Rebuild and recovery of a dead tank

[jason2459]

Looks like I now have triplets.

[jason2459]

I finally got around to setting up the two other Spectrapure pumps for the AWC. Almost didn't do it tonight as I didn't really want to fiddle around with it and expected it to be a lot harder then it was but reading the manual first was key to that I think. After skimming through that the setup was really easy. What made it take a long time was running the pumps for 20 minutes each not in parallel as only one could run at a time to break them as as they were both new.

After that I just took all the tubing from the Stenner and hooked them up to the two spectrapure pumps. The main litermeter controller pump is setup to pull the old water from the sump to the drain. Then the remote unit on port B of the controller is setup to pull new saltwater to the sump.

Getting the two pumps calibrated was really easy as long as my measuring to 500ml was close to accurate. That's the part I didn't have to do with the stenner. The main head unit is running at 194ml/m and the remote pump is running at 162ml/m. Then I have it set to do 8 liters per day. Which I guess it does that spread out over 150 times through out the day. It also doesn't run both pumps at the same time but will run pump A first and then will run pump B and if there's a pump C would run that one.

I still have multiple failsafes on top of failsafes to try and make sure the new saltmixing container doesn't run dry or the sump isn't overfilled or pumped dry as well.

I guess this is where most of the complexity comes in and was or is there regardless of what pump or pumps I'm using.

So, to recap what I have in place:

The remote pump is plugged into the liter meter III controller which is then plugged into an ATI tsunami water level by pressure controlled outlet which is my last ditch sump ultra high water mark and is never submerged so no growths or critters can interfere with it.

Plugged up and out of the way of any water catastrophes


Tube to deliver the water pressure to the pressure switched outlet zip tied to a drain.



Which then that is plugged into a piggy back plugged controlled by a large tethered float switch in the new salt mix to make sure it doesn't run dry



The large float switch and that blur of a white thing is the float valve connected to my RODI that I manually turn on but use the float valve as a backup to my memory to shut down the rodi if I don't get to it in time to manually turn it off.



Then that feathered float switches piggy back plug is plugged into a reef keeper controlled outlet. The reef keeper then uses several in sump high and low switches to allow that outlet to be on or off. This is my first line of defense.

The low level is in my return pump chamber and is a dual inline switch setup that is also used for the ATO which the ATO is also plugged into another tsunami at1 outlet for a ultra high safeguard in the return pump section.

Sorry didn't realize this pic was this bad.



Then I have the high level switch connected to a baffle in the middle of the sump. This also won't let the skimmer run if that water level hits that float switch so the skimmer doesn't overflow.

[jason2459]

The ATS is a more consistent light brown across the screen which is consistent with the slower flow allowing for the water to be more evenly spread across the screen.

Day 2

[jason2459]

Not sure if it can be seen in pictures but the ATS screen is a bit darker brown.

Day 3

[jason2459]

I found one issue with using the spectrapure pumps for the automatic water changes. I was used to hearing the Stenner and thinking cool I'm doing a water change. Even at its quietest I could hear it when in the basement. Now I can't hear a thing anywhere.

[jason2459]

The yellow Fiji looking good. One of many looks. Also can see some of the electric blue highlights on the coral beauty.

[jason2459]

Day 4

Looks about the same as day 3

[Floyd R Turbo]

It's kinda like weighing yourself every day...at least, at first

I've seen screen stall out for a week or longer then in the next week, they take off. I'm not saying to stop posting pics, continue to do that - a time lapse progression is great to see. It can also reveal a pattern of progression and then it's really easy to recommend adjustments if needed.

[jason2459]

Thanks for checking in. Yep, just posting the first week or so daily and will probably cut back to weekly for a while until its established. I'll be interested in how long that takes.

[Floyd R Turbo]

No I would keep it up as long as you want. Maybe drop back to every other day or every 3rd day after a while.

[jason2459]

Originally Posted by Floyd R Turbo

No I would keep it up as long as you want. Maybe drop back to every other day or every 3rd day after a while.

Sounds good. I do a spot check everyday anyway in my sump room and the way you have the lights/heatsinks mounted it is extremely easy and quick to undo the thumb screw and take a pic.

[jason2459]

Looks a little lighter today but picture wise looks like day 3, 4, and 5 all about the same.

Day 5

[SpectraPure]

Originally Posted by jason2459

I found one issue with using the spectrapure pumps for the automatic water changes. I was used to hearing the Stenner and thinking cool I'm doing a water change. Even at its quietest I could hear it when in the basement. Now I can't hear a thing anywhere.

That doesn't seem to be an issue to me. Please clarify.

[jason2459]

Originally Posted by SpectraPure

That doesn't seem to be an issue to me. Please clarify.

Its a big plus for the wife. But I miss hearing it. lol

[SpectraPure]

hehe.

[jason2459]

ATS screen looks darker today in person. The pic shows some darker spots.

Day 6



If anything this is helping me keep track of how many days its been. Waiting till day 10 until I rinse it off.

[Floyd R Turbo]

Looks like a hint of green coloration but that could be a camera effect.

The first cleaning is less of a cleaning and more of a fingertip rub (or just a single palm-swipe) and a rinse in really slow running room temp tap water.

[jason2459]

Got it. Is chlorine a concern from the tap?

[Floyd R Turbo]

No, I have never worried about it in the past. At least, it doesn't affect a matured screen, and anything that clings to the screen is pretty negligible.

If you wanted to have peace of mind about both not killing off algae and not introducing any chlorinated water (more important if your muni uses chloramines instead) you can draw a shallow pan of water out of the tank into a flat bottom container like a sterilite storage box and then place the screen in that and just give it a swish and after the palm swipe and you're good.

I read somewhere that marine algae exposed to FW can kill it (something similar to osmotic shock) so cleaning and rinsing in SW is what I recommend for screens that don't want to mature. But the vast majority of the time tap water is fine

[SpectraPure]

Jason lets chat on the phone today at some point. Email me your contact info.

support@spectrapure.com

Jeremy

[jason2459]

Day 7

Not much change today but can see the right side is not getting much if any flow and is still white or at least much lighter

[Floyd R Turbo]

That's typical initially - the water inlet side usually runs a little thin on water coverage because there is no "resistance" yet. As algae fills in the entire screen, you will get a bit more growth at the far end of the pipe where the better flow is, and this will cause a little more backpressure at that end of the screen and force water to flow faster on the inlet side.

After your screen is mature you will still see a bit of this right after cleaning, but the growth will fill in throughout the growth cycle and even out the flow a lot quicker. You won't even notice this in a few months.

[jason2459]

I figured as that's right where the water is entering the screen. Not to worried. I just like to make note of things because I will forget them later. Especially the little details.

[jason2459]

My green BTA has been over in this spot for a while. Largest I've seen it so far. Maybe a split coming?

[jason2459]

Seems like its slimier

Day 8