JaysLittleOcean Piece of the Reef.
- Thread starter JaysLittleOcean
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JaysLittleOcean
Active member
RO/DI Filtration Unit.
RO/DI Filtration Unit.
I had an older 150 gallon per day RO/DI Filtration Unit prior to purchasing our new home. But maybe it wasn't such a good idea to leave it in the car during the winter, especially with water. This is what happens when you.
So I decided instead of just purchasing replacement canister that I would just order a whole new unit and pretend I was Dr. Frankenstein. So when the FedEx Delivery Driver came be my house yesterday I was super excited! But after opening the package I didn't think it would be some assembly required.
After unpacking some of the pieces of the unit I was a little disappointed that the main mounting bracket that holds the three primary canisters together was not metal, rather plastic and a bit flimsy. So I took the entire unit apart so I could swap with metal mountain bracket from my original RO/DI filtration unit. Once I had everything in pieces the gears in my head started turning... why not use everything and make something better? The new RO/DI Filtration Unit now has the following. I also added a Hanna Inline TDS Filter and Pressure gauge to ensure everything is working right. I call it Frankenfilter! Once these filters are exhausted I will reduce the Deionization filters and move to another combination of sediment, chlorine and carbon. But until then I'm reading 35ppm TDS In and 000ppm Out.
- One 5 Micron Sediment Filter.
- One Chlorine Filter.
- One Carbon Filter.
- Two 150 gallon per day Reverse Osmosis Membranes.
- Four Deionization Filters.
The next task was to get the water line adapter in place underneath the family room bathroom sink where the RO/DI filtration unit is going to be placed with the Aquatec 88000 Booster Pump & Power Supply. This was a little nerve racking at first because I have never done any plumbing like this. But I think everything turned out okay.
RO/DI Filtration Unit.
I had an older 150 gallon per day RO/DI Filtration Unit prior to purchasing our new home. But maybe it wasn't such a good idea to leave it in the car during the winter, especially with water. This is what happens when you.
So I decided instead of just purchasing replacement canister that I would just order a whole new unit and pretend I was Dr. Frankenstein. So when the FedEx Delivery Driver came be my house yesterday I was super excited! But after opening the package I didn't think it would be some assembly required.
After unpacking some of the pieces of the unit I was a little disappointed that the main mounting bracket that holds the three primary canisters together was not metal, rather plastic and a bit flimsy. So I took the entire unit apart so I could swap with metal mountain bracket from my original RO/DI filtration unit. Once I had everything in pieces the gears in my head started turning... why not use everything and make something better? The new RO/DI Filtration Unit now has the following. I also added a Hanna Inline TDS Filter and Pressure gauge to ensure everything is working right. I call it Frankenfilter! Once these filters are exhausted I will reduce the Deionization filters and move to another combination of sediment, chlorine and carbon. But until then I'm reading 35ppm TDS In and 000ppm Out.
- One 5 Micron Sediment Filter.
- One Chlorine Filter.
- One Carbon Filter.
- Two 150 gallon per day Reverse Osmosis Membranes.
- Four Deionization Filters.
The next task was to get the water line adapter in place underneath the family room bathroom sink where the RO/DI filtration unit is going to be placed with the Aquatec 88000 Booster Pump & Power Supply. This was a little nerve racking at first because I have never done any plumbing like this. But I think everything turned out okay.
JaysLittleOcean
Active member
inthedeep2
Member
that is one heck of an rodi setup..
what your waste production
what your waste production
JaysLittleOcean
Active member
Xxero, I think we all do! :lmao: I just cannot wait to get to the next phase of equipment ordering.
JaysLittleOcean
Active member
I haven't actually measured the waste amount yet. First I was letting it all go down the drain. But I'm actually catching the waste now in buckets and adding the water into my wife's rain collection system outside so she can use it to water the garden.
inthedeep2
Member
looks good
JaysLittleOcean
Active member
Thank you!
yellowRubi
New member
What is the GPH on that return pump?
I wouldnt use just those plastic clamps on that ball valve like that, any way you can run pvc off the return pump, put a gate valve for greater tunning of the flow and than go back to your flex hose?
I wouldnt use just those plastic clamps on that ball valve like that, any way you can run pvc off the return pump, put a gate valve for greater tunning of the flow and than go back to your flex hose?
JaysLittleOcean
Active member
The Eheim pump that is being utilized for the return pump is rated for 900 gph at maximum. If I have issues dialing in the proper flow rate I will take a look at your suggestion.
