My 500 + gallon system. Last 13 years to now. Build, Aquascaping & more. Lots of pics

[robbous]

Originally Posted by slief

Today I went to our local annual frag swap called FRAG and did something I swore to myself I would never do.. I got 3 SPS frags. I don't dose anything and I don't plan to either. I do 5 gallon a day automated water changes for my 650g volume with my cheap instant ocean salt and my tank does really well. I was looking at pictures of my tank from 9/2013, 3/2014 and 5/2014 and shocked to see how my hammers have grown over the last several months. Like tripled in size and heads. My soft coral colonies have tripled in size too and new sprouts are growing all over the bottom of the tank and the rocks. I will post some comparative photos in the next day or two.

It's been a long time since I haven't tested alk and ca in about a year because my numbers were always good when I tested and my tanks health and coraline growth was a good barometer. I might run some tests tomorrow just to see and will post the results. Anyways, these SPS frags are just an experiment. I don't have high hopes but on the other hand, I have good reason to be optimistic as my tank is doing better than it ever has in the last 20 years. It will be interesting none the less. If they do well.... Well, it's a can of worms that I don't really want to think about.






I also got this 5" Fungia.

What are you using for your automatic water changes i to have a newly setup 500 gallon display tank with about 180 gallon total sump system

[slief]

Originally Posted by robbous

What are you using for your automatic water changes i to have a newly setup 500 gallon display tank with about 180 gallon total sump system

I use a Genesis Renew. It's by far the best auto water change device on the market. I have it change out 5 gallons a day but you can set it to do anywhere from 1-99 gallons a day, a week or in one continuous water change. It can change out up to 1 gallon every 2 to 3 minutes. Also, because of it's pair of 1 gallon metering bins, there is no other solution on the market with that level of maintenance free accuracy. It uses 1 metering bin for new salt water and another for waste water to insure that the same amount is added & removed every time.

You can see more on the Renew here:
http://genesisreefsystems.com/produc...hange-systems/

[Kaidman]

What wiper are you using on your skimmer?

[slief]

Originally Posted by Kaidman

What wiper are you using on your skimmer?

Aqua Driver Skim Clean. They aren't cheap like the Vertex Vectra's or Avast Swabbie's either but they are also much much better quality and have the option of a collection cup wash down which I have. The other unique feature is that they have a peristaltic roller setup that draws water from inside the skimmer and sparys it over the wiper blade when it's cleaning to insure that the wiper is wet. This is usefull for dry skimming as it keeps the neck wet when the wiper is in action. They are made in Germany and are the same ones that were offered as OEM options with the Bubble King skimmers. They used to be sold here in the states but you can only get them direct Aqua Driver in Germany now.

This is a picture of my SCH when I had it setup for my Alpha 300. That long tube goes into the water inside the skimmer. When the motor is spinning, water is drawn up through the tube and sprayed over the wiper and onto the inside of the neck. The washdown that runs around the perimeter of the lid is fed by a seperate water source which in my case is from a tap water spigot with a solenoid valve for control. I only use the washdown every couple months to rinse the inside of the collection cup.

[scubadan206]

Sorry Scott. I misspelled your name.

Will you be doing some independent vids on your new circulation for us?
Should we just wait for [Sonny] Jim's next update?
Tell him thanks for us. His new [old] vid style is much more enjoyable to watch. We're looking forward to your new collaboration of TECH TALK....

Daniel.

[marco.sv]

Amazing

[slief]

Originally Posted by scubadan206

Sorry Scott. I misspelled your name.

Will you be doing some independent vids on your new circulation for us?
Should we just wait for [Sonny] Jim's next update?
Tell him thanks for us. His new [old] vid style is much more enjoyable to watch. We're looking forward to your new collaboration of TECH TALK....

Daniel.

I might at some point in the near future.. I did just realize that I forgot to post several pictures of the upgrade.

First a shot looking into the intake on the RD3 230 Watt pump.


Next up.. Some carnage photos. The return pump required quite a bit a re-plumbing on my return line. I also decided to make some room to work by removing the closed loop RD3 230 and the UV filter. It gave me much more room to do the needed plumbing updates on the return side.

Looks like a bomb went off!


This is part of what needed to be replaced to accomodate the different outlet locations on the new pump. This piece connected from the union on the pump and fed the chiller loop, the reactor and display fuge manifold and the display tank return line. I had to build a new one to match the new pump.


Space cleared out and old return plumbing removed.


New plumbing and pumps installed and running.




