Cincy_Reefer
Active Member
6 days ago my Waterbox Marine X 90.3 was delivered to me, it's for my bedroom/home office.
It was a cold January morning and when I asked the delivery driver if it was a heavy skid... he kind of chuckled.
Thankfully I have a roommate who was willing to help me carry the equipment up to our second floor apartment. The skid weight came in at 560lb, and it was honestly brutal to get up the stairs lol.
Once we got all the packages up to our unit I decided step 1 was going to be building the stand. I had prepared some space in my bedroom where I imagined the tank would fit in best & allow easy access for maintenance. Initially, it was going to go in the space between my bed and my closet, in front of a window which I had installed blackout curtains on the night prior.
3.5 hours later I had the stand completely assembled. It really wasn't too difficult to put together. I bet I could have cut the assembly time in half with power tools, but the battery for our power drill was dead and we didn't have the charger for it. No big deal, I was so excited and was loving every second of it. Except the door hinges, those were a royal pain to install and adjust. I was glad to be finished haha
So now that I had my stand built I decided that the original spot I picked out wasn't gonna do. I'll draw a layout of my bedroom and show you why the new spot is superior.
Pre-Tank Room Layout:
Original Idea of Room Layout w/ Tank:
With my room layout, if I put the tank in front of the window I would be sitting at my desk with my back to the tank all day. I would get to look at it from the side when I’m in bed, which would have been nice. And it also would have been the first thing I saw when I walked into my room. It was in a great spot for maintenance purposes too! But there was another spot I had been considering and ultimately settled upon.
New & Final Idea of Room Layout w/ Tank:
My only concern with the newly designated space for my tank is the wall mounted TV I have above and to the left of the tank. I’m hoping salt creep doesn’t get up in there.
But now... now I have a view of the tank from my desk AND when I’m laying in bed! Also, it’s in an even better location for maintenance purposes.
The process of re-arranging my room took another 2ish hours but worth it, I love the new arrangement,
I had the stand in place (I left 6” between the wall and the stand), then asked my other roommate to help carry the box holding the display, sump, and misc. equipment into my room. We broke the box down and he helped me lift the display onto the stand. Definitely a two person job - that jawn was heavy !
I plumbed the overflow box to the sump next and was getting pretty worn down... but I wanted to admire the tank in all its glory. So, I HAD to set the lights up. After that I called it a day and sat back while grinning at my setup. Waterbox’s really are beautiful systems, even without anything in them lol
I moved the TV as far away from the tank as it could go but I might take it down and move the wall mount to the next stud to the left in the wall to ensure I'm adequately far from that salt creeeeepin' on up into the TV's electrical components. I think the equipment on my desk will be safe (?).
At this point in the setup process I was waiting on a few critical pieces of equipment to arrive before I could do anything else - so I guess this is a good spot to go over the equipment list.
On 1/8/22 I purchased:
The next day (1/10/22) I purchase a different return pump which had a ton of positive reviews. And I ordered a bunch of other equipment along with the pump from Bulk Reef Supply:
On 1/11/22 I ordered a 75 Gallon Vertical Water Storage Tank (Norwesco) from National Tank Outlet.
On 1/17/22 I ordered 6 filter socks (4in / 225 / Felt) from the WB website.
On 1/17/22 I ordered a Dual Flex Connect Shut-Off Hose Adaptor (Gilmour) from Home Depot.
On 1/18/22 I placed an order from Petco:
On 1/19/22 I found out that the lead time on the Python hose from Petco was going to be like 10 days… I was at my LFS (Aquarium Artisans in Cincinnati, OH - great shop, extremely helpful employees, beautiful display tanks) and they had the same exact hose just a little pricier. I bit the bullet and I cancelled my Petco order while standing in Aquarium Artisans and bought it from them instead... and some other goodies
On 1/19/22 the Dual Flex Connect Shut-Off Hose Adaptor (Gilmour) I ordered from Home Depot had arrived. I thought installing it was going to be way more difficult but it was so simple.
The only issue I ran into was that something was leaking on the system. I ended up calling BRS and discussing it with them. It looked like there was water leaking out from the threads where the canisters screw onto the unit. They recommended I take the canister off and ensure the sealing ring isn't pinched etc., so I did, and everything was fine. I put it back together and pressurized the system again. This time I kept a better eye on it, than just walking away and coming back to a puddle of water. The elbow that connects the water input to the first canister, the sediment filter, was loose. So I tightened it and the leak stopped!
