20L w/ 9G Sump, First time saltwater
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I actually think it is a brittle starfish especially since the tank the rock came from had brittle starfish in it and I see multiple tentacles moving around. Hopefully he sticks to the rock when I move it and I can make a cavern for him to live in. Probably not good to have a mantis shrimp in there with him.
David
David
The picture was taken in the off position, however I did remove the sump pull out all the baffles and cut them down some because my weldon was delivered. Previously I only used caulk which I will use to fill the holes made because glasscages rounded the edges of the baffles. I expected a 9" high acrylic tank to have plenty of room for 7" tall baffles, but it wasn't what I expected. Glasscages added a rim around the bottom of the tank making the tank bottom 1/4" off the table and only giving me 1" to the top of the tank. Luckily I didn't order 8" baffles. Now I have 2.2" to the top of the sump on the return baffle, and 1 1/2" on the other baffle. This should be enough for over 2 gallons of siphon.
Next problem is the overflow since it burps every few seconds and I think it is from a siphon being created then flushing. I'm almost thinking that pulling the pipe end out of the sump water will correct this issue by keeping a siphon from being created or just putting a hole in the pipe just above the sump water line. A 45 degree angle could slow down the flow enough to keep that from happening or running a step-down at the end of the pipe. I still have other options like drilling the tank or using a siphon overflow box, since I'm only playing with tap water.
Side note, my cat's stomach is bloated from the virus. She was more alert this morning, but I'm not sure how much more she can expand. Letting my wife decide if we are being cruel by keeping her around, or cruel by putting her to sleep. Nothing can be done for the FIP virus, so it doesn't leave us with choices.
David
Next problem is the overflow since it burps every few seconds and I think it is from a siphon being created then flushing. I'm almost thinking that pulling the pipe end out of the sump water will correct this issue by keeping a siphon from being created or just putting a hole in the pipe just above the sump water line. A 45 degree angle could slow down the flow enough to keep that from happening or running a step-down at the end of the pipe. I still have other options like drilling the tank or using a siphon overflow box, since I'm only playing with tap water.
Side note, my cat's stomach is bloated from the virus. She was more alert this morning, but I'm not sure how much more she can expand. Letting my wife decide if we are being cruel by keeping her around, or cruel by putting her to sleep. Nothing can be done for the FIP virus, so it doesn't leave us with choices.
David
I only need salt and foam then I can fill the tank. I have two 150w heaters that are probably to big, so I might be looking for new heaters especially if I can get one to fit in the bubble trap of the sump.
Here is the sump with the overflow changes and using Weldon. FYI. I have extra Weldon if someone is doing a acrylic project.
Here is a picture of the screen cover.
Impatiently waiting.
David
Here is the sump with the overflow changes and using Weldon. FYI. I have extra Weldon if someone is doing a acrylic project.
Here is a picture of the screen cover.
Impatiently waiting.
David
Actually I'm going to use two to three 50w heaters, but they are not all made equally, so my 50w might do great for a 10G while another will take a long time to heat-up. Typically the thermostat of the heater burns out first causing the heater to stay in an on or off position. They wear-out because of consistently turning on and off. Rarely do I see the heating elements themselves break unless the glass or plastic gets cracked. This is why using two or three smaller heaters that won't overheat a tank if one breaks into an on position or will still be able to heat the tank if one breaks in the off position is better than one large heater or one oversized heater. Plus with a sump I like one heater in the sump and one in the main tank. My sump heater has to be horizontal mounted or shorter than 7".
It has actually plastic bird mesh found at Lowes (not Home Depot) however I only used 1% of what I purchased, so if you want some I have some extra. The grid is 1/2", so it will keep almost all small fish from making it out of the tank and not defuse the light.
David
It has actually plastic bird mesh found at Lowes (not Home Depot) however I only used 1% of what I purchased, so if you want some I have some extra. The grid is 1/2", so it will keep almost all small fish from making it out of the tank and not defuse the light.
David
Everything has been moved from my 10g temporary setup to my 20l. The overflow is working well however I don't trust it yet. I guess that is probably normal for any overflow when you first get it setup.
I'm still running the carbon filter from the 10g until everything settles down.
Here is the sump running.
David
I'm still running the carbon filter from the 10g until everything settles down.
Here is the sump running.
David
I moved all the rock around and everything is setup the way I like it, so here are some shots of stuff growing in the tank. Not sure what some of this is, but I think both are sponges.
Green One
White One
FTS - Not sure about keeping the shells in the tank, but they are there for now.
RIP my love - Princess 8/2010 - 1/6/2011
David
Green One
White One
FTS - Not sure about keeping the shells in the tank, but they are there for now.
RIP my love - Princess 8/2010 - 1/6/2011
David
Lights are on during weekdays between 6 and 9 (3 hours) and all day on weekends (12 hours) for when I'm home and the neighborhood kids are over looking at stuff. Otherwise they are off or typically just blues unless I'm taking pictures. I do have a partial cleaning crew (2 Nassarius snails, 1 turbo snail, 2 blue leg hermits) and a scooter blenny which I will probably take back and get a lawnmower blenny when I get a screen for the overflow (in 4 days). Either that or grow brine shrimp for the scooter blenny. I also have a few corals that Adam gave me.
David
David