drummereef's 180g in-wall build

[dipan]

drummereef ... Great Job! You're build is one of the few that really inspired my own (though I'm still working on it). Here is a version of your manifold with some of the aforementioned fittings for quick release. A big benefit of the ones that automatically cut off flow is that you do not have to mess with the valve that you have presumably set to a specific flow rate through your reactor or whatever. Just disconnect, do your business, and reconnect.

 

[110galreef]

drummereef ... Great Job! You're build is one of the few that really inspired my own (though I'm still working on it). Here is a version of your manifold with some of the aforementioned fittings for quick release. A big benefit of the ones that automatically cut off flow is that you do not have to mess with the valve that you have presumably set to a specific flow rate through your reactor or whatever. Just disconnect, do your business, and reconnect.

That is sweet! I need to do something like that for my reactors.

Do you have a link for those fittings? Also what size BV & threads & type of hose output & size?

Thanks,

 

[naprestsleep]

I like the idea of the automatically flow cut off of those connectors, the way I solved the issue of turning off a branch of the manifold without messing with valve is having two valves, in series. One I use to set flow and the other for on/off. Cheap and easy setup for me.

 

[jimmy n]

That tank looks like it belongs to Adrian Monk. Amazing work

 

[dipan]

That is sweet! I need to do something like that for my reactors.

Do you have a link for those fittings? Also what size BV & threads & type of hose output & size?

Thanks,

I used the exact "high flow" fittings linked by psteeleb:
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23027

I chose the 1/2" fittings with "shut off" so that they don't leak when disconnected. I'm using 1/2" inner diameter Tygon tubing going to Precision Marine media reactors that have 1/2" barb fittings. The ball valves I got locally at a local hardware store and are just 1/2" threaded ball valves. 1/2" plastic nipple on the proximal end attaches to the manifold. 1/2" male pipe thread polysulfone coupling insert linked above connects to the other end. 1/2" coupling body (the part with the button) with a 1/2" barb fitting attaches to the hose and the other end of the hose to the reactor. I picked polysulfone because it had better operating temperatures and pressures than polypropylene, though I'm sure the polypropylene would have been fine. I tend to overdo things.

I like the idea of the automatically flow cut off of those connectors, the way I solved the issue of turning off a branch of the manifold without messing with valve is having two valves, in series. One I use to set flow and the other for on/off. Cheap and easy setup for me.

That's a great idea, too bad I didn't think of it

 

[drummereef]

Drummm..

Have you checked PO4 lately. I just checked mine & was 0.00 on the hanna checker :dance:

I am about 10-11 weeks in now and PO4 has come from .03...02..& now 0.00.

wondering if this is attributed to light bioload (10 small fish) or biopellets or what? I am not doing anything real special or overkill maintenance....Oh and I did buy GFO & reactor, but haven't needed to run it yet!! May not need at all?

How many ml's of biopellets you running too? I am using 750ml on 250g display

Great news 110g. I tested my PO4 and NO3 2 days ago. PO4 on my Hanna Checker is 0.00, NO3 is clear yellow on my API kit so it's as close to zero as it gets. :thumbsup: I'm running 1L of ecoBAK on my reactor.

 

[drummereef]

drummereef ... Great Job! You're build is one of the few that really inspired my own (though I'm still working on it). Here is a version of your manifold with some of the aforementioned fittings for quick release. A big benefit of the ones that automatically cut off flow is that you do not have to mess with the valve that you have presumably set to a specific flow rate through your reactor or whatever. Just disconnect, do your business, and reconnect.

Thanks for the pic and kind words dipan. In theory this would seem to work but in practice there is a bit of a hang-up. On my system, and presumably the aforementioned system, when maintenancing these reactors air is always introduced into the tubing and reactor itself. To avoid bubbling the media inside the reactor after plumbing it back online I always have to ramp up the flow from the off position to gently purge the air out of the reactor. Once all the air has purged I'm able to dial in the proper flow rate for the specific media I'm using. If I was to use the quick disconnects like the ones in the pic, I would place a small valve after disconnect to have the option of slowly ramping up the flow, otherwise I could imagine there would be a huge bubble bomb situation inside the reactor if not. I really like the security/failsafe cutoff but me personally, I'd have an extra small valve on the input tubing going into the reactor for this purpose. The dreaded bubble bomb! :hammer: :lol:

 

[psteeleb]

Brett

I hated the bubble bombs I got on my 300, so when I built my 110 I designed the manifold to stay flooded, no more bubble bombs

 

[dipan]

Thanks for the pic and kind words dipan. In theory this would seem to work but in practice there is a bit of a hang-up. On my system, and presumably the aforementioned system, when maintenancing these reactors air is always introduced into the tubing and reactor itself. To avoid bubbling the media inside the reactor after plumbing it back online I always have to ramp up the flow from the off position to gently purge the air out of the reactor. Once all the air has purged I'm able to dial in the proper flow rate for the specific media I'm using. If I was to use the quick disconnects like the ones in the pic, I would place a small valve after disconnect to have the option of slowly ramping up the flow, otherwise I could imagine there would be a huge bubble bomb situation inside the reactor if not. I really like the security/failsafe cutoff but me personally, I'd have an extra small valve on the input tubing going into the reactor for this purpose. The dreaded bubble bomb! :hammer: :lol:

How about using one of the empty manifold outlets as a purge outlet. The position for this manifold doesn't matter because it's just used for purging. Then when all the air is out, disconnect and reconnect to the preconfigured manifold outlet. These fittings introduce very little air when attached. No extra purge valves needed.

