My Equipment Room+Multiple Displays
- Thread starter 8BALL_99
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8BALL_99
New member
The 92 is going to be SPS for the most part.. The 180 will have everything else lol.. That was my main reason for spliting them up. Before all my reef tanks were just one big system. Worked fine but I like the idea of having my SPS in there own system..
Haha the Car jack was a must.. Trying to lift that thing up to the ceiling and add braces under it was a pain. I didn't have enough hands!
Will
8BALL_99
New member
Hey, Everyone Thought I post a little update,
My skimmer came in a while back. It took forever to get. Its a H&S A200 External 1260. I've been very happy with it so far. I also got My Kalk Stirrers in Today. I also had to wait a little while for these things to get instock. I got two Aqua Medic Kalkwasser Stirrer 1000. One for Each system. They are made alot like the Deltec stirrers but for half the price
. They seem to be pretty well made. Here is a few pictures.
Will
My skimmer came in a while back. It took forever to get. Its a H&S A200 External 1260. I've been very happy with it so far. I also got My Kalk Stirrers in Today. I also had to wait a little while for these things to get instock. I got two Aqua Medic Kalkwasser Stirrer 1000. One for Each system. They are made alot like the Deltec stirrers but for half the price
. They seem to be pretty well made. Here is a few pictures.
Will
Avast Marine
.Registered Member
Shweet skimmer! Nice stirrers as well, twist locks on the flanges and all. Where did you get the aquamedics from?
8BALL_99
New member
Dandy, lol its kind of funny One Stirrer came from foster and smith and the other came from Chapion Lighting. I ordered one from Chapion lighting about 6 weeks ago.. They send me an email letting me know it was out of stock and they would give me a Refund and would just rerun the order when they came in or I could just Cancel the order.. Every other store I checked were out to so I just waited.. Well about a week ago I seen Folster and smith had some. I went ahead and ordered One from them.. I figured I'd get it first play with it and if I liked it I'd go ahead and get the second one.. Well they both showed up at the same time :rolleye: Its ok though cause after setting one of them up I'm very happy with the Design.
AcroSteve, They aren't very loud. Sound about like a winch motor. They seem well made but only time will tell on how they hold up. I can tell you they have been used ALOT since I installed them. For the first couple of days I played with them non stop haha. But even now I raise them Atleast a couple times a week. Not to mention anytime someone comes to the house they want me to raise them
Genin Thanks, I still have alot to do but I'm pretty happy with how its turning out.
Will
AcroSteve, They aren't very loud. Sound about like a winch motor. They seem well made but only time will tell on how they hold up. I can tell you they have been used ALOT since I installed them. For the first couple of days I played with them non stop haha. But even now I raise them Atleast a couple times a week. Not to mention anytime someone comes to the house they want me to raise them
Genin Thanks, I still have alot to do but I'm pretty happy with how its turning out.
Will
8BALL_99
New member
Sure I've done a few things, Guess I could have posted haha.
I built a UPS a while back. It sets up on a shelf in the garage on I ran a circuit from there to the equipment room. So now the three return pumps that feed the four tanks plug into an outlet that is fed by the from the UPS. This does two things.. One all my Return pumps keep going in a poweroutage if I'm home or not.. But also if its a long outage I can plug my Generator into the ups in the garage to keep the pumps running and also start recharging the UPS. This saves me from having to drag out drop cords. I've tested the UPS for about 6 hours with NP.. Heck it ran 4 hours saturday morning from 12 am to 4 am.. I guess someone took out a light post or something lol.
