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99sf's 150-Gallon Upgrade

Sounds like your set for temp holding tanks!
So you gonna set up a 60g a 100g and a 150g.
I would double check the floor joists. If Bryan, Sergio, Gresham and a few more are all standing in that same room drinking Belgian beer You could have a Bermuda triangle effect. :D
Seriously though.
 
99sf said:
The house where the tank currently lives does not have a staircase. The stairs in the photo are leading down to my in-law unit, which is basically the downstairs part of a house.
Click to expand...

Ok, understood. I think my confusion was with your gravity feed comment since gravity works downward:). My assumption now is that the new 150 will be located downstairs and that the water from upstairs would be coming from the holding tanks and/or the RO/DI water you are making up. What else would be going down those stairs?

I would put something under the stand itself as the carpet will be ruined underneath from the inevitable water spills. I used to use a piece of plastic that was slightly larger then the size of the stand to catch such spills and keep them from the carpet.
 
JAR said:
Sounds like your set for temp holding tanks!
So you gonna set up a 60g a 100g and a 150g.
I would double check the floor joists. If Bryan, Sergio, Gresham and a few more are all standing in that same room drinking Belgian beer You could have a Bermuda triangle effect. :D
Seriously though.
Click to expand...

You are off the holiday card list.
 
seminolecpa said:
JAR said:
Sounds like your set for temp holding tanks!
So you gonna set up a 60g a 100g and a 150g.
I would double check the floor joists. If Bryan, Sergio, Gresham and a few more are all standing in that same room drinking Belgian beer You could have a Bermuda triangle effect. :D
Seriously though.
Click to expand...

You are off the holiday card list.
Click to expand...
I would have said singularity
 
Funny! At least those strong guys will make my 5'10 self seem petite! Right now, I've put the 60 gallon and 100 gallon temporary tanks in the spare bedroom, on opposite walls.

The gravity feed idea came from thinking about how to transport some of the water currently inside the 150 gallon tank into my house (which is downstairs), so that the fish & coral wouldn't be as traumatized as if they were placed into a 100 percent water change situation. I was picturing gathering some water from the existing 150 gallon tank into 32-gallon Brute trashcans with wheels, then rolling those to the edge of the stairs, then using a siphon & long hose to reach the living room.

What kind of pump is best for water changes? I need to attach some sort of flexible hose to a pump, to move water to/from holding tanks. Was considering a Quiet One 3000 attached to 1 inch plastic tubing. Any better options?

Will look for a piece of suitable plastic at Home Depot tonight, to fit under the stand. A separate plywood board is probably not necessary, given the solid base, right?
 
The preparation has begun! Benjamin & Beverly are very generous and loaned me a 100 gallon acrylic tank, plus several water jugs and a power buffer. Benjamin suggested posting photos of the walkway and stairs, as fair warning to any tank moving volunteers.
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My plan is to use wheeled trashcans and roll them to the edge of the stairs, then use a long hose and gravity to feed the display tank. That way, we will only have to carry the tank, stand, sump and canopy down the 11 stairs. Thoughts?

I'm making as much filtered RO/DI water as I can, while I am able to monitor the progress of the filter. Over the weekend, I bought 30 feet of 1/4 tubing so that I could create a long wastewater line to the sink. My bad cat (pictured in the living room photo above) bit a small hole in the tubing |( , a fact that I realized about half an hour after Benjamin left. I discovered a couple of cups of water on the floor behind the washing machine as I was running the RO/DI filter. I had to cut about 10 feet off of the drain line (above the bite marks), but it is still long enough to reach the sink.

Planning to pick up some Brute trashcans & wheel sets tomorrow at Home Depot. Do you think it is a good idea to buy a plywood board and have it cut slightly larger than the stand to serve as a stable base for the tank? As you will see in the photos, the floor is covered in Berber carpet. Should I try to find a rubber mat to place under the tank to protect the carpet?
 
I have an idea I stole from Aldie for doing water changes that I can share with you when I am there. It involves essentially plumbing a Brute trash can and using a Mag Pump (size would differ depending on size of the Brute). The pumps serves a two-fold purpose as depending on the valve that is turned on it can mix your water or pump it into your tank.
 
Mag 9.5 with quick disconnects works really well. Pick up a set of quick disconnect from OSH/HD (in the garden department). I used to change water in the 90g freshwater tank using this method.
 
