A pair of EcoWheel tanks in the making

[Putawaywet]

Looks like I gave out some bad info.

In regard to the info on Long Beach's live coral lighting I need to correct an error. Their lighting on the live coral display is a 50/50 mix of 10,000k & 20,000k bulbs.

I just double checked and there are no 50,000k bulbs above the tank. I have no idea how I got it into my head that they were using 50's but I apologize for the mistake.

Brett

 

[Putawaywet]

Chris,

The inside portion of the wheel that is visible contains bioballs, not aragonite or cc. I think the original plan called for aragonite in the thought that as it tumbled the aragonite would dissolve and provide some form of buffering or calcium. I'm guessing that didn't work out as planned. So now it's bioballs and what their purpose is I'm not 100% sure. Wet/dry filtration? I'm sure that's going on in there, (Won't that raise an eyebrow when I admit to running a wet/dry) but anything beyond that I haven't a clue.

It's kinda hard to see inside of the wheel because of the way it is made, but there is a small opening between two of the blades that measures roughly 1"x18". It's just slightly smaller than the bioballs so they were obviously added as it was being assembled.

The other portion of the wheel is obviously sealed and I have no idea what is in there. Sand perhaps? Serving as ballast possibly?

I can say that the wheel is not balanced, and if you stop the airflow it will come to rest at the same place each time. It is also pretty heavy - a lot more heavy than you first think it should be - so it sure feels like you're lifting an extra 15lbs of something when you're handling the thing.

My description of the wheel "scooping and dumping" proably isn't the best, as I really don't see the water pouring out of the wheel at any point. "Water displacement" is probably a better term to explain the change of the water level within the filter.

The water level in the filter runs about 8" higher than the aquariums when the airlift is operating. But that 8" is pretty deceiving. The filter tank is only slightly larger than the wheel and there really isn't anywhere for the bubbles and water to go. Everything is pretty much channeled up and around the wheel at both the front and the rear. If I was to lift the wheel assembly out I'm sure the water level would be considerably less.

The overall level in the filter can be adjusted by valving down the flow into the aquariums. As the level rises, the rotation speed of the wheel increases. The advantage to this? As far as I can tell it equates to a little less flow but more frequent surges.

One thing worth mentioning is that you really have to be mindful of your evap on this system. Removing as little as 5 gals will bring the wheel to a stop. Water is still flowing into both aquariums, but it is doing so without the surge. However, with the wheel stopped, approx 50% of it's surface is out of the water and the algae can also dry out. This has already happened to me on one occaison. Attempts to compensate by adding a little more water don't really work that well either, as it raises the level in the tanks above the slots in the overflow and you lose some of your surface skimming. You also lose a little flow in the tank as the incoming water seems to use gravity to it's advantage to pick up a little speed as it pours back into the tank. Reduce the distance that it falls, and it seems to lose some of it's punch - if that makes any sense.

HTH

Brett

 

[piercho]

So now it's bioballs and what their purpose is I'm not 100% sure.

From other threads on the subject of the EcoWheel, I've gathered that the bioball's purpose is to reduce the amount of microbubbles making it back to the tank.

 

[rendeyxu]

So how do you do water top off? since it's a critical part for the filter to work propably.

rendey

 

[Putawaywet]

Howard,

That's the intended purpose of the bioballs in the lower portion of the filter tank, but inside of the wheel? I don't see how that would help.

Brett

 

[H20ENG]

Thanks Brett. So the Ballast is sealed inside? I remember it being a displacement system, but wasnt sure. Interesting about the bioballs though.
Rendey,
Seems this is more suited to a small dosing pump or drip topoff than levels. You could probably install a stilling well in which to mount a float though.
Chris

 

[Putawaywet]

So the Ballast is sealed inside?

I'm guessing so because the thing is just way too heavy for the amount of plastic that is there. It's somewhere in the 50-55lb range.


