Sinistard's 68.8 Acrylic Tank Journal [Photo Intense]

Well it's been awhile since my last update. I have not had a chance to do much since the last update. I am at kind of a stand still until my skimmer shows up. It should be done some time next week and then I will be able to finish the plumbing and put water in the system.

In the mean time I decided to make a lid for the sump to keep evaporation down in the basement. I made it out of thin plexi from Lowes and some weather striping. I still need to brace it with something, it dips in the middle and breaks the seal of the weather striping.

I'm not 100% sure the lid is a good idea but I have seen it done in another setup. Any ideas are welcome on this.

lid1.jpg


lid2.jpg


I also picked up some LR. I got a great deal on it from a local guy that was taking it out of his tank. The rock looks great, no nuisance algae, it has coralline growth and there are some nice shaped big pieces. I got around 80 lbs of LR and I have like 50 pounds of base rock to add to it.

For now I have it in my sump with a couple power heads and a heater. I'm going to add the base rock to get it going soon.

lr1.jpg


lr2.jpg


That's it for now, I'll post some pictures of my new GEO skimmer once it gets here next week.
 
To keep the lid from bowing you might screw in a 2x4 or some rigid PVC to the top, using plastic screws or bolts with wingnuts to avoid rust issues. Having it dip down in the center a little will help allow the moisture on the lid to collect at the center and drip back into the sump.

You just need some type of rigid brace going across it at a few points or maybe something sturdy going lengthwise across the center of the lid.
 
That is beyond belief. makes me feel better when I see someone who has this way worse than ME. Great job !!!!!!
 
Wow Sinistart, the basement setup really looks great! Very nice. Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about getting a perfect seal on the lid to the sump. It really will keep the evap way down even with the lid pulling off the tank slightly. You're probably talking about less than 5% of the evap that you'd get with it uncovered. So you'd be putting a lot of effort to take it from 5% to 1% - not worth the trouble in my lazy opinion :D


What is the tank for that is on the stand above the RO unit? Fuge or QT? What are your plans for a refugium?
Nice score on the LR! I have managed so far to get all of my LR from other peoples tanks and haven't had any bubble, hair or other problem algaes and no real bad hitchiker issues either. At the same time lots of good hitchikers, coraline, etc. Never even had a significant cycle with it. And I've been paying about $2.00 to $2.50 per lb for it so it is way less $$ than the LFS who sell for $6+ per lb. But I've had to be very patient to wait for good LR to become available locally. Have to pass on the problem LR with bubble algae etc. and just wait for some good stuff.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7087237#post7087237 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
To keep the lid from bowing you might screw in a 2x4 or some rigid PVC to the top, using plastic screws or bolts with wingnuts to avoid rust issues. Having it dip down in the center a little will help allow the moisture on the lid to collect at the center and drip back into the sump.

You just need some type of rigid brace going across it at a few points or maybe something sturdy going lengthwise across the center of the lid.
Click to expand...

I was going to use a couple of 2x4s going across the short length of the sump but was not sure how I was going to connect it. I will look at nylon bolts next time I am at the hardware store. I may use a couple pieces of the angle aluminum that I used insteed of wood.

For now I have a 1x6 with a bucket of salt sitting on it holding the plexi down:D

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7087429#post7087429 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mg426
That is beyond belief. makes me feel better when I see someone who has this way worse than ME. Great job !!!!!!
Click to expand...

Thanks.

I really do have the bug bad:cool:

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7087966#post7087966 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rdmpe
Wow Sinistart, the basement setup really looks great! Very nice. Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about getting a perfect seal on the lid to the sump. It really will keep the evap way down even with the lid pulling off the tank slightly. You're probably talking about less than 5% of the evap that you'd get with it uncovered. So you'd be putting a lot of effort to take it from 5% to 1% - not worth the trouble in my lazy opinion :D


What is the tank for that is on the stand above the RO unit? Fuge or QT? What are your plans for a refugium?
Nice score on the LR! I have managed so far to get all of my LR from other peoples tanks and haven't had any bubble, hair or other problem algaes and no real bad hitchiker issues either. At the same time lots of good hitchikers, coraline, etc. Never even had a significant cycle with it. And I've been paying about $2.00 to $2.50 per lb for it so it is way less $$ than the LFS who sell for $6+ per lb. But I've had to be very patient to wait for good LR to become available locally. Have to pass on the problem LR with bubble algae etc. and just wait for some good stuff.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

LOL I thought about taking the lazy way out but I think that it will get worse over time so I better do something about it now. It should be ab easy fix to slap a couple braces on the top.

The tank above the RO is my refugium. I am not 100% sure on what I am going to stick in it yet. I won a container of miracle mudd with the refugium and may end up sticking that in there along with some LR and Macro algae. I was thinking about a couple mangrove trees, not that they so all that much but I think they are cool. I have 120 watts of PC lighting to put over it with 6700k bulbs and I plan to have around 200-300 gph of flow though.

