75 Gallons of Persistence

[iwishtofish]

No.

The K4's should provide enough movement in a 75. When I ran Koralias, I had a 2 and a 3 in a 58(same width/height, 3ft long) I had them on opposite sides, pointing towards each other and had a nice grye and random flow in the middle. I placed one up top and one about 1/2 down.

They have a decent broad flow that slows down the further out you get. Get your rock in there and watch how particles float around. If you have movement at the opposite end you'll probably be ok. The other option, and it may be too late for it, would be to have the return at the viewing end.

Ok, I guess I'll just have to do some tweaking once the rock is in. I have been reluctant to place any powerhead down at the "clean" end of the tank, but this may be unavoidable. I have a couple more smaller Koralias that I can deploy, if necessary. Thank you.

 

[iwishtofish]

Well, this BRS reactor is getting the best of me, and it's not necessarily the reactors fault! I had to reconfigure the hose yet again, as I realized that I had the source hooked up to the outlet rather than the input. I had looked inside the reactor prior to hooking it up the first time, but I failed to realize then that its internal workings are opposite than those of the 2LF reactor.

I think we are good with that now, although the fittings are under a fair bit of pressure from that darn STIFF HOSE! :hammer:

Still some tweaking left to do: the reactors aren't hanging quite vertically, and I need to replace the Koralia 3 in the refugium. Plugged it in and it doesn't work. One advantage of not having any rock or substrate in there yet is that I can see the tiny specks of pvc and such that need to be removed. Don't want any future fish eating that.

 

[iwishtofish]

The plumbing is still holding up, and I am pleased with just about everything so far. I turned on the heater, and I may try to get the water to 1.025 tonight. I'd like it to be at 1.026 eventually, but will wait until after I've acclimated my CUC and initial livestock, I think.

Adding the rock with the tank full will be a pain in the butt, of course, especially since I'd like to get egg crate under this pointy rock. Does anyone know if egg crate has any tendency to float?

 

[M88A2]

the ones i picked up at HD dont, it eventually sinks to the bottom with nothing else attached to it.

 

[iwishtofish]

the ones i picked up at HD dont, it eventually sinks to the bottom with nothing else attached to it.

That's good to know. I figured if it floated, I'd have to tie at least one rock to each piece of egg crate before lowering it into the tank. Things should be easier now. Thanks

 

[iwishtofish]

I've been adding salt throughout the day. I've been working with a 200g box of Instant Ocean that I've had in my basement for well over a year. I was afraid it would be caked or something after all this time, but the four bags were well-sealed and the salt was like sugar. So far, I've added almost 2-1/2 bags, and hopefully when I test again I'll be near 1.025. It's amazing how much salt it takes to make saltwater.

After I'd added a good bit of salt, my skimmer decided to make tiny bubbles instead of big bubbles. And boy does it make a lot!

As you can see from the picture, the bubble trap is obviously working, but I'm still getting some microbubbles in the DT and refugium. There aren't enough to bother me, though. One more matter of preference.

I will need to get a large 90-degree elbow for the skimmer outlet. When I turn the gate valve enough to bring bubbles up the skimmer cone toward the collection cup, water flies out of the outlet hard enough to splash considerably. (Is that how it is supposed to work?) I need the elbow to shoot the water straight down.

 

[Robb in Austin]

Go slow on the salt addition, you don't want to over shoot.

I actually run mine in the 1.024-.025 range because I know evaporation will raise it. (No, I don't have an ATO.) Is this ideal? Nope. But it works for me.

 

[iwishtofish]

Go slow on the salt addition, you don't want to over shoot.

I actually run mine in the 1.024-.025 range because I know evaporation will raise it. (No, I don't have an ATO.) Is this ideal? Nope. But it works for me.

Robb, I was pretty lucky - I got impatient and added 4 or 5 cups worth at the end, waited a while, came back to the tank and it was 1.0255.

I do have an ATO, I just haven't put the float switches in the sump yet. I also need to clean out a 40 breeder I have, and find the glass top so I can use it as my ATO reservoir. It should hold plenty of water for a lengthy vacation.

 

[iwishtofish]

Alright now, why can't my 300w heater in the sump get my tank 0ver 76.4 degrees? I have it set at about 82 degrees on the dial, and the heater light is always ON. Do I need to buy another one? :hmm6: The room stays around 65-70 degrees year-round. I doubt I'll ever need a chiller.

There are a LOT less microbubbles coming out of the skimmer. I still can't crank it up until I fashion something to stop the splashing at the outlet. At least now I can see the water/bubbles churning in the base of the skimmer. I think it is going to work well.

I'll need to do something with powerheads. Not enough flow - not even nearly. I can tell this even without the rock in there. It's not Vortech time yet, so I'm thinking some monster Koralia Magnum...

