drummereef
Team RC
Question for you guys... How long do you run your "actinic" lighting before and after your daylight cycles?
drummereef's 180g in-wall build
- Thread starter drummereef
- Start date
cromedogg33
Member
2 hours before and after.
LED 1 : Noon
LED 2 : 1pm
Left halide : 2pm
Center/Right halide : 3pm
Left halide off : 9pm
Center/right halide off : 10pm
led 1 off : 11pm
led 2 off: midnight
This gives me the most viewing time I can have without completely wasting energy and power bills being really high. I like having the 2 seperate drives for LED's because I feel it gives my fish a bit of time to wakeup rather than just blasting light in there.
LED 1 : Noon
LED 2 : 1pm
Left halide : 2pm
Center/Right halide : 3pm
Left halide off : 9pm
Center/right halide off : 10pm
led 1 off : 11pm
led 2 off: midnight
This gives me the most viewing time I can have without completely wasting energy and power bills being really high. I like having the 2 seperate drives for LED's because I feel it gives my fish a bit of time to wakeup rather than just blasting light in there.
Krazie4Acans
New member
My moonlights are on 24/7, dawn/dusk RB LED's 1 hour before daylight and 1 hour after. Plan on putting a dimmable driver on my daylight LED's and using my controller to create a smoother transition from dawn/dusk to full mid day sun and back.
Krazie:jester:
Krazie:jester:
tj1627
I Dated a Robot
Thanks iced.I might do something with the cover on the junction box to make it a little more "high tech" looking but haven't decided yet.
Of course you would, Brett, of course you would :spin1:
I assume your personal mantra goes something like, "If it ain't broke, rebuild and improve upon it anyway."
Either way, the wiring project looks great. Just another thing to add to my list of future projects
Keep up the great work!
drummereef
Team RC
Thanks crome! I currently have mine running 1.5 hours before/after but I think I'll bump it up to 2 hours each. Is the ramp up period for the full 2 hours or do you run them at 100% for a bit before the halides come on?
Sounds good to me Krazie.
I'd like to add some moonlights to my system at some point as well. Thanks!Of course you would, Brett, of course you would :spin1:
I assume your personal mantra goes something like, "If it ain't broke, rebuild and improve upon it anyway."
Either way, the wiring project looks great. Just another thing to add to my list of future projects
Haha, you got it.
Thanks for checking in and the kind words Tim.
cromedogg33
Member
Mine are on or off. I don't have a contrallable driver.
drummereef
Team RC
Gotcha, thanks Josh. I added 30 minutes to my actinic schedule so the LEDs ramp up/down for an hour and are both on 100% for another hour directly before and after the Halides. So two hours of ramp up and down time now.
drummereef
Team RC
So knowing what you know about my tank... How long would a 5 LB CO2 tank last in regards to running a calcium reactor? My demand is about 1 dKh give or take per day.
Thanks guys.
Thanks guys.
drummereef
Team RC
drummereef
Team RC
OK, wow. That's longer than I would have thought. I'm seriously considering moving up to a calcium reactor in the next month or two, so just getting a grasp on what's needed and the maintenance involved. I'm a complete Ca reactor noob so any advice is welcome.
aquaph8
Love The Fish
OK, wow. That's longer than I would have thought. I'm seriously considering moving up to a calcium reactor in the next month or two, so just getting a grasp on what's needed and the maintenance involved. I'm a complete Ca reactor noob so any advice is welcome.
I've had the same thoughts lately but like most guys I'm set in my routine and can't pull the trigger. I'm pretty happy with the two part still but the fluctuation I get with my kalk reactor according to the amount of top off needed is driving me crazy. I gotta take the time to get it set on a certain amount daily regardless of top off usage. sorry for the derail, now I'm just rambling
footballdude2k3
Active member
All I can say is wow, I am putting together equipment for a 180 build that I am starting after I move this summer. I hope my tank looks like this in a few years, well done.
