Thanks and welcome aboard.
600 Gallon Surger Reef Build
- Thread starter mdreef1
- Start date
Thanks and welcome aboard.
rpjaws74
New member
yeah I tried vinegar a while back and same results ph would go back up after a couple hours. Have you tried opening a window so fresh air is pulled into your system. It works just an idea if you havent tried it?
There are no windows to open in that room, but house's HVAC has to go through there to get out.. So I feel like there's a fair amount of 'fresh' air coming through. If I remember correctly, the air gets swapped roughly 6x per hour. I just think there's a ton of OH stored up in the concrete that needs to be exhausted. I'm thinking of switching to muriatic acid to speed things up. It comes in much higher strength, and is available cheap at home depot. From what I can tell its just HCl and water. That'll leave a lot of cloride in the water, but it's being swapped out enough that it shouldn't really matter. Plus, I plan to drain and clean everything before adding the real ro/di water and salt.
Only problem with using an acid is you are driving the reaction and you are breaking down your rock as a result. With this being a very high energy system this could cause the rock to weaken and break over time.
Also you will get a pH spike when you run full saltwater so check it before adding livestock.
Hope that helps and I have enjoyed reading this thread.
Good luck.
Also you will get a pH spike when you run full saltwater so check it before adding livestock.
Hope that helps and I have enjoyed reading this thread.
Good luck.
BigOldReef
New member
Have you tried aerating the water. A couple of air pumps and air stones might help the gas exchange and help lower the pH. Also putting the surges online will also greatly agitate and aerate as well.
JasonBJones
New member
I have made several rock walls with a similar DIY concrete mix. It takes a long while to cure the rock, expect a month at the minimum. The more often you change the water and the more circulation, the faster it will cure, but it is still a long process.
Agreed with Kufudafish- using an acid will weaken the rock a little bit, which I would be concerned about since you also used salt in the rock-making process.
On other notes, looking forward to watching this progress.
Agreed with Kufudafish- using an acid will weaken the rock a little bit, which I would be concerned about since you also used salt in the rock-making process.
On other notes, looking forward to watching this progress.
Well it's been quite a while, and the pH is still off the charts. I did finally get some muriatic acid, and added a bit of that. After adding, a thick white vapor comes off the surface of the water and cascades over the side of the tank. Needless to say, I try not to breath when I'm in the room.. spooky. Anyway, the pH drops off the chart on the acidity side for a while, and gets back to about 8 in an hour, and off the chart high after 24. It's taking longer to go up, so I think we're getting close.
On another note, I'm getting a lot of solar gain in that room. The water temp is up to 95 F, and I've measured 114 air temp at the top of the room. The calculated max daily gain for that room is 150k BTUs per day at the peak of summer. The HVAC design team urged me to put a split AC in that room, but I'd rather cool the water directly, and let the air figure itself out.
On another note, I'm getting a lot of solar gain in that room. The water temp is up to 95 F, and I've measured 114 air temp at the top of the room. The calculated max daily gain for that room is 150k BTUs per day at the peak of summer. The HVAC design team urged me to put a split AC in that room, but I'd rather cool the water directly, and let the air figure itself out.
freetareef
New member
looks great!!! following along!!
Ricardo Coelho
New member
Amaze!
When you expect to be with the system running?
When you expect to be with the system running?
Yes, I do. It's very solid, and I have a lot of confidence in it's durability. I'd guess there are prettier tanks out there, but not many as solid as this.
Welcome!
It'll be months before I get any higher order life. After the concrete finishes curing, I'll need to finish up the plumbing, do a full freshwater test, drain, clean, dry. Wait forever for the RO/DI to fill it up again, and add some salt. Then some bacteria and micro algae. Wait for the N cycle, then macro algae and little critters - worms, 'pods, stomatella... wait for the micro bloom (diatoms, cyano), wait for the critter population to catch up, and finally when the coraline gets started, macro is competing, and critters are established.. then the first baby tang goes in.
bikeboss11
New member
That rock structure is very unique... Will definitely be looking out for future updates
Yes, I would recommend them. It's way overbuilt, but Tom charged a fair price, and with all that glass it was a good value. I did give him license to make it as ugly as he wanted to guarantee maximum strength as I knew I'd be hiding it all behind a picture frame.
Thanks. It'll be a challenge to make it look more organic, less artificial. We'll see what I can do after i can get back in there... after the concrete has been cured and the water removed.
