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Lightsluvr's 340G Upgrade
- Thread starter JohnL
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pH probe problem solved?
pH probe problem solved?
I was having some issues with the pH probe on the Apex controller. It would spike and fall every few minutes. When I took my CA reactor off line, the erratic pH readings went away! I don't know if it was the Rio feed pump or the Mag 7 circulating pump - or some other anomaly...but now both pH probes are providing steady (though not equal) pH readings.
You can see in the seven day graph below where the correction occurred: Top graph is the DT probe - note how the pH readings smoothed out when the CA reactor was disconnected. The bottom graph was the old reactor probe - you can see where the pH jumped when it was placed in the sump.
At this moment, the original probe, located in the DT overflow, reads 8.24. The probe that was in the reactor is now located in the sump and reads 8.33.
They have tracked steadily over the past 48 hours without any glitches... they're just not reading the same...
I will calibrate the probes this weekend and see the if they start providing the same readings...
LL
P.S. - Tank pH is slightly higher now that the CA reactor is gone. I suspect the change is because CO2 is no longer being injected.
pH probe problem solved?
I was having some issues with the pH probe on the Apex controller. It would spike and fall every few minutes. When I took my CA reactor off line, the erratic pH readings went away! I don't know if it was the Rio feed pump or the Mag 7 circulating pump - or some other anomaly...but now both pH probes are providing steady (though not equal) pH readings.
You can see in the seven day graph below where the correction occurred: Top graph is the DT probe - note how the pH readings smoothed out when the CA reactor was disconnected. The bottom graph was the old reactor probe - you can see where the pH jumped when it was placed in the sump.
At this moment, the original probe, located in the DT overflow, reads 8.24. The probe that was in the reactor is now located in the sump and reads 8.33.
They have tracked steadily over the past 48 hours without any glitches... they're just not reading the same...
I will calibrate the probes this weekend and see the if they start providing the same readings...
LL
P.S. - Tank pH is slightly higher now that the CA reactor is gone. I suspect the change is because CO2 is no longer being injected.
I drilled the container lids, ran the tubing and now am testing the "plumbing" with RO/DI water... I'm labeling the containers, lids and cords (CA, ALK & MG) as I go.
Also testing the APEX controller for each pump.
LL
Did you drill a 2nd hole to prevent a vacuum?
Electricity usage
Electricity usage
Here is the seven day graph of electricity usage by the system...
You can see the feed cycles by the deep "dips" shown in the upper graph...power usage plummets when the Reeflo pumps are turned off for feeding...
The lower graph shows the frag tank lights going on and off. The main tank lights are not depicted on these graphs, because they are switched by a Neptune DC-4HD power bar which is not graphed or logged.
LL
Electricity usage
Here is the seven day graph of electricity usage by the system...
You can see the feed cycles by the deep "dips" shown in the upper graph...power usage plummets when the Reeflo pumps are turned off for feeding...
The lower graph shows the frag tank lights going on and off. The main tank lights are not depicted on these graphs, because they are switched by a Neptune DC-4HD power bar which is not graphed or logged.
LL
MrineLfRlz
Active member
great setup!I drilled the container lids, ran the tubing and now am testing the "plumbing" with RO/DI water... I'm labeling the containers, lids and cords (CA, ALK & MG) as I go.
Also testing the APEX controller for each pump.
LL
my self ive seen more people going to 2 part or 3 dosing setups and doing just as good automatic dosing then cal. reactors IMO reactors scare the heck out of me if you mis configure them or if they run out of C02
i will always stick with automatic dosing since ive set mine up months ago i havent had a problem and lvls stay pretty much right were i want them even with me being away in school im not worried at all i just have my girl friend clean the tank sides and feed and when i come home during the weekend i check everything do water changes and do some work in the sump
its working out really well
Dosing results
Dosing results
I am testing the water every 24 hours.
Here are the 72 hour test results:
ALK 10.6
CA 450
MG 1350
Lookin' good, as ALK is very, very slowly coming into my comfort range (down from 11.2).... CA and MG are solid as a rock!
LL
Dosing results
I am testing the water every 24 hours.
Here are the 72 hour test results:
ALK 10.6
CA 450
MG 1350
Lookin' good, as ALK is very, very slowly coming into my comfort range (down from 11.2).... CA and MG are solid as a rock!
LL
What the difference with 2 or 3 part dosing and automatic? I agree about the calcium reactor, I a currently manual dosing with plans to do a setup just like this.
The most common type of dosing is two-part, where you just dose to maintain your Alkalinity and Calcium. The third part of the equation is Magnesium, and the typical tank's demand for MG is much less than ALK and CA. Thus, many folks just manually add MG on an as-needed basis.
Since I have a full-featured controller, I elected to automate all three components.
Here is the "bible" that I follow when it comes to dosing: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/
Here is the recipe for products I am using: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php (I use Recipe #2 - 3B, a combination of MG Chloride and Epsom Salts)
More on my decision to go from CA reactor to dosing: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1777467
Thanks for looking at the build thread and leaving a note...
LL
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which test kits do you like the best? I need to replace some of mine and think I need to "upgrade" if you know what I mean!
which test kits do you like the best? I need to replace some of mine and think I need to "upgrade" if you know what I mean!
I like Salifert kits as long as they are available. I lack a little confidence in the Salifert dKH kit, so I frequently double-check it with the less expensive API kit.
JME.
LL
Webcams are back...
Webcams are back...
Still having to do some tweaking to get both cameras to display on the internet connection. The closed network images look like this:
LL
Webcams are back...
Still having to do some tweaking to get both cameras to display on the internet connection. The closed network images look like this:
LL
I wrestled with the same decision - the RKE and Apex are very similar. I went with the Apex because of the included online control capabilities. I can control my system with my iPhone. Very slick.
LL
Thanks Greg. It's only been running a few days, but I stumbled onto a fairly accurate dosing schedule. I am dosing CA and ALK for 2 hours, 15 minutes daily. I am dosing MG just 20 minutes daily. I stagger the dosing times, so I am not putting more than one chemical into the sump at one time.
Last night's test results: ALK - 10.2
CA - 450
MG - 1350
LL
Pacific Reefs
New member
I made the decision on my skimmer. Here is the verdict:
Coming soon:
I will be upgrading the needlewheel to the "Extreme" version from SkimmerDIY:
http://www.skimmerdiy.com/REEFLO.html
I am actually acquring a different Orca 250 with the ProKit upgrade and will be changing the needlewheel to the latest version. I will be selling my current Orca 250 locally.
LL
Wow that is a big difference!
Yup - we are still waiting for delivery of the Orca Pro 250. It should be in the next few weeks.
I will put pictures and info on here...
LL
Still having to do some tweaking to get both cameras to display on the internet connection. The closed network images look like this:
LL
Well, I am able to look at both cameras within my network - some folks are able to look at one or the other camera, but not both at the same time as it's supposed to work.
Anybody that wants to try, PM me and I'll provide a username and password.
Here are the links to the cameras:
Front of the tank: http://lightsluvraq.viewnetcam.com:5...gle&Language=0
The fish room: http://lightsluvraq.viewnetcam.com:5...gle&Language=0
This address is supposed to give you both cameras on a "multi page"
http://lightsluvraq.viewnetcam.com:5...lti&Language=0
When you first connect, you will receive a pop-up that asks you to install an Active-X module from Panasonic. This allows the user to tilt, pan and zoom the camera. Click "yes" or "accept" and then you should get the log-in screen. On the multi-page, you may get two log-in screens. (one for each camera).
LL
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