My 500 + gallon system. Last 13 years to now. Build, Aquascaping & more. Lots of pics

[newyorkstyles]

Wow!

Wow!

Amazing thread. One of the best and most well thought out life support filtration systems for a reef I have seen. Can't wait for the updates on youtube. Great job, keep up the good work!

 

[tran383]

Just wanted to check in to see if you made additional modifications to the SCH and how that's been working out for you.

 

[slief]

Amazing thread. One of the best and most well thought out life support filtration systems for a reef I have seen. Can't wait for the updates on youtube. Great job, keep up the good work!

Thanks! It certainly compliments my lazy lifestyle. I have gained a lot of confidence in it as it has not had a single glitch since I got it dialed in.. Well, except for a faulty heater in my salt water holding tank. I have to say that I have never been more pleased with a tank that I have owned and I have had tanks non stop for more than 20 years.

Just wanted to check in to see if you made additional modifications to the SCH and how that's been working out for you.

I originally had my custom SCH Wash Down attached to a Vertex RODI booster pump. That proved not to be up to par.A few weeks back I decided to add a normally closed 1/4" solenoid to a water spicket I had for the RODI before I moved it. That's plumbed via JG flex fittings directly to the SCH hose in the collection cup. I turn it on and off manually from my Apex when I drain the skimmer collection cup. It makes cleaning the cup simple. Push a button on the computer and the wash down turns on and off. It works like a charm now and I have plenty of pressure unlike the RODI booster pump. It really works well though I need to add a couple more holes to the ring that the water squirts from. There are a couple spots on the cup that dont get wet enough but its no big deal. The cup could just be cleaner in a couple spots.

Best thing is. I haven't had to clean the skimmer since I installed the SCH a few months ago. The neck is perfectly free of scum and the cup can be cleaned without removing it. Its worth an episode on LA fishguys in itself.

I need to have Jim do a video on the skimmer cleaner. I know he has a trip planned to Euro Reef for a shoot on their skimmers next weekend and this would be a great follow up episode to that. He would just have to figure out how to incorperate pictures into the video so he can cover how the wash down went together.

 

[bullitr]

Good luck with the z06 I almost got one too 2010 with 150 miles but I never have car payments in 10 years I don't want to start one .
My tank looks better and start adding more fish but no more tangs

 

[newyorkstyles]

Sch

Sch

Hey Scott:

Please cover the SCH in detail in the next lafishguys episode as I am relly considering adding one to my AquaC EV 180 skimmer. I have to clean the cup every three days and it is driving me crazy. Do they have an SCH for a 6" diameter collection cup?

 

[slief]

Hey Scott:

Please cover the SCH in detail in the next lafishguys episode as I am relly considering adding one to my AquaC EV 180 skimmer. I have to clean the cup every three days and it is driving me crazy. Do they have an SCH for a 6" diameter collection cup?

Not sure if they have one for that skimmer or not. You should give Jeremy a call at Premium Aquatics. They are a board sponsor as well as a distributor for the Aquadriver SCH. They are also the ones who supplied mine.

I will speak to Jim about some in depth coverage on the SCH. I am sure he would be open to the idea.

 

[mal1099]

Just finish reading thru your thread and man i must say its amazing. Building a 150 atm myself and looking at yours im thinking god mine was easy.... Great build and love your fish.

 

[Acan Lord]

How wierd i just saw this tank on la fish. Nice tank

 

[yukondave]

Great job on the upgrades! That sump and skimmer mod are amazing. You've got some skills there with design.:thumbsup:

Actually been watching you on LAfishguys before finding you here. Great to get to read all the behind the scenes. I too don't agree 100% with Jim but he is oldschool and entertaining. There are other ways to battle ICH
I noticed in one of the videos when you mixed up a batch of saltwater it looked like you added salt first then RODI. I've alway heard it's best to do water first then salt to avoid the precipitation of calcium. Never tested this myself but though I would throw that out there.