RD3 controllers mounted. The one on the right is the closed loop controller and is controlled by my Apex. You can see the smaller gray cable on the bottom which connects to one of my Apex's variable speed ports on a VDM module. It runs at a higher flow rate during the day and slows down at night to save a bit of power.

[pmrossetti]

Very cool Scott!!

[slief]

Originally Posted by pmrossetti

Very cool Scott!!

Thank you very much!

Things have been kind of chaotic at my house this last week. I bought my home brand new in 1997. Last Saturday I came downstairs in the early AM and found a decent size puddle on my floor by my wet bar. I immediately checked the obvious plumbing valves and found nothing. Then checked the pantry wall behind the bar and found wet walls. Next step was to cut out some drywall to located the leak. The pipes were dry but the wood was wet so it was obvious that it was a copper line in my slab. I had a plumber come out immediately who agreed. He said I needed a leak detector to come in and pinpoint the location of the leaking pipe. I mopped up the floors and called my home owners insurance to start the claim process.

Monday the leak detector came in and determined the leak was a hot line that went to the upstairs. Also Monday the water damage guys cames in and metered moisture in many of my walls around the house. Evidently, this leak has been going on for a while but only came to the surface last Saturday. The claims adjuster came Tuesday. Plumber was schedule for Thursday. Water damage guys had dehumidifiers in my pantry downstairs bathroom, laundry room etc. Carpet got damaged in my other room, there are hollow tiles etc. Thursday the leak was fixed by bypassing the damaged line and going through the ceiling. Since I had hollow tiles insurance wanted to jackhammer my floor which I declined due to the stress it would have caused with the fish and risk of ich or death. So now I have holes in my walls and ceiling. My carpenter should be starting weds. The house will get repainted upstairs and down since my walls are all continuous with no doors except for the pantry laundry, bedrooms and downstairs bath. Since those also had damage, those will get redone too. Carpet in the family room and on up the stairs gets replaced to the bedrooms. I will spend a bit more to get the rooms upstairs redone too. They will be paying for my tile floors of which I have about 900 square feet. Im still not sure I am up for tearing the floors out. To be determined. The silver lining is that my house will be like new inside which is exciting. I just can't wait for the last of the blowers to be out on Monday and get the drywall and paint going next week.

So far so good with the new pumps! I'm saving over 100 watts during the day and about 200 watts at night after the lights go out. I've also added more flow profiles for my closed loop RD3 that kicks up the power to about 70% when my Tunze flush cycle kicks in. This way, my closed loop is working in conjunction with the Tunzes to help suspend detritus and send it over the overflow. Several times a day Flush activates at random times via OSC commands and timers. When it does, the left side Tunzes turn on at full power for a few minutes and then shut off, then the right side kicks on at full power. The process repeats for several minutes until going back to the normal flow patterns. When flush kicks on my RD3 closed loop increases it's power to augment the flush cycle. The closed loop dumps out underneath my live rock via a manifold and keeps stuff from settling under the rocks. The additional flow coming out from under the rocks helps to kick up the detritus. With the dart that wasn't much of a concern since the dart ran at a high flow rate all the time. With the RD3 at 70%, that's actually more flow than the dart was putting out. As such, the intermittent increase in flow should work great while still saving power overall.

[saf1]

Sorry to hear about the house. Always frustrating when that happens but at least you are covered minus any deductible, etc. Well, also the workers in / out of the house and the associated noise and mess.

Side question - when they came in to look at the damage and measured the humidity did they every say that your tank or overall water volume contributed or could have? Not to the damage per say but total humidity in the house?

[slief]

Originally Posted by saf1

Side question - when they came in to look at the damage and measured the humidity did they every say that your tank or overall water volume contributed or could have? Not to the damage per say but total humidity in the house?

Didn't mention it or at least not yet. I do have a reasonable excuse though as my tank has a duct with a huge fan in the enclosed lighting soffit venting it directly outside. It also pulls from below the tank. Normally my humidity inside is about the same as outside according to my Ecobee 3 T-stat.. They had 3 large dehumidifiers as mentioned above plus 5 blower fans. I got a low sump level text from my Apex and when I investigated I found that my tank actually evaporated 50 gallons in 24 hours. I had my 100 gallon holding tank more than half filed with RODI and I came out the day after the water damage yahoos got here my RODI tank was damn near bone dry. Like 4" below the 1/4" line that my ATO draws from. I guess my ATO was running dry for hours and pulling the humidity out of the closed holding tank. I about $hit myself. I couldn't believe it. I normally evap 5 gallons a day. Not 50. I kind of panicked because I had my water turned off. The plumber told me to turn it on and shut the hot water heater line off since my leak was the hot line. That worked and I was back to making water. They pulled the dehumidifiers out a few days ago and it was a bit more humid in the house than outside but that was due to the equipment. Normally I can't smell the humidity but now I can and I don't think it as much from the leak as it is from the equipment pulling moisture from the tank. So my excuse is all the equipment pulling the moisture from the tank. Also, there is no disputing the leak and any wall moisture was relegated to the lower 12" of the walls so they can't really blame that on the tanks. I will also note that I don't appear to have mold issues and there is no water on the floor under the tank and the underside has a pond liner which is dry both on top of and underneath the liner. As such, there is really no blaming the tank.

