Scott's 270 aka Project Mayhem
- Thread starter Scythanith
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Scythanith
Premium Member
Thanks guys. Mark, the blue is the toughest part to capture in the shot. The combination of LED lighting and the vibrant blue the coral naturally has make's the blue appear blown out as a highlight. I think as the coral grows and develops more base colour then it may be easier to see in photos. Another problem is it's at the very pinnacle of my rock work so even my 105mm macro has a tough time focusing on the coral using the top down box.
Scythanith
Premium Member
I do what I can 
Scythanith
Premium Member
So I am debating getting the local aquarium manufacturer to build me two water reservoirs. One for RO and one for fresh saltwater. The Profilux ATO and AWC systems will utilize the reservoirs. I am not skilled enough to make a system that automatically makes new saltwater based on conductivity and a salt hopper. I will still make the SW by hand, ~60-100g at a time. The system will change ~10g a week, or around 15% a month.
I am thinking the RO stacked over the SW, as many have already done. A manual valve to dump RO into the SW reservoir. An ATO pump will be located in the RO resevoir to take care of tank evaporation issues. I will have the RODI machine on a timed solenoid so it only turns on once a day, or maybe even once every couple days to ensure a good volume of water goes through the RODI membranes.
The SW reservoir will have a mixing pump, heater & transfer pump which will be controlled by the profilux. If I was smarter I could design a solenoid system that reduced my needs to one pump but I'm not that crafty The lower sump on my main system will have a dirty SW pump that empties a chamber (lower left, bottom sump). Once the profilux level sensor detects it's empty, it will shut that pump off and turn the transfer pump on until it reaches the full level sensor then shut off. Voila, water change
Anyone have suggestions or ideas? I may have it so I can add some probes as well. I bought an expansion box for the profilux so I can level sensors to the two reservoirs which will let me know if they are too full, too low, wrong temp and maybe even salinity in the fresh SW reservoir.
Thanks for the help!
I am thinking the RO stacked over the SW, as many have already done. A manual valve to dump RO into the SW reservoir. An ATO pump will be located in the RO resevoir to take care of tank evaporation issues. I will have the RODI machine on a timed solenoid so it only turns on once a day, or maybe even once every couple days to ensure a good volume of water goes through the RODI membranes.
The SW reservoir will have a mixing pump, heater & transfer pump which will be controlled by the profilux. If I was smarter I could design a solenoid system that reduced my needs to one pump but I'm not that crafty
The lower sump on my main system will have a dirty SW pump that empties a chamber (lower left, bottom sump). Once the profilux level sensor detects it's empty, it will shut that pump off and turn the transfer pump on until it reaches the full level sensor then shut off. Voila, water change Anyone have suggestions or ideas? I may have it so I can add some probes as well. I bought an expansion box for the profilux so I can level sensors to the two reservoirs which will let me know if they are too full, too low, wrong temp and maybe even salinity in the fresh SW reservoir.
Thanks for the help!
dave.m
Active member
Why go to the expense of having custom tanks built when you can easily get large plastic water tanks off the shelf, anywhere from 10 gallons to 500 gallons per tank?
You don't have to get too complicated with solenoids, etc. You don't have to have your make-up water system running all day every day. You only need to mix the saltwater for 24 hours before use, so you can greatly simplify your set-up to start on the Friday night for a water change on the Sunday once a month, if complication is the concern.
It's great to see some of the automation marvels that others here are coming up with (e.g. see slief's thread for a great system) but if that is too much for you then step back and only do what is really needful.
Dave.M
You don't have to get too complicated with solenoids, etc. You don't have to have your make-up water system running all day every day. You only need to mix the saltwater for 24 hours before use, so you can greatly simplify your set-up to start on the Friday night for a water change on the Sunday once a month, if complication is the concern.
It's great to see some of the automation marvels that others here are coming up with (e.g. see slief's thread for a great system) but if that is too much for you then step back and only do what is really needful.
Dave.M
Scythanith
Premium Member
Thanks for the suggestions Dave. Actually one of the "local" tank builders can build me a nice reservoir tanks for cheaper than I can buy the large plastic water tank. And then I get it the exact size I want, and with the bulkheads in the locations I want.
