OK! Enough chat...Starting a 1000g+ Reef

[jnarowe]

More Demo Photos...

Frame is basically done. What you can't see is that whomever put up the sheet rock used a rediculous number of screws and I need to remove them all. There's probably 2 - 3000 total and I want to remove them so they don't rust inside the wall. Sounds like a fun day or two of work!--J

Ceiling with 11" joists.

Corner jog removed and 90 deg. framed in:

 

[jnarowe]

bigben: Pic of tank in my .gallery --J

 

[melev]

j-

Just use a prybar and pop them out one by one. Don't unscrew them. This is rough framing, and it doesn't matter. They'll pop out quickly, and having one every 12" is normal. I've gapped them even closer together when in doubt.

 

[keefsama2003]

Marc i have a question for you.
when you first filled your tank was the water cloudy for a few days after the salt was put in.? i mixed my salt and the sump/fuge took all night but they are starting to clear up some but the display is still couldy when viewing from the side. i was thinking about throwing carbon in a reactor and pump water thru that to see if that helps or should i just give it a few days/weeks. right now its filled of baserock and dead sand im just trying to get the salinity right. do you think i should mix the saltwater in an external bin? the reason i havent is because i have the water at the correct lvl for the tank i would have to drain water or shut off all the pumps to do it externally. i was thinking just mixing the water in my fuge while there is nothing in it.

anyone have any ideas and i asked mark because he has a nice 280g tank so he knows about filling large tanks. plus i think it would be good as i think 1000g will probably be the same as my 300.

 

[True Percula]

wow cant wait till its done!!

 

[melev]

Yes, it was cloudy.

But the next day, it looked like this:

The skimmer helped, as did the LR in the tank.

Two days later

Now, to answer your question. It would be better to mix the saltwater and add it to the tank. However, in your case if you have the tank and sump full of RO (or RO/DI) water, and the sand and baserock is in place, I'd just leave the system running and add the salt to the sump. It will mix as it flows through the system. There is nothing in the tank that can be stung. The trick is counting how much salt you are using. It is so easy to forget what you've added.

When I had to make 55g of saltwater, I needed about 26 cups of salt. Around cup 16, you begin to wonder if it is 16, 15, or 17...

Any salt that doesn't mix up in the sump can be stirred later. Just don't dump it all in at once, and make sure everything is circulating so it doesn't super saturate in one particular area.

 

[keefsama2003]

thanks marc i will have to buy more salt as the stuff i had was super concentrated liquid salt. says it makes 400 gallons. and i added a full bucket plus a little less than half a second bucket. i have about 430g total water volume atm and the water is cloudy just like in your pictures. just when im checking the salinity its around 1.012 i believe was the last reading could be lower im not sure. i have a few powerheads in my fuge stirring the salt as its still not really a fuge but an empty tank once i get the SG where it needs to be ill add my sand/livesand/cc to the tank as well as add a few lr pieces to the display. just dont remember it being like this when i setup my 90 but then again i have 2 90gal tanks and a 300 so its alot more salt/water. i will have to get a second heater the tank only heated about 2 degrees over night from 68 to 70 when i left this morning. ill check it again when i get home and see how its doing.

any other suggestions? i should look into


regarding the salt i have in there now. should i just give that a few days and test the SG again once the tank clears some to get a good reading on where the SG is or should i go out and get some powder mix and start adding that slowly? not too sure at this point the super concentrate stuff works real good for water changes i have been using it on a 100g fowlr for 3 months now and its great. i just put it in my tank last night about 430 - 5pm.

there is nothing to nuke in the tank but i dont want a SG of 31 either so im just trying to make sure i cover all grounds and figured this would be a good thread as i know trying to get 1000g of fresh water to the right SG may be even more perplexing than my pidly 430g

 

[jnarowe]

melev You may be right about just pryinig them out. I don't think I will reuse them because many are rusted and I want to use screws that won't rust. Any suggestions on paint for walls and ceiling?--J

PS. Nice pics!

 

[keefsama2003]

i got behr paint highgloss for bathrooms in white.

coats really good has a nice shine to it and when wet you can wipe it down with no problems. i tested a corner out and its great to clean real easy.

 

[jnarowe]

As far as getting the salinity right, most large tank owners fill with RO/DI and mix in salt as you are doing,, but remember that you are not just filling the tank, but the sump/refugium, pipes, hoses, skimmer, etc. It's a lot more water than you think!--J

 

[jnarowe]

keefsama2003: no disrespect intended, but that Behr paint is total crap. I have had some BAD experiences with it! Anyway, I will probably use marine top-coat paint in a gloss or semi-gloss, bt I am wondering about colors for walls vs. ceiling etc. White makes sense, but with all that light, the room will be tough to work in I would think.--J

 

[keefsama2003]

hmm now i know for next time but i made the whole room white including the floor

my sump/fuge are white

the stand is white

it will have to bounce the light back it is a little bright yes but its not too bad.

 

[jnarowe]

everything white? wow! very hardcore...I was thinking I might attached white plastic sheets (8 x 3) to the ceiling with hinges around the tank so that they drop down and reflect back any loose light, and when I need to wrok inside the tank, just raise them up and clip to ceiling.

Then I could make the room a less blinding color like grey. What do you think of that?

 

[melev]

It is a nice idea, J.

Keefsama, I know you don't want to read my 192 page thread, but if you'll read the first 14 days detailed on my site for the 280g, you'll get a good idea of how it was all put together.

I've never used a liquid salt concentrate, so I can't answer that. Just keep adding salt until the specific gravity is where you want it.

J- I've used Behr before without issue. Maybe it was in the application? Or you got a bad can? No idea.

 

[jnarowe]

Behr is just not that great when you have experience with really good paints. It does not bond well and it's utility is reflected in the price. For instance, their cement coating I purchased, after meticulous application, came off with just a little wear. Home Depot had a Behr rep. come and look at it. The rep. said it just doesn't hold up under anything but extremely light use and offered me a refund. I have used Behr around my home as well, and have not been satisfied. There are so many good paints that cost anywhere from 20-100% more that do a much better job.

Just doing some wiring today and screw removal. I cut through a live romex...that was fun! But, what other way to find the circuit when all else fails? LOL!! Only a couple thousand screws left.--J

 

[melev]

:eek2:

Did you mark that circuit? :lol:

 

[Hop]

You will find that little exercises such as this have nearly equal weight during the building process as coffee:rollface:

 

[xdusty6920]

lol man could you use my help right now. i work around 60hrs a week doing nothing but drywall, framing, sealing, skimming, and painting. with one person to help hold the boards in place i could demo and redrywall a room in one day fairly easily.
for your floors, if youve got the cash, id suggest a 2 part epoxy (one part paint,one part hardner). its alittle pricey but is abslutely perminent, water proof and super tough. its often used to refinish counter tops.

 

[jnarowe]

Yeah I marked the circuit. Looks like there is 35amps available in the room right now, so I probably don't need to bring in 100amps, but the cost is virtually the same with just a difference in wire size and a couple of breakers, so I am going to go ahead with the 100 anyway. The wall plug circuit is shared with the viewing room so playing it safe is probably a good idea.

HOP: Funny thing about electrical jolts, they daze you and clear your head at the same time. I love em!

xdusty6920: I could use some help. A buddy helped me remove all the sheet rock, but we both have brain injuries so our work rate, although feverish, is much slower than you would be. Epoxy is a good idea and I can get all kinds.--J

 

[Hop]

You got all those screws out yet?