Jack's JBJ 28G

I am not sure where the sand dollar came from... I'm willing to bet the previous owner found him on the beach... I can ask him if you like.

All the sites say that the sand dollars need a ton of sand to survive and might be bad for the sandbed since it can eat all the organisms in there, but so far he seems to be doing a fine job and thriving quite well in a 34g cube keeping the sand white and me happy.

In regards to the heat... 84 is too high for a unit running LEDs unless the ambient temperature in the house is 80+ which can't be comfortable to live in to begin with.

My 34g cube runs at 84-85 with mhi running for the day and found out if I open the feeding trap and sump lid the temp runs fairly constant 79-81 at the end of the day with the lights running for 9 hours.
I did get a chiller for the unit for 150$ but it's not in use ATM, waiting for the summer and then I'll run it.
Also if the tank is near a heat vent, you might want to move it to a diff location with less heat blasting directly on to it.

The tank is next to the wall where the heating pipes pass. Its my fault but moving it is not an option. The fan works great. Although I need to fill my reservoir more often. I need to do some research for some good sand sifters. My YWG is not doing its job and I am not sure if I get a diamond goby they will be territorial.
 
Jack, I've had good luck with nassarius and cerith snails keeping the sand bed stirred up enough, I just keep a bunch of them and they come out and night and do their thing.

Otherwise, just wait on the GFO reactor to really start taking working, it can take a while to suck up all the phosphates out of the tank that have been absorbed by the sand and rock. Now that you have been running it for a while, you can also try upping your dosage some. Just make sure you move slow and don't exceed the recommended amount listed on the product you are using (I think you mentioned RowaPhos, I don't have any experience with that one).


I am def taking your advise. I will add more phosphate slowly next water change. I am getting a little worried because in certain areas of the sand bed I am starting to red algae. I hope its not red slime:headwally:
I feel like I don't have enough CUC so this weekend I will go get some more.
 
How about a little more info on this combination? I've been looking for alternatives to buying a RKL to fix my fan/heater issue. Currently I have them working against each other to keep my temp stable.

Well mine heater and fan are actually working against each other also. My heater is set to 78 and my fan is set to 79.

The JBJ C-Breeze is a small and simple fan the is very convenient to attach on the tank rim. Its very loud and the speed cannot be adjusted but it does its job. The controller is not manufactured for aquarium purposes, it was designed for cooling and heating ventalation systems. Like any other product people found other uses for it and has been proven and affective for aquarium temperature controller. The unit can be

Specs on the unit.
http://www.etcsupply.com/ranco-etc1...er-p-86.html?gclid=CPyVx7fToa4CFcjc4AoddCurSg

This is the diagram I used to wire the unit.
http://www.rcreptiles.com/blog/index.php/2007/05/11/how_to_wire_a_ranco_etc_111000_thermosta


Hope this helps
 
What are you feeding? It could be dumping phosphates in your tank. If frozen foods, thaw them in a little rodi water then strain the solids out, squeeze out the excess liquid and just feed the meat to your fish. The juice is where alot of the phosphates are. Also, once you get your temp problem fixed the algae issue may resolve itself. Algae thrives in heat
 
The tank is next to the wall where the heating pipes pass. Its my fault but moving it is not an option. The fan works great. Although I need to fill my reservoir more often. I need to do some research for some good sand sifters. My YWG is not doing its job and I am not sure if I get a diamond goby they will be territorial.

I would also suggest sucking the hot air out of the tank before it heats up the water; I've tried running a computer 120mm Noctua fan hooked up to an old power supply sucking air out through the feeding trap and the temp never goes up; on the flip side evaporation is a fairly big factor but it is fairly easy to deal with.
The fan cooling systems which the cubes come with tend to cool down the light encasing but not in between the water surface and splash-guard and in time that air in will only get warmer which will heat up the water... so why not cool down that section of the cube? Also whats the ambient temperature?
 
