My 500 + gallon system. Last 13 years to now. Build, Aquascaping & more. Lots of pics

[slief]

When is Jim doing another vid?

Great Job on all your work, I hope you share everything with us on Jim's next video...

Marc

Jim will be back here Thursday camera in hand. I will probably be portrayed as the fish killer in the next episode. I am sure the copper would have worked and spared some fish but I want inverts in my tank and copper would have been the crux of that. Truth is that since his shows are educational, people do need to know the upsides and downsides to the hobby and I feel its worth sharing. It just so happens that I get to be the ich posterchild of LA Fish Guys. LOL.

He will definately cover all of my recent labors.

 

[Marc]

Jim will be back here Thursday camera in hand. I will probably be portrayed as the fish killer in the next episode. I am sure the copper would have worked and spared some fish but I want inverts in my tank and copper would have been the crux of that. Truth is that since his shows are educational, people do need to know the upsides and downsides to the hobby and I feel its worth sharing. It just so happens that I get to be the ich posterchild of LA Fish Guys. LOL.

He will definately cover all of my recent labors.

Hi Scott,

Don't be so hard on yourself, it seems to me it's just a period of bad luck. Everyone goes through it. How far did you drop your salinty and in what amount of time? I doubt the salinty had anything to do with it as long as it was done slowly. But once ick attacks the gills of the fish, it's all down hill from there. I hope to god the Vlamingi makes it though. Just remember you have done everything possible to save those fish and no one should tell you otherwise. Even if you dosed the copper the fish may have still died anyway and you would have lost your liverock and refugium would have been ruined as well. You took the right steps and precautions along the way and that is all that matters. You TRIED and any one of us would have done the same thing and thats all that matters.

Marc

 

[slief]

Hi Scott,

Don't be so hard on yourself, it seems to me it's just a period of bad luck. Everyone goes through it. How far did you drop your salinty and in what amount of time? I doubt the salinty had anything to do with it as long as it was done slowly. But once ick attacks the gills of the fish, it's all down hill from there. I hope to god the Vlamingi makes it though. Just remember you have done everything possible to save those fish and no one should tell you otherwise. Even if you dosed the copper the fish may have still died anyway and you would have lost your liverock and refugium would have been ruined as well. You took the right steps and precautions along the way and that is all that matters. You TRIED and any one of us would have done the same thing and thats all that matters.

Marc

I went from around 1.027 to 1.022/21 in about 25 minutes. At first I didnt realize that I had dropped it that far. I was going off my Apex and I didnt have temperature correction enabled. The last time I dropped my salinity I changed out the same amount but I pumped in while I siphoned out. The salinity change was much less. I think that led to me a false sense of comfort when I did this last change. I siphoned out then I pumped in. I was a bit surprised when I found myself at my target salinity with only one change.


The last Vlamingi is pretty much back to normal. He is eating well and very active and the signs of ich are just about gone. I hung a large airstone in the tank and its on a timer set to run for 25 minutes every other hour to insure there is adequet air in the water to help with ich on the gills.

Plumbers finished up the water line to the closet. First thing tomorrow I will start hooking in the RO/DI and finishing up the water tanks. Stay tuned.

 

[Marc]

I went from around 1.027 to 1.022/21 in about 25 minutes. At first I didnt realize that I had dropped it that far. I was going off my Apex and I didnt have temperature correction enabled. The last time I dropped my salinity I changed out the same amount but I pumped in while I siphoned out. The salinity change was much less. I think that led to me a false sense of comfort when I did this last change. I siphoned out then I pumped in. I was a bit surprised when I found myself at my target salinity with only one change.


The last Vlamingi is pretty much back to normal. He is eating well and very active and the signs of ich are just about gone. I hung a large airstone in the tank and its on a timer set to run for 25 minutes every other hour to insure there is adequet air in the water to help with ich on the gills.

Plumbers finished up the water line to the closet. First thing tomorrow I will start hooking in the RO/DI and finishing up the water tanks. Stay tuned.