Keep up the good work! The tank is looking great

 

[slief]

Great job on the upgrades! That sump and skimmer mod are amazing. You've got some skills there with design.:thumbsup:

Actually been watching you on LAfishguys before finding you here. Great to get to read all the behind the scenes. I too don't agree 100% with Jim but he is oldschool and entertaining. There are other ways to battle ICH
I noticed in one of the videos when you mixed up a batch of saltwater it looked like you added salt first then RODI. I've alway heard it's best to do water first then salt to avoid the precipitation of calcium. Never tested this myself but though I would throw that out there.

Keep up the good work! The tank is looking great

There was 50 gallons of salt water left in the 100 gallon container as we had just used 50 of the hundred gallons to replace what we had removed when vacuuming the sand out. My theory is that if there is water in the container when I put the salt in, the process of adding more water will help to mix it up. Then I leave the mixing pump running for an hour or more to help insure that the salt is completely mixed in.

Many thanks for the complements! The tank is doing great! Now that everything is pretty dialed in and self sustaining, I get to play with other non tank related projects.

 

[dun2run]

Any new videos or updates on the tank Scott?

 

[Budda]

Love the skimmer presentation. Love the tank!

 

[jmurr8484]

Hey its Scott from lafishguys. Not to sound rude or come off too aggressive, but when are you and Jim going to post more videos one the tank? One of the best from Jim's video collection. Can't wait to see updates (videos). Great build, and in the words of Jim Jr., "Keep Moving Forward."

 

[slief]

Hey its Scott from lafishguys. Not to sound rude or come off too aggressive, but when are you and Jim going to post more videos one the tank? One of the best from Jim's video collection. Can't wait to see updates (videos). Great build, and in the words of Jim Jr., "Keep Moving Forward."

Your not being rude at all!

Jim and I have discussed what the next video for my series will be. Since there have not been any recent changes, we will likely do something on my skimmer including the mods I have made to it.

I just joined him on a field trip/video shoot (last weekend) at the Euro Reef factory. They have changed business names but are more focussed on only building skimmers instead of their wider range of products. The episode which should be posted any day is about skimmer designs and their effectivness. As such, I though it would be good timing to follow those episodes up with something on my cone skimmer. Especially since I have had a few requests to cover some of my DIY skimmer mods. Of course during that episode we will at least cover a bit of the tanks health.

The only remaining things I need to do to my tank are to finish off my ozone reactors and fill up my Calcium and Alk dosing tanks. Since I dont have any hard corals, the dosing tanks are not much of a priority right now. The ozone would be a good addition, especially since I have everything I need but the tank is doing very well on its own. I have not had a single glitch other than the marine land heater cracking which was mentioned in a previous post. Besides cleaning glass, changing filter socks twice a month and feeding, the only thing that I have had to do is add salt to the mixing tank, weekly dose of iodine, kent Mag supplements and clean out the fuge.

I have thining about increasing my automated water changes from 3.7 Gallons a day to 5 gallons a day, but I am not sure at this point if its really needed. This next Thursday we will be doing another 50 gallon water change/sand removal as I am trying to get the sand/gravel out of the tank.

 

[newyorkstyles]

Nitrates

Nitrates

You mentioned on some of your earlier posts that you had a nitrate problem and were considering changing out the sand bed in the main display. Did you change out the bed yet and was it a solution to your nitrate problem? Do you still believe that the high nitrates in your tank was due to old tank syndrome? Also, what are you nitrate readings now?

 

[slief]

You mentioned on some of your earlier posts that you had a nitrate problem and were considering changing out the sand bed in the main display. Did you change out the bed yet and was it a solution to your nitrate problem? Do you still believe that the high nitrates in your tank was due to old tank syndrome? Also, what are you nitrate readings now?

I still have lots more sand to remove from the tank. We have only done one effort so far in sand removal. We will do another chunk of it next week. I have not tested my Nitrates in a while but I dont expect much of a change. I do firmly believe that my elavated nitrates are mostly a result of stuff trapped in my sand which have built up over the years... This inspite of the fact that we vacuumed the sand semi regularly.

