Lots of water, or What the heck are you thinking

[NOLACLS]

I would send Will a e mail and ask him...there might be someone close to fix it if need be. Worth looking into if the price is right...it does some really cool things.

I did see the super cool actuator pics That thing is very slick!!!!

 

[Toomnymods]

can't wait to see more pics

 

[sidewinder770]

You going to beat me to the punch on that one too . I will be getting the ACIII next week. I liked it over the previous versions because you can monitor all your system information over the web....and since I am an IT guy I find that funtion very useful and cool to play around with. It will email you of problems and you can even turn on/off lights, pumps, etc remotely. I will be hooking it up to our existing 55 gallon tank to play around with and test and will hook it up to the new tank once it's up and running.

I think it will be worth it but it is pricey- I got mine for $920 which came with the lab grade ORP and PH probe and temp probe as well as the command module for X10. I didn't get any x10 modules for it beacuse I have x10 modules that replace existing wall outlets- much cleaner looking.

I could use a "test version" of aquanotes if anyone happens to have one laying around

 

[Northside Reef]

oh nice price Scott where did you get it?

 

[sidewinder770]

Here's where I got it-

http://aquadirect.com/store/customer/product.php?productid=1091&cat=92&page=1

I think we have a problem when we say- "oh that's a good deal" on parts for our system that cost less than $1000....seems like erevy piece of this system cost more than $1000 !! .

Are you going to be running ozone? If not than you probably don't need the ORP probe.

 

[MadTownMax]

I don't see why everyone was showing concern over Dissolved Oxygen - with three refugiums you should have plenty of oxygen being pumped into the system, along w/ the skimmers, as you've previously stated.

Northside, very nice system, too bad all those posts at the start weren't encouraging - they either don't understand what you're doing, or are just plain jealous.

I've used a similar control system (the octopus 3000) and I know that the AC is much better, if only for it's flexibility and computer connection - do beware of controlling things with it though - random electrical surges and signals in the air are known to "trip" the sensors and do some kinda funny things - only not so funny when it shuts down (or turns on at the wrong time) critical components of your system - I think they're great as watchdogs, but I wouldn't use it to control anything, just to monitor.

 

[melev]

You going to beat me to the punch on that one too . I will be getting the ACIII next week. I liked it over the previous versions because you can monitor all your system information over the web....and since I am an IT guy I find that funtion very useful and cool to play around with. It will email you of problems and you can even turn on/off lights, pumps, etc remotely. I will be hooking it up to our existing 55 gallon tank to play around with and test and will hook it up to the new tank once it's up and running.

I think it will be worth it but it is pricey- I got mine for $920 which came with the lab grade ORP and PH probe and temp probe as well as the command module for X10. I didn't get any x10 modules for it beacuse I have x10 modules that replace existing wall outlets- much cleaner looking.

I could use a "test version" of aquanotes if anyone happens to have one laying around

Scott, something that is a real concern to me is the fact that there are people out there that want nothing more than to hurt other people. Any chance someone could hack into your system and cause havoc with your system. I mean, once command to turn on the heaters... :eek2:

And I have to say, if you pay almost $1000, you SHOULD get the software included. I don't agree with Neptune Systems about charging for it. It just seems wrong to me. If he's doing software updates and creating releases monthly, I might be more understanding, but this is a ton of money and software should be included imho.

 

[sidewinder770]

Melev-
Couldn't agree more- I think aquanotes software should be included as well but oh well. It's not needed to run the controller or access it over the internet- it's just for logging and tracking of all the paramaters(and graphs of each)- you basically get a history where with the free software you only get "realtime". Un authorized access is definately a concern as well to which I have only one answer- encryption! I'm sure there is some type of user name and password on the controller itself as well but a good firewall, network protection and encryption will be on it as well.

 

[Northside Reef]

I don't see why everyone was showing concern over Dissolved Oxygen - with three refugiums you should have plenty of oxygen being pumped into the system, along w/ the skimmers, as you've previously stated.

Northside, very nice system, too bad all those posts at the start weren't encouraging - they either don't understand what you're doing, or are just plain jealous.

I've used a similar control system (the octopus 3000) and I know that the AC is much better, if only for it's flexibility and computer connection - do beware of controlling things with it though - random electrical surges and signals in the air are known to "trip" the sensors and do some kinda funny things - only not so funny when it shuts down (or turns on at the wrong time) critical components of your system - I think they're great as watchdogs, but I wouldn't use it to control anything, just to monitor.

Thanks, Madtown I think that this system is just so different than what most people are used to seeing that I guess I should have expected the skepticism.
I agree that the system should be able to keep up with the oxygen demands, but since calculating that is beyond my means I will monitor it so I can eliminate that as a possible problem.

