ArtC

I checked the UPS battery voltage to find out what chemistry it was using, and matched that in the big batteries. I'm less concerned with how long the batteries last than whether the UPS trips reliably, so I'm testing the input side. But I might as well plug in the real load (pumps) while doing the testing. Also, from prior threads, that the contraption doesn't burst into flames

I'm putting together a battery backup using a couple of AGMs and a computer UPS (instead of separate inverter and charger.) From the failure histories I've read, the first thing I'm going to do is hook it up to a fake load (lights) and put the whole thing on a timer - I want to make sure the thing really works for a number of cycles before I trust my tank to it.

I noticed that the MACNA site was listing even fewer exhibitors than Steve Pro posted here some time back, and that no new ones had been added lately. In light of IMAC, I was wondering what was going on. So I asked and got the reply:

I stopped by The Hidden Reef's new location on my way back from NY. www.thehiddenreef.com From what I'd read, they were a well-regarded LFS at their old location, but had been put out of business by a fire(?) in their old strip mall location well over a year ago. Their new location is in Levitton, PA just north of Philly and maybe a mile off I-95. The place is pretty big. They now do saltwater, freshwater, and ponds, so you don't really get 6000 feet of marine life. Their new building has a basement, so all the plumbing runs down. The setup is that each row of tanks has a common water supply, so there are about seven independent systems on the marine side. They now have all the tanks up and running, and populated. Right now, they are only getting one fish delivery per week (stock goes out on Monday evening), but more frequent deliveries will start soon. The fish seemed to be in good health. One dead bar goby, but at least it was still fresh. Also, they are starting to order some more expensive fish now that the tanks are stabilized. They said I could see them if I waited six hours... I got a small flame hawk (as in 'smaller than my shrimp') for $39. I was a bit surprised that they don't pack with oxygen. As anybody who knows me can attest, I'm no coral expert. The coral tanks are stocked, but I don't think they have a lot of exotics there yet either. But things looked healthy. The dry goods section is pretty well stocked. They aren't That Fish Place, but who is? The shelves are full, but I wouldn't be surprised if they squeezed the shelves closer together some day - the store was probably an old, small grocery store and there is plenty of room for two carts to pass. They don't have a big selection on skimmers and such - somebody should tell them that's the high profit gear. Live rock selection was still limited. Base rock for 3.99 and premium (which was decent rock, light rock and large pieces) for $6.99. Four big horse troughs were plumbed for LR, and three were in use. They said they will be getting more kinds in. I got some Selcon for $10.49 and TLF red algae $5.79. DT's oyster eggs were 54, and cyclopeze bars were 9.99. I looked for filter sock prices, but they only had 7" polypropelene in stock, and we didn't get those in the group buy The cheapest carbon was a cardboard box of Kent that came out to $4/lb. Prices on fish seemed to be around average. They had some good prices on ornamental shrimp. They also had some odd prices. I bought a couple of buckets of IO for $29, but they had Reef Crystals priced at $49. There's another fish-only store on the same side of the street, between The Hidden Reef and I-95. It's called The Fish Factory. I was in there at least a year ago. I remember they sold used gear, and but not too much else about it. But if you are going to drive right past it anyway... http://www.phillyfishfactory.com/ Anyway, I figure I'll stop by again next time I'm up that way to see if they've added some of the more exotic critters you'd expect in a store that size.

According to Lowe's web site, the reducer coupling (25017) is now carried in VA and MD. It was mail-order only in the spring, but stocked locally in CA. The specific barb adapter 194541 (and ivgonmad used a design feature of this specific adapter) is no longer carried by Lowes even in ivgonmad's Eastlake, CA store. If you buy one with a knurled barrel instead of with a molded nut, then you'll have to grind the knurls off to use it with ivgonmad's design. Trying to build the original design I put a hundred miles on the car, a couple hours on the internet, and exchanged several PMs with ivgonmad. He offered to send me the parts from CA once I sent him the Lowes parts links , but it was past being cost-efficient or fun. But DIY or COTS, eductors are cheaper than bigger pumps!

For the bag test, I got 2.4x the flow using the Penductor pictured above. I had only gotten about 1.25x when trying to test using the bucket2bucket method I tried earlier.

In the original thread, even the non-ABS parts weren't available around here. So if you could post an East Coast parts list, people might find that useful. I did the test through the air between buckets so there was no restriction, but I then was asking it for pressure. Did you do the bag test?

I live on the Bay - just mail your old water to me and I'll dump it in with the rest of the saltwater. Looks like the salt doesn't damage the septic tank, but it can damage the field over time. The salts supposedly can force chemical reactions that form clays in the surrounding soil. And clay has lousy perc rates. Whether your water changes crank out the amount of salt that a water softener does is another question. http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/gndwater/privatewe...rs.htm#Research

Yes, you are right about the nitrates. Bird waste, bat waste, cow waste are all used as fertilizer - why not fish waste? Unfortunately for the plants (and fortunately for your livestock!), your waste water has nitrates measured in ppm and salt measured in 10s of ppt.

