Here we go

[JerseyWendy]

Wow, now I am very nervous about my pluming because I will be going throug walls! I hope it works out for you.

FYI, Aquatic Obsessions also has bulkheads of different sizes.

Don't be nervoes. I'm sure we made some mistakes when we put everything together. For one, I'm not entirely sure that my dear husband didn't overtighten the nut in the bulkhead. Initially I thought the drip was forming between the bulkhead and the male adapter (I have double threaded bulkhead). But once I used the saw to cut the PVC off, the nut came really lose and water went everywhere.

Late last evening Alex (hubby) tightened the thing again really hard, even though it was already visible that damage was done to the threading. I think I want to stick to one sided threading, not both because nothing leaked anywhere where we used PVC glue.

Also, I do believe the bulkhead was a tiny bit too small for the hole - we had room to wriggle it around a bit once it was placed inside the overflow hole, and I'm not sure that was supposed to be like that.

---
Wendy

 

[JohnS_323]

Actually, I much prefer threaded bulk heads. They give you the ability to take things apart and try again without having to cut the PVC. This may be a silly question but I'll ask it anyway: Did you use teflon tape on the the fittings you threaded into the bulk head?

Sam, don't be nervous about going through the walls. You may want to use Rain R Shine PVC cement in anything that you really really really need to seal the first time. It's very thick and seals really well. I used it in all of those spots where having to cut out and replace fittings would have been a nightmare.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Actually, I much prefer threaded bulk heads. They give you the ability to take things apart and try again without having to cut the PVC. This may be a silly question but I'll ask it anyway: Did you use teflon tape on the the fittings you threaded into the bulk head?

Sam, don't be nervous about going through the walls. You may want to use Rain R Shine PVC cement in anything that you really really really need to seal the first time. It's very thick and seals really well. I used it in all of those spots where having to cut out and replace fittings would have been a nightmare.

John, yes, we used Teflon tape but NOT on the nut of the bulkhead. Was that a mistake? Should we put it on the threaded part of the bulkhead, too, before fastening the nut?

Ok, I'll stick with double-threaded bulkhead. Thanks again.

---
Wendy

 

[JohnS_323]

No, you don't need to put it under the nut. I just wanted to make sure you used it with the fitting.

 

[Baxreefs]

Looking good so far.

Don't worry, it'll come together and you'll be enjoying hair algae and all the other wonderful joy this hobby has to offer.

Is that a 75 g or a 90?

Stand & canopy looks great! Alex does good work.

 

[JerseyWendy]

John, thanks again. We got it working! ;D Called Aqua Oceans in Toms River to make sure he had a bulkhead left for me, drove down there and back in less than 40 minutes ( ) and put everything back together. This time we used Flexhose (Spa Flex). WOW it works great. No noise and very smoothly. In less than an hour we're off to Medford for some LR. I am SO excited.

Thank you Baxreef. Oh, and Alex and I build the stand together. The canopy I did all by myself. The only reason I'm mentioning it is because I'm really proud to have done it "almost entirely" by myself.

---
Wendy

 

[JerseyWendy]

Got Rock?

Here is an update:
Went to Medford and picked up about 130 lbs. of rock. It's mostly Premium Fiji, but we also picked up some Pukani and Hawaian Rock.

When we got home I scrubbed, dipped, scrubbed and dipped - then handed it to my husband, who placed in the display tank, which we were filling up with the saltwater I had prepared in the 32 gallon trash can. Of course it didn't fill the tank, but I'm already in the process of collecting more R/O water so that hopefully by tomorrow evening the entire tank is filled and I can fire up the skimmer.

I also think I have LOTS of more scrubbing to do. I'll do that by individually taking out the pieces and scrubbing them in a separate container.

Gees - I am amazed how my hands feel after "playing" with saltwater all afternoon.

Here are some pictures:

All the rock smells really kind of fresh, not disgusting or foul or anything like that.

I'm running 2 Hydor Koralias #4 with it right now and have the heater set at 75 degrees. Got quite some circulation going on in there.

---
Wendy

 

[jazzsam]

I am glad you are a few steps ahead of me so I can watch your progress before I get there and look forward to it!

 

[JerseyWendy]

Here we are 3 days into the rock thingy. I rearranged (of course), and ended up adding the sand.

My readings on Tuesday were as follows, before doing a partial water change:

Salinity: 1.025
Temp.: 79
PH: 8.0
Ammonia: off the chart
Nitrite: 0.6
Nitrate: 0.5

I'm running 2 Hydor Koralias #4, and boy is there some turbulence.

The skimmer is still breaking in, I guess, because it hasn't produced any skimmate yet.

---
Wendy

 

[JerseyWendy]

I thought it was time for another update. Last Thursday I had somewhat of a scare because I had accidentally ingested some saltwater the day before, and at noon I began feeling ill. It started with an agitated caugh, and the stuff I was hacking up tasted really salty. Additionally my tongue had turned white. By 5PM I had a sever headache, couldn't focus, and my tongue had turned black!

