OK, where the heck was I?

[Ocicat]

I've returned from a long vacation and am really feeling a need to do something about the empty tank in my living room. The wallet still hurts from 3 weeks overseas, but that's why we love credit. If I get myself moving again, maybe I'll finish this damn thing before the 1-year anniversary of my tank purchase in October.

To run down my status (as much for my own benefit as anything):

I have:
180-gallon AGA MegaFlow tank
Stand w/canopy
ASM G3 skimmer
Iwaki MD100RLT return pump
Typhoon III RO/DI unit

I need:
Sump tank (in the interest of time, probably a Rubbermaid)
Stand/platform for sump tank?
Plumbing for sump tank
Water mixing/storage barrels
Some kind of flow
Heaters
The big one - Lights

Looming tasks
1) Figure out the necessary plumbing parts; cut through the wall & down to the basement; hook up the plumbing and make it actually work.
2) Less scary but still fairly unknown - Get the Ro/DI hooked up to a water line in the basement & producing water into a storage barrel w/auto-top-off.

Right now I am thinking I will focus on getting the Rubbermaid tub & something to put it on (or just put it on the basement floor?), the plumbing, and a pair of Brute cans for water storage. Once I can actually put water into the system, I can start thinking of sand and rock. At that time I figure I will need some kind of flow, for better curing the LR. Heaters are fairly easy, so I'll get those around then also. Lights I may put off to last, since it's my understanding that they aren't necessary for cycling the tank... and I haven't decided for sure on what I want. (Well, I know what I want.)

Any advice is appreciated - I haven't been able to think about this for several weeks and feel like I've forgotten much of what I had figured out. Tonight I'll try to find a 100-gal Rubbermaid tub to use for a sump - will they have them at any farm supply store?

Will I have a problem with bubbles if the water is falling 12' into a Rubbermaid and then is just pumped right back up? I wanted a nice compartmentalized acrylic sump with a bubble tower and a refugium, like the ones Melev makes, but that's extra time and cost.

 

[Ocicat]

Actually I have no clue of where to find a farm supply store... I did a Google search and didn't come up with anything. Any suggestions for where to get a Rubbermaid stock tank?

 

[Amy83820]

There is a farm supply store in Lake St. Louis on Highway N just west of hwy 40. I forget the name, but it's super easy to find.

 

[Arsenal11]

el mels right by you 94 & 5th street i think.

 

[scbadiver]

I think there is a place called "Charlies" on the outer service rd of hwy 70 out toward montgomery city that carries stock tanks too.

 

[beapeams]

I hear there is a place called farm king somewhere around.

 

[marino420td]

I have a 150 gallon rubbermaid stock tank for sale that has your name written all over it. Only problem it is in Cape Girardeau. I'll make you a deal if you are interested in it.

 

[Ocicat]

marino, I'm definitely interested, although I don't think it's worth it to me to make a trip to Cape.

Another question - Will I need to replace the bulkhead that comes with a stock tank?

 

[marino420td]

I have checked this quite a bit and almost everyone says to replace that stock bulkhead. It is just not made of very strong material and seems to leak on everyone. I just replaced mine but haven't put water in the system yet.

As far as driving to Cape, I also have a 400 watt MH setup and a large DIY skimmer for sale. I'll give you a deal on the whole package if you are interested.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=866996

Let me know.

 

[Ocicat]

Well, I have a skimmer and will probably go with 3 x 250 MH.

I went to El-Mel today and realized that even the 100-gal won't fit in my car. :-\ I'm hoping that next weekend I can rope a friend with a truck into carting one home for me.

At present we've bought some flex tubing, and my husband and I are working on navigating a hole through our wall and into the basement. So far, so good... :-o

 

[Arsenal11]

ocicat, ill be at the mills on sat for street soccer & that 100 will fit in my f350, lmk if you need me to meet you there(el-mels) & drop off at your house.

 

[Ocicat]

Arsenal, thank you so much for the offer. El-Mel closed at 4 yesterday anyhow. (So I have an excuse to not kick myself for not seeing your post until now.)

Edit: Or do you mean next Saturday?

P.S. What is street soccer?

 

[Ocicat]

Could I use a glass tank for my sump and, rather than try to drill it, just run PVC over the top of the tank and back down to my external return pump?

 

[Ocicat]

Hooray for El-Mel - for $10 one of their employees is delivering my 100-gal Rubbermaid tank on his way home from work this evening.

Now I will need to figure out the return plumbing - I think I need to tee off my return line and recycle some water back through the sump (eventually through a refugium), because my return pump is too powerful. :-\