:pound: now why didn't I think of that
Can't put the bucket in there now, though. Already have some base rock in there and leftover water from the RO barrel

I'm commited as I'm not going to drain the RO water again ( I've already done it once )

Gettin' kinda excited here :drinking::pray:

Can't wait to see it!

Me too, but it's not going to look as kool as yours !

you've done your homework
you've tested redone retested everything
your good to go.

next challenge keeping things alive and fighting algeas and issues for the rest of your life. lol i know sounds glamorus. but its worth it

i have one more online order tomake and im doenfro equiptment for now. just havent had the time to get the stand done .. so for now ill live through yours...

You're right, I should be comfy and just get it goin' .. so that's what I'm doin' - enough thinkin', more doin'

You can't live through mine, there's no size comparison :razz:

What's your next order for ? And we're waitin' for the stand update, plus the final on the rock wall

my next order is 2 more koralia powerheads 750gph and 100 feet of 1/4 tubing to run to my ro unit and a module for an apex controller. i found an apex lite used for 6 months for 250 bucks from a reefer on our provincial forum. i could not refuse. with that i can finally start the stand and design the power center for the system. i will still have to eventually order another power bar for it. but that can happen after its running. no rush.

lol as for the rock wall update that will be awhile yet theone wall is still airing out in the rain and the girls havebeen sick withthe flu so my attentionis on them. the framework is made just have to attach rock and foam. then seal. besides i haveto have some sort of suspence onthe build lol. cant show everything...i should have a couple updates after the weekend maybe if weather permits.

OOoohhh, cool gear. Nice score on the Apex too. I gather you've already found all the local used Energy Bar 8's near you

Damned family, gettin' in the way of the build an all :wink:

Sure, you can keep us in suspense throughout the rest of your build if you like, but some of us may get bored waiting :faint:

I can prove this as there are not near as many lookey-loos on my build anymore :mrgreen:

yeah not too many ppl using controllers in this neck of the woods oh wait sask has no trees. all i need is 2 bars and one comes with the lite so im good to go

yes the past three nights they have woken due to throwing up on themseles. but the worst is the diarea....oh how nasty that is lol

im not worried how many ppl view my build.. its more of a refrence for me to look back at all the mistakes i make to fix in the future.. if ppl enjoy the build cool if they think it is crap so be it... its just fun to create

Looks very clean...nice work!

Hehe, woods, ya right ( editing was a must )

Yikes, I don't envy you the fact that we missed out on having kids :smile:

I, too, like the idea of being able to look back on it an laugh at what I did. Unfortunately, I like the praise

Thanks Spencer !

Mangia mangia
Night all

yeah praise i nice. i know my pics wont do the intricity justice. most he time i get why areyou doingthis nd areyou ondrugs looks.. for example ppl say i need more flow for sps.. my flo is nowhere near what ppl recomend but i plan on adding alot of sps. my hopes and want list for sps is 50 different sticks minimal softies.. lps off to one side zoas along the bottom and of course my anenome island

right now i have 10 sps frags in my 50 waiting for thier new home.

fish stock will be minimal

nuff bout me this is your thread and its time to attempt sleep

Not to worry, I'm sure there are people like me new to the site keepin' an eye on ya and watchin' every move you make :suspicious:

I think I hear water running, Keep us updated on this progress.
I have been in the same boat as you, not sure if I'm ready for the next step.
Got the last of my eurobracing today and just waiting for gate valve and new return pump. Then there will be no more excuses.
My rock has been cooking for 4 months, it is what it is at this point.

Finally ..............................

4 months after starting my journal, and 7 months after thinking I'd like to go SW .....

I couldn't find any reasons to stop me from adding salt
Hope I didn't miss something ....

So

http://bestuff.com/images/images_of_...jpg?1184366699

It's salty :mrgreen::whoo::mrgreen:

Tomorrow, after SG testing, will be "add LR from Rubbermaid" day :cheer2:
Then I'll recruit my wife to help me 'scape it and on we go from there :D

:new-bday: 75g

You look a bit more "tropical" already!

:bananahuge:

Oh, good thing my wife didn't see this ...
We coulda gone back to Cancun for what I've spent :wink:

Another 2 hours for me before I go to bed, but am I dreaming or what :suspicious: Are you really ready ? :mrgreen: Congratulations, Greg !

