drauka

Got most of the plumbing done this weekend. Picture doesn't show it but the return pumps are connected with vinyl hose to dampen vibrations. 2018-05-14_07-06-41 by drauka99, on Flickr

Says the guy with how many guppie tanks in his house?

I have a MP40 I am looking to sell, no need for any other powerheads. Its been upgraded with a QD wetside and controller. Price is $250. Also have a Gen2 (horizontal controller layout) MP40 that needs a wetside. (Is up-gradable to a QD controller as well) I'd part with for $150.

Turned out the glass shop got the holes perfect. Was able to bulkhead the tanks together with no pressure.

yup, went ahead and had the local glass shop handle the drilling since I needed a bunch of glass cut as well. sump and refugium are drilled and did a water test last night. both passed. Need to get them plumbed together and the rest of the plumbing done and get this beast full of water.

Thanks, Got the Apex running to make sure its stable and operating correctly for a few days before I start programming all the outlets. Only have the temp probes hooked up for now. One is measuring the water temp in the mixing vat I have beside the sump area, the other is the room temp. (One thing that hasn't been made very open by Neptune is that the temp probe works just as well out of water as it does in. I like this because i can set an alert if the room temp gets high, like if the AC goes out) There will be 2 more EB-8's as well as a VDM module under the tank for powerheads and light control.

2018-04-29_11-33-03 by drauka99, Got some stuff mounted.

Looking Good

ill take the second one from the bottom

Only answer I can give you is, as close to 0 as you can get. In my thought process, its not the TDS that's the issue, its WHAT the TDS is that's the issue. Imagine 2 people with has a TDS reading of 5, in one case the 5 is 3 parts boron and 2 parts phosphates. He has corals growing out of his ears, and perhaps a bit of algae issue. The other fella, well his 5ppm is all 5 part copper..... he can't grow a single coral and copper sensitive fish seem to die in his system, but the ones that live never seem to get ich or other parasites. All you know is that TDS is 5ppm, it could be almost anything and could change at any time. That's why we shoot for 0, then add good quality salt mixes and supplements to create a safe water for our tank inhabitants.

Sounds like its time for some new filters. 34 is very good. I was happy when I saw 74 up in the boonies where I live now. Valparaiso was in the 120-140 range, which is not bad compared to some systems up north.

Figured it was time for some updates. Progress has been slow but it has started moving now and a plan has come together. Plumbing was causing me some headaches since the fish room is beside the tank, not behind it which is ideal. I also wanted the sump up off the floor in the fish room so that added to the plumbing fight. I think I have it all straight now. Here is the plan for the sump stand received_10215510248686634 by drauka99, on Flickr this will hold a 40 breeder refugium and a custom 125 (dimension not standard) sump, like this received_10215510046761586 by drauka99, on Flickr the three red pipes are the drains from the display tank, obviously they will be routed down into the refugium. I am currently waiting on a drill bit to get the sump and refugium drilled for them to be connected together. received_10215546285187524 by drauka99, on Flickr I added a few more filler "legs" under the stand after this picture was taken, as well as cleaned up the tank. I also came up with a plan for the Apex to be mounted above the sump on the wall with a layout of all of the modules. I worked on that some this weekend. received_10215614953024177 by drauka99, on Flickr One thing you might notice, 2 return modules. I decided to go with 2 of the Varios 8 pumps instead of just one and splitting it. Mainly for redundancy and head loss. received_10215617421085877 by drauka99, on Flickr

Never used one but from what I have read, go slow

Good deal, You can try supplementing with kalk now if that's still the wish. Just mix it in your top off reservoir and make sure the ato line is in an area of high flow away from corals and fish. (and heaters too, my personal preference)

Sounds like an ok plan. 10 is not bad for nitrates though. and .02 for phosphates is about where lots of people try to keep theirs With the numbers you are describing I would not fool with the MarinePure. You may wish to look into vinegar dosing instead of vodka same premise as vodka , mainly because it is not as potent and could be easier to dial in your dose.