New 45 gallon rimless

[Sascha D]

Called my lfs today about the brown algae and they second what's been said. Wait, don't do a water change. This is all part of the cycling process. They advised that I don't do any water change until I start seeing nitrates show up on the test and that might not happen until I start putting livestock in. The algae is pretty ugly stuff all over the rock and on much of the sand. The skimmer isn't pulling much out at this point either. I keep tinkering with the height of the cup but all it gets is yellowish tea colored liquid.

I second what your LFS told you. There isn't a need to do a water change until you start reading high ammonia or until you start reading some nitrates. I mean if you dont get those readings then you're basically changing out clean water for clean water

The skimmer might be pulling too much water up with the bubbles, so you can raise the cup alittle each time until you're just getting bubbles at the top. The nasties will rise with the bubbles and spill over into the cup.

If you dont get any nitrate readings after the tank has been up 2-3 weeks, I would add some fish. Do you have a live stock plan? If you already know what fish you ultimately want to add, then you can add a small amount of the most PASSIVE fish on your list. Dont add anything that gets big or is aggressive because that'll just give you a headache later. Full Steam Ahead hehe

 

[Klatuso]

The brown algae bloom is dying. the coating of brown fluff is fading. While I'm waiting for my tank to cycle I'm perfecting my systems. I want to keep my water parameters as tight as possible and in that pursuit I am replacing my water ATO system. I originally had a spectapure system which uses air pressure to engage the pump. Well, I had to lose an inch of water before the system would kick in. In a rimless tank the loss of an inch is visibly significant and adds over 2 gallons of fresh water at once to achieve balance. This was not acceptable to me so I sprang for the Tunze osmolator system with an infrared sensor and a back up switch for overflow. I set it up today and am much happier. The other system had no overflow safety switch and this is FAR more accurate. No worries now. However, it took forever and a ton of spacial intelligence reasoning to put together the holders for the sensors. I had to get very creative for a rimless tank because I like to keep the water as close to the top rim of the tank as possible and the system simply is not designed for that. But, with a multitude of adaptive pieces included in the product I pulled it off. I am very happy with this system and Marine Depot with such a great delivery service and tracking. I could tell within a few hours when it would be at my house! Tomorrow I will do my water tests and post those. Full Steam Ahead!

 

[mattleycrue76]

Congrats on the tank. It looks like you're doing a fine job. I'm envious of your ATO though. That's the one I've been wanting

 

[islandcreation]

Congrats on the tank. I tried reading the thread but was wondering if this had an overflow? I'm thinking it doesn't, correct me if I'm wrong? Just by what you post, here are my suggestions.

1. Take a turkey baster and blow at your live rock.
2. Do a water change right after to get any dead materials from the rock.
3. Cut out your lights (6 hours is a lot, usually cook live rocks in dark tubs with a heater, skimmer and powerhead) unless your looking at the tank but that should be 1-2 hours
4. Wait for 1 month, then add cleaner crew.
5. Wait another 2 weeks with the crew in there, get salifert test kits for (trust this brand and accurate) Alk, calcium, and magnesium.
6. If no refugium get a hang on, makes a world of a diffrence!

***I started off with a nano and worked my way up. Learnt patience is key. Finally worked my way up to a 120 starphire plumbed to the garage. And this all started with a nano ha,ha,ha. Have fun and join a local club, you'll have more fun and more free frags to stock your tank. Trust me!

 

[NC2WA]

Any ideas on how to implement an ATO for a 40g tank in an office? A sump is NOT an option, so I have no idea how this would work.

I am open for suggestions.

thanks
kirk

 

[Klatuso]

I have no sump. My ATO is attached to the rim of my tank and fed by a 5 gallon "sterilite" container from walmart. Here's the link: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8282898

You just hook up the sensors to the rim of your tank and feed the water line into the tank. I have mine feeding into the outflow of my protein skimmer.

Islandcreation: the turkey baster is a great idea. however, I'm not ready or willing to do a water change yet. I'm taking a vacation from the 9th of Sept until the 24th, so I won't add anything until after that date (and a major water change). With the ATO system I'll just have a friend check to make sure the equipment is all operating and to top off the container for my ATO.

Did a water quality check:

Nitrates = 0
Nitrites = 0
Ammonia = 0
PH = 8.2
Phosphate = 0

Temp = 80.4
Salinity = 1.024

Not much change in any of those parameters since I started 2 weeks ago.

The brown algae is dying off. I'm not sure about changing the lights. The lfs recommends just going with 6 - 8 hours of regular lights and riding out the algae blooms.

Oh, and the system has no overflow (since there's no sump and no refugium). I would have trouble fitting a hang on refugium given the rather large Deltec MCE600 skimmer I've got on the back. I could put it on the side and fit the hang on in the back. But, really...what's the need? How much more stable would my system be with this?

 

[NC2WA]

so the air line tube that is attached to the ATO and is going over the rim of the tank goes to where???? the sterlite container or on the skimmer...if the skimmer, where??

I am not visualizing this very well...

thanks
kirk

 

[Klatuso]

There is no air tube. We don't want to add air. We want to add fresh water to the tank to replace the fresh water that evaporates. The salt remains, which is why it's important to add clean fresh water, otherwise the tank gets too salty. You add a sensor to your tank. The sensor "knows" when the water evaporates and adds water until the water in the tank achieves the right level. The sensor is attached to a control box that turns on the pump. The pump is placed in a container with a lot of fresh water --in my case to a five gallon container. The water in the tank drops due to evaporation, the sensor "sees" this and sends a message to the control box to turn on the pump. The pump turns on and fills the tank to the right level --the level the sensor is placed at in the top of the tank. the tank fills with water and this is water you do not need to add. It all happens automatically. The water is added directly to the tank, you don't need a sump, or anything else.

You have one hose. It goes from the container of fresh water to the tank (in my case it goes to the outflow "box" of my protein skimmer, which then flows into my tank. Does this make sense?

 

[NC2WA]

this site actually has a good diagram..makes more sense now.

http://www.seaquestmarine.com/Tunze_Osmolator_Water_Level_Regulator_3155_p/tunze_3155.htm