Ref the water top off I'm just pouring in a couple quarts of RO in the overflow each morning and another couple quarts in the evening.

Next set of days off I'm going to setup a kalk drip to bridge the gap until I can install a dosing pump and resevoir.

My to do list is still pretty long.......

A saltwater makeup system out in the garage, calcium reactor, a pullout drawer with a wet tray for the cabinet, wrap up some lighting issues. And then there is the whole project of getting the rockwork and lighting for the low-light going.

Brett

 

[asmujica]

:thumbsup:

 

[piercho]

but inside of the wheel?

Well, I wasn't reading carefully, was I? No ideas.

 

[picture the reef]

Brett, I looked at several methods of topoff and never found any type of level activated type of system that was accurate with the Eco-Wheel. I bought a Litermeter III and let me say it's some of the best money I have spent on the tank so far. I started out mixing Kalk in a five gallon bucket but this soon became very old since I had to do it every three days. I have now incorporated a Kalk reactor into the setup with a 32 gal. trash can. Now I add kalk every month and fill the trash can about every 3 weeks. Great system.

 

[nf4sevenw]

the website is down. anyone know why?

 

[H20ENG]

They moved it to ecowheel.com, but its still not all there.

 

[DennisRB]

Dude ecowheel.com sells chrome wheels for cars.

 

[H20ENG]

www.eco-wheel.com

 

[H20ENG]

Sorry "Dude".

 

[DennisRB]

It cool bro

 

[rsman]

RE: bio balls in wheel

RE: bio balls in wheel

without verification, its been pointed out to me before that nitrites are NOT consumed by algae's that being the case it might make sence that with the eco-wheel the bio balls are required to convert any nitrite into nitrate. before sending back to the tank.


just a guess. but it could explain them.

 

[skylsdale]

I haven't checked this thread in a while--looking good! Do you have any shots of those cardinals? Here's a shot of them from npaden's snorkeling shots from Fiji (it's always nice to see fish in their natural habitat):

How are things coming on the other side of the tank? Haven't heard anything from you in a while on that. Have you settled on an aquascape yet? Any photos of that side?

 

[Putawaywet]

I've got a few pics of the cardinals but I've been holding out for a better shot.

Actually, they turned out to be the long fin/high fin cardinals that everyone seems to be talking about as opposed to the ones in that pic.

I originally purchased 8, but 1 was doing the death spiral before I could even get it home. The 2nd never came out the following day. That left 6

FWIW: They really looked pretty bad when I got them - very thin with sunken stomachs. And since they will only take brine and mysis, I'm guessing they haven't had a good meal since they were collected.

But the remaining 6 have plumped up nicely.

However, still hoping for a somewhat larger school, I purchased 6 more yesterday (fresh in from the L.A. wholesalers at the LFS) and they looked just as bad.

Worse yet, another death spiral candidate in the bag on the way home - And a few hours later a 2nd was spiraling around in the tank and looking like he wasn't long for this world. (geez, haven't seen this kind of stuff since my freshwater days with neon tetras.) The weird part was the LFS guy was as gentle as he could be - they went from dealer's tank to specimen container to bag and they were still going belly up

But, I did get a taste of just how potent that "unique" anemone is that I talked about earlier. Cardinal #2 managed to spiral his way right into one of it's tentacles. Talk about a Kodak moment. He was completely gone in less than 60 seconds. The anemone didn't even close up, just merely drug the poor soul to it's mouth with one of it's arms and sucked him in like a kid eating a peice of candy.

I'm now vasilating between being wildly impressed, and concerned for my remaining inhabitants (DensityMan are you reading this??)

I'll get those pics up tomorrow.

Brett

 

[skylsdale]

That's strange...I can't imagine they would need to use cyanide to collect those guys. Must just be some pretty intense stress for them. Is this the fish you're talking about:

If so, I'm envious. I first found out about them a couple years ago, but have NEVER seen them available at an LFS or anywhere else. Very cool.