Pete's 110 build

[drummereef]

The TLF kalc stirrer works great.
It has been working flawlessly except when the little sprinkler head got stuck but it was just a matter of cleaning it off as there was some kalc build up on it. I suspect a cleaning every couple months would be more then enough and it's very easy to take out, so no big deal.

Awesome. I've heard they tend to clog up if you use a full cup of Kalk. What's been your experience and how much Kalk powder do you keep in the reactor at all times?

I'm guessing the basic idea behind the use of the kalk reactor is to be able to easily replenish the kalk and to keep the ATO pump from clogging due to Ca buildup?? Any help/guidance would be greatly appreciated. :uhoh3:

I was thinking about getting one to go with my Tunze Osmolator but I'm wondering how to best plumb the two together. The Tunze has small tubing, much smaller than the inlet of the TLF reactor... Thoughts?

 

[psteeleb]

Awesome. I've heard they tend to clog up if you use a full cup of Kalk. What's been your experience and how much Kalk powder do you keep in the reactor at all times?

I'm guessing the basic idea behind the use of the kalk reactor is to be able to easily replenish the kalk and to keep the ATO pump from clogging due to Ca buildup?? Any help/guidance would be greatly appreciated. :uhoh3:

I was thinking about getting one to go with my Tunze Osmolator but I'm wondering how to best plumb the two together. The Tunze has small tubing, much smaller than the inlet of the TLF reactor... Thoughts?

I probably use a little less then a cup and let it run for 2 weeks before changing it out.

It may not work with the Tunze as the stiring device depends on the feed pump or power head to be rated at 200-300 GPH. I have no idea what pump is used with the Tunze. If the Tunze only turns on a pump you may be fine and the kalc reactor should be at the end of the line as it is designed to overflow unrestricted into the sump.

When I used Kalc powder in my top off water my aqua lifter clogged so I added a prefilter and it seemed to work fine till I switched to the TLF reactor.

The reason I'm using the reactor is I wanted to dose kalc mainly at night. Top offs kick in mostly durring the day when the lights cause more evaporation.

 

[psteeleb]

more pictures from today

more pictures from today

 

[syedjilani]

O man... it's stunning... you killed me... :thumbsup:

 

[psteeleb]

O man... it's stunning... you killed me... :thumbsup:

thanks SJ


I was doing some more research on LED's for my next upgrade and found this

it would eliminate any need for soldering and essentially make the LED's replacible; sweet


a couple more close ups
turaki

dendro

Mille

Rainbow Monte - sorry that I'm posting again but I'm trying to get the color right

strawberry tabling acro

 

[drummereef]

I probably use a little less then a cup and let it run for 2 weeks before changing it out.

It may not work with the Tunze as the stiring device depends on the feed pump or power head to be rated at 200-300 GPH. I have no idea what pump is used with the Tunze. If the Tunze only turns on a pump you may be fine and the kalc reactor should be at the end of the line as it is designed to overflow unrestricted into the sump.

When I used Kalc powder in my top off water my aqua lifter clogged so I added a prefilter and it seemed to work fine till I switched to the TLF reactor.

The reason I'm using the reactor is I wanted to dose kalc mainly at night. Top offs kick in mostly durring the day when the lights cause more evaporation.

OK, thanks for the info. Looks like I'm in the market for an Avast or Aqua Medic Kalk Stirrer then. I need to go back to your sump vid and look at how you plumbed and are running the reactor too. The colors of your colors are amazing as always.

 

[syedjilani]

Colors are amazing as usual..... Great shots...

 

[psteeleb]

OK, thanks for the info. Looks like I'm in the market for an Avast or Aqua Medic Kalk Stirrer then. I need to go back to your sump vid and look at how you plumbed and are running the reactor too. The colors of your colors are amazing as always.

The Kalc reactor is on a pump controled by the APEX. With the TLF you only have a feed pump and it does the stirring but there are limitations as youv'e pointed out in your build log. With a standard reactor or stirrer you may want a seperate control for the stirrer.

My APEX control reads

Fallback OFF
Set OFF
OSC 000:00/000:15/029:45 Then ON
If pH > 08.15 Then OFF

As you can see the Kalc is pretty much used to limit the lower end of my pH swing. It's used to compensate for the Ca reactor and lights off from pulling pH down too much. The program will kick the reactor on for 15 seconds every half hour if pH drops below the set point of 8.15.

Initially the unit was kicking in every night but lately it's more sporatic as my pH swing seems to have settled in between 8.15 and 8.30, In looking at my charts I'm probably dosing 1/3 to 1/2 of what I was initially. I'm still a believer that there is more to the Kalc that the corals like then just the Ca and Alk, so I'll probably up the set point from 8.15 to 8.20 to feed the corals more of the stuff and to see if I can close down the pH swing some.

 

[drummereef]

The Kalc reactor is on a pump controled by the APEX. With the TLF you only have a feed pump and it does the stirring but there are limitations as youv'e pointed out in your build log. With a standard reactor or stirrer you may want a seperate control for the stirrer.

