New tank up and running.

[KingRicky]

I set up my first tank in five years on Saturday, I have 30lbs. of BR and 20lbs. of LR. It looks like it can use another 20 to 30lbs. of LR. To set up the tank, I had to make my first batch ow SW ever. When I had my other tanks I lived on Dauphin Island and would go out about 20 miles fishing and diving and bring SW back for my tanks.

The DIY canopy is almost ready, I stained it yesterday and will varnish it today. I am waiting on the T-5 Retrofit Kits to arrive from Hellolights, they were supposed to arrive yesterday but Fed-Ex never showed.

I have a question, this is the first tank that I have used a skimmer on. I picked up my skimmer and the 20llbs. of LR yessterday from joey. When do I need to start running the skimmer? Should I wait forthe tank to cycle first?

 

[mltmtascp]

Your tank is looking good. Nice stand and canopy

 

[KingRicky]

Thanks, I just wish the lights would get here so I can add them to the canopy. Hopefully they will arrive on Tuesday.

I need to figure out what to use to raise the Ph. The test I ran this evening has it at 7.8, any suggestions?

 

[Mariner]

Yes, you need to run your skimmer from the get-go, IMO.
Low pH can be caused by several things. Commonly you may not have enough areation, or your alkalinity might be low. Depending on the cause, simple solutions include dosing kalkwasser, areating more or dosing an alk additive (e.g. baking soda).
You'll want to check out the articles on this page of the reef chemistry forum. Notice especially the first two articles under "solving common problems," especially the one on low pH.
HTH,
Mariner

 

[KingRicky]

Monica,

Thanks, I made the canopy taller so that I could add MH if needed and keep them higher above the tank. My wife thinks that the canopy is too tall. I tried to figure all the possibilities of the lighting that I would need.

Mariner,

Thanks for the link to the articles. It will take awhile to read all of them but it will really help me get this tank right. Would the skimmer aerate the water or will the powerheads do so when I add them in the next week or so, or can I place an air stone in the sump? I don't want to place an air stone in the tank.

 

[Mariner]

A good skimmer is usually enough aeration, but oxygen and CO2 levels in the room where your aquarium sits can play a factor in how effective any aeration is. Pointing a powerhead or two at an angle toward the surface of your display tank also helps, and I do this in my tanks. There should be no need for an airstone.
HTH,
Mariner

 

[mltmtascp]

The tall canopy will also make it easier to work in your tank. I think it will look fine when it is all put together.

 

[KingRicky]

Yeah, that is what I told her. Here are a couple of pic's with the canopy on the tank. I did a little adjustment on the aquascaping. Man I really need some more LR, I will try and get some this weekend coming up.

I think that they turned out kinda nice. The stand was black when I got it, I stripped it and stained it and then built the canopy to match.

 

[stolaas]

Nice stand. It always feels good when you build something yourself. Makes you appreciate it that much more.

Question... I see you have two pvc pipes through the back wall. One looks like a drain and the other a return, correct? Your return is pretty deep in the tank so make sure you have a pretty nice size hole at or just below the water line to break the suction if your power trips. Otherwise you will have about 20g of water on the floor.

 

[KingRicky]

I have a check valve on the return pipe which is the one that sticks down into the tank. I am going to shorten the pipe or maybe take it out all together. I am still figuring this out.

 

[H@rry]

Don't ever - I repeat - DON'T EVER trust a check valve in your plumbing. Over time coralline, crud, algae, snail shell, etc. will stick in it and when you need it you'll have water on the floor.

 

[stolaas]

Yes with Harry, I used a check valve for two days when I was just learning. It stopped working after a few hours of saltwater passing through. Didn't have a mess, I just noticed it wasn't working when I did a 'test electrical fail' on the tank.

 

[KingRicky]

I have unions on each side of the check valve and a ball valve between it and the tank, I plan on monthly cleaning of the check valve. I can remove the check valve and the pump by closing the ball valve and removing the top union.

Working in the water and wastewater industry for the last 18 years has taught me not to trust totally in valves. I have drilled a 1/4" hole in the top of the 90 also.

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it.