I also Had some trouble with temps during the winter months.. Well not really a problem, But the equipment room kept getting hot during the lighting period.. It seemed stupid to run the rooms AC in the winter so I tried leaving the door cracked.. This worked ok, but If I forgot to close it at night it got to cold in the room and my heaters would kick on.. Not to mention it would cause the garage to get a little hot and humid when it wasn't very cold.. So I got a Fantech Air to Air Exchanger.. The idea is it brings fresh air in mixes it with air from in the room then exhausts some of the mixed air outside and sends some back into the room.. I jerry rigged it to a house hold thermostat. This did ok but just didn't keep the room cool.. So I ended up just getting a couple of inline Exhaust fans rated for I think 280CFM. Insted of the air mixing one act as an exhaust and the other just brings in fresh air. I rigged these to the same thermostat. So anytime the room temp gets above a set temp. The fans kick on cool the room down with outside fresh air then kick back off.. In the summer of course I just turn them off either by the thermostat or by a switch in the room. Here is a couple of pictures..
here is some tank shots couple months old though.. I need to take some new ones.. I've moved some of my corals around since these Pics.
I built a UPS a while back. It sets up on a shelf in the garage on I ran a circuit from there to the equipment room. So now the three return pumps that feed the four tanks plug into an outlet that is fed by the from the UPS. This does two things.. One all my Return pumps keep going in a poweroutage if I'm home or not.. But also if its a long outage I can plug my Generator into the ups in the garage to keep the pumps running and also start recharging the UPS. This saves me from having to drag out drop cords. I've tested the UPS for about 6 hours with NP.. Heck it ran 4 hours saturday morning from 12 am to 4 am.. I guess someone took out a light post or something lol.
I also Had some trouble with temps during the winter months.. Well not really a problem, But the equipment room kept getting hot during the lighting period.. It seemed stupid to run the rooms AC in the winter so I tried leaving the door cracked.. This worked ok, but If I forgot to close it at night it got to cold in the room and my heaters would kick on.. Not to mention it would cause the garage to get a little hot and humid when it wasn't very cold.. So I got a Fantech Air to Air Exchanger.. The idea is it brings fresh air in mixes it with air from in the room then exhausts some of the mixed air outside and sends some back into the room.. I jerry rigged it to a house hold thermostat. This did ok but just didn't keep the room cool.. So I ended up just getting a couple of inline Exhaust fans rated for I think 280CFM. Insted of the air mixing one act as an exhaust and the other just brings in fresh air. I rigged these to the same thermostat. So anytime the room temp gets above a set temp. The fans kick on cool the room down with outside fresh air then kick back off.. In the summer of course I just turn them off either by the thermostat or by a switch in the room. Here is a couple of pictures..
here is some tank shots couple months old though.. I need to take some new ones.. I've moved some of my corals around since these Pics.
erics3000
Active member
WIll- I love th external skimmer. LOoks good. Do you have a calcium reactor? I want to get one but have been wondering about having a Kalk stirrer. I like your stirrers they are affordable. I wont have a lot of corals in my tank right away but was wondering if you plan on using both.
8BALL_99
New member
I do use both on my 180.. Although My Co2 regulator sucks so it doesn't really help to much.. I plan on getting a new one at some point.. The Kalk stirrers are Awesome.. I just love them.. Every couple weeks I twist the top off, Dump a couple cups of Lime in them. Put the lid on and I'm done.. Its that easy.. Not only is it quick and easy the lime cost next to nothing. A few in my local reef club got together and bought a 50Lb bag of food grade lime from a place down the road. It cost 18 bucks..So I got around 10lbs of the stuff for like 3 bucks.. That as lasted me a year lol.
The biggest problem with Kalk ofcourse is you have to take extra care. Has very high ph and High alk. CA reactor though can also be risky to, since it can drop your ph if not monitored. If you run either or both I recomend getting a AquaController or atleast a Ph controller.
The way mine are setup is My ATO is controlled my my aqucontroller. What this does is not only does my ATO have dual float switches. It also only runs my ATO for 10mins every hour and will only run if the ph is or below 8.3.. Ontop of all that my Topoff through the Stirrers is turned down to a very slow trickle. The idea is even if both floats failed And the PH probe failed at worse I'd only have a very slow trickle of Kalk going into my tanks for 10 mins every hour.. Its pretty dern safe IMO.
The biggest problem with Kalk ofcourse is you have to take extra care. Has very high ph and High alk. CA reactor though can also be risky to, since it can drop your ph if not monitored. If you run either or both I recomend getting a AquaController or atleast a Ph controller.
