Disney's 75G Tank Journal

[DisneyCoralReef]

Great advice, I'll go see if I can get some PVC for the skimmer and hunt down something that holds weight that I can put in the sump. The tank isn't anywhere ready to accept live rock yet, so its not yet an option, but ill go try this. Not comfortable enough with the rubber idea tho, not sure what i could use that would be safe for the tank.

[Madreefer]

I'd be adding that live rock as soon as you can to start it cycling so you can start adding all the cool stuff. You can also shorten your pcv pipe by an inch or so which will make it so your pump is not touching the bottom or side of your sump. That will stop the humming or rattling sound. Just make sure that the pcv is anchored or supported somehow so the weight of your pump is not putting any stress on your plumbing. But putting rubber on the bottom of your pump is just going to dampen the sound and really should'nt hurt your water parameters. Anything food safe will be good.

[Boomboy]

looks good, keep it up, its always so muc fun setting up brand new tanks and getting them going the the bitter sweet of taking care of it comes in, and never having enough money

[phi delt reefer]

I use the pink insulation stryofoam that most use use their tanks. I used a couple rubber bands and attached it to the base of my pump. You can also put some sand in a ziploc bag and put that under the pump.

You could also be noise sensative. Get an eheim 1250 or 1260/1262. They are dead silent and I too am noise sensitive. I can hear electronics buzz that most can't so my idea of quiet is very different from others. I ve seen a couple setups that people swear are silent that would keep my whole family up at night.

U should put ur rock in now to start the cycle. There's nothing wrong with ur tank that will improve if u wait longer. I would get dead rock from Eco-reefer or cacoareef and just seed it with 5lbs of really nice live stuff. A cup of sand from a trusted reefers tank will get ur sand going too. This will ensure ur tank remains pest free and reduces the chances of algae blooms.

[DisneyCoralReef]

Originally Posted by phi delt reefer

I use the pink insulation stryofoam that most use use their tanks. I used a couple rubber bands and attached it to the base of my pump. You can also put some sand in a ziploc bag and put that under the pump.

I know exactly what you're talking about. I'll go see if I can find some over my break.

Originally Posted by phi delt reefer

You could also be noise sensative. Get an eheim 1250 or 1260/1262. They are dead silent and I too am noise sensitive. I can hear electronics buzz that most can't so my idea of quiet is very different from others. I ve seen a couple setups that people swear are silent that would keep my whole family up at night.

...and you're probably right with that as well. We have had tanks that had some sort of regular "noise", but nothing to this extent, but then again, we have never had a tank that size in our house either.

[DisneyCoralReef]

Alright we have 10 lbs of live rock and we have the pink insulation. Will put it in tonight, and let you know how that goes. Appreciate the advice!

[fishytime]

Originally Posted by Madreefer

I'd be adding that live rock as soon as you can to start it cycling so you can start adding all the cool stuff. You can also shorten your pcv pipe by an inch or so which will make it so your pump is not touching the bottom or side of your sump. That will stop the humming or rattling sound. Just make sure that the pcv is anchored or supported somehow so the weight of your pump is not putting any stress on your plumbing. But putting rubber on the bottom of your pump is just going to dampen the sound and really should'nt hurt your water parameters. Anything food safe will be good.

+1.....if you've got water(salted) in the tank and are happy with how the return and drains are functioning (aside from the noise(that will just take some tweaking)).....then get your rock in there Girly!......the rock doesnt care how cloudy the water is......might as well get the cycle started......

I cant remember if your return lines are over the top or if they are drilled???....if they are drilled, then I wouldnt "suspend" the return pump.....the pump vibration coupled with the weight of the pump and plumbing hanging from it could over time cause the bulkhead hole to fail and crack....best and easiest to go with a piece of dampening foam or rubber under the pump imho....

[fishytime]

btw......your man is a pretty funny guy

[DisneyCoralReef]

We added some rock to the sump last night, and it's made a big difference. I've also filled that corner overflow all the way near the top, so it's less noisy as well. I am still wanting to add an extension to the skimmer to try to take THAT noise down as well as the foam.

Will keep you posted, pictures to come.

[DisneyCoralReef]

So we added the rock to the sump, instantly took some noise down, but I also noticed something else which I thought was unusual. Now the rock we added is dry, dead as dead can be-rock, within 18 hours following the addition of the rock to the sump(and I dont know that this its actually possible-because this makes no sense to me), but the tank got much clearer, to the point where you couldn't see a thing before in the tank, and now you can suddenly see the power heads and a vague outlines of the sand.

Does the rock itself(even dead) affect the way the water now goes through the sump and allow for the water to get clearer? is this coming from the skimmer that's now working differently?

I know I have read online the skimmer can suddenly "break in", tho Im not sure how you would know that, but maybe that would explain the response to the tank?

I've started to move the sand more evenly in the tank so it's quite a big messy again. For those iphone users curious to see the tank live, I have air cam installed live and have the IP address and password for those who want to see the tank-just pm me. Still need to add foam to the pump to still continue to try to bring the sound down.