I guess the good news is that there is no fish or coral, you can strip all that phosphate out using lanthanum chloride.
Enders Mid Life Crisis Build
- Thread starter enderg60
- Start date
This is still a work in progress - but I do 1ml in about a liter and drip it probably ~8hrs. Right now, I'm doing it about 3x a week and slowly introducing corals. My PO4 was previously in the 1.0+ range but now it stays between .1-.2. I'm being cautious because the macro algae in the refugium is finally taking hold plus the addition of the new corals so I'm trying to find some sort of balance
As @civics14 said you can drop it pretty fast without adverse effects as there are no corals in your tank currently
As @civics14 said you can drop it pretty fast without adverse effects as there are no corals in your tank currently
Sounds about the same as Im doing. Once I get the full system running Ill have at least a month with no fish to test and figure out the rate the phosphate leaches out so I can counter it. Ill just drip it into the 10 micron sock Ive been using but let that dump into the 50 micron filter roller.
One more thing for the perpetual to do list.
One more thing for the perpetual to do list.
This build looks fantastic! Awesome job. Here I am over here stressing over 20 gallons of water!
I came here to learn about lighting and am completely humbled by your knowledge, expertise, ability, and true grit. This project is a reflection of so many things, including a great marriage. I can’t even begin to quantify the patience required. Wishing you nothing but enjoyment and happiness from this build.
Lets do an update!
Todays post is Trapped in the closet.
Here is where we left off in the closet behind the tank.
Since then I painted all those pipes, but now I need to get power and control wires up to the display. I was going to run the wires up through the ceiling like I did the pipes, but realized it would be much easier to use the crawlspace. Now my mix station is in the way and I cant really move it myself. SEA was supposed to help with this during the install, but well thats now slated for mid MARCH, ugggg. So I take some measurements grab my hole saw and into the land of cobwebs to make an educated guess.
Good guess!
Now, how do I shove the wires through there? Oh yeah I have some spare aluminum bars from the light rack!
We have penetration!
One more hole up to the closet area and we are through!
So now I have a mess. Joy. We have some duct that goes nowhere, wires all over the place and an old alarm system in the way. I got a through wall thing for the duct, mounted some wire channel and made a frame for the doors to cover the safe and access area. The top where the pipes go through the wall will be a project all in itself to make look nice.
Made another hole and added the exhaust fan. It now dumps the air out from under the house. I should shorten that duct, lets see if I ever get around to it.
BTW....did I mention I tripped again? Notice the nice scar where they did my wrist surgery from the last time! Pretty sure that titanium pin they put in is the only reason I didnt break it again.
Ok, skimming over my own incompetence, wires gata get up to the tank.
Hmm, its still messy and I need a place to put the PM1 and fan controller. STOP, PANEL TIME!
Panel installed!
Wavebox BS and wires to the Borg rack.
Closet looking cleaner.
Eventually Ill clean up that wall better. Will it get done this year? Now taking bets.
Todays post is Trapped in the closet.
Here is where we left off in the closet behind the tank.
Since then I painted all those pipes, but now I need to get power and control wires up to the display. I was going to run the wires up through the ceiling like I did the pipes, but realized it would be much easier to use the crawlspace. Now my mix station is in the way and I cant really move it myself. SEA was supposed to help with this during the install, but well thats now slated for mid MARCH, ugggg. So I take some measurements grab my hole saw and into the land of cobwebs to make an educated guess.
Good guess!
Now, how do I shove the wires through there? Oh yeah I have some spare aluminum bars from the light rack!
We have penetration!
One more hole up to the closet area and we are through!
So now I have a mess. Joy. We have some duct that goes nowhere, wires all over the place and an old alarm system in the way. I got a through wall thing for the duct, mounted some wire channel and made a frame for the doors to cover the safe and access area. The top where the pipes go through the wall will be a project all in itself to make look nice.
Made another hole and added the exhaust fan. It now dumps the air out from under the house. I should shorten that duct, lets see if I ever get around to it.
BTW....did I mention I tripped again? Notice the nice scar where they did my wrist surgery from the last time! Pretty sure that titanium pin they put in is the only reason I didnt break it again.
Ok, skimming over my own incompetence, wires gata get up to the tank.
Hmm, its still messy and I need a place to put the PM1 and fan controller. STOP, PANEL TIME!