Vlado4x4
New member
Brett i have been running my CA reactor since 2 years now. All I can say is that getting the hand of it it's not an easy task, but when you do it' a grate tool. Extremely helpful.
I have a 260g system (sump incl.) And I use the Octopus CR140 Calcium Reactor, with a second chamber reactor. Hope this helps ...
I have a 260g system (sump incl.) And I use the Octopus CR140 Calcium Reactor, with a second chamber reactor. Hope this helps ...
How would you go about setting an alarm for that.?
drummereef
Team RC
I've had the same thoughts lately but like most guys I'm set in my routine and can't pull the trigger. I'm pretty happy with the two part still but the fluctuation I get with my kalk reactor according to the amount of top off needed is driving me crazy. I gotta take the time to get it set on a certain amount daily regardless of top off usage. sorry for the derail, now I'm just rambling
No derail at all Brett.
I know and understand your frustrations. I have my Kalk on a separate dosing pump which I've pretty much dialed in to hold my Alk without fluctuation. My Osmolator acts as a secondary top off for whatever the dosing pump doesn't make up for throughout the day. That said, I'm having to refill my 5g bucket every 2 days now! Ahhh! :headwally: It used to be every 4-5 days which I could deal with, but it's getting to the point where I either need to upgrade to a much larger Kalk resevoir or just bite the bullet and get a CaRx. They just cost $$$ to set up. LOL Thanks footballdude. Good luck with your build!
Excellent Vlado. I appreciate the advice.
What regulator are you using with your Octopus Reactor? I would like to know this too Pete. I understand how to program the solenoid valve to shut off but not sure how I would set an alarm for the tank, unless is just a "passive" type of alarm - something that's programmed into my phone or something...
psteeleb
Team RC
I'll post the programs tonight when I get back home
back prior to controllers there was a lot of concern about too much Co2 dropping the pH so much you would melt the media
you had to set the flow rate, Co2 bubble rate just right in harmony to get the desired results and they took days to get it right. for example too much water flow and you could not get the pH to drop enough and you tried to compensate with more Co2 or vice versa
Water flows in the slow drip range tended to slow down over time due to calcium build up also creating problems
I found setting the water flow rate to just over a drip count or minimum stream works best. Then adjusting the bubble count to get a pH reading around 6.65 works well. Most people tried to get the bubble count set then use the pH controller as a back up for too much Co2. This is still a good approach but what I like is to go just past the minimum and let the system turn off/on the Co2 giving you more control on the pH zone. The contoller on/off is what I monitor and alarm for if it's constantly on it's a good indicator the Co2 bottle is low or your water flow is too high and if it's off too long it's a good indicator you have a clog in your water flow.
I also use the controller to turn off the Ca reactor at night when the pH naturally drops and only run it when the lights are on helping to offset pH swings (no need for a dual chamber)
back prior to controllers there was a lot of concern about too much Co2 dropping the pH so much you would melt the media
you had to set the flow rate, Co2 bubble rate just right in harmony to get the desired results and they took days to get it right. for example too much water flow and you could not get the pH to drop enough and you tried to compensate with more Co2 or vice versa
Water flows in the slow drip range tended to slow down over time due to calcium build up also creating problems
I found setting the water flow rate to just over a drip count or minimum stream works best. Then adjusting the bubble count to get a pH reading around 6.65 works well. Most people tried to get the bubble count set then use the pH controller as a back up for too much Co2. This is still a good approach but what I like is to go just past the minimum and let the system turn off/on the Co2 giving you more control on the pH zone. The contoller on/off is what I monitor and alarm for if it's constantly on it's a good indicator the Co2 bottle is low or your water flow is too high and if it's off too long it's a good indicator you have a clog in your water flow.
