Subliminal
11/06/2007, 10:29 AM
Well, I had big plans for this write up. The stuff of legend.
Really, really great stuff, at any rate.
But things happened.
Things that happened over the course of several days, between several states and at several stores with several credit cards.
Complicated things, and things I'm not so proud of.
But in the end, this is what we got:
Part I: The belly of the beast
http://lh6.google.com/damontmorris/Ry-8JAwaQNI/AAAAAAAACZc/cp7L_04X_K0/s800/IMG_6568%20%23ed.JPG
1. The new pump.
I ended up with an Iwaki WMD20RLXT. It's an inline pump which is rated for around 880 GPH at 0 head, and 540 at 4 ft. I figure I'm at roughly 2 feet, but am also using the SCWD wavemaker (will be covered in Part 2) so I'm thinking it's probably a smooth 600 (don't bother doing the math...I just picked that number because it's probably close enough).
Anyway, you can see I had to do a bit of fancy plumbing. I'll leave the reasons out, but they basically just have to do with the store being far away, the planning being not so thorough and my thick scull. The pump has 1 inch out, I had to switch that down to 3/4 and the natural bend of the hose was the reason for my non-traditional vertical mountage.
2. The semi-new Top off reservoir.
My future plans for the fish tank in general is to enclose the bottom. But, I'm a firm believer in being able to always see the water level in the top off reservoir. The 10g tank seems like it will give me a large enough quantity to make it worthwhile (5g bucket seemed to need filled several times a week).
But I digress. The bottom enclosure will have a window to view the water level.
You can see my extra powerhead from the closet with the custom stand and the float switch for the JBJ ATO inside the reservoir.
3. Is my 175w MH Ballast. It's a Hamilton Technologies Championlighting.com clearance issued ballast that I have resting up against my cold RO reservoir.
4. The command center.
Basically the command center is a board that's wire tied to my metal stand.
The white strip has the MH ballast and my hood's fan plugged into a timer in the wall.
The closest strip has the fuge pump the CL pump, the ATO, and the heater.
The JBJ ATO is mounted in between the two power strips.
Part 2:The Buttocks
http://lh4.google.com/damontmorris/Ry-8LgwaQOI/AAAAAAAACaM/zY6dR14eT7A/s800/IMG_6572%20%23ed.JPG
1. The Closed Loop Pump. You can see the output heading out the bottom of the picture to the SCWD wavemaker. The input is the line in the front going straight up the right side.
2. The SCWD Wavemaker. Basically this little betty has some kind of fan or something inside of it that goes around and alternates the output to my two...nozzles. It blasts about 75% of the power out the right side for about 6 or 7 seconds and then switches. It seems to always put out a little to each side regardless, hence the 75%. The two outputs wrap around my refugium and hit the back corners on the tank.
3. The CPR Aquafuge. My fuge hangs on the back of my tank. It's filled with macroalgae (mostly) with a little bit of sand and a rock or two, a bag of carbon and my heater. It gets its light the same way the rest of the tank does (mine is older, non-painted model). I've heard countering the pH swing is beneficial, but I don't know...I'll worry about that one some other day).
Part 3: The Pretty Face
http://lh6.google.com/damontmorris/Ry-8NAwaQPI/AAAAAAAACZs/afN4IvOg1hY/s800/IMG_6571%20%23ed.JPG
The entire reason for this project was really twofold:
* To get the powerheads out of the tank thus reducing clutter, heat and possibly BTA injuries.
* To provide alternating currents for the corals in the tank.
1. The right output and the fuge pump can be seen here.
2. The ATO float sensor.
3. Here's some stuff. Ok, the white pipe on the left is the intake for my system. I wanted the holes to be low enough to stay below water even during water changes, and I wanted them to be plentiful enough to reduce chances of the aforementioned possible BTA injuries.
The thing right above the arrow is the left side output for the CL system. I put a piece of hose inside another piece of hose and jammed that into the output to up the velocity a bit...which is why it looks a little funny.
The big tube above the CL output is the flow back from my fuge. One of the best things about that fuge is that it dumps back into the tank, rather than pumping.
4. You can see the fuge in the back is pretty well packed with chaeto.
So, so far, that's it. I need to take pictures of under my hood and make another section right here, so this isn't quite done yet.
