Mattgsa 315 gallon build

[Dj City]

I'm all caught up.

Great build thread!
Your issues remind me of when I was setting up my reef. Your trials have been somewhat different but the challenges are relatable.

I will bw keeping an eye on your build progress.

 

[cmaxwell39]

KP Aquatics, I wanted to order them from Tampa bay but they are not taking orders due to covid.

I know a couple of people who have purchased from KP Aquatics recently and both were really happy with the rock they received. I hope you are as well.

 

[sdreef]

Alright, I've been looking at getting a different calcium reactor, since the one I ordered from Aquarium Engineering is still not here after almost 8 months. Sorry, I'm not going to wait forever. However before I cancel my order, I want to have a suitable replacement ready to order. Right now I'm looking at the Deltec CRTT Series of Calcium Reactors most likely the 1500 series. What are your thoughts?

Nice build!

I have this calcium reactor, but my system is too young and I haven't deployed it yet to share any experience.

I emailed Deltec when trying to determine the size of the reactor. Deltec's support team told me that although the CRTT 1500 is rated for 400 gallons it can handle larger systems up to 600 gallons by increasing the flow and CO2 through the reactor.

 

[mattgsa]

Nice build!

I have this calcium reactor, but my system is too young and I haven't deployed it yet to share any experience.

I emailed Deltec when trying to determine the size of the reactor. Deltec's support team told me that although the CRTT 1500 is rated for 400 gallons it can handle larger systems up to 600 gallons by increasing the flow and CO2 through the reactor.

Perfect thanks for the feed back. I didn't really want to pay the price for the larger one.

 

[mattgsa]

Well they changed the delievery date of my live rock to the 11th, I'm hoping that 24 hour plus ship time is not going to kill my life rock.

 

[mattgsa]

Live rock came in today. It smelled fine, I saw one dead bristle worm, and one that was still alive. So I'm hoping there isn't a great deal of die off. The only concern I have is when the rock arrived it was cold to the touch. I didn't take a lot of pictures because I wanted to get it in the sump as soon as I could.

 

[mattgsa]

Alright so out of curiosity I decided to do an ammonia test to check on the cycle. Well the test came back at .02, and that was a little surprising since I had not dosed ammonia in a while. So I decided to do an Nitrate test, as soon as I added the final agent it turned pink immediately, I'm sure my Nitrates are over 20.

See that I turned on my fudge light, figured the algae has a lot of food to eat. When I went to check on my small ball of algae, to my surprise it has tuned into a hug ball of Ogo. I now have plenty to around. I'm going to have to start selling soon before my sump busts at the seams.

The part is my hand is only a small piece of what is in the sump, and about the size of the original ball. Sorry for the bad picture. This Iphone has a hard time with the grow light, and I have yet to put lights under the stand. I'm going to keep testing the water for nitrates, I want to see how much nitrates that algae can pull out on its own. I'm also thinking of kicking up the power on the skimmer.

 

[mattgsa]

I think the Nitrate level is closer to 50, so I upped my water change to 5 gallons a day along with leaving the refugium light on 24/7.

 

[mattgsa]

I have lived in Texas all my life and I have never seen snow like this in San Antonio. It also has never stuck around for so long. The funny thing is I thought I would work on the tank more then playing in the snow but that is not the case. Our hot water line froze solid but the cold water line didn't. I'm just glad none of pipes burst.

 

[Dj City]

I have lived in Texas all my life and I have never seen snow like this in San Antonio. It also has never stuck around for so long. The funny thing is I thought I would work on the tank more then playing in the snow but that is not the case. Our hot water line froze solid but the cold water line didn't. I'm just glad none of pipes burst.

I grew up in NYC and I live in the Washington D.C. Metro so i'm very used to snow. I would imagine texas was NOT ready for snow like that.

I'm glad your pipes did not burst.
I heard a lot of the state lost electricity. I'm glad you still have power.

 

[mattgsa]

Nothing really new to report. The snow is still here, and most of the roads are closed. The worst part is all the buisness are closed too. So we have to survie on the food at the house, and for a family of six that eats out most of the time it is challenging. Most people are with out power for day's. I'm fortunate that my house is on the same power grid as a hospital so we have not lost power. The few places that are open have long lines.

 

[Dj City]

I've been reading off others in Texas that have had total losses.

It's real sad.

I'm happy you still have power and water.

 

[mattgsa]

I've been reading off others in Texas that have had total losses.

It's real sad.

I'm happy you still have power and water.

We are currently at a week of snow. While I didn't have a problem with power, this event, and seeing what others are going through has bumped up the priority on a backup generator. My heart goes out to all the ones who have lost their tank.

 

[mattgsa]

In light of current events, the wife and I have agreed we are going to put the tank on a temporary hold and put our money towards a whole house backup generator. I don't think I could stand setting up this tank with all the corals and fish that I want to put in it, just to see it all die due to a power outage. Knowing that there was something I could have done to prevent it.

 

[Dj City]

In light of current events, the wife and I have agreed we are going to put the tank on a temporary hold and put our money towards a whole house backup generator. I don't think I could stand setting up this tank with all the corals and fish that I want to put in it, just to see it all die due to a power outage. Knowing that there was something I could have done to prevent it.

That sucks but it's a wise decision.
Tooooooo many have had total losses. Not just their reef but whole house and everything in it.

Be safe and keep us updated.

 

[mattgsa]

That sucks but it's a wise decision.
Tooooooo many have had total losses. Not just their reef but whole house and everything in it.

Be safe and keep us updated.

Don't worry, I still have fish coming, and there will still be small updates to the tank. I think I can talk the wife into getting more fish. Who knows.

 

[mattgsa]

I have been having problems with the Tunze ATO, for some reason it is not regestering the water level going down, I have to go in and mess with it, unplug and plug it in to get it to regesiter a low water level. Has anyone else had this problem? I'm thinking about switching over to the Neptune ATO.

 

[Dj City]

I have been having problems with the Tunze ATO, for some reason it is not regestering the water level going down, I have to go in and mess with it, unplug and plug it in to get it to regesiter a low water level. Has anyone else had this problem? I'm thinking about switching over to the Neptune ATO.

That's weird. I had the Tunez ATO and besides the noise, I never had any problems with it.
Make sure to clean the sensors.

 

[mattgsa]

I'm going to need to find a way of offloading Ogo, it's quickly taking over my sump. It's doubling every couple of days, I have never see macro algae grow like this. Right now I'm keeping my fudge light on 24/7 to try and help get the nitrates under control, along with daily water changes. I may have to break down and do a large water change. Because my nitrates are around 50.

 

[mattgsa]

Anyone ever used one of these: