Bill's DIY AIO 10 Gallon - Something out of nothing

[Fishperson]

Looks beautiful!

Almost makes me wish I had a SW tank.

[paul87]

Originally Posted by Billbug68

Thanks all!

Well, my tunze 9001 skimmer is producing a TON of micro bubbles... Doing some reading and to a point it's normal during break in, but there are some other factors that I've read about that can cause it... Such as dechlorinater(which I used just incase there was any tap water present from rinsing the tank), possibly anything released by putty and glue(which I used for rocks and coral.)... Added a small bag of CPE that I had left, and will try to pick up some carbon tomorrow... as well as do a large water change. After the carbon runs for a few days I'll turn the skimmer back on and see if it helped or just try to wait out the micro bubbles...


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Yea that 2 part epoxy and dechlorinator will upset a skimmer.

[nshepler]

This is a great build, it's a great alternative to those bio cube tanks and the other AIO tanks. How did you de rim it though?


Shep

[Billbug68]

Originally Posted by paul87

Yea that 2 part epoxy and dechlorinator will upset a skimmer.

Thanks for confirming that for me! I'll do a 50% water change later today.

Opinions on chemi-pure elite? Should I run extra carbon along with it? Just carbon? Just CPE?


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[Billbug68]

Originally Posted by nshepler

This is a great build, it's a great alternative to those bio cube tanks and the other AIO tanks. How did you de rim it though?


Shep

Thank you.

With a sharp razor blade. It's just siliconed in place. I actually broke the entire tank down during the build. No pictures of it apart, but yeah, I tried to replicate the innovative marine fusion tanks.


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[nshepler]

Did you remove the silicon from tank or under the rim first?


Shep

[Billbug68]

Originally Posted by nshepler

Did you remove the silicon from tank or under the rim first?


Shep

Removed the rim first. It's definitely a PITA...


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[nshepler]

Yea see I removed the silicon inside the tank first and then removed the rim. It was still difficult though. So I guess either way it's just gonna be a pain.


Shep

[paul87]

Originally Posted by Billbug68

Thanks for confirming that for me! I'll do a 50% water change later today.

Opinions on chemi-pure elite? Should I run extra carbon along with it? Just carbon? Just CPE?


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Not sure on this one. I don't use either. I know carbon is always a good thing to run, but I've never used chemi-pure elite. I do run GFO though.

[coralbandit]

Do the chemi pure elite and skip the carbon.
Careful scrutiny needs to be used with carbon.
Think the elite has GFO and Po4 products incorporated,but not 100% positive?
Big time suspicion of it being a HUGE contributor to HLLE.
The Boyds products seem be a little better and people willing to pay for them will change them out often enough usually.
Carbon in a FW tank last no more then 2 weeks IMO no matter what grade.

[Billbug68]

Originally Posted by coralbandit

Do the chemi pure elite and skip the carbon.
Careful scrutiny needs to be used with carbon.
Think the elite has GFO and Po4 products incorporated,but not 100% positive?
Big time suspicion of it being a HUGE contributor to HLLE.
The Boyds products seem be a little better and people willing to pay for them will change them out often enough usually.
Carbon in a FW tank last no more then 2 weeks IMO no matter what grade.

At the moment I'm running carbon in one chamber and CPE in the other. After the carbon is exhausted I'll switch over to CPE in both. I just wanted to make sure I pull out any crap that was introduced during setup that might cause the skimmer to act up.

I just finished doing a large water change and added the carbon. The skimmer is still producing micro bubbles and I have to turn the air control almost all the way in or the collection cup fills up in minutes with clear skimmate. Water level is dead on. Gonna give it a few days to break in, hopefully it starts working properly...


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[Sniperhank]

Either will work. I think chemi-pure elite is a great product, but on a small tank activated carbon can easily be run as well. I wouldn't even consider its relation to HLLE because, this is only a 10 gallon tank. A tang in there will have other problems right away. Even if that was the case, would one want to use chemi-pure anyway as that is simply fancy activated carbon? Purigen is usually the better replacement for such a situation IMO.

But, to the question on chemi-pure elite's function it is basically (very basic) carbon wrapped in GFO to add phosphate reduction.

[paul87]

Originally Posted by Billbug68

At the moment I'm running carbon in one chamber and CPE in the other. After the carbon is exhausted I'll switch over to CPE in both. I just wanted to make sure I pull out any crap that was introduced during setup that might cause the skimmer to act up.

I just finished doing a large water change and added the carbon. The skimmer is still producing micro bubbles and I have to turn the air control almost all the way in or the collection cup fills up in minutes with clear skimmate. Water level is dead on. Gonna give it a few days to break in, hopefully it starts working properly...


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Talk to Hank about the skimmer issues, he loves them!

[Billbug68]

Checked on the skimmer this morning before I left for work. It seems to be getting better. I'm seeing a lot less micro bubbles and I was able to open the air control all the way without the skimmer going crazy. Did a quick top off and I was on my way! Hopefully I can get the ATO setup later tonight and get some work done on my screen top. I'll keep the updates coming!


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[paul87]

That's good! Keep em coming

[Sniperhank]

Skimmers are a pain at times. I've read running them in vinegar will shorten the break in time that they all have, as you need the oils from manufacturing to be run off for them to be effective. I don't know how many skimmers I've been through, but I'm finally on one that is working how I've read so many others have used them. Bubbles halfway up the neck of the collection cup and after I feed I have a cup full of junk. Not as thick or green as others, but it is a start. It took several months to get to this point.

[Billbug68]

Originally Posted by Sniperhank

Skimmers are a pain at times. I've read running them in vinegar will shorten the break in time that they all have, as you need the oils from manufacturing to be run off for them to be effective. I don't know how many skimmers I've been through, but I'm finally on one that is working how I've read so many others have used them. Bubbles halfway up the neck of the collection cup and after I feed I have a cup full of junk. Not as thick or green as others, but it is a start. It took several months to get to this point.

Yeah, I've never used a skimmer before, so this will be learning experience... Hopefully it doesn't take months to dial in! Pretty sure it might even be a little overkill for this size tank... but hey, maybe I'll be able to squeeze another small fish in and do smaller less frequent water changes...


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[Sniperhank]

Well I normally advocate against skimmers on tanks under 30 gallons since you can do large water changes if needed. A 50% water change on your system is only a 10% on mine. It is easy to so.


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[Billbug68]

Just wanted to see how it works out and maybe got a little crazy ordering stuff on Amazon... Maybe I'll replace it for a nano media reactor for some gfo.


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[Sniperhank]

Once you assess the needs of the system you'll have a better understanding. I went Amazon nuts when I DIY'd the ATS. Pretty fun in hindsight.