JaysLittleOcean
Active member
Time to Finish the Plumbing.
Time to Finish the Plumbing.
So with the end of my vacation nearing I decided that maybe I should get my stuff together and get my plumbing all square away so I could start making some saltwater and begin cycling the aquarium. So after a few trial and error glues I finally found the right combination that worked for my setup. I'm pretty happy with it.
Time to Finish the Plumbing.
So with the end of my vacation nearing I decided that maybe I should get my stuff together and get my plumbing all square away so I could start making some saltwater and begin cycling the aquarium. So after a few trial and error glues I finally found the right combination that worked for my setup. I'm pretty happy with it.
JaysLittleOcean
Active member
Go with the Originals.
Go with the Originals.
So there is something to be said I believe in working with a company that set the bar back in the day for what was considered the high end, top quality and design innovation of aquarium equipment. I did some searching and discovered on another forum that Deltec is making their way back into the U.S. market with Doug Thompson being their primary dealer in the states. So I gave Doug a call and had some conversation with him over the past few days and decided to get some new toys delivered. I purchased a Deltec SC1456 DC Variable Speed Protein Skimmer to replace the Bubble Magus that I had purchased and cleaned up earlier. My experience with Deltec equipment made such an impression in the past that I just had to swipe my card and give it a try. Doug was extremely helpful right sizing the equipment for my particular setup and addressed any concerns should the need for a replacement part be necessary. So I waited eagerly until the next day (thankfully I live only a 1 day delivery time from Pennsylvania). My items were delivered with safely with an extreme amount of care taken to pack the items safely for transit.
After drooling over the new protein skimmer I managed to put some to the pieces together and see some
The first thing I have to say is that the Deltec SC1456 Protein Skimmer has a much smaller footprint than the Bubble Magus. This provides me the ability to have more room underneath my cabinet for maintenance, other equipment if necessary or opens the possibility of running two Deltec SC1456 Protein Skimmers for redundancy and extra skimming capacity if I wanted which I am please with. Also the build quality is still their. The skimmer is sturdy and looks very nice. I will review how it performs once I have it fully setup and running for a for weeks. One of the things I am also happy about is the skimmer uses only 11-38 watts of electricity which is always nice!
Go with the Originals.
So there is something to be said I believe in working with a company that set the bar back in the day for what was considered the high end, top quality and design innovation of aquarium equipment. I did some searching and discovered on another forum that Deltec is making their way back into the U.S. market with Doug Thompson being their primary dealer in the states. So I gave Doug a call and had some conversation with him over the past few days and decided to get some new toys delivered. I purchased a Deltec SC1456 DC Variable Speed Protein Skimmer to replace the Bubble Magus that I had purchased and cleaned up earlier. My experience with Deltec equipment made such an impression in the past that I just had to swipe my card and give it a try. Doug was extremely helpful right sizing the equipment for my particular setup and addressed any concerns should the need for a replacement part be necessary. So I waited eagerly until the next day (thankfully I live only a 1 day delivery time from Pennsylvania). My items were delivered with safely with an extreme amount of care taken to pack the items safely for transit.
After drooling over the new protein skimmer I managed to put some to the pieces together and see some
The first thing I have to say is that the Deltec SC1456 Protein Skimmer has a much smaller footprint than the Bubble Magus. This provides me the ability to have more room underneath my cabinet for maintenance, other equipment if necessary or opens the possibility of running two Deltec SC1456 Protein Skimmers for redundancy and extra skimming capacity if I wanted which I am please with. Also the build quality is still their. The skimmer is sturdy and looks very nice. I will review how it performs once I have it fully setup and running for a for weeks. One of the things I am also happy about is the skimmer uses only 11-38 watts of electricity which is always nice!
JaysLittleOcean
Active member
Disaster Strikes Early!
Disaster Strikes Early!
I noticed that a had a very slow drip leak in the return line of my aquarium this Satuday. Apparently I didn't place the clamp high enough up on the barb fitting. So when I tried to get some slack I realized that not only could I not get the plastic clamp to clear the wall and the trim of the aquarium that I had to play a little game of shimmy the stand. Well... not the brightest thing I could have time because I cracked the bulkhead to the emergency drain within the overflow and my little drip turned into a huge problem. So I gave Russ a call at Saltwater Critters and took a little drive to get the last 1 inch slip Bulkhead fitting he had in stock. Got home later that day and thank goodness for spar PVC parts. I just cut another piece of 1 inch PVC Pipe took half of a new PVC Union and I was back in business. Good thing is that my sump has proven it can hold the entire overflow capacity of extra saltwater without overflowing.
