madweazl June 2, 2016 Author Share June 2, 2016 (edited) Picked up a couple pieces of live rock (one had a couple green shrooms; whoops) and couldnt leave well enough alone. Little tweak here, little tweak there, two hours later and after moving 65% of the rocks in the tank, I came up with this. Mostly the same but with a much larger gap between the structures and I ran the peaks of the structures in opposite directions to give it some more depth (almost looks like you're wearing 3d glasses from my desk chair). All hail the disco ball effect! Edited June 2, 2016 by madweazl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl June 4, 2016 Author Share June 4, 2016 Did some more tuning on the return lines and was able to get it almost silent. I had to reduce the pump to power level two for a nice balance in the overflow box. Loudest part now is the return pump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surf&turf June 4, 2016 Share June 4, 2016 looks good, nice scape! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl June 5, 2016 Author Share June 5, 2016 (edited) Seems to be doing fine for the time being; hopefully I can keep it that way. There are two visible on the rock (one on the opposite side). Wouldnt have taken the rock had I known but they're usually pretty tough. Edited June 5, 2016 by madweazl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl June 6, 2016 Author Share June 6, 2016 Scored a Reef Angel this weekend pH probe will need to be replaced but everything is up and running. I'm going to get some thin plywood or acrylic to mount the hardware to so I can tuck the wiring behind it so everything stays nice and clean. Not sure if I'll mount it to the under side of the tank or the back wall right now. Things are gonna get tricky down there with a carbon reactor (possibly GFO as well) and an ATO reservoir. Gotta do some more gonkulating... With this, I think I have just about everything that was on my initial wishlist. I'd like to grab the water level expansion but I've spent enough for a few weeks :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl June 6, 2016 Author Share June 6, 2016 So I lied; ordered a pair of SBReef 16" Basic LEDs with white enclosures that I'll run off the Reef Angel. They have a pretty nice layout of LEDs compared to the other cheep LEDs. Wont realistically be able to use the canopy but maybe I can come up with something (sure is nice keeping the light from escaping into the room). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl June 7, 2016 Author Share June 7, 2016 Stumbled across live-aquaria while I was looking through threads and couldn't resist the macro starter pack. They have some incredible macro algae! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM June 7, 2016 Share June 7, 2016 You're on a roll! Good luck with the RA. I'm periodically active on the forums there and wrote a bunch of code that is in the latest stable version. I can sometimes help with problems. Also I'm interested to see what you end up thinking about the SB Reef Lights. I think he has a controllable version. Is that what you ordered? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl June 8, 2016 Author Share June 8, 2016 Perfect; I'm full tard in that area so I'm sure I'll need some help. As for the lights, they are all controllable but you need to cut the manual dimmer out and rewire (10v signal to the PWM of controller so it is really simple). They will only dim to 1v from what I understand right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl June 8, 2016 Author Share June 8, 2016 The brown algae has started growing; gonna be ugly in there for a couple weeks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl June 8, 2016 Author Share June 8, 2016 Not sure how I'm going to lay things out yet but I picked up the stuff to mount the controller today. This panel will stand off the wall (or whatever I end up mounting it to) 1" and allow me tuck all the wiring behind it keeping things nice and tidy. I'm planning on placing hinges at one end (or some type of quick release) so it's easier to access everything behind the panel as the system grows. I was going to remote the controller to a more convenient location but I'll be using a tablet for display and control purposes so it really doesnt matter where I place that (may hide it all together since a bagillion cables come off of it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM June 9, 2016 Share June 9, 2016 I have almost never used the controller display. Did you also get the wireless attachment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl June 9, 2016 Author Share June 9, 2016 (edited) I have almost never used the controller display. Did you also get the wireless attachment? No, something else I need to order. Best I can tell, I have PWM relay boxes but I'm not positive. If that is indeed the case, I'll need an expansion module, the wifi module, and a dimming module as well. Stuff adds up quick On another note, I have a BRS carbon reactor on the way along with a pair of magnetic float mounts (should arrive tomorrow) that look decent (could only find them in black). If they end up not working well, I suppose a multi channel level sensor will be the next expansion... Edited June 10, 2016 by madweazl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM June 10, 2016 Share June 10, 2016 If you have PWM dimming boxes it may be possible to take the covers off and convert them into analog ones with a couple of dip switches. It's often really easy to do that kind of thing with the RA hardware. If you post up on the RA forum to ask, someone will tell you how to do it. Wait to see what the SB reef lights Mike sends accept, though. I know some of them take PWM directly to the drivers in them. It took me a while to get my head around the RA and how it worked. You basically write your own firmware using the Arduino-based programming environment and load it to the controller with a cable. It can be as complicated or as simple as you want. There's a wizard to generate a standard set of firmware based on some questions. From that point on, assuming you have the wireless adapter, you are changing anything you want to change through the portal at reefangel.com or through the app. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl June 10, 2016 Author Share June 10, 2016 Yea, I've messed around with the wizard but it's pretty limited on what it can do. The bummer with the relay boxes is that they're bonded together so you have to literally break them apart. I started a post over there regarding the best way to pop them open in the event I actually have to do so. In the end, I can leave them boxes as is and use the PWM signal for my wavemaker. I need to investigate compatibility with the Waveline too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl June 10, 2016 Author Share June 10, 2016 Popped open the relay boxes and was able to confirm with Reef Angel that the boxes were capable of analog dimming. The label on the jumpers are reversed so PWM is actually analog. From what I've read on their forums, there are relay boxes that cant be changed but I have no confirmation on this yet. Now I'm just waiting on the lights arrive... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM June 10, 2016 Share June 10, 2016 By the way, if you aren't using both ATO inputs you can easily use the ATO high and ATO low inputs as outputs instead. They can do 5V PWM output in addition to being on/off type ATO inputs. Just takes a bit of extra code to use them as that. And with the right cable you can make them 10V or 5V analog outputs too. That's the beauty and the downfall of the ReefAngel. You can get it to do what you want, but you also have to get it to do what you want... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl June 11, 2016 Author Share June 11, 2016 (edited) Made a little more progress on the control panel; framed the perimeter leaving the right side upper five inches open for the cables to pass through and also drilled holes for the cables to pass through to the relay boxes. I still need to finish the holes for the power cords, USB, and RS232 connections and the connections coming off the controller itself. On the subject of RS232, I found some nice low profile connectors that are only 1.25" long. Edit: the holes actually line up with the outlets; the cell pic just distorted it. Edited June 11, 2016 by madweazl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM June 11, 2016 Share June 11, 2016 If you're planning on connecting those to the relay boxes, take another look. I think he uses DE-15 connectors, not DB-9. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl June 11, 2016 Author Share June 11, 2016 If you're planning on connecting those to the relay boxes, take another look. I think he uses DE-15 connectors, not DB-9. Good catch; hopefully I can find some low profile versions of those. On another note, I did a test fit and function check on the Reef Angel and all is working as expected. Tomorrow I may get around to filling, finish sanding, and painting of the panel. Or maybe I'll just be lazy and drink beer all day, who knows. Also have my first FTS; full of, not much... Figures the daylights turn off and the refugium light turns on right before I snap the picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM June 11, 2016 Share June 11, 2016 I'll be interested to see how you mount the head unit. I never got a really good solution to mount mine, but did it eventually by just driving in a long screw below and another one above and using the screws to grip it. Doesn't look nice, but it does hold it. I wish he had designed in a mounting flange, but only the relay boxes have those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl June 11, 2016 Author Share June 11, 2016 The idea I keep coming back to is a pocket of sorts that it would slide down into. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl June 11, 2016 Author Share June 11, 2016 Stuck in traffic, I pulled off the 1 and into a LFS on the way home (traffic was insane heading south today). I was hoping to find a shrimp goby (yasha, randals, or dracula) to bring home along with a randalli pistol shrimp but no such luck. Bummed out, I continued to check things out to see if anything caught my eye. There was a nice helfrichi but I didnt want to spend that much money (the last two weeks have left me with the prospect of eating ramen until pay day). I was about to head back out to the car when out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something poke its head out from some rocks. "What's this," I says to myself? I walked down a few feet and there it was, a beautiful female lyre-tail anthias. Then, a stunning male popped out as well! It was a done deal, I had to have them. I may not have anything else in the tank in regard to fish now but I have a really good excuse to start gathering parts and pieces for a 240g setup, right? I'll grab some pics as they start to venture out into the open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl June 12, 2016 Author Share June 12, 2016 I'll do better... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surf&turf June 12, 2016 Share June 12, 2016 Wow, sweet, nice snag. Better get him a few more females so he doesn't bug the crap out of the one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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