Please post all the pictures tomorrow :smilecol:

Quote Nano, had to delete the big banana ......
YEAAAHHHH :razz:
Hope all is well, considering the puke on your clothes and all :wink:

Yup yup yup :mrgreen: You're not dreaming !!!!!!
Thanks
I'm so excited I think I'm :drinking: too much
I'll pay for it tomorrow, but it's worth it :wink:

I'll get some pics up this week after we like the 'scape :biggrin:

I bought some extra epoxy today too just in case. Not going to run into a roadblock now

Not that this is what the tank will look like, but with the cabinet light on, I thought this effect was worth posting

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC00986.jpg

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC00990.jpg

Sorry about the giant fruit ;)
Glad to see your finally salty!

WOOOP WOOP

Need more pictures :multi:

Are you ready for this ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ6CcEOmlYU

No worries, I just didn't want to look at it twice :razz:

Agreed :biggrin:

Well now the skimmer is working :doh:

The little clear spinner washer was installed on top of the plate, instead of underneath.
Either the manufacturer, or the member I bought it used from, put it above the plate and it wouldn't close the door enough
Maybe it worked for the member with his sump level ....

Anyway, I'm finally getting some NOG and can start dialing it in :biggrin:
BTW, all that's in there is the base rock, so I guess 'tis dirty

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC00992.jpg

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC00995.jpg

Love that skimmer

Are you still happy with yours ?
I'm just learning how to use it

This is not the scaping plan
Just evidence that the LR is finally in :mrgreen:

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC00996.jpg

:mrgreen:and it begins :)

:mrgreen:

LR cured for 3 months in the dark
I lost all the mini brittle stars, don't see the mini hermit and don't see any amphipods anymore
Still have a couple mini clams and a small snail

Can't wait to add stuff !!

SG 1.026
pH 8.14
NO3 0.00 +/-
PO4 0.00 +/-

No other testing yet ... no point :wink:

I finally got around to setting up this Tunze ATO 3155
I gotta tell ya, when I first walked away from it, I thought it was all good. I tested it by pulling water out with a jug, and then putting it back, and all was great.
I went to the kitchen and started a conversation with the wife ....

Not long after, the Hi alarm went off and we thought it was something on the TV :rolleyes:

I ran to the sump room and, after viewing the problem, I unplugged the power supply to the ATO. It had already dumped 1 gallon of RO into the sump !!!!!!!!!

I then spent the next, say, 2 hours, setting it up and I think it's all good now.
So, problem solved, at least overnight, and we'll deal with it tomorrow :wink:
I had to add some salt and remove some water ......

My problem, I think, was the chaeto tank.
For those of you that haven't been following along, it's above the sump on a separate pump.

I watched when the chaeto tank level raised, and, of course, the sump level dropped.

I never thought this would be enough to upset the ATO, but it did.
The trick was to set the ATO to ignore all this, yet still work properly

I ended up having to set the Optical sensor much higher than originally planned. It is now very close to the HI level float.

Seems to work so far ... 3 hrs running and no stupid cycling :mrgreen:

I cannot post a good pic as the location of the mounts is tight


Useless pic .....

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC01009.jpg

The Tunze ATO started acting up
It has been giving me the 'wet internals' alarm
There's no way it got wet, but I took it apart anyway to ensure there's no moisture inside it. None.
So, I've done 2 things hoping to solve this issue;
First, the ball valve from the chaeto tank was not sensitive enough to get the drain level perfect. It was sucking air intermittently, filling the sump with bubbles.
Possibly those bubbles were upsetting the optics
The ball valve was just replaced with a gate valve
I've gone from this ( blue valve )

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC00944.jpg

To this

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC01014.jpg

The other thing I've done is move a relay away from the Tunze Controller, just in case an electrical or magnetic field was the issue
From this

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC01012.jpg

To this

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC01013.jpg

Only time will tell now if it's resolved

Now your the one with ocd ;)

Lol, ya think ?
Seriously though, the ATO warning was going off a couple times a day
It don't work so well in that mode :sad:

ATO tank pic
I may unplug the heater - haven't decided yet
Looks like I'm using about 1g/day, so I'll get 8 days before the pump is shut off
The upper float kills both the powerhead and heater, and the lower kills the ATO pump
The relays in the previous pics are for these 2 floats

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC01015.jpg