[benhowardbath]

Hi Scott,
Sorry to hear about your problems with your house! I have followed your build for a couple of years now, I am a big fan of your tank and videos. I run 9 kessils over my 7' x 5' mixed reef. Thank you so much for the inspiration!!!
Cheers Ben

[silentscream]

stinks to hear about the plumbing issues, but glad it's being taken care of. I just popped in to ask how those SPS frags were doing?

[saf1]

That is good to hear. I wouldn't have expected it based on your videos and thread. You have a lot of this built in or considered already to address the issues. I think it is typically implied that large tank owners have this covered just because of the size but some just drop a tank in and be done without other considerations of the home. Hopefully I didn't imply anything it was more of a question and learning on my part.

Side note and a bit off topic. How do you like the Ecobee? I use a similar product by Honeywell but am considering a switch. I didn't like the nest although I am intrigued by their data mining when anomalies such as a earth quake happen. Some of the charts they can produce are cool but another reason why I don't want it - that personal data again

Thanks for sharing as always.

[slief]

Originally Posted by silentscream

stinks to hear about the plumbing issues, but glad it's being taken care of. I just popped in to ask how those SPS frags were doing?

The green slimer is hanging in there and has grown some. Hard to get any pictures because of where I placed it though. The other SPS frag didn't last long.

Originally Posted by saf1

That is good to hear. I wouldn't have expected it based on your videos and thread. You have a lot of this built in or considered already to address the issues. I think it is typically implied that large tank owners have this covered just because of the size but some just drop a tank in and be done without other considerations of the home. Hopefully I didn't imply anything it was more of a question and learning on my part.

Side note and a bit off topic. How do you like the Ecobee? I use a similar product by Honeywell but am considering a switch. I didn't like the nest although I am intrigued by their data mining when anomalies such as a earth quake happen. Some of the charts they can produce are cool but another reason why I don't want it - that personal data again

Thanks for sharing as always.

I put a lot of thought into the ventillation of the tank when I built it in back in '97. In large part, the fan (10" Rotron) was to remove the heat from the halides I had on it years back. It also served the purpose of exhusting the humidity which it's done a very good job of.

As for the Ecobee 3, I really like it. I am a control freak when it comes to automation and the Ecobee3 offers a lot of unique features not available with many thermostats. You can add multiple remote temp sensors and the temp sensor have motion sensors built in so it's zone aware and can use temps for individual zones or even sense when you are in the bedroom and use a set point for that zone. You can obviously control it from anywhere via the Ecobee app or website and a slew of other features.. But Ecobee app control was in my plan and not the reason for choosing it. It was chosen because it integrated will with my Vera Edge home automation controller.

I don't use the Ecobee3 interface much at all. In fact, one of the key reasons I chose the Ecobee3 is because of the remote temp sensors and the fact that I could integrate it into my Vera Edge home automation solution with an Ecobee plugin and take advantage of the remote temp sensors for my Vera AC control programming. Vera allows me to use those Ecobee temps sensors as though they were Z-Wave sensors. I can see temps in any zone that I have an Ecobee sensor in. Currently, I have a sensors in my Den and another in my bedroom. I can add more if I would like but those are my two most important zones. My Vera Edge communicates and controls the Ecobee over IP and the Ecobee3 offered me many advanced features that weren't available with traditional Z-Wave thermostats or even Nest.

I use a few different apps for HA control for my Vera and also have z-wave vents setup that can be remotely opened and closed from my Apps. I created scenes in my HA controller to "Heat Cool Downstairs", "Heat Cool Upstairs" & "Heat Cool Up and Down". When I select one of those scenes from my HA app, the vents for the associated zone open while the others close, the AC turn on in auto mode to a preset temperature and the Ecobee temp sensor in that zone is used for the thermostat temp. I liken it to a poor mans zone system. It works pretty darn well too and my AC system is much more efficient as a result.

