Randy's Tank and Learn Thread

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Exhaust Octopus

One of the important aspects of fish room design is ensuring humidity does not get high enough to cause mold. Of course, one can do that with dehumidifiers, but that can take a large amount of electricity.

The option I use also ensures fresh air is circulating through the room and the skimmer.

The two pictures below show an exhaust fan (6” in line, but in retrospect, 4” might have been better. It is inexpensive from Amazon and uses DC flow control. It exhausts out a typical dryer vent ((using a 6” to 4” adapter),

In the open end, I inserted some packing foam cut to fit, with 4 holes through it for 1” ID pond tubing. Any tubing will work. Duct tape holds the foam in place.

The other end of each piece of tubing enters a matching hole in each of the 4 Brute can tops.

Thus, all water is enclosed and yet stays fresh and also prevents condensation on refugium bulbs, etc.

The flow need not be high at all. Just enough to keep the air in each can high in O2 and low in CO2 (especially the skimmer can (more on skimming later). Note that I left the inverted cardboard box off the skimmer can top to see it. It is back in place now.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Delta Cargo Total Fail

Looks like I spoke too soon. Both TBS and I talked to them today and were assured it would be on the afternoon flight.

Now tracking says tomorrow, and the cargo rep says, “sorry, the system was rejecting it” so it did not go.

Are you kidding me? What does that even mean? Why did no one even contact us?

 

[BryanM]

Delta Cargo Total Fail

Looks like I spoke too soon. Both TBS and I talked to them today and were assured it would be on the afternoon flight.

Now tracking says tomorrow, and the cargo rep says, “sorry, the system was rejecting it” so it did not go.

Are you kidding me? What does that even mean? Why did no one even contact us?

dang, I hate these delays... Another reason that I'm trying to find west coast sources for things to attempt to prevent these things.

 

[Miami Reef]

Exhaust Octopus

One of the important aspects of fish room design is ensuring humidity does not get high enough to cause mold. Of course, one can do that with dehumidifiers, but that can take a large amount of electricity.

The option I use also ensures fresh air is circulating through the room and the skimmer.

The two pictures below show an exhaust fan (6” in line, but in retrospect, 4” might have been better. It is inexpensive from Amazon and uses DC flow control. It exhausts out a typical dryer vent ((using a 6” to 4” adapter),

In the open end, I inserted some packing foam cut to fit, with 4 holes through it for 1” ID pond tubing. Any tubing will work. Duct tape holds the foam in place.

The other end of each piece of tubing enters a matching hole in each of the 4 Brute can tops.

Thus, all water is enclosed and yet stays fresh and also prevents condensation on refugium bulbs, etc.

The flow need not be high at all. Just enough to keep the air in each can high in O2 and low in CO2 (especially the skimmer can (more on skimming later). Note that I left the inverted cardboard box off the skimmer can top to see it. It is back in place now.

Genius. Your brain is on fire.

Delta Cargo Total Fail

Looks like I spoke too soon. Both TBS and I talked to them today and were assured it would be on the afternoon flight.

Now tracking says tomorrow, and the cargo rep says, “sorry, the system was rejecting it” so it did not go.

Are you kidding me? What does that even mean? Why did no one even contact us?

That sucks.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Delta Fail Update

The multiple rescheduled Delta shipment flight was delayed again to an even later time tonight/tomorrow. TBS has decided its not worth the risk and they will be retrieving it. We will try again another day, with a different carrier.

Thank you, TBS, for dealing with the Delta issue. I understand that an unscheduled trip to the airport to pick up 475 pounds of stuff is a significant hassle.

 

[stE25wy14]

Delta Fail Update

The multiple rescheduled Delta shipment flight was delayed again to an even later time tonight/tomorrow. TBS has decided its not worth the risk and they will be retrieving it. We will try again another day, with a different carrier.

Thank you, TBS, for dealing with the Delta issue. I understand that an unscheduled trip to the airport to pick up 475 pounds of stuff is a significant hassle.

well
it is delta...

 

[Futuretotm]

In regards to TBS, I live in TB, got their rocks 3-4 years ago. Fast forward, changing my aquarium due to silicone eating worm which came in on the rock. Over the years I've had jumbo size worms, but I do overfeed from time to time. It's when I go on vacation and the tank is on a pellet diet... thats when the worms starve and eat my seals...........

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I seem to recall seeing comments on silicone eating. That certainly seems odd as they cannot metabolize it. Perhaps it has the texture of food and that is sufficient.

