Share my tank..help me build

[jimbo78]

if i were you i would order your LR from TBS and have it shipped. i have heard alot of good reviews of their rock. if your petco is like the ones down here in miami i wouldn't trust their LR to be cured or anything more than base rock

[jcpatella]

I don't know much about metal poisoning, so hopefully someone will chime in to give a decent explanation...

[navychief]

Thanks jcpatella (cool looking dog, btw). I hope I can find more info on that.

jimbo. Do you have a link?

[jimbo78]

they are one of the sponsers there is a link on the sponser page its down a ways
tampa bay saltwater is the name of the company. if you dont see it i'll post a link

[jimbo78]

http://www.tbsaltwater.com/here

[ToxicPoison]

GET RID OF THAT BRASS CHECK VALVE!

Brass is a copper alloy. Copper is lethal to all SW organisms, even in small amounts. Your inverts will be the first to go (snails, shrimp, etc).

Replace it with a PVC check valve ASAP. Its possible the copper has already leached into your live rock, which would be a terrible thing. If it's been set up for 4 months, I'd be willing to bet the copper has already leached into your live rock and you're going to have to run it through an acid bath to remove it.

There was recently another post about this, but the search feature seems down and I can't find it.

[jcpatella]

Before you do anything drastic, just remove the brass fitting for now. Hopefully, as you keep up with your water changes, any possible copper release will be insignificant.

[NYIntensity]

YES!!! Get that outta there! Go with plastic everywhere, even on external fittings that have the most remote chance of exposure. Your sump is fine, and I'm pretty sure that throwing the 150w heater in the sump won't harm anything; just act as a backup. Sumps are the ideal places for things like heaters simply because they take some of the unsightly yet necessary hardware out of the main tank.

[navychief]

Consider the valve GONE tomorrow! The rock has been in the tank for less than a month, so I think there shouldn't be any issues with leeching metals.

Good catch jcpatella

[phunkie99]

just wondering why you took the air valve off your skimmer I have an RS80 and thats where I do the most tweaking

[navychief]

I'm not really sure right now. A lot I've read says that it's best left off the unit for max bubbles. I'm giving it a shot right now, but I may eventually put it back on if I still can't get it tuned..just taking one thing out of the equation for now.

I had a BIG problem with the skmr overflowing overnight. I ended up taking it out and cleaning it up, plus I took the sump and raised the water level up to about 7 inches and installed the exhaust pipe extension at a 45 degree angle.

We'll see what happens

[Deb91]

[welcome] Best of Luck on you new tank and have fun!!!

[phunkie99]

the higher the water level around the skimmer the more likely it is to overflow I think mine is supposed to run 6"-8" water level you might have to raise your skimmer up a lil

Just my .02 cents

[jcpatella]

navychief - how do you like the hydor koralias? I'm thinking about getting one now and another one when i get my 75.

[navychief]

OK. I heard the outcry of, "hey you dummy. Why the heck are you using a metal fitting in a saltwater tank?" The outcry worked and now it's gone. Proof in the picture!


Thanks again everyone!

[jcpatella]

Hah! That's quick! Do you live at a hardware store?

[navychief]

Thanks Deb91!

Phunkie99: I actually raised the water level in the sump since it was just at 6" before. I added more water to bring it up to 7"-7.5" to see if I get better results.

jcPatella: I put them in the other day, and the current is very random throughout the tank. I checked it when I injected a bit of air into the water from the powerhead I use for my overflow box.

[navychief]

Naaah. Actually I just removed the fitting. Now it's a straight shot. Hope I have no power outage!!!!

I think you'll like the hydor koralias if you get them. They're pretty darned nice imo.

[navychief]

jimbo

Would it be OK if I get my base rock at Petco and the good stuff at TBS?

[killagoby]

navychief- Let me know how you make out with your RS-100 skimmer. I've had some issues w/ mine and I'm still working out the kinks.

[navychief]

Good news...so far. Last night after reconfiguring my skmr in my sump, this morning I awoke and no overflow. The real test will be once it breaks in again.

[killagoby]

Originally posted by navychief
Good news...so far. Last night after reconfiguring my skmr in my sump, this morning I awoke and no overflow. The real test will be once it breaks in again.

The overflow problem is what has been happening with my skimmer too. I found this on Deltec's website. The only problem is that Deltec states it lasts only for a few weeks. My tank has been up and running for 3 months. Chip at Euro-Reef sent me a new pinwheel. I've been running it overnight with the new impeller. I also added vasoline to the lip of the indside of my cup and that's helped. Sorry to hi-jack the thread. I'm just trying to connect w/ people having issues with RS-100 skimmers.

[Blown 346]

I would remove that brass fitting as it will start to corrode and turn green. It can also have other elements in the brass that can leach out into the system. You can replace the brass check valve with a PVC one from your local parts store for a few bucks.

[Blown 346]

Navychief, it will be fine to buy rock form Petco and get the rest form TBS. If you want base rock, make sure thats what you get, base rock is cheaper than normal liverock.

[navychief]

Guys. I was gonna get some more LR from Petco, but when I went there today, It was all covered with green hair algae. No go on that. I went to my LFS and found a nice piece of purple LR with all kinds of life.

As far as the skimmer goes, it's still not quite working right.