Me No Nemo
Premium Member
They go nuts for it. Not sure why, but they feed much better when the food is treated with it. I use Garlic Extreme as well.
Randy's 180G Reef-Photo Journal
- Thread starter rdmpe
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rdmpe
New member
Auto Topoff System
Auto Topoff System
I think I'm going to get one of these for my autotopoff...
http://www.spectrapure.com/St_alc_p1.htm
Auto Topoff System
I think I'm going to get one of these for my autotopoff...
http://www.spectrapure.com/St_alc_p1.htm
tgunn
Active member
Re: Auto Topoff System
Re: Auto Topoff System
Looks like a solid choice. I like that it makes sure that the top off runs for a bit instead of just trickling the water in. I have a feeling my DI resin goes a lot faster because of the fact that I'm using a simple float that essentially drips top off water in...
You will be so glad you get an auto top off system!!! It makes a WORLD of a diff.
Tyler
Re: Auto Topoff System
Looks like a solid choice. I like that it makes sure that the top off runs for a bit instead of just trickling the water in. I have a feeling my DI resin goes a lot faster because of the fact that I'm using a simple float that essentially drips top off water in...
You will be so glad you get an auto top off system!!! It makes a WORLD of a diff.
Tyler
rdmpe
New member
No doubt about that. I also like that 1" fill, that will amount to somewhere between one and two gallons I think. Also, although the water is controlled by an electrically activated valve, it also passes through a float valve as it goes into the sump. So that serves as another safety backup against floods.
I think I decided to name the Kole Tank "Leroy Brown" :lol:
I think I decided to name the Kole Tank "Leroy Brown" :lol:
Me No Nemo
Premium Member
He's looking great Randy. How's Kate doing?
bkwudzjeep
O|||||||O
Randy...I'm really liking your fish choices!!! Also, PM sent......
rdmpe
New member
Kate is doing pretty well. She's still thin, but is not as thin as before. She started with the nori rubberbanded to a rock and is now eating Sea Veggies nori and also eating the Formula Two pellets to some extent (they sink too fast IMO). She doesn't show interest in spirulina flakes though. So I think she is going to do fine.
I got my UV plumbed finally. It's an Aquanetics 25W from bkwudzjeep (thanks!). I also added a second light over the fuge so that my little corner of xenia would get more light, maybe I can find an LFS that will give me some credit for Xenia and Anthias frags (hint hint
) :lol:
Gonna post some pictures of the plumbing and stuff later. I used a lot of stainless steel hose clamps on the UV plumbing. I know they'll start rusting eventually, but that's life I guess. I had one problem spot where I have a 3/4" hose barb and wanted to use 1" ID tubing, so I put a 3/4" id by 1" OD piece inside of the 1" ID tubing. I had to crank two hose clamps down on that sucker to get it to stop dripping...
I got my UV plumbed finally. It's an Aquanetics 25W from bkwudzjeep (thanks!). I also added a second light over the fuge so that my little corner of xenia would get more light, maybe I can find an LFS that will give me some credit for Xenia and Anthias frags (hint hint
) :lol:Gonna post some pictures of the plumbing and stuff later. I used a lot of stainless steel hose clamps on the UV plumbing. I know they'll start rusting eventually, but that's life I guess. I had one problem spot where I have a 3/4" hose barb and wanted to use 1" ID tubing, so I put a 3/4" id by 1" OD piece inside of the 1" ID tubing. I had to crank two hose clamps down on that sucker to get it to stop dripping...
rdmpe
New member
So I figured I would post some stuff about my sump/fuge plumbing. When I was setting my tank up, I was always interested in seeing this type of thing, so maybe it will help someone else who is trying to decide what to do about a sump/fuge. Maybe they'll see what not to do :lol:
I started with a couple of rubbermaid style tubs. I think they are about 22 or 25 gallons each. They are connected with two 1.5" pipes. I also have them screwed together at the top with some stainless steel machine screws and wing nuts. I had to do something like this because I couldn't get any decent size single tank under my stand. I wish I would have done a little more research before designing the stand. I would have made a removable part between the door openings or something...
