Melev's new 280g Starfire tank thread - Page 18

Goodwin9 · #**426** 12/11/2007, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jnarowe
I have a blue LED behind mine...looks like a Lava Lamp!

Red looks better.........

Tbduval · #**427** 12/11/2007, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by melev
If Randy were posting in this thread, he would tell you that all three are fine.

Alk range - 8 to 11 dKH - so you are fine.
Cal range - 375 to 425 - so you are fine.
Mag - 3x calcium level - so you are fine.

Now if you want to bring up Magnesium, that's fine. But Alk & Ca are decent.

Good to know. It just seems that my coraline algae has slowed and I thought it maybe due to calc. Thanks again for the info.

Alaska_Phil · #**428** 12/13/2007, 10:36 PM

Just wanted to say thanks to Marc and everyone else on this thread for their help and patients in dealing with my hair algae problem. My rocks are finally starting to go bald!

And my RO/DI is up an running, though slowly since my tap water is about 40 degrees. This weekend's project is installing a shower valve to mix the water to 70 degrees.

Thanks again!

Phil

jnarowe · #**429** 12/13/2007, 10:42 PM

Hey Phil, FWIU you are not supposed to heat the water that way. At least that's what the "pros" tell me. I put 200' of 1/4" supply line in my holding tank and that helps some. My well water is about 45F during the Winter. I really am not sure what the difference would be, but contact a pro like Scott @ SpectraPure and see what he says about heating the water.

Kentanner11 · #**430** 12/13/2007, 10:52 PM

Its the same reason why they say not to use the hot water out of your tap to fill up ice cube trays and to make tea (or what ever) is because some copper sediment comes with the hot water (only hot because it has a reaction to the pipe) So I would guess it would shorten the life of your filters.

Alaska_Phil · #**431** 12/13/2007, 11:03 PM

I'm currently running 25' of hose through a bucket with two 150W heaters in it. The water in the bucket drops to 58 degrees when I start the flow through the RO.

Phil

melev · #**432** 12/13/2007, 11:27 PM

I was going to PM you about this, but since it might help others....

Phil, I did a little research for you on this one. There is no membrane designed for cold water like yours, but this might be a workable solution. You can get one of those inline heaters like they have for aquarium use. Water flows through the water jacket around a submersible heater on the way to the RO unit.

The other option is to combine some hot and cold water, but I really don't like it.

And the last option is a booster pump to raise the PSI of the water to something around 90 to 100 PSI. I think the inline heater would be your best bet, because it doesn't use much space and you only heat what passes through it. The hardest part is managing GPH flow through the heater. With a 100gpd membrane, you'd be moving 21gph to the RO/DI system. Here's one that might work:

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewIt...103~tab~0.html

The site doesn't mention how many GPH should flow through it, but the heater is designed for 1/2" tubing (hose barbs, it appears) so it seems to be something you could work with.

At the very least, this gives you something to investigate further.

If you can just get the water up to 50F, you'll double your current production rates according to my research.

Alaska_Phil · #**433** 12/13/2007, 11:40 PM

I've looked at the in-line filter option, but still looking around for something I can do locally. I don't care much for mixing my hot domestic water in either. What happens when I flush the toilet? Will the RO get a spike of very hot water?

I've found some small, 4 gal water heaters, but I can't seem to find out how low the temp can be set without buying one.

One Option I've found is to use a water heater element in my bucket, I can get a 1000W element for $10, then just need to find a heavy duty thermostat to control it. I'm sure if I could get the bucket up to 80 degrees I'd be in the ball park.

Will keep you posted. Would you prefer I post it here or just PM you? As an engineer, there's nothing I love more than a good technical problem.

Phil

melev · #**434** 12/13/2007, 11:44 PM

I don't mind reading your solution here in my thread, and I'm sure others would agree.

One thing that you might have to do is plug your heater into a timer to make sure it is off when you don't need it. Same with the in-line one, although the water would just sit there and keep the element wet. I just wouldn't want it plugged in while the RO unit is off for a few days.

Kentanner11 · #**435** 12/13/2007, 11:44 PM

hey Marc do you have a place where you have all of your Full tank shots, that you post on this thread? I tried looking at your site, but didn't really look much. I could just go through your thread, but thought I'd ask first!

melev · #**436** 12/13/2007, 11:46 PM

No, I don't have such a page. However, a couple of months ago, I did post quite a few in a row in a post. (Good luck finding that!) It is time for a new FTS, and my last one was from Oct 31. I'll see about taking one in the next few days.

