Biffy Finally Gets a Build Thread!

[Bifferwine]

I did not put any bubble traps in this sump. I did for my last one, but found that I just didn't get any bubbles anyways. This sump is so long that I don't think bubbles will get through all three sections...

 

[Alexander]

8 inches should do it.

HAHA anybody guess what im thinking here?

tanks looiing soo sweet. i need to find something for my sump/power outage problems damn im glad the power didnt go out in our bad storm last night!

so all your fish are chillin in trash cans at the moment?

 

[Bifferwine]

Uhhh... Weird thing. My heaters don't seem to be working. My trashcans dropped to about 72. My main tank was at 74 at the time, cloudy as hell. All fish and corals got dumped into the main tank. Which has four heaters on it now, plus the halides, and even so is still running around 72. Hopefully they will be okay. I plan on going out to the great 24-hour circus (Walmart) tonight and picking up a couple more heaters... No idea what's going on, my two brand new 400-watt heaters just aren't turning on. PISSING ME OFF!

 

[LionFish]

Uhh wow that sucks,
The lights arent warming the tank? one would think those puppys would damn near start a fire!

may be a dumb ?
Are your heaters on one of your timers by any chance?

 

[Bifferwine]

They ARE nearly starting a fire! My living room is like 90 degrees!!!! Or at least it feels that way :(. But no, I guess the volume of water is too much for them to make a difference in a few hours. Weird, because on my 55, with the T5s and one little heater, my tank ran 80 to 84... WTF is going on?!?!

 

[LionFish]

Would it be a bad idea to add some hotter water to the system, even if youd have to mix up some new?

 

[Bifferwine]

Yeah I thought of that, but I think it'd take A LOT of hot water to raise the tanks temp. by 8 degrees... I'm just fiddling with the heaters every 15 minutes and making sure it doesn't drop below 70. Will head out and buy a couple more soon. The fish are swimming around though! That's good news. My fish are troopers, they'll be fine.

 

[LionFish]

well best of luck! i will keep my fingers crossed. !

 

[Bifferwine]

Thanks! I think it'll be okay. I still need to add more water to the tank, but didn't want it to get to the overflows until the silicone for the sump had cured for 24 hours. So I left the water level low on purpose. I'll have to make more water tomorrow.

 

[LionFish]

Do you have Gate valves on the Overflow Pipes ?
if so Close em' up and Fill it up .

 

[Bifferwine]

Nope no gate valves. It'll get filled up tomorrow. I'll run water overnight. Yay, I see another fish through the cloudiness! Unfortunately, it's my blue damsel :(.

By the way, I was able to catch one of the Sally Lightfoots. He's in a separate container right now, awaiting his trip to the LFS tomorrow. The other one must've been hiding in a rock and is still in the tank :(.

 

[Alexander]

i have a valve on my overflow :P i could fill mine up.....

 

[Bifferwine]

Blah blah blah. Whatever.

 

[Alexander]

at least you know yours will not overflow :(

 

[Alexander]

correction you guess yours wont overflow

 

[Bifferwine]

Yes. I guessed that 8 inches should do it, remember?? ;)

 

[Adrastos]

Nope no gate valves. It'll get filled up tomorrow. I'll run water overnight. Yay, I see another fish through the cloudiness! Unfortunately, it's my blue damsel :(.

So you are adding the damsel back into the big tank? you are cra-zy!

 

[yote]

If y'all are scared of a little flood from your overflows,Just unplug your return pump and see where the water level comes to.Then adjust the level in your sump accordingly.

 

[Bifferwine]

I'm leaving my blue damsel in there. I haven't had problems with him in about a year and this tank is big enough to accomodate him.

Here's an update:

Last night I never did end up going to Walmart and getting new heaters. I figured I'd show the fish some tough love and let them deal. So instead I stayed up until 3 am checking the temperature every 15 minutes or so. I stayed out on the couch so that I could have easy access to my thermometer! I dozed off between 3 am and 5 am, and FINALLY at 5 am the temp hit 79! Yay! I turned off the halides and went to bed. Three hours later (at 8 am), the temp was at 78. So I think we're in good shape now.

Unfortunately, I lost my beloved cleaner shrimp. Him, the peppermints and the starfish were the tank mates I was most concerned about during this move, so I can't say I was surprised. I guess the temperature shock was just too much for the poor guy. I'm sorry!!! But everybody else seems fine, even the corals opened up when I put them in!

The water has cleared now, and the only fish I haven't seen are the yellow tail and the firefish, and they are chickens anyways so I'm guessing it will take a few days for them to come out. I'll take a pic when the lights come on!

 

[Bifferwine]

Update! Firefish and yellow tail are accounted for! All the fish are so happy, swimming around like crazy. It warms my little red headed heart to see them this way.

Today's game plan: Hook up the rest of the equipment (skimmer, powerheads, timer, phosphate reactor, locklines, etc.), hook up and fill the sump, fill the rest of the tank with water, do some aquascaping and touch up the paint on the stand that got scratched during the move. Oh and take my Sally Lightfoot to the LFS and see what I can trade that bastard for :D.