210g Build Thread....

[wantvws]

Well the big question is that you are coming from a Well, which in which you could have all kinds of other dissolved solids. Did they test for anything other than the basic 4? IE Did they test for Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium or any other metals? I know that here locally wells have an issue with arsenic as well.. Not saying your gonna have a problem, but the potential does exist.

Congrats on getting it going though and make sure you test your wet/dry several times.. Its a good thing that you haven't had an overflow yet, but I made a slight miscalc and overflowed mine.. :eek3:

I believe we had our water tested when we moved in to our house about 9 years ago (my wife worked for a water softener company at the time) and I don't remember the results, but I remember there wasn't anything alarming as far as our health. Not sure about aquarium health, though....maybe I'll have it checked again..albeit a little late.
I have close to an inch to the top of the tank, so I don't think I have a danger of an overflow if I lose siphon. I'm more worried about killing the pump or leaky fittings or something...
Robbie

 

[Slappy*McFish]

Looks great and I'm sure you'll have lots of fun with it.
Test your well water for nitrates, copper, and phosphates. If everything checks out fine, then don't worry about it. I'm using tap water, myself. My tap has '0 to undetectable' levels of nitrate, phosphate, and copper. It has very little KH and GH and comes out of the tap at a pH of 7.5 that gasses off at a pH of 6.5.

 

[wantvws]

Robbie: you did not make a hughe mistake, just means that you might want to do some additional testing to determine what is in the water. You have your canister filter...does it have carbon in it?

I have the micron filter in it now to clear out the floating junk...boy did it work! I thought about putting the charcoal filter in it....should I? I thought I had read somewhere that the charcoal can work a little too well and take out some of the necessary trace elements. I guess it depends on what is in my water.
Would it hurt to run the charcoal canister most of the time and the micron filter when the tank is cloudy? I really want to run the canister all the time for the added circulation.
Thanks for the nice comments...it's nice that people are watching my progress to see how it goes. It actually helps me not procrastinate, for fear of public humiliation.
Robbie

 

[clown-lover]

I wouldn't run the charcol until your cycle is complete. In fact I wouldn't run anything for filter other than your wet dry until your cycle is complete.

 

[Grins]

I agree with that.

 

[Tikidude]

Robbie it is so exciting to see your tank with water in it. I have been following your progress and it is great fun to watch.

I agree with the wet/dry running only during the cycle. You don't want any more filtration than necessary. Just add your ammonia and let nature take its course.

I love the idea of the nautical accessories in the room. With the blue on the walls and the tank I think that will be beautiful.

Great work. Keep it up!

 

[Almondsaz]

How did the first night go with the water running?

 

[wantvws]

How did the first night go with the water running?

Went great. The temperature is right at 79-80 (I need a digital thermometer). The level in the wet/dry filter stayed right where it should...but I still got up and checked it several times (I've often wondered if I got a little OCD). I am going to do my first water tests and then start adding ammonia. Then I guess I'll test it tomorrow and see if I need to add more ammonia or not...I'm not sure how much to add for about 170g of water.
Anyone ever ordered live rock from Premium Aquatics? Looks like a decent price...about $5/lb (depending) vs $8/lb from my LFS.
And the LED moonlights on my light hood are the coolest!
Thanks!
Robbie

 

[wantvws]

Robbie it is so exciting to see your tank with water in it. I have been following your progress and it is great fun to watch.

I agree with the wet/dry running only during the cycle. You don't want any more filtration than necessary. Just add your ammonia and let nature take its course.

I love the idea of the nautical accessories in the room. With the blue on the walls and the tank I think that will be beautiful.

Great work. Keep it up!

Thanks! We really wanted the tank to blend with the room (as much as a 210g tank can) and not have it look like we plopped it down in our dining room. The next big thing we want to get is a couple of hammock chairs from Nags Head Hammocks. When we have everything in place I'll post a couple of pics.
Robbie

 

[clown-lover]

Anyone ever ordered live rock from Premium Aquatics? Looks like a decent price...about $5/lb (depending) vs $8/lb from my LFS.
Robbie

There is a guy I know from RC that lives in Thief River Falls that is going to place an order there in the next couple of days and just raves about the quality of their rock. I'm down for 20 lbs and may switch out some of my stuff to the sump if this is better. He used to live like 20 miles away from them and said its the best stuff he ever saw. Now he's never had it shipped b/4 but I trust him completely.