gweston's 125 + build thread, my first large tank.

[gweston]

My water PSI is normally between 40-45. Last night it dropped to around 35-38, though TDI is still 0 coming out. About 130 going in. I may need to look into a booster pump.

Taking FOREVER to make water. I have an extra sediment filter. If I lose any more PSI I may try swapping that out. The filters are quite new so should be good for a long while yet. The membrane is new too. I think the town may be purging the water lines as it is spring... may explain the slightly lower water pressure (a guess). Also my normal input TDI is around 110-115. So it is just a smidge higher than normal.

Oh well... it'll get there eventually. I shut the water off when I am not home as I don't want an overflow situation, so I'm not making water 24/7.

 

[focus]

My water PSI is normally between 40-45. Last night it dropped to around 35-38, though TDI is still 0 coming out. About 130 going in. I may need to look into a booster pump.

Taking FOREVER to make water. I have an extra sediment filter. If I lose any more PSI I may try swapping that out. The filters are quite new so should be good for a long while yet. The membrane is new too. I think the town may be purging the water lines as it is spring... may explain the slightly lower water pressure (a guess). Also my normal input TDI is around 110-115. So it is just a smidge higher than normal.

Oh well... it'll get there eventually. I shut the water off when I am not home as I don't want an overflow situation, so I'm not making water 24/7.

Your on the edge..just barely adequate at 40-45 never mind 35-38. I have a booster pump it triples the output easily. If you need to borrow it let me know.

 

[gweston]

Sure, if I can borrow it for a couple days until I fill the tank up that'd be great!

 

[focus]

Sent you a PM come and get it

 

[gweston]

I don't know how I have lived without a booster pump. Went from ~38psi up to around ~85psi. Making buckets of RODI in < 1/2 the time.

Thanks a TON again Rob! I plan to drop off the pump sometime on Saturday. I suspect I should be done filling the tank by tonight. The tank is about 60% full. The wife offered to keep an eye on the RODI while I am at work, and will swap out filling buckets. Very thankful for that, as by the time I get home from work.... often only have a couple hours to mess around with the tank.

Last night:

Finished Bean plumbing connections. READY TO ROLL!
Continued making water.

Now for a bit of bad news: My new G. Smithii Mantis seems to have taken a turn for the worse. ~24 hours after arrival. He's on his back and barely moving. It may be molting. It could be dead. Or it could still be in shock from shipping. Another mantis owner tells me that his did something similar, and recovered after about 24-48 hours. As a result, I have not removed the mantis from the tank. I am still holding on. If it doesn't improve by tomorrow morning. I may need to start thinking about alternatives. I have informed Bluezoo anyway that the critter isn't doing well, but that I am not giving up until it can be confirmed as dead. I am really bummed, as it is a beautifully colored mantis. Blue/green with reddish hammers, colorful swimmerets, and really neat deep blues on his legs.

 

[focus]

I don't know how I have lived without a booster pump. Went from ~38psi up to around ~85psi. Making buckets of RODI in < 1/2 the time.

Thanks a TON again Rob! I plan to drop off the pump sometime on Saturday. I suspect I should be done filling the tank by tonight. The tank is about 60% full. The wife offered to keep an eye on the RODI while I am at work, and will swap out filling buckets. Very thankful for that, as by the time I get home from work.... often only have a couple hours to mess around with the tank.

Last night:

Finished Bean plumbing connections. READY TO ROLL!
Continued making water.

Now for a bit of bad news: My new G. Smithii Mantis seems to have taken a turn for the worse. ~24 hours after arrival. He's on his back and barely moving. It may be molting. It could be dead. Or it could still be in shock from shipping. Another mantis owner tells me that his did something similar, and recovered after about 24-48 hours. As a result, I have not removed the mantis from the tank. I am still holding on. If it doesn't improve by tomorrow morning. I may need to start thinking about alternatives. I have informed Bluezoo anyway that the critter isn't doing well, but that I am not giving up until it can be confirmed as dead. I am really bummed, as it is a beautifully colored mantis. Blue/green with reddish hammers, colorful swimmerets, and really neat deep blues on his legs.

Your welcome! I knew you would love it,that booster pump was well worth the money just for the savings in waste water. The pressure gauge is messed up isn't it reading low? I noticed it seemed off, when new it read 85 as of late 50....

Sorry about your Mantis I hope it bounces back.

 

[gweston]

Your welcome! I knew you would love it,that booster pump was well worth the money just for the savings in waste water. The pressure gauge is messed up isn't it reading low? I noticed it seemed off, when new it read 85 as of late 50....

Sorry about your Mantis I hope it bounces back.

