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Curtis Scott

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Posts posted by Curtis Scott

    MP10es Question

    in General Discussion

    I'm in the market for one and wondering if I should consider purchasing a used one or go with a new one. 

     

    Is purchasing a used one hit or miss with reliability?

     

    Or are these things pretty reliable and purchasing a used one would be a good way to save a few bucks?

     

    I currently run a MP40es on the right side. The MP10es will be going on the left side of my 75g tank (mostly SPS).

    I won the lottery....I think..

    in General Discussion

    I know one thing that is keeping me from getting a much larger tank is the amount of time, and effort that has to be dedicated towards maintaining one.  With a smaller tank < 60 gallons, it doesn't tank long to do a quick 5 gallon water change, wipe the glass, mix up some new saltwater, and call it a day.  This gives me more time to enjoy my tank, and have more family time.  

     

    +1

    I won the lottery....I think..

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by Curtis Scott

    Josh, I've been keeping reef tanks for over 5 years and I'm still only running a 75g w/ 30g sump. While I know I could probably go bigger, I just don't really have the time or experience to have something that is that big of an investment (time and money) have something go wrong on me. I just don't feel like I'm prepared yet.

     

    There are many things to think about like with a tank that large like:

    • flooring support
    • liability insurance, if you are renting and something catastrophic happens (flood)
    • making sure the environment is ready for this, humidity/heat export, fresh air import, and I'm sure I missing more than a few other things as I've never had to plan out a tank of this size
    • cost of salt, supplements, food ect (general upkeep)
    • auto top off
    • RODI, saltwater production and water changes for a tank this large
    • and many more

     

    I would pass on this set up for now. Choose to concentrate more on slowly working your way up to knowing more and being able to plan through all the basics of a smaller set up. Over time as your experience grows and you become more comfortable in your knowledge of reef keeping successfully, then consider to moving up to larger tanks.

     

    I know you have been recommended some reading material, but I'd like to run a couple books by you that really helped me:

     

    The Conscientious Marine Aquarist: A Commonsense Handbook for Successful Saltwater Hobbyists (Microcosm/T.F.H. Professional)

    http://www.amazon.com/The-Conscientious-Marine-Aquarist-Professional/dp/1890087998/ref=pd_sim_b_6

     

    Reef Secrets

    http://www.amazon.com/Reef-Secrets-Alf-Jacob-Nilsen/dp/189008767X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379678489&sr=8-1&keywords=Reef+Secrets

     

    This hobby is really all about baby steps. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

    Apex is a go

    in General Discussion

    Congrats on getting your Apex set up! I know how tough it can be for the first time setting one up and getting it working from a wifi bridge ect. 

     

    Based on what I saw Paul do with the GoPro, I wonder if you could use this? Somebody more familiar with Apex and its capability might be able to answer this.

     

    This would be awesome... Following along!

    Arachnophobia got me down... Spraying for pest near reef tanks?

    in General Discussion

    If you are having spraying indoors where you might touch sprayed surfaces, be extra careful about washing your hands before putting them in the tank.

     

    Good point.

     

    Here is all i know on the spider. most of this you probably already know.They aren't as aggressive as in the movies lol.Afraid of people they run and only bite as a last resort (if teeth even developed enough) They are rarely fatal and identification often mistaken. My wife works in the ER almost 10 years now and has only seen one real bite despite the 100s that come in claiming they have been bit. These people usually get diagnosed with a skin cyst or herpies ;) not saying I would want to live with them either hehe but I would kill them with a newspaper and possibly treat the outside. I would worry about overspray, setting a bucket unknowingly on the poison spray trail, a poisoned bug crawling in the tank to seek the light then dying and what treesprite said.

     

    That is a little reassuring, thanks.

     

    Just spraying won't kill them, our pest control person told us, spiders don't clean themselves and their long legs keep them up out of the poison. Good luck, we just smash the ones that make it into the house and leave the rest outside to catch bugs.

     

    Another good point.

     

    When we had our addition built, we gave the contractors the use of our basement, and they left the door open, a lot.  I had a BIG spider problem that year.  Our pest control company put down spider traps.  They are open ended small cardboard boxes, the insides are lined with glue with something else mixed in the glue that draws a spider to them, when the spider enters them they get stuck and can't get out.  They work fairly well, took a few weeks and I saw a marked decline in spider activity.  We also had a garden snake come in and lay eggs.  We knew this because one day we found 6 baby snakes stuck inside one of the boxes.  Never found mama tho.....

