Tim's (lakelivin) RSM 500 build

LakeLivin

LakeLivin

Active Member
I just updated the firmware to the latest version that was released a few days ago in preparation for the release of APEX fusion. I had to get APEX tech support to help because it kept crapping out on me. Their support is excellent and they spent about an hour on the phone with me to get it loaded correctly. The tech guy told me that fusion should be released at the beginning of the year sometime.

I'm not sure what caused the feeder to melt down, but I'm returning it for a refund at least until I figure out a good way to connect it to the tank. It was really just a toy I can live without for now anyway.

As far as the tank goes I have the 2 reactors running with Brightwell carbonit P in one and Brightwell Export BIO NO3 in the other. I also seeded the tank with Brightwell microbacter bioculture. I thought I would give the tank a couple more days to settle and then I would start testing for ammonia and nitrates. Should I start testing sooner?
 
Choff

Choff

Well-Known Member
Tim, I'm not sure you want to be running that export bio no3. If that is a nitrate remover its going to be hard to tell when your cycle is complete.

...stupid auto correct
 
LakeLivin

LakeLivin

Active Member
Good point... One click of the button and the reactor is off for now. Thanks for the advice. Did I mention how I love this APEX stuff? :)
 
LakeLivin

LakeLivin

Active Member
I took some water quality measurements today and it appears the tank is well on it's way to cycling. Ammonia was a shade above 0 so it's difficult to say if there is much if any ammonia in the tank. The Nitrates are reading a pretty clear 20PPM and Nitrites look to be 0.

Tank has cleared up quite a bit and looking very clear now since the mess I made setting it up 2 days ago. I took a picture with my iPhone so the quality is not great and the glass is pretty dirty on the inside. I forgot to get a magnet glass cleaner so it has not been cleaned at all yet on the inside. The MP40's are still running at about 65% power and based on the ripples in the sand I'm getting very good coverage so I think I will keep them running just like they are.

No issues with micro bubbles or sand storms. If you have been reading my thread you know that the fine oola sand I got was questionable because of problems others have had with it blowing around and getting into the water column. I don't know if it's a combination of 2 MP40's and the rockscape I have, but blowing sand is not an issue. Let's hope it stays that way because I really love the look of the white fine powder. The sand is a hair deeper than I would have liked, but it looks good the way it is so I'm not going to mess with it.

It's funny how blue the picture looks, but in person it's very bright.

[URL=http://s422.photobucket.com/user/armyranger10/media/DT.jpg.html] [/URL]
 
LakeLivin

LakeLivin

Active Member
Just noticed that the bulbs in the center that flank the LED are not on, but everything else is. A quick check revealed that everything appears to be plugged in. Not really in the mood to start plugging and unplugging to see where the problem lies. Could be just in the APEX setup... Just when I thought it was time to just sit back and relax and wait for the cycle to finish. ugh
 
Mdk16

Mdk16

Member
Are the moonlights still on? The center lights should share the timer with the moonlights. Make sure the switch on the timer is on and that you have them plugged into the right spot. Or to your point it could be a setting on the apex.

Edit: that's for the stock timers. You probably have it all hooked up through the apex.
 
LakeLivin

LakeLivin

Active Member
Mdk16 said:
Are the moonlights still on? The center lights should share the timer with the moonlights. Make sure the switch on the timer is on and that you have them plugged into the right spot. Or to your point it could be a setting on the apex.

Edit: that's for the stock timers. You probably have it all hooked up through the apex.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the control was mislabeled on the APEX dashboard and was never on and it took me almost 3 days to notice it was not working. I have two APEX power bars and they are both maxed out. If I end adding a chiller or anything else I will have to buy another one.
 
Mdk16

Mdk16

Member
Can you combine a few things and have them on one outlet? For example plug both wings of lights into a y adapter and then plug into the apex. I know Mike has all the power heads on the back wall going into one outlet on the apex. You lose some control but obviously gain room.

Can you take a few pics of how they installed your apex. It's next on my list.
 
LakeLivin

LakeLivin

Active Member
All the APEX modules including the two power bars are installed on the left wall of the "chiller" cabinet and the two MP40 controllers are on the right wall. It's a tangled rats nest of wires right now so I'll post some pics once I get it better organized. I'm going to remove the stock power strips from the drawer and move the APEX power bars up into there for a much cleaner install. Once I move the power strips into the drawer I will move the MP40 controllers from the right wall over to the left wall. I'm also considering just removing the drawer all together so I can mount the components including the power bars up even higher in the cabinet leaving more space toward the bottom where supplies or the dreaded chiller would reside. I'm going to get the measurements of the chiller I would most likely buy if I have to and use that as a guide to make my final decision.

