Gilroy 425g Build Thread (All Apex, all the time)

[Terence]

Would the @Aquaforest system be better for you then? They have the recipe available for mixing their main dosing system from the powdered components that you can buy separately, complete with instruction videos. That should make it much much easier to lower just the macro elements and keep the trace levels you need.

There seem to be plenty of large and impressive tanks running their system in Europe (based on their YouTube channel) and they seem more interested in experimenting with hybrid solutions. That can be a good thing or a bad thing, but for an "advanced user" like you it might be a better bet.


Tony

I think this is something I would try ordinarily, however we will be integrating the Triton ICP results back into the Apex Fusion interface so I would like to use a partner's product so I can ultimately have the same experience as our customers.

 

[Terence]

For a few weeks I have not been getting flow readings on my main return pump flow. I finally went and tried to diagnose the problem this last weekend. The first thing I did was swap around the ports that my sensors were using on the FMM just in case it was an issue with the module. Negative.

So then I had to do what I hate, removing the sensor. It has been installed for about 9 months now. I neglected to put in a drain tap on my return line and with the check valve it is just a mess taking off the flow sensor or check valve as 85 feet of 2" diameter of water has to spray/flow out all over the place. Of course, if I were smart, this time I would have gone down to HD and bought a 2" tee and tapped in a valve. Of course I did not. So, spray went everywhere - mitigated by throwing a towel over the fitting.

Once I got the flow sensor off, which removing that is simple, I immediately saw the issue. Something organic (likely macro algae) had entered the turbine of the sensor and bound it up. I cleaned it out, sprayed it with some vinegar, let it set, rinsed it out, blew in it to see that it spun freely again, and reinstalled.

So, all fixed - from now on I will practice what I preach and pull these sensors off every six months and clean them. Also, next time (I promised myself) I will install that drain tap!

 

[Tristren]

I think this is something I would try ordinarily, however we will be integrating the Triton ICP results back into the Apex Fusion interface so I would like to use a partner's product so I can ultimately have the same experience as our customers.

That makes sense and will certainly be helpful. Hopefully you (the company) will eventually be able to integrate Marinlab results as well at some point and then you (the person) can try out the AF options. It looks as though they have a formulation that is specifically listed as being ideal for use with Calcium Reactors...

Tony

 

[Tristren]

Also I have now read through this entire thread... There should be be a banner / badge thing for that.

One thing that occurred to me at a few points: You talk a lot about the cost of electricity, and you are in California (and have had a handful of power outages) ; aren't you a perfect use case example for adding a solar power system?

 

[Terence]

That makes sense and will certainly be helpful. Hopefully you (the company) will eventually be able to integrate Marinlab results as well at some point and then you (the person) can try out the ** options. It looks as though they have a formulation that is specifically listed as being ideal for use with Calcium Reactors...

Tony

Once the kinks are worked out, I would expect that we put out their an API for qualified outside ICP to be able to integrate their data. As far as I am concerned, I just want to find the right system and stick with it. If I can do that with Triton, awesome. I will be going by all their advice and posting here so you all can learn. Next step is another water test, water tests for my effluent on CaRx and Denitrator, and then hooking up the DDR with the solutions (I already installed and configured the DOS). stay tuned.

Also I have now read through this entire thread... There should be be a banner / badge thing for that.

One thing that occurred to me at a few points: You talk a lot about the cost of electricity, and you are in California (and have had a handful of power outages) ; aren't you a perfect use case example for adding a solar power system?

Solar is a tricky beast. While the incremental cost of power in the higher tiers is a lot of $, until just the last year, it did not exceed the annual cost decline of solar systems. Many talk about pay-per-kw and leases, but the actual cost is the actual cost. And I want to buy it outright. I see solar possibly in the cards next year.

 

[Tristren]

I'll continue to follow with interest then. My set up is similar, though smaller. With a 120g upstairs and a 25g sump and 40g refugium in the basement. It's my first system and only started a couple of months ago. At the moment I'm just using an Apex Jr to monitor temp and control the heaters (with seasonal table and small diurnal swing) but will be upgrading and expanding over the next year.

Your tank is a great inspiration.

