Let the Water Flow!

We now have salt water flowing in the tank!  The "groundbreaking" first bucket of water went in on 24 Aug 2014.

Cycling

I've been dosing ammonia for a few days now to kick-start the "fishless" cycle.  From my research, I believe this is the cheapest, cleanest, safest, fastest  method of cycling a tank.  I purchased "Old Country Ammonia All Purpose Cleaner" from Home Hardware, it seemed to be the only product readily available that is appropriate for the job.  "Contains no phosphates or fragrances", and it passes the shake test for surfactant, no foam.  On Home Hardware's website, it claims "pure ammonia", but I'm not sure what the concentration is, and I can't find the MSDS on it.  I sent CP Industries Ltd. (the manufacturer) an email.  2 capfuls takes my system to ~1ppm.  I'll pick up a nitrite test kit soon.

Update: Those guys are fast I had the MSDS 16 minutes later.

Link - MSDS

Plumbing

I decided to modify the plumbing slightly to reduce the sound of the Fluval SP4 return pump.  I have now connected a length of 3/4" vinyl tube which eliminates 99% of the vibration before it hits the PVC.  The low frequency hum is history.  I also replaced the simple ball valve with a true union which is much smoother and easier to adjust, and now I definitely don't need a gate valve, which I had been considering.

Sump

I have temporarily reduced the output of the SP4, until I can solve the problem of the noisy sock hole.  A rough experiment seems to put the limit of the sock chamber at 150 GPH for silent operation.   It would be nice if I could directly measure the flow in GPH.  I guess I could place the main siphon output directly into the sock,  but that would kinda defeat the purpose of the drain chamber.

I shortened the main siphon slightly so the outlet is just barely covered.  This has significantly shortened the full siphon start-up time.  I can probably raise my emergency a bit.

There is some pukani in the fuge chamber.

Noise levels

The overflow is awesome.  At max flow it doesn't make a sound, Bean Animal overflow highly recommended.  It does what it advertises.

It is hard to find equipment noise comparisons online.  Vague terms such as "very quiet" and hyperbole such as "silent" abound.  I will attempt to give you an idea of the sound levels of my kit.

I downloaded an app for my Nexus 7 called "Sound Meter".  Although it has limitations and I can't verify its calibration, it seems to work pretty good.  It gives you readings in decibels. So sitting directly in front of my system 2 feet away:

Fluval SP4 return pump - 52 db
Bubble Magus Curve 5 skimmer - 48 db
Vortech MP40 powerhead continuous max - 46 db
Combined - 52 db (If I turn down the MP40 a bit then 50 db)
Opposite side of the room - 47db
Common room fan - 83 db
The equipments have different frequencies so when everything is on, it "sounds" louder because it sounds "busier".

The paneling for the stand reduces sound level by ~2 db

So then this puts the system slightly louder than my fridge, way quieter than my dishwasher or microwave.  The fan in my gaming laptop sounds like dust buster at full speed.  The Bubble Magus Curve 5 skimmer is reputed to be a very quiet skimmer so I guess we are doing alright sound level wise.

Lighting

A pair of Radion XR15w Pros have arrived.  I don't have a mounting solution yet, gonna put something cheap together to get them up and running.  I've looked at the RMS, and don't think the arms will mount to my tank.  Perhaps when a 4 foot rail comes available I can mount it spanwise.  Maybe there will be a demo unit at FRAGFEST on Sunday.

Stand

Working on the stand paneling.  Going to try sanded 1/4" fir plywood, reinforced with molding and a foam insulation backing for noise reduction.  Most of the noise reflects off the wall but it will help a bit.  Strip magnets hold things in place.

New Arrivals

We had shipped in a pair of Black Ice Snowflake Ocellaris Clownfish as our first tank inhabitants.  They are 9-12 months old, about 1.25" long.  Danny and Sandy (we don't know which yet) are currently living happily in the quarantine tank, and seem active, hungry and healthy.  At $50 each I thought is was a good deal.

What is on my rock?

I noticed these red spots while the rock was in the bin curing, and noticed them again once it was placed in the display.  The pukani arrived bone dry, cured for 10.5 weeks, was dried and stored for a month.  Could it be something growing? Or, is it just some minerals or something?

That's all for now.