I looked at my pressure gauge, and it was up around 85psi. I'll take a look at yours when I get to the house in a bit to compare. I have the oil filled gauge from BRS. I think the optimal pressure is around 75psi for RODI systems, but it was reading and running fine at 85psi. The TDS meter said it was roughly 130-160 in, and 0 out.

I am thinking to get the pump from BRS with the sediment prefilter. Its pricy (same price as elsewhere), but they have a 1000 BRS pt thing going on for the pump right now. So it is effectively a $10 off coupon for a future purchase. Plus with all the other crap I need, I should be able to break the barrier and get free shipping. Silly. I buy more crap to get free shipping, so in the end I end up spending more than intended to begin with. ITS A CONSPIRACY I TELL YA!

 

[willray]

Love mantis shrimps...hope yours pulls through.

 

[gweston]

Mantis didn't make it. I sent a second email to bluezoo as they didn't respond to the first. I have no idea how the process works, but I think I am going to try to stick to local.

 

[focus]

Mantis didn't make it. I sent a second email to bluezoo as they didn't respond to the first. I have no idea how the process works, but I think I am going to try to stick to local.

Oh sorry to hear that Gary

Some places just need a picture, others want you to mail the body back.

 

[focus]

Terms and Conditions:

Please DO NOT discard the deceased item without authorization. Doing so will void all guarantees.
For Dead On Arrival (DOA) items, we must be notified via email within one hour of delivery time posted by FedEx, for Dead After Arrival (DAA) items within the 7-Day allowance.
A digital photograph must be submitted for any covered livestock loss.
We do not issue credit for shipping costs or refunds for livestock purchases.
Livestock credit is valid for one year from the date it is issued.
Livestock credit may be used to replace a lost item or any against any livestock purchase.
7-Day Live Guarantee begins on the day livestock is shipped.
Livestock listed as a Restricted Species are not covered.

 

[gweston]

Yep I have all of bluezoos stuff taken care of. Pic. Critter is in a container preserved with salt (as they requested). I tried to contact them twice, no response yet. Going to try calling today.
I have another potential Smithii mantis from a local reefer in the Worcester area. I may see it (possibly pick it up) this Saturday.

As of this morning I started up the 125. The tank filled up LATE last night. I was up to about 2am working on the darn thing. Still making a few buckets of water as the sump is somewhat low now. No pics yet. Well, I had one and accidentally deleted from my phone. Oh well.

Rob, can I drop off the pump on Saturday? Let me know if you need it. I could swing it by this evening if you like. Its just a short hop over to your place. That pump did wonders. Without it, I'd probably still be filling that darn tank up through the weekend. Its a no-brainer. I MUST get an RO pump.

 

[focus]

Saturday is fine, I still have plenty of top off water no rush Gary.

Did you take a glance at my pressure gauge? I just ordered new filters for the RO I think they are clogging or the gauge is bad?? It was a cheap gauge for sure the needle jumped all over the place!

 

[gweston]

The Mag18 seems to be doing quite well flow wise. I think I'll stay with this pump for a while. I may upgrade eventually. If I add another frag tank or some such, I may need to up the pump before hand. It seems to be just enough. I think what let me get away with this is the tanks are right behind the wall from the sump. So head height/distance is rather minimal. If the tank was up on the second floor, the pump would definitely not handle the load.

I forgot to post the pics last night of the display filled and with the lights on. I'll aim to do that tonight.

*the pressure gauge read around 5psi when mine was up around 85psi. So yeah looks like that gauge was busted.

 

[gweston]

Pics not long after filling. It cleared up very quick.






T5's are dead as the ballast blew the first time I tried to really use it. So much for buying used.

To do:

-Arrange for CUC
-More liverock for fuge and sump
-Clean&install carbon/gfo reactors
-Repair or get a new T5 ballast
-Finish stand doors
-Move upstairs 10g quarantine tank into basement sump room
-Move controller, etc from 29g to new system.
-Set up ATO
-Build 'mixing station'.. for storage of RO and salt water.

there is always more..

 

[Turbosnail]

Looking great!

 

[Mr.KRim]

Hey Gary, everything is looking great. I have a IceCap ballast if your interested.

 

[bms248]

WOW looks really good, when you said that the hood would open I wasn't sure but looks like you got it right. Great job!
Brian

 

[gweston]

I think I had 1" to spare for the open hood door. I'd like to say I 100% planned it that way, but that wouldn't be true LOL. I figured I'd end up being within a few inches. Got lucky I guess!

 

[Kungfukid]

wow, looking great.
I think the 60g cube setup sit next those two tank would make a nice collection.