Panel installed!
Wavebox BS and wires to the Borg rack.
Closet looking cleaner.
Eventually Ill clean up that wall better. Will it get done this year? Now taking bets.
When I finally came out of the closet, I went right back into another one.
The Mechanical Closet!
This closet houses the HVAC units for the basement and main level, the dehumidifier for the fish room, the steam generator for the steam shower, the receiver and sub for the media room and now the temperature control systems for the fish tank! When the sound system was installed I asked for a shelf above the sub to put the chiller....they tried... I also realized the steam generator was in the way and needed to be moved, along with its electrical disconnect.
So I got the steam gen and disconnect moved but not piped. My chiller shelf is laughable but I have the pipes coming in, and all the equipment locations figured out.
Figuring out the piping
Chiller now has a respectable shelf.
Drawer installed.
Receiver installed and wires all tidy.
Clearance check passed!
Chiller and stereo sorted, heater piping done and its time to leak test!
Leak found....Guess I over tightened the fitting. Well Crap.
After a bit of hunting I was able to get a replacement.
As you can see its now made with "stolen" German Technology, and has been certified
Ok, new guy is in and working.
So here we are water testing completed.
The Mechanical Closet!
This closet houses the HVAC units for the basement and main level, the dehumidifier for the fish room, the steam generator for the steam shower, the receiver and sub for the media room and now the temperature control systems for the fish tank! When the sound system was installed I asked for a shelf above the sub to put the chiller....they tried... I also realized the steam generator was in the way and needed to be moved, along with its electrical disconnect.
So I got the steam gen and disconnect moved but not piped. My chiller shelf is laughable but I have the pipes coming in, and all the equipment locations figured out.
Figuring out the piping
Chiller now has a respectable shelf.
Drawer installed.
Receiver installed and wires all tidy.
Clearance check passed!
Chiller and stereo sorted, heater piping done and its time to leak test!
Leak found....Guess I over tightened the fitting. Well Crap.
After a bit of hunting I was able to get a replacement.
As you can see its now made with "stolen" German Technology, and has been certified
Ok, new guy is in and working.
So here we are water testing completed.
Now I need to solder all the copper piping. Most of it was done in small parts before I assembled the big sections. Drains and lower steam piping installed. @Adam This one is for you!
Upper steam pipes connected.
And the part Dedicated to @Adam. The final solder joint! First the fire pad.
Then a moist towelette.
Apply Fire and metal
DONE. And no I didnt even turn the receiver off.
Hu...must have missed that....
Ran the last bits of wire and piping around the room.
Connect it all up.
ANNNND Done! Its a mech closet so Im not painting crap in here.
Upper steam pipes connected.
And the part Dedicated to @Adam. The final solder joint! First the fire pad.
Then a moist towelette.
Apply Fire and metal
DONE. And no I didnt even turn the receiver off.
Hu...must have missed that....
Ran the last bits of wire and piping around the room.
Connect it all up.
ANNNND Done! Its a mech closet so Im not painting crap in here.
Minor updates. Live rock has stopped leaching phosphates so YAY. Display tank still reads high but its still in tap water. I plan to drain it and fill it with RO this week and put in the tank heater I forgot to add.
I spoke with SEA and we are set for install in 4 week. (or im gonna have to round up a posse and bust a knee cap)
Next projects on the list are the auto water changers for the QT systems and finishing up the cabinet for the close loop pumps and salt storage.
Amazing how I decided to hire out all the work and still end up doing so much crap my self. Now I need to call a friend to help me pickup and break down a sheet of plywood again.
I spoke with SEA and we are set for install in 4 week. (or im gonna have to round up a posse and bust a knee cap)
Next projects on the list are the auto water changers for the QT systems and finishing up the cabinet for the close loop pumps and salt storage.
Amazing how I decided to hire out all the work and still end up doing so much crap my self. Now I need to call a friend to help me pickup and break down a sheet of plywood again.
- Messages
- 674
- Reaction score
- 66
Fantastic progress!
Boring meeting update.
I got 2 DOS units setup for AWC on the two QT systems. Since I didnt add a connection on the mixing system for this I had to improvise. I drilled and tapped the Tee off the bottom of the tank and slapped a valve on there. This ended up working great. 1/4" tap is for the QT systems, 1/2" is for the main system(this will probable be reduced to another 1/4")
Turns out the tubing fits perfectly through the 1" pipe hangers so no need for mounting. YAY.
