Nick’s 10g

[nickkohrn]

I’ve been following this build since day 1....we’ll get you through this haha!

Your help and suggestions have not gone unappreciated. I definitely am thankful for your time and assistance. I will be sending you some nice frags as soon as I get a system that can support them. Haha

 

[Deiblerj]

Keep us posted on the results from these other tests

 

[nickkohrn]

Well, I went to COSTCO and picked up 5.28 gallons (20L) of vinegar. I’m going to soak anything and everything that will be touching water in the near future.

Do you think I need more vinegar? [emoji12]

 

[Deiblerj]

Well, I went to COSTCO and picked up 5.28 gallons (20L) of vinegar. I’m going to soak anything and everything that will be touching water in the near future.

Do you think I need more vinegar? [emoji12]

LOL...that should last you a while.

 

[nickkohrn]

I have the tank filled with one gallon of bleach and just under nine gallons of water. The return pump is circulating the mixture, and I’m going to let it do so for a few more hours; it’s a couple of hours into the process already. All of my equipment that touches water is sitting in a five-gallon bucket that has two gallons of straight vinegar; this includes my probes, the holder, the wet sides of my VorTechs, heater, floss holder, ATO sensor and magnets. I’ll let them soak for a few more hours, and then I will rinse everything of vinegar and bleach, and then let it all soak in tap water with dechlorinator (Prime). After that, I will let it all dry overnight. Tomorrow I will start filling up the tank with saltwater and let it run overnight to see if I get any sort of cloudiness; this will just be the tank, saltwater, and return pump. If all goes well, then I will start adding my equipment back in.

I also received my Radion and RMS a little while ago. I took it apart and cleaned it well, and now it’s waiting to be put to use.

Tomorrow I receive my skimmer and all of the other equipment from my order that was put in on Sunday. It going to be so fun!

 

[Deiblerj]

Sounds like a good plan! I don’t see how this won’t work.

What skimmer did you end up going with?

 

[nickkohrn]

Sounds like a good plan! I don’t see how this won’t work.

What skimmer did you end up going with?

I ordered the OCTO eSsence 130 Protein Skimmer. I have read nothing but god reviews, and there are some videos that detail how quiet it is. The dial for tuning it will be useful.

http://reefoctopus.com/product/octo-protein-skimmers-essence-130/

 

[nickkohrn]

Well, everything is done soaking. I cleaned out the tank, and I refilled it with tap water so that I could run some Prime overnight to take care of any residual bleach. I will be emptying the tank out tomorrow so that it can sit and dry for a day or two before I attempt to add saltwater...again...for the fifth time. All of my equipment that was soaking in straight vinegar was rinsed in tap water and placed on a towel to dry overnight. I’m not going to put anything back into the tank, except for the return pump that’s already in, for a day or two of running only saltwater through the tank. I want to see what happens with just the tank, saltwater, and the pump. If that’s good for a day or two, then I’ll add in the heater.

The sucky part is that we were supposed to leave for Myrtle Beach on Friday, but it’s looking like that won’t happen. My wife and I are trying to decide where to go. It’s supposed to be a family vacation, but we won’t hear from the lodging company whether we can come this weekend or not. If we can’t, then we will likely head over toward the gulf side of Florida, depending on what the tropical storms decide to do.

 

[nickkohrn]

I woke up this morning to mostly clear tap water in the tank. It still has some cloudiness to it, but it appears to be just small particles that can be removed with filter floss and carbon. I need to pick up some media bags today because I threw the others out since they were in the system when it was cloudy due to the bacteria blooms or whatever the cloudiness was. If the water is cleared up by tomorrow morning, then I will drain it, fill it with saltwater, and watch it for another day or two to ensure that it doesn’t get cloudy like before.

I have a question regarding quarantining fish, though. Is it okay to start with dechlorinated water, or should I start with RO/DI water from the beginning? I won’t have lights on this system, so I’m not worried about algae growth from the lights and the phosphates in tap water. I’m just getting really tired of filling, cleaning, and draining this system. It’s been almost two months since I’ve started this system, and I have yet to see any positive results. If I could keep the dechlorinated tap water in the tank, then I could just start adding salt to the water and start cycling some MarinePure with Fritz TurboStart 900 in preparation of getting my first fish.

Thoughts or recommendations? I’m open to everything at this point.

Thanks, everyone!

 

[nickkohrn]

A few goodies came today!

The heaters are 16” long! I hope they fit in my sump, which is 18” wide. I think they will fit well if I angle them.

