lastlight's 225

[lastlight]

Thanks guys.

Bit of a setback tonight but not too bad. I got Greg's old ro/di unit up and running but realized the di gasket was cracked and no good and the di cartridge that he also gave me was not re-fillable. I'd hav ordered one if i'd known.

My tds meter says the ro membrane is putting out 0-1 tds so i am going ahead and filling the tank without the di working for now. I quickly tested the incoming calgary water with the same inline probe and it was 280 so I think it's working...

Originally Posted by Dez

I can't remember, are you going mixed reef? Or Sps?

Yes I plan to have all the less light hungry stuff under the shelves.

Originally Posted by Lance

Ooooooooh! That looks great! Good job. Those big, heavy pieces aren't easy to work with are they?

As I was leaning over into the tank and lowering some of these I had flashbacks to when I dropped a rock in my much smaller cichlid tank back in the day and blew the bottom out on it. 3rd floor of an appt too!

Originally Posted by fishytime

are you still gonna pick up a few pieces of LR to seed the tank?

Definitely will be needing a few seed pieces. I'll see you soon! Should I let the tank run with saltwater for a while before tossing the seed rock in or can I do that asap? After my tank is nice and pod-infested etc I will sell the rock since I have no plans to add to my current layout.

[Delphinus]

You can always keep the extra rock in the sump.

Also, I think you can add the extra rock pretty much anytime.

[lastlight]

Thanks Tony.

I have one large and one small piece in my 10 gallon fuge and the rest of the space is for chaeto. I really have no room in the sump for any rock unless I pile it above my heaters which are laying in my small return compartment.

Actually they might solve my microbubble problem without me adding a sponge guard like I was going to try. Only issue is that is a small space and my topoff area is small as it is. Tossing rock in it will mean a day's evaporation will really knock it down (if my ATO ever failed).

Good news about the live rock! I'll grab a few pieces as soon as my salt has circulated a day.

[Delphinus]

Oh - yeah - nix the sponge idea (IMO...)

[lastlight]

I'll feel better too about ordering all that rock. I kicked myself when I had the aquascape done and had *really* only used the shelf pieces and maybe 3 or 4 more small boulders lol.

[dsaundry]

Had some time to kill at work today and found your build thread...very impressive. I am currently planning a teardown and rebuild on an in-wall with a fish room behind it. I have a question for you, knowing what you have done to date, is there anything you would change in your build procedure? I am just in the drawing stages for my fish room and always looking for what people that have gone through builds would do different if anything.

[lastlight]

Can't let my wife see this:

- starphire on three sides
- black tinted glass for back pane (avoid overfow area being different color)
- wider external overflow
- 8 feet long rather than 6
- lower stand 6 inches and make tank 30" tall
- Tile up the bottom 6" of glass though so the floor of the tank dissapears
- have sumps etc built for me to increase safety
- find way to eliminate center post in stand