Building My 375gal Glass Reef

[GlassReef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14471194#post14471194 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wildcats
... since you will be adding the additives daily, how will you be adding them? What's on the other end of the tubing? Peristalic pumps? What were your thoughts in deciding not to automate the process and opting for manual?

Sorry, I seem to have given the wrong impression. Both the daily water changes and the additive supplementation will be done automatically. The water changes will be taken care of by a dual head peristaltic pump (see pics a page or two back). The additives will be handled by a LiterMeter III with two remote pumps attached.

I'll give a full functional description, with pics, as soon as the hardware is installed and working.

 

[porthios]

The additives will be handled by a LiterMeter III with two remote pumps attached.

i wouldn't lose any sleep over it but something you might want to keep in mind.. your alk and ca outlets are right next to each other in the pic. i'm not aware of any way to get the lm3 to stagger the timing of its pumps (please correct me if i'm wrong) so you'll be dosing alk and ca at the same time.

i'd be inclined to separate the outlets a bit to prevent localized precipitation.

 

[GlassReef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14471618#post14471618 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by porthios
... your alk and ca outlets are right next to each other in the pic. i'm not aware of any way to get the lm3 to stagger the timing of its pumps (please correct me if i'm wrong) so you'll be dosing alk and ca at the same time. i'd be inclined to separate the outlets a bit to prevent localized precipitation.

Hi Jason - the LiterMeter turns the three pumps on sequentially - one after the other. It does this 150 times a day for a period calculated to dispense the required amounts. No two pumps are ever on at the same time. I wasn't aware of this myself, until I sat down with the user manual. It makes the LiterMeter the perfect system for two or three part dosing.

 

[jnarowe]

exactly. word of advice on the LiterMeter: Make sure to keep the rollers and tubing clean. There is a cleaning interval built into the unit, but for mine to work well, I have to clean it more often. I suspect this is because of the ambient temp. humidty in my tank room.

 

[GlassReef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14472486#post14472486 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnarowe
... keep the rollers and tubing clean. There is a cleaning interval built into the unit, but for mine to work well, I have to clean it more often. I suspect this is because of the ambient temp. humidty in my tank room.

Thanks for the advice, Jonathan. I must say, the LiterMeter seems to be a very well built piece of gear. At least some things are worth what you pay for them.

 

[jnarowe]

Even better is the service from SpectraPure. Scott is extremely helpful and the most knowlegable person I have come across in the water filtration business. He will even go as far as to help you design your water filtration system for the best output and cleanest water, but be prepared to tell him what is in your incoming water.

Their resin is spendy right? But it lasts a LOT longer than the eBay crap I had been getting for years.

 

[GlassReef]

I agree. Scott has helped me a couple of times with my LM pumps. He's one of the people you like to call.

 

[lactose]

Long time thread reader, first time poster

I LOVE this thread. It is easily my favorite and I look forward to seeing how you have done each item.

My question is that I noticed you have the tubing from the Ca/Alk/Mag down into the water. That may or may not have been intentional but one of the things I keep wondering and experimenting with on my tank is if it is better to have them out of the water and dripping in or in the water and not dripping.

Assuming I am not worried about back siphoning, do you (or others) know which is better and why?

 

[ReefEnabler]

Much better to have them out of the water dripping down.

if the ends are submerged, then there will be precipitation buildup inside the tubes, especially the alk.

 

[GlassReef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14472713#post14472713 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lactose
... I noticed you have the tubing from the Ca/Alk/Mag down into the water. ... one of the things I keep wondering and experimenting with on my tank is if it is better to have them out of the water and dripping in or in the water and not dripping.

Assuming I am not worried about back siphoning, do you (or others) know which is better and why?

First, thank you for you kind words.

To be honest, I haven't thought much about whether having the tubing in the water (from a dosing point of view) is better than out. My decision to have the tubes in the water was based upon the fact I don't want any splashing or possible creation of micro-bubbles. Interesting point you bring up, though. Maybe on of our kind readers will have an opinion on this question?

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Whoops! You beat me to it Ryan. So you think it's better to drip. The "precipitation buildup inside the tubes" that you're referring to, have you actually seen it happen? If so, I'll cut my tubes right now (this is definitely a strange discussion).