I like the idea of small, frequent water changes, hence the plan for small daily changes of ~5g. I don't think it's too complicated. I just want to make sure I've thought it out and not over complicate the system. That's why I ask the questions I do on RC. Plenty of experience here to turn to.
The solenoids are my idea to ensure I don't have siphons from the ATO or AWC resevoirs into the sump. I can alter my ATO piping to drain at a higher level then the reservoir, that should be good enough to eliminate a siphon. The AWC reservoir on the other hand will be higher up, with piping travelling through the suspended ceiling to the fish room and back down to the lower sump (water change chamber). That setup will undoubtably siphon so I need to figure out a siphon break or put a solenoid in to physically stop the water flow.
Ideas?
I like the idea of small, frequent water changes, hence the plan for small daily changes of ~5g. I don't think it's too complicated. I just want to make sure I've thought it out and not over complicate the system. That's why I ask the questions I do on RC. Plenty of experience here to turn to.
The solenoids are my idea to ensure I don't have siphons from the ATO or AWC resevoirs into the sump. I can alter my ATO piping to drain at a higher level then the reservoir, that should be good enough to eliminate a siphon. The AWC reservoir on the other hand will be higher up, with piping travelling through the suspended ceiling to the fish room and back down to the lower sump (water change chamber). That setup will undoubtably siphon so I need to figure out a siphon break or put a solenoid in to physically stop the water flow.
Ideas?
dave.m
Active member
The trouble with solenoids and especially float sensors is that they all fail. Even with regular monthly cleanings float switches are only expected to last about two years and should then be replaced.
What I found to be more reliable for automated top-off was to work out what my regular daily water loss due to evaporation was, figure out how long it took my RO/DI to generate that much water, and then set the RO/DI on a timer to generate that much water per day to a separate reservoir. Then I would have a pump come on at a different time period to add that much water back into the system.
You could probably do something similar if you had a large reservoir of pre-made saltwater on standby. Make sure your reservoir holds more than you'll need. Time your small removal pump so you know how long and much it removes from your sump to a drain/standpipe. Then set that pump on a timer. Use a separate small pump from your saltwater reservoir to return to your sump. Run the second pump on a second timer. Make sure your ATO and water change cycles do not overlap.
Here's a couple of good articles on water changes that have additional info and ideas:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/rhf/
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-11/nftt/
Dave.M
What I found to be more reliable for automated top-off was to work out what my regular daily water loss due to evaporation was, figure out how long it took my RO/DI to generate that much water, and then set the RO/DI on a timer to generate that much water per day to a separate reservoir. Then I would have a pump come on at a different time period to add that much water back into the system.
You could probably do something similar if you had a large reservoir of pre-made saltwater on standby. Make sure your reservoir holds more than you'll need. Time your small removal pump so you know how long and much it removes from your sump to a drain/standpipe. Then set that pump on a timer. Use a separate small pump from your saltwater reservoir to return to your sump. Run the second pump on a second timer. Make sure your ATO and water change cycles do not overlap.
Here's a couple of good articles on water changes that have additional info and ideas:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/rhf/
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-11/nftt/
Dave.M
Scythanith
Premium Member
I'm not sure if you have used the Profilux ATO & AWC systems/programming at all but they come with timer failsafes built in. So no matter what the sensor says, it will shut the pump off after a certain amount of time. Just like you suggested, time the water transfer, set the max allotted time for a couple seconds extra. The sensors should shut the pump off before the time elapses, but if something goes wrong with the sensors the timer will cut the pump off anyways.
It works darn near exactly as you described, but all in one little computer I will read the articles when I get some time this week!
Thanks,
Scott
It works darn near exactly as you described, but all in one little computer
I will read the articles when I get some time this week!Thanks,
Scott
Scythanith
Premium Member
Quoted for the sheer humor of it
I'm not saying it's easy, just saying it's all there to be utilized haahaa!
Scythanith
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Some new pictures
Scythanith
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Scythanith
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Scythanith
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Scythanith
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Scythanith
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Scythanith
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Phosphates vary from 0.00 to 0.03 with Hanna Phos checker. Nitrates are about 0.5-1.0.
Normal other values are Ca 450, Alk 8.4, Mg 1300, SG 1.026.
Normal other values are Ca 450, Alk 8.4, Mg 1300, SG 1.026.
Scythanith
Premium Member
Some new zoa/paly purchases:
