Failsafe System Guidance

[bklynreef]

Currently I am designing plans on a 1000 gal. reef tank. The lighting involved here is as follows:

8 x 400 watt MH's = 3200 watts
4 x 156 watts actinics = 624 watts

I need a system which can handle the poewr of this wattage,
turning it off if the chiller goes or if for some reason the tank is getting too hot then it will shut the lights and bring them back on when the temp settles down. There are controllers out there that can do this but they wont be able to handle this kind of power load.
anything else I should think about to protect this system would be helpful also.

 

[AcroSteve]

I would run 3 seperate 15 amp circuits through individual relays. The relay coils could be tied together and controlled by the temperature controller.

 

[radone]

Definitely look into a backup generator. Worth their weight in gold on a large system. Even if you don't need it right now plan this into the build.
Flood control of some sorts would also be on my list.
Gotta agree with Steve on your lighting, might want ot look into contactors tied to the temperature controller better at handiling that current those things will pull.
When you building the nuclear substation? Nah just kidding

 

[bklynreef]

steve, do you mean that those relays will delay the restarting of the lamps and give them enough time to go on again? I was thinking more in terms of like the reefkeeper 2 type system which when the temp rises it shuts the lights and will wait before powering back up so it give the lights enough time to cool down first. will this work with the relays?
Radone,
I have a natural gas generator in the plans, drains also under the tank which is on the main floor and a nuclear substation in the basement direcly under the tank.

Im not sure if i should start a build thread for this yet. Im still in the planning stages and im at least 12 months away from building this tank. I like sanjays thread, alot of useful stuff there.

 

[cwegescheide]

I know the Aquacontroller has heavy duty dc4's that are designed for running halides....

 

[bklynreef]

im not so sure it can handle all 8 at 400 watts each. I dont think it even has that many outlets to that system.

 

[jacob30]

Yes aquacontroller III pro with several HD DC4's daisy chained or X-10's.

 

[Hop]

Just throwing it out here... How about less lights on a light mover? Maybe 4 MH on a light mover, plus I would go with VHO for the crisp actinic


Just a thought!

 

[bklynreef]

jacob: ac3 your saying can handle that kind of load? I will definitly check into it. Im not into the x10's though.

Hop: im not so gung ho on less light and just more motors running my lights back n forth. as for actinics, im going with 4x 4foot T5 actinics only on the back and front side.

 

[jacob30]

Yes it should be no problem. Each HD DC4 can be run off of a different circuit so the load factor is not the issue. The units are controlled by a seperate connection to each box which are daisy chained together for the control aspect via the AC III. Eight HD DC4's can be used to control up to 32 items. I think the ACIII pro can do up to 9 units, but you would have to ask in the Neptune forum.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=368

Jacob

 

[jacob30]

Also,

Use two return pumps
Auto starting generator
double redundancy heaters (multiple each with 2 controls)
Chiller x2 set 2 deg apart
remote control
remote monitoring
e-mail alerts
pH and ORP monitoring and control
metered auto topoff pumps with dual sensors!!
water detectors on floor
Closed loop or tunze circulation x2 or more

The AC III pro does alot of this as far as control goes but I also keep a few items off of one control source for redundancy.

 

[Aquaduck]

One thing to be aware of when using daisy chained Neptune Direct Connect units on different circuits.... All units downstream of a unit that has lost power will cease to control the devices that are plugged into it. That means if you have a heater plugged into the second circuit and power goes out on the first circuit, your controller will not be able to control the heater. It will remain stuck in whatever state it was in when the power was lost. I.E. you could cook your tank if the heater happened to be ON when the first circuit tripped.

 

[nyvp]

I did the same thing I ran 2 12/3 lines to my fish room and broke that into 4-20 amp gfi circuits. I put 2 dc4-HD on two of them 1 dc-8 on the third and the last circuit runs my the rest. I have the aqua III and my lights and 4-250w heaters are split on the two dc4-hd's this way if any of the circuits pop I have 2 sets of pumps heaters and lights still going. . I also put my Aqua unit on a computer battery backup incase.
Here is my thread if you have any questions


http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=847516

 

[bklynreef]

jacob, exactly what you mentioned is exactly the route im taking. I dont like to have too much equipent run on computers but things that will make my life easier I will do

 

[AcroSteve]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8085546#post8085546 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bklynreef
steve, do you mean that those relays will delay the restarting of the lamps and give them enough time to go on again? I was thinking more in terms of like the reefkeeper 2 type system which when the temp rises it shuts the lights and will wait before powering back up so it give the lights enough time to cool down first. will this work with the relays?

I have a ranco controller that reads tank temp. This controls a relay that controls a power strip that my ballasts are plugged into. If the temp gets to heigh, the relay comes on and the normally closed set of contacts opens. This kills the power to the power strip. When the temp drops, the relay will get turned off by the ranco and the power is restored to the ballasts.

 

[bklynreef]

i just sent neptune an email. lets see what they can do for me

Can the ACIII Pro handle this kind of power load ?
I am setting up a 1000 gallon reef and the lighting is as follows:

8x400 watt MH's

4x4ft T5 actinics

6 moonlights

4x4ft regegular flourecents

2x1HP Chillers