So I got a dirty crusty drilled 75 gallon tank from someone on here (Al). Really its not that crusty, I just feel like giving Al a hard time. Its been soaking in some vinegar to break down the crustiness and its actually starting to look pretty good.
My current 55 seems to be doing very well and I’m happy with it except for the fact that I CANNOT get the cloudiness off of the glass. If I look through the top or sides of the tank, it looks beautiful, but the front glass of the tank has some type of calcium crapped up on it that just wont come off (I’ve tried elbow grease). With the 75 coming up soon I’m wondering if I just take the 55 and turn it into a sump/fuge and just use the 75 as the display tank. I’ve got about a 3-4" sand bed in my 55 currently. What do you guys think?
It could be light scratches. I was TPP and they had a rep from a aquarium tank company who mentioned to use lemon juice and a soft cloth to remove small scratches. You let it soak for a bit rub soak rub. I never tried it but. I think it removers the deposits in the scratch so it is not as easily seen. It could also be some calcium deposits. I use muriatic acid to clean my tanks and pumps. It is a lot stronger then Lemon juice and vinegar so if you try this be careful.*
I think you’re going to be hard pressed to find someone that won’t say UPGRADE. You’ve already got the 75, finish cleaning that puppy and get 'er up. The 55 will make an awesome sump/fuge combo. You can even baffle out a middle section for an extra pump and run the closed loop we talked about last night.
as the saying goes > GO BIG OR GO BELLY UP WELL SOMETHING LIKE THAT. YES YOU WILL BETTER OFF GOING WITH THE 75 AND THE 55 SUMP. MORE WATER LESS PROBLEMS.
Tells us about the tub. Picture? Manufacturer? Previous uses? Some will become brittle in salt water and crack, slowly leaking.(or worse a sudden large crack releasing with an explosion of 50gs of SW on you’re floor) Carefull using containers not specificly designed for SW use. As a good rule of thumb food safe typically = reef safe.
I’ll see if I can grab a pic, or something of of the site today while I’m at work. I was thinking of closing the top off and not allowing light in, just rocks and water. I wanted to minimize the amount of surface area open to the air so I’m not evaporating tons of water. Of course will the rocks still function w/o light?
LR still function with out light. They look prettier in pretty low light(coralline growth), but looks are not what we are aiming for in the sump. The bacterias will still grow inside the rocks. I’ve heard some people refer to this as a “dark fuge”. A refugium with out light may sound like an odd concept to some, but you just have to look back to where the word comes from, a refuge from the predation in your tank. Bacterias and zoo plankton(pods) will still grow.