Earthquake damage finally got the better

[duanes]

Looks like splatter from drilling to me.

Yes glass dust splatter from te water used to cool the drill.
Here it is after a paper towel wipe down.

The shallow water in the tank became milky from the dust, it's just beginning to clear now, a couple hours after drilling.

And even though the water plant has come into service, I didn't want to waste the cooling water, so I drilled from the inside out so water ended up in the tank, instead of on the ground.
That also helps, incase when the drill breaks thru the other side of the glass, any chipping is on the outside, so the gasket gets a smooth seal inside.

 

[fishguy1978]

You're not worried about the glass dust in the tank?

 

[duanes]

You're not worried about the glass dust in the tank?

By the time I get fish in the tank, it will be either filtered out, or settled into the substrate.

 

[duanes]

I like to stare at plumbing configurations for a while before gluing, so I can realize some of my hasty lame initial choices.
Yesterday the union had been randomly placed in a rather un-utile spot,
This morning it became immediately obvious, so the friction fit allowed it to be easily moved to spot where pump maintenance would be made easier.
The union is now on the vertical line, nearer the pump, partially hidden by a leaf.
Also replaced a couple 45s, with 90s to reduce flow friction from the pump.

and now that the tank is a little more than 1/4 full, and substrate had been piled deeper than normal in a couple corners (where sunlight is better), planting a few Vals in those spots was possible. (Just to see if there's enough growable light)

 

[duanes]

The old tank was a bow front, so wider than its new/used taller replacement, and while staring and ruminating, I realized the inffluent manifold originally thrown together, would be too wide and aethsetically clunky for the new tank.

The new manifold below was made this morning, it is still only friction fit, just in case modification is needed.
And since our water plant is still down for the count, and its the dry season, plenty of down time, before the tank will be required for fish.

The 125 gal sump is taking up the slack, holding fish and plants, and with lower flow, the water lilies have taken off more robustly than usual.

This water lily growth surge may alter how the water flow to the sump will be fashioned, so more rumination is required

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

How much have the plants been able to keep down the NO3 in the absence of water to do those water replacements with? Is it still 5 ppm or less?

 

[duanes]

I am actually amazed that nitrate has risen so little.
These tests are from today (I like to compare liquid, with the strips just to check results).
The top square on the strip in nitrate


I have cut back on feeding, to 1 day out of every 3, so that may help, and there are only 7 fish in the 125, the pleco being the largest at about 8".

 

[duanes]

With the water plant still down, and no rain in the forecast, the forced time lag for getting the tank set up, has offered time for more reflection.
I found an old sump full of bio-media languishing in the corner of the yard, and will try to incorporate it into the new flow pattern.
It was inadequate to use before at the flow rate I preferred, and regularly threatened to run the pump dry if evaporation or some other anomaly dropped water level. It was shallow, and doesn't hold much water.

A separate line from the manifold will feed it at a slower rate and lead into feeding the refugiem by gravity, and eliminate chance for pump starvation.

This will add a couple more entry points to the refugium (4 in all), spreading out flow, hopefully allowing the water lilies a more relaxed and the less surface disruption they like.

 

[celebrist]

Here's hoping that it they get the treatment plant back online for everyone there

 

[duanes]

Our islands De-Sal plant was finally fixed last week, after many months.
Took a week to catch up on a back log of laundry, clean the house, and get some real showers in.
Yesterday the tank and sump were filled, and pump turned back on while the plumbing was still friction fit, an experiment to see if it all worked as planned.
This morning all plumbing glued.

Tank went from a terrarium, back to an aquarium.

Still a lot of tannin stain from newly collected wood, sitting in a non-filtered tank for so long.
Growing in shallow water it surprised me to see the vallisneria has gone from 6" plantlets to almost to almost 2 ft tall, in only a couple hours of afternoon sun.

Now all that's left is to collect some local endemic cichlids and maybe a few other Panamanian fish.