said that it was just a water spill and that everyone was crazy. I am pretty new to this hobby and I came on here to learn from everyone that posts and reply's here because they know more than I do, not to tell everyone else that they are wrong and that I know what I am doing. I really hope you succeed with everything and I'm sure eventually everything will turn out fine with your tank but it seems to me like you are trying to take the easy way out of EVERYTHING.
mthomp
New member
you keep saying you been doing this for 5 yrs, yet the way you are doing things says otherwise. you also keep saying you dont have a bucket full of money to throw at this, which i can respect fully but, the way you are going about things will end up costing more in the long run. Nobody said you need to buy everything all at once. Quick question though, since you been in the hobby for 5 yrs, havent you found a local reef club that can help you out? I know mine has great deals all the time on equipment and livestock.
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