My slow 135g build

[JoJo]

as i was preparing new SW for a w/c i noticed green algae growing on the 3rd stage of my RO unit which is a carbon block. the 2nd stage is a carbon block as well but has no algae growing on it. i'm starting to think this is the reason i'm having algae problems in the DT, so i'll be testing the RO tub for phosphate. i believe the RO filters are less than 6mos old and the TDS still reads 0.

yesterday i was mixing new SW for a couple of hours but i turned the pumps off to check the salinity and forgot to turn the pumps back on so the SW has sat stagnant for 24hrs, is it still usable or does it have to be tossed?

[JoJo]

Mornin all, Happy Easter.

i spent the morning doing some much needed work on the tank, some test which is way off, added a phosban to the sump using an internal filter, turned the lights off for a couple of days and scraped the glass but there's some green algae that just wont come off...is it ok to use a real razor in this versus the aquarium glass scaper?

the f'd up testing results taken at 8am:

Ph:7.8-this is flucuating up to 8.6 lately

Am:.25

No2:0

No3:10

Po:0-yea right

KH:6.1

Alk:2.17

Mag:1170

Cal:400

i did a 15g w/c this morning and will do another one this evening to get this back in check. i have magnesium and kalk supplement that i need to start dosing.

[JoJo]

i spent the morning building the stand for the new ATS and making the ATS, plumbing it, ect... i used a rubbermaid tub (22L x 14W x 5H)m, cut eggcrate to fit and covered it with screen, the flow will be coming directly from the DT overflow. it will be lit by 2 shop lights with 10" reflectors, using bulbs equivalent to 100wts.

i started doing a huge w/c, about 40g. so as usual i flip the switch to empty the sump, waited for the water level to drop to where i wanted it then flipped the swich for the pump in the SW tub to start pumping in. after 2 or 3 mins i hear the pump running dry so i turn the switch off only to find the sump less than half filled...i never flipped the switch to turn the drain pump off!!! so i wasted about 30g of fresh SW!!! so now i have to mix a new batch SW, add it to the system, make a new batch then add that.

on top of that i was going to clean my closed loop pump, as i went to closed the 2" ball valve on the inlet of the CL, it was really hard to turn then was suddenly to easy. its been kind of hard to turn to since installing it, i'm guessing some glue go on it but it work fine until now. so i have to dismantle the rock in the DT, run PVC from the bulkheads in the bottom of the tank up above the DT's water level then cut the plumbing leading to the ball valve and add a new valve(probably a gate valve.

[framerguy]

AW Man! That stinks JoJo. I hate when I forget stuff like that. Like last night, I forgot to turn the valve off that fills the SW tub from the FW resevoir. This morning there was a bunch of water on the floor, ..yep, that's right! It's going around I guess.

[JoJo]

lol, well i dont feel so bad now. the first thing that went through my mine was, "fool, you just literally flushed $20 bucks down the drain" lol

[JoJo]

i figured i'd make i quick vid of the tank to document the algae bloom


and a shot of the new algae turf scrubber/stand

[rlcline76]

I believe phosphates should register on TDS. You can use a razor blade for the glass.
Oh, and HI JOJO!!!!!

[JoJo]

Hey Bec!

i tested the RO for phosphates just in case, but both the TDS & phos test reads 0.

on top of all the bad luck i had yesterday with the tank, i went to add salt to the SW tub and as i walked into the fish room i step in about an inch of water. when i added the turf scrubber, the exit pipe was to close to the edge of the sump so some of the water missed the sump. tip of the day...dont do tank work when doped up on cold medicine.

[rlcline76]

When it rains it pours!

[JoJo]

you got that right

[JoJo]

just finished testing the tank

pH: 8.1 @ 10am, yesterday the pH went up to 8.6 due to the new ATS lights being on for 24hrs.

Am: .25
No2: 0
No3: 10
Po: 0
Cal: 420
Alk: 8.0
Mag: 1170
Sal: 1.024
Temp: 77.9

i still cant figure out why my Alk & Mag are so low, i still havent done enough reading to feel comfortable enough to start dosing the Magnesium Advantage & Kalkwasser yet.

[JoJo]

oh, almost forgot. while putting a piece of algae in the algae clip the tang snatched it out of my hand...scaring the ____ out of me so i pulled my hand out of the tank to fast and knocked one of the PC bulbs out of the canopy which fell to the floor and broke.

[framerguy]

dang JoJo, you need a vacation! Neat vids though.

[Tru2nr]

jeeze jojo i feel bad for ya but atleast ya didn't get the tang attacking you lol

[BWI]

cool videos!