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RobertP Tank Redo (1 Viewer)

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Got my new Lifereef skimmer in and as per usual with Jeff's stuff it works perfect. Originally I planned for a 36" skimmer but opted for this 30" and it barely fits under my table. Of course I did raise the sump up to make it easier to clean out down the road.

MicroBacter Start XLM WORKS! At the 7 day mark and 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and up to 3 nitrates. Sat down and did all the tests and Alk was at 7.3 which is lower than I like. I prefer around 8-8.5. Calcium is at 450 and 434 using salafert and hanna. Yes, my hanna calcium tester finally worked! Guess those reagents that came with it were garbage. Mag was 1200 which is lower as well. And of course I dont have enough mag mix so got to get that. Phosphates are high at 54ppb or .166ppm. Guess it is time to get the refugium light going so I can grow some weeds!
 

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I added some more ammonia since I still dont have any fish. Put in enough for 3 PPM on Saturday and it is down to .25 on Tuesday. I will check it again later tonight and see. I am still not seeing Nitrites go up but Nitrates have gone up to 5. If the ammonia and nitrites check out I will add some Chromis this weekend. They worked out well for first fish last time I started this process. I think I started with 5 last time which seemed to be a good number since they distributed their bullying evenly.

Got the rock tub idea going and plumbed in. Now I am waiting on the 100 pounds of dry rock to come in. Also built a quarantine shelf for tanks. I will slowly start adding a 40g breeder or two and a 55gal. Since it is next to the window algae will most likely be an issue but it will also have free light! Have have some cheapo banggood led lights I have had a while that I will use over those tanks. Mainly just to give it some light for me, not for fish or corals. Oh and with cheapo banggood lights I highly recommend a good power supply. The power supplies from banggood are nogood IMO. Meanwell makes really good ones.
Also built a shelf over the refugium that I failed to take a picture. I mainly did that to hang the Kessil H380 grow light.
 

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Got my new Lifereef skimmer in and as per usual with Jeff's stuff it works perfect. Originally I planned for a 36" skimmer but opted for this 30" and it barely fits under my table. Of course I did raise the sump up to make it easier to clean out down the road.

MicroBacter Start XLM WORKS! At the 7 day mark and 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and up to 3 nitrates. Sat down and did all the tests and Alk was at 7.3 which is lower than I like. I prefer around 8-8.5. Calcium is at 450 and 434 using salafert and hanna. Yes, my hanna calcium tester finally worked! Guess those reagents that came with it were garbage. Mag was 1200 which is lower as well. And of course I dont have enough mag mix so got to get that. Phosphates are high at 54ppb or .166ppm. Guess it is time to get the refugium light going so I can grow some weeds!
What pump are you using to push the mazzei nozzle? Which model of mazzei is it?
 
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Sicce Syncra silent 5.0 to run the skimmer for now.
Not sure how I can tell what model mazzei it is...it screws into 1" PVC. I do not see any numbers other than the patent that says the model.
 

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Sicce Syncra silent 5.0 to run the skimmer for now.
Not sure how I can tell what model mazzei it is...it screws into 1" PVC. I do not see any numbers other than the patent that says the model.
Notice at the top there's a model number? Yours will be imprinted there too.

2081-with-Text_3.5in.jpg
 
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Its model 978. It was a real pain because it's on the backside and black.

8.jpg
 
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Roughly how many gallons is your system?
 
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2 of 3 WAV pumps stopped working. Got one working again but one is definitely dead. I am done with these pumps and wont buy a replacement. Got a Jebao sow16 today and the thing looks like a tunze clone and is pretty strong and cheap. We will see how it holds up.
Got the replacement energy bar mounted and rewired to make it cleaner. Still would like to do some cable management but it works for now.
Last piece is to get the DOS calibrated again and add the new ph probe for the apex.

Added 10 little chromis to the tank. Real happy to finally have fish again. Next step is some beginner corals to watch the tank.
 

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I love the fact that your former display is just a tank that you have in garage now.
 
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HA! 15 year old tank and then drain it and place in an unconditioned metal building in Texas heat for a year and a half. Yeah the floors in our new house are vinyl tiles but I just don't trust it. Plus I didn't put anything down on the concrete when it went into storage and the stand must have absorbed some of the concrete sweat. I saw some swelling that was not there before. While it is still a stable stand it wont live in the house.

I am planning for a nice 8ft display tank in the house. Wife and I are having discussions about the definition of "nice". I can tell you she really was jonesing for some clowns this weekend. And mentioned "but they will only be in the garage"....the plan is working. :)

Alk is sitting pretty at 8.5 and all the levels are where they should be. Got the DOS set up and dosing almost nothing but it is working which seems to be a miracle with all the other crap that stopped working. Did I mention the SicceSyncra5 pump is still going strong? Time for a 40 breeder so I can get a couple little tangs in quarantine. Hung up 4 cheapo banggood lights over the quarantine shelfs. Even hung a LED light that came with a 10 gallon tank I got a few years ago. It is junk I just wanted to see if I could do it and how it would look. I have a couple SBReef lights that I used to have on my apex that I need to rewire back with their potentiometers. Believe it or not I kept the pots and still have them located even after the move...that is almost a miracle for something that small. I'm not quite sure what I am going to do with the SBReef lights yet.
 
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HA! 15 year old tank and then drain it and place in an unconditioned metal building in Texas heat for a year and a half. Yeah the floors in our new house are vinyl tiles but I just don't trust it. Plus I didn't put anything down on the concrete when it went into storage and the stand must have absorbed some of the concrete sweat. I saw some swelling that was not there before. While it is still a stable stand it wont live in the house.

I am planning for a nice 8ft display tank in the house. Wife and I are having discussions about the definition of "nice". I can tell you she really was jonesing for some clowns this weekend. And mentioned "but they will only be in the garage"....the plan is working. :)

Alk is sitting pretty at 8.5 and all the levels are where they should be. Got the DOS set up and dosing almost nothing but it is working which seems to be a miracle with all the other crap that stopped working. Did I mention the SicceSyncra5 pump is still going strong? Time for a 40 breeder so I can get a couple little tangs in quarantine. Hung up 4 cheapo banggood lights over the quarantine shelfs. Even hung a LED light that came with a 10 gallon tank I got a few years ago. It is junk I just wanted to see if I could do it and how it would look. I have a couple SBReef lights that I used to have on my apex that I need to rewire back with their potentiometers. Believe it or not I kept the pots and still have them located even after the move...that is almost a miracle for something that small. I'm not quite sure what I am going to do with the SBReef lights yet.
I'm excited to see where this goes. I'd love to see your place soon and see what you're imagining.
 
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You are welcome any time Cody!
One thing you do not think about with a custom home in the country is the grass. They built up the pad for the house with clay that is hard as a rock when it is dry but really sticky when it is wet. And since we have two dogs they like to bring it inside! I seeded the yard with rye grass and it is really thick now but it wont make it once it gets warm. So good grass that will live through the summer is high on the list. And I got spoiled in my house in Spring with a sprinkler system and really want one out here for the new grass. Oh and a new mower since I really dont want to push mow all this! My wife has told me a Yamaha Viking buggy is high on the list as well.
So that new tank will be a while...hopefully next year but we will see.
 

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You are welcome any time Cody!
One thing you do not think about with a custom home in the country is the grass. They built up the pad for the house with clay that is hard as a rock when it is dry but really sticky when it is wet. And since we have two dogs they like to bring it inside! I seeded the yard with rye grass and it is really thick now but it wont make it once it gets warm. So good grass that will live through the summer is high on the list. And I got spoiled in my house in Spring with a sprinkler system and really want one out here for the new grass. Oh and a new mower since I really dont want to push mow all this! My wife has told me a Yamaha Viking buggy is high on the list as well.
So that new tank will be a while...hopefully next year but we will see.
Throw out some Bermuda seeds if you have enough sunlight. I'd LOVE to see my back yard with it, but I think there's too much shade. I have a lot of trees and large bushes.
 
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I am leaning toward bermuda vs st augustine. Plenty of sun in the back and most of the front. Bermuda is better at surviving a drought and cold which is most of Texas.
 
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Well that is disappointing. 100 lbs of Marco's rocks came in but I could instantly tell it wasn't enough. I guess I was thinking pulkani which is much less dense but almost impossible to find dry now.

I sprayed off the rocks and dropped them in but the tub just swallowed it. I could use another 200 lbs and will keep my eyes open for more. I forgot to fill the RO tank until late this afternoon so it will have to wait till I can make another 50 gallons or so.
 

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As a test I ordered one of these packs. 40 lbs of reef rock for $55 is a pretty good deal for new dry rock. It says it is mined from PR which sounds just like Marcos rocks which are mined in Florida. Looking at the box it is slightly bigger than the marcos rock box and personally I think it weighed as much as the 50 lb box. It didn't have the hand-holds in the side so it is more awkward to carry. Perhaps that is what made me think it was heavier or as much. The marcos rocks were postage rated at 53lbs but cannot read this one's weight. Stupid me did not weigh the boxes...that would have been smarter. It came with one really big piece and a couple smaller ones that look exactly like marcos rocks. I would be really happy to put either of these types of rocks in my display! Still could take at least 2 more of these boxes to fill the tub up.
Got a tip from a Marsh reader (THANK YOU) on some more rock but have not heard from the source yet. I might have lowballed him too much on the price. Sorry but this natures own rock is $1.38 per pound and it comes to the house! You want me to pay more AND come get it? Now if it was pulkani rock I will pay more and drive! :)

I filled up my saltwater mixing tank and started mixing water and of course I ran out of salt! All the salt I had is mixing up to 1.20....not good enough and not playing that good enough game. Went ahead and put a heater and powerhead in the rock tub and added some Microbacter7. It is only about 3/4 full of water but the rocks are covered so this will work until I get a little more salt. Microbacter7 says to add daily for 2 weeks to help seed the rocks. If the StartXLM works....

Oh finally some good news. I made about 150 gallons of RODI water the past 2 days and WOW the aeration tank is working really well! It was reading 3 TDS after the RO and 0 after the first two stages of DI and of course 0 after. And I do not think the DI resin color moved at all!
 

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Thanks but this IS the main tank for a while. :)

You know you are weird when you stare at 10 chromis like they are going to start talking to you! Got to get a few test frags.
 

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Salt finally came in. What is it with Fritz RPM salt and their buckets with no bags inside? Guess I got I used to red sea buckets which have a bag inside. Had a bucket break in shipping once and the bag saved the salt.

Oh well got the rest of the rock tub filled and moved a few rocks from the fuge to the tub. I made a plywood lid for the tub and painted it in krylon black. Then just for kicks I glued 2 mil plastic to both sides. It's pretty ugly but if it works who cares. This will keep it nice and dark and mostly sealed.

I dropped a pos ac powerhead in it to help circulate the water. It is a 1/2" intake and two 1" drains so was not sure it would circulate enough. I might take the powerhead out once I watch it some more to see if its it's enough. I really do not like how I plumbed the drains and will redo those at some point. Added too much water and had to remove some after I took this pic. The tub took a few minutes to start draining properly.
 

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Got algae growing in the tank so it is time to adjust the lights to run less and get some chaeto and a crew started.
 

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