My APEX control reads

Fallback OFF
Set OFF
OSC 000:00/000:15/029:45 Then ON
If pH > 08.15 Then OFF

As you can see the Kalc is pretty much used to limit the lower end of my pH swing. It's used to compensate for the Ca reactor and lights off from pulling pH down too much. The program will kick the reactor on for 15 seconds every half hour if pH drops below the set point of 8.15.

Initially the unit was kicking in every night but lately it's more sporatic as my pH swing seems to have settled in between 8.15 and 8.30, In looking at my charts I'm probably dosing 1/3 to 1/2 of what I was initially. I'm still a believer that there is more to the Kalc that the corals like then just the Ca and Alk, so I'll probably up the set point from 8.15 to 8.20 to feed the corals more of the stuff and to see if I can close down the pH swing some.

Thanks for the info again. I might also try Mike's (Propfrags) setup where he Tee's off his ATO to feed his Kalk reactor. He put's a valve on the end of the ATO tubing to adjust the flow going to the Kalk reactor and coming off the straight ATO, to mix the two if necessary. Almost like a bleeder line for the reactor. Might eliminate the extra pump to control the Kalk reactor independently. Do you see any problems doing it that way?

I'm starting to see the benefits of dosing it as well. I was always afraid to dose it for fear I was going to nuke something but the more I get into it, the more positives I'm seeing. I even see growth on some of the corals coming out of the 3 days lights off period. Crazy!

 

[psteeleb]

Thanks for the info again. I might also try Mike's (Propfrags) setup where he Tee's off his ATO to feed his Kalk reactor. He put's a valve on the end of the ATO tubing to adjust the flow going to the Kalk reactor and coming off the straight ATO, to mix the two if necessary. Almost like a bleeder line for the reactor. Might eliminate the extra pump to control the Kalk reactor independently. Do you see any problems doing it that way?

I'm starting to see the benefits of dosing it as well. I was always afraid to dose it for fear I was going to nuke something but the more I get into it, the more positives I'm seeing. I even see growth on some of the corals coming out of the 3 days lights off period. Crazy!

interesting concept but instead of a manual valve I'd opt for a soleniod (about $15-$20) and program the solenoid to divert the water to the Kalc reactor if pH is below a set point and directly to the sump when the pH is over the set point. That way it's always top off water but goes through the kalc reactor when the pH is lower.

 

[drummereef]

interesting concept but instead of a manual valve I'd opt for a soleniod (about $15-$20) and program the solenoid to divert the water to the Kalc reactor if pH is below a set point and directly to the sump when the pH is over the set point. That way it's always top off water but goes through the kalc reactor when the pH is lower.

Nice! Always thinking. That's sound like an ideal plan if I go this route.

 

[psteeleb]

pH and temp swings

pH and temp swings

I plan to add a fan to my sump and have it temperature controlled, but for now I've been just opening doors on the sump area to help cool things off a bit. When the doors are open I also introduce more available O2 and hence the pH elevates more then normal. I think I'll try having the skimmer turn off with pH over 8.35 and see how that works for a while

we opened the doors this morning and you can see how the pH has climbed to 8.4 or about 0.5 higher then normal and it's still climbing

note: I dose kalc when the pH is below 8.2 to hold the lower end

 

[syedjilani]

I need little bit more detail of Apex.... Which Apex is it? Very nice.... Love to have something like this.... How much it cost you? Sorry for too much question....

 

[psteeleb]

I need little bit more detail of Apex.... Which Apex is it? Very nice.... Love to have something like this.... How much it cost you? Sorry for too much question....

I considered several controllers and have to admit I was even bias to another unit until I put together the things I wanted in a system. I priced out 4 or 5 units with modules to meet my wants/needs:

starting or minimal requirements:
Internet read access - to see whats going on
Internet write access - to make changes when I'm away (and that's a lot)
email alarms
pH & Temp control (as a minimum)
fully programable
LED dimmer control
feed modes
cost competitive and reliability

secondary future considerations:
probe expandability (multible PH)
ORP control
digital input/outputs
flexible timers (weekends, weekdays, other)
natural timers (moon, sun, seasonal etc)
alarms
expandability

In the near future I will be adding another EB8 (power strip) and a I/O box to do the following:
1) additional LED lighting with dimmer control (base unit can do 4)
2) audible alarms for pH, temp and water levels (already built in just need to program) I already get email alarms
3) float switches (sump low, sump high, RO/DI low, skimmer collection full, leak detection) to alarm
4) Ozone control using ORP probe
5) additional temp control for sump fan on/off

Later on I'll end up getting another probe unit for:
1) Ca reactor (currently on a seperate controller for pH with on/off over ride from the APEX) with a pH alarm to let me know if the Co2 bottle is used up or line clogged.

