Austin goes Rimless - Dudester's 203g mixed reef

[Dudester]

Ah, thanks for the primer on electrical wiring. I'm pretty comfortable with most aspects of reef tank setup and upkeep, but when it comes to electricity I'm out of my leage and I immediately defer to others who know. My electrician is a stand-up dude. He's done a lot of stuff for the misses and me at home, so I'm sure he hooked me up proper. That being said, I'm sure he won't mind if I call him tomorrow to ensure that all will be well with my wire thickness.

[Chrisrush]

Mike,
What controller did you go with again?

[Dudester]

I got the Aquatronica controller. After studying, literally studying The Big Controller Comparison Chart I felt that the Aquatronica best suited my needs at a price I felt was reasonable. There are a handful of controllers that will do more, but they are appreciably more expensive than the Aquatronica. This controller does not use X10 modules, and the software looked easy to use. It is infinitely expandable and monitors/controls all parameters I am interested in, and then some. It has leak sensors, level sensors, dosing pumps and the entire spectrum of monitoring probes. It can send me email alerts and allow me to turn devices on/off remotely. Software will be available shortly that even lets one monitor how much electricity they are using. The only thing it doesn't do today (but it will eventually) is send SMS alerts. I'm looking out anxiously for this addition, as I find SMS more useful than email.

[20 20]

I certainly hope that 12/2 is sufficient for 20 amp circuits, because that's what I was told and used. No fires in the last year, but ya got me wondering.

[melev]

Originally posted by 20 20
I certainly hope that 12/2 is sufficient for 20 amp circuits, because that's what I was told and used. No fires in the last year, but ya got me wondering.

I would go up to your local Home Depot or Lowes and ask for someone working in the electrical department what they recommend.

This link isn't as detailed as I'd like, but seems to indicate that you can use a 20 amp breaker on those wires.
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Electrica...-wiring-20.htm

[mcrist]

14/2 = 15 amp
12/2 = 20 amp
10/2 = 30 amp

[20 20]

It was Home Depot that told me 12/2 was OK for 20 amps, but ya gotta be careful, you never know who the heck they hire. Thanks for the 'reassurance'.

[Chrisrush]

Thanks Mike. I went with a Profilux for the same reason that you did plus the expandability of the controller. I don't need orp, conductivity or salinity yet, but maybe in the future, and with this controller, I can add them down the road if I need too.

[erics3000]

dude everything is looking sweet.....

[Dudester]

Thanks Chris and Eric, it's moving along slowly but surely.

Uuugh!. Last night I went to put the new drum into my OM 4-way. After installing the drum I had a hard time making the black cap sit onto the body of the 4-way, but I was able to, well, let's say I 'inticed' it down. When I opened the valves of the returns there was a small leak from between the 4-way body and black cap, so I decided to fix this by tightening the screws a little more. Note to self, don't try to fix a 4-way without first talking to Paul. When I tightened the screw, I stripped the thread, resulting in a much larger leak. I therefore had to leave the Barracuda pump off. For supplemental flow I threw in a Tunze nanostream 6055 I had laying around. I spoke with Paul today, and he said stripping the thread on 1 screw is no problem. I'll need to take it apart and make sure the o-ring is well lubed and intact, as this was probably the problem in the first place. I don't think I'll have time to trouble shoot this tonight, since I'm taking my daughter out for trick-or-treat, so this will have to wait until the weekend. Honestly, the 4-way has been this system's biggest problem thus far, but I know it will be worth it once I get it dialed in.

After that I needed a little pick-me-up, so I unpacked the Aquatronica controller and set up a few basic functions. It's not as simple to set up as my former controller (ReefKeeper) but it's in a totally different league. I really think I'm gonna like it.

[Bax]

It's always something!

[reef / aholic]

What have I missed? Been away on business, I saw you have some residents.

[Dudester]

Bax - Ain't that the truth!!

RoBolton - Where've you been? Business is a lame excuse. I don't know how long you've been gone, but yes I added some corals, my percula clownfish pair and a CBB. All are doing quite well and I'm getting ready to increase my livestock.

As predicted, I didn't have time to resolve my 4-way issues last night, way too much fun with the Halloween festivities. I'll get'er done this weekend.

[Chrisrush]

Mike,
Where did you find your metric parts for your pumps? I bought a used Euroreef RS80 and the output pipe is metric. I'm trying to find a gate valve that will work, but so far, all I've found has been in inches. I need a gate valve b/w 1" and 1 1/4".

Chris

[Dudester]

I found a local store where they can get almost any metric plumbing fitting via catalog. If it's not in the catalog they can special order what I need. Just do a Google search for "metric plumbing Dallas Texas" (in your case) and you should come up with a decent starting point. Interestingly, when I did that search just now using Austin, my thread was the 3rd hit. Hopefully people around here won't start calling me for 20mm fittings.

[jnarowe]

Stock up and take their calls!

[Dudester]

you're a savvy businessman, Jonathan

[jnarowe]

Every problem is just an opportunity to succeed.

[Chrisrush]

No luck so far. I don't know if they have a metric to US conversion fitting.

[Dudester]

My place does. Keep trying, and if you can't find a place in Dallas then I can refer you to the one I'm using here in Austin.

[Dudester]

My place does. Keep trying, and if you can't find a place in Dallas then I can refer you to the one I'm using here in Austin.

[Chrisrush]

Thanks. I'll see what else is around. I went to a hardware (mom-pop) place that has a bunch of plumbing stuff, but they didn't have any metric stuff either.

[martinphillip03]

Why was a CBB one of the first fish you added.

Marty

[Dudester]

Marty,
I chose the CBB for several reasons. For one, it's a pretty docile fish, and more aggressive fish should be added later. Second, it's known to eat aiptasia, so I figured it would control the development of this nuissance in my tank before it became a problem. But the main reason I got it now is because John (the Fish Whisperer) said this particular CBB was a great one. Not only did it have a great personality, but it ate aiptasia and mysis in his tank. For me that was a slam dunk. It's been in my tank for more than 3 weeks now and it's doing great!


Today was fairly productive. I fixed the 4-way and installed the new drum which will tolerate a little sand. Now I can remove the Tunze 6055. Paul instructed me on what to do to repair the 4-way. He is very smart, extremely patient, and overwhelmingly helpful. No problem seems too great for him to assist with on the phone. I'll be an Oceans Motions customer forever. He figured out that I had probably pinched the o-ring in the lid of the 4-way. He had me remove it, lubricate it with vaseline, then reinstall it ensuring there was no entrapment, and that fixed the problem right away.

I hooked up my Osmolator for ATO. This was delayed so long because I was waiting for a replacement peristaltic pump. I can't believe I've been dumping water from a bucket into the tank every day for nearly 2 months.

I also set up several more functions on the Aquatronica controller, including the lights, light fan, chiller and heater. The more I play with it the simpler it gets. I'm already almost out of room on powerstrip, but the second powerstrip should be on the way.

Next on my list of things to do is to add filter socks to the overflow drains, which should solve my microbubble issue, and install the calcium reactor. After that -- SPS here I come!

[melev]

Awesome news. Sounds like you are just getting closer and closer to turning that tank into a reef at last!