Austin goes Rimless - Dudester's 203g mixed reef

[Dudester]

Originally posted by fishypets
I feel the urge for some beer drinking at your house this weekend.......(hint hint)

Wacha doing on Sunday ........ (nudge nudge)

GSMguy - Glad you noticed! As you know by now, I love the rimless tanks, and while I've learned a lot from invincible and naka and their tanks are absolutely inspirations for my system, I certainly didn't want to simply copy what they have achieved. There are several details distinguishing factors that set our systems apart, and one huge factor is the lighting. I really hope to be able to get the results I want with all T5's, plus I don't mind the energy savings.

melev - Sure, a pink foam template would look smokin' hot, but I can't seem to find what kind of PAR it puts out

[jnarowe]

at least the posts in this thread are real.

[Dudester]

Here's another real post for ya.

Hey Marc, is this more like what you were looking for?



I'm about a day ahead of schedule from where I thought I'd be. The RO/DI maker was on since 6:30 this morning, and above is the result. I'm using a Mako 6-stage RO/DI unit, and I replaced both DI resins, as well as all of the other filters, just prior to filling this tank. The DI's have color-changing indicators so I'll know when they're exhausted, and the 1st chamber is about 3/4 spent. Here's the unit.



Here's the salt I'll be using, at least to start.



I fired up the 'cuda and added the salt. Here's the salt storm.



I'm amazed at how quickly the salt dissolved and the water has cleared. I'll let it circulate and aerate for several days, and I'm not adding any more water since the sump isn't plumbed into the tank yet. That's it for now, hope you still like!

[GSMguy]

last chance to keep the sand out.

[jnarowe]

last time I tested Tropic Marin Pro the results weren't very good.

[fishypets]

Originally posted by jnarowe
last time I tested Tropic Marin Pro the results weren't very good.

My corals seemed to like it.

[gkarshens]

Mine too. I have had nothing but good results since I switched to TM.

Mike what time are you planning on doing the rock on Sunday?

[jnarowe]

salt changes batch to batch. Last batch of OceanPure Pro I tested out at 9.0 dKh, 375ppm Ca, zero phosphate...

and the last batch of TMP I tested was not good.

[Dudester]

I hope this works - I'm replying with my Treo.

GSMguy - No way bro, the sand is going in shortly after we finish the aquascape. Nice try, though!

Jonathan - I'm sorry to hear you're not a TM Pro fan. My office tank is thriving with this salt, and most of what I've read about it has been positive. What specifically tested poorly for you?

Gabriel - Not sure what time we're getting started, but probably mid-afternoon.

[gkarshens]

Ah. I have to be somewhere at 3. I was going to offer to help if it was in the morning.

[erics3000]

Man this moving along nicely...Glad you are going with SB.

[thedude15810]

Correction... your first DI stage is toast, not 3/4 toast. Bring it back on in and I'll refill it.

For anyone in Texas experiencing the crazy amount of rain we've had... our water is CRAPPY. The surface runoff plus extra chlorine aren't helping our aquariums and I've run into about 10 situations now where people have needed a filter change WAY faster than usual.

[thedude15810]

Gabe I'm involved and it's going to be Sunday. I'll be way too hungover to work early

[melev]

The only way to know when your DI is used up is to test it for TDS. However, if John is just giving you resin, that's way cool.

That tank looks even nicer wet. Imagine that!

[jnarowe]

Marc's right as I am pretty sure you know. I have multiple TDS meters on my systems so I know what is coming out of the membranes and what the final effluent is. I don't even want to see 1 TDS. That's panic time for me.

[Dudester]

Gabriel - Too bad you won't be around, as we could use your photography skills at the very least.

Eric - Sandbed absolutely for me (no disrespect to the BB folks though).

John - Good eye, bro, but that's an old photo of my Mako unit. The current 1st stage DI isn't as spent as the one in the image. But I'll still take you up on a refill .

Marc and Jonathan - As you can see in the image, I do use a dual TDS meter, measuring both the post-RO water and the post-DI water every time I make RO/DI. The tap puts out water at around 275, and after running for a minute or so the RO membrane knocks it down to 2 pretty consistently. After the dual DI's it's at 0. Just last week I tested both meters by placing them in tap water, then RO/DI water, and the readings were consistent with the numbers I just gave, so I think it's accurate. If this sounds wrong please correct me.

[melev]

If that is the case and 0 is the reading, its still good. Unless you are testing after the first DI and getting a higher number.

[Dudester]

I'm only testing after the 2nd DI, and I change the 1st one based on the color change. I guess I could add another TDS meter after the 1st DI so I could more accurately know when to change it ... think this is useful?

[cbui2]

very nice, keep them coming.

[thedude15810]

My findings with a dual DI system is that once the first DI is 1/2-3/4 orange, you're going to be putting a lot into the second (backup) DI quickly.

I know 0 TDS is supposed to be completely clean water but my experience with filters suggests it just isn't. I can notice a huge difference between brand new DI water, and DI water that still reads 0 TDS, but has the DI looking almost shot.

I also tend to suspect that TDS meters aren't 100% accurate all the time, and would rather spend the money on relatively cheap DI than to treat a problem of crappy water with Rowaphos and water changes.

[Dudester]

Thanks Bart.

John - I knew this would be your stance, and I'll continue to heed your advice. Still wondering about the merit of measuring TDS after the 1st DI though?

[jnarowe]

measure twice, cut once.

[GMFett]

Originally posted by melev
That tank looks even nicer wet. Imagine that!

Isn't everything!!!!

As for the TMP- My 600 loves it, Dudes office tank loves it and so do many other peoples. Can you please elaborate on the bad test results Jonathon? Just curious. Always nice to stay informed.

-Marcus

[jnarowe]

Well, Sherman and I test every bucket/box of salt we buy. I tend to buy a dozen at a time and for a while, the OceanPure regular had stellar results...then I realized that the supplier was selling me the "Pro" version by mistake. The next batch of regular was horrible.

So then Sherman kept telling me about how great TMP is and that he would never use a different salt, so we did side-by-side testing of it and did not get good results. Unfortunately I cannot remember what they were, but I do know that Sherman was augmenting his and then decided to look around for another salt. Recently I brought in an OceanPure Pro and it tested the best out of any salt I have tested to-date.

I occassionally PM with Steve Weast about it and he says that basically every time he buys, he has to test a bunch of salts until he finds one that is adequate, and then he buys a bunch. Recently he told me that other large tank owners were using a combo of two different salts to get good results.

I am not trying to bash TMP at all. I just know that the last batch we tested was not up to par. And while we are on then subject, I have what I think is sort of an unusual practice regarding salts. I don't like to use the same salt all the time. I feel no matter how well a salt tests, it's going to be deficient in some trace elements so I prefer to try and switch it up each time I buy. That way my reef is exposed to more variety the same way my fish enjoy a huge variety of foods. I just plain don't believe that we should stick with our "favorite" salt.

[purebullet417]

Originally posted by Dudester
Here's another real post for ya.

I fired up the 'cuda and added the salt. Here's the salt storm.

i love when my neighbor fires up his cuda you can here it from down the block lol. anyway i haven't posted here yet but your tank looks awesome. nice work