Tank - Sump Build 500 gal +

[Gig 'em @ NDstructible]

WOW!!!! I am impressed with your skills! I need to learn from you so I can do this myself one day

[+Dogfish]

I finally got free to work on the tank. I did a 16" practice seam on some scrap 1" stuff. Picture 1 shows the seam from the outside. You can see it has no bubbles where the 2 pieces meet. The right side shows some roughness on the outside where the excess glue pools up. Easy to clean up with a router and polishing. Left side is a tape issue. Left side is the inside corner. Picture 2 shows the same seam from the inside and the angle shows the bubble better.  I was on the phone and pulled the tape a bit late and caused a few small bubbles where the tape met the glue. The #40 had set up a bit too much. Rookie mistake. Only the fish and me would notice.

[Sascha D.]

Super clean build Dogfish! I wish that I had taken half the time and planning that you have. It really pays to plan it out right the first time. Going back to your evaporation question - I'm running about 375g total water volume, at an average temp range of 74-76 night/day, and topping off 20 gallons every 7 days. Good luck building the tank!

[+Dogfish]

On 11/7/2017 at 2:08 PM, Sascha D. said:

 I'm running about 375g total water volume, at an average temp range of 74-76 night/day, and topping off 20 gallons every 7 days. Good luck building the tank!

Thanks; My 15 gal top off tank should work for now.

I did a little more work on the tank. Overflow box is ready. Picture of the glue up. Don't do this in the kitchen when your wife is home *_*

Now on to the tank. First seam is done. Praying to fish gods for no seam bubbles. While i was laying the bead a maintaince guy pulls up from the Fish Gallery. Funny how word gets out.

[+Dogfish]

Livestock and aquascaping tank layout questions. I need some ideas on this one. I love the way Jawfish pop up out of the sand. I also love the look of Urchins. Anemones will be a must. I like a lot of wavy things in a tank. I have been doing some thinking about their homes and territories. The Jawfish need about 10" of deep sand and im only putting about 1" to 2" in the tank. Anybody seen or done any type of retaining wall or round rock structures to hold back that amount of sand. I was thinking a 12" dia. ring 10" tall with some sort of rock or something to hide it. Since  the tank is a 5' square visible from 2 adjacent sides could have 1 home in the front corner and one across the tank. I dont know if piling up 10" of sand against 1 end of a tank is a good thing?  I would like to do 3 rock islands. 1 being tall spires near the front and the other 2 weaving their way from the front right corner to the back left corner. Forming a sand path between them for some depth. They will be riding on pvc pipe platforms for stabiltiy. I could try to build something between them to hold back some deep sand Any ideas on Anemones other than bubble tip and where they might like to be placed? (not that they will stay there). Any high temperature requirements with them? Has anyone kept a Diadema antillarm urchin with success? Did it bother any softies? I dont want it to starve to death so it will be a late addition to the tank. I did have a rock boring urchin and do not want to go that route. .....ok out of breath like ty and gig 'em diving a tank I saw on another forum.

[Gig 'em @ NDstructible]

Just piling up sand will only be temporary, the flow of water and activities of fish and clean up crew will eventually push it around. I  would suggest maybe building an acrylic box the right depth for a jawfish and then building rock up around it to make it look like a small sand plateau. You may need to get some flat rock and glue it to the front and sides of the box to hide its identity,  but that would look pretty neat and more natural IMO.

For a large tank I would not recommend bubble tip anemones, they reproduce like rabbits and move around and pop up all over the place. Oversized pretty aptasia if you ask me (which no one is) . If you want a large large flowing anemone with tons of tentacles I would recommend a Heteractis magnifica (ritteri) anemone. Stychodactyla gigantea is also a great anemone that grows rather large and becomes quite "flowy". Long tentacle anemones are great, but you need a deep sand bed for them to anchor their foot in. H. magnifica and S. gigantea both anchor their foot on the tops of rocks, so you won't need to find deep sand or crevices. Here's a picture of two of my magnificas I had in my DT. The problem is they became so large, a 120 gallon tank wouldn't hold them anymore. They definitely require larger tanks to grow and wave around in.

Great job on the build so far! Every time I catch up on your build thread I am thoroughly impressed.

[FarmerTy]

Just piling up sand will only be temporary, the flow of water and activities of fish and clean up crew will eventually push it around. I  would suggest maybe building an acrylic box the right depth for a jawfish and then building rock up around it to make it look like a small sand plateau. You may need to get some flat rock and glue it to the front and sides of the box to hide its identity,  but that would look pretty neat and more natural IMO.
For a large tank I would not recommend bubble tip anemones, they reproduce like rabbits and move around and pop up all over the place. Oversized pretty aptasia if you ask me (which no one is) [emoji14]. If you want a large large flowing anemone with tons of tentacles I would recommend a Heteractis magnifica (ritteri) anemone. Stychodactyla gigantea is also a great anemone that grows rather large and becomes quite "flowy". Long tentacle anemones are great, but you need a deep sand bed for them to anchor their foot in. H. magnifica and S. gigantea both anchor their foot on the tops of rocks, so you won't need to find deep sand or crevices. Here's a picture of two of my magnificas I had in my DT. The problem is they became so large, a 120 gallon tank wouldn't hold them anymore. They definitely require larger tanks to grow and wave around in.
Great job on the build so far! Every time I catch up on your build thread I am thoroughly impressed.

