steve-s Posted September 25, 2006 Report Share Posted September 25, 2006 I must admit, this is why mine is internal, living in a rental property the thought of salt water on someone elses carpet scares me. I used the plastic clips which come with the black poly pipe used for reticulation, they clip down really securely with a pair of pliers. I would think though if you were running it externally then you could use a steel jubilee clip which could be tightened to your hearts content, you may still get some salt creep but I wouldnt think enough to cause actual flow of water. In saying that, I would be game to try it in my house but not in someone elses. Cheers, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted September 25, 2006 Report Share Posted September 25, 2006 Info in SCWD's according the scwd mfr web site: http://www.3iqventures.com/index.html The max gauranteed pressure rating is 5 PSI. The flow rate chart the list only goes so high: Flow into SCWD Switching SCWD Output Efficiency Duration 150 gph 90 gph 60% 22 seconds 180 gph 120 gph 65% 16 seconds 240 gph 180 gph 75% 12 seconds 270 gph 210 gph 80% 10 seconds 330 gph 240 gph 80% 9 seconds 400 gph 360 gph 90% 7 seconds 600 gph 540 gph 90% 5 seconds 720 gph 660 gph 90% 4 seconds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted September 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2006 Thanks for that info guys, i am pretty keen to get one, maybe later once i get the rock in etc. Onto the rock... Im gunna need about 10 (ish) kilos of rock.... I dont want to buy it dead and cycle it, i want it live :lol: I thought the LFS sold it live (the lady told me they did until i rang and asked again and said no :evil: ) So i now need to buy it from somewhere else. Anybody here got any live rock for sale?? If you do, could you please PM me how much you want per kilo.... Im presuming live rock can be shipped??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-s Posted September 27, 2006 Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 Hi Rogan, Doesn't matter what type of rock you buy you will need to cycle the tank, if the rock is cured (or has been stored out of water for sometime) then you may need to manually start the cycle (drop a raw prawn in the tank) where as if the rock is full of life (come from a stable reef tank or straight out of the ocean) then the cycle may start on it's own as a result of any die-off which has occured in the transfer from stable tank to new tank. Either way the cycle still needs to happen otherwise the bacteria required to break down detrius (uneaten food and poo) will not be present - as soon as you add livestock/food then a cycle will start anyway putting stress on your livestock and potentially killing them. In my experience you can take rock + water & substrate from an existing tank and transfer this into a new tank (essentially a tank move), this will cause a smaller cycle which is just to recorrect any imbalance from one system to the next but technically it is still a cycle, sometimes it's small enough so that it doesnt affect livestock too adversely. Cheers, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted September 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 Hi steve, thanks sooo much for that info. I have found 1 LFS (not realy local though cos its 40 minutes drive away) which sells live rock, but at $15.50 a kilo!! So im not going to go buy 10 kilos of the stuff anytime soon :lol: so What i have decided to do is buy 2 ish KG's from the shop, then buy another 3 ish Kg of 'dead' rock from the shop. The live rock will give the tank some 'life' and seed the 'dead' rock into a cycle. If i did this, aproximately how long would it take to be ready for corals/fish?? I know i will have to buy test kits to know for sure, but an aproximate time would help me alot. Another couple questions: How will i get the 'live' rock from the shop to my house without killing the 'life' in it (ie. Bristleworms and stuf) Those are the things i want to be in it but surely they cant go without water for 40 minutes..... Would the shop give me some of their water in a poly box with the rock so it stayed sweet? Also, One of the *local* LFS has bags of 'dead' coral rock for sale for $15. It is a mixture of lots of little pieces of rock about 5-6 cm in length, and all different shapes, if i bought some of this and piled it up, would it seed quicker because the are smaller pieces or would it not change....? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-s Posted September 27, 2006 Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 The rule of thumb is generally 4-6 weeks sometimes less, sometimes more, the longer the better really. This is a pretty good article on setting up a new tank: http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/tanksetup.html It's not the only way to do it but it does give a detailed process to follow. Dont worry about transporting the rock, wrapping it in wet newspaper can help if it is out of the water for a long period but generally it should be fine for a couple of hours unwrapped. The longer it is out of water then the greater the die-off will be. When I lived in Australia I was lucky and had live rock collectors within driving distance from home but there were people on the eastern coast of Australia who would get WA rock shipped over, thats 4 hours on a plane plus probably another couple of hours sitting at airports with no problems. The way I understand it is that live rock is made up of old coral skeletons, these skeletons are like a sponge and have holes running all the way