bond007069
New member
Reefmeister--did you read Calfo's book. Are you using saltwater that is a few degree colder than the display water. Thermocline principles
Episode II of "The Lazy Reefkeeper" series (The 2-minute water change)
- Thread starter ReefMeister2
- Start date
Beenalongtime79
New member
Another great post... At first when just beginning the thread, I said, "That's exactly how I do!" But then you had to get all complicated and get rid of the mouth powered siphon hose. That's where you lost me!
Haha. Now, I really want a house. Just another 3 or 4 years and maybe then I can start drilling holes all over my own place!
Peace,
John H.
Haha. Now, I really want a house. Just another 3 or 4 years and maybe then I can start drilling holes all over my own place!
Peace,
John H.
carpetride
Premium Member
Very Nice!
ReefMeister2
Premium Member
bond007069 said:
Actually I've always kept the heater in the mixing barrel set around 74 degree just because I knew there wouldn't be enough fluctuation during a water change to condone keeping my mixing barrel at 78 degrees. I also hypothesized that the cooler temperature would retard bacteria growth if any were present in the barrel...though I've never had a problem.
Are there other benefits in that book relating to this? I've never read it.
woowoodengy
Upgrading my 20gal
you can see a pic or his tank in one of the pics above its on his dryer cool tank lol.
keep the good stuff coming.
hopefully your next idea is an automatic algea cleaner just turn on and watch it scrape if you do make this please send me one fore the idea if you make it big with the idea you have to biuld me the wc setup.
keep the good stuff coming.
hopefully your next idea is an automatic algea cleaner just turn on and watch it scrape if you do make this please send me one fore the idea if you make it big with the idea you have to biuld me the wc setup.
headshrink
New member
I love you even more now ReefMeister
ReefMeister2
Premium Member
headshrink said:
headshrink, you give me that warm tingly feeling inside :inlove:
oh wait...I think that was the scotch
ReefMeister2
Premium Member
aztbs said:
Well, here is my main tank for those of you who were curious. It sits as a room divider between my kitchen and dining room and can be seen from all four sides. The lighthood is 4x96 watt PC It is hardwired (no cords) and rotates 360 degrees, but that story is for later episode.
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carpetride
Premium Member
Curious who manufactures a bent 90??
Simms142
New member
I have lost a little respect for you. After watching that first episode in amazement, i am suprised a man like yourself would have to do so much to do a waterchange. I mean you have to stand there and watch the water level.
Just a suggestion for the super laziest. Have a switch, so when you press it once it fills up and gets turned off by a float switch so then you dont even have the water level to worry about. Set it the same hieght as your ATO. Then come back from the fridge and Turn the waterchange system off.
Just a suggestion for the super laziest. Have a switch, so when you press it once it fills up and gets turned off by a float switch so then you dont even have the water level to worry about. Set it the same hieght as your ATO. Then come back from the fridge and Turn the waterchange system off.
ReefMeister2,
I thought you were lazy!!?? You have to push some buttons.
I have set up a system on timers so I don't/wont have to do anything....but make the salt water.
1: timer turns water on for 3 minutes (adds about 15 gallons to sump).
2:wait 30 minutes, next timer turns off return pumps. Water rises above the normal max when pumps mormally turn off in sump.
3: water overflows through a siphon set at that normal level into 5g bucket.
4: pump in 5g bucket (also on timer) pumps out water 70feet through basement ceiling, garage and onto driveway (I am adding a pump saver to bucket pump to keep the noise down)
Totally unattended. If I run out of new salt water, only the amount added to the system is withdrawn.
This should qualify as laziness success.
I thought you were lazy!!?? You have to push some buttons.
I have set up a system on timers so I don't/wont have to do anything....but make the salt water.
1: timer turns water on for 3 minutes (adds about 15 gallons to sump).
2:wait 30 minutes, next timer turns off return pumps. Water rises above the normal max when pumps mormally turn off in sump.
3: water overflows through a siphon set at that normal level into 5g bucket.
4: pump in 5g bucket (also on timer) pumps out water 70feet through basement ceiling, garage and onto driveway (I am adding a pump saver to bucket pump to keep the noise down)
Totally unattended. If I run out of new salt water, only the amount added to the system is withdrawn.
This should qualify as laziness success.
ReefMeister2
Premium Member
SUMMERS said:
The "bushing assembly" on this swivel was actually one of my biggest engineering challenges. There are at least a dozen different parts on the inside of the light swivel. It had to be very tight-fitting (close tollerance) to allow rotating a 4-foot long object from only a single mounting point (without wobble) and at the same time leave a hollow center to accomodate wiring. There is also a stop that allows the hood to rotate only one full circle, so binding/twisting the wires is not an issue; it must always be turned back in the correct direction. There is also a pair of moonlights (powered by thier own dedicated wires), and two cooling fans (intake and exhaust)
I didn't want power cords hanging down, for obvious reasons.
No one does in the white PVC. I use the grey-colored electrical PVC 90's in areas where I want a "sweeping" bend. It is the same material, but a different color so that it is identifiable as electrical conduit in the industry. It is in the electical isle (not plumbing) at HD and Lowe's. You can use either regular PVC primer and glue, or the RedHot glue, to join it with regular PVC. For larger diameters such as 1-1/2" I use the black ABS fittings for all my bends. There are dozens of configurations with these fittings. Just wander the plumbing isle and you'll see what I mean.
I usually dump only half the fuge or none of it at all. that's why I say 40 gallons instead of 55 gallons (on average). You can't see in the photos, but I have a special filter/strainer attached to the bulkhead to prevent the macros from getting sucked into the drain when I dump. I also had to extend it with PVC connectors so as to clear the DSB and drain from above the sand level. Like I said though, I generally don't like to disturb the little critters in there. Only once in awhile.
skireef:
That is a pretty ingenious setup. Aren't you also dumping "good" water that you just introduced along with the bad stuff though? I suppose you are still accomplishing similar results in a diluted sort of way. In my case, I need to replace my CPR overflow with a Lifereef before I'll trust a shut-down and restart procedure on a regular basis like that. I could easily allow a "controlled flood" in my sump area since it is sealed off like a bathtub (w/drain) for just such an occurance.
I particularly like the "overskimming" procedure for water changes. The idea is to try to remove the "worse" water by cranking up the protein skimmer for a designated period of time (in leu of a traditional water change) and thus minimize removing good water. I had proposed this idea in a post last year and now quite a few reefers have implemented this into their regiment. Kinda hard to automate though.
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