OK! Enough chat...Starting a 1000g+ Reef
- Thread starter jnarowe
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tinygiants
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What brand solenoid is it?
jnarowe
New member
Dale, I'll check it out again tomorrow. Right now I have the solenoid between the filters and the holding tank. I originally had it before the filters but couldn't get that to work right.
Now I have a holding bin before the pump to try and reduce the "kick-back" into the copper plumbing, but while that solved the noise problem upstairs, in the tank room I had to tie down the feed line to keep it from jumping around and slapping the wall. I know it sounds strange but i have been trying all different configurations to hopefully hit on the right one. The problem with the intermediate holding tank is that is reduces the pressure significantly, and I think that is why the feed line is vibrating so much.
Thanks for the link Travis!
Mar 24 2006 19:20:56
Temp pH ORP Cond DO
76.7 8.20 279 45.9 21.4
So quick update. I have the pH under control and the tank is startinig to clear up. I have temporarily gone to manually controlling the cooling blowers until I can fix the DC8. i will be installing a 15 amp circuit breaker/reset in place of the 15 amp fuse that is impossible to find. Once I have that squared away i will post what I come up with.
Now I have a holding bin before the pump to try and reduce the "kick-back" into the copper plumbing, but while that solved the noise problem upstairs, in the tank room I had to tie down the feed line to keep it from jumping around and slapping the wall. I know it sounds strange but i have been trying all different configurations to hopefully hit on the right one. The problem with the intermediate holding tank is that is reduces the pressure significantly, and I think that is why the feed line is vibrating so much.
Thanks for the link Travis!
Mar 24 2006 19:20:56
Temp pH ORP Cond DO
76.7 8.20 279 45.9 21.4
So quick update. I have the pH under control and the tank is startinig to clear up. I have temporarily gone to manually controlling the cooling blowers until I can fix the DC8. i will be installing a 15 amp circuit breaker/reset in place of the 15 amp fuse that is impossible to find. Once I have that squared away i will post what I come up with.
tinygiants
New member
It goes before the filters.
The way it is now. the ro unit still has water pressure even if the valve is activated. That water pressure is going to keep going out the waste line.
It should be supply - solenoid - carbon filter - ro membrane - di - T back to solenoid - supply to float valve.
Dale
The way it is now. the ro unit still has water pressure even if the valve is activated. That water pressure is going to keep going out the waste line.
It should be supply - solenoid - carbon filter - ro membrane - di - T back to solenoid - supply to float valve.
Dale
jnarowe
New member
Update:
Tank parameters are OK this morning. All animals are alive. The green chromis are greedy little buggers and wll eat anything I drop in thier tank. I first fed them frozen brine shrimp. Then I dosed some phyto and zooplankton to get something to the porcelain crabs. The chromis nabbed it all. They really like the zooplankton. I have also fed them dried brine shrimp with success.
I have a red crab in the overflow that I need to do something about. I am guessing that he should not go into the main system but I also don't want to starve him to death. Anyone have a suggestion???
The main lamp didn't go off or turned on for some reason so that was on at the wrong time. Temp is OK at 77.3 and I only mention this because I had the fans off over-night and the lamp was on.
pH continues to drop and I continue to dose with baking soda. Seems like something is working against me here, but what? It was 8.20 at 9 pm and 8.05 at 6:30 am. I know there are natural day/night swings but that seems like out of the norm.
Water is clearer this morning but I have not done any tests yet. (I don't like to test until I have a full tank of makeup water!) I solved the booster pump noise issue but only get half the production, so that is not really a solution. I wonder if a check valve between the supply and the pump would keep it from reverbarating through the house line?
Tank parameters are OK this morning. All animals are alive. The green chromis are greedy little buggers and wll eat anything I drop in thier tank. I first fed them frozen brine shrimp. Then I dosed some phyto and zooplankton to get something to the porcelain crabs. The chromis nabbed it all. They really like the zooplankton. I have also fed them dried brine shrimp with success.
I have a red crab in the overflow that I need to do something about. I am guessing that he should not go into the main system but I also don't want to starve him to death. Anyone have a suggestion???
