Scott's 270 aka Project Mayhem

[markalot]

Great thread and tank. So are the SPS doing ok at, guessing, 250 to 300 PAR? I'm struggling with PAR on my tank under Maxspect Razors. I lowered to under 300 and color returned quickly, so now I'm wondering how low to go with LED's. Looking forward to seeing the progress of your Acros.

[Scythanith]

Yep the highest PAR right now at top coral level is right around 275-300. I started booting it up and everyone told me not to mess with it if things were working.

[dave.m]

Originally Posted by Scythanith

everyone told me not to mess with it if things were working

+1

Dave.M

[markalot]

Originally Posted by Scythanith

Yep the highest PAR right now at top coral level is right around 275-300. I started booting it up and everyone told me not to mess with it if things were working.

Thanks for the info. That's where I'm at now as well, so I'll see what happens. My Razors aren't in the same league as the Mitras but hopefully a combination of these and some BML strip lights will be able to color up my acros.

[Scythanith]

Check out my latest blog post if you're bored, there are some pretty Yellowstone pictures

Link

[dave.m]

Is that the one with all the PICK-a-nic baskets?

Dave.M

[Scythanith]

It sure is Even saw Yogi & BooBoo!

[Scythanith]

I am having issues with my 220v breaker kicking out and leaving my circulation pumps off. Problem is I don't know if it's a faulty GFCI breaker or the Abyzz pumps malfunctioning. And currently it's completely random. Any ideas on how I can test for either specifically? I have an electrician coming in to check the breaker and the load on the circuit.

[dave.m]

Not an electrician, but a spike can come from either side of the circuit. It may even be another appliance/device in the house causing a spike to the panel. A good electrician will test for everything until he runs down the actual cause.

Dave.M

[Scythanith]

Thanks Dave. My electrician friend is coming over tomorrow after work to source it.

[Scythanith]

Ok so Jon checked it out and I had 1.2A on one side and 1.3A on the other. He said that wasn't leakage but that the two poles weren't sharing the load equally. He couldn't say why that was but he felt that it wasn't the VFD's from the pumps causing an issue. But the difference was enough to be tripping the GFCI. Why it only recently started, who knows. So we pulled the expensive GFCI breaker out and slapped a 2 pole in and so far so good *knock on computer*.

[iwhati88]

Awesome tank and setup!

[jdarr]

Great build! I just have a quick question. I am thinking of picking up the abyzz200 pumps. But I am curious what will be needed to power them. Are they not set up for 220? Do they come in 110v? Or did you have to make modifications? I was also hoping to plug them into my Profilux Powerbar (110v) so this is of great concern :-)

[Scythanith]

They are 220v, and there is no 110v option. So they have a 220v plug and you need a 220v receptacle/circuit. No you cannot easily plug them right in to the Profilux power bar. Venotec has an adapter that you plug into the abyzz, a harness that then goes to the 0-10v connection that plugs into the L1-L4 port on the back of the Profilux. You cannot program the abyzz to shut off if a sensor is triggered, the Profilux doesn't have that programming capability. The GHL does have flow sensors you can plumb downstream from the pump to ensure you have a constant flow (Profilux will vary the 0-10v input to the pump).

So in short you can make a DC pump do fun things, just not shut off in the case of an emergency (sump too full, water on the floor, etc).

[jdarr]

Originally Posted by Scythanith

They are 220v, and there is no 110v option. So they have a 220v plug and you need a 220v receptacle/circuit. No you cannot easily plug them right in to the Profilux power bar. Venotec has an adapter that you plug into the abyzz, a harness that then goes to the 0-10v connection that plugs into the L1-L4 port on the back of the Profilux. You cannot program the abyzz to shut off if a sensor is triggered, the Profilux doesn't have that programming capability. The GHL does have flow sensors you can plumb downstream from the pump to ensure you have a constant flow (Profilux will vary the 0-10v input to the pump).

So in short you can make a DC pump do fun things, just not shut off in the case of an emergency (sump too full, water on the floor, etc).

