Restarting my 200 Build Thread

[fillibar]

I almost forgot to answer the stocking question from Conesus_Kid. Sorry about that. It will definitely be a reef tank with a significant amount of rock work. I LOVE Green Mandarins. I had one in the tank last time and he was a fat and happy bugger (my wife was not as thrilled since she always called it a frog fish due to the face... some people). I am also a fan of Zoas and Ricordea... but beyond that I really have not sat down to plan it out yet. Oddly enough with a "large" tank I am not much for bigger fish. I will have to start putting down some ideas.

 

[fillibar]

Ordered a number of items most of which have already arrived:
Initial sand (150lbs) - one bag still in shipping
Initial salt (120lbs)
Quiet One 9000 pump to replace the Mag12
2 Hydor Evolution Powerheads
Spare Neptune Temperature Probe

I got my Neptune Apex a few days ago. I really like it but have 5 comments so far:
1) The web interface is pretty primitive. I am around web UIs all the time at work so this is somewhat disappointing. Maybe newer firmware will look better.
2) The local interface also feels a bit "old style". I would also love it if they made replaceable face plates for it so you could more easily integrate it into a display.
3) The not-USB "AquaBus". I know it is a male-male USB cable that they get to charge an arm an a leg for. Yes, it carries 12VDC so it cannot connect to other USB items without killing SOMETHING. But that begs a couple questions:
a) Why don't they use actual USB? Are the power requirements on their modules that extreme? Does not seem like they should be.
b) Why is there not any voltage protection so things do not get killed if "normal" USB stuff is plugged in?
4) Lack of wireless. It would be excellent if the module used wifi. They have a "wireless" module so I got my hopes up for the 1/2 second before I read the description and saw it was for controlling pumps/powerheads and not actual communication to your network. Bummer. I have CAT6 runs but it still seems like something that could have been done or offered as a module.
5) Lastly... I already mentioned the web interface... but why could they not offer one on their own servers that accepts data from your module (if you want it to) so that you can access your Apex readily worldwide without having to bother with a dynamic DNS service and fighting with your ISP's restrictions/hardware, etc... Just a thought for the future maybe, if anyone from Apex sees this.

 

[JOESWOODWORKS]

Dave
Any new pictures?

 

[fillibar]

Getting things done but they are tough to see at this time. First off all the plumbing is now connected. The sump had to be re-positioned. In addition I connected up a Lifegard QuietOne 9000 as the return pump. It gives decent flow on all 4 returns. Here is the picture of the sump and its plumbing:

Next I have been rinsing and adding the sand I purchased. 150lbs of sugar sized aragonite. What fun rinsing that is. Even with all the rinses the tank is pretty cloudy at the moment (with 60lbs to go):

 

[fillibar]

I was able to accomplish some more work over the weekend. The cloudy water is gone and some rock I had stored was able to be added.

I also rearranged the Apex and mounted it to the rear wall behind the tank. There it also has convenient access to the wall plate I had for the networking where I added a USB pass-through so it can easily control the EB8 by the sump.
The wiring needs a bit of cleanup...

Finally for the pictures is a view of the lighting I am trying out. It is a series of white LED panels I got. They are not hooked up very well and I left most of it pretty raw to work on further or adjust. They are all sitting on top of eggcrate panels with acrylic shields mounted on the underside to protect against water. The panels run on 24V DC and I split them onto 2 separate power supplies so I can have just a few panels running for dusk/dawn effects. The side closest the camera is the side door in the canopy so the panels are a little more densely packed to allow open water for feeding and such.

One other thing that is not in a photo was a little work I did on the sump. I cut out ~2 feet of the 1.5" piping from the return tank and replaced it with flexible piping. This has greatly reduced the pump noise that was generated.

 

[fillibar]

One other area I wanted to mention was the Neptune Apex I am using. This is a huge improvement over my past methods of control (X10 and DIY Arduino work plus manual stuff of course). I updated the controller to version 4.20 and I will say that they did a decent job of fixing complaint #1 (not that it was for me) I mentioned before. The UI is significantly improved and I like the new dashboards a lot.

