Refurbishing 75 Gallon Reef

[AQUAholic91]

I am about to depart to the University of Maine this fall to pursue marine science. Before I leave I want to automate as much as possible in order to assist my parents and brother in taking care of my tank.

I am planning on upgrading:
My lights to 250 watt radium 20ks
lumibright reflectors
reeftek calcium reactor
2 MR1 media reactors
Possibly an aquacontroller model to be determined.

Any input would be appreciated! In the meantime, here are some current shots of my tank.

 

[browntrout]

pics where?

 

[AQUAholic91]

I'm having trouble posting pics lol. Advice?

 

[r-balljunkie]

Definitely an auto top off. i have mines hooked up direct to my ro unit. This is a must. The controller is good to have as well. Make sure you work all the gremlins out of the system for a few weeks, go thru failure analysis...pumps dying, safety shutdowns on temps, gravity fed items etc.

gl

c

 

[AQUAholic91]

Awesome. Thanks for the reply. I just hooked up an auto top off yesterday coincidently. When I figure out pics the rest of my equipment i'm sure there will be more suggestions lol.

 

[unbreakable]

auto top off, maybe a controller of some sort where you can monitor your reef from the internet and control the equipment from the net, ro/di reservoir attached to the ro/di where it automatically refills it

 

[AQUAholic91]

Could you suggest a controller with text message alerts? I remember Melev discussing that at one point. click http://s877.photobucket.com/albums/ab336/williamsjoshm/ for pictures.

 

[unbreakable]

i think the Apex Controller and Profilux will be able to do that. Apex is coming out soon. The Aqua Controller III can do that as well, but id recommend the Apex. the Reefkeeper Elite can only monitor equipment from the net, and it could email you if something goes wrong

 

[AQUAholic91]

Thanks for the information unbreakable. I will check out that Apex controller

 

[AQUAholic91]

Does anybody have any experience with the MR1 media reactors? Thanks.

 

[blennymower]

Don't leave you're RO/DI on to replenish the reservoir when the water level goes down, it's a recipe for disaster. If you have a leak, overflowing skimmer, or failure of the ATO switch, you're going to come home to a freshwater tank.

 

[r-balljunkie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15302474#post15302474 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by blennymower
Don't leave you're RO/DI on to replenish the reservoir when the water level goes down, it's a recipe for disaster. If you have a leak, overflowing skimmer, or failure of the ATO switch, you're going to come home to a freshwater tank.

I have my RO, constant on and direct tubed to my ATO.

You can get the double switch, hi(top of your fuge)/lo(where you want your water level maintained), and the actuator solenoid is fail to close position.

I have never even come close to having an issue. My skimmer is in sump, it can overflow all it wants....it actually has before, come home to a foam party under my tank, bubbles everywhere.

If you want to add one more level of protection, you can put a water detector sensor, that can shut off supply line as well….I think that’s a bit overkill.

You will have to count on someone refilling reservoir manually, as the alternate. I hate counting on people, when it comes to my tank. They don’t care the same way I care about it, even if she is my wife.

c