 

[drummereef]

Brett

I hated the bubble bombs I got on my 300, so when I built my 110 I designed the manifold to stay flooded, no more bubble bombs

:thumbsup:

How about using one of the empty manifold outlets as a purge outlet. The position for this manifold doesn't matter because it's just used for purging. Then when all the air is out, disconnect and reconnect to the preconfigured manifold outlet. These fittings introduce very little air when attached. No extra purge valves needed.

This is the same as the recirculation line on my manifold. There will still be air inside the reactor and tubing, even if you pre-fill the reactor prior to plumbing it back online. It's very likely to initiate a bubble bomb if the flow rate hasn't been adjusted. Believe me, the first time I put one of my reactors online I turned the flow up immediately to operating level and BOOM! This was even with the manifold active and flooded.

 

[dipan]

:thumbsup:



This is the same as the recirculation line on my manifold. There will still be air inside the reactor and tubing, even if you pre-fill the reactor prior to plumbing it back online. It's very likely to initiate a bubble bomb if the flow rate hasn't been adjusted. Believe me, the first time I put one of my reactors online I turned the flow up immediately to operating level and BOOM! This was even with the manifold active and flooded.

I think I need to make this mistake myself before I figure it out :hmm4:

 

[drummereef]

I think I need to make this mistake myself before I figure it out :hmm4:

Haha, I suppose in the end it doesn't matter when replacing media since you should always purge/decant the reactor first before placing the effluent line back in the sump. After I replace the media, attach a hose extension and purge roughly 4-5 gallons of water through the reactor and media to get rid of any fines that might make it through the sponges.

I do still get air pushed through the reactors when performing a water change when I need to shut down the return pump. After turning the pump back on there's always some air that pushes through the reactor causing burps. Not really a huge deal since the new medias have been running and also fines removed. Hope this helps.

 

[drummereef]

UPDATE:


Just a quick update and question for you...

So far in just a little over 2 weeks the coral frags seem to be doing well. Most of them have encrusted over the super glue I used to mount them to the rock rubble. Now if I can just get them to grow in the other direction.

Currently I have my light cycle running in total of 7 hours, along with a dawn/dusk cycle that adds another hour. But each lamp is only on 7 hours individually. Do you think I should raise the run time for each lamp to 8 hours?

I also have the option of running HQI on my selectable ballasts. Other than decreased lamp life, do you think there would be a significant benefit to the corals running HQI with the 250 watt Radiums?

 

[maikoa02]

Nice job! I like the openness, lots of room for growth.

 

[henrystyle]

UPDATE:
Other than decreased lamp life, do you think there would be a significant benefit to the corals running HQI with the 250 watt Radiums?

Radiums on a hqi ballast are a nice look. When I had radiums, my acro colors were insane. No rush on raising the light schedule. Acros tend to encrust the base first then grow out. Some slow, some fast.
One thing I noticed with radiums is that they made my acros have a bluish tint. Even the ones that werent suppose to be that color. On my new tank I have 2 400w xm 20k on a duel pfo pulse start ballast. (we shall the difference)

 

[AkaSlyGuy]

Hey Brett. I run my Radiums for 7 hours on the HQI setting on my Lumatek ballasts. I also run extra actinic for a dawn/dusk effect. I actually thought about changing the lights to only run 6 hours to see if I notice any difference.

Maybe before you increase the hours, you could switch over to HQI for a while and see what happens. Honestly "I" don't see much difference, but I run them in HQI anyway. Maybe the corals like it better??

 

[tegee]

My Radiums (on HQI ballasts) are run for 7 hrs with Actinic supplementation for 9 hrs.....FWIW.

 

[cromedogg33]

I agree with everyone else here. Radiums were designed to run on m80 ballasts but you have the HQI setting which I believe pushed the radiums more towards 300w each. I think you are actually shortening the life by NOT having it on HQI setting.

 

[drummereef]

Nice job! I like the openness, lots of room for growth.

Thank you maikoa02.

Radiums on a hqi ballast are a nice look. When I had radiums, my acro colors were insane. No rush on raising the light schedule. Acros tend to encrust the base first then grow out. Some slow, some fast.
One thing I noticed with radiums is that they made my acros have a bluish tint. Even the ones that werent suppose to be that color. On my new tank I have 2 400w xm 20k on a duel pfo pulse start ballast. (we shall the difference)

Good info, thanks henrystyle.

Hey Brett. I run my Radiums for 7 hours on the HQI setting on my Lumatek ballasts. I also run extra actinic for a dawn/dusk effect. I actually thought about changing the lights to only run 6 hours to see if I notice any difference.

Maybe before you increase the hours, you could switch over to HQI for a while and see what happens. Honestly "I" don't see much difference, but I run them in HQI anyway. Maybe the corals like it better??

Great, thanks Joe.

My Radiums (on HQI ballasts) are run for 7 hrs with Actinic supplementation for 9 hrs.....FWIW.

Thanks for the heads up tegee.

I agree with everyone else here. Radiums were designed to run on m80 ballasts but you have the HQI setting which I believe pushed the radiums more towards 300w each. I think you are actually shortening the life by NOT having it on HQI setting.

Interesting Josh... I know they were designed for m80s but I think I read that these new "digital" electronic ballasts run them more at spec than previous e-ballasts. There's lots of information in the link below. I think I'll switch to the HQI setting tonight and see how the colors look.

Radium Primer Thread
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1802877&highlight=radium

RokleM claims he can get up to 12 months out of his Radiums on the same setup as me running HQI with nominal par performace over the life of the bulb. Here's his reply from the above thread.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=18230871&postcount=191

 

[Nanook]

I would definitely recommend using the HQI setting as well. 250 watt Radiums are spec'd to run about 300+ watts.