Sf05's Slow And Steady

[Chac]

Ok after a nightmare with the RO Unit It's now working and im filling containers to add my RO/DI to the tank.
Heat the tank tank up tonight with the 2 100w heater and hopefully add salt tommorow
LR in wednesday hopefully, LFS doesn't have much LR left in and i don't want to rush in and take pieces im not neccessarily happy with. So i may have to wait until they bring more from the curing tank.
Pics will be added
Ps: Ro/DI water reads at:
Phosphate - 0
Nitrate - 0
PH - 7
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0

Will do calcium when i've added salt and live arog, to give a more realistic answer
Many thanks to those who helped me with RO unit espicially Chac

Dan

Cheers Dan no problem what so ever

Wouldnt worry about your calcium levels for the moment, IMO should only be a concern if you are gonna keep SPS or LPS

Save yer money from the calcium kit & get me a birthday prezzie (as long as it is nothing to do with RO Unit )

 

[steelhealr]

Agree with Chac...calcium is not THAT critical right now, but, buying one and dry running it for a test or two can't hurt. Outside of the basic marine water params, the next most important IMO are s.g. (refractometer), then calcium and alkalinity as they go hand in hand. One main reason I agree with Chac is that the 'temptation' to start treating numbers is high, dosing your tank unnecessarily, etc.

After the above, the only other test kit to be considered would be a phosphate test kit, but, I'd only get one if my tank started to have problems and one needed to know where you stand with regards to the levels. SH

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

Hey Guys

Won't be keeping any corals until the tank is moved downstairs in a few months, so hopefully that rules out any worries with calcium until then
I'll just have to hope reef crystals and live arog will buff up the PH nicely. Will calibrate the refractometre tommorow when all the water is made (Will tank longer than expected).

Haha Chac, Let me sort out the Nano and then i'll get you sorted out
Tank is 1/3 full by the wat Crystal clear water

HSBC tonight at 0:00, Money best be in! Or Else......

Dan

 

[Chac]

Reef Crystals is one of the better salts around mate, you shouldnt have any problems with them

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

Good to hear

Well do you want the bad news? Or the really bad news? You can have both

Firstly i've just rung up and i don't get paid until thursday...Not too bad....But then....
I set the alarm to wake me up at 5:am So that i would be awake before the RO water filled up the 5gallon container. I open the bathroom door to see Water everywhere, all over the floor down the cuboards...Everywhere. It even got underneath the laminate flooring
Was drying it for hours and then went downstairs to see some leaking out of the roof! Not much but it was coming out of the flippin light! The red pipe that had been directed into the plughole had come loose and sprayed water all over the shop

This morning i could hear the water right above the light unit making noises....Then the bulb popped. No fire yet....Hopefully i'll be okay . Just have to wait until the water drys out under the flooring. I got most of it up, so hopefully theres not much left under there. Should dry up in a few days.... Clicked the fuse switch for the lights downstairs so we'll be using lamps here for a while...

No surpirse i got a B****ing! Anyway.....

I have 75% of the tap filled and i can't put LR in until next thursday now...Will that water be okay in there? Won't go bad or anything? I have the powerhead pumping it around and i've turned the heater off. I'll make the 25% closer to the time and i'll have to watch it from now on. Sadly the tap in the bath is to big for the hozelock connector...So i had to use the sink which is why everything went bad...

Dan
Ps: Do you ever get that feeling that something just isn't ment to be?

 

[Chac]

Good to hear

Well do you want the bad news? Or the really bad news? You can have both

Firstly i've just rung up and i don't get paid until thursday...Not too bad....But then....
I set the alarm to wake me up at 5:am So that i would be awake before the RO water filled up the 5gallon container. I open the bathroom door to see Water everywhere, all over the floor down the cuboards...Everywhere. It even got underneath the laminate flooring
Was drying it for hours and then went downstairs to see some leaking out of the roof! Not much but it was coming out of the flippin light! The red pipe that had been directed into the plughole had come loose and sprayed water all over the shop

This morning i could hear the water right above the light unit making noises....Then the bulb popped. No fire yet....Hopefully i'll be okay . Just have to wait until the water drys out under the flooring. I got most of it up, so hopefully theres not much left under there. Should dry up in a few days.... Clicked the fuse switch for the lights downstairs so we'll be using lamps here for a while...

No surpirse i got a B****ing! Anyway.....

