Blog Comments

Thanks for the tip Melev! Cyano, it really is a beauty. It's getting WAY too big for the spot it's in in the 120 tank. I don't have the heart to frag it out

The only issue I'm noticing with your images is that you have redundant IMG tags. If you are pasting images from Photobucket that have the IMG tags, then paste that code into your message as is. You don't need to click the Photo button; the Photo button adds IMG tags to the filename, but you don't need that.

That system should work, if you can get a good seal on the cap. You want it to stay primed at all times, so that if there is a power failure and later resumes, all works as it should.

We want pictures of the sump & pump in the stand. Maybe there are plumbing fittings you haven't tried that would do the task?

Scratch the shelf over the sump idea.... I found this online.
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Basically its a backwards PVC U. Top picture is check valve going into sump. Second picture shows T with a plug to prime the pump and pump sits on the floor next to tank. This set up would actually work perfectly for the space I have to work with. I still need to do a bit more research on this before deciding to go this route. I would love to get feed back from anyone who has tried this. Right now my concern is: if this set up would restrict the flow to the pumps input?. I have read that restricting the input flow is detrimental to the life of the pump. If I was to try this, should I try plumbing the sump part of the pvc with a larger PVC and then reducing to the actual size needed by pump intake? I hope this makes sense.
Midnight - If I try what you propose I still end up with the pump outside of the stand. Unfortunately for me the metal stand restricts the front to back space in the interior of the stand.

What if you placed the pump front to back and used two inch plumbing for the intake since you will need an elbow right there? I would not recommend the shelf and check valve method you propose.

The growth of the corals... In the past year I noticed they really started to grow way faster than when I first got the tank. However, a few changes were made then too... 1. I traded the wet dry with a fuge/sump. 2. I started to dose more often manually. 3. Instead of monthly water changes I switched to every other month (as long as nitrates are at zero). Lastly and this is the biggest thing... and I hope I don't freak anyone out... I don't run my skimmer all day every day... I instead run it at night for about 6 hours... This works for me and I don't suggest that anyone do the same. I must admit that when I started running the skimmer less I noticed the increased coral growth. I only have 3 fish and maybe thats why I can get away with running the skimmer less? With the new tank I do plan on running the more skimmer because it will have more coral and more fish.

Thanks on the rock work... so far its been set up that way for a little over a year and no rock slides... PHEW!!!

cool pics! i love the rock work!

I am loving it! are you getting this growth of hard corals with dosing, or water changes? I wish my wife would let me get a tank larger than a 75 gallon (she said only if I won the lottery.) I completely agree and understand on the iphone pictures they don't do anyones tank any favors but it does the trick thanks for the pictures on the existing tank it helps to see what your currently working with when making any sort of suggestions for a future tank.

That's a heck of a deal. I don't blame you a bit for buying it.

I agree on the holes - the guy I bought the tank from had some sort of clamps under the tank holding the acrylic tubes in place. That's the reason he had the metal cut away a bit. I thought about plugging the holes with a piece of glass and drilling new holes. The problem I encountered with that was not being able to fit my hand (and I have small hands) in thru the bottom to screw on the smaller bulkhead. The plan now is to use the 3" bulkheads and reducing it to 2". I really thought about passing this tank up but I fell in love with the fact it's 7 feet long (not your average and common 6 foot lenght) and it did not have a single scratch. So why was he selling the tank? His wife threw him and the tank out the house (ouch). I ended up paying $300.00 for the tank, and metal stand. He threw in a refractometer, 2 fans and a couple HOB fuge boxes. I feel kinda sad for the guy he's texted me a couple of times to ask about "his tank" - he's actually coming by tomorrow to help out me with drilling the sump for the external pump.

I can't believe the size of those holes, that's something we didn't discuss. I'm glad you found a work around, but we should have talked about this as well. Perhaps I could have given you an easier solution.

Does the tank with those bulkheads sit okay on the stand, or is the steel in the way? I see some metal has been cut away...

I have a c-skim 1800 skimmer- DIY de-nitrator - DIY phosphate/carbon reactor. They will all be used on the new system. The 110 gal sump will have a fuge and frag rack built into it. As far as lighting it, my plan is to go with LEDs to keep the heat to a minimum. As far as dosing - I still do it manually - not sure if to go with a doser or reactor.... I would love an auto-fill but still trying to figure that out too...

very nice monti cap

definitely have a long way to go but the end will be very rewarding so your patience will eventually pay off I don't suppose there is anyway of getting any pics of your current running tank *drool drool*? So I am assuming you are planning to run a sump with it being insulated (I like that idea by the way) what else are you planning on running like skimmer/bio pellet reactor/calcium reactor/algae scrubber/canister filter?

I haven never been able to copy and paste here I have always had to click on the little picture between where you type your comment in and where it says "leave comment" it looks like a tree in a picture frame and mouse over says "insert image" then you upload the image through there

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Originally Posted by joeogio

ccant wait to see some pics

I'm feeling like a total retard but how can I post pics? every time I try to post one I get a little box with a question mark on it. (I'm using copy and paste, when I paste it I see it but once I save all I see is the little blue box with a question mark in it.) Sorry for the dumb question here lol.

Thank you! Well right now I have pulsating Xenia, 3 different types of zoas, torch coral, orange frog spawn, orange Monti, 3 different types of mushrooms, Duncan and a staghorn coral all living happily. They will all be moved to the new tank - except maybe the pulsating Xenia - I like that coral but hate how it just takes over everything. Once the new tank is set up I'd like to go with more SPS. Of course one frag at a time and lots of patience lol.

welcome! and I agree with joe we are all picture hounds here lol. what are you wanting to do with the 265? corals? lps/softies/sps? fowler? just curious then you can get a general direction on equipment.

ccant wait to see some pics