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22bfan

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Posts posted by 22bfan

    Wanted: Ideas for Custom Light Rack Design

    in Do It Yourself

    Thanks for all the ideas. 

    The sliding rails are pretty cool but i need the bracket system to go up and down since i want to use it to adjust PAR of the metal halides and for getting in the tank (literally) to do maintenance. 

    No doubt i will use some of the items in that build thread. 

    Wanted: Ideas for Custom Light Rack Design

    in Do It Yourself

    Thanks for all the replies.

    I think I found a good source for 80/20 extruded (Zoro).  They even have anodized black. 

    The part i'm struggling with is how to set it up so it is motorized to go up and down for intensity adjustment on the MH's as well as maintenance . . .

     

    I was thinking about something like a garage door opening style belt drive but not sure that would be smooth enough and would definitely require a lot of modification to shorten the travel compared to a normal garage door track.

    Wanted: Ideas for Custom Light Rack Design

    in Do It Yourself

    · Edited by 22bfan

    The ask:

     

    Ideas for a light rack design that can be suspended from the ceiling or mounted to the back wall behind the tank that can be moved out of the way for tank maintenance.

     

    The caveats:

     

    It has to look presentable and if possible be automated by motorized crank, servo, etc. The "bones" can be tactfully covered with a facade.

     

    The details:

     

    This will be above a 72" wide x 36" front to back tank and will currently host the following lights/fixtures:

     

    3 - Lumenbrite Large MH fixtures

    6 - AI Hydra 52 classics

    1 - Reefbrite 72" XHO Blue

     

    My deep dimension tank has 2 top braces making for 3 equal open sections over the top of the tank. My thought is for each of the 3 open top sections to have a MH fixture mounted over the center of the opening, a pair of Hydra52 fixtures, and a single ReefBrite XHO Blue strip that spans the entire width of the tank sort of like this:

     

    ~~~

    OOO

    ~~~

    _____

     

    ~ = Hydra 52

    O = Lumenbrite Large MH Fixture

    _____ = 72" Reefbrite XHO Blue

     

     

    Im looking at a few materials that might be suitable (extruded 80/20 aluminum) but am not set on anything specific. I have a friend with a TIG so a welded frame is an option.

     

    Thanks in advance for any ideas!!

    Coral in a bag

    in General Discussion

    Lol, I want to know which Petco you guys go to and find any coral that compels you to spend money. 

    All 4 Petco's near me usually only have near death looking LPS or polyps with little to no color.  

    Usually their lighting is bright white and growing algae as well.

    Apex Programming Help Needed

    in General Discussion

    I'm working on a Kalkwasser reactor/doser project and need some help writing code to activate the feed pump for 20 seconds every hour.

     

    Can someone with some Apex Saavy programming skillz post up what that line of code would look like?

     

    Thanks!!!

    Well Water Quality Testing and Treatment Help Needed

    in General Discussion

    Strangely, our well is only 5yrs old and the developer has to go through the normal health department process to show that it's safe.

     

    Good thing Ive had some manor of water treatment in place, although not optimal.

     

    As mentioned before, I'd love to go for an ozone reactor system for the whole house. But those systems are $$$$. Time to fork over some cash for good water I guess. Anyone have any suggestions for a good company/equipment to go with?

    Well Water Quality Testing and Treatment Help Needed

    in General Discussion

    Thanks Tom. The results did show coliform present but they did not provide a count.

     

    Im tempted to install a custom ozone system to once and for all eliminate bacteria and iron issues. As well the bi product of ozone dissapating into the water would be extra O2. This would be very helpful with the ph issues i have which seem to be due to lots of carbon dioxide locked up in the water.

     

    Ill put together a post on how i put together my CO2 offgas system with some pictures. Its pretty simple and cheap. You just have to have the space for a pair of 44 gallon brute tubs and a stand to put one brute on top of the other.

    Well Water Quality Testing and Treatment Help Needed

    in General Discussion

    I recently had my well water tested by a reliable local lab not associated with any water treatment companies.  The test sample is from a water source after my pressure tank but before my existing water treatment equipment.  

    The results are as follows (Can any of you guys make sense of this?):

     

    Total Aluminum: None Detected (EPA 200.8 R5.4 - - MRL = .01, MCL = .05)

    Total Iron:  .575 mg/l (EPA 200.8 R5.4 - - MRL = .1, MCL = .3)

    Total Manganese:  None Detected (EPA 200.8 R5.4 - - MRL = .01, MCL = .05)

    E. coli (Chromogenic):  Absent (SM9223B-97)

    Total Coliform (Chromogenic):  Present (SM9223B-97)

    Total Hardness:  392 mg CACO3/l (SM2340C-97 - - MRL = 1)

    Total Sodium:  3.75 mg/l (EPA 200.8 R5.4 - - MRL = .01, MCL = 20)

    pH:  6.41 S.U. (SM4500H+B-00)

    Specific Conductivity:  635 umhos/com (SM2510B-97)

    Total Alkalinity:  284 mg CACO3/l (SM2320B-97 - - MRL = 1)

    Total Dissolved Solids: 402 mg/l (SM2540C-97 - - MRL = 10, MCL = 500)

    Turbidity:  .28 N.T.U. (SM2130B-01 - - MRL = .22

    Total Sulfate:  44.3 mg/l (EPA 30.0 R2.1 - -MRL = .5, MCL = 250)

    Total Chloride:  8.82 mg/l (EPA 30.0 R2.1 - -MRL = .5, MCL = 250)

     

    To be honest, I don't know what most of this means. 

     

    I'm looking at this report from the perspective of how to improve the water quality in my house for drinking, bathing, and washing as well as to make sure there isn't something harmful to my reef that could pass through my RO/DI system.  

     

    Whole house water treatment:  I currently have a regular Whirlpool water softener from Lowes and a large particle canister filter for sediment that I have to replace every couple of months.

     

    Drinking Water Treatment:  Lowes RO kit

     

    Reef Water Treatment:  BRS 150Gpd RO system with booster pump and dual DI canisters.  I also built a CO2 off-gas system because of very pre-mature DI expiration (it works fantastically!!)

     

    Thanks in advance for any help!!

     

    Brad 

    Great barrier reefs bleaching!!!

    in Conservation & Sustainability

    Ive seen videos of acroproa on the Great Barrier Reef that actually come out of the water during tide changes and get baked by the sun. They secrete a snotty slime to protect themselves after retracting polyps. This happens most every day.

     

    These creatures are incredibly resilient. Whatever is causing this bleaching, i have a hard time believing its just a matter of water temp change.

    What dosing containers to use?

    in General Discussion

    I recently purchased a 4-head dosing system.

     

    Went to Walmart and picked up a few cheap 2.5 gallon plastic water dispensers but one has cracked already.

     

    What have you guys had success with?

    I'd like to find containers larger than 1 gallon (id like to be able to mix suppliments 1 gallon at a time). The container should either be transparent or have a viewing window to show fluid level. My doser uses 1/4" line so a tap and straw to connect up to would be great, but i could always drill it myself.

     

    Thanks in advance!!

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