nrc

Thanks for the kind words Sean.

Andy that link is very helpful, thanks.

Here's where my lights are set for now.   I don't have much experience with AI Prime / LEDs so any input is welcome.   At peak all colors are at 30.

Last and not least, the digi that I got from reefrun.  At the moment I have my AI lights on a slow and low ramp to acclimate...

'Lando' our lawnmower blenny..

Cycle completed last week.  Have some new inhabitants.   Two Ocellaris , hovering over the rock I got from Seahorse two weeks ago.   Wife wants to name them Leia and Han (I said we need to wait and figure out which one is going to be Leia...)

I'll take this one at the meeting this afternoon:

"3- red w/blue base digi $5"

Thanks.

Nate

A full tank shot.   I'm starting to see the beginnings of diatoms.   The polyps are hanging in there.   Ammonia is at zero, nitrites and nitrates are dropping.

I don't really need a cleanup crew yet, but I wanted something to watch in the tank so I picked up a few blue leg hermits and ceriths on Friday.   I'm feeding them a very small piece of Rods Seaweed every other day until the algae picks up. 

Re-plumbed the drain last week.  Flow has increased to the point where I can run a Sicce 1.5 (357 gph) on the return without throttling it. 

sending pm for a couple of pics.

...Ditto....

Sourced a live rock from Terry @Seahorse Aquarium and deposited it on Tuesday...That's it in the lower left corner of the photo.   The polyps may(?) make it through the cycle we can hope. 

They have semi opened, but aren't fully in bloom.  My AI is running at 20s for all of the spectrum with a 2hr ramp up / 8 hours on / 2hr ramp down.   Not sure if that is too much (?) I don't want to accelerate the inavoidable diatom or algae bloom but I also want to give the little guys enough light that they have a fighting chance.

Misc note.  I'm evaporating at ~1gal / every other day.   I will be buying an ATO sooner than later.    I'm also still stymied by the return flow.... this weekend I will take another swing at that and try and determine if I need to add a durso-ish vent to the drain or if there is something obstructing flow in the tube.   More to come.

Thanks all.  We can close this thread.   I have a small piece of LR from a LFS.

Really appreciate all the offers for help - great forum / great community.

Looks fantastic.  Welcome to PNW.

Pic of the supply

Pic of the Drain,

Received my RODI unit mid last week, didn't get around to starting to mix water/salt until Saturday.  Had the usual 3x trips to the Hardware store before I had all of the fittings, buckets, and pumps I needed.   Mixed 20 gallons pumped into the display and sump, then started the next 20 gallons.     Woke up 2a Sunday morning restless and walked downstairs... the rodi supply line had flipped itself off of the tank.   Luckily my tank is 10' from the floor drain so not the end of the world.

This am around halftime (go Vikings) I topped off the rest of the display and did a few test runs with the Rio 1700 that I was planning to use as a return pump (3/4 supply, 1x return drilled) was outrunning the drain.   It is/was rated for < 700 gph so I thought maybe I'm just too close to the max a 1" drain could handle.   I switched over to  Mag 3 (350 gph) but when I set it up the same thing happened.   It would  fill display faster than water could drain.

Lastly (currently) I added an inline ball valve and throttled down to the supply line.   Now my water level is stable, the tank is cloudy, and I can start to let things settle.    I've got the return volume somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 gph (guess) and I have a MJ1200 that is configured in 'circulation mode' which should be turning ~1000 gph in the display.   Hopefully this is enough flow for now.

+1 for testing for phosphates.  I would check the RO/DI water source before and after mixing salt, and check the levels in the tank before and after the change.

Sometimes when problems persist or get worse after 'big' water changes there is a problem with the water supply or the mix.

Sorry for your troubles.

Nate

Thanks cjmdh and TheClark.

Looks awesome.   

+1 for another cool square tank/cube.

Good morning,

I'll be mixing up water in the next day or two, and adding seed rock and sand to my tank hopefully this weekend.   I'm considering holding off for a few weeks to let my tank cycle on its own prior to adding a protein skimmer.

My thoughts are that the initial ammonia -> nitrite -> nitrate cycle needs to happen unencumbered... I would time the addition of a skimmer to coincide with adding livestock a few weeks down the road.    
Any thoughts?

Nate

(fwiw - My tank specs are in the build thread under nano's)

Looks great.  I really dig "square" display tanks.

Sharklover thanks for the offer.  I'm going to try Oregonic first - I'll send a pm if aren't able to connect.

Oregonic - PM sent.

Thanks everyone.

I'll be mixing water and filling up my tank full of dry rocks / dry sand next week.   Looking for somone in PDX (NE but not picky) who can spare a half cup of sand and a small (lemon size would be fine) chunk of rock to help me feed the cycling process. 

Will pay currency or trade for beverages.   

Thanks.
Nate

Yes - Terry made me a deal on it around noon.  I'm the tall/greybeard fellow.