Algae is starting to climb back, I'm not really phased by it really. I stopped the Excel dosing once I got the shrimp. I guess I could go at a reduced rate and see what happens... Or I can buy some shades for that window blasting the tank with sunlight each day

Other news, shrimp keepers would understand. Hydra have taken residence, so I'll mix up a fenbendazole solution and dose the tank. I'm going to ensure all plants I receive from now on get a good shot of fenbendazole prior to me adding them to the tank, I hate having to dose meds into my tanks

For anyone curious on fenbendazole dosing for Hydra, here is how I successfully do it with no significant impact on pest snails, and no impact at all on shrimp:

Safegaurd fenbendazole, 1 gram "dissolved" in 100mL's RO water.

Shake well to suspend any undissolved medication. Dosing rate is 0.1 grams per 10 gallons (10mL's of solution per 10 gallons of aquarium water).

Dose directly into the tank - dose a second time 12 hours later - dose a third time 24 hours later - perform a water change after another 24 hours if you want.

If you still see some Hydra hanging on 24 hours after the third dose, dose a 4th time, but I've never had to.

Keep some solution around for dipping new plants prior to adding them to the tank if you want.

What I've accumulated over the holidays.

SpectraPure RO unit w/ auto shut off kit.
27L ADA Amazonia V2.
Substrate additives.
Transfer pump for water changes.
10lb CO2 tank.
American Marine Pinpoint CO2 regulator (they shipped me a Milwaukee, so mine is still in the mail).
CO2 tubing / Check valves.
Glass intake / output with surface skimmer.



Things will start to pickup once our current lockdown regulations are lifted, it's hard to find suitable water storage and plumbing parts exclusively online (all non-essential businesses are completely closed to the public, online shopping or curbside p/u only for a month).

Things I'll grab over the next few weeks / months:

Water storage system.
Dwyer flow meter.
T5 tube inventory.
Glass intake / output pipes (for the other filters).

Hopefully everything goes smoothly!

And so it begins!!

What size tank is this all for?

Sounds like a great set up, and you are leaving no stone unturned!

I am really looking forward to seeing where this goes.

Getting excited to follow this one along!

I recently moved and found a new job that is home office based, so I furnished a home office for myself, and couldn't help but stare
at an empty 55 gallon I had. This hardware is for that tank for now.

I don't think I'll ever want to run a 6' high tech tank in the near future, but a larger 4' tank would be manageable. I'm going to use this 55 gallon with standard black trim as a building block to gain all the hardware needed to run a 4' tank. Eventually I would like a rimless tank 48" x 20" x 20" or a custom rimless tank 48"L x 24"W x 20" / 22" tall, but those are pricey. So, by using this "free" 55 gallon to gain all the equipment needed for a 4' tank, the sticker price won't hurt as much when I'm ready to upgrade to a larger fancier tank!

I can use this time to cut my teeth again with an active substrate, gain more experience with a high light larger tank etc. etc. all while building up assets I can further use in the future, all while enjoying the plants, shrimp and fish!

I've been using a low quality regulator atop a paintball CO2 for my entire aquaria career, this is my first time with a "real" CO2 system, super exciting for me!

I've always slung 5 gallon pails for water changes, now I'll have a dedicated RO water change system setup in the basement with a feed line directly to the tank, super exciting for me!

I've always used inert substrates (except for a brief stint with a 10 gallon tank in University where I used Fluval Stratum incorrectly), now I'll have a larger tank with a nice quality active substrate, super exciting for me!

I've always kept my tanks away from popular areas of the house, either stuffed away in my bedroom when I lived with my folks, or in my basement / spare rooms in my own house, now I'll have a tank front and center to me every single day, super exciting!

As you can see I'm really looking forward to setting up this tank. I'm planning on having the exact plants, shrimp, fish, equipment, tank, stand etc. etc. that I've always wanted. But, I'm going to take my time, read into journals on here (I've already started that), make notes, plan things out correctly, and not rush straight into this.

That's a LOT of super excited!!

I am excited for you too.

My tank is also in what was intended as a home office. Now it's just a relax and watch the tank room.

I do think there is something to having it where it is easily observable. There is extra motivation to keep everything in top notch condition, plus you get to enjoy it more.