The good news is that you can tuck everything away as much as possible because once all the wires are connected you have no need to be able to have frequent or super convenient access to them. You control everything from your smart phone and/or web browser.

Edit: Yes, I suppose I could combine some power cords and put them into a single outlet but I would prefer not to. When I was down there tracing the plugs for the middle light dilemma I noticed one more empty slot. Once I get everything organized the way I want I will be able to see how well another power bar would fit if it becomes necessary.
 
LakeLivin

LakeLivin

Active Member
OK, let me tell everyone who is trying to fine tune their skimmer for the first time what not to do. First a little back story... The plug that goes into the bottom front of the skimmer cup either popped out during assembly and was accidentally thrown out or it never shipped with the unit. I figured no problem it's there so you can remove the plug to insert a tube you can run to a larger collection cup. Soooo I grab one of the dosing containers that are not in use yet and connected a tube to the skimmer cup and put the other end down inside the dosing container.

Now that I've done that I fire up the skimmer and mess with it a few minutes and decided to open the valve just enough so you can begin to see the bubbles coming into view through the clear window in the cup. I watch it for a couple minutes and it stays fairly constant at that level so I decide to just let it run that way for about an hour and the plan was to return and continue to make very fine adjustments to the valve wait an hour and repeat the process until I get it to where it needs to be.

Forward about 45 minutes and I walk into the living room where the tank is and there is about 2 gallons plus of water everywhere. The skimmer went from having bubbles barely visible through the bottom of the cup to spitting water out like a broken water main. It quickly filled the container I had for "backup" and was spilling down it's sides and out the cabinet onto the floor.

The good news is we do have travertine tile so it cleaned up quickly with no sign that it ever happened. Also, it was good that I did not leave the house for hours or go to bed only to find the entire contents of the sump as well as who knows how many gallons from the DT all over the floor as well. Probably the best piece of great news is that at the time this all happened my beautiful wife was taking a nap because she is an ER physician and had to go in to work the overnight shift tonight so I was able to clean it all up while she was peacefully sleeping and will never now what she missed.

She has not fallen in love with the tank yet so I certainly don't need to put the thought in her head that this thing is going to flood her brand new 4000SF dream house on the lake we worked so hard for after only living in it for about 3 months now. Maybe in about 10 years it will be a funny story I tell her, but for now my lips are sealed and our two puppies who watched me with great interest cleaning it all up have been sworn to secrecy and promised not to tell mommy.

No more overflow cups for me... If this thing gets out of hand it just going to have to flow from the cup right back into the sump no matter how stinky the water may be. Merry Christmas and good night!
 
ziggy

ziggy

Active Member
LakeLivin said:
OK, let me tell everyone who is trying to fine tune their skimmer for the first time what not to do. First a little back story... The plug that goes into the bottom front of the skimmer cup either popped out during assembly and was accidentally thrown out or it never shipped with the unit. I figured no problem it's there so you can remove the plug to insert a tube you can run to a larger collection cup. Soooo I grab one of the dosing containers that are not in use yet and connected a tube to the skimmer cup and put the other end down inside the dosing container.

Now that I've done that I fire up the skimmer and mess with it a few minutes and decided to open the valve just enough so you can begin to see the bubbles coming into view through the clear window in the cup. I watch it for a couple minutes and it stays fairly constant at that level so I decide to just let it run that way for about an hour and the plan was to return and continue to make very fine adjustments to the valve wait an hour and repeat the process until I get it to where it needs to be.

Forward about 45 minutes and I walk into the living room where the tank is and there is about 2 gallons plus of water everywhere. The skimmer went from having bubbles barely visible through the bottom of the cup to spitting water out like a broken water main. It quickly filled the container I had for "backup" and was spilling down it's sides and out the cabinet onto the floor.

The good news is we do have travertine tile so it cleaned up quickly with no sign that it ever happened. Also, it was good that I did not leave the house for hours or go to bed only to find the entire contents of the sump as well as who knows how many gallons from the DT all over the floor as well. Probably the best piece of great news is that at the time this all happened my beautiful wife was taking a nap because she is an ER physician and had to go in to work the overnight shift tonight so I was able to clean it all up while she was peacefully sleeping and will never now what she missed.

