Der ABT October 11, 2012 Share October 11, 2012 aw man nice progress...looking really good very nice rockwork as well, might have to give some marco rocks a try here soon. congrats on getting it back up so quickly im sure the kids will love the final outcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette October 11, 2012 Author Share October 11, 2012 Thanks. I used a lot of marco rock to start up the last tank. The rock is great, very porous and super easy to stack. If you want to start with dry rock I would highly recommend using them. So I just turned on my biopellet reactor, skimmer, swabbie, and carbon reactor. I figure this is a good time to basically cycle the skimmer and that is fed straight off of the biopellets, and the carbon should start really clearing up this sand thats left in the water. Surprisingly everything turned one easily and seems to be working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette October 12, 2012 Author Share October 12, 2012 Looking at this graph I dont think I am going to have much of an issue with high temp's with this tank. I have all of the reactors running right now and the lights were on for about 6 hours yesterday; and as soon as the heaters turn off the temp drops right back down. At least so far it seems I can avoid the cooling fan fire that was the demise of the last tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbartco October 12, 2012 Share October 12, 2012 get some bacteria in there and the cloudiness will go away faster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette October 12, 2012 Author Share October 12, 2012 I took this a little while ago, and the tank is crystal clear now. Then I went looking for my ammonia test kit and I cant find it so Im going to have to go pick one up. Is there any other way to test for the cycle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind October 12, 2012 Share October 12, 2012 Just test for nitrites. Once you see nitrites on a test kit you know the ammonia is being converted. Once the nitrite levels peak and then go away then the bacteria has processed it into nitrate and the cycle is complete. Completed atleast for the available amount of ammonia you had in the system. When adding fish the bacteria will need to adjust the population levels so you may again see another small short rise in levels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette October 12, 2012 Author Share October 12, 2012 Today I have been working on cord management and trying to clean some things up; which is difficult in a small space and some of these cords have a few feet of excess that I have to try and bundle up. But I am running into a problem with the transformers for the lights (and probably the MP40's but have not gotten to them yet) My plan was to velcro them to the wall, but the heat on the transformer melts the glue for the velcro backing and they fall off. Any ideas where to put the transformers or how to mount them onto the wall? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 October 12, 2012 Share October 12, 2012 What kind of wall? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette October 12, 2012 Author Share October 12, 2012 I have some 2x4 space or just onto drywall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 October 12, 2012 Share October 12, 2012 Put a couple of these http://www.amazon.com/Battalion-1WBF4-Screw-Small-Steel/dp/B001GBNWK2/ref=sr_1_7?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1350066176&sr=1-7 in the 2x4's and use zip ties. That is what I would do at least. One above and one below the tranformers would hold them in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette October 12, 2012 Author Share October 12, 2012 Cool, i'll give that a shot. I have a bunch of small hooks around so that will be easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette October 22, 2012 Author Share October 22, 2012 (edited) Can one of you guys tell me why when I turn the return pump off my check valve bounces like this? I have never seen anything like this before http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9R9mG3MKtc Edited October 22, 2012 by MBVette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind October 22, 2012 Share October 22, 2012 This is normally caused when the swing type check valve is placed too low in the system, normally just above the sump. The bouncing water level above the check valve hammers the valve some but the main reason is normally the bouncing water level in the sump which causes the valve to bounce and let more water in which cause another bounce. You could turn it horizontally which might help but the best bet is to move it up higher in the system. Can you post another shot of the valve in relation to the sump? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette October 22, 2012 Author Share October 22, 2012 (edited) You can see in the pic that it is well above the sump, it is just below where the two return lines split. Dont mind the cloudiness, I am just adding a little sand to the sump and when I thought I rinsed it well enough I obviously didnt. Edited October 22, 2012 by MBVette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette October 22, 2012 Author Share October 22, 2012 So I just played around with it a bit. After I turn the return pump off the check valve bounces. But if I turn the valve that controls the return off obviously it stops since there is nowhere for the water to go. But if I open the valve back up, the bouncing does not restart, the check valve remains closed. So it only happens if the pump goes off, but not if I just shut the valve. Does that help any? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind October 22, 2012 Share October 22, 2012 Does it bounce for awhile and then stop closed or just keeps bouncing? Doing an internet search brings this up as a common problem with the swing type check valve. Most people switched to the wye type that BRS sells or changed it from vertical to horizontal to stop the problem. Is a check valve really needed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette October 22, 2012 Author Share October 22, 2012 It keeps going. I think that the sump would get pretty darn near full if I dont have a check valve. I can let it go and see where it winds up before the siphon breaks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveS October 22, 2012 Share October 22, 2012 If you are going to move plumbing around, I'd try to get rid of the check valve. Just one more part to fail and cause problems- $7 fan, $5 check value... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette October 22, 2012 Author Share October 22, 2012 When I get a chance I will try shutting the pump off and letting it drain to see if I the sump can hold the water. If it can, I will just cut the check valve out. As it is, it doesnt hurt anything it just makes some noise and is worthless as a check valve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtFully Acrylic (Adam B) October 22, 2012 Share October 22, 2012 Your sump should hold the volume Scott, but per its specs it will certainly be close so definitely keep an eye as you test it. If it doesn't, but comes close...had you thought about modding your return lines to drill a siphon break hole in the top of the lines so that your drain out from that side is reduced thereby definitely giving you enough space in the sump for your drain out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S October 22, 2012 Share October 22, 2012 I wouldn't remove it, I would fix it. Redundancy is a good thing, not a bad thing. (make sure sump can handle overflow, holes in return pipe, check valve, etc.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette October 22, 2012 Author Share October 22, 2012 Im going to try change the way the locline is situation so that one of the sections comes up over the waterline. If I can get it situation like that, the siphon break should be pretty quick and nothing else will really matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette October 23, 2012 Author Share October 23, 2012 I was planning on keepin gthe tank between 77-78 using the apex; but from what I was seeing every 2 hours the tank would cool down that full degree and then take 2 hours and heat back up. So I change the temp range to be 77.5-78* now, and now the heaters cycle on for 30 minutes then off for 30 minutes. Will it cause a problem that I cant keep a constant temperature for any period of time? I cant imagine its a big deal, to continually cycle .5* but just wanted to check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind October 23, 2012 Share October 23, 2012 I see no problem with a .5 swing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette October 24, 2012 Author Share October 24, 2012 So I just got the first renderings from the cabinet guy and Im not sure I like it. Im just looking for your $.02. Dont worry about the color of the wood it is not correct, and it has to be a specific color. Im just talking about the layout of the doors and the panels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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