OK ... The experiment is over ! My new sump/fuge has arrived (at least the acrylic boxes)
Recap:
My aquarium stand is divided into two compartments. Space is at a premium, so I design a split sump/fuge. I removed my Eheim 2227 Wet/Dry filter
and the old 5.5 gallon refugium. This is just some of the steps so far ... more picture later today ! Happy Easter !
OK .. So I get everything put together. In the sump I glue one baffle for a return section. In the refugium I drill two holes for the drain bulkheads.
Here's what it looked like .... I did say LOOKED like ...!!
My new acrylic tank cracked at the lower corner .. !!!!!
I think it was dropped durning shipping, and didn't notice it because the blue film was still on the bottom !!
Just my luck lately ...LOL. I have placed the protein skimmer and heater back in the display tank. Ran out and bought a plastic file box from
Office Depot for my sump, until I get around to fixing the acrylic sump. It may look ghetto, but it works just as good !
My repair job.
The first thing I did was pour weld-on #4 into the cracks. Letting it dry for a few days.
Then I took three pieces of 1/8" acrylic sheet and glued them over the cracks from the inside.
Letting it dry for a few more days. Water testing three more days ... No leaks !
So far.
Looks like one of my repair jobs!* Get-r-Dun.* Just watch those cracks to make sure they don't spread in the opposite directions.* Hopefully it'll hold.
Gotta love this hobby. What other hobby lets you try on so many hats?* Pet keeper / veterinarian, plumber, carpenter, researcher, photographer, dietician, electrician, glass worker!
Repairs are complete ! (crossing fingers still)
It's be a week since I repair and install my repaired sump under my display tank. Here's the first pic.
In this photo you will notice I have added about 5 lbs of live rock and the cheato has grown since the first photo. It doubles in size about ever three weeks.
Copepods everywhere !!!!
The copepods are doing great in the refugium. I feed them phytoplex daily. You can also see the brown algae on the tank sides. The copepods seem to like eating this also.
In the photo I zoomed in on a adult surrounded by many babies ... These are future food for my mandarin.
awesome shots dude - I have to make time to get one of these setup. I'd like to grow some Gracilaria parvispora for my tang.
I was going to do the same thing, but I read cheato was easier to keep. I really like having a sump. The display tank is always the full, only the sump needs refilling. Also the skimmer is prone to overflowing. Now if it does that, it doesn't get the floors wet. Do you have enough space for a sump/fuge under your tank ?
Nope, no space for them - I'm going to convert an old hang-on the back of the tank aquaclear for the refugium this week. I'll post pics when it's setup.
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