What are you feeding? It could be dumping phosphates in your tank. If frozen foods, thaw them in a little rodi water then strain the solids out, squeeze out the excess liquid and just feed the meat to your fish. The juice is where alot of the phosphates are. Also, once you get your temp problem fixed the algae issue may resolve itself. Algae thrives in heat

Really.....I've been just thawing the frozen food in the tank water and then pouring it into the tank. I wonder if this is the cause of the problem. I now have the temp under control so I have my fingered crossed if all these issues will disappear.
 
I am having this weird problem with the temperature reading from the Ranco etc controller. On my digital thermometer it reads 78.6F and on the Ranco it reads 81F. Both probes are placed in the same spot so I don't understand the difference in temperature readings.

Anyone have any ideas?
 
I am having this weird problem with the temperature reading from the Ranco etc controller. On my digital thermometer it reads 78.6F and on the Ranco it reads 81F. Both probes are placed in the same spot so I don't understand the difference in temperature readings.

Anyone have any ideas?

One is busted :) get a third one to find out which one is wrong.
 
I am having this weird problem with the temperature reading from the Ranco etc controller. On my digital thermometer it reads 78.6F and on the Ranco it reads 81F. Both probes are placed in the same spot so I don't understand the difference in temperature readings.

Anyone have any ideas?

One is busted :) get a third one to find out which one is wrong.

The Ranco is a classic industrial controller...another good example of smart people (you know, saltwater aquarium guys like us) using technology from outside the hobby in new ways. I have a very old version of this...they work pretty much forever.

I would say that if you are SURE the thermometer is correct, and the Ranco is always off by the same amount, then just "set it and forget it" with the know offset. However, I will bet that you will find (unless you damaged the Ranco probe) that the Ranco is closer to reality. You are likely comparing an expensive industiral controller (Ranco) to a cheap mass-produced watch-battery-powered device.

But, all these digital things have a margin of error ("digital" does *not* mean "more accurate than analog"). Ultimately, it is an analog measurement that is converted to digital (analog probe to digital reading). If each device had a 1 degree margin of error (Ranco is really 80F and reads 81F, and the thermoeter is really 80F and reads 79F) then it's possible your devices are both reading correct WITHIN THEIR MARGIN OF ERROR.

Fundamentally, there are three considerations here:
  • Accuracy - is the device accurate. This is the "margin of error" aspect. A lot of this is about calibration, and the ability to calibrate to within that margin. It would be possible, for example, to have an accuracy to within +/- 1 degree, but be miscalibrated. See repeatability below...this might not even matter.
  • Resolution - does the device convey information at the lowest unit of measure that is needed for the job (answer is yes in our hobby...1 degree is fine).
  • Repeatability -does the device repeatly indicate the same information under the same conditions, REGARDLESS of accuracy. In other words, it might be off by 1 or 2 degrees, but repeatable.
Of the three, assuming the resolution is acceptable and any inaccuracy is repeatable, I would take inaccurate and repeatable any day. Or, put another way, "grossly correct is better than precisely inaccurate".
 
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Well mine heater and fan are actually working against each other also. My heater is set to 78 and my fan is set to 79.

The JBJ C-Breeze is a small and simple fan the is very convenient to attach on the tank rim. Its very loud and the speed cannot be adjusted but it does its job. The controller is not manufactured for aquarium purposes, it was designed for cooling and heating ventalation systems. Like any other product people found other uses for it and has been proven and affective for aquarium temperature controller. The unit can be

Specs on the unit.
http://www.etcsupply.com/ranco-etc1...er-p-86.html?gclid=CPyVx7fToa4CFcjc4AoddCurSg

This is the diagram I used to wire the unit.
http://www.rcreptiles.com/blog/index.php/2007/05/11/how_to_wire_a_ranco_etc_111000_thermosta


Hope this helps


Thanks
 
I am having this weird problem with the temperature reading from the Ranco etc controller. On my digital thermometer it reads 78.6F and on the Ranco it reads 81F. Both probes are placed in the same spot so I don't understand the difference in temperature readings.

