Help with new 125 gallon build

[tassod]

Yes, that would be my next step.

Ok I raised the skimmer 1 1/4 inches and played with the dial and it helped a bit but not by much. A bit confused as to what position the dial needs to be in. There is a off setting followed by numbers 1-5 then it has MAX and then again numbers 5-1 this is going clockwise . So is it the goal for it to always be foaming below the neck of the collection cup?

 

[tassod]

I could get it to get half way up the cup at best but after a few minutes it fills again

 

[SimonSKL]

I think this is expected and it will continue to overflow for a while until the bioload is down. The goal is to waste as little saltwater as possible while the skimmer pulls the protein out of the water column.

 

[SimonSKL]

When I started cycling, I actually used something to partially block the intake of the skimmer to slow down the process for the first 2 days.

 

[tassod]

I raised the skimmer about another 1/2" and that helped it a lot. Nice surprise this morning:

Was also having issues last night with auto top off but it looks like it has fixed itself and working now, i think the skimmer was creating too many microbubbles last night and throwing off the sensor on the Tunze ATO osmolator.

 

[Beenalongtime79]

Looks great! You are on your way. It's nice to see someone new to the hobby doing things the right way. It will definitely enhance your enjoyment in the long run!

Cheers,
John

 

[SimonSKL]

You got skimmate! Way to go Tasso. When everything settles down in a few days you may want to lower the skimmer to the 1 1/4" height.

Where is your Tunze ATO osolator sensor? Is it in the return section or skimmer section?

 

[tassod]

Looks great! You are on your way. It's nice to see someone new to the hobby doing things the right way. It will definitely enhance your enjoyment in the long run!

Cheers,
John

Thanks John, I appreciate the encouragement and kind comments. I'm definitely looking forward to a finished product soon.

 

[tassod]

You got skimmate! Way to go Tasso. When everything settles down in a few days you may want to lower the skimmer to the 1 1/4" height.

Where is your Tunze ATO osolator sensor? Is it in the return section or skimmer section?

I have the sensor in the return section in the middle of the section:

 

[tassod]

Well, i was busy yesterday trying to setup my Neptune Apex controller. I got it installed and ran a network connection to it, now i need to program it and boy it seems a bit challenging but I think i will figure it out. I first need to get a good understanding on how all the equipment that I have works and how it should be running before i can setup any programming. Also got my salt yesterday and I have brought up my salinity to 1.026. Skimmer seems to have settled down so I have lowered it back to 1 1/4", i did have some more skimmate this morning. I'm about 4 days now into the cycle and have not had the chance to get some raw shrimp to put that in there to jump start but I will soon. Should i be starting to use my test kit to get some levels? Temp right now is about 78.2 and my PH probe is reading 8.24 If anyone has an Apex controller and can help with programming, i am open to get this going. I also need to figure out how to program the vortechs which right now i just have running a full speed.

 

[SimonSKL]

I used Digitial Aquatics RKE controller so I am no help to you on this. What you need are test kits for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. You don't need expensive kits for them. I use API which are available in many pet supply stores.

During cycling, you would expect to see ammonia begin to rise and gradually decline. As ammonia begin to decline, nitrite will go up and then decline. Then your nitrate will rise and decline. No live stock should be added to the tank if you have traces of ammonia and nitrite in the water.

If your test for ammonia today is low, you can jump start the cycle with a something like a piece of raw shrimp. The whole cycle may take a few weeks. At the end of the cycle, begin to phantom feed your tank like you have fish in the tank. This is to test if the bacteria developed in your tank can breakdown the biological load or food waste. This process will introduce another mini cycle. After that if ammonia and nitrite are tested all 0, you can introduce clean up crew and 1-2 hardy fish.

Have fun with playing with the MP40s, there are a lot of options and settings to choose. I finally settled on the Nutrient Transport Mode (purple) at 60% intensity which I think is the best mode for my tank balancing effectiveness and quietness.

