250 Gallon room-divider project log - Page 4

jeffbrig · #76 01/04/2006, 03:12 PM

Everything I've read suggests a problem with motorized actuator in these Intermatic units. I believe a relay would be much better, since instead of a motor it's a coil-switch. They're better sealed against the elements, and they generally have a rated lifetime of several million cycles.

Only one way to find out, right?

reeferkid · #77 01/04/2006, 03:17 PM

hey nice tank so far dude i cant wait to see it once you get some more corals in that thing

jeffbrig · #78 01/04/2006, 07:30 PM

Okay, I just saw the funniest thing in the clown tank.

The RBTA decided to move around in search of the best spot. Right now he's inside the PVC fitting that the clowns call home.

In the last few minutes, I've seen the clowns swim in and out of the other openings of the tee fitting, but they're not "in" the anemone just yet. (fingers crossed)

Travis Savant · #79 01/04/2006, 09:21 PM

Haha, cool. That's a realy nice RBTA you have there

jeffbrig · #80 01/05/2006, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Travis Savant
That's a realy nice RBTA you have there

I know, that's why I drove 4 hours to buy it from ah64av8tor.

His anemones have fantistic color! (j/k, I was already going to Tampa last weekend, so I just scheduled the pickup as part of the trip)

The anemone decided to wreak a little havoc tonight. We found it perched on top of the frag plug that the zoos were mounted on. The zoos were completely underneath its foot, being smothered. With some (gloved) poking and prodding, I got the anemone to move back to its original rock. The zoos were completely closed up.

Apparently, the loose anthelia frag got bulldozed this evening too. I found it laying flat and the polyps completely deflated. I went ahead and mounted it to a small piece of rock so it wouldn't blow around, and moved all of the frags to the main tank.

Most of the zoo polyps have since re-opened, so I think they'll be fine. The anthelia still looks unhappy.

Ah64av8tor · #81 01/08/2006, 09:32 PM

Jeff,

I'm glad everything made it home safely, it all looks great!

If the anthelia doesnt make it Ill mail you some more.

Greg

jeffbrig · #82 01/08/2006, 10:20 PM

Greg, everything is doing great, including the anthelia. We moved the frags over to the main tank following that episode, and everything recovered quickly.

After another day or two, I decided to move the anemone over as well - just not enough light in the QT to keep it happy. It was crawling up the walls in search of more light. In the main tank, the anemone is quite big (6"+) when it opens fully, and the color is very intense under my T5/MH setup.

I'll have to take some more pictures, but I've been busy with some other tank work....should be wrapped up this week!

Jeff

jeffbrig · #83 01/10/2006, 01:12 AM

I'm having a bit of a frustrating week. My last light timer finally bit the dust (amazing that all 3 went out within one month of each other), so I'm temporarily turning them on and off manually.

Tonight my sequence pump was acting up, making loud squealing sounds from (I think) the seal/shaft area. After a couple hours of intermittent squealing, it changed to a constant, rough grating sound. Bad enough that I got out of bed to check on it. Then, just a few minutes ago, the sound goes away, and the pump is running just as solid as ever. I don't get it....

On a happier note, my chiller plumbing (and a power cord) now goes from the stand to the patio, which is quite a milestone.

We fed the anemone tonight, and it devoured a piece of shrimp in a matter of minutes. I was surprised at just how quickly it recognized the food and engulfed it.

I placed a small order with aquatic eco this morning. Picked up some oddball PVC fittings, pipe insulation, coral propagation cutters/shears, etc. I love ordering from aquatic eco because my "ground" order always arrives the next day.

Last thing - while I had the shrimp out, I baited and set my trademarked cirolanid trap. Left it in the tank for a few hours and it was still completely empty. That's a good sign, hopefully they've all been caught or died.

Theace50 · #84 01/10/2006, 01:31 AM

this is a nice set up any more pics of the full system

NexDog · #85 01/10/2006, 02:29 AM

Tell me more about this "trademarked cirolanid trap".

jeffbrig · #86 01/10/2006, 07:49 AM

It's my crab trap that's worked so well catching cirolanids. Novelty shot-glass baited with a piece of shrimp and leaned up against a rock.