EDIT: I found this one. 900k so I'll make it a clickable link:
http://melevsreef.com/pics/07/08/8_months_3.gif

jnarowe · #**437** 12/14/2007, 12:21 AM

That makes sense Tanner regarding the copper. I also use a booster pump. Have to since without it, it took 28 days to fill my tank! I remember Marc teasing me about making it a 14 day project...

Alaska_Phil · #**438** 12/14/2007, 12:32 AM

LOL, well with the bucket and heaters I'm up to almost 2 gph. Takes 3-1/2 hours to fill one of my 6 gal jugs. Now if that TDS meter ever gets here I'll see if I'm doing any good.

Phil

jnarowe · #**439** 12/14/2007, 12:53 AM

Believe it or not, 2 gph is not bad with your water temps.

Alaska_Phil · #**440** 12/14/2007, 01:28 AM

Yeah, I can live with it if it's going to be too much of a pain to get better. Me and mechanical systems is kind of like Marc with his tank. Anything less than perfect has to be fixed.

Phil

Micki · #**441** 12/14/2007, 06:23 AM

I have a booster pump as well. It made a HUGE difference!!!

Alaska_Phil · #**442** 12/14/2007, 07:23 PM

Jonathan, with 200ft of 1/4" hose it's no wonder you need a booster pump! I took a look at your set-up on your home page, what do you use to heat the water with?

I'm planning to stop and pick up a pair of 250, or 300 watt heaters tonight, mount them in the bottom of a small cooler and coil my hose in that.

Phil

jnarowe · #**443** 12/14/2007, 07:36 PM

I had a 500W heater in it but I have blown through about 4 of those so now just room temp. I needed a booster pump anyway. I even have a 4 foot section of 1" PVC inline between the supply line and the pump to keep it from hammering.

Seriously, 28+ days to fill the tank and half that was with a booster pump. And I think your idea will work well. Using the cooler will make it even more efficient, but you ahve to make sure that the coil isn't all together or it will be a block of cold water rather than a stream. I hope you understand what I mean.

poppin_fresh · #**444** 12/14/2007, 08:13 PM

Marc (or any one else) you've painted near your tank. How long did your skimmer froth over for? I recently put the new canopy I made on my 180 and since then, my skimmer has been foamier than the keg at a frat party!

Alaska_Phil · #**445** 12/14/2007, 08:16 PM

I should have mentioned, that I compounded my problems by installing it in my utility space, which is insulated, but not directly heated. It stays about 55 to 60 in there during the winter. That's why I decided to try using the cooler. Plus, those bigger heaters are awfully long, so the rectangular shape lets me mount them horizontally and use less volume.

28 days to fill, well, that's what you get for having such a huge tank. :LOL: Sound like you need to run parallel units, though I just had a project where I spec'ed a 60 gpm DI unit. (yes, thats gallons per minute!)

Phil

jnarowe · #**446** 12/14/2007, 08:49 PM

I have parallel units.

Alaska_Phil · #**447** 12/14/2007, 08:58 PM

Here you go Jonathan, up to 4gpm CDI units.
http://www.water.siemens.com/en/Prod...mpact_cdi.aspx

Phil

melev · #**448** 12/14/2007, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by poppin_fresh
Marc (or any one else) you've painted near your tank. How long did your skimmer froth over for? I recently put the new canopy I made on my 180 and since then, my skimmer has been foamier than the keg at a frat party!

Whenever I had to paint something like that, I let it air out for a day or two before installing it on my tank. Fumes can cause some chaos.

You could run some fresh carbon to help absorb some of the stuff your water is taking up.

Or pour the skimmate back into the system, and let it skim it out again.

Or let the skimmer pull out all it wants to, replacing it with more mixed saltwater.

melev · #**449** 12/14/2007, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Alaska_Phil
I should have mentioned, that I compounded my problems by installing it in my utility space, which is insulated, but not directly heated. It stays about 55 to 60 in there during the winter. That's why I decided to try using the cooler. Plus, those bigger heaters are awfully long, so the rectangular shape lets me mount them horizontally and use less volume.

You might also need a tiny powerhead in there to keep the water moving around the coils & to make sure the water is heated equally.

jnarowe · #**450** 12/14/2007, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Alaska_Phil
Here you go Jonathan, up to 4gpm CDI units.
http://www.water.siemens.com/en/Prod...mpact_cdi.aspx

Phil

Cool stuff. Yeah, there's a guy who builds some pretty impressive systems that uses something a lot like that, but I can't mention his name or this thread will be closed.