I've been busy trying to work through some of the bugs in my system. I've made some progress and had some setbacks.
One of my heaters exploded this morning. I hadn't intended to ever use this heater as I knew the risk of explosion was there, but I figured the risk was small and there's no livestock in my tank yet.
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...231#post590231
Ironically, I had already ordered titanium heaters from BRS to replace the Marineland heaters that I am using now. I really should have done a little more research and just bought the right ones first.
My tank went through a massive bacteria bloom from the biopellets. I thought it would be a good idea to run these while the tank cycled, but in hind sight I think this was a mistake.
One interesting thing is that the initial bloom occurred with the tank at around 20C. After heating the tank to 26C, I went through another massive bacteria bloom. In total, I've gone through about 3 inches of the pellets.
Oh the mistakes. One day, I'll know these things.
I bought a 200G loaf tank for saltwater storage. I'm pretty happy with this as it will allow me to do big water changes if needed (like now). It will also be the primary storage for my continuous water change system. I should only have to top it up once a month and could let it run for up to 6 weeks if need be.
I have received my SpectraPure LiterMeter III pumps for the water change project. These were the best peristaltic pumps that I could afford and that are available to hobbyists.
I moved one of my two Tunze Ozmolators from my 90G to my new tank only to discover that the pump had seized. I can't say for sure when it failed but I remember testing it within the past couple of weeks. I've replaced the pump and set it up on the new tank, but it does show the need for redundancy.
I have an old 110W light over the tank now just so that I have something to look at. I should have some real lights within the next couple of weeks.
All of the parameters seem to be stable.