Sinistard's 68.8 Acrylic Tank Journal [Photo Intense]
- Thread starter Sinistard
- Start date
Sinistard
New member
I have my system full of RO/DI water and for some reason the water is a bit cloudy. It looked fine coming out of the filter and in the sump but after running it overnight with the pumps on and heating it to 78 degrees this morning the water is slightly cloudy. Does anyone have any idea why this would be, I figured the RO water would stay clear.
davidryder
Claris or Elliot?
68.8gallons? if you do the math on any 55g it's not precisely 55g... can't you just round off? or is the level of the water at the top of the glass at all times? or are you just trying to be clever?
nice tank by the way
nice tank by the way
Sinistard
New member
I could have said 69 gallons but all the cool kids are going to one decimal place. Actually I made a mistake when I put in the tread title, its really 68.6 gallons by the outside dimensions and technically it only hold 62.2 gallons of water taking into account the thickness of the acrylic. If I add the volume of the overflow it might be 65 gallons. Oh well, I guess I did it to be a bit different. How many 68.8 gallon threads do you see out there.
And Thanks
davidryder
Claris or Elliot?
that's a good point... got my attention 
davidryder
Claris or Elliot?
it's most likely calcium particulate... the friction of the sand granules rubbing together through transport produces a fine matter that suspends itself in the water column... it will probably take a few days to settle but it's normal
Sinistard
New member
Actualy it's just RO water no salt or sand has been added. The water filling my sump did not look cloudy but when I ran it with all the pumps nad heater on overnight it ended up looking cloudy in the morning. The only thing that I think could be in the water is some dust. That or my RO system is not working right and the water is not clean. I am going to borrow a TDS meter to test the RO water nad go from there.
itstheantitang
New member
That would really stink to figure out that the drain hose of the RO was filling up the tank. I'm sure it wasn't, judging by the time you said to fill it.
BTW, I just read (skimmed over a few parts) the whole thread. I learned a lot about pumps, as I am selecting one for my own tank.
Thanks and nice tank!
BTW, I just read (skimmed over a few parts) the whole thread. I learned a lot about pumps, as I am selecting one for my own tank.
Thanks and nice tank!
Sinistard
New member
LOL, that would suck. I had to go make sure after reading your post but it looks to be hooked up right. I think it may just be dust and crap from the lines from setting without water for a few weeks. I am going to drain the water and after I test my RO water to make sure its ok fill it back up.
If you have any questions about pumps feel free to ask.
Thanks for the complement
Sinistard
New member
Well I drained the water in the tank and I'm refilling it now. Basicaly the tank got a 150g RO rinse out. I'm guessing the water was just cloudy from dust that built up and maybe water that was setting in the pipes for a few weeks.
The sump is about full now then I can pump some more water upstairs to see if the the problem is gone. The water in the sump looks crystal clear.
The sump is about full now then I can pump some more water upstairs to see if the the problem is gone. The water in the sump looks crystal clear.
Sinistard
New member
I finally have salt water in the tank, 7 months after I started
I put salt in last night and added sand today. Its a cloudy mess right now. I added a couple pieces of LR to the tank to get the cycle started.
I have kents salt and after the fiasco with the kDH being low I made sure to check it. It was around 7 maybe 8 so low but not terrible. I added kents supper buffer and got it up around 10.
Aquascaping will be crazy it took me days to figure out my 12, I can't imagine how long i'll be working on this one.
I ran into my first problem. I was worried about this the whole time I was setting it up, my closed loop inlets are to low. I have a shallow sand bed and the inlets suck sand in. To "fix" the problem I am going to try to find 2 very flat rocks and stick one under each inlet. This is a mistake I will not make again, live and learn once more
Do you think a bit of fine sand in the pump will hurt it, I imagine it is blowing most of it out.
Well that's it for now, I'll try to get some pictures later once the water clears up.
I put salt in last night and added sand today. Its a cloudy mess right now. I added a couple pieces of LR to the tank to get the cycle started.
I have kents salt and after the fiasco with the kDH being low I made sure to check it. It was around 7 maybe 8 so low but not terrible. I added kents supper buffer and got it up around 10.
Aquascaping will be crazy it took me days to figure out my 12, I can't imagine how long i'll be working on this one.
I ran into my first problem. I was worried about this the whole time I was setting it up, my closed loop inlets are to low. I have a shallow sand bed and the inlets suck sand in. To "fix" the problem I am going to try to find 2 very flat rocks and stick one under each inlet. This is a mistake I will not make again, live and learn once more
Do you think a bit of fine sand in the pump will hurt it, I imagine it is blowing most of it out.
Well that's it for now, I'll try to get some pictures later once the water clears up.
Sinistard
New member
I wish there was a simple way to do this. The inlets are right in the corner so I can't screw a 90 into them. I might have to take a 90 and cut down one of the sides and stick a slip strainer in it.
With rocks under the inlet strainers no sand gets sucked up but is a fish or something moves some sand it may end up in the closed loop.
Oh well any way I do it, it will end up being an eye sore. I guess I'll just have to try different things until it work/looks the best.
If I had it to do again the closed loop would be very different.
Lunchbucket
Premium Member
dang that sucks. 7months of planning and you get a flaw. i'm sure you will figure it out
Lunchbucket
Lunchbucket