I might run some tests tonight just to see where things are at and will post the numbers. As I said above, I dont expect much of a change but I am sure they have dropped some due to some of the sand removal as well as the daily water changes. Once I get the sand out, I will reassess the numbers and go from there. Since I am removing the sand slowly in conjunction with 50 gallon water changes, I expect it will be another month or 2 before I have removed most of it. I plan on leaving a minimal amound of sand in the tank for my bottom feeders.

As far as old tank syndrome, I suspect that plays a role in my elevated nitrates as well as my elevated phosphates. I got my phosphates down to negligable numbers with the lanthalum dosing but its been a couple months since I last treated with Lanthalum. I will test for that as well but I dont expect a much of a rise of Phospates as I am only use my RODI and mixed saltwarer which I know are as pure as it can get. Previously (prior to adding my RODI and water tanks), I was using Jims water which I question the quality of since he doesnt really check his RODI filters and has no TDS meter. I am also rinsing all my food so new phosphates being introduced to the tank should be minimal.

Truth be told, I hate testing the water. I have had saltwater tanks now for more than 20 years and only in the last year or so did I really bother to test my water. I just went by the health of the inhabitants to determine the quality of the water. Of course that wasnt always the best method and as such, I am a little more on top of things but still lazy.

 

[dahenley]

jim uses a sediment filter with carbon to filter the water from his videos. he uses garden water with a carbon filter to fill his 300gal tanks to mix Synthetic water.

he also uses NSW which i have never dealt with, nor have access to so i have no say in that........

 

[jmurr8484]

A few ques on some things you talked about:

1. Have you found a way to avoid the "clamp on water fill system" that you have/had running?

2. Also, have you put in the computer sensors for your ATO system?

 

[slief]

A few ques on some things you talked about:

1. Have you found a way to avoid the "clamp on water fill system" that you have/had running?

2. Also, have you put in the computer sensors for your ATO system?

I still need to add another pipe and valve between my saltwater mixing pump and tank. The easiest approach would be to plumb that line directly to my sump however, since we measure the tank water level (to determine the amount removed) when we remove large quantities of water, the best place for the salt water return from the holding tank will be to the display tank itself instead of the sump. Its on my list of things to do. Maybe I will get bored this weekend and tackle that..

My ATO is controlled by my Apex. It is setup with redundant float switches which are wired in parallel. Both float switches need to activate to turn the top off on but only one needs to open to shut the ATO off. I also have a normally closed solenoind valve between the ATO holding tank and the sump. The solenoid only opens when the water level drops. It is on a separate outlet which only turns on when the redundant float switches close. There are also high level float switches in the sump that when activated act as a failsafe for the ATO. It will shut the ATO pump off as well as cut the power to the solenoid. It also shuts one of the pumps off on my skimmer so it doesnt overflow and shuts off the LiterMeter III water change setup.

 

[slief]

I didn't realize that today was a "Jim" day. Since he was here, we did the 50 gallon water change/sand removal. We removed around 45 gallons of water which included about a 5 gallon bucket full of sand. Still have a long way to go but it did make a decent dent in the sand/crushed coral depth on one side of the tank.

After adding water back into the tank via my sump pump, I found a deficiency in my mixing tank setup. Operator error requires me to add a float switch for the full level in my salt water mixing tank. I opened the valve from my RODI tank with the mixing pump running to add RODI to my salt mixing tank and got side tracked. It wasnt until I heard a waterfall sound in the shed that I realized the mixing tank was full.

This is the second time that happend too!

Fortunately I sealed the floor in the shed that is topped off with vinyl flooring so no damage was done but I wasted 20 or so gallons of water.. Since I have extra bulk head style float switches, I wall add one to the salt mixing tank and set a program on my apex to turn the mixing pump off when the float is triggered in order to avoid overflows again. Thank god modern electronics can make up for my deficiencies.