Addiction wins, 450 gallon system begins

[Hop]

Thanks... That's where I'll be heading after I get a project finished in the wetroom.

I'm moving the drain from my tank into the fuge and moving the skimmer. I was still having a slight microbubble issue and I tracked it down. I found the drain was the culprit, so I figured if I moved the drain, it would have more time to disperse the bubbles

OR- I could have a flood soon

 

[jnarowe]

mmmmm...flood...need more WATER. :lol:

 

[Hop]

Actually I think 450 gallons is enough for 10:30 on a Sunday night when nothing is open if I need parts It's like a game of Russian roulette, but the fish don't know what I'm pointing at them!

 

[jnarowe]

...no kidding! I have done some upgrading to greatly reduce my flood possibilities and feel very confident in the current situation. But I am only using about half of my sumps' capacity to leave enough buffer for power outages, etc. Now when I accidently leave a valve open, it will be contained within the sump no matter what.

 

[NexDog]

Hop, tell me more about your microbubble issue. I get terrible micronbubbles from my return pump and I can't fix it. I resealed the plumbing joints, retaped the nipples on the pumps and I still have them.

 

[vijaym85]

Very nice tank and interesting read. Greatr job! By the way HOP what kind of pump are you using to operate your MR3 with?

 

[LIReefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7845934#post7845934 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Hop
OMG !!!!

So I am getting down to my last bucket of salt, so I go to the new big name box store (might end in the letters "CO", but I don't want to publicly slam anything here). I find a 160 gallon bucket of IO. I grab it and throw it up on the counter. I was just about to swipe my card when the summer-time job teen says "$79.54":

Go to PetSmart if you have one nearby. Print out their online add for the IO salt 160 ($31.99) bring it with you to the strore and they wil honor the price + tax of course.

 

[Hop]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7847551#post7847551 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NexDog
Hop, tell me more about your microbubble issue. I get terrible micronbubbles from my return pump and I can't fix it. I resealed the plumbing joints, retaped the nipples on the pumps and I still have them.

I'm not sure I fixed mine But the bubbles are incredibly small and more like they are imbedded or suspended in the water column. Rather than floating in it. I thought I narrowed it down to the 20' of drain into the sump, but now I'm not so sure. I'll have to look into it after I have caffeine...

jnarowe: Good to hear, I bet that was a mess to clean up

vijaym85: Thanks and actually I'm running a Gen-X PCX55, but it's underpowered for the dual becketts and the riser extension. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't

LIReefer: Thanks, but that store is a bit of a drive... They just opened a Petco in the area and I am not impressed.

 

[jnarowe]

Don't forget that plants in your system constantly put off tiny bubbles...including algae!

 

[melev]

I doubt it is macro related.

Hop, I was about to tease you and see what you've spent more money upon lately, and then you posted your Exxon Salt story. :lol:

 

[Hop]

LOL. Yeah I guess the oil industry's price gauging is effecting reef enthusiasts in more ways than one. I guess it took $30 in gas to get the bucket of salt to the mountains

 

[jnarowe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7851603#post7851603 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
I doubt it is macro related.

Why? I see it all the time in my tank. The macro will put off some air bubbles and they get sucked into a pump and sprayed into the system. This is particularly apt to happen for those who have refugium/sump combos right? Makes sense to me.

 

[Hop]

I don't know. They are the smallest of small bubbles. They are not dense, but noticeable. Unfortunately they are worse in the display after I moved things around My mind is going into OT right now. I'm thinking of adding another drain to the fuge and plumb both the skimmer and drain into the fuge and then into the sump.

 

[melev]

I guess it comes down to how your sump is designed. I never have microbubbles at all.

 

[Hop]

Yeah... I've been looking into building something more like you have... Just need funds and time even though I think I can get mine to work, it's just going to take some brainpower (which I am currently lacking being on nightshift).

On a positive note, I plumbed my dual becketts together with a single needle valve to control the air, so in essence, they would have the same LPM. And it actually worked Been getting a pretty good foam today, but then again I cleaned everything in vinegar last night so the good skimming could have nothing to do with the single needle valve.

 

[tigershark4]

WHAT I ENDED UP DOING TO GET RID OF MICRO BUBBLES WAS TO HOOK MY PUMP OUTPUT TO AN OCEAN CLEAR. THIS FILTERS THE WATER AND CUTS THE MICRO BUBBLES.

 

[Boostedvdub]

Just found this post, it looks simply amazing.. :bum:

 

[newreefbishop]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7865143#post7865143 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tigershark4
WHAT I ENDED UP DOING TO GET RID OF MICRO BUBBLES WAS TO HOOK MY PUMP OUTPUT TO AN OCEAN CLEAR. THIS FILTERS THE WATER AND CUTS THE MICRO BUBBLES.

but that would filter out pods...

 

[Hop]

tigershark4: Thanks for the suggestion. I know that I can beat the problem without a in-line cannister. The problem is just how I have the water entering the sump, mixed with the skimmer and flow rate. I made two adjustments over the week and it has helped greatly. They really are not all that bad. People who come to the house don't notice them, but I sure do

Boostedvdub: Thanks. Right now I'm still just learning to keep water. I'm hoping that in a year, it's a breath taking slice of the ocean... After I get the next two phases completed, skimmer leg and Ca reactor/phosphate reactor/carbon reactor leg done, I'll upgrade a few things and really start filling the tank, hopefully around January.

newreefbishop: True... Pods don't seem to be an issue, I have a ton of pods and lil' shrimp I've thought about getting a manderin now as I feel the population is high enough, but I'm not sure how people quarantine them I was going to do more research before I picked one up...


And then there were six...

The chromis genocide has continued and they successfully reduced the population by another over the week. He was healthy and one of the bigger ones. First they kept him at the far side of the tank, then kept him from eating until he was a filter intake ornament. The starfish seemed to have cleaned him up pretty good last night.

Not a whole lot to report on the tank, still in the saving mode for the next two upgrade phases. I can add one observation:

I run approximately 5 gallons of kalk through the system a week in addition to the normal top off. The kalk is mixed at twice the recommended dose. Since then the coraline on the rocks has turned from a light pink to a think pink and purple. it also seems to be growing on the rocks quite a bit faster. The Ca levels are still hovering around 370, but the coraline must like the additional Ca. I found that doing the addition this way, the Ph and alk levels seem to remain fairly constant.

 

[jnarowe]

hmmm...interesting about the chromis. I have read a lot about them killing each other but have not had that problem in my system. I also notice that mine remain quite small and I have seen them a good deal larger in other systems. I wonder if I got dwarves? Is there such a thing?