update on all that dead rock i got

[Benny Z]

after doing a 24 hour muratic acid/vinegar/water soak, i dipped each rock in a bucket of ro water and then let them dry while i cleaned and refilled the stock tank. the skimmer is also now plumbed up. each rock got two more dips in separate water conainers, then went back into the stock tank last night.

turned the skimmer on at lunchtime and it is actually skimming freshwater. i can't believe it. a lot of the gunk was never cleaned from the skimmer, so most of that was already there, but you can see some of the foam. i turned it down a little and it's pulling a thicker foam now.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/77080skimmer.jpg

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/77080systemgoing.jpg

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/77080topdown.jpg

i'm going to let it skim overnight, then drain the tank again. i ordered a new filmtec 98% rejection ro membrane and new prefilters today, so they should be here in the next couple of days. then it's salt time. :cool:

[hounddog01]

That is Awesome. That rock will look great!

[medic29]

I like the avatar Brad!!

[hounddog01]

Thanks, Just created it tonight. This is what happens when traveling and cant sleep.

[MattAranda]

Is their a good place where anyone knows to find used media, I need a protein skimmer for my 150 gallon soon! I have heard about DIY skimmers, do these really get the job done?

[Horace]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8310442#post8310442 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MattAranda
Is their a good place where anyone knows to find used media, I need a protein skimmer for my 150 gallon soon! I have heard about DIY skimmers, do these really get the job done?

If you design them correctly and built it well yes :). My DIY skimmer rocks. I did spend a fair amount of money building it though as well as quite a bit of time. To be honest, unless you have the tools and have extensive knowledge on the physics of how skimmers work, I would just buy one. Your not going to save alot of money anyway, and if you dont build it right you will just wind up buying one anyway and you will have spent more money.

[brad23]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8309786#post8309786 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by medic29
I like the avatar Brad!!

+1

[Benny Z]

here's a pic of the "skimmate" that has been produced since yesterday. there's about an inch and a half of very wet yellow skimmate in the bucket.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/77080freshskimmate.jpg

[Benny Z]

in other news i just stuck a thermometer in the tank and it is reading 81*. :eek2: :eek2: :eek2:

no heater...no lights.

i sure hope 200 more gallons of water volume helps cool the water. these pumps are cooking the water.

[GreenBay1]

WOW! I hope the added water volume distributes the heat better for you.

[Benny Z]

tank rose another freakin degree. checked it at lunch and it's up to 82*.

this is starting to concern me...

[GreenBay1]

This is probably a dumb question, but do you have a fan on it?

[Benny Z]

fan on the stock tank? no...

there are internal fans in the pumps, though.

[pleaselaunchme]

Ben-
A few weeks ago I read a thread where people were mounting heat sinks to the back of their pumps and running a computer fan on top of that. In some cases, tank temps actually receded by doing this. When I get a bit more free time this evening, I will try and find this for you.

Ben

[Benny Z]

thanks! that would be greatly appreciated.

on a side note, today has been full of bens for me. i'm working with two other bens on projects here at work and now you. lol

[hounddog01]

Ben - Just setup a fan over the tank and blow it across the water. This will help. You will evaporate more water but it will cool it down.

[Benny Z]

alright, i'll try that too. at this point it's really not a big deal because i'm just rinsing the rock. ...it's just starting to concern me because these are the pumps i'll be using when the display is full, too.

i'm also thinking that maybe i should see if i can keep low enough nutrients by running the skimmer only when the lights are off. quite a bit of experimenting to do...

[medic29]

I have a fan set up that blows across the top of my tank and it cools it down quite a bit. I'm not having to do that right now because it is cool in the house; but a few months ago the fan was on whenever the lights were on and it kept the water in the tank fairly cool.

[pleaselaunchme]

Here it is

Ultra Quiet Pan World Mod (http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=828812&perpage=25&pagenumber=1)

It was originally done as a way to quiet the pumps, but some people were reporting the side effect of cooler running pumps as well. Hope this helps.

Ben

[Benny Z]

that thread is filled with all kinds of good info! sweet! thanks a lot. horace, i see another diy opportunity. :D

rick, i run a cooling fan in the canopy of my 29. that tank has never risen above 80 and stays there consistently. i intend to run these across the top of the 200g display. ...although blue leds might be kinda neat...you would see them on the pumps too. call me a ricer! lol

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/77080IMG_1723.JPG

[Gluestick]

Wow Brad, that's a pretty sweet set up you've got there! I'll have to get some tips from you when my hubby builds our next house. He's promised me my own fish room!

[GreenBay1]

Ben not Brad.

[Gluestick]

Ooops! Meant BennyZ! Both of you have your names in your screenname thing

[LegoZ81]

Ben, I would not use those fans in your new setup they will not move enough air. I'd say get some of the bigger blowers (131CFM) and set them up on a DigiDoc to have them switch on and off depending on the temps.

[LegoZ81]

I am not finding the YSTech's anymore but here is a close contender:
http://www.plycon.com/fans/mecha120.htm

[brad23]

43db, that's going to be loud

[Benny Z]

...nothing compared to the skimmer. i'm not running the silencer on the air intake and you can litterally hear the skimmer upstairs with the basement door closed. seriously! i think the next priority will be getting the wall built around the tank to isolate the noise.

[LegoZ81]

Since he is doing a wall he can insulate with fiberglass and you won't even hear the fans unless in the fish room.

[Benny Z]

well, we have saltwater! :D

ordered a 75gpd filmtech 98% rejection membrane and new prefilters for my ro/di unit from airwaterice.com. my start tds ranges from 150-170tds, usually pretty steady at 167tds. after the ro membrane, i am getting 2tds! this should make my di resin last a lot longer than it used to. ...obviously yielding 0tds after the di.

filled the stock tank this weekend with pure water and woke up early this morning to put the rock back in. i also added 3 pieces of liverock from my other holding system and some pure ammonia to begin the cycle process. i put a normal output 3' standard florescent aquarium light above the stock tank for now.

thought i'd take a pic of the skimmer...it's a very impressive amount of microbubbles if you ask me! the entire reaction chamber is solid white, with microbubbles the size of pin-heads or smaller. woohoo!

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/77080skimmersalt.jpg