Very productive weekend
by
, 02-02-2011 at 11:25 AM (18362 Views)
Saturday morning, we started out bright and early. We went to the box store and came home with cinder blocks and a whole bag of pvc fittings to finish the plumbing of the sump to the tank. This is Brian's department, I'm the go-fer. He drew out the plan on paper so we could get the right fittings for the job.
Once we got the sump positioned, cutting and gluing the pipes didn't take long at all. Of course there was a leak, where the sump drain hole was. We ended up replacing the fitting with which the 100 gallon trough was originally equipped. He bored out the original threaded hole, and installed a bulkhead. There was some silicone involved, so it had to sit awhile.
Sunday morning, we decided over coffee that it was time to go to Midwest Coral Farms, near Chicago. It's a great store, awesome people and a beautiful and ever-changing selection of both fish and coral.
On this trip, I didn't intend to purchase coral, and I had a hard time restraining myself, as they had some beautiful plates and LPS coral frags. I was looking for live rock, and I found it. They had three tanks of rock, graded into sizes. They helped me sort through and find some really interesting branch rock, which wasn't really rock at all, but SPS remains, and coated in coralline algae. I will have a very lacy and open rock display, once I get it all arranged.
By the time we got home, Brian felt it would be safe to start the pump again and check for leaks. We haven't found any yet this time. He set up the Red Sea Berlin skimmer, which we bought used and refurbished with a couple of pump parts. It's making skimmate now, kinda wet yet, but productive. It will need some adjustment. We couldn't fit Durso fittings into our overflow box, but it has foam tubes that fit around the drains, and it isn't too loud. I rather like the sound it makes--trickling water from the return, with the occasional swirl down the drain.
Wednesday, snow day, and I'm sick...
The tank has cleared up for the most part, and I can see the rocks clearly, which have a fair amount of sediment on them. I'm thinking a filter sock on the drains in the sump probably wouldn't hurt. I'm going to do some chemistries later, but right now I'm laying in my chair and sneezing. I'm not much use to anyone right now. Brian is shoveling and snowblowing (did I say again how awesome he is?), and he timed the flow at about 7 gallons per minute out of the drains. I'll help him time it again later, as he said he didn't really have enough hands.