The way mine are setup is My ATO is controlled my my aqucontroller. What this does is not only does my ATO have dual float switches. It also only runs my ATO for 10mins every hour and will only run if the ph is or below 8.3.. Ontop of all that my Topoff through the Stirrers is turned down to a very slow trickle. The idea is even if both floats failed And the PH probe failed at worse I'd only have a very slow trickle of Kalk going into my tanks for 10 mins every hour.. Its pretty dern safe IMO.
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ReefingBuddha
New member
any updates on that fancy actuator system you have set up. How is it holding up?
8BALL_99
New member
Wow its been awhile since I seen this thread.. Still works great. I need to take some new pictures. The only pictures I have are 4-5 months old. The actuators still work great and everyone still oos and ohhs over them lol. I've got so spoiled by having such good access to my tanks I'm not sure I could ever go back to hanging lights or fixed canopys.. Heck my Seahorse tank gets on my nerves cause I have to unscrew a nut and swing the light up to clean the tank.. This of course takes both hands and a couple of mins.. Not to mention after this the tank is dark and hard to clean.. Its bad when you put of scraping the glass on a 35 cause its more trouble then cleaning your 180 or 92...
My Ups on the other hand had served me well untill the other day. My inverter screwed up. It won't cut off but at the same time its not putting out any voltage.. So I'm pretty sure its shot. I think the problem is with all three pumps kicking on at exactly the same time it was just to much for it.. It ran several times with NP though. I knew this might be an issue from day one and had planed on putting some kind of delay on one or two of the pumps.. IE kicks on 5-10 seconds after the power kicks on.. Just never got around to figuring out how to do this.. I have a 700watt inverter on it now as a Temp till I get another smaller one and figure out how to delay the pumps.
The only other issue I've had really with my setup is I had to replace my 6000BTU AC with a 8000BTU one. The 6000 wouldn't bring the temp down if it was hot in the room before you cut it on.. It also would get pretty warm in there by the time the light period was over.. With the 8000 this isn't a issue at all.. I can pretty much keep the room whatever temp I set the AC to all the way down to 65F if I want.. I still use the inline fans to cool the room in the winter or to exhaust the room when I clean skimmers! lol
Will
My Ups on the other hand had served me well untill the other day. My inverter screwed up. It won't cut off but at the same time its not putting out any voltage.. So I'm pretty sure its shot. I think the problem is with all three pumps kicking on at exactly the same time it was just to much for it.. It ran several times with NP though. I knew this might be an issue from day one and had planed on putting some kind of delay on one or two of the pumps.. IE kicks on 5-10 seconds after the power kicks on.. Just never got around to figuring out how to do this.. I have a 700watt inverter on it now as a Temp till I get another smaller one and figure out how to delay the pumps.
The only other issue I've had really with my setup is I had to replace my 6000BTU AC with a 8000BTU one. The 6000 wouldn't bring the temp down if it was hot in the room before you cut it on.. It also would get pretty warm in there by the time the light period was over.. With the 8000 this isn't a issue at all.. I can pretty much keep the room whatever temp I set the AC to all the way down to 65F if I want.. I still use the inline fans to cool the room in the winter or to exhaust the room when I clean skimmers! lol
Will
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espocrespo
New member
what fish you got
what fish you got
what fish you got
what fish you got
what fish you got
8BALL_99
New member
Well you will probably laugh at my fish list.. I don't have many.. I'm not all that big on fish. I really like the corals. That said I do have a few fish I plan on adding. I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I've also lost a few over the past couple years.. Including about 7 Green chromis that just seem to vanish one by one over time.. Even with ideal water conditions. I had an awesome clown tang that I loved. But I treated for flatworms and he died with in days of this.. I also had a blonde Naso tang that died after only a couple of months. The naso was in perfect health and eating then the next day he was dead.. Just that fast. I would like another tang but with my badluck with the last couple I'm scared of them lol I've had my Sailfin for about 3 years though. I would like to get a Flame hawkfish probably another foxface and maybe a few more that I haven't decided on yet.
This is the list for my 92 and my 180..
