08TRDOFFROAD's 45 Gallon Build

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
not good. i would recommend spending the $ on a hanna alkalinity meter(49.00) and a decent ph monitor like a milwalkee. calcium is decent at 400. the cheapest way for u to buffer all 3 at once would be a kalk drip or kalk for ato. if that is to complicated for u i would recommend the 2 part starter set from bulk reef supply. i would also check mag levels.

I will look into that alk meter. I have an American Marine Pinpoint PH monitor that has been calibrated and works very well (or at least I think it does). I should have said calcium is lower than where I want it. I would like it to be around 450 ppm. I was looking at the two part starter kit from BRS. I have a LFS that stocks their stuff and sells it for less than I can get it for shipped right from BRS.
 
i havent used any of the brs 2 part but ive heard good things. ive been using tlf c-balance liquid. the liquid mixes easier then powder with ro water but is definately more expensive.

i am dosing 2 part in small quantities (12ml per day) with a dosing pump and dosing kalk with a dosing pump(1000ml per day) for topoff. ive noticed my ph staying around 8.3 since ive started the kalk.
 
Dosing just goes over my head....I don't even know how to go about figuring out how to auto dose...I have never seemed to be able to grasp that aspect of the hobby...
 
Well, I just placed a big order with Drs Foster and Smith, BRS, and Aquacave!

I am throwing the kitchen sink at this tank! If what I ordered doesn't solve my issues I am selling everything and getting out of this hobby for good!

My Aquacave order includes:
~Sicce Syncra 3.0 pump

My DFS order includes:
~Eshopps PH-300 Overflow box
~Various Loc line parts for my return line
~Filter Media Bag
~Carbon

These will make up the large part of my 10 g sump that is in the works.


My order from BRS includes:

~New RO membrane
~Flow restrictor to match new membrane
~New 5 Stage RO prefilters with Color changing DI
~Refillable 10" DI cartridge
~BRS Dual GFO and Carbon Reactor
~BRS Bulk GFO-1 lb

Hopefully this stuff will come in the next week and I can get this tank cleaned and cleared up! I am at my wits end with this dumb tank! If I can't get the water to clear up and get a grip on the algae I don't know how long I will keep fighting with it! I will end up breaking it down and selling it off and sticking to FW in the future...maybe dabble in FW rays a bit....who knows....
 
It can be a little frustrating. I think once u get the sump going and some gfo u will be fine. As far as dosing, figure out how much alk drops in 1 day then use the brs dosing calculator on their website. It will tell u how much u need to add per day. I would dose 1/2 in the morning 1/2 at night. Easy. Normally u will add equal amounts of part a and b per day. Then every few weeks check mag and add if needed
 
I have been working on my sump the past few days while I wait for the rest of the equipment to show up. It is still a work in progress. I have to silicone at least one more baffle in. I have been siliconing one baffle in at a time. I will try to get the last one glued in tonight after work or tomorrow before. I am using glass I purchased several years ago during my first DIY sump attempt (at the conclusion of which I ended up having a glass shop cut me 1/4" instead) and glass from a picture frame I bought cheap at the DI, since one of the pieces I had on hand broke wrong when I scored it.
The first one I siliconed in yesterday...
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The second one I did this morning before I left for work.
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Ah...the good ole tape and DVD case method.

I used superglue to hold my baffles in place...as it cures so fast...then you just add the silicone.

*Note...use thicker glass then I did so that when you get rippin current in there all your hard work isnt lost...but looks as if you already have a good thickness...especially with that size of sump.
 
I finished up my sump this moring before work! Good thing because UPS dropped off a big box right after I left for work...the rest of the stuff I ordered should be here tomorrow.

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Dimensions of the sump are as follows. Standard 10 g tank 20"X10"x12" It is divided as follows: Refugium 11"x10"x7 inches of water, bubble baffles are 7" high on the outer sides and the inner is 8" with a 1.25" gap underneath, return section is 7"x10"X7" which leaves me roughly 2 gallons of water in the return section.
 
Looks super clean...good build.

Planning on an ATO? That return area wont hold much water.
 
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