     

    Can you remember which traps they used? The ones online have some mixed reviews and exterminators usually have better ones.

     

    ----

     

    Thanks everyone!

     

    After posting this thread, I did some additional research and found out spray or anything toxic like that is not a good idea at all for inside a house when you have a reef tank. I have decided to have the outside sprayed and simply put down glue traps inside near my tank and around the basement. 

    Arachnophobia got me down... Spraying for pest near reef tanks?

    in General Discussion

    Maybe someone has dealt with this issue before.

     

    I just found a couple black widows* in my reef tank room. Looks like for-going the pest control this year has just back fired on me. 

     

    Planning on having pest control come spray outside my house ASAP this week.

     

    Keeping my reef tank in mind, what are my best options for inside my home? Anything I should or should not be allowing the pest control guys to use around my tank?

     

    *If there were just regular spiders I wouldn't mind

    Currently have a ground probe on outlet... do I still need to upgrade it to GFCI?

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by Curtis Scott

    I got my cord covers in today and made the first one. You can check out these photos to see what I did:

     

    http://wamas.org/forums/gallery/album/1293-gfci-setup/

     

    In the last couple of photos I show how I plan to connect these to the Apex Energy Bar 8, using a 1' extension cord (the same kind I made the female plug/wire from. 

     

    My only concern is the warning and caution part of the directions that state:

    " Plug this device directly into and outlet. DO NOT plug it into an extension cord. "

     

    Do you guys think there would be any safety issue with setting them up like I show in the last two photos? Please advise.

    Currently have a ground probe on outlet... do I still need to upgrade it to GFCI?

    in General Discussion

    That's a good item right there and appears to have the automatic reset.

     

    Yes, those work too and it costs more to do it so everything is individual but it is nice when only the one heater that is faulty trips and not everything on the power strip. You do not have to cut off the cord end as you can add a female plug and wire to that adapter. I use old extension cords and replace the male end with the GFCI adapter.

     

    Awesome, thank you!

    Currently have a ground probe on outlet... do I still need to upgrade it to GFCI?

    in General Discussion

    Yes.

     

    Yes. There are a couple of ways to wire a GFCI outlet. Both are documented in the insert that comes in the box. One way protects all "downstream" outlets as GFCI protected. The other way is bypasses downstream GFCI protection. If you wired two outlets in this "bypass" mode or the first one in bypass and the second outlet the other way, the GFCI protection on each would be separate. That is, the first one could trip without interrupting the downstream devices. However, if (back at the breaker panel) the breaker tripped on the circuit, then all outlets on that circuit (including both GFCI outlets) would go dead.

     

    Thanks

     

    I recommend a GFCI for heaters and internal pumps. A grounding probe inside the sump is a must have to provide a path that has less resistance than you.

     

    I prefer to have multiple GFCI's, like one for each item so only that item loses power. I use the individual cord cap types like this. I have even bought $1 hair dryers at yard sales just to cut off the GFCI cords to use. Put a female cord cap onto it and you have a cost effective single item GFCI.

     

     

    These look like they would be perfect for for single item GFCI. Would these work also? - http://www.amazon.com/Leviton-16693-120-Volt-Automatic-Compliant/dp/B0037NXKY0/ref=pd_cp_hi_0

     

    Do you think I could just plug these into my power strip (8 of them) and plug the power strip into the regular outlet? Then all 8 would be on there own GFCI right?

     

    Thanks!

    Currently have a ground probe on outlet... do I still need to upgrade it to GFCI?

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by Curtis Scott

    Provided you have a screw driver, wire snips and a wire snipper (and aren't color blind!) you can install a GFCI yourself for the cost of the outlet (maybe $10). There is no reason to pay an electrician $100 to do this. I'm not an electrician and I have replaced every single outlet and light switch in my house (previous owners painted over EVERYTHING) with only one outlet giving me any issue at all that was on two circuits.

    If it was just switching out the single outlet I'd give it a shot, but I am going to get an additional outlet ran (hopefully) and that way I can split the load on that single outlet.

    Currently have a ground probe on outlet... do I still need to upgrade it to GFCI?

    in General Discussion

    A GFCI can save your bacon. Some people run some of their tank on a GFCI and other parts not. All of the (5) circuits in my fish room are GFCI protected.

     

    Installing a GFCI into an existing outlet is an easy DIY task in most cases.

    Tom, do you use a ground probe as well?

