~450G Display (~1000G system) documentary starting

[kwl1763]

Why not use FRP board? It would be more expensive but you cant accidentally tear it and it will look a lot better. As long as you seal the edges, no moisture will ever get through. You can even get similar panels to FRP that look like tile.

Good luck

I may end up going that route but it will be a whole lot more expensive. Also where this is going is no beauty contest for sure. My fish room will be messy as it is so I'm not to worried about the appearence part at all. I am worried about sealing the edges, etc. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[tsquad]

I'd scratch the fuge/remote DSB idea. If it's going to be truly BB, the fuge will not grow, as the nutrients will be way too low. Why would you try to grow macroalgae, when the point of a BB system is to not grow macro/microalgae? I don't know much about the remote DSB though, so I just tied the two together. Sounds like an awesome system though! Maybe instead of the fuge/DSB 100g tanks, why not make them prop/frag tanks?

 

[kwl1763]

If the fuge won't grow that's fine. It won't hurt anything and will be a place for pods to breed. Nothing bad can really come out of it. As far as the remote DSB. I'm not willing to get into a major debate here about it but suffice it to say that after talking to many many many people about it I decided to go that route.

It's not the only way for sure. If I ever have any issues with it taking it offline will be a snap but the extra diversity and NNR it adds is worth any risks in my opiinion.

 

[melev]

Plus you can put a lawn chair next to it, pop open a beer, kick your feet up and enjoy your lagoon.

 

[charlesjordanjr]

Plus you can put a lawn chair next to it, pop open a beer, kick your feet up and enjoy your lagoon.

I'll bring the beer!:beer:

 

[SERVO]

Plus you can put a lawn chair next to it, pop open a beer, kick your feet up and enjoy your lagoon.

I thought Hank Hill was the king not Marc; Yup, Yup, Yup

 

[kwl1763]

Well big update:


Drum roll please............................................................................................................................







a big dose of nothing has happened. I have been furniture shopping and fence building and all kinds of fun stuff. It is winding down though so I should be able to start making some progress soon enough. That work thing gets in the way also!

 

[melev]

At least start your RO unit, so you can save up some water. You're gonna need a lot.

Btw, I was doing a little research on the Merlin system. I noticed that membrane replacements are expensive ($90 each) and the sediment is $28. That means you'd pay almost as much for refills as you did for your system from Overstock.com

I also noticed that the FAQ page stated if you are making 10g per day instead of vast amounts, they recommend installing a few prefilters to protect the membranes. Did you happen to notice that fine print?

http://static.zoovy.com/merchant/theh2oguru/Merlin_FQA.pdf
http://www.airwaterice.com/product/1MERLIN

 

[kwl1763]

Ya but I'm actually using it for drinking and cooking and stuff also so I'll probably be using quite a bit and I did put a prefilter on.

The membrane only has to be replaced roughly every 3 years (and probably less with the extremely low TDS here) so ya it will be pretty pricey but on a very long lead time.

Also the way I mounted it it is sideways and currently I make about 50 galons at a time then shut it off at the supply side. This drains pretty much all the water out. Then a few sdays later I make more and toss the first 5 gallons or so and repeat. I talked with the manufacturer about it and they said that shouldn't cause any issues and asked about a prefilter and they said with a TDS like my tap they really didn't think it was neccessary but I put a cheap one on there anyway!

 

[NexDog]

Keith, frame in the basement or sheath the walls and ceiling in something before you start anything. I was paranoid about having 500 gallons of saltwater in a room of my new house and I'd more more anxious if it was in a basement. I decided to build my tank room like a bathroom - with plastic walls, and couldn't be happier with the result.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=6031712#post6031712

This is the stuff we used:

Looking forward to following this project.

 

[chainsaw5vent]

I may end up going that route but it will be a whole lot more expensive. Also where this is going is no beauty contest for sure. My fish room will be messy as it is so I'm not to worried about the appearence part at all. I am worried about sealing the edges, etc. Thanks for the suggestions!

i remember reading somewhere at r/c that mr.4000's problem with humidity helped in the eventual shut down of his tank.
you will need to have an exhaust/air exchange system that dumps the tank room air outside. low cost option on room now, super expensive issue to remedy.

nexdog has good idea. thick slick plastic for wall covering will help you in keeping the mold issue to a minimum.

 

[kwl1763]

That's a good idea NexDog I'll look into it. Chainsaw I know humitidy is going to be an issue and I'm thinking of many ways to deal with. There is a big difference between 450G and 4000G though. I figure I'll evaporate maybe 7-10 gallons a day max. I'm sure he was close to 100G per day. Totally different league!

