2015 Dream Tank Giveaway
- Thread starter Chrisrush
- Start date
sde1500
Active member
Anyone ever seen such large bubble algae?
Thats not bubble algae, those are egg plants...
Congrats on the win, going to look amazing.
HARLEYDAWG01
New member
Wow. What an amazing prize. Congrats !!!!!!
Chrisrush
New member
Thanks guys.
Chrisrush
New member
Got a question for everyone regarding RO/DI, water containers, etc.
Currently I have my RO/DI unit and a pair of 35 gallon containers in our pool house. I originally thought I would keep it out there because I couldn't find another spot for it in the house. I was planning on carrying 5 gallon water jugs back and forth including water for water changes.
We have a laundry room about 75' from the office were the new tank will go. There is a sink and a floor drain in the laundry room.
My thoughts are to install the RO/DI unit in the laundry room and use the water storage containers for RO/DI water and SW. The water lines will need to go through the attic. I'll insulate the water lines in order to prevent freezing.
A couple of questions though:
1. Should I use both water containers or just 1? Reason I ask is that if I use both, I'll have a SW container for Auto Water Changes (AWC using the DoS system) and drain to the A/C unit upstairs and the other container would be for RO/DI water. I will run the RO/DI water line directly into the sump and use a litermeter or tunze osmolator for the ATO (assuming they can both push 75').
2. If I use only 1 container, I'll use it for SW for the AWC. The issue with using only one is that I'll need to then have an ATO container in the office. May not be the worse issue in the world as it would only be a 5-10 gallon container and not the 35 gallon container.
Currently I have my RO/DI unit and a pair of 35 gallon containers in our pool house. I originally thought I would keep it out there because I couldn't find another spot for it in the house. I was planning on carrying 5 gallon water jugs back and forth including water for water changes.
We have a laundry room about 75' from the office were the new tank will go. There is a sink and a floor drain in the laundry room.
My thoughts are to install the RO/DI unit in the laundry room and use the water storage containers for RO/DI water and SW. The water lines will need to go through the attic. I'll insulate the water lines in order to prevent freezing.
A couple of questions though:
1. Should I use both water containers or just 1? Reason I ask is that if I use both, I'll have a SW container for Auto Water Changes (AWC using the DoS system) and drain to the A/C unit upstairs and the other container would be for RO/DI water. I will run the RO/DI water line directly into the sump and use a litermeter or tunze osmolator for the ATO (assuming they can both push 75').
2. If I use only 1 container, I'll use it for SW for the AWC. The issue with using only one is that I'll need to then have an ATO container in the office. May not be the worse issue in the world as it would only be a 5-10 gallon container and not the 35 gallon container.
don_chuwish
Member
Use both. RO storage and SW mixing. Always good to have lots of RO on hand plus the ability to make more while new SW mixes.
Chrisrush
New member
Been thinking about that. The issue with the RO storage is that I'll then need a pump to move the RO water from the storage container to the tank. If I use both containers for SW, then I'll always have 70g SW on hand and I can use the booster pump and house pressure from the RO unit to fill a 10-15g water container under the stand (not ideal but perhaps workable)? This will allow me to use the osmolator or apex and float switches. And according to my 1g/day AWC, I won't have to fill my SW containers but every 2+ months or at least alternate months.
Chrisrush
New member
Got my "supplemental" lights today. I like the Radions but I love T5. So why not both. I didn't want to cobble together retro fixtures like I have in the past so when I saw these Hamilton fixtures I knew I had to have them
2 x 54w T5s in front of and in back of the Radions. Should get me great coverage and color.
2 x 54w T5s in front of and in back of the Radions. Should get me great coverage and color.
don_chuwish
Member
Which bulbs?
Chrisrush
New member
Right now there are 4 Hamilton 10ks. I'll run those to cycle the tank and then switch. Probably a mix of ATi BP and CP.
Although I could run the 10k T5s and turn up the blue on the Radions and see how it balances out. Not sure until I get them over the tank.
Thoughts?
dkeller_nc
New member
You may have already decided on these questions. If not, I have a question - what do you mean "drain to the A/C unit upstairs"? Hopefully, you're not planning on "recovering" the condensed water from the AC for use in your tank. While the water condensing out of the air is pure, once it goes through the AC, it's contaminated with dust and bacteria, and perhaps more importantly, potentially contaminated with aluminum and/or copper and lead from the condensing coils.
With respect to your question about pushing water from your laundry room to the tank controlled by the ATO, that can be done with litermeter pumps or the Apex DOS pumps, but not the pump that comes with the Tunze Universal Osmolator. That pump is just a small centrifugal water pump that can't pump against more than about 5' of back pressure. You can, however, buy an auxillary outlet for the Tunze that allows you to connect any AC powered pump to use instead of the supplied one, so you can use a litermeter auxillary pump, for example, to push RODI against 50 feet or so of head pressure. To make that work, you'd need to locate the litermeter in the laundry room, then run a 14 gauge wire or extension cord from your laundry to your tank, and plug it into the Tunze auxillary outlet.
The other alternative that you mention is using the RODI's water pressure to push purified water to your tank. While that can be done, most would advise against connecting an infinite supply of RODI to your tank's ATO. There's just too much risk of equipment failure that would flood your house and kill your critters.
If you still want to go this route, BRS made a very useful video discussing connecting RODI to your ATO here.
Chrisrush
New member
Thanks for all the insight.
Definitely not collecting / condensing anything out of the AC. Would end up with a tank full of dog hair.
Good point on the Tunze. I didn't think it would work. I think I'll end up passing on using it though in the laundry room. I'd rather have a remote ATO container under the sump (the way I'm leaning). I would never connect my ATO directly to the tank. I'll have a 10g tank setup with a dual float switch shut off.
Did you get your lights yet Chris?
don_chuwish
Member
Hope this amazing build hasn't stalled! Looking forward to updates.
Chrisrush
New member
Nope, not stalled. Just waiting on the 3 most important pieces, tank, stand and sump. I hope to have them in the next week or so.
Similar threads