Anyone have any ideas?

Temp probes are only spec'd to be within certain ranges of accuracy and offset (i.e. the datasheet may spec +/-2% accuracy with a maximum of 0.5deg offset). If you put 3 different probes in your tank at the exact same location, you are likely to get 3 different readings even if they are from the same manufacturer.

I use an annually calibrated temp probe from work to get a true reading and get an idea of how accurate my two in-tank temp probes are.
 
The Ranco is a classic industrial controller...another good example of smart people (you know, saltwater aquarium guys like us) using technology from outside the hobby in new ways. I have a very old version of this...they work pretty much forever.

I would say that if you are SURE the thermometer is correct, and the Ranco is always off by the same amount, then just "set it and forget it" with the know offset. However, I will bet that you will find (unless you damaged the Ranco probe) that the Ranco is closer to reality. You are likely comparing an expensive industiral controller (Ranco) to a cheap mass-produced watch-battery-powered device.

But, all these digital things have a margin of error ("digital" does *not* mean "more accurate than analog"). Ultimately, it is an analog measurement that is converted to digital (analog probe to digital reading). If each device had a 1 degree margin of error (Ranco is really 80F and reads 81F, and the thermoeter is really 80F and reads 79F) then it's possible your devices are both reading correct WITHIN THEIR MARGIN OF ERROR.

Fundamentally, there are three considerations here:
  • Accuracy - is the device accurate. This is the "margin of error" aspect. A lot of this is about calibration, and the ability to calibrate to within that margin. It would be possible, for example, to have an accuracy to within +/- 1 degree, but be miscalibrated. See repeatability below...this might not even matter.
  • Resolution - does the device convey information at the lowest unit of measure that is needed for the job (answer is yes in our hobby...1 degree is fine).
  • Repeatability -does the device repeatly indicate the same information under the same conditions, REGARDLESS of accuracy. In other words, it might be off by 1 or 2 degrees, but repeatable.
Of the three, assuming the resolution is acceptable and any inaccuracy is repeatable, I would take inaccurate and repeatable any day. Or, put another way, "grossly correct is better than precisely inaccurate".

I am going to get another thermometer and see which one is off. Like Ange said most likely there will be three different readings. I guess I have to just estimate best option.
 
Temp probes are only spec'd to be within certain ranges of accuracy and offset (i.e. the datasheet may spec +/-2% accuracy with a maximum of 0.5deg offset). If you put 3 different probes in your tank at the exact same location, you are likely to get 3 different readings even if they are from the same manufacturer.

I use an annually calibrated temp probe from work to get a true reading and get an idea of how accurate my two in-tank temp probes are.

Just curious, how does the chiller accurately get its temp reading?
 
Just curious, how does the chiller accurately get its temp reading?

IMO, it's not so much about precision. The real temp is actually about halfway between what my chiller (with internal temp probe) and temp probe in my tank read. But the chiller still does a good job of keeping the temp +/-1deg from it's 78deg setpoint, and that's what is really important (especially during these HOT Texas summers!!). I think the stability is more important then the actual setpoint.
 
Great tank, care to post latest FTS and maybe some additional pictures? How is that RBTA working out for you?
 
Can anyone tell me the size of directional flow nozzle? I couldn't find this part from any related website. So sad... :(
 
Haven't updated in a while. My tank has been a pain the entire summer with nothing but problems. I have been battling with red slime to a point where everything was covered and lost half my corals. I finally got everything under control but had to use Boyd Chemiclean to finally remove the red slime. It worked magic. It's almost been a year now and over all I am very disappointed with Intermediate LED version hood for the tank. Corals have been I growing at snails pace. Really considering getting another tank and starting over. I wish there was some cheap solution to replace my lights.
In the meantime one of my clowns had passed so I purchased an Aussie black percula. I will try to get some recent pictures up soon.
 
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