Rollermonkey Posted November 23, 2013 Author Share Posted November 23, 2013 I am so not motivated to rinse my sand... Note to self: Static head from floor to top of sump is 5' 8", so if the height of the mixing station bottom is > 8", I can use five feet, otherwise, call it six. Now to look at external pumps that can handle that. A Danner MAG5 would give me @ 3.5 minutes to pump 20 gallons that high. And nothing can touch that performance for twice the cost, sounds like a deal. Link to comment
RollaJase Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 Plumbing is looking good, those reactors look classy. Link to comment
Rollermonkey Posted November 23, 2013 Author Share Posted November 23, 2013 Yeah, the LFS that made the tank and sump made them, too. They do great work, but since the two owners had a falling out and one bought out the other, customer service has kind of taken a nosedive. I reminded them three times that I wanted these reactors and they still weren't done for almost three weeks after the promised date. Every time I spoke to them it was like they had no clue what I was talking about. They make skimmers too, but I'm kind of glad I went another route, despite all the issues getting that. Link to comment
Rollermonkey Posted November 24, 2013 Author Share Posted November 24, 2013 Finally stopped being lazy and rinsed my sand and attached the two nicest barnacle clusters. FTS: Right side: Left side: ...and a closer look at those barnacles: Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 Those barnacles are beauties. They look really special in there. Can't wait to see who makes a home in them. What are your stocking thoughts? Link to comment
Rollermonkey Posted November 24, 2013 Author Share Posted November 24, 2013 Fish thoughts: Ocellaris Clownfish pair 1X Blue Assessor 1X Helfrichi Firefish 1X Coral Beauty dwarf angel Red Velvet Fairy Wrasse pair 1X Comet (Marine Betta) 1X herbivorous blenny such as a Black Combtooth, Starry or Lawnmower or the Red Faced one Live Aquaria had the other day. 1X Purple Tilefish I wanted a Flame Hawkfish, but apparently they like to eat shrimp. (much like I do! ) Stocking order will be: Firefish Assessor Clowns (BioCube breakdown) Tilefish Wrasses Blenny Dwarf Angel Comet Link to comment
Rollermonkey Posted November 26, 2013 Author Share Posted November 26, 2013 Wait, wait, wait. Lowe's has a 10% military discount? OMG, I could have saved so much money! Link to comment
Rollermonkey Posted November 26, 2013 Author Share Posted November 26, 2013 It looks like it's going to be Skimmersgiving here for sure! My package hit the UPS distribution hub at 1:16am. Normally that's early enough to get on the delivery truck, but stuff coming from FL always seems to sit there an extra day for some unknown reason. Link to comment
nanoreefer11 Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 Wait, wait, wait. Lowe's has a 10% military discount? OMG, I could have saved so much money! Isn't it 15%? I swear, everytime I go there they give me 15% Link to comment
Sunar357 Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 Home Depot does military discount also. Link to comment
Rollermonkey Posted November 27, 2013 Author Share Posted November 27, 2013 May have found a source for my MP10... below MAP... and... Link to comment
Rollermonkey Posted November 28, 2013 Author Share Posted November 28, 2013 7 weeks, 4 days, one cancellation and one vendor change later, I finally have a skimmer. Now to open the box and see if I can figure out how to put my first one together. Link to comment
Rollermonkey Posted November 28, 2013 Author Share Posted November 28, 2013 Well, there were no instructions in the box, but there are a couple unboxing/assembly videos on YouTube, so all was not lost. Ta da! Before doing anything else, I made sure that it actually fits in my sump, what with eurobracing, overflows and return line all in the same corner that the skimmer goes. It's a tight squeeze, to be sure, but it fits. Very, very tight fit. I actually have to rotate it about 10 degrees to fit the skimmer's wedge pipe between the return line and the side of the eurobrace, and the silencer is about 1mm from the eurobrace in that position. Pay no attention to the NeoTherm box acting as my 2" skimmer stand! (I don't know what the final skimmer stand height will be, but that should be pretty close. I guess it's time for a bath? Link to comment