From the salinity stand point, 1.027 to 1.022 in 25 minutes might have contributed to the shock of the fish causing them to die. 5 points in twenty five minutes might have pushed it a little. Well when the ick situation is eliminated, you can get started with some sps and some clams.

Marc

 

[slief]

RO/DI is done. I mounted that up last night. Today I drilled my drums put the bulkheads and float switches in the tanks. Plumbed them together and hooked up a little giant 4MDQX that I had floating around for a mixing pump. Both of the drums initially will be stocked full with RO/DI and one of them will be used for mixed saltwater and auto water changes. I ran a piece of 1" PVC through the house wall into the fish tank closet which is directly behind where I have the rubbermaid storage shed that houses the water drums. The PVC pokes into the the shed and is used to route the sensor cables and hoses into the shed from the closet.

Only things left to do is flush the RO/DI, install a couple bulkheads into the fuge where the air traps are that the return pump draw from. Hook up the ATO and Litermeter.

The drums are rinsing themselves with tap water. I'll flush the RO membranes today and turn it on tomorrow and start filling drums. Once its on, it will keep the drums topped off and I should pretty much be able to set it and forget it. It'll be interesting to see how near 1:1 I get with this unit. Its the Maxcap UHE from Spectrapure.

The fuge bulkheads wont go in until next week as I have to pick them up. Need some small ones that can accomodate John Guest fittings. for the topoff and waterchange hose connections.

Here are some pics I took before I cleaned hoses and wires up.
RO/DI and Litermeter in the tank closet.

Fresh and saltwater station.

Mixing pump and plumbing

 

[erics3000]

Nice..

 

[slief]

Nice..

Thanks!


I ended up getting impatient. More like bored. I finished flushing the RO and DI membranes. I'm now filling the drums with 0 TDS water and with just under 1 gallon of waste to 1 Gallon of DI. According to the instructions it says I can go down to 1 gallon of waste to 2 gallons of DI if my tap tds is 500 or lower. My tap TDS appears to be about 440. I will consult with Spectrapure tomorrow before I make any more adjustments.

Next project.. Hook up the litermeter water changer and the ATO.

 

[Marc]

Thanks!


I ended up getting impatient. More like bored. I finished flushing the RO and DI membranes. I'm now filling the drums with 0 TDS water and with just under 1 gallon of waste to 1 Gallon of DI. According to the instructions it says I can go down to 1 gallon of waste to 2 gallons of DI if my tap tds is 500 or lower. My tap TDS appears to be about 440. I will consult with Spectrapure tomorrow before I make any more adjustments.

Next project.. Hook up the litermeter water changer and the ATO.

I love to stay home and do aquarium projects like this myself, it's so rewarding and the end result is a bullet proof aquarium. I can't wait to get my reeflo orca skimmer built. I am using 1/2" sheet of acrylic for the box and 1/4 thick by 12 inch diamter tubing. It will stand 48 inches tall and powered by a Reeflo hammerhead pump.. I just need a CAD on howw to properly do the plumbing inside the box first. It will be an extremely powerful Reeflo needlewheel skimmer...

Marc

 

[slief]

Here are the last of the pics I took today.

This is the inside of the RO/DI drum. There is a low level float switch and a high level switch. When the water gets to the high level, the RO/DI shuts down. The floats came with the RO unit and mount in the drum via small bulkheads.

The water closet.. Albeit an old and dirty looking one. Glad I had it laying around! Its clean on the inside.

 

[erics3000]

What are you going to use to kill the power to booster pump? I just put a booster pump on my R/O before I left and it really bumped up my water production. I just mounted a switch to turn the top off on before I left. Is that what you are using you liter meter for?

Marc-
a hammer head for your skimmer that is some serious power. Do you have a build thread?

 

[slief]

What are you going to use to kill the power to booster pump? I just put a booster pump on my R/O before I left and it really bumped up my water production. I just mounted a switch to turn the top off on before I left. Is that what you are using you liter meter for?