 

[Beenalongtime79]

Well, i was busy yesterday trying to setup my Neptune Apex controller. I got it installed and ran a network connection to it, now i need to program it and boy it seems a bit challenging but I think i will figure it out. I first need to get a good understanding on how all the equipment that I have works and how it should be running before i can setup any programming. Also got my salt yesterday and I have brought up my salinity to 1.026. Skimmer seems to have settled down so I have lowered it back to 1 1/4", i did have some more skimmate this morning. I'm about 4 days now into the cycle and have not had the chance to get some raw shrimp to put that in there to jump start but I will soon. Should i be starting to use my test kit to get some levels? Temp right now is about 78.2 and my PH probe is reading 8.24 If anyone has an Apex controller and can help with programming, i am open to get this going. I also need to figure out how to program the vortechs which right now i just have running a full speed.

If you are getting that skimmate, then you have enough gunk in those rocks to get your cycle started, you don't need shrimp or fish to get the cycle going. I would put a small choice piece of live rock in there though to seed the tank with all kinds of goodies... Copepods, amphipods, mini brittle stars, and corralline algae.

Cheers,
John

 

[tassod]

If you are getting that skimmate, then you have enough gunk in those rocks to get your cycle started, you don't need shrimp or fish to get the cycle going. I would put a small choice piece of live rock in there though to seed the tank with all kinds of goodies... Copepods, amphipods, mini brittle stars, and corralline algae.

Cheers,
John

Should i get a small piece of LR form a LFS and just put it in the fuge?

 

[Beenalongtime79]

Should i get a small piece of LR form a LFS and just put it in the fuge?

I would put one in the display and fuge, but if you only get one piece, then drop it in the fuge, it's all one system so it doesn't really matter where you put it.

Cheers,
John

 

[tassod]

Amonia test

Amonia test

I previously purchased a test kit from Seachem and this is what i got for Amonia:

The sample with the one yellow disc is a free amonia sample and the other one with the 2 discs (i put an extra one in there by accident) is total amonia. Seems like the free amonia shows zero while the total amonia is showing some traces. What do you guys make of it?

 

[tassod]

A table saw will be ideal but you can also use a circular saw as long as you attach a guide to make the cut straight. A long piece of 2x4 or 1x4 can be used as a guide also.

Simon, i contacted E.shine about their optional brackets for these units and they sent me the following pics:

Do you think these would work? What would be the miminum distance that the lights would need to be from the water?

 

[SimonSKL]

Tasso, Eshine gave me a pair of the bracket free when I ordered my lights. To use for both lights, I need two pairs. Since I was going to hang my lights anyway so I didn't use the brackets.

If you use their brackets, the bottom of the lights will be about 2.5" from the water surface which I think is too low and your lights will get a lot of splashing from fish as well as any bubbles bursting at the surface. It can be an alternative if you don't mind cleanning the lights regularly. I am just afraid over time the corrosive of saltwater will take a toll on your lights for being that close to the water. How much head room do you have inside the canopy?

 

[tassod]

Tasso, Eshine gave me a pair of the bracket free when I ordered my lights. To use for both lights, I need two pairs. Since I was going to hang my lights anyway so I didn't use the brackets.

If you use their brackets, the bottom of the lights will be about 2.5" from the water surface which I think is too low and your lights will get a lot of splashing from fish as well as any bubbles bursting at the surface. It can be an alternative if you don't mind cleanning the lights regularly. I am just afraid over time the corrosive of saltwater will take a toll on your lights for being that close to the water. How much head room do you have inside the canopy?

That's what I thought, going to be to close to the water. I really would like to avoid cutting the lid so I got to figure out another way. I can measure how much room when i get home tonight but I believe you can see from this pic and estimate:

 

[tassod]

I'm thinking of adding some extra pieces of wood for bracing and try to mount them in the same place you see that PVC pipe mounted using the metal hooks already on the units that are there for the hanging kits.

 

[tassod]

Lights installed

Lights installed

Well, my plan to install these lights ended up working out. :beer:

Here's how I installed them:

Here's some pics of them on, some are with white and blue, some with blue only and white only.