through them, these holes give the rock a huge amount of porus surface area for the required bacteria and organisms to live. I wouldnt think that multiple smaller pieces of rock would give you any measurable advantage over 1 big piece for example. I would like to hear others opinions of this though. Cheers, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted September 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2006 thanks for the info steve. I was guna go buy a couple KG's of rock the other day but the LFS that toldme they sold it, didnt have any. Im going on a little road trip to buy some on saturday though.... I got my skimmer today aswell!!!! Thanks shaneo!! but i have problems..... :lol: I put the skimmer on the tank just to have a look at what it did. I set it all up how i thought it would go then turned the pump on, with my hand still holding the plug so i could pull it out if i needed to.... FAST!!! Anyway, The skimmer started filling with water and i just watched it, then it kept filling with water and i still watched it, then the water started flopping out of the top 'cone' part and into the collection cup and i thought... 'hmmmm, im sure the water isnt meant to be in there... So i kept it going and watched it and it just kept filling untill the water was pouring out the top of the collection cup :lol: So i turned it off.... I seem to remember reading about how you adjust the collection cup by moving it up and down so i had a bit of a fiddle and took the cup up as far as i could and it did the same thing.... I have searched the net but cant seem to find anything about how they work..... Am i right in thinking that the water level should be just below the top of the 'cone' part inside the collection cup...?? Any diagrams on how the hell this thing works will be great :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneo Posted September 30, 2006 Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 Pm'd you, I cleaned it out so it needs to slime back up. Took me a good day to get it settled. Probably filled the cup a half doz times. Have you read up on any books, they usually cover skimmers ect. Make sure the airline is fully open, even take the screw top off the air inlet to allow max air input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneo Posted September 30, 2006 Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 I found the skimmer worked best once settled with the water one third up the cone part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted October 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 hi shaneo How can i adjust how high the water goes up the cone?? Do i move the cup up and down?? Another Update: I still havent got around to getting the rock because i went to Ohope with my mates for the weekend instead :lol: SO, Im going to go get the rock tomorrow morning. Im going to buy 2-3 kg's of 'live' rock and then maybe 1-2 KG's 'dead' I have the 1200 LPH powerhead going, the HOB filter going (which i am buying carbon for tomoro) and the HOB skimmer in place, the heater going and the water in, now i just need to buy the rock and let it get going for a couple days then put the skimmer on which will give me another 1000 or so LPH aswell.... Its coming along well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PENEJANE Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Great to hear Evil. I don't know if I done a silly thing or not this morning but for the last two days I have been slowly adjusting a solid black lyretail molly fry from fresh water to full salt water. Added it to the tank this morning and so far so good. Swimming about and having a look see. Looks quite neat with it being soo small. Hoping to get my new camera soon. Tried out the Sony H5 and WOW its neat. The macro mode is awesome. I could zoom right in and actualy focus on my finger print as well as the tiny arse dimond in my engagementring hehe. Can't wait to see pics of your setup Evil. Keep it up :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneo Posted October 2, 2006 Report Share Posted October 2, 2006 Yea you can move the collection cup up the main chamber untill it settles down, but make sure it it gets into its proper spot asap before any spills happen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted October 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2006 Right, i have 3.5 KG of live rock in the tank, and 2 KG of 'dead' rock waiting to be put in the tank. So far So Good I will try get some pictures up in a couple days.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 Do you have anything living in the tank?? i.e. fish, corals etc? If not why don't you chuck the dead rock in now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted October 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 Do you have anything living in the tank?? i.e. fish, corals etc? If not why don't you chuck the dead rock in now? nah no fish or anything.... The dead rock is in there.