Hi and Thanks!

reefphish · #1 12-27-2002, 04:44 AM

Hey Calgary Reefers!

I've been lurking on this board for about a year while travelling around and planning my reeftank. Thanks for all the excellent advice and spelling tips! It's great to see that Calgary has one of the most active boards!

I've got a couple weeks off and hope to start putting together my system after christmas.

happy new year!

John

I do have a few questions ... would appreciate any input!

1. When installing bulkhead fittings... do I need to use silicone, or is the rubber seal enough?

2. Does anybody use 95 watt PC SmartLights? I bought some about 1.5 year ago.... haven't used them yet, haven't seen anything about them on the boards. Daniel had them running on a few tanks in his shop a couple of years ago, and I really liked the colour and size of the tubes. Interested in how hot they run?? i.e. will I need hood fans

3. Any tips on setting up a basement sump? I know its a loaded question.. I've done all the research, bought the correct pressure rated high flow pump and most of the pipe... ready to cut the hole, but would be interested in hearing from any "survivors" before I start the saw.

4. When mixing up a new batch of salt water any "rules of thumb" regarding salt to water ratios?

Delphinus · #2 12-27-2002, 06:38 AM

WELCOME to CANREEF! 8)

As for the bulkheads ... I would use silicone, but I don't think it's an absolute requirement. I feel better using it on my bulkheads. I also once tried to set up a 20g, and instead of using silicone I cranked on the bulkhead real tight, and I cracked the bottom glass. Ooops. From that point on I always siliconed instead. To be fair, this was a 20g with very thin glass. I think it would be pretty hard to crack 1/2" or 3/8" glass in the same manner.

You're in luck, we have a "resident expert" here on basement sumps, Canadian_Man.

And as for the salt to water ... I find it's "roughly" one cup of salt for every two gallons. I should mention that my salt scoop is a yogurt cup, and I don't know how close that is to a "real" cup as a unit of measurement.

Glad to have you aboard!

EmilyB · #3 12-27-2002, 07:24 AM

Buy a refractometer.

StirCrazy · #4 12-27-2002, 02:55 PM

Hi, I am not a Calgarian (thank god

) but I would like to say that you should not need silicone on your bulk head.. I have 6 of them and they are hand tight.. and I do not know od anyone personaly .. except for Tony that has said they used silicone..

what I would sugest is wetting them with a bit of tap water first, then tighten them by hand (remember the rubber goes on the water side) then when you fill your tank with tap water to test your plumbing and such see if they leak. if not your done if they are then play with them a bit.. if you can get them to seal then try the silicone.. but to put it in perspective all 6 of mine sealed from the start..

Steve

Canadian Man · #5 12-27-2002, 02:57 PM

WELCOME TO CANREEF!

1. I use a little silicone on the oring as well. Just make sure you put the oring/flange on the inside of the tank where the water will be contacting it.

2. Weather you need fans or not can depend alot on your hood design.
If you are just planning on running the pc's then I would not bother with the fan's.

3. There is allot to tell you about a basement sump. You should probably make the trip here some time and see it in person rather than me explaining it all but I know you will learn alot if you see it. I cut the holes in the wall not the floor and I made my hole on the return air feed of my house so when I need to patch it back up sometime I can just put a grate on the wall and I'm done

. Basement sump Is great!!! I have no worries about space!

4. buy a salinity mesurer of some sort and Tony is correct. I use a little less than 1 cup per 2 gallons.... When I make a 25g water change It's about 11 or 12 cups or so.

Dez · #6 12-27-2002, 04:39 PM

Welcome,

I work in an Aquarium store and we're installing tanks all the time and I prefer using silicone on the bulkheads, that way it's a hassle free installation. If ever the bulkhead needs to come out, no problems at all...

We've had tough times with not using silicone (little drips from the bulkhead)...

Let me put it this way, it never hurts to be safe..

Des

(I live in Edmonton, but by heart I'm a Calgarian)

Delphinus · #7 12-27-2002, 06:26 PM

A refractometer is a VERY cool toy .. er ... tool.

I guess I should mention, that when I say "roughly one cup per two gallons" I really mean "ROUGHLY one cup per two gallons." Always measure your specific gravity to be certain. But for me, it's quite like how Canadian_Man put it, when I mix up 30 gallons of salt water I find myself using about 15 cups to get to my target SG (I go with 1.025).

Also. .. On the topic of mixing up saltwater ... add the salt to water, not the water to salt. This way you start at 1.000 and gradually ramp up to 1.025. Mixing the other way you start at 1.XXXX (something very high, basically a super-saturated solution) and then you gradually ramp DOWN to 1.025. You want to avoid supersaturated solutions because it is in those cases that you precipitate out stuff you don't want to have precipitated out. Basically you get these little calcium snowflakes in your saltwater and they never dissolve back into the water. Once they're out, they're out; kind of thing. So always add the salt to the water as your mixing.

I went and bought me a big whomping drywall mixer attachment for my drill. That makes for mixing saltwater a whole lotta fun, beleive me!

The only catch is the real big ones havea 1/2" shaft, and not many drills except for the very expensive drills have a 1/2" chuck, most are 3/8". So check your drill, if you have the 3/8" go for the "semi big" mixer instead of the "Really big" mixer.

Bob I · #8 12-27-2002, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reefphish

Hey Calgary Reefers!

I've been lurking on this board for about a year while travelling around and planning my reeftank. Thanks for all the excellent advice and spelling tips! It's great to see that Calgary has one of the most active boards!

I think the reason that Calgary has such an active board, is that some of us have nothing better to do than post. Heaven forfend we should work

reefphish · #9 12-27-2002, 08:53 PM

Thanks everybody for all the responses and salt ratio tips. I do test for the S.G. but its nice to have a rough estimate for mixing up the salt.

Regarding the bulkhead silicone question... for those of you that do use the silicone was that with the rubber gasket? ie silicone both sides of the gasket?

cheers,

John

Canadian Man · #10 12-27-2002, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reefphish

Thanks everybody for all the responses and salt ratio tips. I do test for the S.G. but its nice to have a rough estimate for mixing up the salt.

Regarding the bulkhead silicone question... for those of you that do use the silicone was that with the rubber gasket? ie silicone both sides of the gasket?

cheers,

John

CORRECT