Side-note: At this point in time I hadn't yet mounted the system to the wall, I was just sitting it on top of the wash/dryer when using it.
*Some info I figured I might mention... my RO/DI system has a TDS meter on it and my TDS coming into the system = 3 ... which seems super low?*
*TDS out = 0.*
I also pre-scaped my rock on the 19th. Same scape (more or less) that is currently in the tank.
Two days later (1/21/22) I borrowed a stud finder & power drill from my parents in order to mount the RO/DI unit to the wall above the washer/dryer. And after 5-6 trips to the hardware store, I had my RO/DI system organized in a way that I was happy with.
More RO/DI setup pics:
I drilled a hole through the wall of the wash room and through the wall of the neighboring utility closet, which is where that big ol 75 gallon vertical water storage tank will go once I pick it up. I routed the RO/DI line through the hole and installed a ball valve before the line reaches the float valve on the Brute Trashcan where I’m currently storing my RO/DI water.
I store my Sicce Ultra Zero Utility Pump on top of the RO/DI brute. Here you can see the product water line coming out of the wall, going through a 90 elbow push-fitting, and running to a ball valve push fitting, and into a straight connector push fitting where I normally put a check valve when moving the Brute so no water leaks out.
and I store my python hose clamped to the handle on the Brute
On 1/21/22 I mixed my first 30ish gallons of saltwater using 1 of my Nero 5’s and one of the 200W heating elements that came with my 400W IM Helio PTC heater.
On 1/22/22 my sand arrived from Petco while I was at my LFS discussing whether Fritz Zyme 9 or Fritz TurboStart 900 was better for me, they reassured me Zyme 9 was the way to go since this is a completely new system. And that if I was just transporting an existing setup into a different tank, or something of that nature, the Turbo Start 900 would be the better option.
For some reason I had second guessed the LFS suggestion to go with Zyme 9 over the Turbo Start and had called Fritz customer support and asked them what they suggested, and they recommended the Turbo Start. Which is why I was back at the LFS discussing with them. My LFS told me Fritz was probably just trying to get me to buy the more expensive product. We talked about some other stuff and like every trip to the LFS I've ever taken... I had to buy some goodies:
When I got home I dumped the sand, spread it out evenly, and put my rock scape back together in the tank as best I could. It was pretty difficult to get everything to sit just right in the same nooks and crannies as I had on the cardboard when I laid it all out beforehand.
Once I was happy enough with the rock scape, I used my Sicce Ultra Zero w the Python extension hose to fill the display with the 30 or so gallons of saltwater I had been mixing for ~16 hours.
By the time I had transferred the water from the brute to the tank and added in the clarifying packets that came with the sand, our friends had started to arrive for the Bengals game. (WHO DEY!!)
I put my Brute back in the utility closet, connected it back to the RO/DI system, and opened up the ball valve so that I would have water ready to go whenever I got back around to preparing the tank.
The next morning 1/23/22 I mixed more saltwater and added it to the tank, then put old brutey back in her closet and started filling her up again.
The water level in the tank was high enough at this point to start going into the overflow box and filling the back chamber of the sump. I threw one of the Nero 5’s on the side of the tank, along with the Helio heaters, both of them this time… to create some flow and get some heat in there. I didn’t know I had a problem with my Helio at the time, but I definitely did (it wasn't heating).
I was playing it by ear at this point and determined I should plumb up the return pump so I could start circulating water once the next Brute full of RO/DI was ready to get salty.
The plumbing/connector pieces which came with my VarioS-4 weren’t exactly turn-key, plug-and-play style with my system. There was a barbed fitting that fit the Waterbox return line, but I needed to make another trip to the Homie Depot’s in order to make it work. I bought the Oatey brand combo pack of purple PVC primer and PVC cement, and used it to ‘weld’ the smaller barbed fitting into the bigger one. It's hard to describe but check out these pics of what comes in the box with the pump.
