My Slice of Nature (Part 3)

[SubzeroLT]

I've decided to drop the idea of the floating thermometer & go with a way to water proof the top of the probe by encasing it in a tube. Will post pics later as the glue on the assembly is still drying.

In any case, this is what the inside of the Apex temperature probe looks like. Its looks quite robust but one will never know the longer term effect of continuous exposure to salt water.

[SubzeroLT]

Quick iphone pics from today

 

Side view

 

 

Following up on the Apex temperature probe. This is what the final implementation looks like. 

3D printed tube mount (left side for sump level float switch). Right side to hold the Apex temperature probe.

 

Using the dremel to cut & later grind off the plastic pipe to ensure a perpendicular cut

 

Installed in sump

 

It works

This resolves the issue where temperature probe is out of water when excessive water is removed (eg. water removed when fragging or acclimatizing fish). And yet ensures the tip part is not under water when the return pump is off.

 

[SubzeroLT]

A nice video from Reef Builders about the Versa peristaltic pump

 

From using other peristaltic pumps at work, there are a couple of concepts that's applicable to us hobbyist for any kind of peristaltic dosing pump :

• There is a short break in period for tubes (typically a few minutes of continuous use). After the break-in period, flow & volumes will be more stable. We typically calibrate the pump upon 1st installation. It is best practice to re-calibrate it, say, 1-2 weeks later due to this 'break in' period.
• Calibration is ideally done at the final flow rate you are running it at and over as large a volume as possible. Both possible with the Versa & Mobius app.

 

My unit has been running well since it has been set up. I opened mine up to have a better look at it and to understand the product a little better.

 

Planetary gear assembly. Great build quality.

 

From the back. Proprietary pancake stepper motor. And the circuit board on the left.

 

[Wai6866]

Bro, the calcium reactor feed pump and main pump is it on 24hr?

I'm using a Skimz CM152 calcium reactor. An affordable & reliable model. #supportlocal 
There are many methods to tune the CR. My process parameters are : 

• pH ~ 6.52 
• CO2 timing : 24hrs
• Effluent flow rate : 140cc/min
• Bubble count tuned to meet the above
• Media : Grotech Rowalith + ~30% Grotech Magnesium Pro
• Target parameters : Ca: 400, Mg : 1400, KH : 8.3

As with most CR media brands (Grotech Rowalith, Caribsea ARM, TLF Reborn), it provides mostly Ca, KH only.
In order to supplement magnesium, one should add some Magnesium media. Popular brands are Grotech Magnesium Pro & TLF ReMag. Suggest to start with 10% Mg media first. If its not able to maintain Mg levels with respect to Ca, KH, then just add more Mg media. For my system, the sweet spot is around 20-30% Mg media.
 
Here is a quick video on prepping for the top up :
 
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[SubzeroLT]

12 hours ago, Wai6866 said:

Bro, the calcium reactor feed pump and main pump is it on 24hr?

 

 

Yes, the recirculating pump of the CR should be left on 24/7.

There are many ways to set up the calcium reactor. Each has its pros & cons. Personally i leave the feed pump on 24/7 as well. And turn off the CO2 instead.

 

 

[SubzeroLT]

Last week's long weekend was great for getting some mini projects started.

Managed to make a new lid for the external skimmate & waste water collector. Now it looks like this

An external skimmate collector is extremely convenient. There are float switches inside to notify me when the bucket is full & also turn off the skimmer so it won't flood the place. The bucket is used for discharged Alkatronic waste water as well. Generally it is emptied once every few weeks.

It used to look like this

 

Long weekend project

 

Top view. 

The ping pong ball is to allow air to leave the bucket as it is filled with water. And yet have a light seal to prevent smell from coming out.

 

Above it is a compartment for activated carbon

 

The grate at the bottom is a part purchased from Daiso

 

Activated carbon. 

 

Dual float switch. The lower one is to notify me that the bucket is 'quite full'. Skimmer is not switched off. I'm only notified by email/warning light to empty the bucket. The skimmer will switch off only when the upper float switch is triggered (i.e. very full).

 

This is the Apex neptune program for the skimmer

 

Top view. All fixed up. 

 

[Wai6866]

Thanks

Yes, the recirculating pump of the CR should be left on 24/7.
There are many ways to set up the calcium reactor. Each has its pros & cons. Personally i leave the feed pump on 24/7 as well. And turn off the CO2 instead.
 
 

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[Subbu PD]

Looks cool and creative...

[vikneshrajoo]

Very impressive DIY u got there.

