My 55gal Experiment

[cms722]

:helm2: Ok. So I decided to start a thread in here because since I got my tank in April I have been doing all kinds of things to it. I had the stand custom built. I stained the entire thing and clear coated the outside and the inside (to avoid water damage). I built my own sump out of a tank I had laying around the house. I used it for my python before he got too big for it. I think its a 20gal or so. Its an odd shape lol. I also built a separate fuge out of a drilled 10gal that drains into the sump area. All this is finally plumbed and in the tank stand. The water is running, and has been cycled since I started it in April (I was impatient and just threw shrimp in the tank when I first got it:grumble:) and the parameters have checked out ever since. Just added all the water back when I was done moving it around. Oh, and I built a rock wall on the back. I've read alot about using porcelain #3 cement and mixing it with aragonite sand and shells to give it a certain texture and it working. So I gave it a shot. Looks pretty cool for not having any growth yet. Don't have alot of live rock cuz money is tight, but I'm thinking I might try making some with the left over cement, which I've been researching alot about too. We'll see if it works out the way I want it to. LOL. Fingers crossed on that one. If not its off to do some shopping for some dry rock to fill the tank. But anway, figured you guys would love to see what's going on. I'll post pics later once I take them and get the tank looking somewhat organized. :bounce:

 

[Bifferwine]

Okay, waiting on pics! :)

 

[cms722]

Okay, waiting on pics! :)

Flippin camera crapped out on me! I'm gonna try again after I bang the camera against the wall :grumble: How do I post them on here when I do get them? I have pics of what the stand looked like before I put it all together (after it was stained) and of the rock wall before I washed off all the sand and before I put water in it. I know its not much but I guess it will still show the progress.

 

[Bifferwine]

Easiest way to post pics is to create a Photobucket account (it's free), upload your pics there, then paste the

 

[cms722]

Easiest way to post pics is to create a Photobucket account (it's free), upload your pics there, then paste the code into your post.[/quote]


Ok I'm gonna try this and see if it works lol

 

[cms722]

Ok so this is what I have so far. This is the bottom of the stand after I finished staining it. I had before pics but accidentally deleted them:frustrat:

The canopy (its sitting on top of the tank I used for my sump so it could dry)

The doors. Yes that is a table with beer caps all over it. Beer pong anyone? hehe

Rock back that I made using a mix of cement, shells, and sand. The sand sitting on top was just used to absorb the extra moisture. I washed it off before filling the tank.

Tank finally in the house and filled. It doesn't have the doors for the canopy or the sump on it yet. (I got too excited that I could set the tank up and didn't get around to doing the second clear coat on them yet :mrgreen:)

The refugium, its made out of a drilled 10gal that the DT drains into. Obviously its not completely going yet. Just a little but of chaeto. But at least its running!

 

[cms722]

My neighbor is a welder and he made the stand under the refugium for me so that it would sit higher than the sump.

The drain tube from the refugium to the sump tank that is made out of a 20gal (I think) tank. I'm waiting til I get the skimmer to be able to really put the tubing in place. For now its obviously just sitting there. Lol.

The actual sump tank. Minus the skimmer. Don't mind the cords. I promised pics and haven't put everything in its place to make it "pretty" yet.

:^: Well that's all I've got so far. My poor lil maroon clown is currently living in a bucket while the water cycles again and I make sure all the parameters are good to put him back in his new home. I obviously need more live rock. Which I am in the process of buying. So that will go in there when I get it. Right now it looks so BARE. But it is a work in progress.

 

[Jmck]

Looks great so far, I definitely love the rock wall at the back. :D

got any good links for creating your own rock with the cement? because I want to make my own little decorations for a big tank.

 

[Bifferwine]

Good job! You may want to extend that plumbing that goes into the refugium, to have it underwater. It will really cut back on splashing and noise.

 

[cms722]

Good job! You may want to extend that plumbing that goes into the refugium, to have it underwater. It will really cut back on splashing and noise.

Yea I definitely thought about that last night when I could hear it all the way in my room when I was trying to sleep. :grumble: Although I did get up a MILLION times to make sure the water was still running right and not overflowing my tank. Lol

 

[Jmck]

LOL scary when you dont know if everything will mesh how you planned. My skimmer is the loudest thing in my tank and its in my bedroom. But you do get used to it, and eventually, when you go somewhere quiet it feels wierd :S

 

[cms722]

Looks great so far, I definitely love the rock wall at the back. :D

got any good links for creating your own rock with the cement? because I want to make my own little decorations for a big tank.

Thanks! My daughter decided it needed the shells in the back, hence why they're there. I think it gives it character. As for a link. This is what I kind of went by. Its a really weird site though. I just scrolled through it and used their measurements for the cement/shell/sand mixture and I'm going to try some of their ideas on making the rocks when I get more shells. I think it at least gives a good basis for what you're doing, once you skip over all the extra stuff they put in there.(you'll understand what I mean when you look at it lol)

 

[cms722]

LOL scary when you dont know if everything will mesh how you planned. My skimmer is the loudest thing in my tank and its in my bedroom. But you do get used to it, and eventually, when you go somewhere quiet it feels wierd :S

OMG I KNOW! Lol and then today my return pump decided it wanted to be a a$$hole and suction to the back of the tank and it made my overflow loose suction. And then it took me FOREVER to get it all working with the right flow again cuz for a while no matter what I did to the valve on the return, it just wouldn't even out. :grumble:

 

[Mbowens5]

LOVE LOVE the back wall!!

 

[cms722]

Thanks! Its turned out very nicely and so far my snails and shrimp love it too. They're always crawling up and down it looking for new crevices.

 

[bojangles93]

Looks really good. How big is that return section? You might have to top off the system quite often since that is where you will see the evaporation. :Cheers:

 

[cms722]

Not sure how big it is exactly. But I top it off with 2 gallons every 3 or 4 days. Its not too bad