The barb fitting is a bigger barb with a smaller barb that sits inside of the bigger barb, but the tolerance was to big to just sit it in there, I needed to glue/join the two pieces somehow. I followed the BRS guide for gluing PVC plumbing. The Oatey primer and cement is allegedly reef safe.
I let the cement bond and cure for awhile (bout an hour) then tightened it down to the VarioS-4 pump outlet using the (J.) Shim and the (L.) Screw Cap.
I added more water from the brute and crossed my fingers before I turned on pump. Should've crossed em harder lol
Water was definitely being pulled from the sump into the display and overflowing back down into the sump, because that’s when I saw 2 O-RIngs swishing around in the back chamber of the sump. I fetched them out and noticed there was a leak coming from somewhere… shocker, it was probably coming from TWO places because 2 o-rings were just floating around not doing their jobs haha
I turned off the system and found one of the leaks, it was coming from the union where the flexible return hose attaches to the PVC hard pipe - it was underneath the sump.
Not a big deal, just needed to unscrew the union, throw the o-ring back in, and I would have been golden. Not so fast. That union was IMPOSSIBLE to unscrew. I have blisters on my hands and after breaking a huge sweat and reaching my frustration breaking point I googled if there was a tool for getting that thing loosened.
Fortunately, people who have pools deal with this problem all the time and there is a tool for it. And guess where I could go to buy one??? Yeeeep. So I’m in the car on the way to THE Home Depot, again. I bought Husky 12in PVC pliers along with some clamps I could use to hold down my Python hose while doing maintenance.
Although I think I am going to return the clamps because the plastic tips slip on the glass, I need some with rubber/silicon on the tips.
I got home, took the Husky pliers out of the package, and opened up the doors to my sump. This time I crossed my fingers and my toes. I got the jaws of this thing around the union and loosened the threads about a 1/8 turn WITH EASE. I did the rest by hand. Sure enough there wasn’t an o-ring. I put in the one of the 2 o-rings that were floating around in the sump and found the piece of equipment (which I wasn’t using) that the other o-ring belonged to, and put aside (it belonged to one of the union assemblies for the VarioS-4).
After putting the return line back together, with the o-ring included this time, I fired it back up. This time everything was working! Not a single problem… siiike, gotcha!
The Innovative Marine Helio PTC heater had been doing this weird thing, and I didn’t quite notice it, but it was definitely malfunctioning.
Here is the video I made to send over to IM support team:
But anyways, the temp was definitely way too low. Only one of the heating elements was working, so I got back in my car and drove to Petsmart, and bought a 150W EHeim Jager heater and threw it in the sump near the Helio heating element that had been working overtime. While I was waiting for the tank to get up to temp I did a few things.
I installed the Float Switch for the VarioS-4 which turns off the pump if the water level in the return pump chamber drops too low.
I installed the Prism ATO.
And I installed my second Nero 5.
I have my Nero's placed about 2/3 up the tank in height, and 1/3 from the front of the tank.
That brings us to today! I woke up and my tank was at 77F (thanks to the EHeim), and I decided to run a parameter test using the API Saltwater Master Test Kit. Just because I wanted to know where my parameters were before I put in the Fritz Zyme 9.
Before adding Fritz:
- pH: 7.8-8.1 (?) <— its hard to tell
- Ammonia: 0
- Nitrite: 0
- Nitrate: 0
I called BRS and they said that the pH is on the lower side but its not a huge deal and provided some suggestions. I went down the route of opening my bedroom window to see if there was a problem with CO2 and saw a big drop in my tank temp (its like mid 30’s out here right now).
While I was waiting for the fresh air to work its magic, I tested my salinity and it was about 1.030. So while the fresh air thing was going on, I was removing water from my sump and dumping it down the drain in my bathroom, then letting the ATO fill the return chamber and mix into the system. I had to do this a couple of times before I got the salinity back to around 1.026.
That tiny pump on the Prism ATO is a TANK... I mean seriously, that thing can move some serious volumes of water and very quickly! Extremely satisfied with my purchase of the Prism so far.
I called my LFS and explained that I was ready to start the cycle with the Fritz Zyme 9 but that I tested my param’s this morning and my pH was low. They said don’t worry about it and I told them about how I had my window open, they said shut it, and that low pH is normal at this stage of the tank. Go ahead and dump that Fritzy boy in the tank.
