Gem's 46 gal reef build. Suggestions welcome

[kevin95695]

Ammonia high
pH low
Nitrite high
Nitrate forgettable (at this point)
SG OK if that's your target
kH OK if that's your target

Looks like you're still in the start up cycle. A little patience will go miles here.

 

[gem]

Yes. definately just starting the cycle. The rock has only been in there overnight. So, yes amonia is high at .50. I expect that. I know my ph is low. At this point, I'm not worried about it till the tank is finished cycling, then if I have to buffer for ph I will. I don't want to fight chemistry while it's cycling. It's my understanding that I should just watch to be sure it doesn't drop below 7.8 at this point. Then once it's cycled, if the ph is still low, I need to find out what to do to bring it up and keep it stable.
SG I keep at 1.025 in my Pico. Is there a better SG?
As for the KH, no, 8 is not my target. I want to keep KH between 10-12 from what I understand or have been told anyway. Please someone let me know if that's wrong. Or if 1.025 is not a good SG as well....would be good to know now while all I have is LR to kill.

 

[MrMikeB]

SG of 1.025 is good, and a dKH of 10 is good too. Keeping the alk in check and consistent I feel is the key to long term success. For any of my systems where I saw a decline in health or issues, the alkalinity was the first indication that something was off.

Let her cycle, 'burn' in your equipment to make sure you have no leaks, your timers are consistent, skimmer is dialed in, and before you know it - corals! I had a system where I figured I cut a few corners and never thoroughly tested everything out as well as I should have. I plugged something into a neighboring socket that I never thought twice about, well... when the heaters were on, halides bright, and pumps whirring, it was simply too much for the breaker and it tripped. Of course I was not at home at the time, and when I did return, it was too late for about $600 of SPS that were being housed there. Just plain stupidity on my part, but a lesson learned the hard way.

Good luck! The cycling part is always my hardest part of a new system - all that waiting and watching diatoms bloom.

 

[gem]

KH would be the same as Alkalinity? Is that correct? Or is that a whole nother test?

Yeah...those oopses sure stink. As a matter of fact, my hubby just called to tell me he has to do some electrical work a the house and wanted to know what would happen if he turned the breaker off that system is plugged in to. Glad nothing but LR is in there. I had to explain to him how to shut the ball valve from the return pump, then unplug the return pump. And....don't turn anything on that system back on till I get home. Unless of course he wants a livingroom full of saltwater should the syphon have broken on my overflow. So, it will have to sit with only the powerheads and skimmer going once he turns it back on till I get home. No big deal really.
My Pico should restart itself but I told him when he turns the power back on he needs to make sure both HOB filters on the 2.5 pico are running. God I hate when he does stuff when I'm not home!!!! He knows nothing about fish tanks.
As for the waiting out the cycle and diatom and algae blooms....yeah that's the annoying part. When you can't do ANYTHING. I would love to run out and get my clean up crew right now. LOL I remember all that from when I set up the Pico.

 

[kevin95695]

Ginger, what happens when you have a power outage unrelated to your hubby?

 

[MrMikeB]

Check valves are your friends

 

[gem]

Well....I have it all worked out for if the power goes off and nobody is around to shut off the ball valve so water doesn't back syphon from the return line in the tank, I won't have an overflow from the rubbemaid tub. But, what I worry about is if the power goes off, then comes back on again when nobody is around or if I'm asleep. I have a cpr HOB continious syphon overflow. I have the tube from the maxijet 1200 ph attached to the nipple on top of the overflow. That, from what I have been told is supposed to keep the syphon in the overflow box from breaking. However, if it sits too long with no power, if kind of gets air in it, and even though it eventually starts up again, it doesn't start as fast as the mag 5 pumps water into the main tank. So.....the tank would then overflow. I have watched this happen when I was setting up the tank. So, I tested my theory a couple times. Any suggestions?

 

[gem]

Alos...check valves MrMike....I have been told many different things in regards to check valves. Some say they fail and or restrict flow. Others say, as you do, wouldn't go without one.

On another note....tested params tonight....

amonia 0
ph 8.0
nitrite .50
nitrate 10
sg 1.026
kh still 8

 

[kevin95695]

So what happens when the power goes out and NOBODY is home to shut off the ball valve? Every power outage except one has happened while wifey-poo and I were either both at work and/or asleep... (could be both at work and asleep)

Just gotta keep in mind the WORST. Trust me, I've nearly lost my marriage over my reef, even though I've spent countless hours puzzling over possible failures and how to anticipate them... That Murphy and his dang law are inescapable.

 

[gem]

I put a hole in the return tube just below the surface of the water, so, now if nobody is home to turn the ball valve off, the return will syphon back through the return pump only until the hole in the return utube hits air and breaks syphon. Still considering getting a check valve for extra safety, but do they make them big enough? I've only seen airline tubing sized check valves.
I think I have 1/2 or 3/4 id tubing on the return.

When I went home last night and the power had been off when hubby was fixing the light switch in the garage, the syphon didn't really break on the CSO but there was some air in the top. It sat for over 4 hours like that. When I turned the return pump back on, it did start to overfill but the syphon on the overflow caught up with it before it overflowed. Still....that's just flat out too close for comfort for me. I'm wondering.....has anyone put their system on a battery back up unit like they have for computers? I'm not sure that would work, as I'm pretty sure they only provided power for a very short time to avoid a power surge that would damage the computer. But....just a thought.
I'm going to pick up an aqualifter pump this week to use on the CSO instead of my Maxijet powerhead. I've heard those hold the syphon a bit better....and....I get way too many micro bubbles (as warned about) with the maxijet.
But....Kevin.....No....I haven't figured out how "what happens when the power goes out and nobody's around to turn off the ball valve." I am trying to keep the worst in mind. That's why I'm here asking.
I've figured out how to avoid an overflow when it goes OUT.....but am still worried about when power comes back ON. It looks like it would be ok....but..... I still don't trust it.