have you checked the PH? high PH may have an effect on soluability and saturation of alkalinity. I think…
By the time I left for work the temp had only gone up a degree in the display. I’ll check again tonight.
As far as PH, I haven’t tested for that one in awhile. I’d need to buy a test kit. verdict_in
Dont worry about it Jason, the temp will come up soon enoughThe display was 79 degrees this morning and although the water is a little clearer, it’s still what I would consider to be cloudy. It’s day 6 but only 24 hours since I began to increase the temperature.
I’m not sure if I mentioned this but I inverted the L-brackets that were suspending my LED units flush with the canopy ceiling. This raised the lights a good 1-1.5" and they are now visible as if sitting on top of the canopy. This helped with some of the spotlighting and I’m running significantly more outside air through the units as opposed to the higher humidity canopy air. I’m hoping this increases the lifespan of the units, adds a little more glimmer and takes them out of range of any salt splash. The lights are now 7" off the water. The only downside is that I lost some of that clean look with the lighting units now visible.
My Dry Rock is here. I got one really good sized Pukani boulder to build around and a few medium sized pieces. I want to start playing with the aquascaping possibilities prior to curing the rock.
Finally a quick pic of the sump. The wet cinder block is from me trying to mop up some of the concrete dust. It’s not leaking or anything. Saint:)
Jason I know those lights are new , but check to see what optics are on them, some are 60 degree or 90 degree, if they are see if you can find 120 degree that will help and will not spot light the leds so much, and will also let you lower them back down some .
Every thing lookin good so far. :
:
[quote=“billrob71, post:105, topic:7613”]
Jason I know those lights are new , but check to see what optics are on them, some are 60 degree or 90 degree, if they are see if you can find 120 degree that will help and will not spot light the leds so much, and will also let you lower them back down some .
Every thing lookin good so far. ::[/quote]
They are 90 degree optics.
I’ve been debating all weekend whether I should lower the LEDs back down into the canopy. I thought it was the right move to raise them but now I’m second guessing that. It may be more sleek looking to have them hidden in the canopy.
So this is my first attempt at aquascaping. I wanted to get a feel for how much rock I actually have. Looks like I could use a little more but I think I’m off to a good start.
I’m at the one week mark and we’ve still got undissolved Reef Crystals.
There was some minor improvement overnight but the system is still cloudy. It almost looks clear with just the full spectrum white LED’s on. It’s the blue’s and UV LED’s that are really causing the undissolved elements to glow. I’m running the lights at 30 white / 60 blue.
I am confident it will clear. There was improvement from yesterday.
Are you running any mechanical filtration? (Filter sock, floss, sponges, etc) Maybe you’ve got some suspended particles that aren’t salt floating around in there. I would have expected them to have settled to the bottom by now, but you never know.
[quote=“icecool2, post:108, topic:7613”]
Are you running any mechanical filtration? (Filter sock, floss, sponges, etc) Maybe you’ve got some suspended particles that aren’t salt floating around in there. I would have expected them to have settled to the bottom by now, but you never know.[/quote]
Yeah, the drain line is dumping onto 4 layers of filter pads. I think there is a pic of the sump a page or two back in this thread.
I think more likely than not this is just Reef Crystals being Reef Crystals. There are dozens of threads out there about people complaining about Reef Crystals creating cloudy water for days. All the parameters are just fine, it just takes forever to completely dissolve for some reason.
Could still be fines, depending on the rating of the filter pads, but probably unlikely. If that’s how Reef Crystals behave, I’ll cross those off my list of salts. I always used Oceanic on my tanks previously. It dissolved nicely, but I always had issues with phosphates. The only common denominator and mean the ONLY one was the salt. Everything else was new. The RODI was new, the water source was new (I moved to a different state), the tank was new, the rockwork and sand, you name it!
As for your LEDs, I personally like the clean look better. I had my LEDs mounted in a canopy on my last tank and I just put a couple pieces of glass with handles over the tank and put a fan in the end to pull in fresh air. Worked well for me.
