My tank project

[Triple_B]

Since I have nothing better to do with my tank but sit and stare at it... empty... I thought I'd make a progression thread like all the other cool kids.

So I found a really great deal on a used tank:
75g tank / stand / canopy
33 gallon custom sump
IceCap 660 ballast and lights
Mag 9.5 and a Maxi Jet 600 pumps

-= The used tank as I bought it =-

As you can see it was in pretty rough condition, I took it by "Aquariums" in Edmond and was assured that with a little TLC, I had made a good purchase. At this point I knew NOTHING about aquariums, but I was told the blue thing (IceCap ballast) was worth about as much as I paid for the whole thing! WOO HOO!

-=Some Clean up=-

After cleaning it up and leak checking everything, I was pretty excited. The lights worked and there were no leaks... excited until the canopy fell to pieces. It and the stand had some rotting wood issues.

-= So to work I went! =-

Well the rebuild went well, but Heather was not digging the color, apparently it doesn't match the rest of the house? I dunno, I'm a guy, I just lift stuff and take out the trash.

-= So we sanded, stained, stained some more, and then added a million coats of sealer! She's really on-board with the whole thing, and even helped stain! =-

Well I drug that out as long as I could, because I had promised that I would wait to see "What Santa brings me" before I would start buying more for the tank. This is what I'm staring at, every day, being taunted!!!

...until I convinced her that it would be a good idea to replace the crappy lighting that came with it!

-= ordered Saturday... =-

1 x IceCap Pre-Wired 48" Retro Kit
1 x Giesemann Aqua Blue+ 48" 54 watt
1 x Giesemann Actinic+ 48" 54 Watt
2 x Giesemann Midday 48" 54 Watt
1 x IceCap Digital Timer

So now it's just a waiting game! Can't wait to go down the road and purchase some LR and water so we can get this thing started!

-brandon

 

[pwhitby]

Great Start !! Now comes the fun part.

Well done,

Paul.

 

[ExtremeClownfish]

great start man. keep it up

 

[Lytehouse]

Awesome start, doesn't look like the same equipment.

Christmas and water just around the corner

 

[Doc's_reef09]

Good luck. Looks like it is going to be a beautiful tank

 

[cody6766]

Keep your old lighting on hand. You may want to fire up a frag or quarantine tank in the future and having those old VHOs will help out at first. They'll at least give you some light before you get the cash saved for another T5 set up. I'm holding on to a set of 4 vhos for that very same reason.

Good luck with your new tank! You'll get plenty of good advice from the local yokels here along the way

 

[Lightsluvr]

Keep your old lighting on hand. You may want to fire up a frag or quarantine tank in the future and having those old VHOs will help out at first. They'll at least give you some light before you get the cash saved for another T5 set up. I'm holding on to a set of 4 vhos for that very same reason.

Great advice above...

That tank has really cleaned up great!

You'll love the new lights.

Hope to see it soon. If you have any questions, and your LFS is closed, don't hesitate to give me a shout. After all, we are neighbors! :wavehand:

LL

 

[Triple_B]

Thanks everyone! It was a lot of fun and kept me busy for a few weeks. After I was done with the stand/canopy I tried my hand at some DIY rock... I won't post pictures, lol. It didn't go as well as hoped. If I were to use these rocks, I'd probably just be better off putting actual cinderblocks into the aquarium. haha

Great advice above...

That tank has really cleaned up great!

You'll love the new lights.

Hope to see it soon. If you have any questions, and your LFS is closed, don't hesitate to give me a shout. After all, we are neighbors! :wavehand:

LL

For sure! I'm going to have to stop by somewhere next week and get advice on plumbing for my sump. I have been scouring the internet for weeks, and have yet to see anything like this custom sump the previous owner built. I've been dragging my feet because I can't decide if I should just build/buy a new one...

-brandon

 

[Lightsluvr]

Thanks everyone! It was a lot of fun and kept me busy for a few weeks. After I was done with the stand/canopy I tried my hand at some DIY rock... I won't post pictures, lol. It didn't go as well as hoped. If I were to use these rocks, I'd probably just be better off putting actual cinderblocks into the aquarium. haha



For sure! I'm going to have to stop by somewhere next week and get advice on plumbing for my sump. I have been scouring the internet for weeks, and have yet to see anything like this custom sump the previous owner built. I've been dragging my feet because I can't decide if I should just build/buy a new one...

-brandon

As for the DIY rocks, you can always use them as base rock and put the "purty stuff" on top and up front...

I'll be glad to look at your sump setup and offer advice. I think I've spilled enough saltwater to be certified. :fun4: All of my current tank plumbing was DIY, including the dursos...

LL

 

[Triple_B]

Welp it's been awhile, but finally got some progress to post!

Santa was good to me, so the day after Christmas I ran out and got everything I needed to get to the rock/water stage.

I'm waiting on my ballast to come back from IceCap, then I'll get some pics of the new lighting up!

happy new year everyone!

-brandon

 

[Perc25]

Great progress, it's looking good!

 

[Triple_B]

Thanks!

Everything but that white gunky stuff on the lower left of the tank stand. It just recently popped up, I can't clean it off with anything or scrape it off... not sure what it is, maybe a bad job with the sealant? =(

 

[gregzbobo]

Thanks!

Everything but that white gunky stuff on the lower left of the tank stand. It just recently popped up, I can't clean it off with anything or scrape it off... not sure what it is, maybe a bad job with the sealant? =(

Probably. Salt most likely. It'd be extra work, but you might try putting a good coat of Kilz on it, letting that cure for a few days, then repainting it black. Kilz is pretty good at sealing back stuff like that.

 

[Triple_B]

No new pics, still waiting on the ballast to come in so I'm kind of at a stand still.

The white is gone, sort of. It's coming up in other spots now. I think it IS salt, working out of the wood from the years of unsealed neglet it took previously took.

When I bought all of the rock there were a few small featherdusters on one. Just in the 2 weeks I've had the tank running the number of feather dusters has increased 10X easy. Last night I noticed a few bristleworms as well!

Temp: Steady 80 degrees (really glad I dropped the extra money on the 2 big ol' heaters while my lights are crap)
PH: 8.2
SG: 1.026
Amonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
...well, they are all below the limits of detection for my test kit at least.

One of the rocks I got has/had some coral hitch hiking on it, but I doubt that it would have survived this long with the lack of light, right? It looks like a Black Tube Coral, or maybe a Black Trumpet (if there is one, I may have just made that up), only 3 small heads that resemble the trumpet, but they are black.

I have a few floor lamps set up by the tank, I don't know if that's doing any good, but the feather dusters and bristle worms seem to be happy for now. I'm really upset with IceCap over the whole light situation, I think they could be a bit more helpful seeing that is was there shoddy retro-kit that messed up my ballast in the first place.

...more to come later!

 

[gws76]

One of the rocks I got has/had some coral hitch hiking on it, but I doubt that it would have survived this long with the lack of light, right? It looks like a Black Tube Coral, or maybe a Black Trumpet (if there is one, I may have just made that up), only 3 small heads that resemble the trumpet, but they are black.

Pics please. Sounds like black sun coral, doubt it, but you never know.:crazy1:

 

[Triple_B]

Pics please. Sounds like black sun coral, doubt it, but you never know.:crazy1:

I tried to snap some last night, but with no lighting on the tank the pics are terrible, you can't tell what is what.

I just got off the phone with IceCap and they had the ballast repaired but apparently have been waiting on me to make a payment for shpping and repairs!! :eek1: I reminded them of the situation and he waived all fee's and told me I should have the ballast back Friday or Saturday. If not... :uzi:

-brandon

 

[Triple_B]

yeah skimmer!

yeah skimmer!

Got the skimmer in Friday! It's hooked up and working like a charm. So after it ran, we got our first fish on Sunday! 4 damsels, lol. Don't judge me, but it's our first tank so I wanted to start with something a little less fragile.

Here's the sump...

I can't get a picture worth posting of the fish just yet, but once I do I'll get them up!

but to hold you over here is part of my feather duster collection!

-brandon

 

[Triple_B]

The leak is fixed, no more leak! I have had water in it for 2 days now with no leaking, so it's time to clean it up and get everything back in place!

Pics to come tonight so I can show off my awesome new Acan I got at the meeting!

-brandon

 

[Lightsluvr]

The leak is fixed, no more leak! I have had water in it for 2 days now with no leaking, so it's time to clean it up and get everything back in place!

Pics to come tonight so I can show off my awesome new Acan I got at the meeting!

-brandon

Congrats on your first repair project!

Be sure there are no gaps between your stand and the tank bottom. The tank should rest on the stand along all edges...

LL

 

[Triple_B]

Oh crap. What if its not? Don't worry, its empty at the moment... But there is a small gap in the tank/stand on the front.