Onward and Upward ... the 65 gallon that's too big.

HuduVudu

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I currently have a 20 gallon breeder, that is so far past it's usefulness I can't deal with it any more.

The 20 has been set up for 6 years and I have modified and prototyped it to the point where the next thing I do might not end well.

Since I can no longer get the needle wheel for my klunky HOB skimmer I decided it was time to upgrade. Better to spend the money on a tank that I can continue to modify than to mess with this 20.

I don't like large tanks and my wife talked me into this 65. I really don't want this big of a tank but we have it and now it is time to set it up (after 2 years).

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HuduVudu

HuduVudu

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So I had this stand custom made of metal so that I can get rid of the ultra irritating center brace, but as per usual with me there is always something that isn't exactly what I want and little things drive me insane so I fix them.

I will detail this process because why not ... no one is looking, LOL.

The light stands are wobbling a bit so I put a spacer to fix the empty space issue. It's a good thing I can DIY because I had to cut down the spacers, cause nothing ever works out of the box :p

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HuduVudu

HuduVudu

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And the issue that causes me the most grief, indoor air quality. I am tired of having to open my windows every day to get good gas exchange. Now I need to put up with a few more days until my plants get going and then I can open the windows once a week or so, instead of once a day.

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Vette67

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And the issue that causes me the most grief, indoor air quality. I am tired of having to open my windows every day to get good gas exchange. Now I need to put up with a few more days until my plants get going and then I can open the windows once a week or so, instead of once a day.

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Now that’s a clever idea with the indoor house plants. It went down into the 60’s last week here, so I was able to open my doors and windows for the first time in months. Within a day, my pH raised by about .2. So let us know how well the plants handle CO2.
 
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HuduVudu

HuduVudu

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Now that’s a clever idea with the indoor house plants. It went down into the 60’s last week here, so I was able to open my doors and windows for the first time in months. Within a day, my pH raised by about .2. So let us know how well the plants handle CO2.
I am switching to a GHL controller and my PH probe blew out on my Apex. Needless to say I don't want to buy another probe, but I am jones'en to know how well this is working. I am thinking about a buying an indoor CO2 meter to see where I am at, but alas house needs a sewer line.

I do have another motive for this and that part is working out great. I have pretty severe asthma and it turns out that the particulates in the air (not the pollen go figure) is causing me major grief. I bought 3 BlueAir Hepas and finally I am able to function and with the plants I don't have to open the windows anymore.

I will update when I can get a PH probe up. I want to compare to the window open and see. I don't mind plants so if I can't get the PH back up to 8.3 like I had when I could with the windows open then I will propagate more plants and if I have to put up another grow light well then so be it. :)
 
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HuduVudu

HuduVudu

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Looks like the plants are a red herring :(

 
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HuduVudu

HuduVudu

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Whelp life happens. Getting bogged down dealing with issues that have come up on my build. Everything was coming together well and I was ready to do the closed loop ...

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But then I discovered that the gap on the top decking. Meaning the top deck wasn't flat ...

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This wouldn't be a problem if I had not decided to make my glass tank into swiss cheese to accommodate my love of closed systems ...

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So now I am working to a get a very thick piece of poplar planed down flat. This is proving to be no easy task ...

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Slow and steady I guess :p
 
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HuduVudu

HuduVudu

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Open loop is done. Had a bit of a problem with the return pump connection the bulk head was leaking. Seems like I had the gasket on the wrong side. Was a little tough getting the nut off but all fixed now.

Salt added. All of the flow made mixing very fast.

Need to work on flow control. The high flow is exactly what I want but the spray ... not so much. Plus I would like to drop the water height a bit. In time.

Next step start seeding the tank. Going to start this now because this process takes forever. Got to get the live rock on order. The thousand mile journey has begun.
 

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Looking good!
 
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HuduVudu

HuduVudu

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Looks like I'm getting an alk drop (7.8 -> 7.0) so yup something is happening. Unfortunately now I am watching and will start the supplement process. Yuuuukkkk :p
 
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