Pete's 110 build
- Thread starter psteeleb
- Start date
drummereef
Team RC
Seriously, people should take note of what's going on here. Your thread is chocked full of such great content Pete. Great pics, videos, and tutorials. Awesome thread!
psteeleb
Team RC
thanks Brett
and I do wish more people would check in to ask questions, or make suggestions, comments, etc as sometimes it seems like I use this thread more as a picturr & video repository to view when I'm away from home :wavehand:
it's probably because I don't have a cool looking fish room that's cleaner then most hospitals
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Taqpol
New member
As far as fish rooms that look like hospitals go, I don't think ANYONE would want to have surgery in my fish room...
It's hard to give you suggestions when your husbandry and planning are so top notch! I gave you some of my knowledge/opinion on the LEDs, but I'm pretty sure you ended up going with basically the original plan and it has turned out great! Its such a simple system, but everything has worked out great and your corals really seem to be thriving. Looking at your pictures makes me think back to my 120, which I have not been able to recreate in any way since I made the move/upgrade....
It's hard to give you suggestions when your husbandry and planning are so top notch! I gave you some of my knowledge/opinion on the LEDs, but I'm pretty sure you ended up going with basically the original plan and it has turned out great! Its such a simple system, but everything has worked out great and your corals really seem to be thriving. Looking at your pictures makes me think back to my 120, which I have not been able to recreate in any way since I made the move/upgrade....
drummereef
Team RC
thanks Brett
and I do wish more people would check in to ask questions, or make suggestions, comments, etc as sometimes it seems like I use this thread more as a picturr & video repository to view when I'm away from home :wavehand:
it's probably because I don't have a cool looking fish room that's cleaner then most hospitals
:lol: I don't think I'm stealing any "business" over here with all the amazing pics ^^^! Don't feel that way at all! There's so many people that just like to browse but getting feedback is nice too. Like Alex said, it's hard to add to a thread that is so meticulously put together like this one.
PaPa_Johnny
Premium Member
Don't think we aren't looking Pete . I'm steadily taking notes now. I have a 240 in the works, I already have the apex, skimmer, reactor etc etc. I love your attention to detail and your willingness to share. I absolutely can't wait now to get my lil big tank going! All of your ideas and step by steps will be put to good use, thanks again.
. I'm steadily taking notes now. I have a 240 in the works, I already have the apex, skimmer, reactor etc etc. I love your attention to detail and your willingness to share. I absolutely can't wait now to get my lil big tank going! All of your ideas and step by steps will be put to good use, thanks again.
psteeleb
Team RC
:lmao: Thanks Alex, I did get a lot of valuable information from your build and from what you posted. I wish I knew more about testing the individual LED's for current before I strung them together as your suggestion sure made sense. i just got ahead of myself on the build. As always, thanks for your input
:lol: I don't think I'm stealing any "business" over here with all the amazing pics ^^^! Don't feel that way at all! There's so many people that just like to browse but getting feedback is nice too. Like Alex said, it's hard to add to a thread that is so meticulously put together like this one.
I don't know about that, you currently are the build thread of the year IMO. Your build thread with your step by step, picture supported, thought process to your build is clearly a tremendous asset to the hobby. My approach has been; do a bunch of stuff and then document, hence missing a bunch of the up front steps.
Don't think we aren't looking Pete
Thanks PaPa_Johnny, looking forward to seeing your build
Fishingpcola
New member
We're not worthy! We're not worthy!
psteeleb
Team RC
psteeleb
Team RC
My wife noticed the skimmer wasn't pulling much the past couple days so calls me. We walk thought a few things checking the pumps and ended up finding the air line was all gunked up. She took it apart, cleaned it and put it back together, a sign or a true reefer (even if she wont admit to it)
the real good news is; even for not having the skimmer work for a few days the tank seems to be fine.
Alk has slowly climbed to over 13 so we will be dailing back the Ca reactor
I'll also be placing an order for some more clean up crew. I'll probably get a few more scarlet hermits, and some turban, cernith and nerite snails. I may get a few more blue legs, even though they kill each other for their shells they are good detritus and algea consumers.
Coming up in 9 months
a little history:
5/8/10 - Fuge running (nothing in main, not even wet)
5/21/10 - tank wet with live rock from 100g but minimal bio diversity
6/11/10 - first critters introduced to tank; some chromis and a clean up crew
7/18/10 - first sps (birdsnest)
8/14/10 - added a couple corals from a local frag swap
8/28/10 - more of my old live rock that was at a LFS but with a bunch more biodiversity
8/28/10 - sunset monte added with live rock, and bought the pipe organ, GBN and Christmas Tree rock
9/17/10 - 9 sps collection from a local club member - started dosing 2 part
10/15/10 - more CuC and 15 Ricordia added
11/7/10 - added 24 royal blue Cree XR-E LEDs
12/28/10 - changes out RK2 with APEX controller, started Ca reactor, started Kalc reactor, stopped 2 part, added 2 Maxima clams
the real good news is; even for not having the skimmer work for a few days the tank seems to be fine.
