# another noob to drive everyone nuts



## College Geezer (Jul 6, 2013)

Hey Everyone, I posted my goods in the welcome forum but figured this might be the better place. Anyway I'm new here and new to the hobby. I've spent about the last 5 months building my setup, waiting for the day I can finally add water..I'm still not sure if will ever get here, but I will say, its been a fun build so far, albeit a lot more expensive than I quoted the wife originally, but fun. 

I'm in the hamilton/ancaster area if that means anything to anyone. Pretty much my entire setup is DIY, so thats been a help in keeping costs down. I just this evening build my acrylic overflow box after weeks of waiting and stalling...Now I just need to get my RODI and do some plumbing and i might just be ready to add water.....I know!!

Here is what I've done so far to the best of my recollection....
TANK
90g Marineland drilled by yours truly for a herbie style drain
SUMP
30g DIY sump fuge bubble magus skimmer, 20ish lbs key largo scraps
STAND
mostly 2x6 wrapped and stained. with large removable face to access sump. Canopy is 2x2 wrapped and stained entire front panel is removable to access lights and fish etc... both panels and help in place by magnets. 
LIGHTS
Still cant remember the brand name but they are the $300 LED from ORG Ive got 2 and they seem ok but what do I know?

Other than that, I've got a couple random Korlea (sp?) powerheads and about 75lbs of key largo dry rock in the tank. 

Comments, suggestions? 

Cheers everyone!


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## george (Apr 11, 2009)

Based on your tank rock formation, with the rock so close to the glass you will have problems with the flow therefore algae. Leave some space for the water flow.


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## Torx (Jun 16, 2013)

Nice looking diy. My personal favorite thing is diy setups. What is the height of the first baffle in your sump on the left. It could just be the picture, but looks high for the skimmer requirements. 

Sent from my SGH-T989D using Tapatalk 4


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*tank set up*

Welcome to the forum look forward to following your build...
Your tank build u s similar to mine...
We don't mind helping the noobs...just make sure u give us
All the info so we can help u get thru your issues....
Most important u have understand we all have had ups and downs so when u ask qustions 
Follow the paths and info that is given to u.....
Good luck and can't wait to see more
Cheers
Tom


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## College Geezer (Jul 6, 2013)

When you say my rocks are too close to the glass, how much space should I have around them?


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## rburns24 (Jan 31, 2011)

I use 2" as a minimum. That way you clean the glass and you have some area open for flow.


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*rocks*

I believe he means enough from for u to be able to slide your 
Hands down to clean the glass...
Like he said u will find the algae will start to build up and 
U won't be able to acess it .and most likely will tick u off...
Cheers


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

Looks nice! IMHO you may want to put a bit more rock in. Maybe use sine epoxy and build a tower or island or something? Look on ReefCentral etc. for ideas. Start with chingchai's epic tank from Thailand or nineball's from Oakville.

But yeah, anywhere that the rock is right up against the glass, you won't be able to keep the glass clean. 

Looking forward to where this goes. Looks like here is a noob that has the patience to learn and do it right...

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Welcome to the site! Good start! I'll disagree with 50 - I like the minimal rockwork - it gives you more space for corals and such to grow into. Besides, the tank space is for coral and fish - not a collection of rocks 

One suggestion is that I'd use egg crate or something to keep that rock rubble off the bottom of the sump. That rock rubble will catch all kinds of debris and keep it polluting your system.

Good to see you're taking it slow  I'm sure you'll have lots of fun and great success with a start like this.


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## Flexin5 (Nov 12, 2011)

off to a great start! looks nice


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## College Geezer (Jul 6, 2013)

ameekplec. said:


> Welcome to the site! Good start! I'll disagree with 50 - I like the minimal rockwork - it gives you more space for corals and such to grow into. Besides, the tank space is for coral and fish - not a collection of rocks
> 
> One suggestion is that I'd use egg crate or something to keep that rock rubble off the bottom of the sump. That rock rubble will catch all kinds of debris and keep it polluting your system.
> 
> Good to see you're taking it slow  I'm sure you'll have lots of fun and great success with a start like this.


Thanks for the tip. I've got egg crate under the rock in the display talk but didn't think to add it in the sump. I was going to add about more rock to the display but I'm not 100% on that right yet. I will try to give myself a bit more space behind but on the right side in not to fussy about alge because it is hidden by the wall. I'll take some overhead shots of the rock in a bit

Thanks everyone


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## sooley19 (Jan 7, 2009)

I am not a pro by any means and the guys on this site have a lot more experience than i do.. it is always great to have that helping hand with any situations that you may have.. i have asked multiple questions on here and some people may give you some advice that won't necessarily sit well with what you are looking for but it is something that most of us should realize as it is help.. One thing that i was told and have realized is that FLOW is the best thing for a tank.. With that you won't have "dead spots" and won't get your neiusance algae growing and will be able to keep everything looking amazing and clear.. I am definately going to follow this and see where it goes.. good luck buddy.. and just remember one thing, we were all a noob at one point and always looking for that helping advice so use the sites frequently and everything will turn out great


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## explor3r (Mar 14, 2010)