 

[KingRicky]

New T-5 retro kits arrived from Hellolights today, boy I am glad that they pack them as well as they do, my wife was at home but didn't here Fed-Ex at the door. She saw him throw them on the patio, one of the boxes was partially crushed but I hooked them up and they work just fine.

Man these things are bright.

I noticed that after turning on the new lights, some tube worms that I had not seen before opened up. so I know that there is some life in my tank.
When I tested my tank this evening,my parameters were,
SG:1.023
Ammonia: .50
Ph: 7.8
Nitrate: 10
Nitrite: .25

 

[8BALL_99]

Your canopy looks good to me. Maybe just a little tall..IME anywhere 14-19" From top of tank to top of canopy is what you want.. If you go MH you will want the extra space to move the light around when you replace bulbs.. Not to mention like you said, When working in the tank every little bit helps. Your much better off with a little to tall then to short!!..

I wouldnt worry about ph to much...7.8 is fine.. Besides you dont have much in the tank and you just added lights..I'm sure it will go up on its own.. But the skimmer would probably raise it.

If your not in a super hurry you might want to add some base rock with your live rock.. It will take a little while longer for the base to become live.. But it will be much cheaper. By the time it takes you to get enough live rock buying a few peices here and there your base rock would probably be established. I've added a few peices of base over the years after a month or two you cant tell it from LR.. I almost wish I could go back to the start and do half and half lol. Would have saved me a ton.

 

[KingRicky]

Thanks 8BALL,
The canopy is 18" tall and sits down 1" bellow the top of the tank so that puts the lights at about 16.5" above the tank.

I am building a 20g DIY sump/fuge this weekend and will have the skimmer up and running as soon as I install the sump.

It seems that I am not getting hardly any flow through the drain line. I can't get it to drain fast enough, I am having to throttle down my return pump a lot to not run it dry. My drain line is 1" and my return is 1/2" and 1".The drain has a tee with a ball valve on each side. The return line is 1/2" coming off the pump through 1/2" union, check valve, union & ball valve then it steps up to 1" the rest of the way to the tank. Any suggestions?

 

[8BALL_99]

Well it sounds like your return pump section is to small.. Is the display tank getting close to overflowing or is just the return running dry. You have to think you have to raise your display tank level about 1/2" or so before it starts to drain.. If your return area doesn't hold enough water to fill all your plumbing and that 1/2" of display your pump area will just run dry. A 1" drain is plenty. I can't tell from the phot but is your tank drilled or does it have a hang on the back overflow.. Also whats your return pump? 1/2" so probably a mag 7?

BTW if your T5s are that high I would probably move them down some. If they get in your way just try to make a setup in the canopy thats easy to raise them for getting in the tank. 18" for your canopy is great if you go MH. Might seem like alot, But it depends alot on what reflectors you end up with. Mine are huge. About 6"-7" tall and are 19"x19".

Will

 

[KingRicky]

My tank is drilled. The return pump is a Mag 5, I think. the pump came with the set up that I bought used. The only thing that I see on it that would indicate a size is "Series 5".

I have a 90 on the inside of the bulkhead on the drain line with a drain screen, I can rotate the 90 to raise or lower the water level some. I have checked all of the drain pipe and there are no restrictions in it but with the 90 rotated on its side, the water level stays about half way up the fitting. My pump will run dry if the ball valve above it is opened all the way so I have it closed about 1/4 turn. With the ball valve on the drain line going to what will be the fuge closed, It doesn't look like it will provide enough water for the skimmer once I get it running. I have never set a tank up like this so I am not sure. I will try and tanke some pictures of my piping this evening when I get home from work and post them.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

I thought that 1" drain is capable of flowing 600 gph.

If you have 4 feet of head, your Mag 5 is pushing only 300 gph of water up to your display. Your overflow volume is very small to fill your drain line. If you have to throttle down your pump to keep it from running dry, I wonder if you have enough water in the sump to start with.

Tomoko

 

[KingRicky]

Tomoko,

That's a good point and I didn't think about it before. I was worried about having enough room in the sump to handle the overflow from a power loss. I need to raise the SG in the tank and planned on doing that tonight, I will add enough water to accomplish both items.

Thanks.