BornToHula Posted October 16, 2015 Author Share Posted October 16, 2015 Got the first batch of equipment for the new tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan H Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Nice. That's always the worst part... The trickle of equipment just builds the excitement but you can't play yet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Oooooh...another gyre! You're going to love it. Got mine set up a couple of days ago...amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Got the first batch of equipment for the new tank Hmmm... That equipment looks a little familiar! [emoji6] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToHula Posted October 16, 2015 Author Share Posted October 16, 2015 Ty, his tank still has your name on it! Its just a small upgrade Nice. That's always the worst part... The trickle of equipment just builds the excitement but you can't play yet... I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas morning. Oooooh...another gyre! You're going to love it. Got mine set up a couple of days ago...amazing! Yep, I have another one on the way too! I think I'm going to set it up on my 75g (at very low power) for the time being just so I can play around with it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+olaggie01 Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 Looks good Mason. Can't wait to see it set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 If you can stay away from large sections of flex pvc it would be best.... I hated trying to make it work with the natural curl from being spooled. You can use small sections of it to make awkward angles work better but don't plan to use it for long distances, it's a pain Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 If you can stay away from large sections of flex pvc it would be best.... I hated trying to make it work with the natural curl from being spooled. You can use small sections of it to make awkward angles work better but don't plan to use it for long distances, it's a pain Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Plus way more expensive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 Depending on what you end up doing, some people find it easier to use like flexible pool tubing or similar. There's nothing like organized coordinated pvc though Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToHula Posted October 19, 2015 Author Share Posted October 19, 2015 Yeah, the flex PVC would only be for two awkward angles going up from the manifold to the return lines. That being said I still need re-think my plumbing and re-locate the manifold over the sump so I may be able to hard plumb it all. Also I'm curious what do y'all use for auto top off containers on larger tanks? I want something that will fit under the stand, but most the containers I see online are only around 10 gallons. A 16 gallon tall aquarium would be perfect, but they don't seem to be commonly available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan H Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 I had Marc from Melev's Reef build a custom acrylic ATO container. It's 14.75" long, 4.5" wide, 24" tall - approximately 7 gallons. This allowed me to put it on the right hand side next to the sump and use up some previously unusable space. The tank evaporates about 3 gallons/day max so it only holds 2 days worth of water. I put an electric solenoid on the RO/DI feed line and hooked that up to a programmable light timer that has it turn on for 1 hour M, W, F, Sa. Ta-da! Infinite ATO. I just check the TDS every once in a while when I hear it running, or when I make a lot of water for a water change and call it good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 You could check out Advanced Acrylics for an ATO container. I had them custom make mine and I really like it. They also have stock sizes up to 30 gallons, and usually have a black friday sale too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToHula Posted October 19, 2015 Author Share Posted October 19, 2015 I had Marc from Melev's Reef build a custom acrylic ATO container. It's 14.75" long, 4.5" wide, 24" tall - approximately 7 gallons. This allowed me to put it on the right hand side next to the sump and use up some previously unusable space. The tank evaporates about 3 gallons/day max so it only holds 2 days worth of water. I put an electric solenoid on the RO/DI feed line and hooked that up to a programmable light timer that has it turn on for 1 hour M, W, F, Sa. Ta-da! Infinite ATO. I just check the TDS every once in a while when I hear it running, or when I make a lot of water for a water change and call it good. Ah, that would be ideal to have it hooked up to the RODI unit. Unfortunately my unit is at the opposite end of the house and I don't think my wife would allow a water line to be running through the kitchen! You could check out Advanced Acrylics for an ATO container. I had them custom make mine and I really like it. They also have stock sizes up to 30 gallons, and usually have a black friday sale too! Cool, thanks for the recommendation. A little more than I was hoping to pay, but I will definitely keep and eye on it for black Friday! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan H Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 Could always look into a simple plastic trashcan or Rubbermaid tote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 I'm cheap. I used a pet food storage container from the container store. http://www.containerstore.com/s/kitchen/food-storage/pet/pet-food-containers/123d?productId=10006457 The 22-lb one holds about 14-15 gallons and usually lasts my 215-gallon for about a week. I currently have it hooked up directly to my RO/DI unit and ran the tubing through the wall of my garage, above a door frame, and into my tank stand. Most people don't notice it at all. Before I had it hooked up directly to the RO/DI system, I just wheeled it over to my RO/DI setup in the garage and filled it up and then wheeled it back to my tank and put it back in place on the side of the tank. That's why I got the one with wheels. I thought about getting an electronic solenoid for the RO/DI line like Dan but it caused me to go through my DI resin way faster than I wanted. Everytime that RO/DI line came online, it would push about 120 TDS into my DI resin and my resin wouldn't last past 6 months. I manually flush my line prior to DI stage now for a whole 1 minute and it reduces it to 11 TDS before I allow it to go to my DI resin and that allows my DI resin to last a full year now. Maybe one day I'll setup a dual electric solenoid setup where it flushes my line for 1 minute first before opening the line to start filling up my ATO. That way, it's like an automatic flush and fill... with the Apex, the possibilities are endless! Dan, you try it first so I can just copy you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan H Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 That's a fantastic idea! I think I may just do that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToHula Posted October 22, 2015 Author Share Posted October 22, 2015 I can't find a pet food container size that will work for me. I think I may go the DIY route and build a small glass or acrylic tank for my ATO reservoir. A dual electric solenoid setup is wayyyy over my head so I'll leave that for yall to figure out. In other news got a new shipment of equipment in today! 2nd Gyre XF150 2 Ice Cap Modules Ice Cap Battery Backup (I'm thinking of going ahead a getting a 2nd one so each unit will have a backup.) Vectra L1 return pump Apex Leak Detection module with 3 leak detectors Another Apex powerbar 2 Finnex 500W heaters I *think* all I have left to order is: 2nd ATI Hybrid Powermodule - I'm trying to wait for a coupon or for it to go on sell, doesn't look like its going to happen though! T5 bulbs Plumbing parts Sand 2 boxes of salt 75g tank for sump Work to be done before the tank arrives: This weekend I am going to start curing the dry rock I have. I power washed it clean this past weekend so hopefully the curing process wont take more than a few weeks. Move the 40g planted tank away from the new tank's spot. Have electrician install 20 Amp circuit, GFCI, replace current outlet with a 20 amp outlet and hopefully add a 2nd 20 amp outlet. Cut baffles and install in sump 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Nice toys! Just a quick thought on the second battery backup. If it were my system, if the power went out, I'd be more concerned of just maintaining any flow instead of the usual flow. If I had a 2nd battery backup, for me, it would make more sense to keep the charge on that one and when the first backup runs out, plug it into the 2nd one, doubling your reserve time... Instead of just running both pumps at the same time and halving the time you could be generating life saving flow for your tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToHula Posted October 22, 2015 Author Share Posted October 22, 2015 I was worried that a single gyre running may not agitate the surface enough produce enough oxygen for the tank. Once the battery kicks in the gyre will automatically go to 30%. You can daisy chain two backups together to get double to run time on a single pump, no unplugging the old backup and plugging in to the new one required. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan H Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Yeah, I just ordered 2 of those Icecap batteries as well. Supposedly they give up to 35 hours of runtime - I'm skeptical but we'll see... I think I will have 1 per gyre, but then if/when the power goes out, I can check what the ETA is from Austin Energy and if it's really bad, daisy chain them to 1 pump. So far all of my power outages in the 8+ years at my house have all been shorter than 12 hours. I would suspect that a really bad one here would be bad enough that I'll need to fire up the generator anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToHula Posted October 22, 2015 Author Share Posted October 22, 2015 I'm skeptical of the 35 hours as well. There doesn't seem to be any real reviews of it out there either, so I guess we are both early adopters. As long as a single backup battery can last a full workday I'll be happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 I was thinking of getting one for my lowly Jaebo's as they sell a similar battery backup for them but like Dan, my house has lost power for no more than 30 mins in my area in 6 years of living here. The suspicion is I'm on the same grid as the JJ Pickle Research facility. I've resorted to just a mega-sized inverter for my car and a polite knock on my neighbor's door to plug into their 2 generators if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToHula Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 I can't seem get my threaded adapters to fit all the way into my bulkheads. There are still threads left in the bulkhead, but it would take a huge amount of force to screw these guys in. Is it normal to have this much space between an adapter and bulkhead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Yeah, it's pretty normal to have some exposed thread. You might even use some teflon tape to be safe. Did you get in on the Halloween sales for the other fixture? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryD Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 My guess is that the threads are just extra long but make sure they are not cross threaded because that is pretty easy with plastic fittings. If they are to long you can always take a saw or Dremel and cut the extra threads off the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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