And the new bird nest while everything gets tested.
So far everything is working fine but one DOS head is making a clicking sound ill have to address. Im checking the salinity daily and so far so good, but ill let it run for a few weeks before I make it all pretty.
Next up. I decided I wanted 0-10v control of the XHO's. So I got the controller and mounted it on the borg unit which was much easier than I thought it would be thanks to the rack being able to move.
Now the hard part. I ran an ethernet cable up to the display to control my wavebox. I have 2 signals but its on one wire and I dont want to cut up my tunze harness so I did some research. Turns out the APEX only uses 4 of the 8 wires in each 0-10v port. I can combine them into one standard network wire and then split them at the tank. Easy Peasy.
Got it installed.
Annd it doesnt work.....
I realized since Im using couplers I need to mirror the wires. So I did, and tried a few variations and still nothing. No idea if I mirrored one fitting wrong, or if I have the active pins on the apex wrong. So Ill be screwing around with the multimeter trying to figure that out this weekend.
Coming soon:
I have a bunch of sensors on the way to monitor the two QT tanks better and Im planning on redoing the apex system a bit since I decided the QT systems should be on their own head unit.
I also have a reefmat coming for the coral QT. I have one on the fish system and it works amazingly. Seeing the difference in crap buildup between the two sump is nutty, after 2 weeks I want to clean the coral system sump again. The fish system sump is still perfectly clean. This will be a PINA to install but totally worth it.
And I need to figure out if monitoring the salinity of the mix tank is worth the effort.
The fun never ends.
I got 2 DOS units setup for AWC on the two QT systems. Since I didnt add a connection on the mixing system for this I had to improvise. I drilled and tapped the Tee off the bottom of the tank and slapped a valve on there. This ended up working great. 1/4" tap is for the QT systems, 1/2" is for the main system(this will probable be reduced to another 1/4")
Turns out the tubing fits perfectly through the 1" pipe hangers so no need for mounting. YAY.
And the new bird nest while everything gets tested.
So far everything is working fine but one DOS head is making a clicking sound ill have to address. Im checking the salinity daily and so far so good, but ill let it run for a few weeks before I make it all pretty.
Next up. I decided I wanted 0-10v control of the XHO's. So I got the controller and mounted it on the borg unit which was much easier than I thought it would be thanks to the rack being able to move.
Now the hard part. I ran an ethernet cable up to the display to control my wavebox. I have 2 signals but its on one wire and I dont want to cut up my tunze harness so I did some research. Turns out the APEX only uses 4 of the 8 wires in each 0-10v port. I can combine them into one standard network wire and then split them at the tank. Easy Peasy.
Got it installed.
Annd it doesnt work.....
I realized since Im using couplers I need to mirror the wires. So I did, and tried a few variations and still nothing. No idea if I mirrored one fitting wrong, or if I have the active pins on the apex wrong. So Ill be screwing around with the multimeter trying to figure that out this weekend.
Coming soon:
I have a bunch of sensors on the way to monitor the two QT tanks better and Im planning on redoing the apex system a bit since I decided the QT systems should be on their own head unit.
I also have a reefmat coming for the coral QT. I have one on the fish system and it works amazingly. Seeing the difference in crap buildup between the two sump is nutty, after 2 weeks I want to clean the coral system sump again. The fish system sump is still perfectly clean. This will be a PINA to install but totally worth it.
And I need to figure out if monitoring the salinity of the mix tank is worth the effort.
The fun never ends.
Update time. No its not here yet... Install is scheduled for 3/21. So I must wrap up the last few items to make sure it can be running with salt by the end of the month.
First up. I need to finish the closed loop pumps piping where it will connect to the hoses from upstairs. Unfortunately one of my red dragons was broken in the box and thanks to the world in general they are now on back order so I am struggling to get my hands on a replacement.
But here was have the layout. Fill and drains connected so I can use the close loop to fill and drain the tank if needed.
Finally got around to painting stuff!
Last bit is to glue it all up, figure out a pipe stand to secure those pipes, and touch up the last bits of paint. And that last damn tee on the mix station I couldnt remove so I need to figure out how to paint it in place. FUN!