In general, I'm not concerned about bristle worms, except when they stab me. lol

 

[Futuretotm]

I seem to recall seeing comments on silicone eating. That certainly seems odd as they cannot metabolize it. Perhaps it has the texture of food and that is sufficient.

In general, I'm not concerned about bristle worms, except when they stab me. lol

hope you dont have this issue....
not my video, but you can see the black pieces going up its GI tract

 

[LiverockRocks]

In regards to TBS, I live in TB, got their rocks 3-4 years ago. Fast forward, changing my aquarium due to silicone eating worm which came in on the rock. Over the years I've had jumbo size worms, but I do overfeed from time to time. It's when I go on vacation and the tank is on a pellet diet... thats when the worms starve and eat my seals...........

We have not experienced bristle worms eating silicone, nor seen so many on a rock.

 

[jonelder68]

Delta Fail Update

The multiple rescheduled Delta shipment flight was delayed again to an even later time tonight/tomorrow. TBS has decided its not worth the risk and they will be retrieving it. We will try again another day, with a different carrier.

Thank you, TBS, for dealing with the Delta issue. I understand that an unscheduled trip to the airport to pick up 475 pounds of stuff is a significant hassle.

Wow that’s customer service! Props to TBS.

Ya use southwest. Mine was on time easy peasy. There tracking is spot on as well with text updates and email. They even loaded it in my vehicle for me :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

TBS was ready to ship again as early as today, but due to my schedule, I elected shipping for arrival a week from tomorrow. Will be using Southwest. Looking forward to that!

I’m not very happy with the exhaust octopus tubing. The plasticizer smell is extreme. I have the fan on high and the smell is detectable even upstairs. If it does not abate after a few days, I’ll replace it.

 

[TeraHz]

TBS was ready to ship again as early as today, but due to my schedule, I elected shipping for arrival a week from tomorrow. Will be using Southwest. Looking forward to that!

I'll +1 Southwest. I picked mine from BDL (probably not too far from you), and it was super smooth. Good luck on the second try.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Tunze Osmolator 3 for Tank Water Level Control

In my last tank, I used a large float switch (Omega Engineering LV-1201, still sold, bottom example in this picture):

Coupled with that, I used a slow diaphragm pump to deliver kalkwasser (a Reef Filler, no longer sold). There was no other limit on delivery besides the float and the slowness of the pump. But the system worked well for 20 years and I considered reusing the float switches.

This time around, I'm not dosing kalkwasser (due mostly to space limitations in my fish room), which can open up the types of devices used. I still have the switches, but not the reef filler. I made the decision that I wanted better control on potential overfill than I had before. The osmolator also allows me to easily change the desired water level in my sump (by moving the magnetically held sensor up or down) without having to relocate the float switch which would require drilling new holes in the can and capping the old one.

For that reason, I opted for the Tunze Osmolator 3. One of my concerns with it that I have posted in the past is the relatively fast pump provided with it. I was actually surprised when I opened the package how small it actually is since pictures don't show that. Nevertheless, that doesn't change the flow rate (two settings, 70 or 112 L/h, depends also on head pressure, the faster rate also comes with a higher maximum head pressure), and the flow rate concerned me from an overfilling perspective. If something went awry, it could overflow my sump in an hour.

Well, in setting up my system, I had collected a lot of tap water in my new salt water trash cans in case I needed it before my RO/DI arrived. When I ended up not needing it, I figured the pump of the osmolator 3 would be able to quickly pump it to a drain. Wrong lol

First lesson: the osmolator 3 has a time out feature to prevent overflow situations if something goes drastically wrong or the tank is leaking somewhere, flooding it with fresh water. I was not previously aware of this feature. The timeout is 10 minutes, and only a manual reset can restart it. If the pump is called for constantly for more than 10 minutes, it shuts down until you reset it (by power cycling it). That greatly alleviates the concerns about overfilling (the limit for a single delivery cannot exceed about 12 L (3 gallons), which cannot overflow my sump. Good for tank use, but it made my use of it to empty 80 gallons of tap water from my Brute cans a slow process of resets. I finally gave up and got a different pump. lol

The osmolator itself has two sensors in a single sensor "device" and so also has an internal limitation on delivery. The Primary is based on infrared and one (Tunze calls this the safety sensor) is based on heat conduction. Both must see a need for water to allow water flow.

OK, so there are three ways the pumping is limited and controlled. I have it hooked up now and it is operating fine. One immediate advantage over my old one is that the rock and sand will be delivered at two times, and each will result in a large change in system volume. I have the water level in my last Brute can set very low to allow the sudden volume increase in a week when the first rock arrives. After that, I will want a higher level until I remove some water to allow the next rock delivery. Then low again and then finally where I ultimately want it higher. Yes, that's a one time situation, but it shows when a movable water level in the sump is desirable.

