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Unread 10/15/2017, 07:49 PM   #110
nightOwl
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Maryland
Posts: 1,799
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flatrack01 View Post
Haha yeah I hear ya. I did not do a build thread strictly out of laziness, but I have always considered doing one after the fact because I'm constantly tweaking things.

You should check out Fintastic Aquariums in Frederick (yep, its outside of 30 minutes lol). Its a small store but they have really nice stuff there and are great to work with.
Flatrack01 - I may add them to my field trip list. I looked at their website and the prices are pretty good!

10/10/2017 - Curing Rock - WIP

I finally got around to checking my ammonia levels in the my trash cans for my rock that is curing. The ammonia kit said 8 but I think its higher...LOL. My garage stinks so I know something is happening. The cycle is officially underway. I may need to do a small water change to help move the process along. I also ended up buying some bacteria to add once I move it in the main display. When I looked back at my pictures of my first aquascape I realized I wanted another large rock piece or two. ON my latest BRS order I asked for large Pukani. The customer service rep I spoke to was great and told me he would go to the back and make sure I had a large piece or two. When they arrived I was very impressed. They are large with a great variety of nooks and crannies. One thing I will have to do is to bleach this rock for sure. There is some dead material on the rock that is not fully dry so even though it is dry rock there are still some things decaying. The rock also has that smell of rock that has been out of water for a while but not completely dry.

Ammonia Test
IMG_9714 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Bacteria
IMG_9729 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Rock 1
IMG_9731 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Rock2
IMG_9732 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr
10/11/2017 -Control Panel -WIP

I made some updates to my control panel. I added a center brace and some corner braces. I will find the studs in the wall and then mark them so I can attach the unit after I prime it. On the left side I plan to cut two areas that I can feed the cords in. My cords have a variety of lengths. I have six fairly short, four really long, and two medium length cords. I will have a total of 12 individually controlled outlets.

Control Panel
IMG_9716 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

12 Outlet Junction
IMG_9717 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

10/13/2017 - RODI Upgrades

Maryland water sucks! My TDS meter is running around 240 -260 on the incoming side. I noticed no mater how many times I was changing the filters my TDS on the out line was still ranging around 12 or higher and what ever they are treating the water with killed most of my corals in my temp set up. It looks like a few may hang in there but for the most part they are on the decline. The filters below on the current system are from only 2 weeks of use.I am not sure if it is related to the chemicals the water company is using or if the DI resin is old. Either way I decide to add a second DI resin chamber. Turning my 5 stage into a 6 stage RODI unit. I thought my existing bracket could hold two chambers but the holes would not line up for two units. Temporarily I am just going to have then on the back table. I removed the old membranes and as I suspected they were swollen. When I talked to the water company they mentioned they had flushed the system in the last few weeks due to some type of algae and sediment bloom. I found a place on Ebay that sold DOW membranes for a pretty good price. So I decided to change out the membranes as well. I essentially replaced all the internals of my unit and added an additional chamber. The unit ran so much better when I flushed it for the first time.

Current System
IMG_9730 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

New Chamber
IMG_9724 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

New Membranes
IMG_9739 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr




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Tank Build Thread (Miracles Custom) - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2628737
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