The main lamp didn't go off or turned on for some reason so that was on at the wrong time. Temp is OK at 77.3 and I only mention this because I had the fans off over-night and the lamp was on.
pH continues to drop and I continue to dose with baking soda. Seems like something is working against me here, but what? It was 8.20 at 9 pm and 8.05 at 6:30 am. I know there are natural day/night swings but that seems like out of the norm.
Water is clearer this morning but I have not done any tests yet. (I don't like to test until I have a full tank of makeup water!) I solved the booster pump noise issue but only get half the production, so that is not really a solution. I wonder if a check valve between the supply and the pump would keep it from reverbarating through the house line?
Bax
Premium Member
If you are feeding your chromis, you crab should be fine. I have a gorillia crab that lives in the first section of my sump. His job is to eat all the big stuff that gets in there. Hven't target fed him in over a year but he's molted twice. He does a wonderful job you can't find a spec of large food matter in my sump.
jnarowe
New member
Dale, can you better explain the "T back to solenoid" please? Where is the pump in your plan?
BAX--That's not a bad idea to put him in the sump. I am just a bit concerned about him getting diced and deposited into the display. I had a screen on my return pump intake, but it constricted the flow too much. If a crab got caught on the screen it wouldn't be able to get off either.
BTW, the chromis are in the QT not the display, and the crab is in my display overflow. I am not feeding the display at this time. I don't want to put the crab in the QT either in case it decides to munch on a fish...maybe I should try it and just keep an eye on it? I wonder if the LFS would take the crab?
BAX--That's not a bad idea to put him in the sump. I am just a bit concerned about him getting diced and deposited into the display. I had a screen on my return pump intake, but it constricted the flow too much. If a crab got caught on the screen it wouldn't be able to get off either.
BTW, the chromis are in the QT not the display, and the crab is in my display overflow. I am not feeding the display at this time. I don't want to put the crab in the QT either in case it decides to munch on a fish...maybe I should try it and just keep an eye on it? I wonder if the LFS would take the crab?
Cutiewitbooty
New member
nice system, hopefully one day i can do something like that lol
The good thing about the large system is that when there are screw ups, they don't have a fast or large of an impact on the water quality. That's the theory anyway.Roland Jacques
Premium Member
Except for floods:mixed:
tinygiants
New member
The T is installed on the good side of the RO membrane. One leg of the T goes to the DI filter. One leg is a dead leg to the top of the solenoid. All the T does is transmit pressure to the solenoid.
In the overall pic, my supply comes in the bottom of the solenoid. The outlet is out the side. The pressure sensor is in the top. When the good water line is plugged by the float valve, the system will keep making water until it pressurizes the good water line. At about 20 psi, the solenoid shuts down the water feed to the whole system. When that happens the waste line secures. It will hold in that condition until pressure is lost. Pressure is lost if the float valve cycles or if there is a leak.
Since you use a pump, it would go before the solenoid.
jnarowe
New member
I can't believe I still don't get this. First of all what I am calling a "solenoid" is a pressure switch I bought with the pump. It is designed to shut the pump off when there is sufficient back pressure, ie: a float valve closes. It has only an input and an output and electrically shuts off the pump (if it was working properly). I wonder if one or both of the units is either connected improperly or if I need a solenoid like yours somehwere.
I have installed everything "by-the-book" but still am confounded by the results. The noise issue is major because it reverbarates to our bedroom area upstairs, and the not shutting off is a real problem too.
I have installed everything "by-the-book" but still am confounded by the results. The noise issue is major because it reverbarates to our bedroom area upstairs, and the not shutting off is a real problem too.
skatezen
Member
Jonathan,
I am having the same issues that you are having. The electronic solenoid shuts off when the water from the float causes back pressure, but the auto shut off valve doesn't stop the waste water from pouring down the drain. I was told that if you put some kind of "bladder" in line between the clean output of the RODI and the electronic solenoid then that should work. I haven't tried it yet, but the thing to get would be the water tank commonly sold with a household RODI system. I don't know if you can just put a PVC creation inline, if that would work. The water tanks I believe have an expandable bladder in them that causes the pressure, although I could be completely wrong. I have something I am going to try and I will let you know if it does the trick.