 

[daniel0123456789]

Please keep us posted on the Triton method. I know people hate to talk about it, but just imagine how much drinkable water we as a community could save if we manage to eliminate water changes altogether. Plus if we switch to this type of method, sooner or later Aquaforest and red sea will migrate to "no water changes methods" too. I am glad to see a big system migrating and giving this a try.

 

[Terence]

Feeding like crazy lately and yet my Nitrates continue to drop and are now back to where I want them, between 0 and 5. All params are looking good. Triton dosing starts this weekend. I have two scratch-and-dent DDR that I have reconditioned and will be used for the 4-part system. Still running my CaRx and my AquaMaxx Denitrator on the DOS. Going to have to make a change on the CaRx soon, the one pipe is seeping pretty bad and I am sick of adding chewing gum and bandaids to keep this point of sale Deltec going.

 

[Terence]

So there was one thing NS that I have yet to put on this tank. In Utah on my 210, I had made some homemade moonlights. It was really cool to see the tank at night under that shimmer of simulated moon. I also had a lot of success with various animals spawning in that tank (may or may not have been attributed to the light). On this tank, my LEDs just cant go dim enough to give a light cast of light. So yesterday, on a whim, I decided to put our LSM - Lunar Simulation Module with four LED lights on this tank.

The LSM is super simple to install. Actually once you mount the module and the LED, and plug it all in, there really is nothing else for you to do. Now this is a bit embarrassing, but I had no idea it was this easy. I actually opened up the PDF to see what I needed to do to configure it in Apex Fusion. Once it is plugged in, the Apex creates a special outlet that is already pre-programmed to make the LED come on and dim in sync with the current lunar cycle. All I had to do was unlock the tiles tray and drag the outlet to the dashboard. It immediately showed it was at 14%. Now this is one area that needs to be understood. The moon is not only out during the night. I know, hard to believe huh? So even though it was still daytime (around 5PM), these LED were already on at 14%. This also means that there will be nights where you might not see the LED on - don't freak out!

Once my lights went off for the night I was in for a treat I had forgotten about for some time - this amazing beautiful light-blue shimmer on my tank. I oriented the LED so they were mostly centered (one on either side of the brace and one on the back edge of the eurobrace on either side - affixed with 3M two-sided foam tape). to give it a nice effect.

To some this option may seem like a complete novelty - for me, it adds a completely new and cool dimension to my tank.

 

[Terence]

OK, so this morning I finished setting up the DOS, DDR, and loaded up the Triton CORE 4-part.

I will be dosing 20ml of each at 5ml across four dosing timeframes during the day. Each pump is staggered from the other by 5 minutes so there is no issue of two pumps pushing fluid out the tubes at the same time and them interacting.

A few tips for those out there using the DOS/DDR.

1. When connecting the tubing, sometimes it is easier to remove the peristaltic tube cartridge from the DOS, make your connections, and then snap it back in place.
2. You can use colored RO tubing from BRS, if it is colder than 75 degrees you may need to warm it up with warm water or a blow drier to get it up over the nipple of the fitting on the DOS.
3. You usually only need to use the color coded tubing from the DDR to the DOS in order to keep things straight. Normally all the output tubes are going to the tank so it really doesnt matter which is which. That said, in the MPR I used to hold them, I put them in order from left to right.
4. You can test your DDR optical sensors (mine was a scratch and dent refurb so this was important) by filling the DDR with RO over the sensors and then checking your dashboard.
5. You can make sure your connections from the DOS to the DDR are good by observing the downtube in the DDR. If after an hour or so you see bubbles in there, you might have an air leak in one of the fittings. The likely culprits are at the DOS, the tube not pushed in all the way in the DDR, or even the glue for where the downtube where it is glued into the white fitting might have broken the seal and needs some superglue. It happens.
6. If you turn the pumps "ON" on your dashboard, realize that they will only run for about five minutes and then turn off as a safety mechanism. If you want to turn them on again, simply cycle from ON to OFF and then back.

Now I will watch my Alkalinity closely and see if/when I need to scale back my CaRx.

 

[Terence]

 

[jml1149]

Given you're running the sulfur denitrator and the Kessil powered fuge at the same time, is there any way to differentiate the performance of the two?

 

[Terence]

Given you're running the sulfur denitrator and the Kessil powered fuge at the same time, is there any way to differentiate the performance of the two?

