Re-Doing 4YR 55 Gallon (BEWARE PICS)

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Hey Guys and Gals,

Recently I had more time for my favorite hobby, so ive been doing small projects around the reef. I started with New plumbing, New 10 gallon Refugium and started buying things like more sand. Well since i have finished all the smaller projects I am moving onto the display.

Today I began breaking it down. I drained 60% of display water into a RubberMaid trashcan and began taking all my live rock out and placing it in there. I have 2 MJ1200s circulating the water to get excess algea and sand off of it. Its alot of flow i know :shock: . While i was breaking it down some of the rocks tumbled over making an unusual Valley. It looks cool and im going to empliment it in my new aquascaping 8) . GOOD news is i finally caught that darn damsel! lol. I moved my Maroon Clown pair to the Refugium for now and opened the sump loop to it. Thank god for PVC plumbing, makes everything so much better. OK, I know I cant talk unless i have pictures so im gonna try and post them. Not bad for a 17 year old? Pictures say it all! Sorry for bad quality BTW.

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Travis
 
Just thought id share those pics, BUT I forgot to ask the questions!


What would be the best way to clean the glass while the water level is low?

The sand im adding was rinsed in a 20 gal trashcan with tap water. Its still in there and there was some tapwater i was not able to drain. How should i go about putting this in the tank?

I plan on putting a solid blue background on the rear glass. Any opnions on backgrounds?

I am going to use PVC to support the new aquascaping. Anybody know a place where i can see some pics or a guide to get ideas about this?

Thats all for now... lol Im sure ill come up with more as i go.
 
Hey Travis...

I have used a algae scrapper on the glass without water in tank, but it is easier if you can keep it wet. Get a squirt bottle and use some of your tank water to squirt on the glass to make scrubbing a little easier.

A dark blue or even black backing will work well.

How much tap water do you have left in the sand? If it is not very much, you can just use some tap water conditioner to remove any chlorine and you should be fine.

Not sure about the PVC support...maybe someone else will chime in on that.

Good luck and have fun.
 
Thanks for the info. Theres probly a good 2-5 gallons left in the Trashcan I will use the conditioner tomorrow and then put some fresh RO in there to see if that helps any. On another note, i was cleaning out the equipment cabinet not to long ago and Discovered a crack in my calcium reactor... Must have been recent because there is very little salt creep. My heater was also set to 73 degrees :shock: . Tomorrow should be a interesting day, more pics to come soon. Thanks agian. Ive been looking for someone to talk to all night... lol. Oh, Im also taking on replumbing the bathroom sink tomorrow and was wondering how to plumb a Kent Marine Maxxima Hi-S ro unit into the sink? If anyone knows of a diagram or a guide plz comment.

Thanks
Travis
 
If you have access to rigid copper under the sink, you can use a saddle-piercing valve to get cold water for the unit. You'll also need a saddle-drain to plumb the unit's waste line to your drain pipe.

If this isn't an option, you can use a faucet diverter, screwed onto the faucet where the aerator was. Then you press a button to start making RO water when necessary. The drain line would go in the drain of the sink.

For PVC support, you can get some 3" PVC, and cut it in 3 or 4" pieces. They would be pillars you'll press down into the sand, and stack your rock upon these pillars. The idea is to hide them from view, but if something burrows in the sand, the rockwork cannot shift and collapse.
 
In my opinion, the next upgrade you do down the road should be the skimmer. You'll see quite an improvement over the one you've got. Keep an eye out for a good used one. Good luck!
 
Ive been needing a new skimmer for 3 years :lol: . I recently lost my job though and hate asking the parents for money. I wouldnt mine paying 200 for an ASM though. My problem is just cash flow :sad: . So anyways, are there any safe scrub pads i can use to scrub down the inside of the tank? Is it ok if i Re scape the live rock with little amounts of water in the tank, I know its going to be hella cloudy in there after i add the sand so it would be hard to do.

Thanks
Travis
 
You can scrub the glass clean with a plastic credit card and not scratch or abraise (if that is a word) the tank.