Jeff
I am having the same issues that you are having. The electronic solenoid shuts off when the water from the float causes back pressure, but the auto shut off valve doesn't stop the waste water from pouring down the drain. I was told that if you put some kind of "bladder" in line between the clean output of the RODI and the electronic solenoid then that should work. I haven't tried it yet, but the thing to get would be the water tank commonly sold with a household RODI system. I don't know if you can just put a PVC creation inline, if that would work. The water tanks I believe have an expandable bladder in them that causes the pressure, although I could be completely wrong. I have something I am going to try and I will let you know if it does the trick.
Jeff
skatezen
Member
Ok it worked. Here's what you need to make...A length of PVC with 1/4" fitting for your RO. It acts like a bladder to but sufficient pressure I used 1" PVC about 2' worth - its just what I had laying around. 2 x 1" 90Ã"šÃ‚°s with 1/2"FPT and 2 x 1/2" MPT - 1/4" John Guest fittings available at HD or Lowes. Connect it all together and put it between your Solenoid and RODI on the output line. If you have any questions I can take a pic and email it to you, just PM me your email.
jnarowe
New member
Marc,
Yeah I know what yuo mean but it is consistently and quickly dropping below 8.0 and at its worst, before I started with the baking soda, it was at 7.65. So every few hours I just pour in a little baked baking soda and that does the trick for a while.
The tank has been getting clearer but my socks are sludging up very quickly. So I just borrowed my whole house filter and plumbed it into a 1" line off the return. Took about 10 minutes and right now I am running the full blown carbon filter but i also have a 20 micron sediment filter I could use. Not sure what would be best but I figure the more filtration I can do until the skimmer is done the better. Unfortunately all this action has set me back on the skimmer a couple of days.
Yeah I know what yuo mean but it is consistently and quickly dropping below 8.0 and at its worst, before I started with the baking soda, it was at 7.65. So every few hours I just pour in a little baked baking soda and that does the trick for a while.
The tank has been getting clearer but my socks are sludging up very quickly. So I just borrowed my whole house filter and plumbed it into a 1" line off the return. Took about 10 minutes and right now I am running the full blown carbon filter but i also have a 20 micron sediment filter I could use. Not sure what would be best but I figure the more filtration I can do until the skimmer is done the better. Unfortunately all this action has set me back on the skimmer a couple of days.
jnarowe
New member
So another thing I want to investigate: While searching for DowFlake I found a few Lawn & Garden products that have interesting ingredients. They are used to "sweeten" lawns in particular with calcium.
A sample item is Lily Miller Garden Lime:
Calcium (Ca) 20%
Magnesium (Mg) 11%
calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) 50%
Magnesium Carbonate (MgCO3) 40%
Calcium Carbonate Equivalent 94%
Derived from limestone
So are products like this being used to dose reefs?
A sample item is Lily Miller Garden Lime:
Calcium (Ca) 20%
Magnesium (Mg) 11%
calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) 50%
Magnesium Carbonate (MgCO3) 40%
Calcium Carbonate Equivalent 94%
Derived from limestone
So are products like this being used to dose reefs?
jnarowe
New member
Tank is doing well today. I am controlling the cooling & heating manually and doing water changes. I tested today after a water change and I have 3 ppm ammonia in the display and 1 ppm in the QT. The display is running at around 380 ppm calcium.
Look what I found on the display glass:
And here's a shot of one of the coral frags in the QT. It has changed color significantly!
Also, a couple of the large corals that came in on the rock (some kind of SPS) have covered themselves with a slime tent. Can't really get a good photo though. I realize this is a reaction to water quality but I am not sure if there is anything I can do other than continue with the water changes. Anyone have any suggestions?
Look what I found on the display glass:
And here's a shot of one of the coral frags in the QT. It has changed color significantly!
Also, a couple of the large corals that came in on the rock (some kind of SPS) have covered themselves with a slime tent. Can't really get a good photo though. I realize this is a reaction to water quality but I am not sure if there is anything I can do other than continue with the water changes. Anyone have any suggestions?
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