So I closed the window and waited for the temp to get back to around 75 before I dumped a 32oz bottle of Fritz Zyme 9 in the tank.
The tank is now at a constant 78F, I have the lights turned off, the Nero 5’s on the random flow settings with one as the child, mimicking the other, but out of phase by 180 deg. The parent settings are:
Also, I have my filter socks in with the silencers, and I put two more pieces of LifeRock in the middle sump chamber shortly after adding the Fritz.
So… that’s where I’m at! There were definitely some struggles along the way but I think I’ve gotten over the initial set up issues and I’m super pumped to get some clowns in my tank! My LFS has 2 orange storm clowns I’ve got my eye on
Next things next though, I need to get my cable management game on and take care of this rats nest. Sooner rather than later would be preferred lol
Enjoy some images of my setup and I’ll try to keep this thread updated often!
Who Dey!
-Cincy_Reefer
It was a cold January morning and when I asked the delivery driver if it was a heavy skid... he kind of chuckled.
Thankfully I have a roommate who was willing to help me carry the equipment up to our second floor apartment. The skid weight came in at 560lb, and it was honestly brutal to get up the stairs lol.
Once we got all the packages up to our unit I decided step 1 was going to be building the stand. I had prepared some space in my bedroom where I imagined the tank would fit in best & allow easy access for maintenance. Initially, it was going to go in the space between my bed and my closet, in front of a window which I had installed blackout curtains on the night prior.
3.5 hours later I had the stand completely assembled. It really wasn't too difficult to put together. I bet I could have cut the assembly time in half with power tools, but the battery for our power drill was dead and we didn't have the charger for it. No big deal, I was so excited and was loving every second of it. Except the door hinges, those were a royal pain to install and adjust. I was glad to be finished haha
So now that I had my stand built I decided that the original spot I picked out wasn't gonna do. I'll draw a layout of my bedroom and show you why the new spot is superior.
Pre-Tank Room Layout:
Original Idea of Room Layout w/ Tank:
With my room layout, if I put the tank in front of the window I would be sitting at my desk with my back to the tank all day. I would get to look at it from the side when I’m in bed, which would have been nice. And it also would have been the first thing I saw when I walked into my room. It was in a great spot for maintenance purposes too! But there was another spot I had been considering and ultimately settled upon.
New & Final Idea of Room Layout w/ Tank:
My only concern with the newly designated space for my tank is the wall mounted TV I have above and to the left of the tank. I’m hoping salt creep doesn’t get up in there.
But now... now I have a view of the tank from my desk AND when I’m laying in bed! Also, it’s in an even better location for maintenance purposes.
The process of re-arranging my room took another 2ish hours but worth it, I love the new arrangement,
I had the stand in place (I left 6” between the wall and the stand), then asked my other roommate to help carry the box holding the display, sump, and misc. equipment into my room. We broke the box down and he helped me lift the display onto the stand. Definitely a two person job - that jawn was heavy !
I plumbed the overflow box to the sump next and was getting pretty worn down... but I wanted to admire the tank in all its glory. So, I HAD to set the lights up. After that I called it a day and sat back while grinning at my setup. Waterbox’s really are beautiful systems, even without anything in them lol
I moved the TV as far away from the tank as it could go but I might take it down and move the wall mount to the next stud to the left in the wall to ensure I'm adequately far from that salt creeeeepin' on up into the TV's electrical components. I think the equipment on my desk will be safe (?).
At this point in the setup process I was waiting on a few critical pieces of equipment to arrive before I could do anything else - so I guess this is a good spot to go over the equipment list.
On 1/8/22 I purchased:
- Waterbox Marine X 90.3 w black stand
- (2) AI Prime 16HD lights (Aqua Illumination)
- Sicce Syncra Silent 4.0 return pump
- But I read some negative reviews on that pump, people said it was noisy and produced a lot of excess vibration, so I cancelled the pump from my Waterbox order on 1/9/22.