I also want to hook up a auto feeder for dry food but this will require making modifications to a stand alone unit to be wired to the I/O box

the standard APEX unit beat all others on price for both my initial needs and secondary needs
The initial purchase of the Base Unit w/o pH probe was $455 US and shipping was free

I'll end up spending another:
$150 for the EB8 power bar
$40 for the i/o breaker box for float switches
$75 for the additional probe module (pH, Temp & ORP)

 

[syedjilani]

I considered several controllers and have to admit I was even bias to another unit until I put together the things I wanted in a system. I priced out 4 or 5 units with modules to meet my wants/needs:

starting or minimal requirements:
Internet read access - to see whats going on
Internet write access - to make changes when I'm away (and that's a lot)
email alarms
pH & Temp control (as a minimum)
fully programable
LED dimmer control
feed modes
cost competitive and reliability

secondary future considerations:
probe expandability (multible PH)
ORP control
digital input/outputs
flexible timers (weekends, weekdays, other)
natural timers (moon, sun, seasonal etc)
alarms
expandability

In the near future I will be adding another EB8 (power strip) and a I/O box to do the following:
1) additional LED lighting with dimmer control (base unit can do 4)
2) audible alarms for pH, temp and water levels (already built in just need to program) I already get email alarms
3) float switches (sump low, sump high, RO/DI low, skimmer collection full, leak detection) to alarm
4) Ozone control using ORP probe
5) additional temp control for sump fan on/off

Later on I'll end up getting another probe unit for:
1) Ca reactor (currently on a seperate controller for pH with on/off over ride from the APEX) with a pH alarm to let me know if the Co2 bottle is used up or line clogged.

I also want to hook up a auto feeder for dry food but this will require making modifications to a stand alone unit to be wired to the I/O box

the standard APEX unit beat all others on price for both my initial needs and secondary needs
The initial purchase of the Base Unit w/o pH probe was $455 US and shipping was free

I'll end up spending another:
$150 for the EB8 power bar
$40 for the i/o breaker box for float switches
$75 for the additional probe module (pH, Temp & ORP)

Thanks a lot man... This is too much... inspiring to have one like what you got... Until now how much you spend on Apex? The reason asking this question because I live in Saudi Arabia, i have to order all in once. Is it possible if you just list all related gadgets.. So it will easy for me to order in one short.... Thank you again for your detailed reply.... :thumbsup:

 

[psteeleb]

Thanks a lot man... This is too much... inspiring to have one like what you got... Until now how much you spend on Apex? The reason asking this question because I live in Saudi Arabia, i have to order all in once. Is it possible if you just list all related gadgets.. So it will easy for me to order in one short.... Thank you again for your detailed reply.... :thumbsup:

anytime my friend

I have only spent the $450 for the main unit but I already had the pH probe.

If you want to control more then 8 items get a second power bar (EB8) and if you want signals from switches get the I/O breaker box.

you can add more but that will give you lots of control

with the items listed here what I plan on

Inputs:
pH - tank
pH - Ca reactor
switch - low sump level
switch - high sump level
switch - low level RO/DI reservoir

Controled:
-Royal blue LED lights with ramp on and off for early morning late night (timer, dimmer)
-LED lights with ramp up/down for main lighting (timer, dimmer, temp)
-T5 lights (timer, temp)
-moonlights (timer and dimmer)
-canopy fans (temp)
-Wavebox
-circulation pumps

-skimmer (feed mode, high pH)
-sump / system cooling fan (temp)
-Kalc reactor (timer, pH)
-Ca reactor (timer, reactor pH, low system pH)
-main return pump (feed mode)
-refugium lights (timer)

others:
-high & low email and audible alarms
-auto feeder (modified battery operated one with timer bypassed to APEX unit)

everthing sbove will be for $450+$150+$40 = $640
I have he pH probes

future will be another box for probe box for ORP

 

[psteeleb]

Thanks a lot man... This is too much... inspiring to have one like what you got... Until now how much you spend on Apex? The reason asking this question because I live in Saudi Arabia, i have to order all in once. Is it possible if you just list all related gadgets.. So it will easy for me to order in one short.... Thank you again for your detailed reply.... :thumbsup:

anytime my friend

I have only spent the $450 for the main unit but I already had the pH probe.

If you want to control more then 8 items get a second power bar (EB8) and if you want signals from switches get the I/O breaker box.

you can add more but that will give you lots of control

with the second EB8 and I/O box here's what I plan to do

Inputs:
pH - tank
pH - Ca reactor
switch - low sump level
switch - high sump level
switch - low level RO/DI reservoir

Controled:
-Royal blue LED lights with ramp on and off for early morning late night (timer, dimmer)
-LED lights with ramp up/down for main lighting (timer, dimmer, temp)
-T5 lights (timer, temp)
-moonlights (timer and dimmer)
-canopy fans (temp)
-Wavebox
-circulation pumps

-skimmer (feed mode, high pH)
-sump / system cooling fan (temp)
-Kalc reactor (timer, pH)
-Ca reactor (timer, reactor pH, low system pH)
-main return pump (feed mode)
-refugium lights (timer)

others:
-high & low email and audible alarms
-auto feeder (modified battery operated one with timer bypassed to APEX unit)

everthing above will be for $450+$150+$40 = $640

future will be another probe box for ORP

 

[syedjilani]

Thanks Pete....

 

[psteeleb]

I'm hacking away at the Leng Sy cap today

 

[Taqpol]

Sign me up for a piece...