Speaking of rock, I still need to cut that egg crate.

 

[JCeballos27]

Great progress man! I cannot believe the room stays at about 70 degrees year round! I'd love that room lol. I think that the heater isn't working correctly. If you can't get over 77 degrees w/ a 300 watt heater (which is what I plan on getting) it has to be faulty. What kind of heater is it? I have heard great things about the Eheim heaters. Maybe you should look into those? I have the opposite situation of yours, being in Miami. The house is always 80+ degrees with the A/C off. With it on, the house remains between 75-78 degrees. I leave it at 78 when I'm not home. That keeps my tank at about 78-80 degrees. I invested in a chiller because the summer is coming up and I have a feeling the house can get really hot when I'm not home.

 

[Enjoy]

For my 120g I had 2-300w heaters and it barely kept the tank up to temp when my house was in the low 70's. You might need to add another heater.

As for the micro-bubbles, once your skimmer breaks in they should stop completely or at least be much better than what is shown in the pic.

Setup looks great, good job.

 

[c0mp|ex]

Alright now, why can't my 300w heater in the sump get my tank 0ver 76.4 degrees? I have it set at about 82 degrees on the dial, and the heater light is always ON. Do I need to buy another one? :hmm6: The room stays around 65-70 degrees year-round. I doubt I'll ever need a chiller.

There are a LOT less microbubbles coming out of the skimmer. I still can't crank it up until I fashion something to stop the splashing at the outlet. At least now I can see the water/bubbles churning in the base of the skimmer. I think it is going to work well.

I'll need to do something with powerheads. Not enough flow - not even nearly. I can tell this even without the rock in there. It's not Vortech time yet, so I'm thinking some monster Koralia Magnum...

Speaking of rock, I still need to cut that egg crate.

Man, i wish my house was always at 65-70! Here in Texas, I have to keep mine at around 76-77 so that the energy bill doesn't get too high! With the a/c off, the ambient temp easily climbs to about 86+ in the summer! I normal keep it at 82 when not home.

 

[shaggss]

I'll need to do something with powerheads. Not enough flow - not even nearly. I can tell this even without the rock in there. It's not Vortech time yet, so I'm thinking some monster Koralia Magnum...

I would use more smaller ones than just one large one. Then you can direct flow to the SPS while having low flow for your LPS.

Give the skimmer time to break in, sometimes this can take up to 3 weeks....a good vinegar bath for the skimmer will remove any manufacturing leftovers and may speed things up.

As for the heaters, it is better to use two smaller than required than one big one. If one fails on, then it wont have the power to cook your tank, if it fails off, then the other one will keep the temp drop to a minimum and hopefully you'll pick up on whats going on. It seems lately Eheim Jager heaters have the best rep. I would stay away from stealth heaters. A quick search will explain why! Can't remember if you are using a controller or not but, Ranco have a good track record or you could buy a RKL which it think is basically the same price......

All looks good. At this rate you should have fish in it tomorrow! :bounce3:

 

[iwishtofish]

Great progress man! I cannot believe the room stays at about 70 degrees year round! I'd love that room lol. I think that the heater isn't working correctly. If you can't get over 77 degrees w/ a 300 watt heater (which is what I plan on getting) it has to be faulty. What kind of heater is it? I have heard great things about the Eheim heaters. Maybe you should look into those? I have the opposite situation of yours, being in Miami. The house is always 80+ degrees with the A/C off. With it on, the house remains between 75-78 degrees. I leave it at 78 when I'm not home. That keeps my tank at about 78-80 degrees. I invested in a chiller because the summer is coming up and I have a feeling the house can get really hot when I'm not home.

Thanks, J. It's a Via Aqua titanium heater. I'm hoping it's just the relatively cool room that is causing it to fall short. I guess there are some advantages to keeping a tank in the basement (no chiller!).

For my 120g I had 2-300w heaters and it barely kept the tank up to temp when my house was in the low 70's. You might need to add another heater.

As for the micro-bubbles, once your skimmer breaks in they should stop completely or at least be much better than what is shown in the pic.

Setup looks great, good job.

Andrew, I think I'm going to try another heater, which is kind of a bummer since it's another unexpected $40. It's amazing how much the microbubbles have subsided. I'm not really skimming anything (nothing to skim), but it seems it is breaking in, regardless. And thank you for the compliment!

Man, i wish my house was always at 65-70! Here in Texas, I have to keep mine at around 76-77 so that the energy bill doesn't get too high! With the a/c off, the ambient temp easily climbs to about 86+ in the summer! I normal keep it at 82 when not home.