Originally I wanted to use Uniseals, but my cheap hole saw cut the holes in the tubs too large (it was wobbling - thank you Harbor Freight) so the uniseals were dripping. So I decided to go with some nice beefy schedule 80 bulkheads. But I also had to figure out what to use between the two tubs to seal one wall to the other. Otherwise the bulkhead would leak through the threads and drip down inbetween the tubs.
I found some nice thick rubber rings at Lowes that worked great. I was able to crank the bulkhead tight and get a good seal between the tubs. Here's some pictures from when I was checking for leaks. I wanted to use two big bulkheads just to make sure there is always nice free flow back into the sump with very little chance for a clog and flood.
You can see the two 1.5" bulkheads in the upper right and also a 1.5" bulkhead in the lower left that is for the sump return pump (sequence dart).
I also cut away the wide top edge of the tub where the two tubs connect which allows them to sit closer, better for the bulkhead connections. You can also see what will deliver water to the sump return pump.
So here is the current setup. This is the left half of the stand. The closed loop pump (dart) is on the left. The sump return pump (also a dart) is on the right.
The return pipe goes up and then right after it turns horizontal there is a tee. The tee has a gate valve on it and is used to feed the refugium. This is where I plumbed the UV in. So now the the water goes through the UV and then into the refugium.
Here is the right half of the stand. You can see the two tubs. The water comes into the tub on the right into a DIY bubble trap. Also in the bubble trap is the mag 9.5 that feeds the skimmer. The tub on the left is the refugium. The UV is mounted vertically just out of sight on the left. Against the back wall are the two 1" sump return lines. The tee is just out of the picture.
In the next picture you can see the UV along the left edge and the sewer fitting that I use to split the sump return from one 1.5" line to two 1" lines.
Here's the bubble trap that I am using in the sump. I think it is working allright. I don't really have any microbubble problems.
I started with a couple of rubbermaid style tubs. I think they are about 22 or 25 gallons each. They are connected with two 1.5" pipes. I also have them screwed together at the top with some stainless steel machine screws and wing nuts. I had to do something like this because I couldn't get any decent size single tank under my stand. I wish I would have done a little more research before designing the stand. I would have made a removable part between the door openings or something...
Originally I wanted to use Uniseals, but my cheap hole saw cut the holes in the tubs too large (it was wobbling - thank you Harbor Freight) so the uniseals were dripping. So I decided to go with some nice beefy schedule 80 bulkheads. But I also had to figure out what to use between the two tubs to seal one wall to the other. Otherwise the bulkhead would leak through the threads and drip down inbetween the tubs.
I found some nice thick rubber rings at Lowes that worked great. I was able to crank the bulkhead tight and get a good seal between the tubs. Here's some pictures from when I was checking for leaks. I wanted to use two big bulkheads just to make sure there is always nice free flow back into the sump with very little chance for a clog and flood.
You can see the two 1.5" bulkheads in the upper right and also a 1.5" bulkhead in the lower left that is for the sump return pump (sequence dart).
I also cut away the wide top edge of the tub where the two tubs connect which allows them to sit closer, better for the bulkhead connections. You can also see what will deliver water to the sump return pump.
So here is the current setup. This is the left half of the stand. The closed loop pump (dart) is on the left. The sump return pump (also a dart) is on the right.
The return pipe goes up and then right after it turns horizontal there is a tee. The tee has a gate valve on it and is used to feed the refugium. This is where I plumbed the UV in. So now the the water goes through the UV and then into the refugium.
Here is the right half of the stand. You can see the two tubs. The water comes into the tub on the right into a DIY bubble trap. Also in the bubble trap is the mag 9.5 that feeds the skimmer. The tub on the left is the refugium. The UV is mounted vertically just out of sight on the left. Against the back wall are the two 1" sump return lines. The tee is just out of the picture.
In the next picture you can see the UV along the left edge and the sewer fitting that I use to split the sump return from one 1.5" line to two 1" lines.
Here's the bubble trap that I am using in the sump. I think it is working allright. I don't really have any microbubble problems.
rdmpe
New member
So back to the UV. I stuck it into the line that is teed off the sump return to feed the fuge. Here's a closeup of the feed to the UV and the tubing coming back from the UV.
I was in such a hurry to get it hooked up today that I didn't do any flow measurement, so I have no idea how much flow it is getting. I put decent flow through my fuge, so I'm guessing it is at least several hundred gpd. I need to rig some tubing up to try to measure it though.