Rollermonkey Posted November 28, 2013 Author Share Posted November 28, 2013 Skimmer is bathed. Should be able to order my MP10 taking advantage of this weekend's rebate, and once that arrives, I can push the whole thing into position and start filling it. A list of equipment to be obtained added after the fill: Neptune Apex Modules: VDM, LSM, WXM, EB-8 (#2), Moonlights Apex/Kessil link cable Danner Mag-5 (for mixing station / delivery) Assorted lumber & fittings for mixing station fabrication Skimmer stand Replacement MP10 wetside and RF Module I think that's it. Link to comment
RollaJase Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 Really tight fit on that skimmer, looks like a beast though. Link to comment
Rollermonkey Posted November 29, 2013 Author Share Posted November 29, 2013 Yeah, the reviews on it say even though it's a only 6" body, it pulls skimmate like a much larger unit. A couple have claimed to be pulling nearly yogurt like consistency. (Gross.) The norm seems to be that it breaks in quickly then works great. The first generation had some durability issues with the pumps, but those seem to be worked out due to a change in manufacturer over in China. I'm just hoping those issues don't affect my return pump which is a Reef Octopus, but came from the same factory as the 1st gen RLSS pumps. Link to comment
Rollermonkey Posted November 29, 2013 Author Share Posted November 29, 2013 Just got off the phone with Marine Depot... With the price matching guarantee and the Black Friday sales going on right now, I got the WXM and VDM modules for the Apex, the Apex-Kessil cable, for the tank and the Danner Mag-5 and three bulkheads for the mixing station. All that for $293. I also started making water! 20 gallons of RODI so far... I only have storage for 60 gallons, and the system volume is @100 gallons, so I'm not going to be able to fill this in one production run. I'm going to get the lumber this week, but the rest of the mixing station stuff will have to wait 'til next moth. Ahh, crap. I forgot filter socks. Well, those aren't necessary for cycling base rock, I guess. I'm going to make my own skimmer stand because $45 for a pre-made one is ridiculous. an 8x10 sheet of acrylic is like $5 and I can glue a couple legs made out of unused PVC pipe to that with superglue I already have. Link to comment
Rollermonkey Posted November 30, 2013 Author Share Posted November 30, 2013 MP10 ordered. That's coming from ID, so it should be here Tuesday or Wednesday. The stuff from Marine Depot should be here Thursday. I should be able to finally slide the tank into position on Friday and I've got 40 gallons of RODI made already. Link to comment
Roshan8768 Posted November 30, 2013 Share Posted November 30, 2013 Nice... it's coming along. Link to comment
Rollermonkey Posted November 30, 2013 Author Share Posted November 30, 2013 Yup. I can see the way to the end of the build phase, as the list of things still to be bought finally starts to get short. Link to comment
Rollermonkey Posted November 30, 2013 Author Share Posted November 30, 2013 Went to Lowe's to get the wood to build the stand. Got to the back where they cut wood for you, but the saw wasn't working. Can't fit full-length 2x8s in a G35 coupe, so I had to delay buying the wood apart from the 1/4 sheets of plywood. (2'x4') Was able to get all of the pipe/plumbing/hose components though, so it wasn't a complete loss. Link to comment
Rollermonkey Posted December 1, 2013 Author Share Posted December 1, 2013 After a trip to the next Lowe's, I got the wood, and got it cut to size before leaving the store. Got pretty far at putting the whole mixing station stand together when I ran out of screws. D'oh! Skimmer stand is going to be cake to make, though: Lowe's had a 1/8" acrylic piece that was exactly the right size without cutting. All I have to do is drill a bunch of holes in it and glue some feet on. Link to comment
Reef_Suds Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 This build is looking great! Link to comment
Rollermonkey Posted December 1, 2013 Author Share Posted December 1, 2013 Thanks! It has been a loooong, sloooow process. Tomorrow is 8 months from when I ordered the tank. One of the good things about going so slow is that I can really think out what I want to do. The bad part of course being the interminable wait to execute the next step. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.