I have 75% of the tap filled and i can't put LR in until next thursday now...Will that water be okay in there? Won't go bad or anything? I have the powerhead pumping it around and i've turned the heater off. I'll make the 25% closer to the time and i'll have to watch it from now on. Sadly the tap in the bath is to big for the hozelock connector...So i had to use the sink which is why everything went bad...

Dan
Ps: Do you ever get that feeling that something just isn't ment to be?

Oh no Dan you in trouble mate

I have flooded my house so often I've stopped counting tbh, last time was a corker thought - 60gallon of Fresh RO over the NEW laminated flooring, was about 1/2" deep and covered the whole floor
so funny to think back on but at the time the G/F was mega pi**ed, we got the water up in record time so the flooring wasnt damaged (that time), we live & learn eh.



Look on the bright side - at least the RO Unit is properly flushed out

Also forgot to say, the water will be fine, either fresh or salted heated or not

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

60gallons!!!! Jees.... I feel a little better now. Probably about 5gallons in my case. Got most of it up.
We're using lamps downstairs for a few days until it's safe to use the downstairs light. I wonder if the light in the kitchen will be okay if we replace the bulb? Don't feel like messing around with it TBH

Well and truly flushed out LOL

Well at least i won't have to empty all the water and start again. From now on i've been ordered to watch the unit and it's not allowed on overnight. looks like the extension lead for the TV will be in use more often

Thank god it's only a nano, can't imagine waiting for like 55 + gallons to be made
BTW can this unit be upgraded to 75gph if i get that membrane?

Thanks
Dan

 

[steelhealr]

Happened to me too. My procedure:

1) I put the RO filter in the bathtub
2) check all connections
3) pull the curtain closed in case tubing comes out....keeps water in the tub

4) I don't repeat the flood thing because my wife has a big stick in the closet.......LOLOL. SH

 

[Clownfish11790]

If you have a DI or RO unit, you will most likely have an accident with it. It has happened to me multiple times. One time with my DI unit I put the tube into the bucket, so it would fill it up, then I left and set a timer. I came back 30 minutes later after the timer went off and found the tube out of the bucket with water everywhere. I had to clean it up before my parents came home. Another time, I was in church and during the homily I remembered that I forgot to turn off the water for the DI unit. I was freaking out but couldn't leave mass because I was playing the drums and I would have to walk past everyone to get out. So i called my Unlce during the middle of the homily and asked him to turn off my water, but I had to talk really quietly so no one would hear me. I have had some other accidents but I don't remember them. _CF

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

Thanks for sharing your stories

I need to get a new tap head for the bathroom that will actually fit the RO Unit. Sadly the one in there ATM is to big to fit onto the hozelock adaptor so i have to use the sink...which means if there are any leaks the floor is the first to know. From now on i'm going to use the extension lead to set up the xbox and tv in the bathroom so i can keep a close eye one everything and not be too board. Luckily i'm only making about 3gallons a week so it shouldn't be too bad

Anyway....Woke up this morning feeling like a piece of S**t (Too much last night ) So i decided to get some SW mixed. The tank is now at 26.5Degrees and a SG of 1.025, i'll take some PH tests tommorow when everything has settled down. Filled the tank to the top so i can just empty 25% and put it back in when LR is in. Wednesday latest for all LR to be in, feel like getting a few Kg tommorow but i may as well just wait until i can get the whole lot

Dan

 

[trekbear]

SF05,

I'm glad to see you taking your time with this endeavour. Yes it will be worth it believe me.

I do like your light fixture, it will allow you to keep just about anything in there. SPS may be a bit difficult like Acropora's but as long as they are at the top level of the tank you should be fine even with them...

I used T-5 HO bulbs just like yours and my softies and LPS loved it. I moved to Metal Halide units due to the depth of my 25 gallon tank 20" deep and the 24watt HO T-5's just didn't punch through enough for the bottom dwellers IMO...

You have a great start there for sure though. Great work, keep it up.
TB

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

Thanks for your reply and help Trekbear

If my tank looks half as good as either of yours than it's good enough for me
Good to hear that the light fixture will do me well. I'm not sure if there will be any SPS in the tank, I'm more of a softie person myself as they seem to be the ones with all the colour. Diffently a few cool LPS out there though so hopefully i can find some nice specimens.