Marc-
a hammer head for your skimmer that is some serious power. Do you have a build thread?

The Maxcap UHE unit has a built in booster pump. The hammerhead is for the return pump. There is a dart for recirculation. The skimmer has a pair of red dragon pumps.

This is the build thread. Start at the beginning. Or start at the end and go back page by page. A couple pages back covers the new sumps and skimmer.

 

[Marc]

What are you going to use to kill the power to booster pump? I just put a booster pump on my R/O before I left and it really bumped up my water production. I just mounted a switch to turn the top off on before I left. Is that what you are using you liter meter for?

Marc-
a hammer head for your skimmer that is some serious power. Do you have a build thread?

Hi,

No I don't have a build thread yet but I think I will take as many pics as possible during the build process. I am very excited about this skimmer build. I have all my plans laid out and the parts on order. It's only going to cost me $700.00 in all to build the skimmer. I have everything I need. I would rather build a huge My Reef Creations or "My Copy Cat" Orca skimmer and save $3000.00!!! I can by a new cargo trailer for that amount of money! But I know for sure My Reef Copy Cats are never getting my money again. They don't understand the meaning of customer service evidentally...

Marc

Marc

 

[erics3000]

I'll research the Maxcap UHE thanks..

AT least open a thread for the build on the skimmer i saw the pic you posted a couple pages back..I might copy cat you in a year or 2. eheheheh

 

[Marc]

I'll research the Maxcap UHE thanks..

AT least open a thread for the build on the skimmer i saw the pic you posted a couple pages back..I might copy cat you in a year or 2. eheheheh

I will, Im going to try and post a video to of how easy it is to build one yourself if you have the DIY skills. I am also waitng for the orca wheel from Chris at Reeflo.

Marc

 

[erics3000]

My trouble the last year has been time. So I will look forward to the video, but I have a lot of work before I change out my skimmer.

Maybe when I do a 13 year update. hahah.

 

[slief]

What are you going to use to kill the power to booster pump? I just put a booster pump on my R/O before I left and it really bumped up my water production. I just mounted a switch to turn the top off on before I left. Is that what you are using you liter meter for?

Marc-
a hammer head for your skimmer that is some serious power. Do you have a build thread?

The Maxcap UHE unit has a built in booster pump. The hammerhead is for the return pump. There is a dart for recirculation. The skimmer has a pair of red dragon pumps.

This is the build thread. Start at the beginning. Or start at the end and go back page by page. A couple pages back covers the new sumps and skimmer.

I need to pay more attention. I didnt even realize that question was directed at Marc. My bad..

Marc,
I too would love to see a build thread on your skimmer. Please keep me posted on that!

 

[wireefman]

still waiting for the other hobby pics. nice tank btw

 

[erics3000]

The R/O question was for you and I was curious on Marc's skimmer. Thanks for letting me hijack your thread. You sure do have a sweet r/o system. I want to get some frags soon so I can actually have a reef tank not just FWLR, but I keep spending money on equipment and stuff. hahaha

Well I was going to use my RKE feed top of from kalk if ph is good if ph is high than it will turn on another pump for just R/o water. I have an old kit from auto top off. 1 switch will turn on the booster pump and the other will turn it off. I will also have a float kit that will shut off the r/o. So I will probably have 3 floats in my 45 gallon water storage. I may also have a manual over ride so I can keep an eye when it is filling. Just in case I need to head out for a few days. I might run a pipe from the top of the can out side my garage for disaster situations if it fails. I am really getting tired of water in the floor of my garage. I am going to rip out my 150 Rubbermaid sump and do acrylic with baffles sometime a couple or few years down the road. Than I can have baffles and all the pretty stuff. I have been trying to think of a good way to put my probes in my sump, but with the water level fluctuating it brings up another issue. Any way blah blah blah. Little by little I guess..

