CalmSeasQuest

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Originally Posted by creefer

Nice work, Tom. Let me know if you ever need a hand. I'm pretty close and happy to help.

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Thanks Chris, I'm hoping to have a target date for the tank being delivered in about a week :)

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Originally Posted by binford4000

That master flex pump is sweet! Looking really good ! Where did you find the masterflex pumps? Your idea really has me thinking.

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Thanks Chuck, I picked up a few of them on eBay some years ago. They are very expensive new, but deals often show up on ebay.

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Originally Posted by Coral Frenzy

Great Build! Good to see you back!

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Thanks, it's great to be back :)

We're making water :)

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I filled both tanks and to my surprise, had only a couple of small leaks (fixed.) I'm elated as this was my first attempt at hard plumbing. Everthing seems to function as intended so far. I'm impressed with the Waveline 12000 - it moves an incredible amount of water and is very quiet. One small problem - I had to use raw well water to leak test the tanks which contains a fair amount of precipitated iron. I need to get the tanks and lines rinsed as soon as I've got about a 100 gallons of water made.

There is still lots to do, but at least I'm able to start making water. Next will be,

Rinse the inside of the tanks as soon as I've got enough water. I have a second, 75GDP Dow Filmtec RO membrane that I may try adding to increase the output. I'm pretty lucky, my RO running at 100 PSI generates 1 TDS water to the DI resin, so I think the second membrane will work

Fill the stock tank and start soaking the Pukani (need to get this done so I can use the tank to transfer the existing livestock.)

Clean up all the water and power line runs and run an Aquabus cable so I can gain control of the E8B

Run the Fill/Drain line (a single 3/4" line will both fill and drain the tank), CWC and ATO lines upstairs

I still have to decide on the automation. For the RO tank, A latching valve arrangement is tough as I can't get at the bottom of the tank. I'll probably use a simple float valve tied to the Apex. Turning on the RO once every couple weeks or so for just long enough to top off the tank. The Kalk/ATO tank is a bit trickier. I don't think a float or optical sensor will work well as a hard crust forms on the surface of the water. In addition, vinegar has to be added with each fill. For the time being, I'll probably just fill it manually. It should be a weekly item and only requires opening a single valve. I've got a bunch of BRS top-off and dosing pumps on hand - I'll work on automating the top off and vinegar add once everything else is done :)

I installed the second RO membrane. With ~310TDS softened, working water, it's now producing about 150 GPD, but the RO product water did increase to 3TDS. I'm shocked it's working as well as it is - in fact, I assumed the inline TDS meters might have been wrong but my hand-held provided the same results. I'll gladly accept the 3TDS as the SpectraPure SilcaBuster and MaxCap DI resin works very well.

Here's a quick video showing the flow on the Waveline DC12000 running at full-output. This is looking down through the cover on one of the 200 gallon tanks (~7' head) with 1 1/4" plumbing...

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http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/...l/DSC_3762.mp4

The RO/DI is cranking out 0TDS water at the rate of about 150GPH, but I'm hearing new noises emanating from the boost pump. It's an older pump and likely due to be rebuilt/replaced. I'm also concerned that it might be out-drawing the 1/4" feed coming from the saddle valve.

I decided to order a new Aquatronic 8800 boost pump, pressure switch and solenoid that will cut the flow of water to the system when the pump is de-energized. I'm also adding a second saddle valve which will be T'd into the supply side of the RO/DI.

A float at the top of the RO storage tank will turn off the pump and cut the water supply to the RO/DI. Once I determine the evaporation rates and fill times required, I'll use the Apex to manage the pump on/off days and run times of the pump as a fail-safe.

Happiness is having 400 gallons of RO/DI available at the turn of a valve :)

I'm waiting on a few more parts to complete the plumbing upstairs to the tank area. My plan is to run a single 3/4" line with a couple valves such that it can be used to both fill, and drain the tank.

I took a break from working on the saltwater station and turned my focus to prepping the live rock I have on hand. I considered using Muriatic acid to dissolve the outer layer of the rock (hopefully including the bound phosphates), but the weather here makes that more difficult...

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-5F and 15"+ of snow presents a challenge working the rock outside.

So instead, I put the ~100lbs of Pukani and some BRS reef saver I had on hand in the stock tank with 20:1 RO/bleach solution, a heater set to 82F and one of the new WP25's I just received to keep the water moving.

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I used a few pieces of acrylic I had on hand left over from prior projects to minimize evaporation and keep the bleach fumes contained...

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I'll bleach it for a few days, then empty the tank, rinse - then refill with saltwater. I ordered Lanthanum Chloride (SeaKlear) to help reduce what I'm sure will be a ton of Phosphates that leach from the Pukani.

Once complete, I'll transfer the rock into Brutes to continue the curing/make live process while I move my existing livestock to the stock tank.

Love watching your builds :)


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Originally Posted by MizTanks

Love watching your builds :)

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Thanks Jamie - I love having you along for the ride :)

---------- Post added at 05:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:17 PM ----------

Skimmer ordered :big_grin:

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BK Double Cone 250 RD3

Wow thats thing is sweet!

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Originally Posted by pinhigh1886

Wow that thing is sweet!

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Thanks Pinhigh - I'm excited to see it, it ships tomorrow. I'm glad I made the sump skimmer section large (24" X 20") as the BK is HUGE.

I installed the new RO booster pump, pressure switch, solenoid and second water feed...

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/...112_082346.jpg

I'm really pleased at how well it's producing. With 100PSI across the membranes, I've got ~310TDS softened well water being reduced to ~2TDS by the RO and cranked out at ~150 GPD. The Spectrapure MaxCap and Silica Buster DI resins should last many hundreds of gallons.

I finished bleaching the rock, now I'm trying vinegar to dissolve a bit of the exterior layer. It's not as effective as Muriatic acid, but I can deal with it inside. I'm debating on ordering a bit more rock from BRS or perhaps Marco as I also need more Thorite.

I also finished pressure-testing the storage tanks and manifold - Topped off with 400 gallons - No Leaks :)

I use the same BRS RO/DI system. Are you using the color changing DI resin? If so how often did you have to change it to make 400 gallons? Where did you get those water storage containers.

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