Where is your magnifica currently Gig'em? [emoji23]

But Gig'em does make a great point, bubble tips will multiply quite rapidly, and weedlike almost in poorer water conditions. In a smaller tank it would be easy to remove them as the multiply too much but in a large tank like yours, you may need Team Gig'em and FarmerTy diving in your tank to remove them, which we are always happy to swim in other people's tanks. [emoji4]

[Gig 'em @ NDstructible]

Where is your magnifica currently Gig'em? [emoji23]

But Gig'em does make a great point, bubble tips will multiply quite rapidly, and weedlike almost in poorer water conditions. In a smaller tank it would be easy to remove them as the multiply too much but in a large tank like yours, you may need Team Gig'em and FarmerTy diving in your tank to remove them, which we are always happy to swim in other people's tanks. [emoji4]

My magnifica is in the only place my tank could possibly house him, and he hasn't moved an inch in months! [emoji38] now if only I could see him without standing above the tank...

But seriously, if you are interested in a larger anemone hit me up, I have experience acclimating them to captive conditions and treating them through any bacterial infections (the larger species are more prone to deteriorating health shortly after collection and transportation).

[+Dogfish]

41 minutes ago, Gig 'em @ NDstructible said:

My magnifica is in the only place my tank could possibly house him, and he hasn't moved an inch in months! now if only I could see him without standing above the tank...

But seriously, if you are interested in a larger anemone hit me up, I have experience acclimating them to captive conditions and treating them through any bacterial infections (the larger species are more prone to deteriorating health shortly after collection and transportation).

I will hit you up for sure. Might even have to pay you for a boarding fee while you make sure he is good to go. I have very little experience, unless you count aptasia. Just 1 bubble in my 125. It was very small when I got it and decided the back side of the rock work was best like yours.

Tank diving humm dont clothes have soap residue in them? :)))))

[Sascha D.]

Jawfish are easily one of my favorite fish and they're relatively easy to keep. In the wild they burrow in flats on the outskirts of the reef. In these areas they burrow straight down and hover over the burrow to catch passing plankton. The jawfish that we keep at home make burrows that are generally angled 45 degrees with the entrance facing the direction that you feed. Since they don't burrow straight down in our aquariums, you don't need 10" of sand. I keep mine in 3-4" and they do fine.  It's best to introduce them as one of the first fish and you'll probably have to target feed them the first two weeks or so. After that they will emerge from the burrow every time you approach the tank and eat from mid way up the tank. My last tank was 31" tall and the jawfish would swim up to within 6-7" from the surface. They're really amazing fish!

[+Dogfish]

4 hours ago, Sascha D. said:

Jawfish are easily one of my favorite fish and they're relatively easy to keep. In the wild they burrow in flats on the outskirts of the reef. In these areas they burrow straight down and hover over the burrow to catch passing plankton.

What size/kind of sand do you have? What kind of Jawfish? Where in the tank is their home? Do you have a picture? Too many questions?

[Sascha D.]

1 hour ago, Dogfish said:

What size/kind of sand do you have? What kind of Jawfish? Where in the tank is their home? Do you have a picture? Too many questions?

I've kept Pearly and Tiger Jawfish. Both have the same requirements, but different personalities. I thought the Pearly Jawfish to be more interesting but it continually watched me. Both burrowed under a single rock that I had resting on the sand bed. One completely covered the rock with sand and I had to relocate the corals that were on it. Scott W. Michael lists Jawfish requiring 3" of mixed substrate. I personally use 20% crushed coral and 80% special grade sand. The mixed substrate adds interest and helps prevent solidifying.

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Edited November 28, 2017 by Sascha D.
Added picture

[+Dogfish]

1 hour ago, Sascha D. said:

I've kept Pearly and Tiger Jawfish. Both have the same requirements, but different personalities.

What is your avergage tank temp, 76 to 78  or 78 to 80?  I heard they like it a bit cooler.

[Sascha D.]

What is your avergage tank temp, 76 to 78  or 78 to 80?  I heard they like it a bit cooler.

The Pearly was kept at an average temp of 82. I was running t5 in 2012 and heat was a problem. They're native to the Caribbean and the temp didn't seem to bother him. I had the Tiger in my new tank where the average temp is 76. In two years the lowest I've seen it is 74. They're native to Bali and it might be a good idea to research the average temp there. There are two Jawfish that I've seen on Liveaquaria called the Dusky and Darwin Jawfish. I don't know much about those, but they're worth mentioning.

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[+Dogfish]

Thanks, Very helpful was you.

[+Dogfish]

Update: Things are moving slow. Car jack and jack stands to get the correct angle to glue the back on. 4 sides ready to roll it over onto the bottom. Pretty heavy. The dog was exhausted after that. Got my first look at the front corner seam. No bubbles, I'm happy.

 

[Gig 'em @ NDstructible]

Wow! That's an impressive looking tank. When do you think you'll do a water test on it?

[+Dogfish]

The bottom should take 4 days to glue. 1 day per side. Then I need to flip it and glue the top which I will use weld-on 4 and some pins. That will take 1 day once I get it set up. The hardest part will be finding enough neighbors to flip this puppy over without damage. Once the top is on I can attach the external overflow.  A week for all to cure to be safe. Im hoping to have the tank ready for water and in the house before New Years.

[jolt]

Massive project but looks like it is going well!

[+Dogfish]

Bottom is glued on. Yaaaaa. Now to get it flipped so I can glue the overflow box to the back.

[Paula]

Bottom is glued on. Yaaaaa. Now to get it flipped so I can glue the overflow box to the back.

That is one big mamma jamma tank going on. I'd be terrified putting that together myself. Hats off to you!

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[+Dogfish]

Its a bit out of my comfort zone. To quote a old friend "What Me Worry" Alfred E Neuman

[stoneroller]

Impressive build. Looking forward to seeing it in place. 

[+Dogfish]

It keeps growing. With that overflow box it now seems large to me.

[jolt]

Wow!