400g system from scratch pictorial
- Thread starter pclausen
- Start date
pclausen
New member
Water params
Water params
Thanks Justin! I'll be sure to post some pics as things change or are modified.
Ran my weekly suite of tests this morning, and here are the results. I included last week's data as well for comparisons sake.
Date 6/18 6/25
Temp 81.3 82.0
pH 7.93 8.18
ORP 389 302
Ammonia 0.0 0.0
Nitrite 0.0 0.0
Nitrate 0.0 0.0
Phosphate 0.0 0.0
Calcium 340 340
Alkalinity 7.0 7.7
Magnesium n/a 1305
Turns out the issue I had w/my pH and ORP probes was to clean them properly. They seem to be a lot more reliable now. I think the calcium built up from when I added the "Southdown" was what caused an issue with them in the first place. An ORP of ~300 is likely a lot closer to reality than last weeks reading of almost 400.
I have only been running the kalk reactor since Wednesday, but so far it has pulled up my pH and hardness a bit. No change in calcium yet, but I'm sure that bringing that reactor online will fix that problem. But like I said, I'll give the kalk reactor more time first.
Magnesium looks to be just about where it should be. I don't think I'm going to bother testing for ammonia or nitrites any longer.
Water params
Thanks Justin! I'll be sure to post some pics as things change or are modified.
Ran my weekly suite of tests this morning, and here are the results. I included last week's data as well for comparisons sake.
Date 6/18 6/25
Temp 81.3 82.0
pH 7.93 8.18
ORP 389 302
Ammonia 0.0 0.0
Nitrite 0.0 0.0
Nitrate 0.0 0.0
Phosphate 0.0 0.0
Calcium 340 340
Alkalinity 7.0 7.7
Magnesium n/a 1305
Turns out the issue I had w/my pH and ORP probes was to clean them properly. They seem to be a lot more reliable now. I think the calcium built up from when I added the "Southdown" was what caused an issue with them in the first place. An ORP of ~300 is likely a lot closer to reality than last weeks reading of almost 400.
I have only been running the kalk reactor since Wednesday, but so far it has pulled up my pH and hardness a bit. No change in calcium yet, but I'm sure that bringing that reactor online will fix that problem. But like I said, I'll give the kalk reactor more time first.
Magnesium looks to be just about where it should be. I don't think I'm going to bother testing for ammonia or nitrites any longer.
pclausen
New member
Went to HD w/ my Maxi-Jet 1200 looking looking for a way to adapt the output to 1/4" O.D. to feed my calcium reactor. Turns out the Maxi-Jet output nozzle fits a 1/2" O.D. quick connect fitting. So I picked up a 1/2" O.D. to 1/2" MIP adapter, a 1/2" female/female bushing, and a 1/4" O.D. to 1/2" MIP adapter and I'm all set. Here is a picture of the contraption.
merlock116
New member
i used to use a maxijet to feed my reactor but it's annoying to find it crap out and need cleaning every month or so. instead i tee'd off my return pump and reduced it down to where i could use a speedfit fitting like you used above. much more reliable. i'd also add a bunch of speedfit ball valves at every entry and exit on the reactor to help with maintenance
mikeo1210
Premium Member
merlock116 said:
That's a good point and could be a problem. You could however put a pressure gauge on the feed line and monitor it. That way you'll know when the pump needs cleaning. There's pros and cons to either method. I like the dedicated feed pump b/c I like to shut off my return from time to time.
pclausen
New member
I would think that you would also want to use a pressure gauge if tee'ing off the return pump since there is so much pressure, and then reduce the pressure w/ a gate valve. Otherwise I would think the reactor would begin leaking in short order.
Do they make reef safe (non-metallic) pressure gauges? I have a couple laying around, but they are all metallic.
Do they make reef safe (non-metallic) pressure gauges? I have a couple laying around, but they are all metallic.
Chihuahua6
Premium Member
pclausen- This is off topic but that is one beautiful GSD you have. I have a sable female. How long have you had him/her?
Amanda
Amanda
pclausen
New member
Thanks Amanda. I've had him for 2.5 years now. Picked him out of a litter of 8 dogs when he was 2 weeks old. He has a sister from the same litter that my folks own. It's great to watch them play when they get together.
I just got done plumbing in a tap for the chiller. Here is the insertion piece that I made ahead of time:
And here is where it's going before the existing pipe was cut:
After cutting:
All done:
I'm going to let the cement cure for about 1 hour before turning the return pump back on. I left the CL pump running in the tank so I still got water movement. I also plan to bump the pump a couple of times with all 3 valves open and a trash container below the valves in the hope this will flush out any chemical residue and pvc burrs.