[quote=“icecool2, post:110, topic:7613”]
Could still be fines, depending on the rating of the filter pads, but probably unlikely. If that’s how Reef Crystals behave, I’ll cross those off my list of salts. I always used Oceanic on my tanks previously. It dissolved nicely, but I always had issues with phosphates. The only common denominator and mean the ONLY one was the salt. Everything else was new. The RODI was new, the water source was new (I moved to a different state), the tank was new, the rockwork and sand, you name it!
As for your LEDs, I personally like the clean look better. I had my LEDs mounted in a canopy on my last tank and I just put a couple pieces of glass with handles over the tank and put a fan in the end to pull in fresh air. Worked well for me. [/quote]
I think you convinced me to lower the LEDs back down. There’s definitely something to be said about a clean look. If i’m going to this extreme I’m wondering if I can find power chords that have a flat wall mount versus the kind that stick up 4" into the air?
Day 8 and I’m seeing some improvement in the water. It’s still not clear but at least it’s better than it was yesterday. Starting to see some glimmer on the bottom of the tank.
I ordered two 250 watt eheim heaters. For an extra $1 I would have gone 300 watt but I’m not sure they would have fit in my sump. The 17.5" is already going to be a tight squeeze.
After taking a look at the amount of rock I had I decided to order another 50 lbs of Pukani Dry Rock. That’ll bring my total to 135 lbs.
Love the rock work so far Jason. It kind of reminds me of another tank I’ve seen before…but I just can’t put my finger on it… ???
[quote=“bnelson, post:112, topic:7613”]
Love the rock work so far Jason. It kind of reminds me of another tank I’ve seen before…but I just can’t put my finger on it… ???[/quote]
Thanks! Yeah, I got the plate info from a very wise gentleman. ;D
I did order some more pukani boulders, I wanted a little more rock.
After a few hours of searching I found a good acrylic leaflet holder to use as the core of my algae scrubber. I want to start on that project ASAP.
Oh, and the tank is finally clear but it has got a little bit to go before I’d call it crystal clear. It took a good 9 days for the Reef Crystals to dissolve to the point where the blue LED’s didn’t cause the tank to fluoresce.
[quote=“ClownfishSushi, post:111, topic:7613”]
I think you convinced me to lower the LEDs back down. There’s definitely something to be said about a clean look. If i’m going to this extreme I’m wondering if I can find power chords that have a flat wall mount versus the kind that stick up 4" into the air?[/quote]
Here’s a bunch of options:
I can’t really tell from the picture, but I assume those are NEMA connectors.
[quote=“icecool2, post:114, topic:7613”]
[quote=“ClownfishSushi, post:111, topic:7613”]
I think you convinced me to lower the LEDs back down. There’s definitely something to be said about a clean look. If i’m going to this extreme I’m wondering if I can find power chords that have a flat wall mount versus the kind that stick up 4" into the air?[/quote]
Here’s a bunch of options:
I can’t really tell from the picture, but I assume those are NEMA connectors.[/quote]
Thanks for the link!
Here is a closeup.
What’s the difference between 14, 16 and 18 AWG?
I’m seeing 3x18AWG imprinted on the existing black power chords.
Another dumb question, do they make these chords that have a right angle that doesn’t go left or right? I’m worried that the chord would interfere with the nobs. I’d prefer for them to go straight back.
[quote=“ClownfishSushi, post:116, topic:7613”]
What’s the difference between 14, 16 and 18 AWG?
I’m seeing 3x18AWG imprinted on the existing black power chords.[/quote]
14 guage wire is a bigger diameter guage wire
18 guage is a thinner wire.
Thanks, Bill.
And I found them. They’re called Down Angle power chords.
Ugh. But I just realized those chords would be angled in the wrong direction. I’d need an Up Angle power chord if such a thing exists. To the interents!
Jason is this the main power cord for your LED? if its the round 3 prong that threads in there usually standard for all the chinese fixtures, if it is the kind of rectangle 3 prong plug, you will find that the cord from a desk top computer power supply is the same.
I found one for $14 which seems very pricey.
And yes Bill. I’m just trying to make it so the wire don’t stick up. I want them going straight back so I can run them flush to the canopy.