There are still a lot of things I am learning about it and I am working on some switches to connect to it for finer control of areas. There is a lot of possibility packed into this device.

I do have to add two other minor annoyances. The temperature probe uses an RJ9 (apparently) plug. I will be confirming this soon as I did not have any handy to immediately test it with. For those not familiar with RJ9 it is a phone handset plug. For corded phones. Of which cables are no longer nearly as available as they used to be. That makes passing the probe through the wall more difficult than maybe it should be (using nice looking keystone plates and such like I am doing) but is minor. It would have been nice if it was RJ11 or best of all RJ45 (think Ethernet-style plug) but that would be bigger for something that really does not need it. The other annoyance is that there is only the 1 temperature probe input on the controller. I would much rather 2 to begin with. One for the tank and one for the sump. That way I could make sure what the values at both are and it would also help identify some error conditions (such as return pump failure based on temperature differential).

 

[fillibar]

Too late for convenient pictures tonight but I will try to get some this weekend. There is finally life in the tank. Not tons, some snails, a zoanthid colony, and an anenome (too small to identify yet really but I think it is a bubble tip). Plus various isopods, tubeworms, and such that came along for the ride with the rocks I added. I need more but it will be a slow process of stocking.

More to come once I get the pictures.

 

[fillibar]

First of three pictures. This one is not of the tank but the first "highly visible" inhabitants... A zoanthid colony.

 

[fillibar]

Here are the 2nd and 3rd pictures showing the whole setup. I took these while the room was nice and bright but apparently our camera liked the lighting from the tank too much. I tried to brighten the images a bit to show the stand but I think I will just have to take new pictures tomorrow.

The second picture is a straight on shot taken from the futon that is set up as a sofa right in front of the tank. It will be a great view over time.

 

[fillibar]

Latest addition to the system is a 5'+ DIY skimmer based on the "world's ugliest skimmer" design. Unfortunately I just thought of taking pictures now so I have none of it during the build process. I will have to get some this week after I test it out. I have also added some additional snails and a lawnmower blenny to the aquarium. Hope to get good pictures of them this week also.

 

[fillibar]

Failing miserably on pictures and updates. Added 2 Ocellaris Clowns and a Diamond Goby on Tuesday. Also added 6 more zoa frags and 2 green star frags. Lawnmower has traveled down to the sump and is proving difficult to remove (this happened about 2 weeks ago). Really MUST try to get new pictures soon.

Other news... Neptune Apex continuing to work extremely well for me. In addition to the Neptune app for my android I have also created a series of tasks in the awesome app "Tasker" to pull down the xml status, parse it, and give me all sorts of information and if need be warnings (or downright alerts) if things start to get weird. While it has not changed much it IS neat to have and has proven very successful in tests.

I have also added a 12v DC backup (Belkin) for the Apex. If there is a power failure it should keep it going for a few hours. Not that much else will be going but at least it will allow some more records to be made. Trying to see what I can do about other "critical" areas.

 

[fillibar]

I actually got around to taking my pictures of the main tank. Still working on some cleaning issues and cyano, but it is coming along slowly. The first three pictures are to show the 2 rock stacks and the open center. Eventually there will be more once I can get more rock made.
Left side stack:

Center of tank:

Right side stack:

 

[fillibar]

Pictures of soft coral. The first is my larger zoa colony. I think it is spreading onto the other rocks well:

One of the multiple zoa frags I got (but the only decent picture):

One of two Green Star frags I got:

 

[fillibar]

Fishy additions to the tank. Two Ocellaris Clowns and one Diamond Goby. The goby is particular camera friendly but I will only post one picture of it unless there are requests.

First the clowns:

Now the goby:

 

[fillibar]

Last pictures for the evening, the DIY protein skimmer I made. The outside is 4" PVC with 2" fittings (down to 1" for the bottom inlet). The center is 2" PVC. The top section is connected by a union for easier removal and cleaning with the neck made of 2" clear PVC to make sure it is bubbling nicely. It is not a great skimmer but it is working well enough for now.