My husband took me to the emergency room that evening, and all my vitals were normal. I had brought along a water sample, yet the (morone) physican on duty decided to send me home without any further tests, medicine, and without as much as looking at the water sample.

Friday I literally spent asleep most of the day, feeling extremely weak and sick.

Saturday I went to my family doctor because I had developed a fever as well. She ran a bunch of tests (blood included), and put me on antibiotics, short-term steroids, and decongestants. She does believe my tongue had turned black due to a chemical reaction from the saltwater, however, she believes the other symptoms may not be related.

So here I am, feeling MUCH better. Below is a picture of my tank with the actinics on.
Today's readings were:
Temperature: 80
Salinity: 1.025
pH: 8.2
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 1.8
Nitrate: 10
Alkalinity: 200

I have yet to see anything "move" in my tank. I have found numerous dead little wormy thingies.

---
Wendy

 

[arvin]

OUCH! I have had my (lion's) share of accidents in my reef adventures, this one beats it all!!

Glad you are back with the same gusto!

 

[JohnS_323]

Looks great, Wendy. I like the open look of the rock work.

Sorry to hear you were so ill. It's hard to believe it's saltwater related, though. I've definitely ingested my share over the past few years. You never know though, maybe something coming off of those "dead little wormy thingies" didn't sit so well.

 

[RevClyburn]

wow,

got to be more carful when I swallow water from my tank. That salt with all the little micro organism in the water column can cause some severe problems, nausea, diarrhea, sore throat, and who know whatelse. I had it happen to me, but not so severe. I pray all is well with you.

Your tank is coming together beautifully, very nice. I definitely need to get a bigger tank. But I have to get my family a bigger house first. I have so much l/r right now, I can definitely fill a 120 easily. But, for now, I'll just admire yours. May you continue to have great success

edwin

 

[JerseyWendy]

Thank you all so much.
When the ER physican asked me WHY I had consumed the saltwater I was so perplexed and dumb-founded, the only answer I could come up with was: "I was thirsty!" : Another thing that made the trip to the hospital quite memorable was the fact that I had collected a water sample in an EMPTY bottle of Vitamin C. When I handed it to the doctor he began reading the ingredients and said: "I don't think your tongue turned black from Vit. C." Mind you, I had explained to him what was in the bottle BEFORE giving it to him - but I guess his mind was elsewhere.

For a while I thought I had caught the flu, but my family doctor assured me there wasn't one going around here. Who knows. I'm just glad it's going away - whatever it is/was.

The only thing this "bug" didn't affect was my stomach and/or intestinal tract as far as I'm aware. Even though I still don't have much of an appetite, I never developed diarrhea and never vomited.

BTW, is it true the longer I stare at my tank, the faster it will cycle? (<--joke)

---
Wendy

 

[arvin]

BTW, is it true the longer I stare at my tank, the faster it will cycle? (<--joke)

I tried that; it didn't work.

 

[Phyl]

Great looking rock work. Love the way the 3 pillars look.

Word to the wise though... You're going to want 2" clear all around the glass (rock no closer than 2") so that you can get your cleaning magnet/reefgadget around the glass to keep it clean.

 

[concept3]

I know of someone near me who had the same thing happen while siphoning his reef tank for a water change. We really have to be careful not to ingest the salt water from our reef tanks as they have numerous forms of bacterias and organisms beneficial to aquatic organisms and not with us. My friend ended up in the ER for 2 days and the antibiotics that were given to him were the size of horse pills. Now, he starts the siphon from his tank by using one of those squeeze bulb things, he even refuses to dunk his hand without using aqua-gloves now. Talk about a man scorned!

Glad you're feeling OK, the tank looks awesome, and the progress you've made has been huge from start to finish- Looking forward to see your stocking lists and can't wait to see more pictures!

 

[JerseyWendy]

Thank you Phyl and Merv.

Phyl, after my initial rock-scaping I suddenly realized that my cleaner magnet wouldn't fit everywhere, so I moved everything around until I could easily reach everywhere.

Merv, that was scary what happened to your friend. I only wish the ER doctor would have reacted differently in my case. Perhaps, had he given my something appropriate last Thursday, I wouldn't have had to have taken a trip to my family doctor on Saturday. I'll be sure and be very careful from now on. Don't want a repeat experience.

Today I noticed something "new" on 2 of my rocks. I hope I'm not imagining things now, but I swear they weren't there yesterday. I tried taking pictures, but my camera's macro settings are pretty bad.
Here's the best I could do.

First thing close-up (as close as I could get it without distorting it any further )

Here it is further away:

And the other "thingy":

And again:

---
Wendy

 

[Treadingwater]

Your tank is looking very nice Wendy.

I always have a bucket I drain my water into next to me so when I start the siphon I just spit any water that may get in my mouth into the bucket. Granted, it's not pretty, but it keeps from having to swallow the water.

 

[BigRed]

that first thing looks a lot like some little mushrooms i have on some LR i got from malalu. i love the fun suprises that come with new rock