Getting back in.....

tinman said:
if you havent. already bought these

2x Reefbreeders Photon 24 V2+
2x Reefbreeders RP-M

go with a radion g5 pro .. one light would be plenty for growing anything in that tank and looks awesome aesthetically
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Funny enough I did change my mind on lighting and flow. I went with 2x Jebao SCP-90s for now. I’m curious about the gyres and I figured they were an inexpensive way to get a feel for gyres in general. If they last a year I’ll make a decision at that point to go with a brand name set of gyres if I like the way they work. Otherwise I can get 2x MP40s if I don’t like the gyres.

Lighting is a different story. I haven’t made up my mind yet what I want. BRSTV basically has me sold on 4 AI Primes for ideal par and spread.The only issue is the mounting options for the primes are designed for nano tanks. What’s the spread on a Radion G5 Pro?
 
That looks awesome. I like when the equipment looks as good as the inside of the tank. Did you use the Phillips hue light strip inside the cabinet?

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Mpdan said:
That looks awesome. I like when the equipment looks as good as the inside of the tank. Did you use the Phillips hue light strip inside the cabinet?


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No it’s just a 16’ rope light from Amazon. It’s basically just a work light for when I’m under the tank.
 
I have a radion g4pro on a 24x24 and 20inch tank and i could never go beyond 20% on the intensity

If done right you can hang it high enough to get full tank coverage and i don’t think you can still go over 50% with out burning corals :)


Good thing with radion is you can mount it from wall or ceiling and it still looks awesome


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Ok so next topic. Where do we currently stand on rinsing dry sand? Don't rinse? Rinse with tap water? Rinse with RO water? Its been a while.
 
Got the lights setup today. They look awesome. Too bad the tank will be lights out for the next 3 months. I also rinsed my dry sand. I just used the hose outside as I have read tap water is fine for this. So next I’ll add the sand and then fill her up with fresh saltwater and we’re off.

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On Monday filled the tank up for leak test had one small leak from a union that wasn’t tight enough. Fixed that then filled up with freshly mixed saltwater. Then on Tuesday added Microbacter Start XLM and dosed ammonium chloride to the tank. I’m having a problem with my ATO. I would have gotten a Tunze but they’ve been out of stock forever. I bought an IceCap and no matter the water height compared to the sensors it keeps engaging the pump. I have it unplugged now so it doesn’t dump a ton of fresh water into the sump. Any ideas on the ATO or can you recommend a different unit?
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Having some trouble with testing. Cycled started 3-15-21. Used Microbacter Start XLM and Ammonium Chloride. Having issues with pH, Ammonia, and Nitrite testing. All ideas, advice or suggestions are welcomed.

Hanna Temp-79.4
InkBird Temp-79.1

Hanna Salinity-1.025 SG
Refractometer Salinity-1.025 SG

Pinpoint pH Monitor-7.9
Red Sea pH-8.2
Salifert pH-8.15

Red Sea Ammonia-2 ppm
Seachem Ammonia Alert Badge-0.05 ppm

Red Sea Nitrite-1 ppm
Salifert Nitrite-0.1 ppm

Red Sea Nitrate-20ppm

Red Sea Alkalinity-9.5 dKH
 
Hobbyist test kits are notoriously unreliable. I would just wait until your ammonia tests 0, but if you plan to cycle for 3 months you shouldn't have any problems.
 
ForeRight27 said:
On Monday filled the tank up for leak test had one small leak from a union that wasn’t tight enough. Fixed that then filled up with freshly mixed saltwater. Then on Tuesday added Microbacter Start XLM and dosed ammonium chloride to the tank. I’m having a problem with my ATO. I would have gotten a Tunze but they’ve been out of stock forever. I bought an IceCap and no matter the water height compared to the sensors it keeps engaging the pump. I have it unplugged now so it doesn’t dump a ton of fresh water into the sump. Any ideas on the ATO or can you recommend a different unit?
View attachment 6315

View attachment 6314
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Is there a switch where you can change the mode? Or maybe you have the sensors reversed? Just something to check.


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CF2 said:
Hobbyist test kits are notoriously unreliable. I would just wait until your ammonia tests 0, but if you plan to cycle for 3 months you shouldn't have any problems.
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I am aware that hobby grade test kits can be inaccurate but I have never seen such big differences from one brand or another.

The three month cycle refers to more than just populating enough beneficial bacteria to process ammonia to nitrite to nitrate. It is a methodology to limit the ability of undesirable organisms to take hold in the beginning stages of the tank.

My three concerns are:

pH monitor seems way off, I have calibrated 5 times in the past two weeks, however the monitor and probe were purchased new 2 years ago and sat with our being used until now. Could the probe have gone bad in storage?

Ammonia test is through the roof but the alert badge shows very little. Have a Salifert kit on its way.

Nitrite, huge difference between Salifert and Red Sea.

Was just looking for advice perhaps I’m doing something wrong or one brand of test kit is known to have issues with certain parameters.
 
ForeRight27 said:
Ammonia test is through the roof but the alert badge shows very little. Have a Salifert kit on its way.
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Ammonia test kits test either free ammonia or total ammonia. That might account for the difference, but also those alert badges are almost worthless. A couple of other possibilities. Since you are actually dosing ammonia, are you testing at the same time interval after dosing? And the amount of free ammonia in the water is influenced by pH and temp. That's why fish can be shipped in like 1 cup of water, because the pH (and usually temp) drops during shipping. Since pH can swing throughout the day, it may be shifting what your test is picking up.
 
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