I plan to mount the chiller on a shelf against the wall up near the ceiling. You can just make out the fish room door on the left in that last shot. This gets the hot air generated by the chiller out of that room.
I plan on leaving the balancing valve closed all the way, thus sending all the water through the chiller since it is rated for 1500 gph and I flow a little bit less than that given my 2 overflows are rated at 600 gph each. I will have to reduce down to 1" for the inlet and outlet to the chiller. But given that I currently have the output of my return pump throttled back a little, I don't think I'll have any problem pushing 1200 gph back up into the tank.
I just got done plumbing in a tap for the chiller. Here is the insertion piece that I made ahead of time:
And here is where it's going before the existing pipe was cut:
After cutting:
All done:
I'm going to let the cement cure for about 1 hour before turning the return pump back on. I left the CL pump running in the tank so I still got water movement. I also plan to bump the pump a couple of times with all 3 valves open and a trash container below the valves in the hope this will flush out any chemical residue and pvc burrs.
I plan to mount the chiller on a shelf against the wall up near the ceiling. You can just make out the fish room door on the left in that last shot. This gets the hot air generated by the chiller out of that room.
I plan on leaving the balancing valve closed all the way, thus sending all the water through the chiller since it is rated for 1500 gph and I flow a little bit less than that given my 2 overflows are rated at 600 gph each. I will have to reduce down to 1" for the inlet and outlet to the chiller. But given that I currently have the output of my return pump throttled back a little, I don't think I'll have any problem pushing 1200 gph back up into the tank.
pclausen
New member
Plumbing has been flushed and everything is back online. Here is a shot from just before the return pump was turned back on: (yes, I did open those other 2 valves first)
It should now be pretty straight forward to plumb in the chiller. I'm going to run a 3rd 20A circuit for the chiller as the existing 2 circuits are pretty much maxed out. I'll also be using a 20A X10 relay instead of the 15A ones I used for everything else.
That reminds me, I just got my 1st electric bill since the tank has been up and running. I went from 3100 Kwh last June to 4230 for June of this year. That is still not as bad as July and August of last year where I averaged around 4500 a month. It looks like the next couple of months are going to be quite brutal! :eek2:
It should now be pretty straight forward to plumb in the chiller. I'm going to run a 3rd 20A circuit for the chiller as the existing 2 circuits are pretty much maxed out. I'll also be using a 20A X10 relay instead of the 15A ones I used for everything else.
That reminds me, I just got my 1st electric bill since the tank has been up and running. I went from 3100 Kwh last June to 4230 for June of this year. That is still not as bad as July and August of last year where I averaged around 4500 a month. It looks like the next couple of months are going to be quite brutal! :eek2:
pclausen
New member
Thanks for the complement! The 1.5" pipe on the left is coming from the return pump and will be connected to the inlet of the skimmer. The 1.5" pipe on the right is going to the return nozzles in the tank, and will be connected to the chiller outlet.
The 2 skinny 1" pipes you see were just a temp dry fit while I was flushing to make sure the water made it to the bucket. Once the chiller is installed on the wall (up high to the right of the manifold), I'll use 1.5" pipe until the last moment and then reduce down to 1" to match the chiller. This should give me the least amount of resistance, especially since smooth 90 elbows are hard to get in 1".
The 2 skinny 1" pipes you see were just a temp dry fit while I was flushing to make sure the water made it to the bucket. Once the chiller is installed on the wall (up high to the right of the manifold), I'll use 1.5" pipe until the last moment and then reduce down to 1" to match the chiller. This should give me the least amount of resistance, especially since smooth 90 elbows are hard to get in 1".
daveonbass
New member
hey nice tank
mikeo1210
Premium Member
pclausen said:
Sure do. Here's one: http://www.championlighting.com/product.php?productid=17868&cat=0&page=2
pclausen
New member
z_rivers said:
You know, that has always confused me. The lfs had the clowns labeled as "Percula", and I know they are commonly called "False Clowns". When I look at MarineDepotLive, these guys are labeled as "Ocellaris Clown, False - Percula Clown - Amphiprion ocellaris". So I guess you're right in that the Latin name is A. ocellaris, but I guess they are also referred to as Percula Clown. Very confusing to say the least!
And thanks for the worm ID!
pclausen
New member
Mike, thanks for the link to the pressure gauge. When I saw it, I recalled seeing it on the airwaterice website back when I ordered my RO/DI unit. They have it for $9.95. When I need new filters for my RO/DI, I'll pick one up.
http://airwaterice.com/product/PG02115-100PSI
http://airwaterice.com/product/PG02115-100PSI