So we work on the weekend for free? Sounds like my regular job I'm in if the hours are reasonable.

Yes. Needs to build up to some level, but unless you happen to have a lawn of marsh grass... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_the_earth

I tried to build the original eductor, but the parts are next to impossible to get in Maryland. IVGONMAD can get them in at Lowes in CA, but they don't stock the same parts in Maryland. Plumbing codes? Regional suppliers? I don't know, but that design really needed those exact parts. He even offered to send them to me after I sent him the Lowes page that said "not in Maryland." I bought some of the small commercial eductors, but I haven't been able to measure whether they really move more water. They push sand in the far corners, but that might be because the stream is more focused than in my old 1" pipe outlet. I tried pumping from one bucket into another, holding the eductor just below the dropping waterline. That certainly didn't suggest 4x the flow. http://www.kthsales.com/website/Misc/hello...enthusiasts.htm Part of the issue may be that eductors work best with high pressure pumps, and we mostly use low pressure returns.

Those of you who ordered, please check the group buy thread to see if I got it right. Procrastinators have 36 hours to get their order in... http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=14785

I've never seen a bag of YardRite outside of a tank tour, so I'm doubly glad I didn't lug a sack of it home when it was 90F and I was wearing a suit. So is the sand now only available through the exceedingly expensive aquarium trade distribution chain?

Buried deep in reef-front rubble of the CMAS site is the summer tank tour schedule. There's a tour most every Sunday through the summer. http://www.cmas-md.org/forums/showthread.php?t=56653 check carefully for updates before crossing the Potomac!

I was leaving a meeting in Crystal City today and walked past a restaurant that had tables set up on the sidewalk. Next to each table was an umbrella. Holding down each umbrella were two 40# sacks of YardRite (AKA Southdown) sand. It was 90 degrees and I was wearing a suit, so I had to leave it there. But if anybody gets a chance to eat at Bebe's Trattoria on Crystal Drive and find out who they buy their sand from...

Sorry, the order already went in - needed it in time for the last CMAS meeting of the season (Sunday's picnic.) But I didn't work any special deal on this buy; just found the best price and coordinated to keep a fleet of UPS trucks in their garages... They are backordered at the moment (something to do with CMAS buying 24 bottles...)

CMAS has posted the notes from Frank Burr's talk about quarantine systems and coral dips. http://www.cmas-md.org/forums/showthread.p...6285#post286285

Nope. Lugol's is just iodine. Effective against fewer parasites. Sorry, CMAS doesn't have the seminar notes posted yet. I'll link when they do.

CMAS had three good speakers at Sunday's meeting, but the best reduction to sound byte was during Frank Burr's talk on coral quarantine procedures and dips. He did a comparison of the effectiveness of various commercial dips against different types of parasites, and the results compressed to: "If you don't do anything else, dip your corals in Tropic Marin Pro-Coral Cure before putting them in your tank." It was convincing enough that a CMAS group buy already has half as many participants as were at the meeting. Before you ask me exactly which parasites it was effective against (all but one that were tested), I don't take notes in these meetings. The CMAS Secretary usually does, but that much typing takes time! CMAS group by is coming from That Fish Place, $16 vs. up to $30 elsewhere. http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/product/pr...cGroupKey=11656 CMAS thread: http://www.cmas-md.org/forums/showthread.php?t=56522 PS: I'm no doing the group buy for WAMAS, but I don't get any special pricing on this stuff. Just saving the shipping costs.

Plastic clamps! They don't rust, and you don't need to get into the sump with a screwdriver to remove them. Fasten by hand, or squeeze with pliers. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...p;N=0&Nty=1 If you glue the hoses on, then you will probably have to cut them off and maybe scrape the barbs clean. I've also used cable ties, but they only work if you have the tool that cinches them up. And you have to cut them off. But they're cheap and one size fits all.

I will make the long haul over to VA for the tours. From my perspective, they are all close together. So I'll try for all three.

In terms of the seal holding, a minute is plenty. But although I'll breathe those solvents, there's no way I want my fish to. So I put the new work out to air overnight if I have the option.

None of the units are 'sealed' because CO2 also enters the reactor dissolved in the water... I don't think the diffusion through Jeff's non-sealed reactor lid would make a practical difference, since Holmes--Farley had to run a airstone in the kalkwasser to get the pH to drop in a measurable way. And then only when there was no kalk surplus (not a problem we are currently experiencing!)

220g display 50g sump 10g quarantine ------------------- 280g but do I have to divide that by two because I'm also in CMAS?