The LR looks great and I ended up paying around $2.50 a pound maybe less, it felt like more then 80 lbs when I was carrying it in. I took a closer look at it today and could not find any bubble or hair algae and I found a couple snails and hermits. I hope they all make it, they were out of the water for 30 min yesterday and then stuck in a batch of 2 day old salt water. I took out some of what I found and put them in my nano.
 
I forgot, are you running a chiller?

an extra lid on the sump will decrease evap, but will make things a bit warmer. Given a good ATO system, you won't need to worry about evap, unless this is the moisture / condensation / humidity problem you're trying to address.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7095449#post7095449 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by koden
I forgot, are you running a chiller?

an extra lid on the sump will decrease evap, but will make things a bit warmer. Given a good ATO system, you won't need to worry about evap, unless this is the moisture / condensation / humidity problem you're trying to address.
Click to expand...

No chiller, and I hope that I will not need one.

With the volume of water and relatively low number of items adding heat I hope that a chiller will not be needed. I will probably not know for sure until this summer or once I get the lights going.

The lid is more to keep humidity down in the basement.
 
I found an anemone on the LR in my sump today, It must have moved up from inside or under the rock trying to get some light.

Here is a picture of it, do you think its a pest or is it something I should try to save. It's around the size of a quarter. It may be a bleached majano anemone.

anemone1.jpg


If it is worth saving how would I go about getting it off the rock?

Thanks
 
A quick dip in seltzer water, or some poured over it should make it let go. That is only if you are not concerned with the health of the anemonie. If you want to save it, but get it off your rock, some ice will work. Rub it along the edge of the foot. Once it starts to lift off, you can just slowly peel it away.

Good luck.
 
Wow, slow down! No dips in "seltzer water" or "ice" removal just yet. There's plenty of time to kill it if it turns out to be a pest, but I suspect that it's Entacmaea quadricolor or a bubble-tip anemone. If you can't move the entire rock to the display aquarium, then GENTLY remove the anemone using a small hammer and chisel so that you remove part of the rock with it. Place it under light in the display aquarium and feed it some frozen meaty seafood. Take some more pictures in a week or so and we'll be able to say what it is with certainty.

Greg
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7114811#post7114811 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GSchiemer
Wow, slow down! No dips in "seltzer water" or "ice" removal just yet. There's plenty of time to kill it if it turns out to be a pest, but I suspect that it's Entacmaea quadricolor or a bubble-tip anemone. If you can't move the entire rock to the display aquarium, then GENTLY remove the anemone using a small hammer and chisel so that you remove part of the rock with it. Place it under light in the display aquarium and feed it some frozen meaty seafood. Take some more pictures in a week or so and we'll be able to say what it is with certainty.

Greg
Click to expand...


Thanks, I was kind of wondering if it was a bulb-tip but I have no real knowlege of anemones so I would just be guessing plus it is very bleached so it will probably be tough to tell. I'll try to get it off and stick it in my Nano to see if it will perk up so I can get better picture.

The rock that it is on is way to big to stick in my Nano, the only tank I have running right now, so I will have to try to remove it. I will try to chip off some rock but it is in a flat area with no real small sections that will break off. I tried flow from a power head to make it let go of the rock but it did not work.

Thanks again.
 
Just get a flat-blade screwdriver and hammer and "chisel" it off the rock working around the perimeter. You'll be scraping it off the rock and taking a small piece of the rock with it.

Greg
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7113557#post7113557 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sinistard
I found an anemone on the LR in my sump today, It must have moved up from inside or under the rock trying to get some light.

Here is a picture of it, do you think its a pest or is it something I should try to save. It's around the size of a quarter. It may be a bleached majano anemone.

If it is worth saving how would I go about getting it off the rock?

Thanks
Click to expand...

I have never seen a Majano bigger than a nickle but it really looks like a BTA to me!

BTW I love your setup!
 
Sinistard - mangroves would be cool in your fuge. I have four in my fuge, but it is under my stand, so I can't let the Mangroves get very big. Right now I have fans mounted above them, blowing down on the fuge to help keep my tank cool. So if the mangroves get too big, their leaves start to get into the fans... They are doing really well - I like them personally...
 
I agree with Greg. Let's find out what it is before making judgement. Innocent until <i>proven</i> guilty. ;)
 
Thanks tp5056



I took a hammer and screwdriver to the rock and managed to get the anemone off. The anemone let go of the rock as the rock was breaking off but it looks no worse off then it did.

I stuck it in my nano in a hang on box. It looks pretty bad, very bleached almost clear in places. I tried to feed it a bit of mysis but it did not eat it, I'll try again later today.

It may be a small bulb tip but its hard to tell, i'll get a picture if it starts to look better.
 
I picked up my GEO skimmer today, It's huge :eek1:

I will post pictures tonight after I get home.


I got the anemone that I found on my new LR to eat some food, it looks a bit better but it's still bleached. I'll try to get a better picture tonight to try to get a positive ID. There is still a chance it's a Majano. I hope its a BTA but we will see.
 
My new toy, they can't be to big right :D

geo1.jpg


It looks awsome, great craftsmanship. I can't wait to get it up and running. It will probably be next week.
 
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