When it's time to change the bulbs i may just swap them for a 150w MH or maybe a 250 if the tank is a success and i want to upgrade to a 30g. I put the Live Arog in last night because i thought the sudden change in PH might be too much for any cool hitchhikers i get in my LR if i added it after. It's about 1.5 -2 inches thick and is fine except the right corner keeps getting blown around a bit by the Powerhead. The LR will cushion the flow a little so hopefully that will sort on problems out. I'm going to take some water readings now to see how the PH is looking. Water is still a little cloudy but nothing too bad.
Thanks again for your reply.

Just a few questions

I like the look of Royal grammas but i've read how nasty they can be. If i added one as the last fish would it be okay? Or should i just stick with the firefish?

Now the part where i might get flamed

I really like Mandarin gobies and i know that they need a year old tank with lots of rock and pods. I've read lots of threads about people keeping them successfully by dosing pods into their nano's.
Chac has found me a UK supplier of Tigger pods and i was wondering if i put them in my tank after the cycle and gave them a few months too reproduce would i be okay to add a mandarin? I could top it up as often as needed. Also i could hopefully train him into prepared foods without starving him to death....

Thanks
Dan

 

[Clownfish11790]

Sf05, I have been following your topic since the start. I think it will be an awesome tank once it is set up.

I wanted a royal gramma really bad too. But for a nano, I would stick with more peaceful fish, such as the firefish. The royal grammas are pretty, but they can be territorial. Also the firefish and very beautiful fish because they are very graceful and sort of float in the water, except if they are frightened. (I observe them at my LFS and I will soon get one.)

Also I have researched Manderins a great deal. I want one sooo bad but I would never put them in a nano. The reason is because when I first set up my tank I overstocked and had horrible algae problems since the first couple weeks after the set up of my tank. But the last month I decided to change the algae problem. After trying to do everything possible I gave away all my fish, except my clown goby.
I think if you got a manderin, you would have to feed it a great amount and this would lead to some algae problems. Even if you do change a lot of water, some left over food might get caught in the live rock,(or a place were you couldn't siphon), and continously cause nitrates.

I would think it would be really cool if you got a manderin in your nano and it lived for a long time. I am not trying to discourage you, just giving you a scenario of something that could happen.

Good luck with the tank, can't wait to see it set up,
_CF

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

Thanks for the input Clownfish

I think i'll leave the gramma out of it then. Diffently beautiful fish but too aggresive for any tankmates in such a small space. I'm not sure which colour firefish i prefer ATM. My LFS has the red and the purple ones so i guess it depends on what the rest of the family think.

I definatly see where your coming from about the mandarin, this is one of the reasons i'm unsure about. I really don't want to see lots of algae in the tank. That's why i was thinking about the pods. He could munch on them all day without any pollution in the tank and then just eat when the rest of the fish eat if he would take them. I've been told too add 2000 Tigger pods and let them multiply, then just top up with a few hundred every few months.....

If not a mandarin how about a scooter blenny? I guess it's basically the same except the blennies seem to take the prepared food more often?

Thanks for following the thread, I'm surprised anyone still is TBH. It's just me blabbering on about everything without any interesting Piccies. Wednesday you will get a picture worth looking at. If i'm lucky it may be Monday or Tuesday but my luck means it will probably be Wednesday
I've been following yours also and i'm glad to hear the Algae is being fought back hopefully it will be gone for good soon

I just took my water in the tank readings:

PH - 8.0? Was darker than the highest (7.9) on the low PH test and was to grey for the high one Will i need to bring it up 0.1 or maybe when things have had a few more days they may even out some more?
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate 0 -
Phosphate - 0
Calcium - 500??? I think i messed the test up but i'm not in the mood to do it again tonight so i'll try tommorow
Sg - Still 1.025
LR - Nowhere to be seen.....

Dan

 

[Clownfish11790]

I wouldn't get a scooter blenny because I don't think they are that colorful, and since you can't get that many fish for a nano you should get the most colorful ones IMO.

How much are the Pods? If there not that expensive I think you should go for it. You could always have a refugium and raise the copepods there, or have a seperate tank and raise them. There are many options, IMO ordering more pods every month would be a hassle and they are so small that the manderin would eat a lot of them and it would be hard to keep up.

Also keep in mind a manderin gets to about 4 inches. With that you wouldn't be able to have that many more fish. So all in all it would take some amount of dedication for a manderin in a nano, but I think that if you really want one and if you are dedicated enough to feed it, then you should do it.

Hopefully if you get one, you could teach it to eat frozen food, but for its long term survival it will still need pods in order to strive.

_CF (thanks for following my topic)