ReefWaters' 220 Sun Room Reef
- Thread starter ReefWaters
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ReefWaters
Premium Member
Ha ha. :lol: That brings up another thing Ive been thinking about. Doesnt the RO produce more waste water than filtered water? That seems like such a waste. Can I use the waste water to water my lawn or something? 
Or would the concentrated dissolved solids be bad for the lawn?
Or would the concentrated dissolved solids be bad for the lawn?
jnarowe
New member
Actually, I channel the "waste" water to barrels and water my vegetable garden from them with a timer. The waste water really is a high nutrient water much like a diluted fertilizer. I think it's a great idea, and when I rip out my deck and put in terraces I will install a 1000g waste water collection system.
I really don't know what the effect would be on a awn but it sure would pay to try it out. I just don't have enough to make that practical.
I really don't know what the effect would be on a awn but it sure would pay to try it out. I just don't have enough to make that practical.
ReefWaters
Premium Member
Well, anything is better than dumping it down the drain. I mean, environment aside, I paid for it right!
ReefWaters
Premium Member
Let me know where you get your sistern. I was even thinking of putting a large, shallow, sistern under my house in the crawl space since I dont have a lot of yard to waste. Then maybe hook up a small pump to it. Yeah, and I'll do this during all of my other free time I have to start projects only to leave them un-finished for years.
And to throw a tank note in here:
Ive got one MH and one 660, along with all the end caps, completely wired except for the power. It wasnt nearly as difficult as I thought it would be and the wiring has turned out extremely neat and tidy. I'll try to get some pictures up tomorrow. Now I just need to make a fish or cut bait decision on the DC8 or whatever else Im going to use to power and switch the lights.
And to throw a tank note in here:
Ive got one MH and one 660, along with all the end caps, completely wired except for the power. It wasnt nearly as difficult as I thought it would be and the wiring has turned out extremely neat and tidy. I'll try to get some pictures up tomorrow. Now I just need to make a fish or cut bait decision on the DC8 or whatever else Im going to use to power and switch the lights.
DawgDiggity
New member
The Icecap 660, you running VHO's or T5's??
ReefWaters
Premium Member
VHO's. Some may think they are a little old school but I have always had great luck with them. And since I've been using them for eons I can trouble shoot anything with them.
Update: I didn't work on the tank but a few hours this weekend but I feel like I'm getting some good progress going. If all goes to plan, I should have the plumbing pretty much finished up by the end of the weekend and can do a fresh water water test. Cross your fingers! :smokin: I do promise to get some pics up soon but that usually ends up taking me an hour or two to accomplish.
ReefingBuddha
New member
j, why does it not surprise me that your neighbors have sheep... Don't want to think what happens when you and Sherman start drinking.
Looking forward to those pictures.
Looking forward to those pictures.
They always give me the stink-eye when I mow, so here's their chance!
DawgDiggity
New member
Use of Two Different Metals for Lightrack
Use of Two Different Metals for Lightrack
VHO's... "if it ain't broke..."
I asked an engineer buddy of mine about the use of those aluminum angle iron and SS rivets:
It is a bit late in the thread, but I had never heard of this before and thought it very interesting topic. Great thread!!
Use of Two Different Metals for Lightrack
VHO's... "if it ain't broke..."
I asked an engineer buddy of mine about the use of those aluminum angle iron and SS rivets:
It is a bit late in the thread, but I had never heard of this before and thought it very interesting topic. Great thread!!
jnarowe
New member
one comment regarding the aluminum doors: This is on an ocean-going hard working fishing vessel under constant harsh sea conditions. Saltwater + aluminum + steel is just a really bad mix under these stressors. Some might ask why use aluminum doors then ? (I know I did) And the answer is that they are much less likely to kill a person in a heavy sea.
as far as using steel that are coated with zinc or other materials, I would agree if it weren't for the vibration. Even the slightest vibration over time will cause the coatings to fail and the underlying steel to corrode.
VHO's work well. I am using NO's over-driven by an IceCap 660 and the results are spectacular. I can post a pic if you want to see it. As far as lifesapn is concerned, I feel this issue is more than mitigated by the significantly less expensive bulbs.
as far as using steel that are coated with zinc or other materials, I would agree if it weren't for the vibration. Even the slightest vibration over time will cause the coatings to fail and the underlying steel to corrode.
