North Dakota Mini-Ocean
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Reefaquariumnut
Premium Member
Does anyone know of a good wire managment panel to hide or group all the plug-ins i have in the room? I am also looking for a wall mount for the ACIII Pro. Any ideas?
jnarowe
New member
The best ones I have seen are all DIY/Custom built. It always puzzled me why stuff like the AquaController and LiterMeter III do not have mounting brackets.
I am sure it's obvious that everything should be protected from water and considering how sweet your tank room will be, perhaps Scott can make you a custom enclosure out of black and clear acrylic?
Wire management is a total PITA because using commonly availble shrouds still give me trouble when removing a probe for cleaning etc. Some guy suse PVC pipe as conduit like Hop did, but I still haven't really solved this issue myself. I used wire guides I picked up at HD that have slots for a few wires, and that works OK, but not great.
SOmething I remember very clearly when visiting Steve Weast, is that you didn't see any wires in his equipment room. That could only result from extensive planning and an extremely retentive gene!
I am sure it's obvious that everything should be protected from water and considering how sweet your tank room will be, perhaps Scott can make you a custom enclosure out of black and clear acrylic?
Wire management is a total PITA because using commonly availble shrouds still give me trouble when removing a probe for cleaning etc. Some guy suse PVC pipe as conduit like Hop did, but I still haven't really solved this issue myself. I used wire guides I picked up at HD that have slots for a few wires, and that works OK, but not great.
SOmething I remember very clearly when visiting Steve Weast, is that you didn't see any wires in his equipment room. That could only result from extensive planning and an extremely retentive gene!
Reefaquariumnut
Premium Member
Yes, the removal of a unit, probe, pump, etc will cause some major headaches if the wires are clipped to a wall and such. I need an enclosure or cabinet where all the powerstrips or DC-8's or whatever are hidden and the wires exit though a hole similar to a computer desk set-up. The mounting of the wavysea control box, ACIII, LiterMeter III, and computer will probably have to be made by Scott.
jnarowe
New member
just be careful about heat build up when you enclose all the stuff. what I did was mount the DC4HDs all under the tank stand or on the wall above the tank and ran waterproof conduit to dedicated recepticles. Then each item is plugged into the closest recepticle.
Because of the size of my tank, I could not put all the DC4HDs and DC8 in the same place, otherwise equipment cords couldn't reach. BTW, there is an extension cord for the temp. probe.
Because of the size of my tank, I could not put all the DC4HDs and DC8 in the same place, otherwise equipment cords couldn't reach. BTW, there is an extension cord for the temp. probe.
Reefaquariumnut
Premium Member
Couple Updates:
My neptune controller should be here early this week. Once I get it, I will start the programming and hooking up the rest of my equipment. Also, I have 2-6101's coming for the frag tanks as the 6045's just aren't doing what I needed. I have them hooked up to a wavemaker and they are not holding up to the constant on/off.
I added 5 chromis to the 600 on Monday and I will be adding the next list of fish in another few days. The tank has been cycling for 22 days total.
Lyretail Anthias, Orange, Female (Fiji) Qty: 3,
Maldives Lyretail Anthias, Male Qty: 1
Bartlett's Anthias (Marshall Islands) - Small Qty: 3
Parvirostris Anthias, Male (Maldives) Qty: 1,
Squareback Anthias, Female (Indo Pacific) Qty: 3
Squareback Anthias, Male (Indo Pacific) Qty: 1,
Spotted Cardinalfish (Indo Pacific) Qty: 5
Carberryi Anthias (Maldives) Qty: 3
Blue Reef Chromis (Caribbean) - Medium Qty: 4
The next group of fish will be added somtime mid-October.
Tangs, wrasses, gobies, blennies, darts, pseudos, and basslets would be the next group.
I am thinking inverts would be sometime in October with corals to follow in November.
Scott should be up to my house again last weekend in August. At that point we will hook up the last of the plumbing, controllers, and lighting.
My neptune controller should be here early this week. Once I get it, I will start the programming and hooking up the rest of my equipment. Also, I have 2-6101's coming for the frag tanks as the 6045's just aren't doing what I needed. I have them hooked up to a wavemaker and they are not holding up to the constant on/off.
I added 5 chromis to the 600 on Monday and I will be adding the next list of fish in another few days. The tank has been cycling for 22 days total.
Lyretail Anthias, Orange, Female (Fiji) Qty: 3,
Maldives Lyretail Anthias, Male Qty: 1
Bartlett's Anthias (Marshall Islands) - Small Qty: 3
Parvirostris Anthias, Male (Maldives) Qty: 1,
Squareback Anthias, Female (Indo Pacific) Qty: 3
Squareback Anthias, Male (Indo Pacific) Qty: 1,
Spotted Cardinalfish (Indo Pacific) Qty: 5
Carberryi Anthias (Maldives) Qty: 3
Blue Reef Chromis (Caribbean) - Medium Qty: 4
The next group of fish will be added somtime mid-October.
Tangs, wrasses, gobies, blennies, darts, pseudos, and basslets would be the next group.
I am thinking inverts would be sometime in October with corals to follow in November.
Scott should be up to my house again last weekend in August. At that point we will hook up the last of the plumbing, controllers, and lighting.
8BALL_99
New member
Great thread. I love the closed loop spiders.. Great idea. Hope the air exchanger keeps up. I tried one in my room and it didn't move enough air for me.. I ended up using a couple of inline Fantech fans. One set as exhaust the other set as a intake. I run mine on a thermostat in the winter. Thats how I cool the room. In the summer I just use a AC thats just for the equipment room. It removes the moisture and cools the room. I think with so much water you will still have a lot of humidity in that room. Not a huge deal but I'd plan for the extra moisture!