Here an old pic I posted previously:

And the original catch the first time I used it:

NexDog · #87 01/10/2006, 07:57 AM

Neat. Think I'll use one when I next put in a load of rock.

jeffbrig · #88 01/10/2006, 07:57 AM

The pump started making loud noises again around 2:30 am, so I ended up shutting it down for the night. I'll call MDM/Sequence today and see what they say about it.

jeffbrig · #89 01/10/2006, 12:42 PM

Sequence is sending me a loaner pump so I can send mine in for repair. They though it sounded like the front bearing in the motor.

to sequence, very easy to work with.

jeffbrig · #90 01/10/2006, 12:42 PM

Oops, double.....

mille239 · #91 01/10/2006, 02:30 PM

very good customer service by sequence! been thinking of getting one.. this bit of info just tipped the scale.

when you get the chance, can u get a shot of the chiller plumbing? (I know it's in half in the wall, but possibly where it enters your system, and enters/exits the house? thx in advance.. everything looks good!

jeffbrig · #92 01/11/2006, 10:50 AM

I haven't closed up the wall yet, so everything is VERY visible. I will get some pics to share soon, don't worry.

jeffbrig · #93 01/12/2006, 01:49 PM

More frustrations this morning.....it's been a rough week for equipment.

The roaring sequence pump has been running half duty - on during the day, off at night. After turning it back on this morning< i checked the stand just before leaving for work. I found ~1/4" of water in the bottom of the stand (thankfully it's fully lined to catch spills). It seems the shaft seal on the pump is now failing as well.

So, I shut down the pump and closed off the valves in the return plumbing to prevent further leaks. I'm really glad I sprung for those pricey dual union ball valves. Now I can easily remove the pump without draining my entire sump.

I can only hope that the replacement pump arrives before the long weekend. If not, I may need to rig up a mag5 to get a little water movement so I can operate the skimmer.

Which brings me to my 2nd issue of the day. After dumping my skimmer cup this morning, I turned everything back on, and noticed that one of the recirculating pumps wasn't blowing bubbles. I checked the airline for blockages and it was clear, the pump just isn't spinning. I guess I'll have to take it apart this evening and see if I can tell what's going on. This is a little frustrating since these are replacement pumps that are less than a month old.

What a day.....

dougchambers · #94 01/12/2006, 01:56 PM

It's always something! Some days the 3 gallon Beta tank in the kids rooms look better and better...

Bebo77 · #95 01/12/2006, 02:03 PM

lol just be glad its almost friday jeff....

ufchristyb · #96 01/12/2006, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jeffbrig
What a day.....

Look at it this way love, the rest of the chiller plumbing and the spray bar set up shouldn't be too difficult now that you don't have to worry about any of the other pesky plumbing in the cabinet, since nothing's really working at the moment

dougchambers · #97 01/13/2006, 12:19 AM

That's funny... I don't care who you are...

Then again, a little harsh, but funny none the less!

Have a better day Jeff. And by the way Christy, my wife loves your signature, but it reminded her that she needs more shoes... Thanks a lot!

-Doug

jeffbrig · #98 01/13/2006, 12:47 AM

Yeah, I laughed too when I read her post.

Lately she's been busting my chops asking when we can finally move the fish into that "rock garden in the living room".

jeffbrig · #99 01/13/2006, 10:32 AM

The hard stuff is complete, just a few hose connections to make up tonight....

The plumbing is 1" ID / 1.25" OD vinyl tubing. To power the chiller, I cut down a 14ga. power cord and wired it straight to the chiller, replacing the short 16 ga. cord that it came with. This allows me to keep the temp controller in the stand yet power the remote chiller.

The plumbing and power cord goes throug the hole in the sheetrock and comes out at ground level - to be covered by the baseboard (to be glued in place, not nailed

).

Down the length of the wall to the patio,

Out through a couple of holes drilled in the exterior wall,

And outside

Inside the stand, I will T off the return pump with a gate valve to feed the chiller. Outside, I'll have a pair of ball valves to allow me to remove the chiller as needed for maintenance. The outside stuff will be wrapped up tonight. The inside stuff may wait until my return pump is fixed.

jeffbrig · #**100** 01/13/2006, 10:44 AM

Enough equipment, let's look at the good stuff. I apologize if some of the pics are a little fuzzy, I didn't wipe the sides down before snapping these.

I finally took some pictures of the RBTA in the main tank. He's found a spot that he's happy with, and he's in a great viewing location from the kitchen table.

Doesn't this look like a great home for some clowns? (hint, hint) I hope they take to it quickly.

These are the neon GSPs that I recently bought.

The big monti cap, this one is probably 5" across. It just keeps getting darker and darker. I really need to get this one mounted....

Here's a small piece from the same parent colony. This one has fully encrusted its mount and is really coloring up well. I can't decide if I should glue this one to my rock or trade it for something else.

After two months, the pink growth tips are starting to show again on this monitpora digitata

Not sure what this is, some sort of water filled algae? It seems to be growing more fingers each day.