700 gallon tank, or how i spent my daughters inheritance

[Reefski's]

i don't think so. air lifts won't go 5 feet and 2400 gallons an hour from what i know. the mag pumps 2400 gallons an hour and sits in the overflow. would an airlift do that?

for only another 100 watts i can get much more flow from one of the pumps i already have plumbed and it's in the garage where i can't hear it in the living room.


Carl

 

[Reefski's]

here is an idea for a product that i would buy in a second. i posted the following on several of the manufacturers forums.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
my reef tank is lit by a skylight shaft the footprint of the tank.

i have a couple of MH on rails over the tank for evening viewing, winter time use, rainy day use.

controlling when the lights come on based on time of day is easy.

i want a controller that can incorporate the light intensity into the equation.

my car knows how to do it, it can turn the lights on when i go in a parking lot and it gets darker or on a cloudy day, and then turn them off again when it gets brighter. the technology is there.

this would be a module that would take reefkeeping to the next level for me and many others who are using solartubes and other natural means to mostly light their tanks.

more and more people are going green. this is not a green hobby but if i could have a controller like this i would buy one.

RC has over 200,000 members. i wonder how many of them has some kind of sunlight input to their tanks or would use it if they could supplement it with artificial light on a controller as needed.

it could be incorporated as a module in an existing controller or a stand alone unit.

our tanks could be better and we could save money too.

i volunteer to be the test tank.

 

[matt & pam]

Carl, I think an air lift will at least move water to the top of your tank perhaps higher. I've got a 2" diameter air lift moving 1600 gals/hr up about 4'6". I know it will lift the water even higher, at least to the top of my tank which is about 6' off the ground. My airpump moves around 5-6 cfm to do this. The power of air moving water is impressive.

 

[erics3000]

I was trying to understand how airlifts work? Last week I was looking through garfs site adn still not quite sure how they work?

 

[matt & pam]

Just like a tube in an undergravel filter. In my setup, My tank drains thru a 2" bulkhead that runs down about 3 ft or so to the stand base level. It travels over to underneath my turf scrubber and then I have a 90 elbow going up. Right after that I have a T fitting to inject air from the linear pump. The pump connnects onto the fitting only after running a airline up to the top of the tank water line (b/c you have to shut off the airpump daily to get rid of salt creep and the injection site - and you don't want to flood the pump). All that air that is injected causes the water to move up the line. HTH.

 

[Chrisrush]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14687531#post14687531 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reefski's
here is an idea for a product that i would buy in a second. i posted the following on several of the manufacturers forums.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
my reef tank is lit by a skylight shaft the footprint of the tank.

i have a couple of MH on rails over the tank for evening viewing, winter time use, rainy day use.

controlling when the lights come on based on time of day is easy.

i want a controller that can incorporate the light intensity into the equation.

my car knows how to do it, it can turn the lights on when i go in a parking lot and it gets darker or on a cloudy day, and then turn them off again when it gets brighter. the technology is there.

this would be a module that would take reefkeeping to the next level for me and many others who are using solartubes and other natural means to mostly light their tanks.

more and more people are going green. this is not a green hobby but if i could have a controller like this i would buy one.

RC has over 200,000 members. i wonder how many of them has some kind of sunlight input to their tanks or would use it if they could supplement it with artificial light on a controller as needed.

it could be incorporated as a module in an existing controller or a stand alone unit.

our tanks could be better and we could save money too.

i volunteer to be the test tank.

Carl, I have been wanting the same thing. I'll try and find the thread on RC that talks about doing this with a PAR meter. I know there has been some discussions in the past.

I want to say that Profilux has been asked about this multiple times. Might want to see what those guys say. They have a forum here on RC.

 

[Chrisrush]

Double post. Sorry

 

[Reefski's]

i know i am not the only one who would want a PAR sensor controller.

i took down the ATS Ver 1 about ten days ago. it was too cumbersome to clean and i couldn't get much of the algae off with a scraping.

however, i know it really was working as my nitrates and PO4 are going up again,

nitrates 0.7ppm before to 4ppm today
PO4 0.02 with a little occasional help from lanthanum chloride to 0.35 today.
so i dosed about 20 ml of lanthanum chloride and will remeasure tomorrow.

i think the fish have gotten used to the surge.


the sand is still rearranging itself with the surge going. there are now many worm tubes exposed. i am thinking of putting in some larger grain sand in these new low spots. i have a trash can full from my old system.

Ver 2 is a bit smaller but will be much easier to clean and clean more thoroughly.

no light yet over the new ATS ver 2.

Carl

 

[Kellsindell]

Wow, i haven't been here in a while and i've missed so much!

Looking really good. Congratz and good work! :thumbsup:

 

[melev]

Carl, instead of screen, why not use some of those lighting panels they sell near the eggcrate at Home Depot? It would still allow light to pass through it. You could make it smooth side up, or bumpy side if you think that is better for the algae. It seems like it would brush off a bit more readily, but leave behind plenty to grow anew.

