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TonyInVa

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Posts posted by TonyInVa

    Any issues with running UV return to Phosphate reactor?

    in General Discussion

    I don't see a problem, but if you are concerned you can always run the phosphate reactor first and then the UV. :)

     

    Look into the best/recommended GPH through the UV. The slower the higher the "kill" effectiveness of the UV. Based on that GPH you can decide if you are better off running it first or second.

     

    The UV needs a high GPH per manual. I purchased recommended pump. Reactor needed lower GPH so I used a ball valve to control flow.

    plumbing emergency - advice needed ASAP

    in General Discussion

    If you can turn off the return pump without overflowing the sump, I would try that...that would drop the water level in the tank and then hopefully your overflow will float to the correct height once your turned on the return pump...just a guess...I wouldn't attempt if this would overflow your sump.

     

    My guess is you need to re-syphon the overflow. Assumming you have the U shaped tube.

    I need lighting opinions!

    in General Discussion

    Very interesting. I thought it was possible to keep most sps under T5's ?? Aren't there a lot of members keeping really nice sps tanks with T5's?

     

    Laura

     

    I have some high up on the rocks with my T5 fixture. It produces 324 watts. But going to 110 gallons I assume it wont be enough. Especialy being a tall tank.

    I need lighting opinions!

    in General Discussion

    To be honest I don't know much about metal halides. Seems to be alot of options and I don't know the differance between them all. The wattage I understand. But don't know the differance between single double ended and then there is the mogul base.

    I need lighting opinions!

    in General Discussion

    once again, it depends on you. Do you have the experience to build your own, or do you like the look of pre-built? If it were me, I'd do 2) 400's with lumenarc reflectors and 2) 110w VHO actinics with 3) fans- one between the halides, and one on each end of the fixture, all blowing out.

     

    I have never built my own lighting, but am generaly handy with tools and come up with good ideas. nI am sure that with this group I can pull it off.

    I need lighting opinions!

    in General Discussion

    I will be upgrading to a 110 in the very near future. Tank will be here next week. But will be spending the next couple of months getting things ready. One issue will be lighting. I currently have a T5 6 bulb fixture. Not sure if I sould build my own fixture using my existing T5 with 2 metal halides or purchasing a new fixture. My guess is that building one using my T5s will be cheaper. What do you think?

    Drilled Tank Plumbing

    in General Discussion

    I'm worried about plumbing my tank. I've never plumbed via a bulkhead through a drilled hole in the glass. I'm worried about putting too much stress on the glass and causing it to crack I'm not sure how much these tanks can take and what kind of forces I'll be putting on it.

     

    I decided not to plumb in my Algae turf scrubber as much as I wanted it in there. Would anyone be able to give me a heads up on any Do's or Do nots? Or if anyone wants to come out and help me plumb it :biggrin:

     

    I'm probably just being paranoid, but I'd prefer not to make any big mistakes if I can avoid them!

     

    I will probaly be drilling my new tan as well. Maybe will wait to see hw your luck goes. Since we are so close, if you need a hand let me know. Not sure how much help I could be as I have never done this.

    Reef ready vs not reef ready.

    in General Discussion

    I have a non-reef ready and I just bought a 125 that im going to drill and make reef ready. I like running a sump, since i can hide the heater and the skimmer from the main display, but don't like my HOB overflow box. As for having the blue background with the black overflows, i really don't think it will make that much of a difference. Plus if you do a glass holes overflow, its small enough to be hidden.

     

    My preference is a black background over blue. I think the black background makes the colors look so much better, especially when you keep the back glass clean and scrape off all the coralline algae.

     

    But in the end, its all what you want.

     

    The reef ready tanks have an overflow that run from top to bottom taking up a lot of room. I think I will be buying a non reef ready and drilling it myself.

    Phosban Reactor question?

    in General Discussion

    I use a distributor (manifold) off the return from a Reeflo Dart to run all the returns. I go from Dart to 1. Return, 2. Chiller, 3. Fuge, 4. Frag Tank, 5. Media Reactor, 6. Spare. I use valves in all the outputs so I can control the flow, therefore achieving the amount of flow that I need to keep the media moving. When the sponges in the media reactor are brand new I have to dial down the flow, and as it gets clogged I keep increasing it.

     

    I used to have pumps for everything, but I like the simplicity of using a single external pump to run everything. It also keeps the temp of the water cooler by being external. I have the pump in a semi remote location, underneath the stairs, so the noise from the external pump is not an issue, but I wouldn't stand the noise in the same room.

     

    You can see the setup in this picture. I didn't have the frag tank in place yet and I have modified a few things but its pretty much the same thing.

     

    IMG_0268_TEXT_MINI.jpg

     

    I will be upgrading to a new tank soon. I will keep that in mind when I plumb it.

    Reef ready vs not reef ready.

    in General Discussion

    Anyone able to offer any pros and cons? I will be upgrading in the next couple of weeks. The biggest issue I have so far is that I like to have a blue backround. If I go with reef ready I will have the black running top to bottom and not able to have the entire back blue. Anyone know of a fix for this. I would also like to hear your pros and cons.

    Phosban Reactor question?

    in General Discussion

    I mix both in the same reactor. 1 part GFO to about 6-7 parts CARBON.

    You can see a video of my reactor in action here:

     

    I decided to mix the two, but mine does not tumble nearly as much as yours. I will need to get a pump that has more gph.

    Phosban Reactor question?

    in General Discussion

    When I ran a single reactor, I separated the two with a sponge, leaving room for each to tumble in it's own section. I put the carbon on top so it could be changed out more frequently since it was typically exhausted before the GFO that I was using in the lower section. Others run the two media mixed together. There's really no harm in doing so.

     

    Thanks

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