Dave's 90gal build
- Thread starter archer8681
- Start date
archer8681
Premium Member
Yup. I was originally going to make up the SW in clean garbage cans, put sand in and LR, then fill the tank with SW. Tony @ SB suggested that I fill the tank add salt, get it all running, then add sand and then LR. So I am doing it that way.
archer8681
Premium Member
Well the plan (according to Tony's instructions) is to shut the system down, make sure that the bags of sand are clean on the outside, submerge the bag, and let the sand out slowly from the bag keeping it close to the bottom of the tank. I am expecting a little bit of a sand storm, hopefully it wont be too bad. If it doesn't clear up fast, Ryan @ Country Living has a diatomic earth (???) filter I can borrow, that he said would clean it up very fast. (Ryan has a vested interested in my water being clean. The sooner sand is down, the sooner I take his LR)
I "kinda" just went through this with a 24 gal Aquapod. Used Caribsea Aragamax Oolitic sand. Instructions say to rinse it a few times (which I did). First rinse was very milky-cloudy and produced a head of foam in the bucket (glad I did it!). After a few more rinses, although still cloudy, it was much better. Drained it well, scooped it into the empty tank, put a plate down, and slowly added salt water. Minimal cloudiness which cleared in under two days.
If I had to do a larger system, I'd do it exactly as you are with some modifications: I think I'd take the extra effort to rinse the sand a bit first if you have some empty salt buckets (outside with a hose or in the tub - makes a mess, but easy to clean
). Once the salt water is mixed in the tank, I'd fill a plastic piture with the damp sand, slowly lower to the bottom of the tank, and slowly release it onto the bottom of the tank.
Or some modification of this method.
Take the extra effort to clean the sand a bit before adding and take the time to add it slowly to the bottom of the tank with minimal stirring.
If I had to do a larger system, I'd do it exactly as you are with some modifications: I think I'd take the extra effort to rinse the sand a bit first if you have some empty salt buckets (outside with a hose or in the tub - makes a mess, but easy to clean
). Once the salt water is mixed in the tank, I'd fill a plastic piture with the damp sand, slowly lower to the bottom of the tank, and slowly release it onto the bottom of the tank.Or some modification of this method.
Take the extra effort to clean the sand a bit before adding and take the time to add it slowly to the bottom of the tank with minimal stirring.
archer8681
Premium Member
I have 5 20lb bags of LS, and 1 40 lb bag of 'dead' sand. Would I want to rinse the LS, or just the dead?? Some sand will be saved to go on top of the Miracle Mud in the sump ( about 1" of sand over the mud???)
archer8681
Premium Member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8572747#post8572747 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TA
Ahhhhhhh!
Don't think you'd rinse the LS.
Thats why I mentioned the CS Oolitic sand.
Didn't think I would rinse that stuff , hehe.
Is it worth the effort to rinse the 40lbs of dead, it represents less then 30% of my total sand. Or should I left my system 'clean' it? The 40lb bag is the sugar sized stuff, and probably wont be that easy to rinse. Also rinsing it in regular tap water would defeat the purpose of using RO/DI water. I would have to make more RO/DI water to rinse it I assume.
Its up to you. I rinsed only about 20 lbs and was glad I did. And i did use tap water, but drained it well afterwards....can always do a final rinse in rodi. Besides, once you put the LR in there, that stuff is gonna make a mess of its own.
I was just voicing my own opinion fwiw.......wrong or right as it may sound.
I was just voicing my own opinion fwiw.......wrong or right as it may sound.
archer8681
Premium Member
I dont mind taking an extra step. I'll rinse it. It can only help, not hurt. 
I've used dry and the wet LS. I've never washed it. I added it the same way Dave mentioned. Mine settled out in 24 hrs. No real storm to talk of.
archer8681
Premium Member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8573678#post8573678 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Dave ESPI
Not sure if anyone mentioned it, but that spray bar needs to have enough roon so that you can remove it and clean out the gunk from inside it. They tend to plug up or trap snails, starfish, etc...
Other than that, it looks good
I didnt glue it in place, so its easy to take out to clean.
archer8681
Premium Member
Well sump is all set up, equips all in place, plumbing all done, and SW flowing!! No leaks (yay!) I added salt yesterday & ran the pumps and heaters till this afternoon. SO, I decided to get the sand in. I started by trying the bag inside the tank, slowly let sand out method to prevent a sand storm. Great in theory, but virtually impossible. So now I have the crazy sand storm thing. No biggie, I know it will clear in a couple of days. Here are some pics.
Full Tank Sand Storm
Sand Storm in the sump
Skimmer
My water lvl in the sump is actually about an inch higher than I want to run it, but I'll still be removing water from the system when I add rock. Even higher as it is now, when everything it shut off, I still have plenty of room in the sump.
Now I plan on keeping the skimmer running through this storm. I figure that a) it cant hurt, and b) it needs to get past the break in period. Its already producing nice bubbles and sending some crap to the collection cup. I'm trying to run it as dry as possible.
I also have the 2 Tunze 6060 running. Should I keep them on during the sand storm or leave them off to let the tank be a little more peaceful. If lower flow is better to end the storm, I could also reduce the flow from the return pump. The tee I put in the return works very well. Also the Eheim 1262 is not too powerful for this tank. Allowing the full flow to return to the tank is fine. It does not drain the sump. I may decide to run less gph through the sump, just to give the skimmer a little more time to clean.
