Dantrasy Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 22 hours ago, Joevember said: If the filter is just an reverse osmosis (RO) filter, then you could buy a deionization (DI) stage for fairly cheap and connect it to the current filter for 0 tds. It's important to get your water free from as many contaminants as possible. Yep, I ordered a refillable in-line Di cartridge today. 1 Quote Link to comment
Dantrasy Posted January 16, 2019 Author Share Posted January 16, 2019 A reef savvy friend visited yesterday and we spent time working on the tank. I'll get around to a test fill soon (in its current location away from the wall). The glue packaging said to wait 24hrs. I'm 99% sure everything will be ok. The 2-part glue stuck like crazy and getting the black ribbed hose over the pipes was a painful experience (even after boiling water and using lubricant). The problem with that hose is that it's ribbed a little on the inside too - so every few millimeters the end of the pipe hits a brick wall. 'Screwing' it on seemed to work best. The grey Sicce hose came with the filter used on my 4ft. The tap at the end is half an Eheim 13mm quick release. Here are some pics with most of the equipment in place. The skimmer might go in the second chamber, not 100% sure yet. 2 Quote Link to comment
Andreww Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 Off to a great start! Those hanging arms for the power module look so familiar...ADA? Quote Link to comment
Dantrasy Posted January 16, 2019 Author Share Posted January 16, 2019 Thanks Andreww! The lighting poles are the Cade brand, same as the tank and stand. 1 Quote Link to comment
Fragmental Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 7 hours ago, Dantrasy said: A reef savvy friend visited yesterday and we spent time working on the tank. I'll get around to a test fill soon (in its current location away from the wall). The glue packaging said to wait 24hrs. I'm 99% sure everything will be ok. The 2-part glue stuck like crazy and getting the black ribbed hose over the pipes was a painful experience (even after boiling water and using lubricant). The problem with that hose is that it's ribbed a little on the inside too - so every few millimeters the end of the pipe hits a brick wall. 'Screwing' it on seemed to work best. The grey Sicce hose came with the filter used on my 4ft. The tap at the end is half an Eheim 13mm quick release. Here are some pics with most of the equipment in place. The skimmer might go in the second chamber, not 100% sure yet. Looking good! What are you doing for power management? Quote Link to comment
Dantrasy Posted January 16, 2019 Author Share Posted January 16, 2019 Thanks Fragmental! For power management, well, my current thinking is this: I have black 3 tier trolleys either side of the tank (see pic in first post). I could place all the power boards/timers on the left hand side trolley on the bottom two shelves. I've seen black boxes on eBay (like a black plastic shoe box) that might be suitable to conceal most of the power boards, plugs, cables etc, I'll have to measure it up. As for the doser, I'm thinking I'll hang it on the wall behind the trolley on the right hand side. The containers can be on the floor directly under the doser. I can still get to it by pulling out the trolley. Quote Link to comment
Fragmental Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 12 hours ago, Dantrasy said: Thanks Fragmental! For power management, well, my current thinking is this: I have black 3 tier trolleys either side of the tank (see pic in first post). I could place all the power boards/timers on the left hand side trolley on the bottom two shelves. I've seen black boxes on eBay (like a black plastic shoe box) that might be suitable to conceal most of the power boards, plugs, cables etc, I'll have to measure it up. As for the doser, I'm thinking I'll hang it on the wall behind the trolley on the right hand side. The containers can be on the floor directly under the doser. I can still get to it by pulling out the trolley. Oh yep. That should work out nicely! Quote Link to comment
Dantrasy Posted January 19, 2019 Author Share Posted January 19, 2019 I got a few leaks 😬 So I added plumbers tape to the overfow bulkheads and clamped the return hose to the pipe. That seems to be working. I also added a bit more glue around an elbow join (return side). Have to wait now for the pvc cement to cure. It’ll be ok. I’m working it out ... the hard way. 1 Quote Link to comment
Dantrasy Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 Quick update and a question... The leaks are no more 😃 and the tank/stand/sump are in position against the wall. The Jecod dcs pump has a loud whine. I'm taking it back to the store on Saturday and swapping it for a new one. The DI resin cartridge arrived. Getting zero tds now, as I should. Question: If I plan to fill the tank and add salt this Saturday, can I start producing rodi water now (Wednesday)? I have a 100L water tank to store it in. Thanks. Quote Link to comment
Andreww Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 Sure you can. Are you concerned with it sitting around a few days? I store water for 3 water changes or so until I get more. I get to do 2 water changes until I have to put the third batch in the ATO container and that can take 2-3 weeks sometimes. Had no issues doing it this way. 1 Quote Link to comment
Dantrasy Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 Makes sense, thanks Andreww. Quote Link to comment
Dantrasy Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 I've been looking at the mess of wires and tubing that is my ato. It has two mounts.... Yet I always see people use just one mount, like this... Can someone tell me the purpose of the second mount? I understand you can place the emergency float shut off in one mount and the sensor in the other. But why would you want the emergency shut off much higher or much lower than the sensor? To get it away from water splash? I want to set it up like the pic above, both in one mount. The funny thing is I purchased the ato second hand. The guy I got it from used both mounts. Quote Link to comment