The next day (1/10/22) I purchase a different return pump which had a ton of positive reviews. And I ordered a bunch of other equipment along with the pump from Bulk Reef Supply:
- VarioS-4 Controllable DC Return Pump 1050 GPH (Reef Octopus)
- 4 Stage Value 210773 Plus 75GPD RO/DI System (BRS)
- Auto Shut Off Kit for RO/DO System (BRS)
- Prism ATO (ReefBreeders)
- 400W Helio PTC Smart Heater (Innovative Marine)
- 24” AquaBlade Plastic Scraper for Glass Tanks (Continuum Aquatics)
- 10 oz. Bottle BRS Extra Thick Gel Super Glue (BRS)
- (2) Nero 5 Powerheads (Aqua Illumination)
- Refractometer w/ Calibration Fluid (BRS)
- Ultra Zero Utility Pump (Sicce)
- 160 Gallon Box of Tropic Marin’s Pro Reef Salt
- AccuDrip Acclimator (Auqa Gadget)
- Watchdog Leak Detection Alarm
On 1/11/22 I ordered a 75 Gallon Vertical Water Storage Tank (Norwesco) from National Tank Outlet.
- Thankfully the tank is manufactured at a facility that’s a 2 hour drive from me, so I opted out of paying for shipping (~$200), and will be driving to their facility to pick it up when it’s ready (4-5 week lead time)
On 1/17/22 I ordered 6 filter socks (4in / 225 / Felt) from the WB website.
On 1/17/22 I ordered a Dual Flex Connect Shut-Off Hose Adaptor (Gilmour) from Home Depot.
- I started the installation of my RO/DI system on this day and needed this piece of equipment to connect to the cold water line on my washing machine. They didn’t have it in the store so I had to order it online.
- While I was at Home Depot I bought a 32 gallon Brute trash can w a lid and roller stand
On 1/18/22 I placed an order from Petco:
- 60 lbs of CaribSea Arag-Alive Special Grade Sand
- Python Hose Extension, 20’ (to attach to the Ultra Zero Utility Pump)
On 1/19/22 I found out that the lead time on the Python hose from Petco was going to be like 10 days… I was at my LFS (Aquarium Artisans in Cincinnati, OH - great shop, extremely helpful employees, beautiful display tanks) and they had the same exact hose just a little pricier. I bit the bullet and I cancelled my Petco order while standing in Aquarium Artisans and bought it from them instead... and some other goodies
- Python Hose Extension, 20’ (to attach to the Ultra Zero Utility Pump)
- API Saltwater Master Test Kit
- 32oz bottle of Fritz Zyme 9 (per their recommendation)
On 1/19/22 the Dual Flex Connect Shut-Off Hose Adaptor (Gilmour) I ordered from Home Depot had arrived. I thought installing it was going to be way more difficult but it was so simple.
- Shut off the main supply line
- Take off the cold water line from the manifold
- Install dual flex connector
- Screw the washing machine supply line onto one of the dual flex connectors
- Screwed the RO/DI garden hose adapter onto the dual flex connector
The only issue I ran into was that something was leaking on the system. I ended up calling BRS and discussing it with them. It looked like there was water leaking out from the threads where the canisters screw onto the unit. They recommended I take the canister off and ensure the sealing ring isn't pinched etc., so I did, and everything was fine. I put it back together and pressurized the system again. This time I kept a better eye on it, than just walking away and coming back to a puddle of water. The elbow that connects the water input to the first canister, the sediment filter, was loose. So I tightened it and the leak stopped!
Side-note: At this point in time I hadn't yet mounted the system to the wall, I was just sitting it on top of the wash/dryer when using it.
*Some info I figured I might mention... my RO/DI system has a TDS meter on it and my TDS coming into the system = 3 ... which seems super low?*
*TDS out = 0.*
I also pre-scaped my rock on the 19th. Same scape (more or less) that is currently in the tank.
Two days later (1/21/22) I borrowed a stud finder & power drill from my parents in order to mount the RO/DI unit to the wall above the washer/dryer. And after 5-6 trips to the hardware store, I had my RO/DI system organized in a way that I was happy with.
More RO/DI setup pics:
I drilled a hole through the wall of the wash room and through the wall of the neighboring utility closet, which is where that big ol 75 gallon vertical water storage tank will go once I pick it up. I routed the RO/DI line through the hole and installed a ball valve before the line reaches the float valve on the Brute Trashcan where I’m currently storing my RO/DI water.