Thanks for looking!
Really, really great stuff, at any rate.
But things happened.
Things that happened over the course of several days, between several states and at several stores with several credit cards.
Complicated things, and things I'm not so proud of.
But in the end, this is what we got:
Part I: The belly of the beast
http://lh6.google.com/damontmorris/Ry-8JAwaQNI/AAAAAAAACZc/cp7L_04X_K0/s800/IMG_6568%20%23ed.JPG
1. The new pump.
I ended up with an Iwaki WMD20RLXT. It's an inline pump which is rated for around 880 GPH at 0 head, and 540 at 4 ft. I figure I'm at roughly 2 feet, but am also using the SCWD wavemaker (will be covered in Part 2) so I'm thinking it's probably a smooth 600 (don't bother doing the math...I just picked that number because it's probably close enough).
Anyway, you can see I had to do a bit of fancy plumbing. I'll leave the reasons out, but they basically just have to do with the store being far away, the planning being not so thorough and my thick scull. The pump has 1 inch out, I had to switch that down to 3/4 and the natural bend of the hose was the reason for my non-traditional vertical mountage.
2. The semi-new Top off reservoir.
My future plans for the fish tank in general is to enclose the bottom. But, I'm a firm believer in being able to always see the water level in the top off reservoir. The 10g tank seems like it will give me a large enough quantity to make it worthwhile (5g bucket seemed to need filled several times a week).
But I digress. The bottom enclosure will have a window to view the water level.
You can see my extra powerhead from the closet with the custom stand and the float switch for the JBJ ATO inside the reservoir.
3. Is my 175w MH Ballast. It's a Hamilton Technologies Championlighting.com clearance issued ballast that I have resting up against my cold RO reservoir.
4. The command center.
Basically the command center is a board that's wire tied to my metal stand.
The white strip has the MH ballast and my hood's fan plugged into a timer in the wall.
The closest strip has the fuge pump the CL pump, the ATO, and the heater.
The JBJ ATO is mounted in between the two power strips.
Part 2:The Buttocks
http://lh4.google.com/damontmorris/Ry-8LgwaQOI/AAAAAAAACaM/zY6dR14eT7A/s800/IMG_6572%20%23ed.JPG
1. The Closed Loop Pump. You can see the output heading out the bottom of the picture to the SCWD wavemaker. The input is the line in the front going straight up the right side.
2. The SCWD Wavemaker. Basically this little betty has some kind of fan or something inside of it that goes around and alternates the output to my two...nozzles. It blasts about 75% of the power out the right side for about 6 or 7 seconds and then switches. It seems to always put out a little to each side regardless, hence the 75%. The two outputs wrap around my refugium and hit the back corners on the tank.
3. The CPR Aquafuge. My fuge hangs on the back of my tank. It's filled with macroalgae (mostly) with a little bit of sand and a rock or two, a bag of carbon and my heater. It gets its light the same way the rest of the tank does (mine is older, non-painted model). I've heard countering the pH swing is beneficial, but I don't know...I'll worry about that one some other day).
Part 3: The Pretty Face
http://lh6.google.com/damontmorris/Ry-8NAwaQPI/AAAAAAAACZs/afN4IvOg1hY/s800/IMG_6571%20%23ed.JPG
The entire reason for this project was really twofold:
* To get the powerheads out of the tank thus reducing clutter, heat and possibly BTA injuries.
* To provide alternating currents for the corals in the tank.
1. The right output and the fuge pump can be seen here.
2. The ATO float sensor.
3. Here's some stuff. Ok, the white pipe on the left is the intake for my system. I wanted the holes to be low enough to stay below water even during water changes, and I wanted them to be plentiful enough to reduce chances of the aforementioned possible BTA injuries.
The thing right above the arrow is the left side output for the CL system. I put a piece of hose inside another piece of hose and jammed that into the output to up the velocity a bit...which is why it looks a little funny.
The big tube above the CL output is the flow back from my fuge. One of the best things about that fuge is that it dumps back into the tank, rather than pumping.
4. You can see the fuge in the back is pretty well packed with chaeto.
So, so far, that's it. I need to take pictures of under my hood and make another section right here, so this isn't quite done yet.
Thanks for looking!