Alk has slowly climbed to over 13 so we will be dailing back the Ca reactor
I'll also be placing an order for some more clean up crew. I'll probably get a few more scarlet hermits, and some turban, cernith and nerite snails. I may get a few more blue legs, even though they kill each other for their shells they are good detritus and algea consumers.
Coming up in 9 months
a little history:
5/8/10 - Fuge running (nothing in main, not even wet)
5/21/10 - tank wet with live rock from 100g but minimal bio diversity
6/11/10 - first critters introduced to tank; some chromis and a clean up crew
7/18/10 - first sps (birdsnest)
8/14/10 - added a couple corals from a local frag swap
8/28/10 - more of my old live rock that was at a LFS but with a bunch more biodiversity
8/28/10 - sunset monte added with live rock, and bought the pipe organ, GBN and Christmas Tree rock
9/17/10 - 9 sps collection from a local club member - started dosing 2 part
10/15/10 - more CuC and 15 Ricordia added
11/7/10 - added 24 royal blue Cree XR-E LEDs
12/28/10 - changes out RK2 with APEX controller, started Ca reactor, started Kalc reactor, stopped 2 part, added 2 Maxima clams
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psteeleb
Team RC
That's a good question that I gave a lot of thought to.
Several considerations went into the decision but it came down to my past experiance using a Ca reactor just gives me better results then 2 part.
In my own experiance with all 3:
Kalcwasser - great stuff , but can't keep up with much demand
2 part - easy to use - excelent method for medium demand tanks
Ca reactor - best for large demand systems
I think 2 part is an excelent way to add ca/alk and is probably by far the most controlable method as long as you use peristaltic pumps. I do have some reservations with long term build up of impurities but if your demand is not large this concern is minimal and fixed with water changes. The impurity build up may be why I was getting better results with a Ca reactor in my 300gallon system, as demand was rather large (over 2 cups of 2 part a day)
For my 100 gallon 2 part was fine but due to the inconsistant timing of dosing (with me being away), my pH swings were over 0.4 in a 24 hour period. Being away from home I needed to automate the system and even thought 2 part is easier to control I went with what I felt was better for the corals.
Fishingpcola
New member
Pete, I also have been using two part and have thought of switching to a CA reactor. I have a Lifereef in the garage. Do you believe in adding a second chamber to up the PH? I would not have mine connected to a controller like you do. I was going to added mine once the coralline really takes off.
psteeleb
Team RC
My experience and knowledge base may be outdated as I was using the old Dowflake (77-80%). By old I mean the batches prior to about 3 years ago. I don't know if people are using the new Dowflake (still 77-80%, I believe) or going with another product like you can get from BRS. If in fact the newer products are 99% the concern may no longer be valid.
I started another thread in the Reef Chemistry forum on the subject
For a large demand system I can see it being an issue and the second chamber should help. On smaller demand systems where you use a lot less effluent I doubt it will make enough difference to justify the cost.
When I get home this weekend I should be able to chart the effects the Ca reactor effluent has on the 24 hour pH cycle.
Fishingpcola
New member
My second chamber will be home made but I will wait until the demand is there.
psteeleb
Team RC
good thinking
a home made verision can just be using an inexpesive TLF reactor, or a piece of PVC pipe staning up with a flow in the top and out the botom
another thought is using a piece of 3" pvc pipe split down the center and making a trough with weep holes in the bottom and filled with extra reactor media or maybe dolomite. I'd need to check into the dolomite chemical decomposition but it may proved a less expensive alternate to a buffering step in the process. Also by exposing the effluent to an open air trough will increase the release of Co2 hense raising the pH. The key is I would't think you want to bring the pH up too much or you could precipitate the effluent
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Fishingpcola
New member
Interesing. You have any drawings or pictures? I have seen the pvc chambers and considered it. I also have a couple of 6" acrylic tubes that I might use one of them. I make kalk reactors and sell them on EB** and actually make a few bucks is why I have tubes.
psteeleb
Team RC
I don't have any drawings or pictures but will put a sketch together on the trough. I have found several of the PVC DIY reactors on Google and here on Reef Central over the past couple years.
A simple carbon reactor can be built from nothing more then a piece of 3" pvc pipe, plug the bottom with a test plug and drill a hole for the water to drip out of. The inlet is nothing more then a piece of tubing from your return pump or drain line that sticks down in the carbon inside the 3" pipe.
A more complex one can be made with a removable top made from a threaded coupling and plug with some holes drilled and tapped for tubing fittings.
But for Ca reactor effluent, due to the very very slow flow rates an open air simple drip system should work just fine, and has some benefits over a closed system.
psteeleb
Team RC
I did more research on my impurities concern and with the availability of pharmecuedical grade calcium chloride the concern is now almost non existent.
If you use a comercial or food grade product there should still be some concerns about long term build ups of impurities.
As for the pharmecuedical grade the only concern I would have is the alowables for heavy metals being less thenn 10 ppm. This includes Copper that even in smaller amounts in the parts per billion range (ppb) can be toxic to inverts. Not that the allowble heavy metals are made up of copper but they can be and are therefore not reported. From what I learned these small trace amounts can be easily bound to organic compounds and then skimmed off or consumed by macro algea.
Bottom line is I'd still test the system every once and a while.
more here
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1965327