I store my Sicce Ultra Zero Utility Pump on top of the RO/DI brute. Here you can see the product water line coming out of the wall, going through a 90 elbow push-fitting, and running to a ball valve push fitting, and into a straight connector push fitting where I normally put a check valve when moving the Brute so no water leaks out.
and I store my python hose clamped to the handle on the Brute
On 1/21/22 I mixed my first 30ish gallons of saltwater using 1 of my Nero 5’s and one of the 200W heating elements that came with my 400W IM Helio PTC heater.
On 1/22/22 my sand arrived from Petco while I was at my LFS discussing whether Fritz Zyme 9 or Fritz TurboStart 900 was better for me, they reassured me Zyme 9 was the way to go since this is a completely new system. And that if I was just transporting an existing setup into a different tank, or something of that nature, the Turbo Start 900 would be the better option.
For some reason I had second guessed the LFS suggestion to go with Zyme 9 over the Turbo Start and had called Fritz customer support and asked them what they suggested, and they recommended the Turbo Start. Which is why I was back at the LFS discussing with them. My LFS told me Fritz was probably just trying to get me to buy the more expensive product. We talked about some other stuff and like every trip to the LFS I've ever taken... I had to buy some goodies:
- Watchdog Leak Detection Alarm
- Some fish food (pellets)
- Flipper Floating cleaner w/ scraper for glass & acrylic
- Floating thermometer to go on the inside of my DT (it was like $2 and I'll probably take it out eventually but nice to have for calibrating my Helio PTC)
When I got home I dumped the sand, spread it out evenly, and put my rock scape back together in the tank as best I could. It was pretty difficult to get everything to sit just right in the same nooks and crannies as I had on the cardboard when I laid it all out beforehand.
Once I was happy enough with the rock scape, I used my Sicce Ultra Zero w the Python extension hose to fill the display with the 30 or so gallons of saltwater I had been mixing for ~16 hours.
By the time I had transferred the water from the brute to the tank and added in the clarifying packets that came with the sand, our friends had started to arrive for the Bengals game. (WHO DEY!!)
I put my Brute back in the utility closet, connected it back to the RO/DI system, and opened up the ball valve so that I would have water ready to go whenever I got back around to preparing the tank.
The next morning 1/23/22 I mixed more saltwater and added it to the tank, then put old brutey back in her closet and started filling her up again.
The water level in the tank was high enough at this point to start going into the overflow box and filling the back chamber of the sump. I threw one of the Nero 5’s on the side of the tank, along with the Helio heaters, both of them this time… to create some flow and get some heat in there. I didn’t know I had a problem with my Helio at the time, but I definitely did (it wasn't heating).
I was playing it by ear at this point and determined I should plumb up the return pump so I could start circulating water once the next Brute full of RO/DI was ready to get salty.
The plumbing/connector pieces which came with my VarioS-4 weren’t exactly turn-key, plug-and-play style with my system. There was a barbed fitting that fit the Waterbox return line, but I needed to make another trip to the Homie Depot’s in order to make it work. I bought the Oatey brand combo pack of purple PVC primer and PVC cement, and used it to ‘weld’ the smaller barbed fitting into the bigger one. It's hard to describe but check out these pics of what comes in the box with the pump.
The barb fitting is a bigger barb with a smaller barb that sits inside of the bigger barb, but the tolerance was to big to just sit it in there, I needed to glue/join the two pieces somehow. I followed the BRS guide for gluing PVC plumbing. The Oatey primer and cement is allegedly reef safe.
I let the cement bond and cure for awhile (bout an hour) then tightened it down to the VarioS-4 pump outlet using the (J.) Shim and the (L.) Screw Cap.
I added more water from the brute and crossed my fingers before I turned on pump. Should've crossed em harder lol
Water was definitely being pulled from the sump into the display and overflowing back down into the sump, because that’s when I saw 2 O-RIngs swishing around in the back chamber of the sump. I fetched them out and noticed there was a leak coming from somewhere… shocker, it was probably coming from TWO places because 2 o-rings were just floating around not doing their jobs haha
I turned off the system and found one of the leaks, it was coming from the union where the flexible return hose attaches to the PVC hard pipe - it was underneath the sump.
Not a big deal, just needed to unscrew the union, throw the o-ring back in, and I would have been golden. Not so fast. That union was IMPOSSIBLE to unscrew. I have blisters on my hands and after breaking a huge sweat and reaching my frustration breaking point I googled if there was a tool for getting that thing loosened.