 

[Deiblerj]

I woke up this morning to mostly clear tap water in the tank. It still has some cloudiness to it, but it appears to be just small particles that can be removed with filter floss and carbon. I need to pick up some media bags today because I threw the others out since they were in the system when it was cloudy due to the bacteria blooms or whatever the cloudiness was. If the water is cleared up by tomorrow morning, then I will drain it, fill it with saltwater, and watch it for another day or two to ensure that it doesn’t get cloudy like before.

I have a question regarding quarantining fish, though. Is it okay to start with dechlorinated water, or should I start with RO/DI water from the beginning? I won’t have lights on this system, so I’m not worried about algae growth from the lights and the phosphates in tap water. I’m just getting really tired of filling, cleaning, and draining this system. It’s been almost two months since I’ve started this system, and I have yet to see any positive results. If I could keep the dechlorinated tap water in the tank, then I could just start adding salt to the water and start cycling some MarinePure with Fritz TurboStart 900 in preparation of getting my first fish.

Thoughts or recommendations? I’m open to everything at this point.

Thanks, everyone!

Sounds like things are moving in the right direction. As far as QT, not sure how to answer your question. I’ve always used 50%DT water and 50%new saltwater. I kept a media bag in my QT and some spongaes to help slow the algae growth while quarantining.

I’ve also read on here that some people just use new water and don’t worry about a cycle. I guess it would depend on how long you need to quarantine for. A longer cycle you might want more cycled QT. Might not be a bad idea to do what you mentioned and kickstart a cycle in a QT.

 

[HiddenReefer]

Have you thought about using a UV sterilizer perhaps?

 

[nickkohrn]

Have you thought about using a UV sterilizer perhaps?

I have, and I’m saving for one for my 100g build. It’s kind of tough to find one sized appropriately for my 10g AIO that I’m using as a quarantine tank. They either take up a ton of room in the display, or are too large to fit in any of the chambers.

 

[nickkohrn]

I picked up two EcoTech Marine VorTech MP40wQDs, which should be here next week. I’m selling my MP10s because I’ve read that they don’t work well on tanks with 1/2” glass panes, even with mounting the dry sides with the included brackets.

I better stop buying things before my wife kills me.

 

[Deiblerj]

A few goodies came today!

The heaters are 16” long! I hope they fit in my sump, which is 18” wide. I think they will fit well if I angle them.

Lookin good! How many gallons is your new tank going to be?!

I want to upgrade my setup to

I picked up two EcoTech Marine VorTech MP40wQDs, which should be here next week. I’m selling my MP10s because I’ve read that they don’t work well on tanks with 1/2” glass panes, even with mounting the dry sides with the included brackets.

I better stop buying things before my wife kills me.

Lol. Same boat my friend. I bought my 20l during the $1/gallon deal and hid it in our linen closet on the top shelf. Got away with it for like a month then one day I hear...

“Josh! what the heck is this?!

Nothing hunny!”

How’s the tank looking? Did your test work out with just saltwater and the tank?

 

[nickkohrn]

Lookin good! How many gallons is your new tank going to be?!

Thank you! It's a ~100g Waterbox 100.3

Lol. Same boat my friend. I bought my 20l during the $1/gallon deal and hid it in our linen closet on the top shelf. Got away with it for like a month then one day I hear...

“Josh! what the heck is this?!

Nothing hunny!”

Haha! Yeah, it's starting to feel like an addiction that I need to quit. I am a software developer, so I am prone to loving technology. There is so much desirable technology in this hobby.

How’s the tank looking? Did your test work out with just saltwater and the tank?

Well, as of this morning, I had filter floss, a heater, my ATO sensor, a bag of carbon, and RO/DI water in the tank, and it was as clear as clear is. If it's still clear when I get home this evening, then I will add salt and monitor it for another day. If that's good tomorrow night, then I will likely add my plate of MarinePure, ammonia, and Fritz TurboStart 900 to get the cycle going. I want to get a pair of Naked Ocellaris clownfish, so the cycle should give me some time to save up for them.

 

[starypotter]

Exciting another new upgrade! I wish you better luck with this one. I also really really like your dog.

 

[Deiblerj]

Awesome well if the water is clear when you get home it sounds like you just checked a bunch of variables off your list.

Only a few things left that could cloud the water.

 

[nickkohrn]

Exciting another new upgrade! I wish you better luck with this one. I also really really like your dog.

Thank you! He’s a Bernedoodle; a mix of Bernese Mountain Dog and Standard Poodle.

 

[nickkohrn]

Awesome well if the water is clear when you get home it sounds like you just checked a bunch of variables off your list.

Only a few things left that could cloud the water.

I’m crossing my fingers!