Welcome to the forum and I do like minimal rockwork as well, simple is nice plus it gives more room for corals to grow and fish to swim.
I would try to reorganize and make a more interesting structure with the rock I know you can remember caves are great for fish


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## College Geezer (Jul 6, 2013)

explor3r said:


> Welcome to the forum and I do like minimal rockwork as well, simple is nice plus it gives more room for corals to grow and fish to swim.
> I would try to reorganize and make a more interesting structure with the rock I know you can remember caves are great for fish


I remember trying to aquascape with this rock when i set it up the way it is now. I had a hell of a time trying to get it to look half decent. I guess thats the noob in me but I don't really know how to rearrange it to get what I would consider a better result. I was hoping to spend a little time on it this evening but ended up running a little late with work. I will try and play with it a bit tomorrow and see what happens. Now that I have a place to post the results...

anyway thanks everyone for the remarks. They are all appreciated.

-john


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## Dax (Sep 29, 2010)

If you think you had a hard time aquascaping with no water wait till you have a full tank  You can always drill holes in the rock and use plastic dowels to stack them or even zip ties to hold them together. Now is the best time to do it.


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

Dax said:


> If you think you had a hard time aquascaping with no water wait till you have a full tank  You can always drill holes in the rock and use plastic dowels to stack them or even zip ties to hold them together. Now is the best time to do it.


+1

text text... message to short (can we change this? )


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## Bayinaung (Feb 24, 2012)

rburns24 said:


> I use 2" as a minimum. That way you clean the glass and you have some area open for flow.





tom g said:


> I believe he means enough from for u to be able to slide your
> Hands down to clean the glass...
> Like he said u will find the algae will start to build up and
> U won't be able to acess it .and most likely will tick u off...
> Cheers


++ to both of you. I didn't want a huge tank. I liked the dimensions of a 30 gallon long. aesthetically pleasing, makes a small tank look big - 36"x12x16. Stacked a 35 gallon at the bottom as a sump, thought it was perfect.
Scale is everything. I'm cycling it right now, but but but... like robert and tom says... you need that room to scrape algae and stuff that might grow on glass. or reach around without disturbing the rockscape. So I really needed to add at least 4 inches to the width of the tank to give it room for the hand and scraper.

So what I want is a 36"x16"16" which doesn't exist. The 40G breeder is closer to this dimension, but its proportions doesn't work for my aesthetics. So now I am rethinking my new setup alltogether... LOLOL.

Which is a long-winded way to say, yeah sage advice from these two yodas.


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## advanced reef aquatics (Apr 20, 2009)

Check the height of your glued down baffles beside your skimmer, they look rather tall, i dont know operating level of skimmer, but check that first and make sure water level is the right one. easier to fix now if required than later with water running through it. other than that everything seems fine, happy reefing!


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## College Geezer (Jul 6, 2013)

advanced reef aquatics said:


> Check the height of your glued down baffles beside your skimmer, they look rather tall, i dont know operating level of skimmer, but check that first and make sure water level is the right one. easier to fix now if required than later with water running through it. other than that everything seems fine, happy reefing!


Manufacturer recommends 8-11" I have 10". It does look deep, but I double checked...

I just picked up some plumbing parts today, and will hopefully get the rest tomorrow and put up some pictures of that.

It's getting closer to being filled now, can't wait!!!


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## advanced reef aquatics (Apr 20, 2009)

Cool, seems as if you have it under control,


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## College Geezer (Jul 6, 2013)

Ok, so I have finally found some time between work and everything else to get my plumbing "roughed in" and wanted to get some opinions before I cement it all in place. The only change I have planned at this point is to add a union at each drain and each return line right before they go into the display tank. This way, I figure I can remove the plumbing for any serious issues. For maintenance, I have unions at both the gate valve as well as the check valve.

Have a look and let me know your thoughts. Also please bear in mind that the pipes are just loose in place and not neat and secure.

My next and really my final task before I add water is an RODI. Can any of you experienced folk chime in as to what type and if i could get away with a treated tap water for the initial fill......(don't flame me, I had to ask!)

I figure once I get the tank filled and cycling, I can at that time run my dedicated electrical circuit and finish my auto top off system which I am planning on running up from the basement underneath....ambitious, I know...but that's another day!!!

Anyway, what do you think about where I am at so far...

-John


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## Flexin5 (Nov 12, 2011)

College Geezer said:


> Ok, so I have finally found some time between work and everything else to get my plumbing "roughed in" and wanted to get some opinions before I cement it all in place. The only change I have planned at this point is to add a union at each drain and each return line right before they go into the display tank. This way, I figure I can remove the plumbing for any serious issues. For maintenance, I have unions at both the gate valve as well as the check valve.
> 
> Have a look and let me know your thoughts. Also please bear in mind that the pipes are just loose in place and not neat and secure.
> 
> ...


coming along nicely. i'm no expert on plumbing, but i would add two ball valves on your return pipe. this way when the tank is filled and stocked, you can adjust the amout of return between the two.

as for filling the tank, i would use RO/DI water. a new tank is prone to a algae outbreak so you want to do as much as you can to limit that outbreak; and using tap water won't help anything.


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