I took one of the elbow fittings off and put on a straight barb. However, the straight barb is not gray pvc, it is the whitish color, so may not be UV resistant. Also, since it is straight, it lets some of the UV out into the clear vinyl tubing which is also not UV resistant. So I may need to replace that fitting with something that can hold up to UV better. Here is the fitting I'm worried about.
Here's a shot of the screened drains from the refugium into the sump tub. I wanted a big screen so there would not be any problem with macro plugging it up. So there is a lot of surface area for water to get through.
And finally some shots of the refugium. I had walled off a section of caulerpa from the cheato and my rubble/xenia. But I ended up getting rid of the caulerpa and going with all cheato which I find easier to manage. It is growing like crazy and is full of pods, worms, etc. Now that I got rid of the caulerpa I could get rid of some of the eggcrate, but for now it's fine as is.
I have to trim those mangroves, otherwise they grow up into the fans that I'm using to cool the tank water.
I was in such a hurry to get it hooked up today that I didn't do any flow measurement, so I have no idea how much flow it is getting. I put decent flow through my fuge, so I'm guessing it is at least several hundred gpd. I need to rig some tubing up to try to measure it though.
I took one of the elbow fittings off and put on a straight barb. However, the straight barb is not gray pvc, it is the whitish color, so may not be UV resistant. Also, since it is straight, it lets some of the UV out into the clear vinyl tubing which is also not UV resistant. So I may need to replace that fitting with something that can hold up to UV better. Here is the fitting I'm worried about.
Here's a shot of the screened drains from the refugium into the sump tub. I wanted a big screen so there would not be any problem with macro plugging it up. So there is a lot of surface area for water to get through.
And finally some shots of the refugium. I had walled off a section of caulerpa from the cheato and my rubble/xenia. But I ended up getting rid of the caulerpa and going with all cheato which I find easier to manage. It is growing like crazy and is full of pods, worms, etc. Now that I got rid of the caulerpa I could get rid of some of the eggcrate, but for now it's fine as is.
I have to trim those mangroves, otherwise they grow up into the fans that I'm using to cool the tank water.
rdmpe
New member
I just think they are cool - really just for looks. If I ever do a bigger refugium outside of my tank stand, I'll have an open top and allow the mangroves to get larger.
I'd like to do a good size refugium next to my display tank. However, I would then need more sump capacity to handle the draindown during power outages. So I'm not sure what I'll do there... Not something I'm going to do any time soon, but I have been thinking about it.
I'd like to do a good size refugium next to my display tank. However, I would then need more sump capacity to handle the draindown during power outages. So I'm not sure what I'll do there... Not something I'm going to do any time soon, but I have been thinking about it.
tgunn
Active member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7238437#post7238437 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rdmpe
Only the aesthetic value- I don't think they grow fast enough to do any real nutrient export on their own.
I've always thought it would be awesome to grow a single mangrove as large as possible in some kind of floor level tank connected to my main system. Eventually end up with a little 4 foot mangrove tree.
Prob wouldn't work too well though.
Tyler
rdmpe
New member
I just made up another batch of DIY two part. This time I made two gallons. I have one more day of dosing from the previous batch which was made on the 9th. So that puts me at a gallon of Randy's recipe #1 in just 16 days :eek1:
Here are my last two tests, both done just before the nightly dose of two part:
4/11/06
Alk 9.0/3.2
Ca 415
Mg 1320
4/23/06
Alk 8.8/3.15
Ca 445
Mg 1400 (I added some Magnesium Chloride a few days ago)
So it's just keeping up with the usage pretty much. Ca may be climbing just slightly relative to Alk, but not much. I can't believe how much I'm dosing. And the only SPS I have is a small red lobo. It must be mostlly going into coraline???
Here are my last two tests, both done just before the nightly dose of two part:
4/11/06
Alk 9.0/3.2
Ca 415
Mg 1320
4/23/06
Alk 8.8/3.15
Ca 445
Mg 1400 (I added some Magnesium Chloride a few days ago)
So it's just keeping up with the usage pretty much. Ca may be climbing just slightly relative to Alk, but not much. I can't believe how much I'm dosing. And the only SPS I have is a small red lobo. It must be mostlly going into coraline???
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