HDReef Tank

Hai · Oct 6, 2014 9:15:41 pm

Hi guys,

My tank arrived last Friday, it's 56" x 24" x 30".

Hai · Oct 6, 2014 9:26:16 pm

We have the lights sitting on the alluminium rails which rest on the open-hood.
1 Hydra Fifty Two & 2 IT2060s.

Hai · Oct 6, 2014 9:28:09 pm

Here is the closer look at the lights.

Hai · Oct 6, 2014 9:30:53 pm

Hi guys, for some reason the photos are rotated and do not stay in the original orientation ... some photos are up side down

Mike · Oct 6, 2014 9:53:41 pm

Hi, Hai.

That happens sometimes, we've never truly gotten to the bottom of it...

Those lights look great. They'll really light corals up. What are you planning to keep? SPS will look superb under those.

Hai · Oct 6, 2014 10:09:03 pm

Hi i-CONICA,

I am planning to keep mainly SPS with a bit of LPS and zoas, mushroom :)

I have started to fill the tank with RO water since Saturday evening and it has only filled about two third of the main display tank

I have started to add some salts in.

And ... I am still trying to sort out the cabinet, it's a mess! cables everywhere!

Mike · Oct 7, 2014 9:33:02 am

Quote from: Hai on Oct 6, 2014 10:09:03 pm

I have started to add some salts in.

Be sure to keep the salt mixing. Don't let it settle on the bottom, as it'll have super saturated quantities of elements that don't like eachother very much, like calcium and carbonates, so they'll bind into white powder which is annoying.

I'd use powerheads and add the salt bit by bit, if you're not already doing so! :tongue:

Hai · Oct 7, 2014 9:45:03 am

Thank you very much i-CONICA for your advice, yes I am mixing the salt with a powerhead running and I add in bit by bit. I guess the white stuff forms at the bottom could be siphoned out? (I can't see any at the moment)

Mike · Oct 7, 2014 10:14:32 am

The problem with the white stuff, is that it's calcium carbonate, it's formed when alkalinity and calcium are in sufficient levels that the magnesium can no longer keep them separated, and they bind.

The problem with that is that you're left with depleted levels of alk and cal, as some of it was used making the calcium carbonate - which is essentially coral skeleton, in powder form!

It won't make a difference as you won't have corals, etc initially which need high levels of calcium and alkalinity, and water changes will replenish any lost levels before you get corals in there.

The white stuff (calcium carbonate) will slowly dissolve again, but it might take days to weeks, and so I wouldn't worry about trying to remove it.

If you can't see any white powder, then you mixed properly so nothing to worry about anyway. :cool:

Hai · Oct 7, 2014 10:15:42 am

Hi i-CONICA, when the tank and sump filled up and the salt mixed in, should I wait for 24 hours before adding the sand in?

Mike · Oct 7, 2014 10:28:15 am

There's no need to wait before adding sand.

Some say you should wait 24 hours before using brand new synthetic salt water with livestock, as it's purported that the chemistry is swinging all over the place until it finds a balance, although there's a lot of people who use it as soon as it clears!

If you bought live sand, it's only going to have a bacterial population, which isn't sensitive enough to chemistry swings to be a problem.

I'd add the sand as soon as the water clears. It'll murky the water anyway for a few days, as substrate is always dusty, even if it's wet "live" sand.

Hai · Oct 7, 2014 10:32:32 am

Thank you i-CONICA, I will wash the sand with RO water tonight when I get back home then add it in the tank.

I am trying to run the system using Zeovit method ... very worried ... :undecided:

Mike · Oct 7, 2014 11:02:55 am

Is the sand dry now? If so, it'll be very dusty. If it's the stuff that's sold as "live" sand, it ships wet, so I wouldn't wash it in RO as you'll kill the bacteria and bugs it's supposed to contain.

Quote from: Hai on Oct 7, 2014 10:32:32 am

I am trying to run the system using Zeovit method ... very worried ... :undecided:

In that case you'll want to get it as clean as possible, I'd soak it in RO over night, change the RO and soak again, stirring occasionally. As you're trying to establish the system with as low nutrients as possible from the outset. :)

Hai · Oct 7, 2014 11:07:15 am

Thanks i-CONICA, I'll do as per your advice :)

Hai · Oct 9, 2014 12:05:48 am

Washing and soaking the aragonite overnight ...

HDReef Tank

HDReef Tank

HDReef Tank

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