Thanks for the info. Based on your experience with the Abyzz pumps would you do it all over again the same way? Or would you make a different choice of pump where you could shut off your pumps in an emergency etc... If this is the case what would you have done differently?

[jdarr]

Scythanith, out of curiosity, have you seen these?
If what I read at the bottom of the first link is correct, it seems these pumps can be shut off by the profilux... Not sure if one controller will control multiple pumps mind you but I am intrigued by this. Do you or anyone know of the reliability of these pumps? I would think these might be somewhat comparable to the Abyzz pumps... But I have not done much research thus far

http://royalexclusiv.com/Flow-Pumps/...tion::788.html

http://royalexclusiv.com/Flow-Pumps/...tion::713.html

[Scythanith]

My understanding of what I am reading is that the pump will shut off it the input voltage is 0.5-0.8v. It's not saying that it can be programmed to go to that voltage if a sensor detects a problem. That's the issue with the Abyzz. Sure the profilux can lower the input voltage to shut the pump off, but it can't do so from input from a sensor. This is according to GHL themselves.

[Scythanith]

Here is what I use with my Abyzz, and the Abyzz interface on page 19 of the pdf document.

I wouldn't question the reliability of the RD3 pumps too much. They are quite reliable and high quality. I was going to buy the one you linked but it wasn't released when I was in need of the pumps.

[jdarr]

Originally Posted by Scythanith

My understanding of what I am reading is that the pump will shut off it the input voltage is 0.5-0.8v. It's not saying that it can be programmed to go to that voltage if a sensor detects a problem. That's the issue with the Abyzz. Sure the profilux can lower the input voltage to shut the pump off, but it can't do so from input from a sensor. This is according to GHL themselves.

Thanks for the info. Gives me lots to ponder ;-). I am assuming you wired 2 220v plugs since you have the two pumps? I am wondering if I should just get a 220 PB?

[WunderWagen]

Nice tank!

[Scythanith]

Single plug, both pumps wired to the same plug. I don't know if you can get a 220v PB that will interface with the North American Profilux? That would be a great solution to have the pump controlled by a sensor though. For sure you could program the receptacle to shut off if a sensor tripped, in turn shutting the pump completely off. Let me know if you find a 220v PB that will work, I'm now curious.

Also one point of contention I have is that if you have a bad FW update on the profilux and the machine is bricked, the PB's don't work. No PB's, no pumps. My way the Abyzz pumps are on their own circuit independent of the Profilux and it's possible hissy fits.

[Rotknee]

Hey Scott! How are the clamps holding up on the Abyzz pumps. In addition, I think I am going with a bigger tank soon. Pricing a 72x36x24 with the Ghost Overflow from Reef Savvy. Having said that I have a flow question for you. What do you think about 2 MP60's as opposed to 4 MP40's? I may just go with a closed loop but like the control of the Vortechs. Undecided at this point.

[Scythanith]

Clamps are 100%! I think the 4 MP40's are definitely overkill, but they really do eliminate a lot of dead spots. With two MP60's you'd have more than enough flow, but you'd have to find the right random program to work up the dead spots only two pumps might leave you. I don't think it would be impossible, it would just require some tinkering

I am very happy with this size of tank, I'd recommend it any day.

[Scythanith]

I now officially have montipora eating nudibranchs. Just looking for opinions on how people would attack the problem in a tank with ~12 encrusting monti's?

[jdarr]

Originally Posted by Scythanith

Single plug, both pumps wired to the same plug. I don't know if you can get a 220v PB that will interface with the North American Profilux? That would be a great solution to have the pump controlled by a sensor though. For sure you could program the receptacle to shut off if a sensor tripped, in turn shutting the pump completely off. Let me know if you find a 220v PB that will work, I'm now curious.

Also one point of contention I have is that if you have a bad FW update on the profilux and the machine is bricked, the PB's don't work. No PB's, no pumps. My way the Abyzz pumps are on their own circuit independent of the Profilux and it's possible hissy fits.

Good point. At the end of the day I will still require a 220v plug to run the PB... SO I would have that as a back up. I guess I will have to enquire with GHL...