Just Another returning to reefing thread.

[scottyd1119]

Soooo been out of the hobby since 2009 when I had to tear down my tank due to a work related move and finally at a point where I can jump back in. Seems like a lot has changed since then. A few questions. I still have my old tank, it’s a 72 gallon bow front tank from aqueon. It’s been stored at my parents inside their house gathering dust the whole time. Is the tank still good? Anything I should look for on it? I plan on filling it full of water and leaving it for a bit to see if it’s still water tight. Also any chance any of my old equipment is still good?

I’m not sure that I’ll use the old tank as I’m thinking about going bigger, but want to make sure it’s ok before I try selling it to someone.

Another question as I find a place to try and setup a new tank. Anybody ever setup a tank in a room with a wood stove and how far would you recommend keeping it away from it. Also anyone ever have a tank spanning different floor levels? Obviously would need a custom built stand for it, which I’m capable of making. Also might mean I need to have a split level sump, anyone have ideas on how that would work?

Im sure there will be more questions later as I go down the journey.

 

[JohnL]

Welcome back Scotty

 

[scottyd1119]

Thanks John, it’s good to be back.

 

[kharmaguru]

Soooo been out of the hobby since 2009 when I had to tear down my tank due to a work related move and finally at a point where I can jump back in. Seems like a lot has changed since then. A few questions. I still have my old tank, it’s a 72 gallon bow front tank from aqueon. It’s been stored at my parents inside their house gathering dust the whole time. Is the tank still good? Anything I should look for on it? I plan on filling it full of water and leaving it for a bit to see if it’s still water tight. Also any chance any of my old equipment is still good?

I’m not sure that I’ll use the old tank as I’m thinking about going bigger, but want to make sure it’s ok before I try selling it to someone.

Another question as I find a place to try and setup a new tank. Anybody ever setup a tank in a room with a wood stove and how far would you recommend keeping it away from it. Also anyone ever have a tank spanning different floor levels? Obviously would need a custom built stand for it, which I’m capable of making. Also might mean I need to have a split level sump, anyone have ideas on how that would work?

Im sure there will be more questions later as I go down the journey.

Generally speaking if the silicone is still pliable it's still good. If it feels hard it has to be redone.

My aquarium is about 6 feet from my woodstove in our recroom. I found placing a shield between the two ( I made a moveable barrier out of concrete board) when having fires basically eliminated any problems. Without the barrier the radiant heat heated the glass pretty fast which of course heated the water. Without any sort of barrier I think as far away as possible is a good plan.

 

[scottyd1119]

Generally speaking if the silicone is still pliable it's still good. If it feels hard it has to be redone.

My aquarium is about 6 feet from my woodstove in our recroom. I found placing a shield between the two ( I made a moveable barrier out of concrete board) when having fires basically eliminated any problems. Without the barrier the radiant heat heated the glass pretty fast which of course heated the water. Without any sort of barrier I think as far away as possible is a good plan.

Thanks. Thankfully it’ll be the short side of the tank that is closest to the wood stove if I decide to put it there so less surface area to absorb it. I had thought about incorporating some kind of pull up board into my stand that acts like a shield so glad to hear that a shield works well for you.

 

[Reefing102]

Welcome back. Just to add what’s been said, multi level I have not done, but take a look at drop off tanks, and see if they might be what you’re looking for? Only issue is cleaning due to depth.

As for your old tank. I just recently had to get rid of a 5.5 gallon (manufactured in 2003) due to silicone failure (been dry over 10years). As mentioned if the silicone is still soft and squishy you should be good. If it’s dried out, I wouldn’t risk it

 

[scottyd1119]

Thanks reefing, the last time I was there the silicone was squishy so it should be good. A good leak test will probably be the most telling.

It’ll be a standard tank, hoping to do a 120. I’ll just have to build the stand stepped to match the floor. One area I’m looking at is about a 7” drop off. The other would be resting on the hearth of my wood stove and would be about 18” difference. My plan is to make to use the lower level to set the height of the tank from so I won’t have to worry about it being to tall for maintenance. In fact that would work in my favor As I’d be able to use the higher level to make it even easier for maintenance.

 

[Timfish]

Welcome back! As far as checking your tank when it's full also look for spots or areas in the silicone that have a change in color. Split level sumps/refugiums aren't to much of an issue, the return pumps obviosly will be in hte lowest section and the 2nd overflow in the upper section needs to handle all the flow the DT's overflow will handle. Attention to the water level in hte lower section when the pumps are off.

A big change since you last had your system is our greatly expanded understanding of microbiomes in reef systems as well as nutrient processing. These links provide a good overview of some of the reserarch:

"Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas" This video compliments Rohwer's book of the same title (Paper back is ~$20, Kindle is ~$10), both deal with the conflicting roles of the different types of DOC in reef ecosystems. While there is overlap bewteen his book and the video both have information not covered by the other and together give a broader view of the complex relationships found in reef ecosystems

Changing Seas - Mysterious Microbes

Nitrogen cycling in hte coral holobiont

BActeria and Sponges

Maintenance of Coral Reef Health (refferences at the end)

Optical Feedback Loop in Colorful Coral Bleaching
Optical Feedback Loop in Colorful Coral Bleaching / Curr. Biol., May 21, 2020 (Vol. 30, Issue 13)

Richard Ross What's up with phosphate"
What's up with phosphate? by Richard Ross | MACNA 2014

 

[scottyd1119]

Thank you Tim for the info, I will definitely add it to my list of stuff to go through.