The Homewave App is my go to app for my home control. We also use Roomie Remote for our home theater and it too has all the switches and scenes for AC and lighting and lock control which it communicates and controls via Vera over IP. I have a 3rd app called Vera Mate that I use on my iWatch. I can hit a button and say: Turn Couch Lights on 50% and the lights above my couch will turn on to 50% power Or say: Heat Cool Downstairs and the upstairs vent shut, the downstairs vents open and the AC turns on. I can control any of my Vera devices using voice commands through my iWatch. It's pretty slick.

Here is my AC screen shot for my Homewave HA control App.


I made a 3d floorplan design for downstairs in Sweet Home 3D which is a free program. I then used that image for a background in my Homewave light conrol screen. I then placed switches in the appropriate areas so it was intuitive. This is nice because I have an iPad mounted in my kitchen wall that serves as a central point of control for my house stuff. This makes lighting control as well as other control intuitive for anybody. I can control my lights, AC, smoker/grill outside, see my grill and meat temps on this iPad (as well as our other iPads & phones)..


Front door and garage door control in Homewave.


Another lighting control page in Homewave.


My Roomie Remote universal remote app down stairs home theater control screen. I have some buttons in the main screen on the left that control my most used home automation functions so I don't need to switch screens in Roomie if I am using Roomie to control my TV.. I can also hit the goodnight button and the TV shuts off, the Receiver shuts off, directv and bluray shut off, the front door locks and the lights turn out. All from the press of one button. It's pretty slick what you can do with Roomie remote and a Vera Edge.


My home automation control screen in Roomie Remote.

[Kt8]

Just curious do you run the exhaust fan 24/7 or do you have a sensor switch?

[slief]

Originally Posted by Kt8

Just curious do you run the exhaust fan 24/7 or do you have a sensor switch?

Yes.. I run it 24/7. The fan I use is about 550 CFM. It's a ROTRON CLE2L2X.. It puts out some serious flow and turns the space over above and below the tank several times a minute.

You can see the exhaust vent above the shed on the wall of the house.

[slief]

It's been a few weeks since my last update. I mentioned in a previous post that we had a copper water line in the slab break a few weeks back.. My home owners insurance has been taking care of things and there will be a nice silver lining with it.. The water damage was limited to the downstairs and while it wasn't major, it was bad enough that they agreed to repaint the entire inside all the way up the stairs to the bedroom doors. Most of the downstairs is ceramic tile but the family room and dining room are carpeted and there was some water damage to the carpet. Because that room is right next to the carpeted stairs, they agreed to replace the carpet. There was also some water intrusion under the tile floor so they agreed to replace that as well although those funds are likely to go to updating my kitchen with new cabinet doors, drawers, a nice white oil base paint finish and new granite or quartz coutertops. I am still reviewing the estimates with a fine tooth comb because it was a little low as far as real world costs but the end result will be a freshly udpated house.

So things have been progressing very nicely. The insurance company had a large storage bin delivered to our house and we essentially packed up the entire downstairs with exception of my flat screen, a couch and a table. This made a spring cleaning look like a walk in the park. I am so sick of cleaning but my office/fish room is now spotless as well as the rest of the house. The inside of the house has been repainted and we decided to do a drastic color change from the slighly off white to a brown color and fresh white paint over our crown moulding and base board. As part of the repaint, the walls and doors surrounding the tank were painted as well. With exception of a couple details and some touchup, the paint is done and by Monday afternoon, it will be onto the kitchen cabinets.. We are hoping to have the carpet in as soon as next week and the kitchen project will also begin next week. That part will take a couple weeks but I can't wait to see it when it's done.

Here is a quick but lousy shot of the tank with the new color. There wasn't much light in the room when I took this picture so it's really hard to gauge the color. It looks much better in person.


During the summer, I usually keep the lower doors below the tank closed to allow fresh air in and keep it cooler. I came up with an idea of using shutters for vents and found a set of cheap exterior storm shutters at Lowes. These are made out of black plastic and needed to be cut down to fit. They had a divider in the middle which served as a perfect place to cut them down to fit the doors. The width however was fine. They were coated plastic primer and a bright white paint to match the oil base white finish on the doors.





Yesterday I was looking at the doors and got an idea of adding a fan bank to the inside of the door that would blow air out of the louvers to help keep the air below the tank fresh, cool and also remove humidity. I made a quick cardboard version of my idea and angled it so the fans would be angled and facing the louver openings. I designed it to support three 92mm fans which is a total of about 120 cfm per fan bank. I dropped the template off at my plastic supplier who also happens to be the one who built my tank some 20 years ago. I opted to have two of the fan mounts made so I had one on each door and make them out of white ABS to match the doors. A few hours later I got a message that they were ready for pickup.