I'll comment more on it in the future as I have more experience with it. As folks will recall from the first post of this thread, Tunze provided it to me free of charge, and some may assume that clouds my comments. I won't be able to convince everyone otherwise, but I assure folks it does not. If something deviates from expectation, I will certainly tell folks.

For now, I am quite happy with it. :)

 

[rishma]

Tunze Osmolator 3 for Tank Water Level Control

In my last tank, I used a large float switch (Omega Engineering LV-1201, still sold, bottom example in this picture):

Coupled with that, I used a slow diaphragm pump to deliver kalkwasser (a Reef Filler, no longer sold). There was no other limit on delivery besides the float and the slowness of the pump. But the system worked well for 20 years and I considered reusing the float switches.

This time around, I'm not dosing kalkwasser (due mostly to space limitations in my fish room), which can open up the types of devices used. I still have the switches, but not the reef filler. I made the decision that I wanted better control on potential overfill than I had before. The osmolator also allows me to easily change the desired water level in my sump (by moving the magnetically held sensor up or down) without having to relocate the float switch which would require drilling new holes in the can and capping the old one.

For that reason, I opted for the Tunze Osmolator 3. One of my concerns with it that I have posted in the past is the relatively fast pump provided with it. I was actually surprised when I opened the package how small it actually is since pictures don't show that. Nevertheless, that doesn't change the flow rate (two settings, 70 or 112 L/h, depends also on head pressure, the faster rate also comes with a higher maximum head pressure), and the flow rate concerned me from an overfilling perspective. If something went awry, it could overflow my sump in an hour.

Well, in setting up my system, I had collected a lot of tap water in my new salt water trash cans in case I needed it before my RO/DI arrived. When I ended up not needing it, I figured the pump of the osmolator 3 would be able to quickly pump it to a drain. Wrong lol

First lesson: the osmolator 3 has a time out feature to prevent overflow situations if something goes drastically wrong or the tank is leaking somewhere, flooding it with fresh water. I was not previously aware of this feature. The timeout is 10 minutes, and only a manual reset can restart it. If the pump is called for constantly for more than 10 minutes, it shuts down until you reset it (by power cycling it). That greatly alleviates the concerns about overfilling (the limit for a single delivery cannot exceed about 12 L (3 gallons), which cannot overflow my sump. Good for tank use, but it made my use of it to empty 80 gallons of tap water from my Brute cans a slow process of resets. I finally gave up and got a different pump. lol

The osmolator itself has two sensors in a single sensor "device" and so also has an internal limitation on delivery. The Primary is based on infrared and one (Tunze calls this the safety sensor) is based on heat conduction. Both must see a need for water to allow water flow.

OK, so there are three ways the pumping is limited and controlled. I have it hooked up now and it is operating fine. One immediate advantage over my old one is that the rock and sand will be delivered at two times, and each will result in a large change in system volume. I have the water level in my last Brute can set very low to allow the sudden volume increase in a week when the first rock arrives. After that, I will want a higher level until I remove some water to allow the next rock delivery. Then low again and then finally where I ultimately want it higher. Yes, that's a one time situation, but it shows when a movable water level in the sump is desirable.

I'll comment more on it in the future as I have more experience with it. As folks will recall from the first post of this thread, Tunze provided it to me free of charge, and some may assume that clouds my comments. I won't be able to convince everyone otherwise, but I assure folks it does not. If something deviates from expectation, I will certainly tell folks.

For now, I am quite happy with it. :)

For many years, I used two reed type float switches connected to a dosing pump. This was reliable enough, but I occasionally got magnetic interference and a float switch would fail. I needed to move to something more reliable. I got the Osmolator 3 when it first came out. Very good piece of equipment in my experience.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Lighting Arrives

The AI Blades that I bought from BRS have arrived. I won't be putting them up for a bit since the tank is empty and adding rock will necessitate removing them again. Thinner than I assumed. The glow is black and the three freshwater are white, which might matter if seen, but they won't be.

They are:
3 x 48" freshwater
1 x 48" coral glow

Several critical things were determined...

1. They all work. Took me a bit to figure them out since it said to push the button to cycle the lights. Well, it needs a short push. A heavy handed push, and even longer pushing does nothing. Had me concerned. But a quick tap works lol

2. Got them all added to the my AI app, and each updated, and each was color controllable. The lights are bluetooth only. No wifi control (in case anyone cares).

3. In my basement fish room, the three freshwater blades are blindingly bright, and while it is impossible to judge much in that setting, I am happy with the look of the light.

