Rygh's 250 gallon upgrade

[JAR]

Interesting about the smart-day rates.
It would be quite easy to turn off the heaters from 2pm to 7pm.
Hmm.

But I really think the answer:
Try to go with solar heating. Cheap and effective, and not hard to DIY.
Then supplement with gas heating.
Then eventually get solar cells for everything else.

Every day is a smart day when you have solar panels! They offer you a program that is on a time of use meter.
For me from 12-6pm every weekday is peak usage time. I am usually a net negative # during this time which is then credited to my off peak usage.
I have my electric water heater on a timer so it shuts down during the peak time as are my tank lights.
The heaters in my tank almost never come on because the tank room stays about 75 deg from all the gear running in there. I actually have a fan come on to cool the tank most days when the lights are on.

 

[rygh]

Would not want to meet this guy in a dark alley!

He ate my brand new conch.
And that conch was 2+1/4 long. Big crab!
Not sure if he killed it, but quite possible.

Anyone want it?
Anyone know the species?
It is a bit lighter colored than the camera tells.
It has small thin yellow lines going up the legs.

 

[rygh]

Spotted a less than common little critter in the tide-pools this weekend.
Fun.

 

[Not_Now_John]

Nice, perhaps Archidoris odhneri

 

[rygh]

Nice, perhaps Archidoris odhneri

Sounds like a good ID.
Sure looks like that from other pictures of Archidoris Odhneri online.

BTW: This was in some tide-pools near Fort Bragg.

 

[rygh]

I had a minor power failure overflow. The power went out, and water siphoned back from the main tank,
and overflowed a bit in the sump.
I had tested this before, but when I changed float sensors, I think I moved it enough to cause a problem.
Only overflowed by about 1/4", so a couple of gallons at most, in the garage. No big deal.

The fun part is, the micro-controller logged the overflow and aftermath.
You can see the normal level, then a big spike as it overflowed, and then
you can see the water level is below normal.
The second spike and other blip was me testing power-off overflow.
Then you can see the water work its way back up at auto top off fills it.

 

[rygh]

Hi,
Just a note that if you are in Union City this weekend, Atlantis aquarium is changing
ownership, and selling off what is left of their stock really cheap.

I went there for food, which they are out of, and ended up with 7 corals instead.

The deal seems to be you get 3 corals for the old price of one.
Not a lot left though.
I think store hours are limited to weekend afternoons as well.
(posted 5-19-2012)

Quick pic of the new corals on my "frag mount".

 

[rygh]

A couple more random pics, since I had the camera out.

 

[rygh]

Brittle star is getting big.

 

[Coral reefer]

Nice. Mayb Atlantis will become worth going to again!

 

[tankguy]

My understanding was Atlantis was becoming an online only store. Those plans may have changed ofcourse

 

[rygh]

Nice. Maybe Atlantis will become worth going to again!

I hope so.
Aquatic Collection is close, and very good, but they are not open Sundays, which is a royal pain.

 

[Coral reefer]

I think they've been considering Sundays for awhile. Maybe you should persuade them

 

[rygh]

I HATE POWERHEADS!
There, I feel better now.

But I am so sick of the maintenance and still having them endlessly clogging up with calcium deposits and stalling.
Especially since it is not trivial to see if they stopped or not.

The big mistake seems to be having 8 medium sized ones, trying to fine tune the flow.
The larger Tunze I have goes far longer than the small Korallias.

Time to rethink things. Perhaps a closed loop and/or sea-swirl.
Any ideas or opinions welcome!

 

[JAR]

VORTECH'S
MP60 seems to be bomb proof.
I love the battery back up too.

 

[Coral reefer]

+as many as possible

 

[rygh]

VORTECH'S
MP60 seems to be bomb proof.
I love the battery back up too.

Yeah. Unfortunately not easy, since I have no room on the back or sides of the tank.
The tank is in an old entertainment niche, custom built for a tight fit.

But not impossible. I can always put yet more holes in the wall, at least on one side.

 

[rygh]

+as many as possible

They are $775 each.
Lots.... :Sp

 

[Coral reefer]

Just couldn't agree more. Not that you need lots! One should do a lot for you! Try aquatic collection on price

 

[rygh]

Good tip on aquatic collections price!
But the real problem is the hole in the wall, stud locations, house wiring location, and how to access it.
Basically, there is no reasonable way to deal with the dry side of the vortech.

Anyone have opinions on box type wave-makers??
For example, the Tunze Wavebox 6215
I have a long thin-ish tank, so it should be good for setting up a wave.
It seems they are not commonly used, but some people love them.