 

[chainsaw5vent]

That's a good idea NexDog I'll look into it. Chainsaw I know humitidy is going to be an issue and I'm thinking of many ways to deal with. There is a big difference between 450G and 4000G though. I figure I'll evaporate maybe 7-10 gallons a day max. I'm sure he was close to 100G per day. Totally different league!

we had a bathroom sealed off for 3-4 months at my previous house because of the mold issue. steam, wet wall, etc. after they fixed the problem, we moved to a new location. much, much better. potential allergies, 1 less bathroom/shower with 3 boys that used the bathroom, etc.

7-10 evap is still alot if there is no immediate removal. you don't want your walls looking like a sweaty shower room. and developing mold.

 

[NexDog]

Yea, I don't mind if my walls look like a sweaty shower room now.

 

[kwl1763]

OK so I have been reading and asking around and there are plenty of options to deal with the whole humidity issue. Tell me which one you would do.

Option 1: Put up thick mil vapor barrier in the fish room. Ignore the actual issue and just let it be high humidity in there and drip off the walls. The barrier would include the ceiling. This would make sure no moisture gets on the ceiling or walls and would be the cheapest. The problem being that it could tear , etc defeating the whole purpose. It also means I'm not actually addressing the issue only making it where it doesn't harm the house.

option 2: Put up greenboard and waterproof paint everywhere including the ceiling. Basically a more elegant looking solution to the first option with the benefit of not ripping.

option 3: Put up some sort of plastic wall stuff in order to accomplish the same as number 2 but without the paint.

option 4: do 1 of the above and add a chiller and remove fans. What this will do is make the evaporation much less and shoould actually reduce humdity

option 5: Add some type of vent on a humidistat in the fish room (would I still need 1-3?)


Any specific suggestions would be great. This is the one issue causing me the greatest grief!


On a better note I'm going to start on the "stands" for the sumps next week and maybe even the stand for the tank which is going to be out of 2x6s

 

[Gudwyn]

I'd recommend an HRV for ventilation unless you plan to use A/C in the fish room.

My 225 (~280 gal water) evaporates 5-6 gal a day into a 3000sqft house and it was starting to grow mold and give my wife asthma attacks. The HRV cured it immediately.

If you are going to be heavily using A/C with high humidity outside, the HRV (or any exhaust fan) may make the humidity in the house worse. I don't know the weather in Atlanta.

An HVAC person can adjust your A/C to increase it's dehumidification performance (less tonnage operating over longer periods on lower airflow). At the extreme, you can use a heat pipe around the A/C coil to artificially force the dewpoint lower.

 

[melev]

Get the humidity out of the room Keith. I'm going to do that myself. Moisture affects more than walls. We have controllers and electrical outlets, timers and more. Moisture affects all of this as well.

ADT has to replace a faulty part in two days, that rusted internally as it is in that room. I'm going to move it out of the room permanently, and my focus is to come up with a ventilation system.

 

[SERVO]

You have potentially a big problem. With the outside humidity averaging 80% all year, it is a challenge to get the humidity down. Furthermore, the more you overdrive your home A/C unit, the quicker you are to develop problems. I think a combination would be your best option, however I am no expert on the subject. I agree with Marc and would try to get the humidity out of the room. I don't know if an HRV set up would work in Hotlanta. (Humidlanta LOL). I think that some type of vent with a chiller and possibly a ?dehumidifier? would be your best bet. Wish I could tell you something you don't already know

 

[Gudwyn]

servo, what do you mean by "the more you overdrive your home A/C unit, the quicker you are to develop problems"?

I know that oversizing the A/C results in removing to much sensible heat (temp change) and not enough latent heat (humidity change). You can shift the balance towards latent heat removal with a heat pipe or other adjustments like air flow.

Venting in hot humid air by using exhaust fans will cause the A/C to run more (because it's hot) and will bring down the humidity, but isn't ideal. Using an HRV to vent in cool humid air is even worse because the A/C won't turn on and you'll just get weepy walls.

So, yeah if it's hot and humid and you use A/C - an HRV is the wrong thing. Here it's cool and humid, and they work great.

 

[NexDog]

Well, I've built mine like I did because there is no solution. In summer it's an average of 35C with 100% humidity. I'm sure it'll be less humid outside than in the room but I'll just keep the AC unit on and let the water run down the nice shiny plastic walls.