     

    Here's an article I believe is good about GFCI and ground probes and such:

     

    http://www.beananimal.com/articles/electricity-for-the-reefer.aspx

     

    Great article, thanks.

     

    Even though I have read stuff online that contradicts what he is saying, this part sounds right to me and pretty much sums it up:

     

    "Example #4: A powerhead in the tank develops a hole in the insulation of the HOT wire. The powerhead is plugged into a GFCI and there IS a grounding probe. As soon as the HOT wire is exposed, current will begin to flow through the tank water to the grounding probe. The GFCI will register this leak and trip.

    There are plenty of other scenarios to look at. What happens when both the HOT and NEUTRAL (or ground) of a piece of equipment are both exposed underwater? With or without a GFCI, current will flow locally from the HOT to the NEUTRAL (or ground).  The GFCI (if in place) will NOT trip because there is no current imbalance. The tanks inhabitants will not likely be aware of the current flow either. Placing a hand in the tank could provide a nasty shock! A grounding probe in conjunction with a GFCI would prevent this by causing the current to flow to the probe, and thus tripping the GFCI. The same holds true if two different pieces of equipment develop small leaks, one HOT and the other Neutral. The probe and GFCI combination would allow current to flow to the probe, subsequently causing the GFCI to trip.

    Using a ground probe without GFCI protection on all of the submerged (or exposed) equipment creates a dangerous situation for the tank's inhabitants and humans exposed to that tank. A ground probe must always be used with GFCI protection!"

    ---

    I plan to run this info by the electrician and have him install an additional GFCI outlet to split the load (if possible). 

    Thanks guys!

    Currently have a ground probe on outlet... do I still need to upgrade it to GFCI?

    in General Discussion

    After a long delay, I finally reached out to an electrician to come over and check out my set up and provide an estimate on installing a GFCI outlet. I have read some very scary post and found out my ground probe* might not be enough to prevent electrocution.

     

    In the beginning I was too worried about having a GFCI installed and it tripping and turning everything off while I'm away. It's sort of like a double edged sword to me.  What is your guys' opinion on the subject?

     

    I have a full Apex Energy Bar 8 and a full American DJ strip (http://www.amazon.com/American-Pc-100A-Mount-Power-Switcher/dp/B0002GL50Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377549956&sr=8-1&keywords=american+DJ+strip) All on a single outlet.

     

    Do you think one of these work, if I plugged these two full strips in to it? - http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Cable-4-Outlet-6-Feet-Workshop/dp/B002RN13UY or am I better off getting the GFCI outlet installed?

     

    * The ground probe was set up because I noticed stray voltage after install some equipment and was told the probe would fix that issue, which it does.

     

     

     

     

    Is this a reef safe iodine?

    in General Discussion

    Here is some info from Randy Holmes-Foley on dosing Iodine. I used to dose it but never tested for it. Just dosed small amounts with the understanding it would break down and be removed very quickly.

     

    http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-04/rhf/#17

     

    Good read. So I guess I should look at purchasing this product instead, if needed.  - http://www.marinedepot.com/Kent_Marine_Super_Iodide_Iodine_Iodide_Additives_Supplements-Kent_Marine-KM3173-FIADII-vi.html

    Is this a reef safe iodine?

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by Curtis Scott

    2% Lugols is what we used back in the day when dosing Iodine. Not many people do it anymore.

     

    Cool, so this product will work and is reef safe?

     

    Pale corals.  Have you tried amino acids?  Aminos will darken pale coral tissue.

     

    I was using Brightwell Amino, but switched to using Pohl's Coral Vitalizer and Xtra Concentrate a little over a week ago and have already started to notice some improvements in color and growth. Once I check my levels of iodine, potassium and strontium, I will start to dose these as needed. Since I purchased this iodine a while back, I wanted to make sure it is reef safe and will work. 

     

    Here is some info from Randy Holmes-Foley on dosing Iodine. I used to dose it but never tested for it. Just dosed small amounts with the understanding it would break down and be removed very quickly.

     

    http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-04/rhf/#17

     

    Thanks for the link, I'll read through this now.

    Is this a reef safe iodine?

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by Curtis Scott

    Resurrecting this tread:

     

    I purchased a few salifert test and plan to slowly start dosing this if it's needed. My colors are on the pale side and I am in the process of ruling out potassium, iodine and strontium just to make sure these trace elements are within optimal range. 

     

    Is this product a good one (reef safe, effective) for dosing iodine in a SPS dominant tank or should I consider getting a different one? 

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