240 Inwall Construction (Image Intense)

[weatherson]

kar93: First of all, the original idea of air injection was not mine. There was a gentleman on another forum who had a very tall cylindrical tank that used this method to help rid the difficult to work in tank of detritus buildup. A friend of mine and I discussed this technique and both decided to give it a shot (no pun intended ) in our tanks as a means of supplemental water clarifying. The design of the injection system on my tank is mine though. Anyway, the only upside to doing air injection in regards to the fish is a cleaner water, in my opinion. With regards to corals, I feel the induced sliming helps them in a means of expelling waste and perhaps makes them more resilient. Of course, this is all anecdotal as I have no real proof this is happening. But, I will say that they had never been more healthy looking and shown more growth prior to starting this air injection process. Coincidental? Perhaps. But if it isn't creating any adverse effects...

The only real negative, albeit a slight one, is that there is some mist created from the air exiting the surface of the water after an air injection cycle. This dissipates in less than a minute, though. But this is very easy to deal with and in my case, simply means cleaning the lightbox acrylic shields once a month, which I would do regardless.

Joseph.

 

[kar93]

Ok, Have you and your friend compared results to see any differences and similiarities, i would be interested to see some comparisons.

 

[weatherson]

Perhaps he will chime in as I don't want to speak for him. But, I believe he had similar results and also contributed them in part to the air injection. Again, I'll let him confirm this one way or the other. Mr. Wedehase?

Joseph.

 

[chrismunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11397369#post11397369 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chrismunn
jimney cricket weatherson,.... incredible! every single thing is absolutely incredible! you've got the magic touch, golden boy!

its not a new one as indicated by this previous post. (golden boy ) i could understand how you could forget things amongst your infininate wisdom, although you could try centrum gold :lol:

just kiddin' with ya buddy, again, great job on the tank!

 

[GSMguy]

Weatherson your tank is brilliant i am in awe.

do you have a link to the cylindrical tank that used air injection? i think its really a great idea and would like to do this with my new tank. i remember seeing his tank on the internet when i was new to the hobby, after seeing the density of your coral growth i am sold.

this may have been covered and if so i apologize but do you notice an increase in skimmate production after the air injection?

 

[weatherson]

chrismunn: Centrum Gold, huh? Ooh... look at the shiny object. What was I talking about? Oh well... never mind.

GSMguy: Thank you very much. I'll see if I can find a link to that tank. It was quite some time ago and my memory is less than ideal as pointed out already.

Yes, there is a slight increase in skimmate production after the air injection sequence. Not a great amount but I have noticed some on occasion.

Joseph.

 

[gman0526]

ldrhawke was the username of the owner of the tank.

This was the thread on another board, the links sadly don't work.

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8942

Joseph congratulations your tank is truly an inspiraton and one of the top 10 tanks I have ever seen.

 

[weatherson]

gman0526: Thanks for the kind words and providing the link. That's the one. Too bad the links are dead though as his tank was very nice, indeed.

Joseph.

 

[jwedehase]

It sounds like Weatherson is calling me out, huh? That's fine, I'll take the credit for all the great success he's had. I taught him all he knows, after all....

OK, seriously... Ldrhawke's tank was where I saw the idea, indeed. My method of air injection was far more rudimentary than Joe's, though. When I thought about it (a couple times per day) I turned on an air pump, and manually held an airline at the intake of a Seio powerhead. That was on the old tank (38g). Now on a 120g, I just use my controller to kick on the air pump for a couple minutes every few hours, and the airline runs into the return pump intake, which points right at powerheads to spread the bubbles rapidly.

As mentioned, I also noticed a significant increase in coral growth very quickly. The hard corals slime up very significantly every time the air bubbles hit. In no time at all, the corals quickly outgrew the 38, reaching every glass surface, and giving me reason for the tank upgrade. Afterward, the water showed visibly more clear.

Here's the last FTS of the 38g.

 

[melev]

Now you've got me wanting to give it a try. My guess is the salt spray/salt creep must be significant.

 

[macreefster]

well...i must admit. even though i don't know whetherston at all, he owe's all he knows about reefkeeping to me!LOL. i do admit i haven't read this entire thread, but i do admit to reading all of whetherton thread and i am going to incorparate much of what he incorpated in his system to mine. i don't know or care whether he introduced those idea's, i only know i want a tank that looks like his.

now melev........ as much as i like your tank, your professional stripper occupation interests me more..lol

 

[weatherson]

Marc: No, it's not significant at all. All I get is a fine mist just over the tank water surface if no fans are blowing the air there. If one had fans there, it would be easy enough to place them on a reverse state (off) for a minute or two during and just after the air injection time.

Joseph.

 

[melev]

I do run fans, and not controllable as you suggest. I wish, but have had no luck even when modding the x-10 modules are recommended. If I could have the AC II turn them on and off, I'd be in heaven.

 

[Electrobes]

Once again having a softie tank rules! I don't have to worry about no stinking air injection. We'z a deeper water crew... that and they expel some nasties

You're starting a trend weatherson! Now shave half a beard and they will follow :lol:

Air injection reminds me of the flush systems. There is one system in Ultimate Aquariums by Paletta that seemed to thrive with it's use.

Once again weatherson congrats on a well deserved TOTM. I sincerely hope to achieve your DIY abilities as that's one of my favorite parts of reefing!

 

[jwedehase]

Marc, I use fans, and don't turn them off. The glass for my pendants is about 4" from the water, and I still don't have a big problem. I only clean them every couple of months, at best. Even then, only with a quick rinse in the sink to break up the thin salt film. I get much worse salt creep all over my return plumbing, for sure. The lights never reach a state where I can flake salt off.

 

[melev]

Hmm. I'm gonna go get a straw and test this out. :lol:

 

[jwedehase]

Biology lesson time: Marc, the air coming out of your lungs is very oxygen deficient as compared to what's around you. It is, however, loaded with plenty of CO2!

If nothing else, use a turkey baster. That's what I used to do. But I still recommend an air pump, it's going to take a pretty significant amount of air.

 

[RGibson]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12292703#post12292703 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by weatherson
chris wright, Bax: Thank you very much for the kind words.

Ralph: The regulator I use is very old but keeps on working well. It's made by the Italian company Mestriner and is primarily designed for welding tools. Their site.

gsxunv04: Thanks and yes, the skimmer does in fact produce more skimmate just after the air injection system fires. I haven't seen any negative effects from running this system, only the appearance of positives. Although, the fish do briefly hide while the tank is air filled but still, I don't see this as a negative... just a means of tolerance.

Joseph.

Joseph what kind of needle valve did you used on your CO2 regulator?
Ralph

 

[melev]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12311978#post12311978 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jwedehase
Biology lesson time: Marc, the air coming out of your lungs is very oxygen deficient as compared to what's around you. It is, however, loaded with plenty of CO2!

If nothing else, use a turkey baster. That's what I used to do. But I still recommend an air pump, it's going to take a pretty significant amount of air.

:lol: You think I was actually over here, doing that, turning blue?

 

[ccorpse27]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12313206#post12313206 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
:lol: You think I was actually over here, doing that, turning blue?

I've found that sarcasm or any bit of humor flies wildly over most heads at RC.