It gets hot in Texas? :lol: It's the winter months that kill me here regarding electricity. It seems A/C is half as expensive to run in this house.

I would use more smaller ones than just one large one. Then you can direct flow to the SPS while having low flow for your LPS.

Give the skimmer time to break in, sometimes this can take up to 3 weeks....a good vinegar bath for the skimmer will remove any manufacturing leftovers and may speed things up.

As for the heaters, it is better to use two smaller than required than one big one. If one fails on, then it wont have the power to cook your tank, if it fails off, then the other one will keep the temp drop to a minimum and hopefully you'll pick up on whats going on. It seems lately Eheim Jager heaters have the best rep. I would stay away from stealth heaters. A quick search will explain why! Can't remember if you are using a controller or not but, Ranco have a good track record or you could buy a RKL which it think is basically the same price......

All looks good. At this rate you should have fish in it tomorrow! :bounce3:

Well, not quite tomorrow, haha...I think this dry rock might take a little while to get going!

I'm going to try adding another 300w Via Aqua titanium heater, I think. Sigh.

I don't know what to do about the powerheads. I'm determined (unreasonably so) to keep them all at one end of the tank. That's why I'm considering a big blaster - to really throw water down there. But you make a really good point.

 

[reefermad619]

Still getting bubbles in the DT?

 

[iwishtofish]

Still getting bubbles in the DT?

Not that I noticed while examining the flow (or lack of) this evening.

 

[reefermad619]

Nice! When I run skimmers, I always try to put the outlet as far away as I can from the first baffle in the bubble trap. It can make adjusting a little harder, but everything to prevent those damn bubbles is worth it.

 

[c0mp|ex]

It gets hot in Texas? :lol: It's the winter months that kill me here regarding electricity. It seems A/C is half as expensive to run in this house.

Texas is crazy. The highs are already breaking the 90's and it's just the beginning of spring! High of 86 tomorrow, high of 92 on Saturday! Don't worry, it gets cold here in the winter too. It got down to as low as 20 degrees this past winter. I was in the 20's for about a week straight. In the summer, a heater is useless to me. I never ran a chiller on my 29, i hope i don't need one on the 60. I already installed a fan in the stand to blow over the sump and I'm thinking of installing another. I hope thats enough since most of my equipment is energy efficient. The 60g will be downstairs instead of upstairs so hopefully that will keep it cooler too.

 

[Sean_South]

Just finished around 5 hours of reading ( give or take) to go front to back on your build thread and it has been a wealth of knowledge. I saw people saying they were going to subscribe to your thread? how can you do that? Thanks for any help... an even noob-ier question then fish tanks is learning how to subscribe!
I will be following this thread, I am slow and steady building my knowledge (like you!) and slow and steady building my financials to build my tank. slow and steady! ( I have been researching for almost 2 years just dont have the money to swing it unfortunately )

 

[iwishtofish]

Nice! When I run skimmers, I always try to put the outlet as far away as I can from the first baffle in the bubble trap. It can make adjusting a little harder, but everything to prevent those damn bubbles is worth it.

Thank you! I think I can swing the outlet arm away from the baffles. There are MUCH fewer bubbles now - I can actually see through the water. I need to post another picture!

Texas is crazy. The highs are already breaking the 90's and it's just the beginning of spring! High of 86 tomorrow, high of 92 on Saturday! Don't worry, it gets cold here in the winter too. It got down to as low as 20 degrees this past winter. I was in the 20's for about a week straight. In the summer, a heater is useless to me. I never ran a chiller on my 29, i hope i don't need one on the 60. I already installed a fan in the stand to blow over the sump and I'm thinking of installing another. I hope thats enough since most of my equipment is energy efficient. The 60g will be downstairs instead of upstairs so hopefully that will keep it cooler too.

Yes, I hope you don't need a chiller. Texas weather sounds refreshing!

Just finished around 5 hours of reading ( give or take) to go front to back on your build thread and it has been a wealth of knowledge. I saw people saying they were going to subscribe to your thread? how can you do that? Thanks for any help... an even noob-ier question then fish tanks is learning how to subscribe!
I will be following this thread, I am slow and steady building my knowledge (like you!) and slow and steady building my financials to build my tank. slow and steady! ( I have been researching for almost 2 years just dont have the money to swing it unfortunately )

Hey, I'm really glad you enjoyed the thread so far...to subscribe to a thread, you just go up to "thread tools" top right (once in the thread), and you can choose subscribe from there. To access your subscribed threads, you just go to your "User CP!"

Let me know when you start your build thread! Someday soon, I'll add a page in here with an index to all the threads I posted elsewhere to ask questions I had (like how to drill glass, etc).

Yeah, too bad it is an expensive hobby - it's so much fun!