 

[Reefski's]

Marc-

that is a great idea. i wish it wasn't too late. however i have done it already with 1/8" acrylic, with an1/8" hole every sq inch and roughed up the acrylic. i just can't post pictures until you see it because i knew you would still be reading this. KJ

how many minutes left now? why wait any longer?

i just haven't got the light up yet. little plumbing emergency threw a wrench in my plans. a pipe burst under the sink at our office this week and flooded a room an inch deep for a few hours before i found out. interestingly it is on a concrete slab and a small salamander come up into the house to get out of the water. i thought of a picture only after i had cleaned up the water and put it back into the crack in the wall.

Carl

 

[melev]

:lol: 90 minutes to go.

I can't believe you won't post pictures because I'm visiting 7 days from now. Your fans are going to torch the house if you don't cough up the magic!

 

[Reefski's]

i said just kidding. and you aren't even drinking yet. such a good boy. it's going to be too late to drink soon. i think you have followed the spirit of 30 days if not technically exactly.

just no pictures yet. tomorrow i might have time to put up the light before i go to a party all day and night. it starts at 10am

please no flames.

 

[melev]

I'm about to cook my dinner, and it won't be long before I can wash that down with some very nice Crown.

And unless you are Yoda, KJ doesn't mean much to the rest of us.

 

[Reefski's]

oops, should i edit it while i still have time?

 

[dew2loud1]

Carl,
Like this

A patented continuous dimming capability allows infinitely variable dimming down to 35% of power with lamp-life-preserving effects. Lamps can be dimmed using standard 0-10V feedback from control devices such as occupancy sensors, ambient light sensors or manual rotary dimmers. Low-voltage dimming capability maximizes energy savings and provides increased flexibility and control over the lighting system. "Daylight harvesting" capability takes advantage of skylights and windows, using ambient light sensors to dim lights proportionally during times of high-daylight conditions. Occupancy sensors are ideal for limited-use areas such as storage aisles, as well as unoccupied areas of industrial plants and warehouses. Dimming can be nearly instantaneous or progressive so that the change in light level goes unnoticed.

Conventional magnetic ballasts use a switched-capacitor dimming technique, which provides only one dimming step of 50% of light output and damages the lamp's electrode, leading to lumen and life depreciation. Lamp manufacturers have approved the electronic SuperBallast, with its continuous dimming feature down to 35% of power, for a standard lamp warranty.

The flicker-free SuperBallast self-compensates for line voltage fluctuations from 190 to 304V to maintain lumen output and color quality. While accepted voltage variation per ANSI M59 is ±15% (meaning a 400W ballast can power a lamp from 340 to 470W), the SuperBallast restricts power variation seen by the lamp to no more than 0.5%. This allows accurate color rendering over the life of the lamp, as well as more consistent light from lamp to lamp.
http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/15028

 

[Reefski's]

so i need new ballasts and a control system. sounds interesting to keep the light constant.

where do i buy one that is plug and play?

Carl

 

[galvatron3000]

What are the water changes like? How OFTEN DO YOU PERFORM THEM? tHANKS FOR SHARING!!

 

[Reefski's]

i have a 1200 gallon tank buried in the front yard. when we built the house i plumbed that tank into the garage where the sumps are. it is on a continuous loop with a small Mag pump. when i want to do a water change i open a valve and water is diverted into the tank.

i drive to UCSB where they make available to all free NSW. the same water their science dept uses. they have an 800 gallon per minute flow thru system.

in a like manner i open a valve from the overflows and water drains into the sink next to the tank. you can see the water coming out of the right hand hose. the one next to it can be used for drip acclimating.

the 5 gallon bucket is the Kalkwasser drip. the system evaporates about 15 per day right now.

water temp is 81.5 varies less than a degree per day right now. no heater required right now and very little was needed in the winter.

no chiller on the system.

i change a couple hundred gallons every 2-3 weeks.

 

[ddinox64]

Wow! 15 gallons a day evaporation? Are you running a dehumidifier in your house?

Couple hundred every couple of weeks? Is that really needed? I would think your filtration system and set up should be able to go longer than that. But what do I know? Your tank evaporates the equivlent of half of my tank everyday.

You might want to invest in some type of water treatment to recirculate yours to get it to a reusable state again. Mybe not fresh but reusable. Might pay for itself in the long run.

Started reading the whole thread til about page 10, then started skipping pages and pages and... Did you install some type of a door to access the skylight box/tube /shaft around midway to wipe it down? Because that thing is essentually coming down three floors including the attic space if there is one on the second floor right?

I haven't seen the light bar I read about, but instead of it being placed right over the tank, could it be mounted up in the skylight shroud/tube/box/shaft to make it unnoticable? Make it look like it's always natural light shining in.

You'd be a great and fun neighbor because there would always be something to do besides the usual "Hey, can you help me remove this or lift that senario".

Let me know when tours are available and tickets prices. I'll bring doggy treats.

Thanks for the entertainment. Beats CSI Miami, New York, Navy, L.A., Las Vegas, Kentucky, Rhode Island and all the other garbage on TV.