Joel's 1st Marine Build

Phatboydime said:
Ok, I my non professional opinion Id use both baffles, and silicon them in. Leave the one you have installed where it is, but raise it off the bottom one inch. Then use the second one in front of that one(to the left in your picture), and have that one touch the bottom. This will make the water go over the first baffle, and under the second one creating a bubble trap. That way you dont get micro bubbles in your display. The only problem is that the top of the second baffle(the one you left in) will have to be higher than the top of the first baffle.

The water level in the middle section will be set by the top of the baffle that touches the ground. I can make an illustration if that doesnt make sense.
Click to expand...

No sump expert myself but that sounds like a good idea.
 
Cool, thanks for the suggestions. I think what you're saying could definitely work as long as I can do a proper siliconing job. So I think I'll try to pick up some today and start gluing! Even if it doesn't work, I can always scrape off the silicone and start again, right?

BTW, is there a difference between glass and acrylic sealant?
 
Yes there is a difference, you will be able to remove and retry if you use silicon. You wont if you use acrylic sealant. Be sure to use aquarium safe silicon such as GE1 not GE2...nothing with anti bacterial properties. If you do remove and retry, wait til the silicon is completely dry, then remove it...if you try and remove it while not cured it will just make a huge mess.

silicon sticks things together with a friction bond, and can be pulled off most surfaces.

acrylic adhesive melts the two parts together similar to a weld, you have to cut the seam apart.
 
Stocking

Thanks for the info -- I'm holding off on sealing for now until I get the pump in.....

So, can I get some feedback on possible stocking options? How do these sound:

[S1]: Royal gramma, Pair of Clowns, Goby
[S2]: Wrasse, Pair of Clowns, Goby
[S3]: Mini school of Chromis
[S4]: Damsel, Goby
[S5]: Mandarin, Pair of clowns
[S6]: Fuzzy Dwarf Lion

...pretty generic and mixed list, just trying to get some ideas on a good reef-safe stocking plan to move towards.

Thanks!
 
I like #1 and would add a tail spot blenny and the clowns would be B&W :)

#5 would be awesome and doable IF you get a mandarin that readily eats prepared foods.

Also I know this may be a reef one day but a SW tank just isn't complete w/out an angel (IMO of course :)). Have you considered a pygmy or dwarf angel?
 
Word.

Tail spot blennies look pretty cool -- for blennies and gobies, do I need a deep sand bed? Is 1.5-2" enough?

I've seen that with mandarins (and also lions) getting them to eat is the biggest challenge. If I decide I *really* want a mandarin, maybe I'll hold off on the stocking until I set up a fuge, or at least look for one at a LFS that's eating prepared foods.

I like the looks of the dwarf angels (flames, coral beauties), but I've read they sometimes nip at corals. Is that a big issue?

Thanks!
 
Most gobies need some sand but 1.5" is fine. Blennies usually hang out in the rocks and perch. Tailspots are just cool. Great personalities. A fuge to cultivate pods will definitely help with a Mandarin.

Some dwarfs will nip and some won't. Some are known to be a little better than others but still no guarantee either way. There is a lot of debate as to why some nip while others (even of the same species) don't. Keeping them well fed with a variety of foods will certainly improve your chances, at least it has for me so far :).
 
How about?

0212101-142p.jpg


and

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and

0212101-104p.jpg


:)
 
Thanks for the suggestions -- I'll file them away for now, till I'm ready to add fish. :) Although I did see a fuzzy dwarf lion at a LFS today, which looked awesome!....so that could win out.....

As for the build, I got the eHeim 1250 pump yesterday, and took another look at my sump situation. I'm pretty sure the panels I have are just too short to glue in place, so I think I would need to get new panels if I wanted to go that route (which I had hoped to avoid).

Going back to my other idea, I picked up a Kritter Keeper which fits pretty nicely on the right side. It's about 11"x6"x8". I *think* it could work to run the pump in that. Here's a pic:

IMG_0028.JPG

Another wrinkle, though, is that all of the LFS people have been telling me that I should have a much larger pump to account for head-loss, bends in the return and the possibility of needing a chiller. I think they're standpoint is that I should be achieving the 10x, 20x, 20+x turnover rate with my sump pump to reduce the # of powerheads I need and therefore reduce the total heat I'm adding.

All kind of makes sense, but I've seen a lot of articles that recommend only 3x to 5x turn over through the sump so............not sure. I think I'll wait till I get my overflow and see how the pump pressure matches up with the out flow. If They match up well, I'll probably just go with it and adjust as needed later on......

Anyway (sorry for rambling), thanks for any more comments / suggestions!

IMG_0028.JPG
 
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