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[SubzeroLT]

It was extremely inconvenient to realize the compressor temperature controller is not working properly at 11pm.

I noticed the compressor switching on/off more frequently but didn't think much of it. It happened to be a lot worse now. Noticed it suddenly read the tank temperature as 32degC which triggered the compressor to turn on. Then quickly reduced back down to 27degC within 3min.

 

Tried swapping to a new temperature probe but the issue persisted. It was finally resolved after swapping in a new temperature controller. Then monitored it run a full on/off cycle with the compressor at 3am.

 

This is what the Apex temperature chat looked like before & after the temperature controller change.

Forward looking my plan for the temperature controller is :

• Have a full set on standby (not struggling to replace the components at night)
• Preventive replacement once every 3 years (my set is 4yrs old)

[SubzeroLT]

Some housekeeping pics :

 

I shared about these nice Maxpect tweezers a couple of weeks ago. 

 

Couple with long rubber gloves (up to the armpit), it was easy to pick out accumulate debris from the sand bed. Fallen dead frags, bits of glue, vermatid snail shells etc.

 

 

I'm using the trusted DD magnet glass cleaner for the most of the glass.

And this one with a very long handle for the bottom edge & hard to reach areas. This seachem scraper isn't cheap in comparison with other brands but at least it does a good job (and floats)

 

 

The stress of barb connections on the tubes + occasional knocks have caused my tubes to crack & leak before.

As part of preventive maintenance, I also re-did some tube connections to the calcium reactor by snipping off the end of the tube & re-connect. Then did a soap bubble test to ensure there are no leaks.

[Harlequinmania]

Always very informative reading your thread ,,,

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[SubzeroLT]

9 minutes ago, he said:

Always very informative reading your thread ,,,

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Thanks

Many tips were learned from you & visiting your fish room

[SubzeroLT]

I may have shared this before but some folks brought this topic up recently.

 

A small hack to ensure the Clarisea roll winds up nicely without bunching up in the middle.

 

Basically the root cause is the fleece is wound v tight, causing the white acrylic to warp a little (i.e. becoming a curved edge).

Workaround is to stiffen the white acrylic by making use of the clear acrylic housing. What i've done was to insert a 12mm piece of acrylic in between. You can just use an egg crate as well (they are about 12mm thick too).

Just make sure the reinforcement piece does NOT touch the fleece.

[nornicle1]

Eric your informative posts are very educational thank you. How would you recommend someone starting a tank up dial in and increase dosing if using a calcium reactor (I am starting a tank similar in size to you but no existing livestock). I also have access to dosing. 

[SubzeroLT]

 

2 hours ago, nornicle1 said:

Eric your informative posts are very educational thank you. How would you recommend someone starting a tank up dial in and increase dosing if using a calcium reactor (I am starting a tank similar in size to you but no existing livestock). I also have access to dosing. 

I'm Leon (not Eric). In any case, there are many ways to set up a calcium reactor. No one method is correct, so just adapt accordingly.

• My method is to sync up the flow rate to pH level and not rely on the solenoid to shut off the CO2 when the desired pH is reached.
• For a start, you can consider an effluent flow rate of about 40ml/min. Measure it.
• Then tune the CO2 bubble count to reach a target pH level. A good starting point is 6.8pH.  
• Start measuring the KH levels of the tank. Maybe twice a day at the exact same time. If KH drops over a 24hr period, then make the effluent more concentrated by reducing the pH level. Do this until the lower limit of ~ 6.4pH is reached. If lower than this, the calcium reactor will tend to have too much bubbles internally.
• If the tank demand more kH, proceed to increase the effluent flow rate. You may need to increase the bubble count to maintain the pH level as well.
• If the tank demands less kH, then consider increasing pH or simply switch off the CO2 for a short period of time.

 

Some folks say the effluent rate is difficult to control. I agree as well. Consider the Ecotech Versa peristaltic pump to feed water for the CR. Its not expensive compared to other peristaltic pumps out there & the value it provides -  i.e. very good control over the effluent rate & makes tuning the CR a lot easier.

 

For reference, below is my calcium reactor PH measurement (orange line) vs the KH measurement (blue line).

 

 

 

[nornicle1]

thanks apologies Leon! if you have very few corals at the start is there a ‘ramp’ up of calcium reactor use, ie can I just run it with very little co2 when the use is very little too?

[Mahesh]

Hi Leon, would like to know which ph measuring inst, solenoid do u use and recommend? I understood u r not cutting of ur CO2 when desired pH achieved.