Disaster Strikes Early!
I noticed that a had a very slow drip leak in the return line of my aquarium this Satuday. Apparently I didn't place the clamp high enough up on the barb fitting. So when I tried to get some slack I realized that not only could I not get the plastic clamp to clear the wall and the trim of the aquarium that I had to play a little game of shimmy the stand. Well... not the brightest thing I could have time because I cracked the bulkhead to the emergency drain within the overflow and my little drip turned into a huge problem. So I gave Russ a call at Saltwater Critters and took a little drive to get the last 1 inch slip Bulkhead fitting he had in stock. Got home later that day and thank goodness for spar PVC parts. I just cut another piece of 1 inch PVC Pipe took half of a new PVC Union and I was back in business. Good thing is that my sump has proven it can hold the entire overflow capacity of extra saltwater without overflowing.
JaysLittleOcean
Active member
So as the previous post might imply. Yes I managed to get the water into the tank and going this past week and I'm very please with the results.
JaysLittleOcean
Active member
Their are many freshwater automatic top off units out on the market, but personally I have always felt that the Tunze Osmolator 3155 has been the premium unit that offers a great package of the technology and reliability. So I chose it for my aquarium setup. I had a food sage pretzel container which I drilled holes in the lid to slip the wires and tubing through to be used as the RO/DI water holding container. The Optical and Float Sensors are mounted using the supplied magnet mountain brackets. I also mounted the main controller of the unit next to the rest of the equipment controllers.
JaysLittleOcean
Active member
Neptune Apex Aqua Controller First Headaches.
Neptune Apex Aqua Controller First Headaches.
I work a lot so just like everyone else I want to be able to automate some tasks and keep an eye on my aquarium when I'm not home. So I purchased what I believe to be one of the best aquarium controllers on the market. Now don't get me wrong. My entire system is not being connected to this controller. I believe in Murphy's Law so I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket as of yet. But I do believe in redundancy and maybe in time I will run two of these controllers side by side. But for now I'll proceed with a bit of caution. So my primary needs for purchasing the controller first and foremost was to be able to automate the tasks of controlling a calcium reactor and temperature within the aquarium. So I purchased one from Russ at Saltwater Critters and I was excited to get it installed. Well that excitement was immediately ruined by something that I just can't wrap my hear around.
Back in the day controllers came with pre-calibrated temperature probes and the configuration of items within the controller was pretty straight forward Outlet 1 was this... outlet 2 was that and so fourth. But like everything today. The more you can do, the more complex the configuration. So I give this disclaimer I was tired when I was setting it up as it was about 3:00am in the morning so the configuration was not as smooth as I had intended. But My controller started beeping straight out of the box and reads "Test Mode15" with a bunch of other junk on the screen. Then what gets me the most if that my temperature reads 20.7 degrees. My first thought is maybe its accidently configured for Celsius instead of Fahrenheit. But nope that's not the case. It requires calibration. I mean seriously? I just spent $525.00 for a high end piece of equipment to get precise readings and I have to calibrate the thing myself. I can see maybe down the line if I wanted to invest in something else to calibrate multiple temperature probes. But One of the main reasons I invested in this was to monitor temperature. That completely useless. So I have to purchase an infrared thermometer to calibrate the thing accordingly. Not too please. Let see if everything else works as advertised.
Neptune Apex Aqua Controller First Headaches.
I work a lot so just like everyone else I want to be able to automate some tasks and keep an eye on my aquarium when I'm not home. So I purchased what I believe to be one of the best aquarium controllers on the market. Now don't get me wrong. My entire system is not being connected to this controller. I believe in Murphy's Law so I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket as of yet. But I do believe in redundancy and maybe in time I will run two of these controllers side by side. But for now I'll proceed with a bit of caution. So my primary needs for purchasing the controller first and foremost was to be able to automate the tasks of controlling a calcium reactor and temperature within the aquarium. So I purchased one from Russ at Saltwater Critters and I was excited to get it installed. Well that excitement was immediately ruined by something that I just can't wrap my hear around.