VHO's work well. I am using NO's over-driven by an IceCap 660 and the results are spectacular. I can post a pic if you want to see it. As far as lifesapn is concerned, I feel this issue is more than mitigated by the significantly less expensive bulbs.
There are just certain things you can achieve with VHO's that you can't with any other lights.
ReefWaters
Premium Member
Man! You guys have me all stressed out about the SS rivets now. 
I'm thinking I need to pull the whole rack down and replace the rivets and SS bolts. But I REALLY don't want to. I could replace the rivets with aluminum but what about the bolts? Do they even make aluminum bolts and where would I find them? What have other people done when they needed to "bolt" or "screw" aluminum. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic but I don't believe I'll have a problem. The two instances you guys are mentioning having failure involved high stress and/or complete submersion in salt water. Neither of these will be occurring to my light rack. I'm stumped here.
On a light rack related note, I had to do a bunch of rewiring on the VHO end caps because I decided to use the wiring diagram for the 430 and not the 660.
Luckily that wasn't a bad fix at all. Just a little time consuming. I'm just glad I caught it before I plugged the ballast in. That surely would have caused some issues.
I've been getting a good bit done over the past few days. I was going to post some pics of the progress but decided to wait until things are a little further along and the room is a little more cleaned up. Right now, I just have a bunch of miscellaneous plumbing done and a bunch of crap strewn everywhere. I have a MASSIVE HD/Lowe's list that I keep adding to. I'm going to keep doing what I can with what I have on had because every time I turn around I think of something else I need. And I HATE going to the hardware store EVERY DAY! Talk about stress.
I cut my first bulkhead holes last night. That was a lot easier than I expected. However, I did get some chip-out on the bottom side of the holes that I'm not too happy about. I don't think it will cause a problem but Id like to avoid it on the rest of the holes. I'm using a drill guide and the way it is set up, the bit only goes through the glass by about an 1/8th of an inch. This may be the whole problem so I'm going to change that before the next hole is drilled. Any other suggestions?
I also haven't been able to find an answer to whether or not the union ball valves from Northern Tool and Supply are reef safe. They are black, with a blue handle, and as far as I can tell are made from polypropylene. I know it is hard to tell without a pic. I'll post one when I get around to the other pics.
I think that's about all for right now. I'm just going to keep plugging away at things until I have to go to Lowe's. I may or may not make it out of there alive! :rollface: :rolleye1:
I'm thinking I need to pull the whole rack down and replace the rivets and SS bolts. But I REALLY don't want to. I could replace the rivets with aluminum but what about the bolts? Do they even make aluminum bolts and where would I find them? What have other people done when they needed to "bolt" or "screw" aluminum. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic but I don't believe I'll have a problem. The two instances you guys are mentioning having failure involved high stress and/or complete submersion in salt water. Neither of these will be occurring to my light rack. I'm stumped here.On a light rack related note, I had to do a bunch of rewiring on the VHO end caps because I decided to use the wiring diagram for the 430 and not the 660.
Luckily that wasn't a bad fix at all. Just a little time consuming. I'm just glad I caught it before I plugged the ballast in. That surely would have caused some issues. I've been getting a good bit done over the past few days. I was going to post some pics of the progress but decided to wait until things are a little further along and the room is a little more cleaned up. Right now, I just have a bunch of miscellaneous plumbing done and a bunch of crap strewn everywhere. I have a MASSIVE HD/Lowe's list that I keep adding to. I'm going to keep doing what I can with what I have on had because every time I turn around I think of something else I need. And I HATE going to the hardware store EVERY DAY! Talk about stress.
I cut my first bulkhead holes last night. That was a lot easier than I expected. However, I did get some chip-out on the bottom side of the holes that I'm not too happy about. I don't think it will cause a problem but Id like to avoid it on the rest of the holes. I'm using a drill guide and the way it is set up, the bit only goes through the glass by about an 1/8th of an inch. This may be the whole problem so I'm going to change that before the next hole is drilled. Any other suggestions?
