320g build/journey/experiment :-)

[Greenmaster]

no i was just saying. it would be a shame to keep such an amazing tank on such a bare stand

Ya... let me put it this way... I work too much I'm in the middle of renovations on my house, and have two kids that I spend most of my free time with. I will probably put up crown molding and baseboards before I skin the stand. Currently I have a 1/4" piece of plywood across the front so it is kinda skinned... but doesn't look that great yet.

 

[Greenmaster]

So I got a new pump for my B-day and now I need some help figuring where to put it... I'll upload some photos of my tank and if someone would like to give me some ideas on how to set it up I'm all ears. I see two options for the source. Either I can do a closed loop (that would allow pulsing of the pump... like on 5 sec off 5 sec.) Or do it the same as my other two and just add a third return pump (that would increase turnover of the tank through the sump). The next question is where do I put the bulkhead... (in/out for the closed loop or just the return) I was thinking I would like it close to the bottom half of the tank considering that the other two are at the top of the water. Next question is do I put a flow accelerator on like I have already or do I put some kind of rotating/ switching nozzle on? If so what kind/brand do you think works well.

Full tank shot.

Left side, looking from front.

Right side, looking from front.

Left side looking from left to back.

Left side, looking to right side, looking across the front of the tank.

Right side, looking to left side, looking across the back.

The white and black 1/2" pipe that is inside the tank is only there for filling/emptying the tank while I sort out the pH issues, once that is done I will be removing those pipes.
Also the pump is a 950 GPH

 

[Greenmaster]

Week one of a two week test... current PH is 7.9 if it stays at 8.0 or less till next week then I will fill with salt water, and test for three weeks... I may have one to two weeks with the tank empty, before the salt... if I decide to drill another hole or two...

 

[maxst2]

How much salt will it take to get that to salinity by chance?

 

[Apollo1K9]

Are you leaving the lights on at all times, or just when you are working on the tank or taking pictures?

Still love the rock work, by the way. It is definitely easier when you made it yourself!

 

[Greenmaster]

How much salt will it take to get that to salinity by chance?

About two and a half buckets...

Are you leaving the lights on at all times, or just when you are working on the tank or taking pictures?

Still love the rock work, by the way. It is definitely easier when you made it yourself!

I have only turned the lights on four times since my LED's got fried... once was to take those pictures twice to show people and once so I could count how many I still need to replace (because of being burnt out.).
Homemade rock is definitely easier to love... not so easy to set up... I'm definitely looking forward to the day that my pH is good... and it seems like that day is coming soon... hopefully next week... or within a month or two... I would like to be able to put some fish in there by my wife's birthday March 31st. Then I can buy a really expensive fish that I want, and buy it "for her", because it's a present she can't ask how much the fish was .

 

[Mitchell0605]

Then I can buy a really expensive fish that I want, and buy it "for her", because it's a present she can't ask how much the fish was .

Brilliance, but err on the side of caution with it. Don't want it to end up floating the next day.

 

[Greenmaster]

Ya I was saying I would like to have it going within two months but I might not be able too... I'm past the rushing stage...

 

[redneckgearhead]

Could your PH problem be your lights? Its my understanding that it affects the PH when your lights are on. It causes it to go up because of the 02 being produced by the algea.

 

[Greenmaster]

Could your PH problem be your lights? Its my understanding that it affects the PH when your lights are on. It causes it to go up because of the 02 being produced by the algea.

No... the problem is because of my homemade rock. It is still leaching lime (an ingredient in cement)

 

[Greenmaster]

So after 1.5 weeks my pH was still at 7.9 so I decided to drain it fill it with salt water and start a cycle going... as of February 6th at 8:30pm (PST) I added 60 ml of 14% ammonia solution to my tank putting my ammonia off the scale... I believe it is 6.5-7 PPM. At 9:30pm I added a 375ml/12.7 fl oz of Hagen/Nutrafin "Cycle" (bacteria), I will test in the morning and as often as I have time/deem appropriate and post results on or before Wednesday (probably on Tuesday night). After my cycle has completed (1-4 weeks) I will test my pH again... if the pH is off the chart again then I will dump the water and let it do a few more FW washes before I try the SW again.

 

[Greenmaster]

So I'll do a full run down of the cycle when it's closer to completion, so all of the info is in one post. For now I'll just say my Ammonia is around 4-5, Nitrite is around 3, and my Nitrate is around 20-30. I'll post a complete run down of my cycle once it is, well... complete.

 

[Greenmaster]

I added a few things because my cycle stalled and within 4.5 hours my ammonia was halved.
Ammonia 2.5
Nitrite 5+ (off the scale)
Nitrate 40-50

 

[Smitty]

What did you add that caused the cycle to stall? Do you shoot for around 4 ppm ammonia during the cycle?

 

[Deep Seven]

What did you add that caused the cycle to stall? Do you shoot for around 4 ppm ammonia during the cycle?

You misunderstood Green. To be fair, he misspelled "because".

I added a few things cause my cycle stalled and within 4.5 hours my ammonia was halved.

His cycle was stalled, he added a few things, and then the cycle took off again.

 

[Greenmaster]

Thanks DS,
Ammonia 0.75
Nitrites 5+ (off the scale still)
Nitrates 20

 

[Smitty]

/doh Ok, I understand now. I guess the headache I have fuddled my thinking!

 

[Jason7894561230]

Why are you cycling the tank again? I thought there were fish in there?

 

[Greenmaster]

I think you missed the part where my tank was dry for a couple months...

 

[Greenmaster]

Ammonia 0.23
Nitrite 10-20 I believe very close to 16 (did 100ml tank water with 900ml tap water read around 1.6)
Nitrate 20