Now that all that is out of the way I can turn my attention back to the QT systems. The AWC system has been working fantastically. I have added a second salinity probe and actually calibrated the two of them so both QT's can be monitored while using the AWC system.
Next up I decided I wanted a fleece roller on the Coral QT. The one on the Fish QT has been worth its weight in gold keeping nitrates in a 75g with 40 fish down below 20. But is also keeps things really clean. Here is a comparison between the fish and coral sumps literally 2 weeks after I took them totally out and cleaned them.
Since Im in there I may as well fix my only issue with the roller mats. The dam bubbles. Red sea designed this thing to be used on a valved siphon drain. If you dont you get bubbles and gurgling that will erupt shmoo out of the unit and overall be loud and annoying.
The solution, an air vent.
Tested this out and it worked amazingly! It also allowed me to move that damn hose out of the way and make room for some bio media. Painted up and all perty.
And BAM sumps are redone, probes and roller mats installed.
Everyone still waiting around for delivery
I decided since I need to make a box for the DOS units (Gdamn they loud), and Im putting these tanks on their own head unit. Im going to make a whole enclosure that goes around those shelf brackets to hold all the APEX stuff and pump controllers. This will get done after the install.
First up. I need to finish the closed loop pumps piping where it will connect to the hoses from upstairs. Unfortunately one of my red dragons was broken in the box and thanks to the world in general they are now on back order so I am struggling to get my hands on a replacement.
But here was have the layout. Fill and drains connected so I can use the close loop to fill and drain the tank if needed.
Finally got around to painting stuff!
Last bit is to glue it all up, figure out a pipe stand to secure those pipes, and touch up the last bits of paint. And that last damn tee on the mix station I couldnt remove so I need to figure out how to paint it in place. FUN!
Now that all that is out of the way I can turn my attention back to the QT systems. The AWC system has been working fantastically. I have added a second salinity probe and actually calibrated the two of them so both QT's can be monitored while using the AWC system.
Next up I decided I wanted a fleece roller on the Coral QT. The one on the Fish QT has been worth its weight in gold keeping nitrates in a 75g with 40 fish down below 20. But is also keeps things really clean. Here is a comparison between the fish and coral sumps literally 2 weeks after I took them totally out and cleaned them.
Since Im in there I may as well fix my only issue with the roller mats. The dam bubbles. Red sea designed this thing to be used on a valved siphon drain. If you dont you get bubbles and gurgling that will erupt shmoo out of the unit and overall be loud and annoying.
The solution, an air vent.
Tested this out and it worked amazingly! It also allowed me to move that damn hose out of the way and make room for some bio media. Painted up and all perty.
And BAM sumps are redone, probes and roller mats installed.
Everyone still waiting around for delivery
I decided since I need to make a box for the DOS units (Gdamn they loud), and Im putting these tanks on their own head unit. Im going to make a whole enclosure that goes around those shelf brackets to hold all the APEX stuff and pump controllers. This will get done after the install.
If I haven't said this already... I really hope you're in your forever house!!! 
If I haven't said this already... I really hope you're in your forever house!!!
This is the view from my shop....
And this is the other half of the back yard.
And I took this one last week.
Just beautiful. Love the natural wildife.This is the view from my shop....
And this is the other half of the back yard.
And I took this one last week.
I was just on the phone with the guy on the far right just a few hours ago. As short handed as he says he is, I bet he's afraid to crack the whip in fear of losing employees
I was also at the shop earlier this morning. If I'd'a known you were going to be stopping by there today I would have gave Jeff the 2" flow sensor for you.
FWIW, I live about 10min from there if you're interested in seeing my setup.
I was also at the shop earlier this morning. If I'd'a known you were going to be stopping by there today I would have gave Jeff the 2" flow sensor for you.
FWIW, I live about 10min from there if you're interested in seeing my setup.
To be fair to Raj, of all the people in the picture, only one is on his payrollI was just on the phone with the guy on the far right just a few hours ago. As short handed as he says he is, I bet he's afraid to crack the whip in fear of losing employees
I was also at the shop earlier this morning. If I'd'a known you were going to be stopping by there today I would have gave Jeff the 2" flow sensor for you.
FWIW, I live about 10min from there if you're interested in seeing my setup.
