new tank layout questions!

[turboex901]

hey everyone! i recently acquired a drilled 75 gallon from dave (thanks again). now that i have a tank i can take my time on i want to try a few cool things ive seen here on the forums. first off what is everyones thoughts on the envirotex lite fake sandbed? with my 2 seio 1500's i have sandstorms everday and its quite frustrating but bare bottom tanks def. arent my thing. this may be the answer to my dilema. the only thing id be concerned about is over time it would be covered with corraline. anyone have an idea how i could keep it clean? also i want to do the back and sides in that black spray on pond foam insulation. you can make very cool shelves for frags and make it look quite natural. similiar to a reef wall. i hate my stick on background i have now, and some painted tank dont appeal to me either. it just looks too sterile for me. from what i understand this foam gets encrusted and looks like live rock within months. does anyone know where i can get this foam locally and even the envirotex lite stuff? heres a few links to show what id like to do. thanks everyone!<~~steve
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=392144&perpage=25&pagenumber=1
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=447292&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

heres a picture of the foam background, theres only 3 pieces of live rock in here. the rest is foam. my only concern is longetivity under halides. any thoughts?

 

[bshumake]

steve's grocery list:
1 caulk gun sized tube of silicone seleant
2 bulkheads
Your tukus over here to help

 

[turboex901]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6831612#post6831612 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bshumake
steve's grocery list:
1 caulk gun sized tube of silicone seleant
2 bulkheads
Your tukus over here to help

steve can handle the grocery list. will just regular clear silicone work like from the depot? also where can i get 2 bulkheads? i can be there tonight but i didnt want to rush you. i know youre far busier than you should be right now. i can buy some male/female adapters but have no idea where to buy the gaskets. <~~steve

 

[just dave]

will just regular clear silicone work like from the depot?

No,it must be safe to use in aquariums.

 

[just dave]

from what i understand this foam gets encrusted and looks like live rock within months.

It may look like it but it will never be/act like it.

 

[boofer]

Steve, Kermits has the bulkheads.
Use GE 100% Silicone I or II (or equivalent)...not anything with Kitchen or Bath on it.

 

[turboex901]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6835296#post6835296 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by boofer
Steve, Kermits has the bulkheads.
Use GE 100% Silicone I or II (or equivalent)...not anything with Kitchen or Bath on it.

hey dustin, i actually did pick up the ge silicone one. i saw that the 2 had mildew resistence in the form of formaldehide/cyanide. im sure that cant be great for our tanks. glad i bought the right one! i should be picking up the bulkheads from you guys soon, hopefully tommorow evening if traffic will cooperate. theres been many a times where i fly out to kermits after work but some idiot causes a traffic jam and i get to the store at 6:05 and have to turn around i guess thats how it goes though with memphis traffic, apparently it takes 65 minutes to go from sam cooper blvd. to daves in the evening time :mad2: maybe ill get lucky tommorow! thanks everyone<~~steve

 

[turboex901]

also sorry for the double post but ive decided to ditch both ideas stated above. the fake sand bed is cool for a few months but when the corraline hits it, it is less than appealing in my opinion. also the foam back wall is a little too much for me. im not arts and crafts orientated. i do have a new question though, i currently have the black/white caribsea "indo-pacific live sand". quite a bit actually, id say 75 pounds or more. it creates an ungodly sand storm and i cant keep it down regardless of what direction i have the seios pointed. ive even used tape to restrict them to no success. when we switch tanks im going with a new substrate and ditching that stuff. what is a decent large sized grain sand that wont fly all over the place. im thinking of getting a few of those 40lb bags of caribsea "dry sand" stuff as its cheaper than 40 bucks per 20 lbs. like i paid for this stuff i have now. i have tons of live rock and a big sump to seed the new stuff so thats not an issue. give me youre reccomendations guys. thanks!<~~steve
edit: id also like to keep a leopard wrasse in the future so it cant be anything too large so hopefully i can come up with something. i would even be open to suggestions on mixing two kinds for diversity. thanks

 

[boofer]

Ive only used the Silicone II in black...I use Silicone I in the clear. The windows and doors version of both. I didnt see any kind of mildew protection on the II. Where did you see it had fomaldehyde/cyanide? That wouldnt be good
BTW, Kermits isnt open on Mondays.

 

[scarson61]

Steve, let me know what you figure out. I bought a Tunze Stream 6060 and I figure i will run into the same problem when I get it all set up. Richard advised me to having the pump point toward the rockwork so that will be the first thing I try. Good Luck!
Sanford

 

[scarson61]

Steve, let me know what you figure out. I bought a Tunze Stream 6060 and I figure i will run into the same problem when I get it all set up. Richard advised me to having the pump point toward the rockwork so that will be the first thing I try. Good Luck!
Sanford

 

[turboex901]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6839355#post6839355 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by scarson61
Steve, let me know what you figure out. I bought a Tunze Stream 6060 and I figure i will run into the same problem when I get it all set up. Richard advised me to having the pump point toward the rockwork so that will be the first thing I try. Good Luck!
Sanford

big money my friend hehehe. just kidding ill let you know what i go with tommorow. im gonna stop by kermits after work. i hope they have caribsea super grade reef sand. its 1.2-4.0 mm grain size. alot better than what i have now. ill post pics<~~steve

 

[turboex901]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6838658#post6838658 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by boofer
Ive only used the Silicone II in black...I use Silicone I in the clear. The windows and doors version of both. I didnt see any kind of mildew protection on the II. Where did you see it had fomaldehyde/cyanide? That wouldnt be good
BTW, Kermits isnt open on Mondays.

hey dustin, while searching for silicone on here i ran across numerous threads saying the ge silicone 2 that was used for tile and bathrooms were the bad ones that leach formaldehyde/cyanide to keep youre tile from mildewing in the bathroom. windows and doors are ok from what i saw. maybe for some unknown reason you have something siliconed in youre sump with the bad stuff in it and its leaching. a long shot i know but its worth looking into. <~~steve

 

[Larson]

Hey steve, I still would like some of that black/white sand for my tank a few cups full, let me know before you ditch any of it. And you should come see the xenia's soon I'll have enough for everyone. Oh and remember that lone yellow polyp you gave me? Theres 6 now

 

[boofer]

Yeah anything associated with kitchen or bath has mildew resistance in it. Ive always used I and II for the windows/doors for years, thats why I asked where you saw that. There both safe IME. I cant say that about my rubbermaid totes though...

Back to topic

 

[just dave]

IIRC II says not for aquarium use on the label.

 

[boofer]

Yeah Dave, Ive seen that on the II. Everything Ive read and heard says its ok...who knows. I only use the black in II since I cant find black in I. If I remember correctly the non aquarium use on the label is if your going to build a tank with the stuff...something about the strength or flexibility holding a tank together isnt good...cant remember exactly though.

 

[just dave]

That may be true. Many silicone brands may be safe but are not strong enough to make aquariums with. Regardless I wouldn't use it.
Does it say if it's safe for food preparation areas?

 

[boofer]

It doesnt say its food safe, but neither does the I. If I could find black in I, I wouldnt use it, but I cant seem to find any.

 

[just dave]

IIRC I did say it was food preparation area safe and gave you the FDA code # but I've not used it in a long time so it may have changed.

Think about this, a lot of people have used Rubbermaid Totes without any "problems" as well. Just because some people don't seem to have any problems with something doesn't mean that problems don't exist.

I killed off a whole tank of fish in my youth with my silicone selection. I'm very careful now.