Keep the updates coming!

RO was installed last night, I wasn't planning on fully setting it up but once I cut into my water supply I guess there was no turning back now!

I bypassed the DI cartridge at the end, and I flushed out the sediment filter and carbon filter until it ran clear and then flushed a little more to be safe, hooked up the line to the RO membrane and the pressure gauge read 85 PSI, which is above what the unit is rated for. I dialed back my supply line valve to just under 80 PSI to be on the very top end of my units operating pressure. I had access to a free booster pump if needed which I figured I would have to use, my house turns 151 years old this year LOL! I guess I did a decent job when I replumbed the entire house.

It's installed and drained under my sink, but the production line is ran through my basement 20 feet or so on a mostly downward slope to where I will be storing the water. There was no convenient place for the drain line in the basement. Next step is to rinse out the storage totes and install my auto shut off's float valve and make a full batch.

RO water was at 19ppm of TDS, not perfect but I hope it will get a little better as it breaks in... is that a thing? Incoming TDS at the tap is over 500ppm, so 96.2% effective.



Little 10 gallon is getting full, the pic below was as of last week, it's completely full of plant mass at the moment. No idea how many shrimp are still alive. I see no buried females but I haven't ran across a dead carcass ever since counting 7 of the 9 I received.

I also decided to paint the stand for the 55 gallon to better match my house. I hope to tackle the sanding and priming tonight. Eventually I'll put doors on the stand, but sometimes I like looking at all the equipment under there so long as I have it staged well

Nice update!

I'm wondering if there is any particular reason you decided to not put an extra filter inline instead of bypassing the DI filter housing. I belive that by doing so, you'll be able to get your TDS down to under 5. I run the same Spectrapure system with the first filter a sediment filter and the remaining filters as carbon blocks. I also run an additional RO filter which gives me about twice the output with half the waste water. I do this for the obvious reason of saving a ton of water but mostly because I presently lack any room for a holding tank and change a minimum of 55 gallons weekly. With this setup, running a booster at 90psi, I have an input TDS of 420 with an output of 1-2 TDS and make 10 gallons of RO an hour. BTW, it is strongly recommended to have a break-in period of 2 hours after putting in new filters.




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I am planning on running another carbon block, I just wasn't sure on the setup just yet.

Do you run the water through the sediment filter - carbon filter - RO membrane - carbon filter or sediment filter - carbon filter 1 - carbon filter 2 - RO membrane?

Could you elaborate a bit more on the break in process?

I have a full storage tote / mixing tote with transfer pump in the basement (> 100 gallons volume), so 90 gallons per day is lots for me (30-40 gallon water changes weekly for now).

Always nice having holding tanks and am planning on them in the future (next house.)

Run it sediment, carbon 1, carbon 2 and RO last.

As for the break-in period; simply run the filter continously for 2 hours, or about 10 gallons, after a new RO filter is installed. Some people use the water during this period and some do not. On the FW side, it's not so important to have a super low TDS so I would use the output water. Most people see a drop in TDS after those first 2 hours but sometimes it takes longer for the RO membrane to fully hydrate and filter the way it is designed to filter. Hope this makes sense.

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Do you find the second membrane's life shortens much being fed waste water? I have been thinking of adding one but my source water is fairly high to start with. Another option I have entertained is running the waste water into a whole second unit which would solve that issue but then I doubt the pressure would be high enough without a booster pump. Only reason I thought of it was I saw a used spectrapure unit for probably the same price I can find a second membrane.

At a minimum I will be adding a third filter to replace the DI spot. Just need to decide on 1.0 sediment/ 0.5 sediment /0.5 carbon or 0.5 sediment/0.5 carbon/ 0.5 carbon.

@Hendy8888 The life of the second RO filter will be shortened a bit. I will typically throw out the second RO filter, put the 1st RO filter into the 2nd filter housing and put the new RO filter into the first housing.

The filters used are the ones in the link below. I'm not too worried about replacing a $20 filter every 18 months or so.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QTX26R9..._SOpaGbWP352EW

Oh, I almost forgot, make sure you use the right sized flow restricitor if you go with the 2 RO filters.

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