Getting a 550 gallon tank next week...
- Thread starter ChiPerf
- Start date
Thanks! It's coming along with a lot of help from fellow MFKers. Next up is substrate and driftwood. No leaks or issues overnight, so I think we're good. I have to figure out a way to quiet this thing down too, between the water rushing in from the downtubes and the motor it is pretty loud. I know paneling on the stand will help a bit, but I am thinking about making some baffles for the downtubes and an insulated box to cover the motor. Pretty spoiled goldfish too. lol
Awesome tank! Have you looked up durso pipe's for the overflow box? Super simple to setup and will work wonders quieting that tank down. With only 1200gph your stock should be very minimal. Id look into gettting the gph rate up there a bit more. I have more than 2x that on my 225g. A 10x turnover rate is a good goal to shoot for 
Ps...that tank needs some cichla
Ps...that tank needs some cichla
Thanks! I have dursos on there now, and they work pretty well. The water noise is not coming from them, but from where the tank drains go into the sump and splash into it. How do you figure out gph on my setup? The tank is swirling pretty well compared to what I've seen elsewhere, and I can't imagine much more water turnover being needed. I am new to all this though, but I would think more turnover would be like a whirlpool in there. I've already got most of my fish from my 55 gallon right now, just waiting until this tank is cycled and then they move in.
Wound up going with Red Flint small gravel instead of sand. I pussed out. lol I know I would kick myself if I hated it down the road. I might try some in the 125 if I need all 350 lbs. of gravel for the new tank. I'm starting to get excited now. I need some gangsta sized driftwood pieces in there and some plants and we're all set. I noticed a leak again at the bulkhead I gooped up with silicone. Crikey! I guess that will leak for a while, because I'm not draining all this water now. At least it leaks into the sump, but it still pisses me off because I was going to cover the sump to keep heat in and evaporation at a minimum. Any idea where to get cheap filter material to set on top of the drip plate I have to make? Someone said McMaster Carr has some, and they are right by my work so that would be perfect.
I think this tank is a 400 gallon and not 550 as represented. It is 8' by 32" wide by 30" high. For the deal I got it for, I still am happy with it though. I realized this morning that the hole you drill in your durso is pretty critical for the water level in your tank. I drilled a slightly larger hole in one of the dursos last night to quiet it down some, and this morning the water level was touching the top of the tank ready to overflow, compared to about an inch under the top with a 1/16th smaller hole in just one of the dursos. Interesting.
Man I hate getting new gravel. This is after washing every bag 10 times. 350 lbs. of rock. Failed to account for this when filling the tank up too. My sump is a little full now. lol
Oh yeah. If they don't get black lung or gill cancer from the gravel dust they should be living large until I put in my cichlids and turn them into feeders. lol Thanks.