Why do you feel the rock needs scrubbing? What does it look like now? In the DIY forum, there is a thread "stickied" at the top with helpful links, including how to "cook" liverock to remove built-up detritus and kill of hair algae. Be sure to read it, as it is a slower process <u>and does not involve using the stove</u>!. :lol:
 
The rock is fine, its just the glass has built up hard algea deposits and i wanted to scrub it down and get it as clean as i could. I took the damsel up to boutique petshop a little while ago. Im sure hes happy floating around in his bag lol. I also got my blue background. Its all coming together Nicely, except cleaning the rear outter part of the glass (there not much room to get back there.. Im scooping some of the old sand out as it is pretty gross in there, i mean common this stuff is 4 years old lol. Ill finish draining the tank here in a little while. My mom wants me to have it back up and have the water clearing out because she is hosting a last minute christmas party :sad: . Was hopeing id have more time to work on it while it was all taken apart. Ill post some pics as i go. Im afraid i wont have time to do the PVC supports so ill be glueing the rock in places that needs it.

Travis
 
So a small update.

Everything is out and new sand is in
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Got the rocks in, Im still partial on the aquascaping. We will see what it looks like when its all cleared up and full. AND, thats not algea on the right panel, its the rooms' wall on the outside lol
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Cloudy, But gettin there. Im sure it will be 80% Visable by the morning, Until i blow off the rocks.. To the far right is the "Valley" that goes all the way back and curves towards the left side of the tank. In the center is 2 small caves and to the far left is an arch. None of the main rock structure touches the back. Flow is provided by 2 MJ1200s in the 2 rear corners.
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I found life already! Its a baby snail. Amazing what comes out after a cleaning like this.
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I trashed maybe 15-20 gallons of old water and brought in some new RO Salt, Its a pretty big water change but i thought it needed to be done and doing It made the tank alot clearer. It should look alot better with new fish and softies and about 100 dollars into a cleanup crew. Later this week im going to buy new bulbs. Im not sure how long im going to wait till I re-introduce the clowns back in there. Im sure they will be happy with all the new caves and tunnelings. Please leave feedback on the scaping and let me know what you think. Does it look like an improvment? Well, ill post more pics tomorrow.

Travis
 
I think the aquascaping looks really good now, and the water isn't even clear yet.
 
Thanks for the kind words guys! More pics to come. My camera isnt to good at macro and is weird with focus... lol

Thanks agian
Travis
 
looks good, its nice to see other young reefers like me 8) I can never get my aquascaping right. Is your tank 3' long rather than 4? Thats the case with my 58 and with my old 55 "tub" I'm just curios....
 
Yeap, its a 55 tub 3ft long. I like Wide tanks for reefing.. I just went in there to check on the tank. Water is pretty clear just a little cloud left to it. The rocks are covered in dust though :roll: . Tomorrow ,if i get spare time, im pulling my calcium reactor out to see if i can find the leak. Maybe Marc can chime in with his acrylic expertise and give me a few pointers on how to locate and fix it *Crosses fingers*. Jorge over at ReefTek said he would take it and fix it for free, but i dont trust the holiday shipping! BTW ragged, can i ask how old you are, it is cool to see other young reefers 8) .

Travis
 
No problem, I'm nearly 16 sophmore. Heres a shot of my tank, I started reefing about the same yer you did my tanks been running 2 years! Heres an old pic, I can't find my memory card to take new ones and I'll be upgrading soon to a 92 corner (moderators kwl's old one!)

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I like it! Ive been wanting a corner tank with a flat front viewing panel for a long time. Post pics of your current setup and new one ASAP! haha. ill be sure to post one early in the morning. Im tempted to go take one right now but i guess i should give it a break :lol: . Anyways like the open aquascaping in that tank, great corraline growth too!

Travis
 
Just found the oldest pics i could of the tank... Dates back to Jan. 10 2004. Close to its 1st year of running

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The amazing colt i lost when my temp probe came out of the tank and caused the heater to stick on till 94 degrees :sad: .

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The clown in the pic i still have... Ive actually owned her and her mate for over 4 1/2 to 5 years (Way back when i had a 29gal). Anyways hope yall enjoy the old memories :D

Travis
 
Well, Give me just a second and I can give you most of the crappy aquascapes i went with and I did move two rocks the other day after one fell, I will take a pic tonight just so you can see it so hold on I'll use my sis's camera...
 
If you start posting pics your gonna get me in there shooting away... :lol:
 
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