Back in the day controllers came with pre-calibrated temperature probes and the configuration of items within the controller was pretty straight forward Outlet 1 was this... outlet 2 was that and so fourth. But like everything today. The more you can do, the more complex the configuration. So I give this disclaimer I was tired when I was setting it up as it was about 3:00am in the morning so the configuration was not as smooth as I had intended. But My controller started beeping straight out of the box and reads "Test Mode15" with a bunch of other junk on the screen. Then what gets me the most if that my temperature reads 20.7 degrees. My first thought is maybe its accidently configured for Celsius instead of Fahrenheit. But nope that's not the case. It requires calibration. I mean seriously? I just spent $525.00 for a high end piece of equipment to get precise readings and I have to calibrate the thing myself. I can see maybe down the line if I wanted to invest in something else to calibrate multiple temperature probes. But One of the main reasons I invested in this was to monitor temperature. That completely useless. So I have to purchase an infrared thermometer to calibrate the thing accordingly. Not too please. Let see if everything else works as advertised.
JaysLittleOcean
Active member
Starting the Fishless Aquarium Cycle.
Starting the Fishless Aquarium Cycle.
I'm currently working through the issues with my Neptune Systems Apex Controller so while that is being tended to I thought I should switch focus and move to starting the Fishless Aquarium Cycle. When I purchased my dry rock from Marco Rocks my package included a bonus 16 oz bottle of Frytz Zyme Live Nitrifying Bacteria and a packet containing a half of a teaspoon of Ammonium Chloride.
So before this I was prepared to let my aquarium naturally cycle over the course of 2 to 3 months or however long was required. But after looking into the Fishless Cycle a bit more I figured why not. I did some research on the company that manufactures Fritz Zime and they offer a line of products focusing on beneficial bacteria in both the freshwater and saltwater arena. There have been a few independent studies from private Universities to determine if the product actually works, which it does.
So the Ammonium Chloride is used to kick start the production of the ammonia in with the water column. I only had a small sample and was able to go from a very low level of ammonia detected to 1.00 PPM in under 1 hour. The goal is to raise the level of ammonia detected to over 4.00 PPM. Then you can start the introduction of the Frytz Zyme 9 Live Nitrifying Bacteria. The sample that was provided was only able to treat 40 gallons of water. So I figured mother nature would continue to take her course and in the mean time placed both an order for pure Ammonium Chloride, manufactured by Frytz Zyme as well and a couple of more bottle of Frytz Zyme 9. I'm hoping this will speed up the cycling process tremendously.
Starting the Fishless Aquarium Cycle.
I'm currently working through the issues with my Neptune Systems Apex Controller so while that is being tended to I thought I should switch focus and move to starting the Fishless Aquarium Cycle. When I purchased my dry rock from Marco Rocks my package included a bonus 16 oz bottle of Frytz Zyme Live Nitrifying Bacteria and a packet containing a half of a teaspoon of Ammonium Chloride.
So before this I was prepared to let my aquarium naturally cycle over the course of 2 to 3 months or however long was required. But after looking into the Fishless Cycle a bit more I figured why not. I did some research on the company that manufactures Fritz Zime and they offer a line of products focusing on beneficial bacteria in both the freshwater and saltwater arena. There have been a few independent studies from private Universities to determine if the product actually works, which it does.
So the Ammonium Chloride is used to kick start the production of the ammonia in with the water column. I only had a small sample and was able to go from a very low level of ammonia detected to 1.00 PPM in under 1 hour. The goal is to raise the level of ammonia detected to over 4.00 PPM. Then you can start the introduction of the Frytz Zyme 9 Live Nitrifying Bacteria. The sample that was provided was only able to treat 40 gallons of water. So I figured mother nature would continue to take her course and in the mean time placed both an order for pure Ammonium Chloride, manufactured by Frytz Zyme as well and a couple of more bottle of Frytz Zyme 9. I'm hoping this will speed up the cycling process tremendously.
Led Bizkit
New member
Tagging along
fishresponse
New member
Looks good. Lots of fun toys!
A suggestion, coming from someone who has his tank in livable area. The noise you get from water entering your sump into the filter socks can end up making a lot of noise especially if you have a ton of turnover in your display. Given that, you may find it necessary to play with your drains by having the end of the pipe be below water level. It's hard tho because of your socks but something to keep in mind.
A suggestion, coming from someone who has his tank in livable area. The noise you get from water entering your sump into the filter socks can end up making a lot of noise especially if you have a ton of turnover in your display. Given that, you may find it necessary to play with your drains by having the end of the pipe be below water level. It's hard tho because of your socks but something to keep in mind.