Today I ran to Radio Shack and got a couple small panel mount female power plugs for the fan bank and matching male plugs to my 12v AC Adapters. Being in the computer business, I had a bunch of these 92mm fans at my office so I chose some Cooler Master ones that were real quiet. I also had the connectors to match the fans so I soldered up a wire harness that will allow me to replace fans without having to cut wires. Then I put the fans in and mounted the power connection and viola.. I have a pair of nice fan banks that are quiet and provide a total of about 240 CFM of flow through the space below my tank which now runs much cooler as a result. This should also help reduce temps in my tank during the summer which is always a plus.

Fans installed.




The power connection for the AC Adapter.

[slief]

And finally, fan banks installed on the doors. I still need to clean up the wires but there is a coat of paint that needs to go on the doors so that will get done once that is finished.

[slief]

Here are a few LA Fish Guys Episodes covering the coraline removal from a few months back. The way things are growing, it looks like I will need more coraline removal in short order... Next up should be the polishing/scratch removal video. Jim still hasn't completed the edits on that.

As a side note, I will be heading to MACNA this week. I am doing a presentation for the Apex User Group meeting at MACNA on Friday morning. After that, I will be in the Royal Exclusiv Booth. Stop by and say hello if you're attending!


Part 1.



Part 2.


Part 3.

[pmrossetti]

Hi Scott,
As a fellow Californian I was wondering if or how our water shortage is impacting your tanks, if at all.

Thanks

[saf1]

Thanks for sharing videos - interesting to see if you saw a burst in the coralline due to all the flakes flowing around unless they went into the sump, sock, then removed. Could have probably bagged some of that and gave it away to seed a tank

To pmrossetti - I'm in Ca and just head down to the bay and collect 25 gallons or so. Around Point Reyes has some nice coastal area with cleaner water. I'll also pick up the same amount while down in Monterey when I go diving. Then again I'm guessing this wouldn't work for the larger systems if they are doing daily water changes and/or cycles. However, the smaller nano people like my 40 breeder 25 gallons will last a while

I'll probably do the same once my 100 gallon upgrade is complete but I'm mostly softies which don't mind the greatest of water quality for my lazy self...

Nice tank - one of the threads that I continue to enjoy and re-visit. Thanks for sharing.

[slief]

Originally Posted by pmrossetti

Hi Scott,
As a fellow Californian I was wondering if or how our water shortage is impacting your tanks, if at all.

Thanks

I haven't changed much for the water shortage. Actually though, my usage should go down substantially due to the copper water line in my slab that was fixed. I suspect it had been leaking for months. I use a SpectraPure 1:1 UHE RODI filter so my waste water is minimal compared to other RODI units. I have however been using my waste water to water my garden.

Originally Posted by saf1

Thanks for sharing videos - interesting to see if you saw a burst in the coralline due to all the flakes flowing around unless they went into the sump, sock, then removed. Could have probably bagged some of that and gave it away to seed a tank

To pmrossetti - I'm in Ca and just head down to the bay and collect 25 gallons or so. Around Point Reyes has some nice coastal area with cleaner water. I'll also pick up the same amount while down in Monterey when I go diving. Then again I'm guessing this wouldn't work for the larger systems if they are doing daily water changes and/or cycles. However, the smaller nano people like my 40 breeder 25 gallons will last a while

I'll probably do the same once my 100 gallon upgrade is complete but I'm mostly softies which don't mind the greatest of water quality for my lazy self...

Nice tank - one of the threads that I continue to enjoy and re-visit. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the compliments!

Coraline grows like crazy in my system so I didn't notice much if any increase as every surface of my tank has it growing and my live rock is completely covered in it to the point that the live rock has grown inches from new coraline growth that is plating. I literally have coraline rocks growing off the base bottom of my tank. Some of which is inches thick and looks like live rock. The flakes of coraline that were scraped off the viewing panes and fell to the bottom have grown into part of the aquascape. That said, new coraline growth has already grown an inch or more up the viewing panes so it's already time for another coraline scraping.

[dinhoriginal]

The cabinet and tank stand looks waaaaaay better.

Great idea about the fan in cabinet doors. The solution indeed is neat if compared to a simple hole and a fan screwed in it



Yes... i was the responsible for that

[pmrossetti]

I like pepperoni and onions on my pizza too.