I also haven't been able to find an answer to whether or not the union ball valves from Northern Tool and Supply are reef safe. They are black, with a blue handle, and as far as I can tell are made from polypropylene. I know it is hard to tell without a pic. I'll post one when I get around to the other pics.
I think that's about all for right now. I'm just going to keep plugging away at things until I have to go to Lowe's. I may or may not make it out of there alive! :rollface: :rolleye1:
jnarowe
New member
I spent rediculous amounts of money at the local hardware store, but it seems less painful when you spread it out over many trips.
BTW, the mounts for my reflectors have steel bolts and they are all corroding. My only worry is that it will fall in the tank, but a little iron shouldn't hurt anything. When I do my tank remodel, I will go to all aluminum rivets.
BTW, the mounts for my reflectors have steel bolts and they are all corroding. My only worry is that it will fall in the tank, but a little iron shouldn't hurt anything. When I do my tank remodel, I will go to all aluminum rivets.
ReefWaters
Premium Member
Jonathan, how badly are the steel bolts corroding? Are they really so bad that you think they would fall apart? Are they flaking? And when you say "steel" do you mean stainless steel or just steel?
jnarowe
New member
just steel on most of mine. They are slowly dripping rust down the reflectors due to humidity, but to be very specific, stainless steel is no better.
I installed stainless steel tables and a stainless refrigerator and they all need constant attention. There are many different recipes for stainless, so certian ones like 316 would do better than the sucky 18-8 I have. The plain and simple truth is that it was a mistake to install them. They look "cool" but require extra upkeep.
But, there's no real reason to use bolts for your rack. Nice sized aluminum rivets will work great and if you ever have to change the rack, you can just drill them out.
Even better would be to use a food grade plastic grating that could be hung as a rack. This generally would cost a bit (OK, a lot)more but its service life would be virtually infinite and there would be zero corrosion issue. If I were to build a rack system, that is what I would use.
I installed stainless steel tables and a stainless refrigerator and they all need constant attention. There are many different recipes for stainless, so certian ones like 316 would do better than the sucky 18-8 I have. The plain and simple truth is that it was a mistake to install them. They look "cool" but require extra upkeep.
But, there's no real reason to use bolts for your rack. Nice sized aluminum rivets will work great and if you ever have to change the rack, you can just drill them out.
Even better would be to use a food grade plastic grating that could be hung as a rack. This generally would cost a bit (OK, a lot)more but its service life would be virtually infinite and there would be zero corrosion issue. If I were to build a rack system, that is what I would use.
ReefWaters
Premium Member
The main place where I am using bolts is to connect the plastic end caps to the rack. So I was afraid to rivet them as I have had problems breaking plastic parts trying to rivet them to things.
I PM'd a few people with aluminum racks and they are not having problems with the SS bolts they used touching aluminum. Ive just got too much to finish on this tank right now, Im going to leave it be and keep an eye on it. I believe (or at least hope) that I wont have much of a problem as I plan on keeping the humidity in the room down as much as possible.
I PM'd a few people with aluminum racks and they are not having problems with the SS bolts they used touching aluminum. Ive just got too much to finish on this tank right now, Im going to leave it be and keep an eye on it. I believe (or at least hope) that I wont have much of a problem as I plan on keeping the humidity in the room down as much as possible.
melev
Well-known member
Just keep an eye on the rack and look for signs of issues. My aluminum rack was riveted together with aluminum pins. I've been using the same rivet gun for 15 years, I don't even know how you can break those (someone posted going through three of them recently).
I used screws to hold in the end caps, and screws to hold on the rollers. They were over my tank for more than 3 years without problems. Sure they looked bad when I finally replaced my lights, but none of that stuff ever made it into my tank as far as I could tell. The euro-bracing kept the perimeter safe from any dropped flakes or rust dust, I'm sure.
I used screws to hold in the end caps, and screws to hold on the rollers. They were over my tank for more than 3 years without problems. Sure they looked bad when I finally replaced my lights, but none of that stuff ever made it into my tank as far as I could tell. The euro-bracing kept the perimeter safe from any dropped flakes or rust dust, I'm sure.