Fortunately, people who have pools deal with this problem all the time and there is a tool for it. And guess where I could go to buy one??? Yeeeep. So I’m in the car on the way to THE Home Depot, again. I bought Husky 12in PVC pliers along with some clamps I could use to hold down my Python hose while doing maintenance.
Although I think I am going to return the clamps because the plastic tips slip on the glass, I need some with rubber/silicon on the tips.
I got home, took the Husky pliers out of the package, and opened up the doors to my sump. This time I crossed my fingers and my toes. I got the jaws of this thing around the union and loosened the threads about a 1/8 turn WITH EASE. I did the rest by hand. Sure enough there wasn’t an o-ring. I put in the one of the 2 o-rings that were floating around in the sump and found the piece of equipment (which I wasn’t using) that the other o-ring belonged to, and put aside (it belonged to one of the union assemblies for the VarioS-4).
After putting the return line back together, with the o-ring included this time, I fired it back up. This time everything was working! Not a single problem… siiike, gotcha!
The Innovative Marine Helio PTC heater had been doing this weird thing, and I didn’t quite notice it, but it was definitely malfunctioning.
Here is the video I made to send over to IM support team:
But anyways, the temp was definitely way too low. Only one of the heating elements was working, so I got back in my car and drove to Petsmart, and bought a 150W EHeim Jager heater and threw it in the sump near the Helio heating element that had been working overtime. While I was waiting for the tank to get up to temp I did a few things.
I installed the Float Switch for the VarioS-4 which turns off the pump if the water level in the return pump chamber drops too low.
I installed the Prism ATO.
And I installed my second Nero 5.
I have my Nero's placed about 2/3 up the tank in height, and 1/3 from the front of the tank.
That brings us to today! I woke up and my tank was at 77F (thanks to the EHeim), and I decided to run a parameter test using the API Saltwater Master Test Kit. Just because I wanted to know where my parameters were before I put in the Fritz Zyme 9.
Before adding Fritz:
- pH: 7.8-8.1 (?) <— its hard to tell
- Ammonia: 0
- Nitrite: 0
- Nitrate: 0
I called BRS and they said that the pH is on the lower side but its not a huge deal and provided some suggestions. I went down the route of opening my bedroom window to see if there was a problem with CO2 and saw a big drop in my tank temp (its like mid 30’s out here right now).
While I was waiting for the fresh air to work its magic, I tested my salinity and it was about 1.030. So while the fresh air thing was going on, I was removing water from my sump and dumping it down the drain in my bathroom, then letting the ATO fill the return chamber and mix into the system. I had to do this a couple of times before I got the salinity back to around 1.026.
That tiny pump on the Prism ATO is a TANK... I mean seriously, that thing can move some serious volumes of water and very quickly! Extremely satisfied with my purchase of the Prism so far.
I called my LFS and explained that I was ready to start the cycle with the Fritz Zyme 9 but that I tested my param’s this morning and my pH was low. They said don’t worry about it and I told them about how I had my window open, they said shut it, and that low pH is normal at this stage of the tank. Go ahead and dump that Fritzy boy in the tank.
So I closed the window and waited for the temp to get back to around 75 before I dumped a 32oz bottle of Fritz Zyme 9 in the tank.
The tank is now at a constant 78F, I have the lights turned off, the Nero 5’s on the random flow settings with one as the child, mimicking the other, but out of phase by 180 deg. The parent settings are:
- Min Speed: 15%
- Max Speed: 75%
- Variance: High
- Max Speed: 75%
- Phase: 180 deg.
Also, I have my filter socks in with the silencers, and I put two more pieces of LifeRock in the middle sump chamber shortly after adding the Fritz.
So… that’s where I’m at! There were definitely some struggles along the way but I think I’ve gotten over the initial set up issues and I’m super pumped to get some clowns in my tank! My LFS has 2 orange storm clowns I’ve got my eye on
Next things next though, I need to get my cable management game on and take care of this rats nest. Sooner rather than later would be preferred lol
Enjoy some images of my setup and I’ll try to keep this thread updated often!
Who Dey!
-Cincy_Reefer