First is the overall picture. It is pretty big and I tried to put a tape measure for the size but it turns out to be basically unreadable. It reads as being just over 6' 9" tall.

Last is a closeup of the top section of the skimmer.

 

[newreefer92]

Ordered a number of items most of which have already arrived:
Initial sand (150lbs) - one bag still in shipping
Initial salt (120lbs)
Quiet One 9000 pump to replace the Mag12
2 Hydor Evolution Powerheads
Spare Neptune Temperature Probe

I got my Neptune Apex a few days ago. I really like it but have 5 comments so far:
1) The web interface is pretty primitive. I am around web UIs all the time at work so this is somewhat disappointing. Maybe newer firmware will look better.
2) The local interface also feels a bit "old style". I would also love it if they made replaceable face plates for it so you could more easily integrate it into a display.
3) The not-USB "AquaBus". I know it is a male-male USB cable that they get to charge an arm an a leg for. Yes, it carries 12VDC so it cannot connect to other USB items without killing SOMETHING. But that begs a couple questions:
a) Why don't they use actual USB? Are the power requirements on their modules that extreme? Does not seem like they should be.
b) Why is there not any voltage protection so things do not get killed if "normal" USB stuff is plugged in?
4) Lack of wireless. It would be excellent if the module used wifi. They have a "wireless" module so I got my hopes up for the 1/2 second before I read the description and saw it was for controlling pumps/powerheads and not actual communication to your network. Bummer. I have CAT6 runs but it still seems like something that could have been done or offered as a module.
5) Lastly... I already mentioned the web interface... but why could they not offer one on their own servers that accepts data from your module (if you want it to) so that you can access your Apex readily worldwide without having to bother with a dynamic DNS service and fighting with your ISP's restrictions/hardware, etc... Just a thought for the future maybe, if anyone from Apex sees this.

I purchased my apex 4 days ago, they are completely wireless. The issue I have is that if I want that wireless I have to go buy a bridge to do so. It states in the description they are already wireless. They dont even sell a wireless module for the unit itself, because its already wireless. They sell a wxm module for the ecotech pumps though...

 

[fillibar]

Not sure what you mean by them stating they are wireless. They mention about the wireless VorTech control (WXM) but that is just sad. Best case, 802.11b/g/n built in (for broad range protocol support). Next best, an Aquabus module that supports it. Another time where their proprietary bus might be hurting them considering how cheap USB WIFI dongles are, but there could have always been problems with driver support.

 

[fillibar]

The lack of a second Temperature plug on the controller (yet it has 2 pH, although one could be ORP but still...) is bugging me. I would really like to have a second temperature probe to monitor my sump (where my main heaters are) but until I can find an additional module for a reasonable price it looks like that will not be an option.

Last (for tonight)... I REALLY wish the Apex could control (simple on/off) a few pins. Maybe switch some of the existing input PINs so they can be set to either input or output (pretty common on all microcontrollers) or just have a whole separate Aquabus module that is just meant to be able to trigger external events without relying on X10 or an entire power outlet. I mean the I/O Breakout is totally misleading. I/O. Input / Output... Where is the Output capability? Geesh.

 

[fillibar]

Had a bummer of a loss today. Came home and discovered my Diamond Goby managed to get on top of the eggcrate. It was too big to fit through it (I am pretty sure of that) so it either jumped on top of a cross brace, then jumped up again and flopped around OR jumped onto the eggcrate at the area for feeding and crossed 5ft of them (and over 2 gaps for cross braces) to end up where it did.
It is a real bummer because it was a really nice one and doing an excellent job in the tank. Now I have to decide how to reconstruct my whole top structure to prevent that in the future because I already thought it was almost impossible. Trust a truly dedicated, but suicidal, fish to prove me wrong.

 

[Poriferan]

Sorry to hear about your goby loss. Some fish will do anything to get out it seems. Wrasse's have been the worst for me.:thumbdown