She has not fallen in love with the tank yet so I certainly don't need to put the thought in her head that this thing is going to flood her brand new 4000SF dream house on the lake we worked so hard for after only living in it for about 3 months now. Maybe in about 10 years it will be a funny story I tell her, but for now my lips are sealed and our two puppies who watched me with great interest cleaning it all up have been sworn to secrecy and promised not to tell mommy.

No more overflow cups for me... If this thing gets out of hand it just going to have to flow from the cup right back into the sump no matter how stinky the water may be. Merry Christmas and good night!
Click to expand...

Oh No! That is not a good thing. :sinking:
 
Mdk16

Mdk16

Member
That's exactly what I was talking about when I said to check the skimmer often during the break in process. I connected a hose to an old milk container that I have in the sump next to the carbon so that when it goes crazy it overflows into the sump and not your floors. Small adjustments go a long way. Invest in a wet vac if you don't have one. They definately come in handy!
 
LakeLivin

LakeLivin

Active Member
I'm going to work on a container to put inside the sump as well. I kind of wish that the cup plug was at the top of the skimmer cup rather than the bottom so the extra container would only be necessary if the cup was full. However, I guess if all the waste goes into the separate container it is easier to empty it because you don't have to shut off the skimmer and remove the cup etc.
 
LakeLivin

LakeLivin

Active Member
No ammonia today so it appears my tank has cycled as promised using bacteria in a bottle. I have to admit I was very skeptical when my LFS owner told me they would setup my tank and have it ready for fish in a week, but it appears they were right. I found a very good video on the subject (link below) which supports what they were telling me. Going to continue to test and if everything stays normal I will probably add a couple clowns next week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPxExG-FbvI
 
LakeLivin

LakeLivin

Active Member
ziggy said:
would you throw in a deli shrimp to be sure?
Click to expand...

I did that instead of adding any fish right away like "Mr Saltwater" and I think that's what caused the slight ammonia reading I got yesterday. I'm leaving it in the tank and will continue to test the water and if the ammonia stays at zero I'll add a couple fish next week and leave it alone for at least a few more weeks before adding anything else.

I'm told that some who use the bacteria in a bottle method will sometimes see a slight ammonia reading like I did while others will see none.
 
ziggy

ziggy

Active Member
LakeLivin said:
I did that instead of adding any fish right away like "Mr Saltwater" and I think that's what caused the slight ammonia reading I got yesterday. I'm leaving it in the tank and will continue to test the water and if the ammonia stays at zero I'll add a couple fish next week and leave it alone for at least a few more weeks before adding anything else.

I'm told that some who use the bacteria in a bottle method will sometimes see a slight ammonia reading like I did while others will see none.
Click to expand...

The problem with bacteria in a bottle is thatit's very sudden and just as suddenly as it comes it will go . The tank needs a gradual build up and that's why the tank cycle charts show at least a few weeks to a cycle.

Do you have algea for the CUC when ammonia and nitrites go to zero
 
LakeLivin

LakeLivin

Active Member
With the exception of the one ammonia test I described in an earlier post the ammonia and nitrites have been zero since day one. Of course comparing the color of the liquid to a color chart does not seem to be the most scientifically accurate way to measure it's what we have. Consequently, I cannot be sure what I determined to be small amount of ammonia was in fact anything because the next day it was clearly zero.

Forgive me, but what is "CUC"? I have noticed some brown algae beginning to cover one of the rocks, but not sure if that means anything. I know that there are a couple different schools of thought on the cycling process and always believed that you had to wait and let the tank take 4 to 6 weeks to completely cycle and stabilize. However, after a lot of reading and watching the video I attached to my earlier post made by the Dr who uses the bacteria in a bottle method in not only small personal tanks, but major commercial aquariums with great success I tend to believe it is possible. He makes a very compelling argument and backs it up with some pretty convincing scientific evidence.

I'm going to continue to take small steps, but if the tank continues to read 0 ammonia and nitrites over the next 4 or 5 days I'm going to take my LFS owners recommendations. Between all the live rock, live sand, dead shrimp and bacteria I have added to the tank if I do not see any ammonia and nitrites by then I have to assume the tank has cycled. I'll continue to post my experiences and we will see how it goes.
 
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