Daniel

Pressure after pre-filters and booster pump are ~70psi, temp, I'm not sure...but I'm basing my flow numbers on one of the warm days a few weeks ago.

I'm going to disassemble and reassemble everything. This is ridiculous.

In other words, it's not very useful (or practical) for the average hobbyist.

Wow, no kidding? I have the exact same setup as you (I upgraded my original BRS kit) + booster pump, and I am not getting anything close to that. I am getting about 5 gallons every 75 minutes, or roughly 4 gallons an hour. What am I doing wrong? I have two new 75 gpd RO membranes (both are under two months) and new pre-filters.

I'll give it a try

Ryan,

When did you last calibrate your pH probe? Are you running a Ca Rx?

I'm glad you brought up this thread. I was noticing a low pH in my tank all summer as well (~7.9 early morning before lights turned on). I suspected it was due to CO2 buildup in the house, but I didn't want to believe it since the home builder said the house was designed to naturally "breathe" =/ Anyway, my problems have gone away now that I run a grow-out tank in my sump on a reverse cycle along with a fuge. But if things start to drop again with winter approaching, I'll try the scrubber.

Also, just out of curiousity, I wonder if running the skimmer's venturi outside the tank's stand would make a difference? My stand doesn't really bring in much fresh air since I have no vents, minus the open back (which is covered by a wall). It's wholly possible that doing the CO2 test mentioned earlier outside the stand would lead to the same results as putting the water sample outside the house/near an open window.

So is the CO2 buildup necessarily in the whole house or is it just inside the stand? Seems like we should answer that first, before we start buying anything.

Gosh, with all the acans and scollys he has, he must have spent a fortune on that tank.

I acans.

Would a relay be unnecessary if you just splice the float in a series circuit?

PM Sent.

PM Sent.

My concern with that design is that it doesn't look like there's any real mixing of the kalk powder. Typical designs have a stir bar or a pump which circulates the water inside the chamber.

If you're using kalk, you don't want to add the cloudy stuff to your tank-- what you're looking for is the saturated water, not anything under/over-saturated. I may just be missing something with the design of the rx.

Need a couple of things from MD. Shipping is free above $175. I currently have ~$44 worth of stuff.

I'll place my order Sunday evening, Oct. 25th.

Right now I am using my T5 light on my 46 gallon that I had on my 20 gallon and it is not getting the job done... I am thinking about builing a canopy and wanted some suggestions on building my own light in a canopy. I don't have a chiller and don't have the $ to get one so will the canopy make it too hott? And How much money am I looking at spending on building my own light? I don't think I need metal halide because I am not doing sps, so would it just be a retrofit T5 inside the canopy? thanks for the help

I don't think a canopy will be a problem. If the canopy is tall enough and the lights aren't unreasonably close to the water, one 120mm fan as an intake and one to exhaust on opposite ends should be sufficient. I would put those fans on a simple timer to turn on/off with the T5s. I use the Cooler Master 120mm fans on my canopy because they're quiet and are rated for a decent amount of airflow. You might also want to consider enclosing a portion of the backside of the canopy as this will better accommodate airflow across the water.

Sorry for hijacking the thread. Dapettit and Hamp, thank you for your recommendations, I will definitely look into these two items, the ACIII controller and a chiller.

A chiller may not be necessary, but an auto-topoff would be a good idea.

Generally, as it was found out later, the pressure in a very tall skimmer diminishes the effectiveness of typical venturi-driven pumps. Assuming a strong enough pump, you can make the skimmer as tall as you want.

What's important is 1) giving the bubble sufficient "contact time" with the water and 2) diminishing turbulence.

I see that happen a lot when I change my water too. The strings are coming from little worms in the live rock trying to catch the junk in the water that was kicked up by the water change. For me, they come from these real small little hard tubes. Nothing to really worry about, just creatures trying to get something to eat

I believe you are referring to vermetid worms. They are generally harmless, but can sometimes become a nuisance when they grow too quickly.

See below:

I like it. Is the taller island designed to cover most of the overflow?

I have a single mandarin in my 90g and he's quite fat, for a mandarin. I have had it for ~10 months, so I know it's eating. I have probably 80+lbs of LR, with a relatively open rockscape. However, the rock I have is very porous.

I would wait for the copepods to establish themselves before attempting a mandarin. Also, the more you feed your other fish, the less likely they are to develop a taste for the copepods. I can see copepods on the glass all the time, so I know their population is stable.

How much were you planning to scale back the flow?

I have about 400gph (roughly 4-5x) through my sump with good results. I have a tee on my return line which redirects at least half of the water from my return pump back into the first chamber of my sump. I would recommend this strategy for lowering the flow rate of your return versus throttling back your pump.

Personally, I would let the pumps run, but I'd add a filter sock on your overflow pipe so that all that junk doesn't settle in the sump. If you leave the circulation pumps off, won't you disturb the sand when they do turn on? I think it'd be better to let the silt settle on its own and just collect and remove what ends up going through the overflow.

Email sent.

I have a Deltec PF509 Ca Rx. It's definitely one of the more expensive items on my equipment list. I like it a lot and it works well. My only gripe is that it isn't a dual chamber Ca Rx. The dual chamber design allows the CO2 you pump into the media to have even more time to be used up. The dual chamber design limits the effect of the unused CO2 on the pH of your aquarium.

I have a small 50w shatter-proof, water-proof heater that probably won't do much, but I doubt it'll need to do much in my 90g.

Dang Andy, I wish I could help you out. I sold my 2x250w setup ~two weeks ago... so I'm no help.

Is the tank already ready for lights to be on? Since you don't really have much in there and you're still cycling, why not open up your options some so you can shop around for a decent deal? Cheap fluorescent lighting should be sufficient for the time being.

I've been through a couple of skimmers as well. I used an AquaC Remora on a heavily stocked 20g with very good results. AquaC skimmers use a water jet shooting into standing water to create foam.

I used a Coralife Super Skimmer 220 on my 90g for almost a year, also with good results. I had done a few mods to it: redirected the skimmer output (recirculated it), added a cheap air pump to boost the venturi (something I would recommend people try for their aging skimmer if they feel their venturi sucks), and also did the fishing line mod. The results? It outperformed an ASM G4 skimmer I had running side-by-side for a week as a test. I would get a container full of dark, disgusting stuff.

Of course, I couldn't resist spending money so I bought a cone skimmer with an ATB purple pin wheel sicce pump. Lately, I've been lusting after Deltec's newest lineup... so... hot.