Mindflux

I'd like to hear more about this. How is the netting held over the tank? How big are the holes in the netting?

It SEEMS like it added more water than it should. But, I tested rather rigorously last night. I'd lift the whole ATO float setup out until I hear a relay click and put it back in the water until the relay clicked again. It's VERY little motion needed to trip the bottom "primary" float switch. The only thing I can think of is when my foam block gets clogged the water level in my DT portion rises a little bit since the flow has been slowed by debris (making the back area go low, causing topoff perhaps?). Cleaning the sponge levels the DT area back out but in turn the back portion gets 'flooded' (because the DT leveled off and some top off occurred?)...? I'm not sure honestly. Since I posted I haven't seen the over-topoff symptom happen again to my knowledge. I think it's a combination of clogged foam pad and top off tweaking at this point.

Sweet. I think I'll order me a booster pump too. That way I can lower my house pressure back down. Did you install the pump so that it goes into the flow meter?

Did you get some guys to come over and help you get set up?

If you end up parting it out I'd like to get a GBTA and the GSP from you. I'll be out of town until the 12th though and I'm not ready just yet to load up anything into my tank and then leave for a week.

Anyone have thoughts on my water level dilemma in post #9 and #8?

Ok. It seems my ATO has topped off for no reason, and excessively - the bottom switch is completely covered by water now. It added so much water that my 9002 skimmer started sucking water into the airline... Not sure why I can't get the water to stay constant in the back part of the tank.

Ok, an interesting problem I've been noticing the past week. The Solana has a built in overflow, second chamber (where my skimmer is presently but usually reserved for carbon bags and such) and a third chamber for the return pump (which is also where my ATO float switches are) As days progress on, the foam filtration just inside of the overflow seems to clog up (not sure with what, there's nothing in the tank but LR). In turn the "display" area of the tank rises as the overflow volume slows.. which lowers the water enough in my overflow/return pump area to kick on my ATO. This seems to be SLOWLY lowering the SG in the tank, since it's not simply evaporation it's topping off, but "low volume" due to a "clogged" filter (that's really not clogged, but just water logged).. upon removal of the filter the DT portion of the tank gets lower again and the water level where the ATO/return pump are now "overfilled". The cycle continues once I put the filter foam back in. This causes problems (in both cases) with my skimmer since my water level does not stay constant.... Is it typical to see the ATO slowly drop your SG in your tank or am I doing something wrong in this balancing act? If I removed the foam filter all together this would never happen but the overflow is LOUD this way.... and I think going 2-3 days or even longer isn't out of the acceptable range for cleaning filter media, is it?

Asterina stars. Opinions on them are mixed. I find them a nuisance, i've got hundreds-thousands of them now. If you don't have fish that prey on shrimp, you can get some nice harlequins that are both pretty and will keep your asterina population in check. Right now my tank consists of nothing but LR. I'll keep that in mind but there MIGHT be a half dozen to a dozen of 'em here.

If only my tank were ready...

Starting to see the mushrooms and other 'live' plants extending out from the LR now. I'm also seeing what I believe to be TINY starfish on my glass. They're no bigger than grains of rice, some are missing a limb or two while others are whole. If I knock them off the glass they show back up later, so they're definitely alive whatever they are.

You are right.. I just don't want any winter surprises. We keep the house pretty cool in the winter.

A week into my Solana build I'm having issues getting my heater calibrated right. It's a 75w Jager heater. I initially tossed it in the tank and set the dial for 76 and let it go for a couple days. Tank pretty much has ready 78-80 the whole time. Calibrated the heater the other day to 80 and re-adjusted the blue ring to 76... tank still at 78-80. No lights on the tank just yet. Am I not calibrating this thing right? Instructions: Unplug heater Move red-arrow to temperature read by good thermometer. Turn blue dial to desired temperature plug back in I've done this twice yet and I'm still seeing a 2-4 degree variance. I wonder if I dial down to 72 if I'll see 74-76 ish. The whole point of buying the nicer thermometer was the calibration, though.

Hum! I must be having some odd water level fluctuations. My skimmer cup was full of water and the water level in the tank is higher than it should be. Gonna unplug it and let some evaporate off before I have an overflow situation.

I wasn't trying to turn it into a glass polishing thread. It just veered that way inadvertently.

No fans right now. Wouldnt that lead to more evap? House is at 78 during day and 75 in afternoon when we are home right now.

Alright, now that the ATO seems to be doing it's job. It seems like I'm going through about a gallon a day of ATO/RODI water with NO light on the tank and no top. This is a 34 gallon Solana. Seems a bit excessive and also makes me concerned about going away for more than a couple days. (I have a week long trip planned soon)

Of course it doesn't make it true (Empire state building) because everyone (I/you/everyone) knows better. The fact that neither of us are qualified glass workers should mean to take each of our advise with a grain of salt. I'm just reiterating what I've read in several places (not just one) from several people. I'm not taking ONE person's suggestion/recommendation to heart, I'm taking _SEVERAL_. Not HiJacking, trying to have a discussion on glass polishing.

Everything I've read contradicts this for aquariums. Thinning the glass wall in 'random' spots can compromise the glass. (Or so it's been said). Believe me I wish it weren't true because I'd love to buff out the scratches on the Solana.

If you can catch your fingernail in the scratch don't bother. If you can't feel it, get some cerium oxide and mix it with water until it's a paste and buff it out with a buffing wheel on your drill (or car polisher) http://www.fitchfamily.com/glass.html

Well I wouldn't go that far. I recently used a stainless steel screwdriver in mine... just had to wash it with soap and water then rinse a bunch of times to be sure any grease was off, then really make sure it's stainless. The thing with pliers is that there's lubricant where the two halves meet that won't come off with a simple wash... and if it does come off the pliers will seize up. Meh. I'll leave it up to pump makers and so on and so forth to determine metal rated safe for aquariums.. I'm not gonna go out of my way to find things tank safe when it's easier to just yank out a piece of LR and work on it and toss it back in.

He's at that one, I went and picked up dog food and met him today. Nice store. Some nice fish too and of course an ARC member for an employee.. it never hurts, right?

I didn't really try on yanking on them yet. If they're that easy to remove then even better.

For now, leave it and see if it purples up.