I also use the controller to turn off the Ca reactor at night when the pH naturally drops and only run it when the lights are on helping to offset pH swings (no need for a dual chamber)
psteeleb
Team RC
This program looks at the pH in the Ca reactor and if it’s on and the ph is outside the set parameters the alarm sounds. So if there is a too much flow the pH would not reach 7.0. The below 6.3 is there as a fail safe in the event the solenoid gets stuck in the on position
Set OFF
If Outlet V_CA_C02_Ala = ON Then ON
If pH2 > 07.00 Then ON
If pH2 < 06.30 Then ON
If Time 20:00 to 13:00 Then OFF
This next program monitors the Ca reactor solenoid activity. If it remains on for more then 60 minutes the alarm sounds. This would indicate there is not enough Co2 entering the chamber due to a low C02 amount or the water flow through the chamber is to fast for the Co2 to drop to the desired level.
Set ON
If Outlet Ca_Rx_pH = ON Then OFF
Defer 060:00 Then ON
If Time 20:00 to 11:00 Then OFF
The solenoid is controled by the pH in the reactor chamber with the following program. As you can see I run the reactor from 12 noon to 9 pm and try to keep the pH between 6.65 and 6.75. This set up keeps my tank Alk at about 10 dkh and Ca around 500. I keep it high in the event I'm gone for a couple days when something goes wrong or run low on C02 etc.
Fallback OFF
If pH2 > 06.75 Then ON
If pH2 < 06.65 Then OFF
If Time 21:00 to 12:00 Then OFF
Set OFF
If Outlet V_CA_C02_Ala = ON Then ON
If pH2 > 07.00 Then ON
If pH2 < 06.30 Then ON
If Time 20:00 to 13:00 Then OFF
This next program monitors the Ca reactor solenoid activity. If it remains on for more then 60 minutes the alarm sounds. This would indicate there is not enough Co2 entering the chamber due to a low C02 amount or the water flow through the chamber is to fast for the Co2 to drop to the desired level.
Set ON
If Outlet Ca_Rx_pH = ON Then OFF
Defer 060:00 Then ON
If Time 20:00 to 11:00 Then OFF
The solenoid is controled by the pH in the reactor chamber with the following program. As you can see I run the reactor from 12 noon to 9 pm and try to keep the pH between 6.65 and 6.75. This set up keeps my tank Alk at about 10 dkh and Ca around 500. I keep it high in the event I'm gone for a couple days when something goes wrong or run low on C02 etc.
Fallback OFF
If pH2 > 06.75 Then ON
If pH2 < 06.65 Then OFF
If Time 21:00 to 12:00 Then OFF
Vlado4x4
New member
Excellent Vlado. I appreciate the advice.
I´m using the MA 957 CO2 regulator with the Milwaukee SMS 122
cromedogg33
Member
Brett,
Have you thought about just balling dosing both Ca and Alk? I sold my Ca reactor about a year ago because exactly what happened with Pete's programming happened to me. For some reason when my C02 got low the pressure in the tank changes and it messed with how much gas was coming in and it almost nuked my tank.
It was the #1 piece of equipment I was looking at EVERY SINGLE DAY to make sure my drip rate was steady, ph was perfect, flow was good, etc.
I went to a bubble magus doser and could not be happier. I make up 5 gallons at a time and they last me 4-6 months because I'm using the reciple that is half strength.
While Ca reactors work great when they are working....it always seemed to me it was the biggest heartache that I constantly worried about in my tank. You hear all the horror stories constantly about them too.
Just food for thought about your options.
Have you thought about just balling dosing both Ca and Alk? I sold my Ca reactor about a year ago because exactly what happened with Pete's programming happened to me. For some reason when my C02 got low the pressure in the tank changes and it messed with how much gas was coming in and it almost nuked my tank.
It was the #1 piece of equipment I was looking at EVERY SINGLE DAY to make sure my drip rate was steady, ph was perfect, flow was good, etc.
I went to a bubble magus doser and could not be happier. I make up 5 gallons at a time and they last me 4-6 months because I'm using the reciple that is half strength.
While Ca reactors work great when they are working....it always seemed to me it was the biggest heartache that I constantly worried about in my tank. You hear all the horror stories constantly about them too.
Just food for thought about your options.
