New Tank

[R.Allard]

Well i just water tested my tank .NO LEAKS!!! :grin:
so far anyway . The 4x6s under the floor seem tro be working
great although the tank does wobble alittle when i push on it kinda
hard but i think its due to the stand being 35 in high...
ill be filling the tank and testing the the plumbing tomm....
thanks for everyones help especially jay3 he has been a great
help with the lighting ...
Hopefully by monday ill be washing my aragonite and mixing my
salt water..
Any suggestions at this point would be great :grin:
Thanks R.

[MikeP]

R, one suggestion I can't stress enough is to make sure tank is level front to back , left to right. I filled mine up the first time and then realized it tilted forward about 1/2". No good, I drained it - shimmed it and then slowly readded water and kept checking level. I would let it settle a day or so also with the new lumber underneath floor may have to adjust to new load from tank. Check again and shim as necessary to get it as close to level as possible. This will make it easier on your stand/floor for holding the weight and most obviously unequal water pressure is one of the prime causes of busting a seam, especially in glass tanks.

Also make sure you leave enough clearance behind it in case you want to add anything like a refugium or another return line - 4" is minimum, 5" probably a little more room for error. Also take into account you will get some spills and keep loops in your electric cords if possible and keep power strips off ground (I keep mine on a small frame I build out of 1x4" to keep them off carpet in case of flood). Plugging everything into a GFCI is ideal of course as well.

Bottom line, figure out all the little details now cuz it's a pain to move that sucker once it's established and all your fishies are settled in :)

-Mike

[R.Allard]

Thanks Mike, :grin:
yea i filled the tank all the way last night and noticed that it was
out of level front to back about an 1/8th of an inch and side to side
the same. but thats the first time i have filled the tank completely
to the top.
good thing though that the jacks under the house are adjustable
so im going to fill it half way again and put a level on it ,have someone stand in the house looking at the level while i adjust them... hope it works :roll:
i also put some half inch high impact foam from H/D under it to make up for any highs and lows in the tank stand...
any other suggestions???

[R.Allard]

OK IM EXTATIC NOW!!! :grin: :-D
I had all the plumbing ,pump,overflow etc running.. wow can that mag 24
move some water!!! the overflow wont even come close to keeping up with it ..
im gonna install the riastat on the pump tomm...itll slow the pump down so the overflow can catch up .. i dont want to put a ball valve on it . i would rather slow down the pump itself..
Im also going to be lookin for some live rock to start the cycle..
im going to buy it on line so if anyone wants to get in on a bulk deal
let me know...i only need about 40 lbs to get started and was going to buy it from Alamo Aquatics but the last time i was in there they ****ed me off so bad that i will never step foot in their store again :evil:
their loss i plan on spending a bunch of $$ on this tank ..
but thats another story...

[captexas]

HEY! - check the selling forum here. Vihn lives in San Marcos and is selling his stuff again. He has live rock and lots of sand that is already full of little creatures for good prices. A lot better than ordering it or buying at a LFS.