1Sailfin Tang, Desjardini
1FoxFace
1Green Chromis
1Green Mandarin
2True Percula Clownfish
2Black and White Ocellaris Clownfish
2Bicolor Blenny
1Spotted Watchman Goby
1Coral Beauty Angelfish
This is the list for my 92 and my 180..
1Sailfin Tang, Desjardini
1FoxFace
1Green Chromis
1Green Mandarin
2True Percula Clownfish
2Black and White Ocellaris Clownfish
2Bicolor Blenny
1Spotted Watchman Goby
1Coral Beauty Angelfish
HumanIMDB
Premium Member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8310216#post8310216 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 8BALL_99
I've had alot of Questions about my lifts on my Canopys. I posted a picture of my 92 in another thread and it seems that everyone wants to know what parts I used..
I used Linear Actuators to lift the canopys.. I had planed on having the arm come through the ceiling to the canopy.. But my wife after seeing them wasn't crazy about the Chrome arm.. Crazy I know:rolleye1: So I ended up attaching Steel cables to the Actuators. The Actuators are from FA Automations
I used there Sleek Actuators rated for 150lbs Each. 99.00each
The guides mounted on the wall are just heavy duty slides from Lowes rated for 150-200 lbs each. They run about 20 bucks a pair
I also got there remote control system for 65 bucks.. Looks like the remote for your car..One remote controlls both canopys.. push one button one conopy goes up the the ceiling push another it goes back down.
I used a 12V powersupply from radio shack. Dont remember the price. If your not maxing out the Actuators you can use almost any 12v transformer.. I used a 1500mA one for a couple of weeks with NPs.
Hope that helps explain some of the questions about the lifts.. If not I'll be happy to answer any questions about the setup..
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8312360#post8312360 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tanya72806
Awesome This is what I believe I need LMK if im missing anything or dont need something
Heavy Duty Linear Guide Rails 23.75" Extension 1 set
2-4 Channel Remote Control Systems
6" Stroke Tubular Actuator 150 lbs force x2
Mounting Bracket for all FA Actuators x4
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8312482#post8312482 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 8BALL_99
Thats a $$ list lol.
I would just go to lowes for your guide rails.. You can get much shorter ones for less money.. Also will help with shipping
Remote is cool but not needed a Toggle switch will work.. Although I much rather use the remote
You really dont need 2 Actuators to lift your canopy. if you can mount one in the center either behind the tank or above the tank it should lift you canopy fine. Nothing really wrong with using two just cost more. I used two on my 180 cause it is VERY heavy lol. I built it all out of solid Oak and 3/4 Oak plywood. And the colums on the front and sides are several layers thick of solid wood.. Its so heavy that I couldn't pick it up over my head alone.. I had to have help :rolleye1:
Mounting Brackets,, Well this is a tough one.. They charge way to much for theirs but if your not able to work with metel then they are your only option.. I just used some 1/8" steel for mine, But mine was where you can't see the brackets so I didnt' have to worry so much about how they looked..HTH
Will
Wow! Thanks for the information. I am not sure if this will work for our current configuration as it may be impossible to get in behind our tank to mount the hardware required but it is definitely something I will investigate.
8BALL_99
New member
Hope it helps ya, I LOVE the lifts. Once you get use to it, It really does spoil you. When I had to buy a couple hundred bucks worth of stuff per tank I was kind of thinking this was alot of money and trouble just for some kewl toy.. But now I'm very glad I did. I use them alteast once a week for something.. Its funny to walk into the fish room eating a sandwich and knotice a coral has fell or broken, Then while still eating reach down push a button to lift the canopy then fix said coral with other free hand. Push the button again and put everything back.. haha so lazy
BTW My ups is now charged with Solar Panels.. Since its connected to solar panels.. I run my Canopy lifts off the battery in the UPS. I plan on moving my moon lights and probably a few small cooling fans over to it as well.
Will
BTW My ups is now charged with Solar Panels.. Since its connected to solar panels.. I run my Canopy lifts off the battery in the UPS. I plan on moving my moon lights and probably a few small cooling fans over to it as well.
Will
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