The fuge part still needs the mud & sand. I'll get to that when the tank calms down. Controlling the flow to the fuge also is working very well.
Full Tank Sand Storm
Sand Storm in the sump
Skimmer
My water lvl in the sump is actually about an inch higher than I want to run it, but I'll still be removing water from the system when I add rock. Even higher as it is now, when everything it shut off, I still have plenty of room in the sump.
Now I plan on keeping the skimmer running through this storm. I figure that a) it cant hurt, and b) it needs to get past the break in period. Its already producing nice bubbles and sending some crap to the collection cup. I'm trying to run it as dry as possible.
I also have the 2 Tunze 6060 running. Should I keep them on during the sand storm or leave them off to let the tank be a little more peaceful. If lower flow is better to end the storm, I could also reduce the flow from the return pump. The tee I put in the return works very well. Also the Eheim 1262 is not too powerful for this tank. Allowing the full flow to return to the tank is fine. It does not drain the sump. I may decide to run less gph through the sump, just to give the skimmer a little more time to clean.
The fuge part still needs the mud & sand. I'll get to that when the tank calms down. Controlling the flow to the fuge also is working very well.
archer8681
Premium Member
Well when I woke up this morning, the tank was cleared of the sand storm. I borrowed a DE filter from Ryan which really helped clean it up.
I picked up about 100lbs of cured Fiji LR that that was being used in a tank that Ryan had set up for like 2 years. Real nice and porous and a few cool looking pieces.
I figured that in order to set the rock on the egg crate, I would just create another sand storm, so I removed about 50 gal of water into a clean new lined garbage can. I am trying to create 2 mountains with the rock. A large one in front of the mega flow, and a smaller one to the right. Between the two I planned on a nice shelf to try to create a cave. Right now the tank is pretty cloudy and I'm not 100% sure if it came out looking good or not. I actually think I'll need a little more rock, but I'll wait till the newest storm clears and see what everyone thinks of my feeble attempt at an aquascape.
Pics to come when the tank clears.
OH!! and I saw wat I think was a small crab already crawling around on top of the sand close to the glass! woohoo!!
I picked up about 100lbs of cured Fiji LR that that was being used in a tank that Ryan had set up for like 2 years. Real nice and porous and a few cool looking pieces.
I figured that in order to set the rock on the egg crate, I would just create another sand storm, so I removed about 50 gal of water into a clean new lined garbage can. I am trying to create 2 mountains with the rock. A large one in front of the mega flow, and a smaller one to the right. Between the two I planned on a nice shelf to try to create a cave. Right now the tank is pretty cloudy and I'm not 100% sure if it came out looking good or not. I actually think I'll need a little more rock, but I'll wait till the newest storm clears and see what everyone thinks of my feeble attempt at an aquascape.
Pics to come when the tank clears.
OH!! and I saw wat I think was a small crab already crawling around on top of the sand close to the glass! woohoo!!
archer8681
Premium Member
As promised, here are some pics. The tank is still a little cloudy, but the DE filter has helped a lot. I also seem to have a gazillion micro bubbles, which I assume will dissipate sooner or later.
I guess it looks ok. To the right I sorta got my cave I wanted. It may not look like it, but the rock is stable. When I get a chance, I try to get to rubble rock to fill in some of the space to make sure nothing moves.
OOOH NICE!!!!
More goodies on the LR
As the tank started to clear up, these opened up!
A nice visitor!
Now I can't wait for my lights!! Tony @ SB said they should be in tomorrow. Just not sure if I can make it there till Friday or Saturday.
Now I do have a question. I think I may have gone too big with the 2x Tunze. They flow for a ton! They seem to move the topmost part of the sand no matter how I face them, or how high or low I place them on the bracket. I was thinking of placing the one on the right on the side towards the back of the tank to flow towards the overflow, and the one on the left on that side towards the front flowing straight across to the opposite side. What do you guys think?
I guess it looks ok. To the right I sorta got my cave I wanted. It may not look like it, but the rock is stable. When I get a chance, I try to get to rubble rock to fill in some of the space to make sure nothing moves.
OOOH NICE!!!!
More goodies on the LR
As the tank started to clear up, these opened up!
A nice visitor!
Now I can't wait for my lights!! Tony @ SB said they should be in tomorrow. Just not sure if I can make it there till Friday or Saturday.
Now I do have a question. I think I may have gone too big with the 2x Tunze. They flow for a ton! They seem to move the topmost part of the sand no matter how I face them, or how high or low I place them on the bracket. I was thinking of placing the one on the right on the side towards the back of the tank to flow towards the overflow, and the one on the left on that side towards the front flowing straight across to the opposite side. What do you guys think?
Are you running a controller with your Tunze's? You may need to invest in one
I'd have to read back aways to find what model Tunze's your running?
I'd have to read back aways to find what model Tunze's your running?
archer8681
Premium Member
They are the 6060. I dont think I can run a controller with them. /wah
http://www.tunze.com/149.html?&L=1&C=US&user_tunzeprod_pi1[predid]=-infoxunter025
Everyone has said flow, flow, flow. So I went with these. They are rated at 1585 gph each. So with the overflow maxed, I have like 3770 gph total with these. Too much?
http://www.tunze.com/149.html?&L=1&C=US&user_tunzeprod_pi1[predid]=-infoxunter025
Everyone has said flow, flow, flow. So I went with these. They are rated at 1585 gph each. So with the overflow maxed, I have like 3770 gph total with these. Too much?
