@atomic081 Thank you they're fun to create and I hope they help others see my vision. I plan to share some how I use that information from the topography in the future.
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That wire coding system is genius and so simple... I’ll be pinching that idea, thanks
MOUNTING BACKBOARD FOR CONTROLLERS AND BATTERIES
It took us 8 to 12 weeks to obtain the desired look of this backboard with two redo after not liking what we saw. Here are the steps we took.
Step 1: BACKBOARD: Bought a half inch sheet of plywood, cut it to 7’x2.5’ and anchored it to the studs on the wall behind the 400G tank. Now we have a blank canvas and the world was our oyster.
Step 2: MOUNT BATTERIES: Installed the backup batteries to the backboard in a location above the controllers and low enough to be seen. We have always embraced the redundancy approach for peace of mind, knowing we are minimizing the possibilities of ‘Murphian disappointments’. Three of the batteries are connected to the external lifelines of the system 24/7. The other two are connected when we are leaving town for extended periods. One to an internal MP40 pump in the 400G and the same for the 265G on the other floor.
TIP: Tape the inputs of the batteries not in use to prevent corrosion
on the connectors. After a few years, this the corsion lead
to the death of a new unused battery.
Step 3: HOOKS FOR TRANSFORMERS. The original plan was to have the D.C. transformers for all the pumps, lights, and equipment together and beautifully displayed. That desire went out the door as the length of cords and proximity to equipment became a limitation. The desire to not have the spaghetti cords in the pictures made it painfully obvious we needed a solution for the wires. We ended up using brass hooks below each controller. Wrap each wire around its transformer, zip tie it for neatness and then hung it on the hook directly below its controller and out of view with the camera.
Step 4: COLOR CODE WIRES: With multiple pumps, lights, and controllers, all on route to this backboard, the task of managing the spaghetti of wires became rather challenging. When it took almost forever to rejoin a disconnected wire to its rightful place, it dawned on us we needed to devise a system where each wire could easily be identified by its type, which of the many like it and its destination. The blessings of this system came home when it was time to connect them all to the energy bars on the control center in the Utility Room. More on this subject at a later date.
Step 5: ACCESS HOLE: Access holes through the wall were needed for wires going from the tank room to the utility room. The entrance hole from one room and the exit hole in the other room were required to be inconspicuous or at least minimal viewing in the pictures. We had wires up high for the lights, wires in the middle for the internal pumps, wires at the bottom for the external pumps, and wires for equipment here, wires there, and what seems to have been wires everywhere. We settled with three 3” diameter furniture hole covers. One up top by the ceiling, the second in the middle for the internal pumps, and the third near the floor for the external pumps. We needed the holes to be big enough for the wires and also with enough room for each plug to go through.
Step 6: MOUNT DRIVERS: Finally, we mounted the drivers to the backboard. The mounting brackets for the internal and external pump drivers were all the same. We looked at the space allocated, divided it by the number of drivers to install, added the minimum space desired, verify we were comfortable with the look and then went to town mounting them. The height on the board chosen was to see all the controllers when standing before the tank while minimize seeing the cords that lead to them.
SYSTEM 1000Gallons(3785L) | SALT WATER | RODI Water |
CAPACITY | 100 Gallons(378L) | 100 Gallons(378L) |
SUMMER USAGE - %Volume Exchanged/Month - Tank Refill Frequency | 3Gal(11L)/Day. 9%/Month 1Month to Refill | 5Gal(19L)/Day. 16%/Month 0.7Month to Refill |
WINTER USAGE - %Volume Exchanged/Month - Tank Refill Frequency | 2Gal(8L)/Day. 6%/Month 1.5Month to Refill | 3Gal(11L)/Day. 9%/Month 1Month to Refill |
Genesis RENEW | Exchange system water for new salt water. | N/A |
Genesis STORM | N/A | Replace evaporated water with RODI. (Auto Top Off) |
ROOMS | WATER FLOWING |
Upstairs Room#3 | 265G NoFans |
Downstairs Room#1 | 400G + 1HumFan |
Downstairs Room#2 Sump& Refugium | 300G + 1HumFan. + 2CoolingFans |
Outside | DRY ...... Summers HUMID .. Winter/rain |
265G ROOM#3 | 400G ROOM#1 | FRAG& FUGE ROOM#2 | TOTAL | |
9am-2pm | 6 Lights | 6Lights | ||
2p-9pm | 6 Lights | 10 Lights | 16Lights | |
9pm-12 | 10 Lights | 10Lights | ||
12-9am | 4 Lights. 3 Kessill/Fuge | 4 Lights 3 Kessill |
@GBRsouth The Nyos skimmer takes out the most particulates and is also the least sensitive to overflows. The Reef Octopus skimmer is the second best and rarely overflows. The Vertex skimmer draws out the least, the most sensitive to overflows, and is adjusted towards wet skimming. All three skimmer cups lead to a sealed 5 gallon container which limits the drainage to 5 gallons before the float switches are activated.
TIP: It's possible we haven't tuned the vertex skimmer correctly resulting in its lower performance.
Its advised not to lead the skimmer cup drain hose directly to an open sink/container, because if the skimmer is compromised it could drain your system.
@MatnNatsReef @C. Eymann Thanks for joining us.