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted October 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 rock is starting to turn a little bit brown in places which im guessing is just diatoms.. I bought a little bit of coral sand today and chucked it in the tank, looks quite nice. I also got my 1kg of carbon i bought from petplanet (Thanks Petplanet )today, so will put some in a stocking in the HOB filter in a sec, just to keep it clean & clear (and under control :lol: ) Will try get some pics ASAP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 which im guessing is just diatoms yep sure will be, get ready for the 'tank of brown' at least it doesn't last too long, the 'tank of green' will show up soon! :lol: :evil: :lol: :evil: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted October 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 yep sure will be, get ready for the 'tank of brown' at least it doesn't last too long, the 'tank of green' will show up soon! :lol: :evil: :lol: :evil: Uh yea cant wait Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PENEJANE Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 yeah the tank of green is right lol mine almost looked fluro green! haha. Added another light the other week and things are taking off nicely. Molly is still alive so that has to be a good sign. I got an 18watt and a 13watt lights on there now which gives me just over 4watts per gallon (7g) so its got to be a little better than the 13watt and I have to say it looks a lot nicer to. Can't wait to see some pics of your setup evil. Keep up the good work. The dark side is so much fun hehe :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted October 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 yea, i cant wait to get through the cycle and put some mushys in :lol: BUT, i will be patient and do it when i can, dont want to do it too soon and kill anything.... I tested my freshwater tanks with my freshwater master test kit just before and realise that the nitrite test kit can also be used for saltwater so i gave the tank a quick test and it came up with nitrites of 2ppm.... I think this means that i am around halfway through the cycle..?? Am i right to think that the ammonia spikes, then the nitrite spikes them the nitrate spikes and then it is about done?? i think that is what i read, but cant realy remember and cant be bothered reading ATM :lol: I just need to get the F$%&*# skimmer going next, it just wont work!! i know i have to let it settle in and build up crap but i cant see that ever happening. The water just flows straight over the top of the cone into the cup, and the cup is full within 10 seconds, i am thinking of maybe trying it with a smaller pump for a while, until i somehow figure something out... Another thing i tried is putting a small airpump blowing into the venturi to get some more air into it as it seems that there isnt enough air flowing in.... That plan didnt change anything The pump that came with it is a 1100 LPH pump so might try find a 700-800 LPH pump and see what happens...... EDIT: i need to get some test kits for the tank so i am thinking of buying this... good idea?? EDIT AGAIN: oh, and pics will definately be here by monday night, if not earlier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneo Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 Mate I had that skimmer going the day before I sent it :-? Maybe I need to do a road trip to set it up for you :lol: Do you have the venturi cap closed? Take the cap off completely untill it settles. Think I have the box under the house I'll go have a look and send you the manual. Dont downgrade the pump!! I was going to put a gruntier pump on it. I think the problem is with the air flow to the pump, check its not blocked and is plumbed right. Txt me if you need to 021 122 9401 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted October 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 hmmmmmmmm yea i thought the air flow wasnt sufficient so put an air pump on it but it didnt change much... I probably just have it wrong somehow... I will try again in the morning... Maybe I need to do a road trip to set it up for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 The cycle goes ammonia, around 2 weeks, nitrite around another 4 weeks, or 6 weeks total, or thereabouts. You can then start stocking. Nitrate takes a lot longer to start getting reduced properly, could be 6 months give or take a few months. But nitrate is more easily tolerated by most organisms so at first you can just control it with water changes if need be. Something wrong with your skimmer perhaps the way you have it set up. When you do the pics how about one or two of the skimmer so we can diagnose it for you. The test kit seems like a good deal although I didn't see the brand. Once the tank is up & running the basic kits you need are nitrate, calcium and alkalinity, pretty hard to do things right without those three. You may also want to have ammonia and nitrite although once things are running right you will seldom if ever use them, just if something goes wrong. Some brands of test kit are a little unreliable, many of us consider Salifert a good brand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneo Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 I did scrub it clean so it will need to settle back in. How many hours have you had it running? It took me a half day of empting full cups for it to settle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted October 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 thanks for that info wasp. i might buy that test kit soon.... and i will definately get some pics of the skimmer aswell... Shaneo... i must admit, the longest i have had it on would of been about 10 minutes, but that was on and then off about 50 trillion times, emptying the cup.... I know that i need to empty the cup heaps but not this much... it fills up sooo fast that i dont think it settling in will ever stop it... i think i might have to just fiddle with the cup height and the amount of air etc.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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