Andreww Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 I use both mounts. The sensor is to keep the water level constant in return chamber wherever you decide that is but the float valve has to be installed higher ; it’s just for safety. In case the sensor fails the other one takes over and you won’t crash your tank having gallons of water poured in your system. You can have both installed on the same mount but when power goes out or you unplug the return pump, it will constantly beep until level is restored which is annoying, unless you have check valves on the return lines. Hope that made sense. 2 Quote Link to comment
Fragmental Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 18 hours ago, Dantrasy said: Quick update and a question... The leaks are no more 😃 and the tank/stand/sump are in position against the wall. The Jecod dcs pump has a loud whine. I'm taking it back to the store on Saturday and swapping it for a new one. The DI resin cartridge arrived. Getting zero tds now, as I should. Question: If I plan to fill the tank and add salt this Saturday, can I start producing rodi water now (Wednesday)? I have a 100L water tank to store it in. Thanks. I store RODI and ASW for a couple months at a time. I prefer to make large batches so water changes are consistent and as I near the end of one batch I make a new batch and begin mixing old batch with new batch to ease the transition. I've had no issues, I store them airtight in a cool dark place. Hope this helps 1 Quote Link to comment
Dantrasy Posted January 26, 2019 Author Share Posted January 26, 2019 Here's the progress so far on the scape. Still have to epoxy more rock together (some are just resting in place) and add a few small bits of rock to smooth it out. The whole scape is away from the back glass by a couple inches. 3 Quote Link to comment
Fragmental Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 12 hours ago, Dantrasy said: Here's the progress so far on the scape. Still have to epoxy more rock together (some are just resting in place) and add a few small bits of rock to smooth it out. The whole scape is away from the back glass by a couple inches. Damn that's a sick scape. Exactly what I've been waiting for! Is that Caribsea Life Rock? Quote Link to comment
Dantrasy Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 Thanks Fragmental! It's 'real reef rock'. It's weird stuff to work with, give me ohko rock any day. I swapped the pump yesterday. I tested it in the bath tub and it's very quiet, but that's with no head pressure. The moment of truth will come today/tomorrow when I flood the tank. Also got some ammonium. Here you can see the power management on the bottom left shelf, and you can just see the doser on the left behind everything on the wall. 1 Quote Link to comment
Fragmental Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 1 hour ago, Dantrasy said: Thanks Fragmental! It's 'real reef rock'. It's weird stuff to work with, give me ohko rock any day. I swapped the pump yesterday. I tested it in the bath tub and it's very quiet, but that's with no head pressure. The moment of truth will come today/tomorrow when I flood the tank. Also got some ammonium. Here you can see the power management on the bottom left shelf, and you can just see the doser on the left behind everything on the wall. Very neat! Do you have any nitrifying bacteria? Quote Link to comment
Dantrasy Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 Just using Seachem Stability. I wanted to use Dr Tim’s one and only, but I had a voucher that had to be used, and that store sold Stabilty. The ammonium is Dr Tim’s, I’ve never used it before. Aqua soil leaches huge amounts of ammonia, so I’ve never had to worry about this before. Dr Tim’s says 1 drop per gal to get 2ppm. So that’s about 35 drops. 2ppm seems a bit high to me, so I’ll go for about 26 drops to reach approx 1.5ppm. Then dose stability as per bottle instructions. Something will happen. 1 Quote Link to comment
Fragmental Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 17 hours ago, Dantrasy said: Just using Seachem Stability. I wanted to use Dr Tim’s one and only, but I had a voucher that had to be used, and that store sold Stabilty. The ammonium is Dr Tim’s, I’ve never used it before. Aqua soil leaches huge amounts of ammonia, so I’ve never had to worry about this before. Dr Tim’s says 1 drop per gal to get 2ppm. So that’s about 35 drops. 2ppm seems a bit high to me, so I’ll go for about 26 drops to reach approx 1.5ppm. Then dose stability as per bottle instructions. Something will happen. Yea should work fine. I think the main difference is that Dr Tim's bacteria are naturally occurring bacteria isolated from marine environments. I used dr tims (One and Only/eco balance/waste away), continuum bacter gen M, aquaforest (bio S/pro bio S). A bit hectic I know, but I wanted biodiversity. I still dose each every now and then to give a booster. I took ammonia to 2ppm and dosed acetic acid every day. Once it was cycled, I took ammonia to 2ppm again to ensure it could take fish and coral. I added most of my stock after 4 days of starting up because of a forced tank shut down, didn't have much choice, I don't recommend it. Everything faired well though, I was quite suprised. 1 Quote Link to comment
Dantrasy Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 This is the finished scape. I have to work out how to improve the picture quality, it's so grainy. I'll fill tomorrow. 5 Quote Link to comment
Frag Factory Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 I love that scape, great job 1 Quote Link to comment
Dantrasy Posted January 30, 2019 Author Share Posted January 30, 2019 Thanks Frag Factory! The D-D epoxy enabled some nice looking shapes. It was a real game changer for me. I used up almost three packets. Quote Link to comment
JR! Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 love the scape man. well done 1 Quote Link to comment
Fragmental Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 On 1/29/2019 at 7:35 PM, Dantrasy said: This is the finished scape. I have to work out how to improve the picture quality, it's so grainy. I'll fill tomorrow. Very good. Can't wait to see it wet! 1 Quote Link to comment
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