Scott, something that is a real concern to me is the fact that there are people out there that want nothing more than to hurt other people. Any chance someone could hack into your system and cause havoc with your system. I mean, once command to turn on the heaters... :eek2:

And I have to say, if you pay almost $1000, you SHOULD get the software included. I don't agree with Neptune Systems about charging for it. It just seems wrong to me. If he's doing software updates and creating releases monthly, I might be more understanding, but this is a ton of money and software should be included imho.

Having access to your system parameters when youââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢re not home is not something a person would normally need, unless they travel a lot or are going on vacation. I still have to decide which one of the two AC units I want. I have to read a little more on what other differences there are between the models.

I agree about the software these things are not cheap you would think it would come with software.

Here's where I got it-

http://aquadirect.com/store/customer/product.php?productid=1091&cat=92&page=1

I think we have a problem when we say- "oh that's a good deal" on parts for our system that cost less than $1000....seems like erevy piece of this system cost more than $1000 !! .

Are you going to be running ozone? If not than you probably don't need the ORP probe.

Thank you for the link Scott

I hear ya on the cost of things man, but just think how fun these systems are going to be to tweak in the coming years it will be worth it.

I do not plan to run Ozone even though I do own a unit. My ORP is always around 330 not so great maybe I should fire it up I will wait and see how the new systems does in that regard.

do the AC units take standard probes?

 

[Northside Reef]

I got the covers in today... oh man Chris at Midwest Custom Aquariums did a fantastic job on them.

http://midwestcustomaquariums.com/

they are super beefy and fit like a glove even without the gaskets. Sorry ya have to wait till Monday to see them the camera is out of town

I think when you guys see them you will understand why I said that humidity will not be an issue.

 

[sidewinder770]

do the AC units take standard probes?

I'm not sure but if I had to guess I would say no as the probes for the AC2 don't work in the AC III- at least that's what I've been told. I think the "PRO" models are different than the regular models and I imagine one of them takes standard probes but I'm not sure which. It didn't concern me too much because I don't have any probes now so I would need some anyway.

Having access to your system parameters when youââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢re not home is not something a person would normally need, unless they travel a lot or are going on vacation.

Unless you just like to check it once in a while at work because you have nothing better to do

 

[NOLACLS]

Unless you just like to check it once in a while at work because you have nothing better to do

Who would ever do such a thing:rolleye1:


:lol:

 

[Northside Reef]

Well not a lot of progress to report.

I had a small drip/leak on one of the reservoirs. Lucky me it was between the reservoir and the ball valve, so that's almost 300 gallons of RO/DI I have to pump out to fix.
The rest of the plumbing looks real good no leaks at all even after running a few days.
I have some people coming over to help with some woodwork this weekend so I should have the refugiums ready real soon.

I have my covers in (5 of them) and gasketed they look awesome, here are a few pictures of those so you can get an idea of what I have been talking about.

Here is the whole cover gasketed

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/gasket.jpg">

close up of the gasket

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/gasketcloseup.jpg">

here it is on the refugium.

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/refugiumandcover.jpg">

you can really see how well the gasket follows the contour of the refugium. The material I used for this application is the same material used for years by electrical enclosure manufacturers like Hoffman and Rittal to pass Nema 4 spray down tests.

This is a test where hundreds of gallons of water per minute are sprayed at an enclosure to ensure they wont leak.

here is a close up of the gasket on the refugium.

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/covercloseup.jpg">

 

[Northside Reef]

I have to go out of town a few days, talk to ya all in a few

 

[NOLACLS]

Looking good man....looking real good!

 

[sidewinder770]

That's very cool- something tells me some other people with those rubbermaid containers are going to want to buy some from you so get your price sheet ready . That will definately control the evap problem and really cut down on humidity.

 

[NOLACLS]

Will that allow for proper gas excange? I have no idea if thats even a concern there thats why I am asking.

 

[Northside Reef]

Will that allow for proper gas excange? I have no idea if thats even a concern there thats why I am asking.

With over 12,000 GPH flow in the main tank and two MRC-3 Skimmers running, I honestly do not believe I am going to have a problem with dissolved oxygen. BUT I promise I will monitor it so I can give you a complete answer.

Scott, there would be no way to justify the cost of what I would have to charge for those gaskets lol so I wonââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t be taking any orders for them any time soon .

 

[NOLACLS]

With over 12,000 GPH flow in the main tank and two MRC-3 Skimmers running, I honestly do not believe I am going to have a problem with dissolved oxygen. BUT I promise I will monitor it so I can give you a complete answer.

Scott, there would be no way to justify the cost of what I would have to charge for those gaskets lol so I wonââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t be taking any orders for them any time soon .

Thats true...I dont think it will be a problem either. I wasn't thinking about your total system :lol:

 

[Northside Reef]

another close up of the gasket (picked up a Nikon 4800 today so I am playing with it)


<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/frnorth/DSCN0047.jpg">