got ethical husbandry?

Rygh's 250 gallon - rev.2

Wlachnit said:
Great idea. Would love to get rid of the 17 power bricks. So how do you control the devices?
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None of the devices are controlled by an Apex, relay, or anything through the main supply. Power supply is always on.
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If you wanted to be spiffy you could use a relay between the PSU and the device and then your controller could effectively shut off power to just one device. But unless you're really good at wiring and cramming things into a large project box, that would be quite a messy jumble of wires.
 
Wlachnit said:
Great idea. Would love to get rid of the 17 power bricks. So how do you control the devices?
Click to expand...
The lights are controlled by internal controller, connected to the network. (AI prime)
Main pumps have speed buttons. (Jebao)
The only thing on my Apex relays is/was peristaltic pumps and heaters.

If you have 17 power bricks, you might need 3 or 4 of the better ones. Or larger/smaller ones.
You need to make the amps come out even.

For me it was more about having higher quality sealed supplies, not the actual count.
 
Argh!
Another cracked fitting. On my GFO reactor. Of course it was in the back.
At least the drip went back in the tank.

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS USE SCHEDULE 80 FITTINGS!!!
Pipe is not so important. But I have had a couple of female fittings crack.
And I use lots of teflon tape, and am pretty light with the pliers.

IMG_pipe.jpg
 
Kinda seems over tightened to me. I only use 3-4 wraps of tape, but prefer liquid teflon. I also usually don't use pliers at all and only hand tighten. Those nylon fittings are harder tho. What's the sprinkler fitting made of?
 
Coral reefer said:
Kinda seems over tightened to me. I only use 3-4 wraps of tape, but prefer liquid teflon. I also usually don't use pliers at all and only hand tighten. Those nylon fittings are harder tho. What's the sprinkler fitting made of?
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Not sure what type of plastic that is. Softer than normal PVC, but not nylon.

Note that it lasted for a year or two before cracking.

I usually finger tighten also, but that little nut is not so easy to turn, so I used pliers.
Oops.

I often use silicone instead/also. It both lubricates, then dries really water tight. Easy to get apart.
But that can crumble loose if joint "works" at all.

New fitting is a normal schedule-80 elbow.
 
I meant the male threaded fitting is nylon, and yeah they are tough to tighten. I would stick to materials you know what they are instead of sprinkler pieces that probably aren't made for saltwater.
Liquid teflon isn't the same as silicon. Works well.
 
Coral reefer said:
I meant the male threaded fitting is nylon, and yeah they are tough to tighten. I would stick to materials you know what they are instead of sprinkler pieces that probably aren't made for saltwater.
Liquid teflon isn't the same as silicon. Works well.
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Not so worried about sprinkler parts and salt water. Mostly just that they are built as cheaply as possible.
But I had them in the garage ... so ...
Like I said above - schedule 80 - from now on.

I will look at liquid teflon. :cool:
Never used that.
Looks like it is safe for drinking water, and resists most chemicals.
 
rygh said:
Not so worried about sprinkler parts and salt water. Mostly just that they are built as cheaply as possible.
But I had them in the garage ... so ...
Like I said above - schedule 80 - from now on.

I will look at liquid teflon. :cool:
Never used that.
Looks like it is safe for drinking water, and resists most chemicals.
Click to expand...

Liquid telfon does work great and is used all the time for potable water applications. It's just really messy and it never dries, so it stays messy.
 
Planning to switch to (mostly) Kalk dosing!

I am tired of low-ph issues.
And I am almost to the bottom of my 5G tub of calcium.
Plus, I have not messed with anything in a while.

The plan is to have a fixed, timed, Kalk dose.
Apex -> Perstaltic pump
Dose will be about 2/3 of normal ATO usage.
I do still plan to keep ATO for that last 1/3, plus variation of course.
I also plan to keep Alk/Ca dosers, at least for now.
In case of Alk/Ca imbalance, or if Kalk cannot keep up.
It also allows for a slow transition, as I see how things go.

Probably get the Avast you-build kalk stirrer.
https://www.avastmarine.com/collections/you-built/products/kalk-stirrer-kit?variant=1812391363
I like how it is easy to reload and clean.

Opinions welcome.
 
rygh said:
Planning to switch to (mostly) Kalk dosing!

I am tired of low-ph issues.
And I am almost to the bottom of my 5G tub of calcium.
Plus, I have not messed with anything in a while.

The plan is to have a fixed, timed, Kalk dose.
Apex -> Perstaltic pump
Dose will be about 2/3 of normal ATO usage.
I do still plan to keep ATO for that last 1/3, plus variation of course.
I also plan to keep Alk/Ca dosers, at least for now.
In case of Alk/Ca imbalance, or if Kalk cannot keep up.
It also allows for a slow transition, as I see how things go.

Probably get the Avast you-build kalk stirrer.
https://www.avastmarine.com/collections/you-built/products/kalk-stirrer-kit?variant=1812391363
I like how it is easy to reload and clean.

Opinions welcome.
Click to expand...


You should use the kalk in a reactor as ATO with calcium reactor. Keeps my pH pretty constant. 8.0-8.2 . Kalk alone won't be able to keep up on high demand systems.


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scuzy said:
You should use the kalk in a reactor as ATO with calcium reactor. Keeps my pH pretty constant. 8.0-8.2 . Kalk alone won't be able to keep up on high demand systems.
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Click to expand...

The problem I have with Kalk as part of ATO is consistency. My evaporation seems to vary a lot, and that would affect stability.
I know it can work, but is not so ideal.

I was going to keep my individual Alk/Ca dosers if kalk cannot keep up.
A calcium reactor would be great, but I am not ready to set that up just yet.
Maybe if I do a lot more hard corals.
 
scuzy said:
Draw air from outside?
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I tried that a while back, but just for the skimmer. Simple tube out the door. It made little difference.
Both DT and sump are fairly sealed, so I probably get fairly poor surface CO2 exchange.

That said, your point makes me think...
Going to Kalk is a "patch" in a way. I really should think about overall gas exchange.
Not easy to fix though.
My wife would just love more holes in the walls....
 
scuzy said:
I have 3 120mm fans sucking air out my stand to move air which hella with had exchange
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Probably a good idea. Pretty easy to add fans.
The problem is it means dumping all that moisture into the house/garage.
I did set up a vent to the outside when I started, but it is weak.
Hmmm...
 
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