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  #21  
Old 11-14-2017, 04:43 AM
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I wouldn't worry too much about the white coupling on the inside of the tank. Within a couple months it will be covered in Coralline algae and it will look the same as the black at that time.
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  #22  
Old 12-03-2017, 05:05 AM
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I picked up my Black Friday skimmer purchase today! Kinda excited as this is the nicest thing I've bought for my tank. The packaging was pretty slick.




I really like it - clean lines and very solid construction. Love how smoothly the cup screws in. Well, it looks nice anyway; I'll have to wait a bit to find out how it works. I didn't want to finish up the plumbing until I was sure that it would fit, so that should be done sometime this week.
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Old 12-10-2017, 11:53 PM
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Plumbing is done! We also put the top trim onto the stand so I can be sure it is all fitting nicely before the tank is filled and immoveable. I am not 100% sure that I should paint the stand black. Wondering if it will be too much of a huge black thing. However, I don't have any other furniture that is white in this room so that wouldn't look right either.

Untitled by Magdaline Chu, on Flickr

No more ugly white connector!
Untitled by Magdaline Chu, on Flickr

I'm not sure about the next step. I need to test if the pipes are water tight but if I fill the whole tank with water, I won't be able to push it back against the wall to its final spot. I was thinking I can just add enough water to overflow to have water drain into sump. Or is this not testing it properly?
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Old 12-11-2017, 12:12 AM
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Fill it with tap water to test everything running. Also test your sump volume when the return pump turns off. After testing, add some vinegar to help remove oils and such. Run for 1 or two days. Drain it all and then push it into final position.

Also, it looks like your main drain and emergency aren't low enough into your sump. Water is going to splash everywhere.

Last edited by WarDog; 12-11-2017 at 12:16 AM.
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Old 12-11-2017, 02:36 AM
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Ok thanks. Guess I can’t be lazy.

Yeah I haven’t attached that piece yet as I was making sure the skimmer could get in easily. You think the emergency should be lower though? I thought it should be high so the splashing if it happens will be noisy
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Old 12-11-2017, 04:06 AM
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I had both below the water line in the sump. When set up properly, the main drain is dead silent. If and when the emergency is used you'll know it, as it makes a crap load of noise either way.
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Old 12-11-2017, 04:31 AM
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Ok, thanks again. I’ll give it a go (she said nervously)
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  #28  
Old 12-11-2017, 08:04 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dash View Post
I am not 100% sure that I should paint the stand black. Wondering if it will be too much of a huge black thing. However, I don't have any other furniture that is white in this room so that wouldn't look right either.
If your worried about colour clash that is a relatively minor problem in the grand scheme of things I have seen many people use cloth or fabric skirting to hide the colours and equipment. Primary concern should be having a running tank and access to equipment under the tank.

Other than that your build looks awesome so far keep up the good work
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  #29  
Old 12-12-2017, 03:03 PM
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IT'S ALI-IVE!


Untitled by Magdaline Chu, on Flickr

The husband told me to stop procrastinating, so I finally put water into the tank. I still wasn't sure I understood it completely but once it was running, everything made sense. I re-read the entire GMA Herbie method basic guide again and understood it this time. It did show the that the two downspouts should be under the waterline (not sure how I missed that). The main line as I have it now is probably a bit too long (?) as it should be about 1/2" underwater I think. I left the emergency for now as it was good to see how it worked as I adjusted the valve. We turned off the pump and it was all good. My husband showed a lot of interest in playing around with the plumbing - he doesn't really care all that much about the livestock haha. He also looks forward to all the clutter being cleaned up.

I'm not really a religious person but I did say a little prayer before I went to bed. And lo, there was no deluge this morning.

So I added the vinegar and will let it run for the 2 days. Then some final adjustments, clean up the back, etc. When should I be testing the skimmer. It won't be working properly when there's nothing to skim, right?

Also, the sight of all that water in the tank made my husband think about insurance coverage. Any insight into this?
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  #30  
Old 12-12-2017, 04:32 PM
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Main drain looks good. Definately bring the emergency below the rim of the sump. Running the skimmer now in the vinegar water will help get the manufacturing oils and dust off it. It will take a couple weeks to get it set properly once you introduce livestock. After you drain the tank don't worry too much about wiping down every last bit of vinegar water. Consider it your first carbon dose. If you speak to your insurance agent about additional protection, please share your findings with us. Not too many people do this.
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