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[SubzeroLT]

41 minutes ago, nornicle1 said:

thanks apologies Leon! if you have very few corals at the start is there a ‘ramp’ up of calcium reactor use, ie can I just run it with very little co2 when the use is very little too?

Yes, the idea of starting with high PH of around 6.8 is to make the effluent "less concentrated". To reach this, you will probably need very little CO2. Maybe 1 bubble every 1-2 seconds.

And as more corals are added & higher demand, lower the pH to make the effluent 'more concentrated". 

[SubzeroLT]

30 minutes ago, Mahesh said:

Hi Leon, would like to know which ph measuring inst, solenoid do u use and recommend? I understood u r not cutting of ur CO2 when desired pH achieved.

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Not relying on the solenoid to cut out the CO2 is just a matter of fine tuning the effluent flow rate & bubble count. Not so much related to the equipment used.

 

In any case, i'm using the Apex Neptune to measure pH. Using a Milwaukee double junction pH probe.

For CO2 solenoid, i'm using an Ocean Free dual gauge solenoid. 

[SubzeroLT]

Tank maintenance + water change weekend.

 

Usual maintenance routine includes :

• Measure water parameters. For me, I usually measure it just before water change to know what its like at its 'worst' water condition
• Look for aiptasia & inject with Aiptasia X
• Trim corals

 

Measured Phosphate levels. Close to 0.1ppm phosphate after the conversion. Time to change the rowaphos.

 

Nitrates : 5ppm. Hmm...gone up a little due to increased feeding. Need to ramp up flow of the sulfur reactor a little.

 

Calcium : 420ppm,

Mg : 1440ppm

Alkalinity : 

 

[soggycookies]

Tank maintenance + water change weekend.
 
Usual maintenance routine includes :

• Measure water parameters. For me, I usually measure it just before water change to know what its like at its 'worst' water condition
• Look for aiptasia & inject with Aiptasia X
• Trim corals

 
Measured Phosphate levels. Close to 0.1ppm phosphate after the conversion. Time to change the rowaphos.

 
Nitrates : 5ppm. Hmm...gone up a little due to increased feeding. Need to ramp up flow of the sulfur reactor a little.

 
Calcium : 420ppm,
Mg : 1440ppm
Alkalinity : 

 

Thanks for sharing your meticulous maintenance schedule with us Leon. Always a great reference point for others in the hobby. Cheers!


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[weizhi10]

How to get a new set of controller?

It was extremely inconvenient to realize the compressor temperature controller is not working properly at 11pm.
I noticed the compressor switching on/off more frequently but didn't think much of it. It happened to be a lot worse now. Noticed it suddenly read the tank temperature as 32degC which triggered the compressor to turn on. Then quickly reduced back down to 27degC within 3min.
 

Tried swapping to a new temperature probe but the issue persisted. It was finally resolved after swapping in a new temperature controller. Then monitored it run a full on/off cycle with the compressor at 3am.
 
This is what the Apex temperature chat looked like before & after the temperature controller change.

Forward looking my plan for the temperature controller is :

• Have a full set on standby (not struggling to replace the components at night)
• Preventive replacement once every 3 years (my set is 4yrs old)

Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

[SubzeroLT]

48 minutes ago, weizhi10 said:

How to get a new set of controller?

 

 

You can get it from the components from ebay or from Sim Lim Tower for self replacement. But do this only if one is savvy with electrical things.

Else just get it from the person who set up your compressor.

 

[SubzeroLT]

Measured my phosphate yesterday. Reading was about 0.1ppm.  Sharing some pics of the process.

Last Rowaphos change was 7th March. Its now 10th May. So its roughly 2 months replacement cadence. Some pics of the replacement process :

 

This is how the Rowaphos media is stored - with a small tub of damp sponge to ensure it remains humid inside the container & not letting the media dry out.

 

About 11cm height of media is right for my tank (850 liters) to last about 2 months.

 

Sponge & separators removed for the moment. Using the container to rinse the rowa with RODI.

After about 6 rounds of rinsing, the reddish fines are washed away and water looks like this.

 

Take the rowa out. Put in the sponge & separators

 

Put old test tube over the center tube. Then scoop in the washed rowa

 

Once all hooked up, the flow rate is tuned for the Rowa level to tumble & rise to about 75% height of the reactor . Never reaching the sponge else some media will escape into the tank or clog up the sponge.

 

Record in diary & set reminder to check phosphate levels 6-8 weeks later.