 

[slief]

The R/O question was for you and I was curious on Marc’s skimmer. Thanks for letting me hijack your thread. You sure do have a sweet r/o system. I want to get some frags soon so I can actually have a reef tank not just FWLR, but I keep spending money on equipment and stuff. hahaha

Well I was going to use my RKE feed top of from kalk if ph is good if ph is high than it will turn on another pump for just R/o water. I have an old kit from auto top off. 1 switch will turn on the booster pump and the other will turn it off. I will also have a float kit that will shut off the r/o. So I will probably have 3 floats in my 45 gallon water storage. I may also have a manual over ride so I can keep an eye when it is filling. Just in case I need to head out for a few days. I might run a pipe from the top of the can out side my garage for disaster situations if it fails. I am really getting tired of water in the floor of my garage. I am going to rip out my 150 Rubbermaid sump and do acrylic with baffles sometime a couple or few years down the road. Than I can have baffles and all the pretty stuff. I have been trying to think of a good way to put my probes in my sump, but with the water level fluctuating it brings up another issue. Any way blah blah blah. Little by little I guess..

Funny you should mention floods. Been there done that (too many times). I just ordered a Waterbug with 3 sensors. One sensor will go under the tank where I have the pond liner, the other will go in the closet where the RO/DI is and the last will go in the storage shed where the water drums are. If the bug senses water, it will set off audible alarms, email me and shut down the RO/DI, LiterMeter 3 water changer and ATO.

For float switch redundancy, I came up with a great idea. I am using the Reef Fanatic float switches. They came with micro jacks on them. The kind you find on head phones. As I posted earlier in the thread, I made my own breakout box for my Apex with female jacks on it. Tomorrow I will go to Radio Shack and pick up 2 head set splitters. The kind that you can connect 2 sets of head phones to one MP3 player. I will plug 2 float switches into each one of those splitters. One splitter with 2 floats for High Level and one splitter with 2 floats for Low Level. The splitters will be plugged into 2 seperate switch ports on my breakout box. The idea is that when the water level is in the high position, only one float out of 2 will have to be closed or registering high water to shut the ATO down. If one fails the other one acts as a back up and closes the circuit just as the 2 will be able to close the circuit. To turn the ATO on however, the two low level switches will need to be open or in the down position. They will both have to be open for the low level sensor to kick in.

I will add 2 more float switches for a total of 6. The other 2 will be a TooHigh switch and a TooLow switch. No need for redundancy there. They are failsafes that will override all other programs and will trigger alarms, emails, skimmer shutdown, ATO shutdown, RODI shut down, etc.

I have spent most of the night programming so I am ready to install and begin testing the ATO and water changer/LiterMeter tomorrow.

I also created virtual outlets for Salinity. Too High or Too low of conductivity will trigger alarms emails.. Too Low will shut down the ATO so as not to drop the salinity more. Too high will shut down the water changer/Litermeter to insure salinity isnt raised more.

This is getting pretty complex but the more I get into it, the more I really gain a deeper appreciation of the Apex. The things this thing can do with relative ease is pretty amazing. Also, I have to thank Kenargo here at RC. His website has a great page on Apex programming which has given me a great starting point for some of my more complex Apex programs as well as great ideas!

Once I have all my programming done, I will try to document them and post them here in this thread.

 

[erics3000]

OH yeahhhh. I remember a couple pages back. My original thought was to stay away from that post. I saw the DB9 serial cable and said don’t look don’t look..hahahah.I soo didn’t want to get myself sucked into another project. I really love the electronic projects for the hobby. It is just I really want out knock some of my basics projects first. Last year I didn’t do much but a few w/c so I really can’t complain. I still need to buy my net module for my RKE. Maybe down the line I will get a SW5 or SL2 and do something similar. The SL2 will give me the salinity probe option. I like the idea of also keeping the salinity in check as with KALK or straight top off water related to PH.

I too really appreciate a controller now since I travel a little. I need to get my net module so I can keep an eye remotely. Little by little