Tl550 Nano In The Making!

[Kipperhips]

Well hi folks and sorry for the delay but! i came down with what is goin around and
well i dont wanna moan but i felt rough for a few days..anyhows this is the first i have ventured
into my room where the tank will be set up.
ok so i opened the box and wow lol the instructions ermm or i mean the lack of em so onward
i ventured to the deadly flatpack box ! yes u guys know what i mean.. MFI manufactured for idiots
anyhows the base was very easy to assemble and is suprisingly sturdy imo...
so i got the spirit level out and wasnt impressed well i mean
i have a little room where the tank is and the flooring is wooden slotted flooring on top of a concrete
floor, this wooden floor is a floating floor its not that iam worried about the floor being damaged its how level it is
when filled...hmmm
so if i get the level right the water goes in..iam buying the first lot in premixed RO so thatll gives me time to
get the RO-MAN unit.
well thats bout it for the moment and i will also dig out my Digi Cam at some stage to take a few pics..

ty
Kipper

 

[Kipperhips]

Hey folks! hi again .. i know iam slow but if thats what it take then
so be it!

so i built the stand and placed the tank in the spot i want it and checked the lights and
started to clean.
next is water! yes Pre mixed RO in the next day or 2..
i have a question !
where is my water level going to be in the tl550?
and what is the maximum weight of LR i can put into my tank?

Ty for your help as always
Kip

 

[Trod]

I have my water up to the top of the little lip, so when you look at tank you can't see water line, this is obviously once you have LR in
I don't know what the maximum weight of LR is but about 13KG ish would be fine.

Any pictures Yet

 

[seffieuk]

yep. as my sister says - I also have my water line so that I can't see it - however slightly below the weir at the back or your fish tend to swim over and it is hell getting them out!

Trod and I both started out with 13 KG but suspect now have about 15/16 with corals attached

Seffie x

 

[Kipperhips]

Hi and ty !
Hey Trod! sorry no pics yet but they will come..
and hi Seffie

well so far i have got to the RO definatley going in tonight stage
and my RO maker came
i have a few questions...

does 20kg of live rock sound toomuch?well i mean i was putting 3kg into the back compartments
and the other for scaping.

and would a mj1000 be an ok replacement for the original pump?

ty
Kip

 

[seffieuk]

Hi and ty !
Hey Trod! sorry no pics yet but they will come..
and hi Seffie

well so far i have got to the RO definatley going in tonight stage
and my RO maker came
i have a few questions...

does 20kg of live rock sound toomuch?well i mean i was putting 3kg into the back compartments
and the other for scaping.

That is quite a bit but really according what sort of shapes you have and you can always put a little more in the back

and would a mj1000 be an ok replacement for the original pump?

My sister and i (doesn't that sound royal lol) have both left the stock pump in the back so don't really feel able to give an opinion - I expect one of the others will be along soon, they will have a better idea

ty
Kip

looking forward to the photos

Seffie x

 

[Kipperhips]

Hmm ...ok im getting a deal if i buy 20kg of LR i get it for the price of 18kg so
looks like i might go for it
but i want to make sure my tank will take the weight etc

things are starting to move ....no turning back now!

Kip

 

[Trod]

Think you'll be fine with 20Kg, you just have to remember that as you add corals they will add to your LR too But you can always put the extra in the back weir.

 

[Kipperhips]

Hey hi Trod!
well i guess thats that 20 kg then

ok Update!

so i went to LFS bought the readymixed RO
added it to the tank and i noticed a lot of debris in my tank..hmmm i thought ok looks like salt to me so i let sit over night got the temp at 78f and still some debris..so i looked closer at some of the debris on the tank floor and i noticed sand! yes!! sand ..so here is me wondering if the LFS gave me a water container used for maybe cleaning or that!!
now does that mean my water might have amonia? or other stuff? should i run the UV to clean what might not be there lol etc or should i go to LFS and give em a cold hard stare?
im wondering should i run the skimmer?
any advice is greatly welcome!
Kip

 

[seffieuk]

Are you sure it's sand, there is a chemical reaction that can happen with newly mixed salt water if too much salt is added the salt doesn't dissolve properly - I can't remember the correct term but if you go to my thread near the beginning it explains there

Seffie x

 

[SkiFletch]

Could be a lot of things Kip. My first thoughts are fine dust particles from improperly washed sand. Other possibility would be calcium carbonate precipitate as Seffie mentioned. Do any of your powerheads or externals (if you use them) have filter floss or means of any form of mechanical filtration? Might be worth sticking that on for a bit to remove the particulate, whatever it may be.

Also, is it more of a white particulate, or is it a kind of dingy off-white dirty looking particulate?

 

[Kipperhips]

Hi Ski! ty for the reply i didnt want to do anything until i was sure of what iam dealing with.
So this is what i have up to now!

the white flaky stuff i assumed was salt has all but gone i only see the odd flake now and then
there is a very light covering of the bottom of the tank in what i assume is some salt and when i say light i mean
really light... then to the left of bottom of tank is a small gathering of sandy coloured grains not many but they do resemble sand ....so i checked temps

Temps 78f
Sal 1.023
PH 8.2

So Ski i had some filter media from the tank itself as i removed it to allow for LR as my filtration and last night i put it in the tank and it removed a lot of debris so really whats on the bottom is it !

any advice is welcome and ty all
Kip

 

[SkiFletch]

Sounds like you sorted the problem to me... If you really want to vaccum the sandbed to get the other particulate out you can, but chances are you can just leave it.

 

[Kipperhips]

Hi and ty Ski!

well ski i put the skimmer on just to ease my mind so to speak lol and well there isnt anything to skim so
i will syphon off the remaider and wait until my PH rises a little more .....! i directed mt spray bar more to the surface
to see if i can raise the PH ..now heres a question!
when i add LR to my tank will the live rock have an effect on the PH ? if so! does it raise the PH or lower it?
or am i looking into it too deep?i mean have i became a saltwater fiend yet?...

ty
Kip

 

[Kipperhips]

Update!

Hi! well its been a few days and my temps are stable at 78f
my PH is aound 8.3
and my Salinity is at 1.022 now! so if i want to raise the sal over a few weeks the PH should rise slightly also!

tonight i will wash out the sand and run it in some saltwater with a heater afterwards..So!!!
what next? LR ?

let me know what u guys think please i havent had a lot of input on the thread..that i have had has been great..

TY
Kip!