4. Most importantly they fit nicely end to end inside my canopy. Remember the measurements were very close (less than 1/2" to spare) and I was not sure if the cord would need a hole out of one end of the canopy. They do not need any cuts in the canopy, greatly facilitating movement up and down and forward/back as needed. As folks noted, the cord is very flexible and has channels around the ends.

5. I may change my mounting hardware. I had planned on an eyebolt attached to the mounting clip, and that may still work, but there is barely enough room under the clip for the nut (m4) on the eyebolt, and thus the thread part of the eyebolt cannot extend through the nut, just flush to the end. I could super glue the nut tight to the threaded bolt to be sure it doesn't loosen and the light fall down.

But I think a better solution is to buy a female eye threaded to fit what I hope is the size of the supplied AI screw for the mounting clip (looks close to m5). So I'm going to order some m5 female eyes and use the AI hardware. For hardware lovers, this thing seems to be called a lifting eye nut (see picture below). Assuming the AI screw fits, it will be perfect. I will detail later how I mount it, but in short, the eye will connect to a double ended clasp (see picture), and that clasp will hang from a couple of 316 stainless rods I have mounted inside the canopy from front to back.

 

[elysics]

Lighting Arrives

The AI Blades that I bought from BRS have arrived. I won't be putting them up for a bit since the tank is empty and adding rock will necessitate removing them again. Thinner than I assumed. The glow is black and the three freshwater are white, which might matter if seen, but they won't be.

They are:
3 x 48" freshwater
1 x 48" coral glow

Several critical things were determined...

1. They all work. Took me a bit to figure them out since it said to push the button to cycle the lights. Well, it needs a short push. A heavy handed push, and even longer pushing does nothing. Had me concerned. But a quick tap works lol

2. Got them all added to the my AI app, and each updated, and each was color controllable. The lights are bluetooth only. No wifi control (in case anyone cares).

3. In my basement fish room, the three freshwater blades are blindingly bright, and while it is impossible to judge much in that setting, I am happy with the look of the light.

4. Most importantly they fit nicely end to end inside my canopy. Remember the measurements were very close (less than 1/2" to spare) and I was not sure if the cord would need a hole out of one end of the canopy. They do not need any cuts in the canopy, greatly facilitating movement up and down and forward/back as needed. As folks noted, the cord is very flexible and has channels around the ends.

5. I may change my mounting hardware. I had planned on an eyebolt attached to the mounting clip, and that may still work, but there is barely enough room under the clip for the nut (m4) on the eyebolt, and thus the thread part of the eyebolt cannot extend through the nut, just flush to the end. I could super glue the nut tight to the threaded bolt to be sure it doesn't loosen and the light fall down.

But I think a better solution is to buy a female eye threaded to fit what I hope is the size of the supplied AI screw for the mounting clip (looks close to m5). So I'm going to order some m5 female eyes and use the AI hardware. For hardware lovers, this thing seems to be called a lifting eye nut (see picture below). Assuming the AI screw fits, it will be perfect. I will detail later how I mount it, but in short, the eye will connect to a double ended clasp (see picture), and that clasp will hang from a couple of 316 stainless rods I have mounted inside the canopy from front to back.

having experience with double enders and salt water, maybe grease them with graphite (scribbling on the locking rod with a pencil over and over and moving it so the dust goes into the mechanism) and possibly some generous silicone lube ontop so there aren't any open gaps, so they dont seize up if they haven't been opened up for a couple years and were subjected to salt spray. Even if they don't rust, salt crystals can jam the mechanism up.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

having experience with double enders and salt water, maybe grease them with graphite (scribbling on the locking rod with a pencil over and over and moving it so the dust goes into the mechanism) and possibly some generous silicone lube ontop so there aren't any open gaps, so they dont seize up if they haven't been opened up for a couple years and were subjected to salt spray. Even if they don't rust, salt crystals can jam the mechanism up.

Thanks. Good idea and easy enough since I have both graphite and silicone grease. :)

 

[rtparty]

Randy, do yourself a favor and get something like the Sicce Ultra Zero pump. Or even their largest model. I don’t recall the name.

Amazon even has cheap versions of them.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Randy, do yourself a favor and get something like the Sicce Ultra Zero pump. Or even their largest model. I don’t recall the name.

Amazon even has cheap versions of them.

You mean for moving water around the fish room?

I now have a Jebao dcp 2500 for ro/di to new salt water container and use the backup return Jebao dep 8500 for making 88 gallons of new salt water at once, plus assorted new and old powerheads and other small pumps (for uses such as increased flow in my refugium).