 

[GlassReef]

On another subject - I can't remember if I've mentioned it but my tank has cycled. I started turning the lights on about a week ago. Diatom algae started almost immediately - expected. Problem is hair algae has already started to grow! I'm assuming it's because of the type of rock I used (Marco). Anyone have the same problem? How'd ya fix it? I'd rather not have a long knock-down-drag-out with hair algae.

In case it makes any difference - my params:

Calcium: 430
ALK: 8.1 dKH
Mag: 1330
NH3: 0.0
NO2: 0.0
NO3: < 1.0
PO4: 0.1
SG: 1.025
pH: 8.18
ORP: 155 (don't know yet why it's so low)
Temp: 76 (I know this is a little low, but I'm not worried about it yet)

 

[lactose]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14472764#post14472764 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GlassReef
Whoops! You beat me to it Ryan. So you think it's better to drip. The "precipitation buildup inside the tubes" that you're referring to, have you actually seen it happen? If so, I'll cut my tubes right now (this is definitely a strange discussion).

When I had mine submerged I saw that happen relatively quickly.

However when I had them above the water I would see 'precipitation trees' grow on the end of the tubes presumably from a little creep of the Alk water wicking on the side of the tube and then evaporating and eventually building up. These however took much longer to happen and I think happen more with the throttling IV type pumps that hold drips there at times vs. the LM's who do the 150 bursts a day.

I have mine above water now and every once in a while smear some RO water on my fingers on the end of the Alk tube to prevent the build up. This felt better than the tube clogging as it seemed to have much less impact to the amount of additive making it through the tube when the tree did build up vs. a clogged line.

 

[ReefEnabler]

Yes I've had it happen with Limewater but I've also read from others it will happen with 2part.

think about it this way: you are essentially mixing Saltwater and a saturated solution inside of a 1/4" tube. There will be very little flow INSIDE the tube so thats effectively where mixing takes place.

what isn't able to dissolve will precipitate.

 

[GlassReef]

lactose, Ryan - thanks for that! Looks like I'm gonna end my tubes above water! Learned something new - that's why RC's so great.

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Oh, and Ed Reef and mflamb (Mike) - thanks for the nice comments a few posts ago.

 

[Rouselb]

I agree with Lactose, I use a LMIII for Kalk dosing, and its much better to have the end of the tube exposed to the air and not submerged.

 

[GlassReef]

Looks like opinions are 100% for exposed tubes. Makes my choice easy.

 

[jnarowe]

yeah, plus having them above water means you can visually inspect them, regardless of the time it takes to build up or not. With the alk feed, I would not have it continuous back to the source. I would put in a joint so that you can easily swap out the last foot or so. In mine, I see relatively rapid buildup and like to be able to remove it to clean and/or replace when needed.

 

[EnglishRebel]

Sorry if this is a little basic for this thread, but what is the advantage/disadvantage in dosing Calk and Alk over a using a Calcium reactor?
Thanks

 

[GlassReef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14473424#post14473424 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by EnglishRebel
... what is the advantage/disadvantage in dosing Calk and Alk over a using a Calcium reactor?
Thanks

Hi, Alan. Are you covered in sawdust?

I have two problems with using Ca reactor:

1. the CO2 tends to lower my pH. I know there are ways around the problem but, for me, they are just stopgaps. Sooner or later the CO2 will effect the pH (my experience)

2. I have always found it difficult to get calcium exactly where I want it with a reactor. Dosing calcium allows me to finely adjust the Ca in my tanks.

There are other advantages of dosing. You may find that you have problems with your Mg levels - dosing solves this problem. If you use a Ca reactor, it's not so easy.

Dosing calcium (calcium Chloride), ALK (sodium carbonate), and magnesium (magnesium chloride & magnesium sulfate) allows you the adjust your params very easily and within fairly close tolerances.

All that said, I think most aquarists in the States use a Ca reactor (and do very well with them) - whereas most in Europe use some form of the Balling method (dosing).

 

[jnarowe]

Alan,

typically, if you are using a calcium reactor, you NEED to use a kalk reactor just to keep the pH up, other wise your tank would be perpetually too low and/or the Ca reactor would rarely turn on if controlled by tank pH. They work better as a team.