Reefaquariumnut
Premium Member
My humidity in the room runs at 40-45% and temp peaks at around 81. The air exchanger hasn't been run to max capacity yet either. My two frag tanks run at a 75-77 temp during the day and I had one fan blowing on the frag with dual 250 MH over it to keep it cool. I don't have any lights over the 600 yet and for the reason of keeping the detritus and algae to a minimum. So the added 400w lights could cause problems, but I have many ways to combat that if needed with tapping into my ground loop system, turning the air exchanger up more, turning my AC on in the basement, etc.
On a side note, I am thinking of adding a brine shrimp hatchery in the tank room (like 10 gallon tank) that will feed the 3 tanks continuously throughout the day.
On a side note, I am thinking of adding a brine shrimp hatchery in the tank room (like 10 gallon tank) that will feed the 3 tanks continuously throughout the day.
jnarowe
New member
"ground loop" (drool)
lots of research needed on the brine shrimp system. I tried this with not-so-good results using sub-par equipment. But, I know these can go foul. Local reefers refer to brine shrimp as "junk food" due to their lack of nutritional value, but some people claim that they can gut-load them with vitamins.
lots of research needed on the brine shrimp system. I tried this with not-so-good results using sub-par equipment. But, I know these can go foul. Local reefers refer to brine shrimp as "junk food" due to their lack of nutritional value, but some people claim that they can gut-load them with vitamins.
Reefaquariumnut
Premium Member
I have read the baby brine are very high in fat and adult are very high in protein. I will also have white shrimp and pod as live food. I know I will have to drip, dose, or target feed phytoplankon and such for my filter feeding tank inhabitants.
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13178643#post13178643 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnarowe
"ground loop" (drool)
lots of research needed on the brine shrimp system. I tried this with not-so-good results using sub-par equipment. But, I know these can go foul. Local reefers refer to brine shrimp as "junk food" due to their lack of nutritional value, but some people claim that they can gut-load them with vitamins.
depends on if they are fed freshly hatched still with the yolk sac or if grown out to adult hood in which case you would need to gut-load.
What r your intentions with the hatchery Reefaquariumnut? R u planning baby brine or adult?
jnarowe
New member
I disagree regarding the phyto, and have read a lot stating that adult brine have very little nutritional value. And the larger your fish get, the less likely they are to eat the baby brine.
As far as dosing phyto goes, I would caution you on this. I learned this lesson early on that doing so can really spike your nutrient levels and cause nuisance algae outbreaks. It is very high in PO4.
When discussing this with any of the advanced reef keepers I know, they are 100% against it. None of them do it. Their feeling (as is mine) is that the reef will provide all the nutrition filter feeders need. And after seeing a tang crap, it's easy to believe.
As far as dosing phyto goes, I would caution you on this. I learned this lesson early on that doing so can really spike your nutrient levels and cause nuisance algae outbreaks. It is very high in PO4.
When discussing this with any of the advanced reef keepers I know, they are 100% against it. None of them do it. Their feeling (as is mine) is that the reef will provide all the nutrition filter feeders need. And after seeing a tang crap, it's easy to believe.
Reefaquariumnut
Premium Member
This all stems from a battle to keep my system as fully automated as possible and have the tank as close to real-life for all the inhabitants. I know tangs and anthias espcially losve to graze and have food all day due to the energy they expend chasing and playing.
8BALL_99
New member
I have a brine shrimp hatchery mounted on the wall in my equipment room. I only hatch them every now and then. I also have green water and rotifer station where I keep cultures of both going 24/7. I don't think feeding brine shrimp continuously would be a great idea.
Your MH lights will make a huge impact.. At night I had NP at all, But during the lighting with the extra Evap the air exchanger couldn't keep up.. I also think yours will rust with it sitting in the room like that.. The core is plastic but the rest isn't. HVAC guys are idiots when it comes to our equipment rooms.. They just don't know how to figure them.. They are use to going by Square footage and what the space is used for.. I talked to two different' guys when I did my room. One of them I've used several times on large buildings.. Everything from a tanning saloon to a bar and grill.. I ended up having to replace the AC with a larger one then he said and the air exchanger didn't cut it. Not a big deal since I installed the stuff my self, But I had the same thoughts as you.. Well I was told by and expert it would work I didn't just guess at it..lol.
Your MH lights will make a huge impact.. At night I had NP at all, But during the lighting with the extra Evap the air exchanger couldn't keep up.. I also think yours will rust with it sitting in the room like that.. The core is plastic but the rest isn't. HVAC guys are idiots when it comes to our equipment rooms.. They just don't know how to figure them.. They are use to going by Square footage and what the space is used for.. I talked to two different' guys when I did my room. One of them I've used several times on large buildings.. Everything from a tanning saloon to a bar and grill.. I ended up having to replace the AC with a larger one then he said and the air exchanger didn't cut it. Not a big deal since I installed the stuff my self, But I had the same thoughts as you.. Well I was told by and expert it would work I didn't just guess at it..lol.
Reefaquariumnut
Premium Member
Thanks on the phytoplankton. I will do some research. My point about the brine was as my little fish become bigger they need a diet high in fat to grow and maintain bright colors. As they mature, they need a diet high in protein and vitamins. I thought this would be the right course of action for that train of thought. But I am open to ideas. That's why I am on this forum!
Reefaquariumnut
Premium Member
I would be around in the morning and at night for sure. I am not sure about times other than that. I will just have to see how my house and room react to the extra humidity. The fishroom is wrapped in green sheetrock and has a marine type paint on the walls. I wasn't going to 24/7 feed the brine shrimp to the tanks either. I was going to house them in a 10 gallon tank and a couple times a day open a valve to feed the tanks or just scoop a cupful in the morning and night. It was just a thought. I would like my tank to have food in the water column most of the day rather than a huge amount in the AM and PM.
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