Not really. They compliment. In the winter, the temps down in the FishCave are low and the denigrators struggles a bit. The macro algae helps out more when that happens I assume.

I will say that the macro has really exploded since I changed to those Kessil A380. These seem to be the ticket when it comes to fife lighting.

Tested nitrates on Friday morning. Between 0-5. Perfect.

 

[RobertP]

I would be very curious to see an updated pic of your tank/sump. I didn't see any baffles in the original pics to keep the algae out of your return pump. Has that ever been an issue?
I know when I installed my H380 light the chaeto exploded and got really thick in the fuge.
Looks great!

 

[Terence]

No baffles. I need to put a cage on my Abyzz for sure. The macro is getting super dense. I have three kinds and about 150 pounds of live rock in the sump.

Been feeding pretty heavy lately and the nitrates are still doing fine.

I will have a new FTS soon. Earlier this month two big livestock changes in the tank - I got a big order from an online supplier - mostly LPS - and also, I went to Utah for business and on the trip picked up my long-lost Martian-Alien-Eye chalice coral that my friend Nick was holding for me. I had this coral since 2009 (won a 1" frag at a club meeting). It was featured in an online article from Tony Vargas in 2011.

Here is a pic of one of the Acans as well as a pic with the chalice in my tank - not a good pic - blues all blown out - but it helps give a perspective on the size of this 12"x15" beast.

 

[revhtree]

OK, so this morning I finished setting up the DOS, DDR, and loaded up the Triton CORE 4-part.

I will be dosing 20ml of each at 5ml across four dosing timeframes during the day. Each pump is staggered from the other by 5 minutes so there is no issue of two pumps pushing fluid out the tubes at the same time and them interacting.

A few tips for those out there using the DOS/DDR.

1. When connecting the tubing, sometimes it is easier to remove the peristaltic tube cartridge from the DOS, make your connections, and then snap it back in place.
2. You can use colored RO tubing from BRS, if it is colder than 75 degrees you may need to warm it up with warm water or a blow drier to get it up over the nipple of the fitting on the DOS.
3. You usually only need to use the color coded tubing from the DDR to the DOS in order to keep things straight. Normally all the output tubes are going to the tank so it really doesnt matter which is which. That said, in the MPR I used to hold them, I put them in order from left to right.
4. You can test your DDR optical sensors (mine was a scratch and dent refurb so this was important) by filling the DDR with RO over the sensors and then checking your dashboard.
5. You can make sure your connections from the DOS to the DDR are good by observing the downtube in the DDR. If after an hour or so you see bubbles in there, you might have an air leak in one of the fittings. The likely culprits are at the DOS, the tube not pushed in all the way in the DDR, or even the glue for where the downtube where it is glued into the white fitting might have broken the seal and needs some superglue. It happens.
6. If you turn the pumps "ON" on your dashboard, realize that they will only run for about five minutes and then turn off as a safety mechanism. If you want to turn them on again, simply cycle from ON to OFF and then back.

Now I will watch my Alkalinity closely and see if/when I need to scale back my CaRx.

Awesome tips!

I am just waiting on my Triton test results now and will begin the Triton method. Got 2 sets of DOS/DDR to do the dosing. Thank you Neptune!

Keep the info coming and the awesome build progressing!

 

[revhtree]

I still have yet to set my DOS containers to keep up with the amount of liquid in them.

 

[Terence]

People love coral pics so here are a couple more recently acquired pieces (just iPhone6 snaps so sorry for the quality):

Oh, and the last one is actually my interstellar bounce mushroom patch - had that for some time now.

 

[Terence]

Not that it makes a big difference, but my system is so stable on the pH that I can see when I started the Triton system @ 20ml/day a few days ago, my average daily pH dropped from 8.04 to 7.98. Again, not that big of a deal, but you can see the dividing line of when I started by looking at the dosing line where I primed the DOS and pumped all the RODI out of the DDR that I had put in there to test it. Subsequent to that line I began the 20ml/day.

 

[Newb73]

In Paul Hogan's (Crocodile Dundees voice).
"That's not stable"

(The drop to 7.21 was when I had my probe out of the tank recalibratng it and moved it from sump to display)