Mike, do you have a photo of your Snowshoe Siamese cat? Mine is also overweight, and is a lot of fun, playing fetch like a dog. Standing with his front paws on top of the tank, his belly is not as noticeable!

Eric & Bryan, thanks for the Mag pump idea. I will order a 9.5, and look forward to seeing the Brute plumbing method. Eric, what is a "disconnect?" Is that like a hose attachment?
 
I will see if I can post up a picture tonight of the mixing can so you can get an idea. I might actually be able to bring my ond one that I did in a 32g Brute with me as well. I think all of the plumbing is there it just needs a new pump and maybe a few fittings. Probably would be nice to have on hand for the move.
 
You can say it's like a "John Guest" fitting of sort for your hoses used in gardening.

It can be adapted for use with quite a few pumps. One side attaches to your pump and receives the hosing.

Receptacle side (attaches to pump):
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Hosing side (one side attached to hosing, other side goes to the receptacle attached to the pump):
vortex_ff04.jpg


Makes it easy to transfer pumps and hosing around as two separate pieces.

If you're looking for a Mag 9.5, I have 1 of them sitting around that you're welcomed to borrow for the move. I'm pretty sure the quick disconnect is still on it. I'll take a look later on tonight.
 
I would watch out with the mag 9.5.... I and several of my friends have burned through them like butter. Go for a 7 or a 12.
 
Who do you have confirmed to help? don't forget something to help scrape the coraline off the tank..I see form the pics there is a lot of it. Also lots off towels. : )
 
Good point about the coraline removal. I was planning to use the vinegar and some old credit/membership cards to remove it from the tank. Is there a better method? I'm kind of nervous about using the scrapers, worried about adding more scratches to the tank. Will need to get some extra towels from the thrift shop. I'm going to read through the messages and see who has tentatively offered to help, giving everyone a chance to tell me if I'm wrong!
 
I will contact Mike to ask for his advice about buffing acrylic. I never actually had an acrylic reef tank before (the 29 gallon and 60 gallon are glass, as are the sumps), so this is a new adventure.

Went to Home Depot last night and ended up with a giant bill! Due to the rain this week, they only had one 32-gallon grey Brute trashcan, so I bought that one and a set of wheels. Decided not to purchase the green 32-gallon container, for fear it might leach chemicals and not be as strong as the grey one. The combo worked really well, transporting 25 gallons to the holding tank easily.

Also bought:
a 100-foot garden hose and nozzle, in order to rinse out the tank during the cleaning/buffing process.
some heavy, waterproof gloves
a 7 foot piece of 1" inner diameter clear hose, which makes siphoning very fast and attaches to my Quiet One pump for the pesky water remaining in the bottom of the trashcan.
three extra 5-gallon buckets with lids
a quick-connect for a hose (a mysterious contraption)
four! gallons of vinegar

Also, from xcaret, I picked up two styrofoam coolers to transport coral the Friday before the big move. So I have accumulated 11 sealable water containers, about 8 rubbermaid bins, one Brute wheeled trashcan, 5 5-gallon HD buckets, my battery-operated airstones, assorted rectangular 4-gallon buckets with lids (formerly cat litter containers, well rinsed), a few heaters and powerheads, bungee cords, ropes, a U-Haul rental truck with ramp, moving blankets, plastic sheeting to place underneath the tank, a rubber mat for temporarily placing wet objects while unloading the tanks, some siphon tubes, a couple of holding tanks (still producing filtered water & mixing salt to fill those), a power buffer, and a small shop vacuum.

Does it sound like I'm on the right track? Any glaring items that I am missing, besides additional Brute wheeled cans, extra water jugs and strong, expert BAR helpers? Can't believe the livestock move will take place a week from tomorrow!
 
3 gal enough? I figure it was for a bucket so you can soak stuff in it overnight and such) not sure how well it would work on the tank with a short soak? are you planning on laying it each side while the vinegar rests on it? that could work.

credit card ok, I like the cpr plastic scrappers.

did you buy the novus yet, I found it on ebay for cheap$10 for the kit - they shipped fast too.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400081824590&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT
 
The 3 2oz. bottles are roughly $10 at Tap and without the $5 for shipping and waiting on something get shipped. Why would you go the ebay route?
 
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