I am always very wary of moving sand, too much stuff gets stirred up that should not be. If you don't want the sand just get rid of it, if you want sand just pick up some new stuff. The old sand can be rinsed and reused by someone who might want it.
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My 280g build....
- Thread starter spotter
- Start date
since this is ultimately going to be my frag tank I didn't want to move any sand. I was concerned more about a biological need to move it. My sump/fuge has sand in there so hopefully between the rock and the sand in there I should be ok. I really hated the I sand I used for this tank....constantly had sand storms in the tank.
Tank transition #1 complete
| So I moved everything over from my current dt to the frag tank that will act as my transition tank until the new tank is ready to go and the basement is being remodeled. I started at 8pm and just wrapped up at 1am but not completely done. Still need to hook dosing pumps and algae turf scrubber back up but that will have to wait until tomorrow. Before..... 
After..... 
Picture quality isn't that good with the cell phone. Plus the water was still a little cloudy and I am not too happy with the bulbs in the fixture so I will be ordering new t5 bulbs soon. OTHER UPDATES..... * Construction on the basement begins sometime next week * Stand is complete and will be delivered on Monday * There was a delay with the glass...hopefully the building of the tank will begin next week as well and I will have some pictures to post. |
Good news and bad news.......
The good news is the stand was delivered today.......This thing is built like a tank (no pun intended
) The guy laughed at me when I told him to just leave it in my driveway and would carry it into the basement later when I got home from work. I didnt realize how heavy 2" steel is.
The bad news is....its the wrong size. It was supposed to be 72x36 and instead its 76x36. So back it goes the shop where it will be fixed.
The good news is the stand was delivered today.......This thing is built like a tank (no pun intended
) The guy laughed at me when I told him to just leave it in my driveway and would carry it into the basement later when I got home from work. I didnt realize how heavy 2" steel is.
The bad news is....its the wrong size. It was supposed to be 72x36 and instead its 76x36. So back it goes the shop where it will be fixed.
Wow, that is a beefy tank for sure. I bet it was heavy.
How the heck did they make it the wrong size? Wasn't it a custom order? You would think they would have measured while building it... or at least before shipping to see if it meets your dimensions.
I suggest you measure the modified stand before you carry it into the basement.
How the heck did they make it the wrong size? Wasn't it a custom order? You would think they would have measured while building it... or at least before shipping to see if it meets your dimensions.
I suggest you measure the modified stand before you carry it into the basement.
The owner of the shop was away for two weeks while this was being built. His guess as well as mine is that they measured the front and back spans out at 72" and then put the 2" tube on the end of that. Its definetely something that I would do as a novice. He apologized several times about it and said that he will make the corrections himself. He has an excellent reputation in the area so I have to trust him on this one but will definitely remeasure before his guys bring it down into my basement.
The stand was redelivered yesterday with spot on dimensions and I am still amazed at the size and weight of this thing!!!!! The glass has arrived at the builders shop and they will begin building the tank tomorrow. I am hopeful they will send me some pictures by the end of the week.
So I would like some feed back on whether to use a Ca reactor or just continue with two part dosing. I am using B-Ionic and I really like it. However, going from 80g twv to about 400g twv will definitely increase my costs for additives and was thinking about going with a Ca reactor. I will be honest and say that I am a little intimidated by them because mechanically they are more complex than a simple dosing pump.
Thoughts and suggestions are greatly appreciated!
So I would like some feed back on whether to use a Ca reactor or just continue with two part dosing. I am using B-Ionic and I really like it. However, going from 80g twv to about 400g twv will definitely increase my costs for additives and was thinking about going with a Ca reactor. I will be honest and say that I am a little intimidated by them because mechanically they are more complex than a simple dosing pump.
Thoughts and suggestions are greatly appreciated!
dnov99
FRAG SWAP VENDOR
PRO-CAL Calcium reactor all the way. When you stop by I will show you mine and go over it with you. Its very simple...
PRO-CAL it will be since I know how often you test your ca levels!!!!
OH my stink......
| So I started "cooking" 60lbs or so of pukani last night. I put it in a brute 44g container, using a mag 7 with a modified spray bar and a tunze 6301 for flow. I just checked on it today and WHOA that container smells!!!!!! My ex-wife never cooked anything that smelt this bad. I ordered phosfree and that should be here Wed. I am going to see if I can get a stock tank or trough so I can cure all of the rock at the same time in the same bin. Plus it will create more to spread the rock out and surface area giving more flow thru the rock which hopefully will nock a lot of the junk off the rock. I will do a po4 test on the 60lbs later on today. If anyone in my area has an extra rubbermaid stock tank or trough you aren't using I would be forever grateful if I could borrow it for a couple of months. |
Rock update
So I tested the po4 for the first time on Monday and my hanna ULR phosphorous checker was blinking at 200. So convert that over to phosphate and that equals .65 ppb but I am sure it was a lot higher than that since the checker only goes up to a certain point. I added the first dose of phosfree on Wed and re-tested the po4 last night. Amazing....the hanna checker showed a value of 63 which is .193 ppb when converted over from phosphorous to phosphate. I am thinking about dipping the rocks in rodi, placing them back in a fresh batch of salt water and then test po4 again in a couple of days before doing another dose of phosfree.
So I tested the po4 for the first time on Monday and my hanna ULR phosphorous checker was blinking at 200. So convert that over to phosphate and that equals .65 ppb but I am sure it was a lot higher than that since the checker only goes up to a certain point. I added the first dose of phosfree on Wed and re-tested the po4 last night. Amazing....the hanna checker showed a value of 63 which is .193 ppb when converted over from phosphorous to phosphate. I am thinking about dipping the rocks in rodi, placing them back in a fresh batch of salt water and then test po4 again in a couple of days before doing another dose of phosfree.
Minor update
Not much has been going on for the last few weeks...very frustrating. Construction in the basement began this week so that is moving along nicely with no unexpected surprises. I got an email from the tank builder that the tank is complete and needs to cure now before they will leak test and ship. They are hoping to ship the week of the 30th and I should have some pictures in the next day or so. Finally I ordered my calcium reactor today....I went with the pro cal calcium reactor from MTC. Hopefully the next couple of weeks will go by fast.
Not much has been going on for the last few weeks...very frustrating. Construction in the basement began this week so that is moving along nicely with no unexpected surprises. I got an email from the tank builder that the tank is complete and needs to cure now before they will leak test and ship. They are hoping to ship the week of the 30th and I should have some pictures in the next day or so. Finally I ordered my calcium reactor today....I went with the pro cal calcium reactor from MTC. Hopefully the next couple of weeks will go by fast.
snag on the tank....
I just got an email from the tank builder and the final panel of glass was not cut right and needs to be re-cut. They hope to have the new piece of glass by the middle of the week and on by the end of the week. So where the tank was supposed to ship next week, I am guessing it will be at least 3 weeks now before it ships......
I think I will go find a pile of snow and stick my head in it so I can cool off!
I just got an email from the tank builder and the final panel of glass was not cut right and needs to be re-cut
. They hope to have the new piece of glass by the middle of the week and on by the end of the week. So where the tank was supposed to ship next week, I am guessing it will be at least 3 weeks now before it ships...... I think I will go find a pile of snow and stick my head in it so I can cool off!
