fjdog Posted October 17, 2007 Share Posted October 17, 2007 Hello, I tried to post a couple of days ago, but perhaps I am too much of a newbie that that isn't even working for me. So if you find a very similar post to this one, please ignore. I would like to welcome myself to the club forum. I have been in lurk mode for a while as I have been building a stand and preparing a 65 gal tank for arrival into the home. I have been out of the hobby for about 10 years, but am excited to get back into it and kick it up a notch. So here's what I have going (and planned): 65 gallon megaflow tank, diy custom built cherry/mdf stand with cabinet to hold a diy custom built plexi sump, Octopus nw 150 skimmer, diy retrofit t5 lighting from hellolights, genx 2400 main pump with powerheads in tank for extra circulation. Right now the tank is empty as I am trying to sound proof the cabinet some more and replumb for the "Herbie" overflow silencer. Anyway, enough with all the equipment talk. I can hardly wait to get some fish in there since I have been chipping away at this since last winter. I still need to finish the plumbing, get some live rock let it stew for a little bit then add some fish. I would like to thank Jason at CRPC for some good advice and supplies. I was sad to see advanced aquarium go out of business, but at least I was able to enjoy going in that shop while it was open. Hope to see some of you at an upcomming meeting. I will probably miss the next one and try to finish up getting the system back up and running. Roland Salem, OR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecheese Posted October 17, 2007 Share Posted October 17, 2007 Welcome , and looking forward to meeting you at one of the next meetings, possibly teh December Xmas Party. Sounds like you did some sound planning.Very exciting! Post some pics , people love pics of about almost anything! Cheers(welcome) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted October 17, 2007 Share Posted October 17, 2007 Welcome. Always glad to meet a new member. Your story sounds really familliar... like it is my own story. There are a lot of us "recycled reefers" in this group. You will fit right in. I hope to meet you at a future meeting. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted October 17, 2007 Share Posted October 17, 2007 Welcome to the site and good luck with your tank build, don't be shy and ask all the questions you like, there are no stupid questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAVES Posted October 17, 2007 Share Posted October 17, 2007 Welcome to the obsession Roland, let me know if there is anything I can do to help get things underway for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePremiumAquarium Posted October 17, 2007 Share Posted October 17, 2007 Welcome and glad to see another reefer on the board in Salem. If there is anything you need help with let us know. These guys are great!. Look forward to seeing some pictures soon. Keep us posted. Garrett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
180Brandy Posted October 17, 2007 Share Posted October 17, 2007 (welcome)(To)(P)(N)(W)(M)(A)(S)!!! yes keep us posted on your build!!! Pictures are a added bonus!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 Welcome to the PNWMAS. It is good to see some reefers from the Salem area. Please try to make some of our meetings. The October meeting is this weekend in Vancouver. We will be discussing the raising of Clownfish fry. One of our members has been raising clownfish successfully and has a nice system to share with us. You will find the information at http://www.pnwmas.org. The November meeting will be a fraging demonstration, and December is the annual Christmas Party. We hope to see you there. Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCR Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 Another new Toad. Welcome:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 Welcome to the club. Enjoy your new system. Are you going to have a Deep Sand Bed in your tank? What type of fish and corals are thinking you might have? Sounds like you have a good enough knowlage of saltwater tanks to get you down the road a bit but if you have any questions do post them and someone will come along and help you. Feel free to message me if you see that I am here. Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjdog Posted October 19, 2007 Author Share Posted October 19, 2007 I am not 100% sure on what fish I will have in there. I am fond of small colorful ones with not-too pugnacious attitudes. Some ones on the radar screen are clowns, royal gramma, 6 line wrasse. I also find the lawnmower blennies quite entertaining. Basically I'm just looking for a good blend of species that will not eat one another. As for other things, I like zoo corals, star polyps and other encrusting species. Although I think they are beautiful, I do not think I have enough wattage going into the tank to support sps corals. I was set up with 80 lbs of sand for the 3'x1.5' floor of the aquarium. I do not think this will add up to a deep sandbed, probably will be about 1-2". I am hoping to keep this stirred with some serpent stars or other sand-sifting organisms and occasional manual intervention. I am hoping to get some time in to work on plumbing this weekend. Perhaps I will drag out the camera and post some pics of my empty aquarium!! Thanks for the words of encouragement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewie Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 Welcome to the site! It sounds like you have been researching alot. You may want to reconsider the 6-line wrasse, as they can become quite territorial amongst other wrasses. As long as you don't plan on adding and other wrasses you should be ok though. Just try to add him last. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronjunior Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 I'm sure there are more than one of us that can spare some green star polyps when you are ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjdog Posted October 29, 2007 Author Share Posted October 29, 2007 I have not made that much progress since the last post. Just some plumbing finished. You can at least see the DIY stand and Acrylic sump. More pictures will follow as progress is made. BTW I read some more on the 6 line wrasse. It is funny how some sources differ from others in terms of how these fish (and others) are viewed. Thanks for the heads up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undrtkr_00 Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 Looks like you did a really nice job on your stand. You are serious about keeping this thing quiet, aren't you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAVES Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Looks like you did a really nice job on your stand. You are serious about keeping this thing quiet' date=' aren't you?[/quote'] Man I spent like 20 hours soundproofing my stand but MAN what a difference! I used closed cell foam and MLV (mass loaded vinyl) which is what it looks like was used here. Looks like Dyno mat I think ya? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjdog Posted October 31, 2007 Author Share Posted October 31, 2007 Thanks for the compliments on the stand. It was a fun project that took waaaay too long! If I was to do it over, the only thing I would have changed would be to resaw my own veneer instead of the very thin veneer they sell at woodcrafters (that is easily sanded through...OOPS!). It is probably way over engineered, but I figured better safe than sorry (there are even adjustable height adjusting feet built in underneath). I think the hood will be quite nice looking. I saved a highly figured piece for the front. With the t5's I only had to make it about 4" tall total. It's not quite done yet, but I figured I can save it for last. As for the soundproofing, it is mostly heavy duty indoor-outdoor carpeting with a thick rubber/vinyl backing (didn't want to spend the money on dynamat). The bottom has a closed-cell camping mat. There's not much room in that cabinet, so I did not line the entire thing with camping mat. I can already tell it's going to be WAY quieter - when you stick your head in there you no longer hear the echo/reverb of the bare MDF surface. The sump was also re-designed from a glass 20 gal tank to an all-enclosed plexi with closed-cell foam strategically sealed under the pumps. With the new sump, hopefully the sound will be reduced and all of my micro-bubbles will be cured with the baffling. Pretty soon I'll fill the tank, test for leaks in the plumbing and see how it does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 Hello and welcome!!! It looks great! PS I agree with Chewie. The 6line is a pugnacious bugger. I wouldn't do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spectra Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 Welcome to the board! It looks like you are getting a good start anymore updates? And also 80 lbs of sand will give you a good 4 inchs I think maybe more. I used 80 lbs I think in my 90 and it is 3 by 2 so you have a little less room. Keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjdog Posted November 14, 2007 Author Share Posted November 14, 2007 Everything is going pretty well with the tank except for the humming noise of the pumps. See my posts under the "soundproofing stand" thread in general discussion. Here are some new photos. I picked some wicked cool branch live rock at crpc. Although my wallet is a bit lighter, I am very happy with the results. I cleaned them out of all of their branch stuff, but would like to add about 10# more or so. He said he will be on the lookout. Oh, also, I added another 45# of aragonite, cause it still looked a little light. Now it is about 3.5-5.5 deep in different spots. Now we need some fish and some critters to paw around in that sand. Here are some new pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael7979 Posted November 14, 2007 Share Posted November 14, 2007 Where did you get the LR from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
180Brandy Posted November 14, 2007 Share Posted November 14, 2007 Tank is looking good!!! You could get a lawnmower blenny they are awesome!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjdog Posted November 16, 2007 Author Share Posted November 16, 2007 Where did you get the LR from? Got the live rock from Coral Reef Pet Center in Salem. It appears to be sprouting some hair algae in the week that I have had it in my tank though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjdog Posted November 20, 2007 Author Share Posted November 20, 2007 Update I added some livestock to the tank on friday. First, I got a dozen turbo snails, six blue legged hermit crabs and a "Giant turbo," which I cannot find any info on. The inverts are doing a great job on the algae and debris on the live rock. For fish, I added a royal gramma and two yellowtail blue damsels. The gramma was out the first day a little bit, ate some flake food and dissappeared into the live rock has not been seen since. The damsels acclimated great and seem to be doing well. Apparently, there is a lot of differing opinions on yellowtail blue damsels. Both reference books I have say they are fairly mild mannered, but reading some forums, some people have had really bad experiences with bullying. I have not seen any evidence of bullying behavior from the damsels so far. As for the gramma, it was not found on the floor around the tank, and it has not been captured in the overflow, so hopefully it will resurface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 Grammas are good at hidding, I had one with YT blue damsel and he did nothing but beat on it till it eventually died from starvation. YT blue damsels are no fun, they can be nice if you have other damsels, till they see something that they dont like then they are just simply EVIL. I would never get one again unless the other fish where larger and meaner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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