Zac's Nano 24g jbj

[Zac]

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[Zac]

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[Zac]

Moonlight.

[Zac]

FTS 06/05/2012

[Zac]

my Plate recovering after shifting into shelter. guess my leds are way too strong for it.

[Zac]

Recently been stocking up my tank with sps bit by bit. Grew confident after the few frags that I acquired is doing well with growth spotted.

However coloration can be still improved.

Contemplating to

1)remove my sand bed to bare bottom

2)reduce carbon dosing?

3) Dose AA

4)Feed Sps with More food example Phytoplankton?

Note I change water frequently say 3 days 20%.

I would also like to DIY a mini fridge to dose 5 in 1 coral food. Anyone knows where to buy those small fridge?

[Zac]

Some updates on my most recent project!

2 years back, i chanced upon this great product that is not so well-know in the asian reefing scene.

I purchased the basic package which consist of:

1) Reef Angel Controller (Head Unit)

2) 1 x Temperature Probe

3) Relay Hub ( Power Bar- 8 Sockets )

4) pH Probe

5) 2 x Float Switch

This setup which controls/monitor the basic function/parameters of my reef, served me for 2 years.

This is what it does:

1) Temperature monitor and control function: It cuts off my lighting unit and wave makers should chiller decide to fail and the temerature rises to-- in my case 30 Degree Celsious

2) Controls the reef's lighting function : Daylight (2pm-9pm), Artinic (12pm-2pm, 9pm-11pm), Moonlights (9pm-2pm)

3) pH Controller : I do not run Calcium Reactor, therefore my usage is only to monitor.

4) Float Switch : not utilised as ATO is not in my setup

In a short span of 2 years, tons of development and improvements have been made to this product by the community of this "open-source", programmable controller. (which is the main reason why I loved this product.)

These are the few add-ons that I've recently acquired:

1) Dosing Pumps

2) Wireless Attachment

3) RF Expansion module (Controls my MP10 and Radion--which I plan to add-on )

4) Salinity Hub w/ Probe

Here is how it looks it all like- together!

[Zac]

Just love the wireless Hub! i can now monitor my tank using my Laptop, Iphone and even on my galaxy note! i can even switch on/off ALL my equipments that are hooked up to the Relay Hub! I can switch On/Off my lights while viewing my tank comfortably from my couch!

Here's how the control interface on Galaxy Note look like!

[Zac]

Getting alot of question about the Reef Angel Controller therefore i would like to share my personal views on this product as a reefer.

Feel free to ask me questions i would be glad to answer them.

i got my Reef angel like i say somewhere around 2-3 years ago, when i chance upon this product for the US i was very excited that it is really affordable. and it has amazing review on Reef Central! its like the Best controller ever (sworn by Reefers on Reefcentral) the only draw back was that this was an open source controller that requires alot of programming skills which apparently i had none

I was keen to get my hands on one and try ! therefore i email ReefAngel US about how can someone like me who dosnt have any programming background be able to use their product! they replied - you do not need any programming knowledge to be able to use our RA controller with the basic Function, and in any case if you wish to program your controller to specifically suit the need of your reef the RA US and the RA community will be more than willing to guide you thru! ( that was a rather consoling answer ) hence i decide to give the basic setup a try. (i am using the basic setup as i am running a 28g nano as you can see)

By now perhaps you might have question like what does the basic set do for me and my Reef. I will try to list down the and show pictures of what the basic feature does!

[Zac]

The Basic Set consist of

1) Head Unit (32k)

2) Relay Box 8 channel

3) Communication Cable (This connect the Relay Box to the Head Unit)

4) PH Probe

5) Temperature Probe

6) 2x Float Switch

7)USB Cable (connects your Head Unit to the computer for programming)

Here is a pic of the Basic menu whats cool about the basic menu is that it shows the graphs of the parameters in my tank. example Temperature of Tank, Temp of Room, Temp of Hood, and PH

Note : please ignore the readings as it is not hook up to my tank yet.

Green color represent that the port is on, Red represent that the port is closed.

[Zac]

The Default port to plug in your equipments

Port 1: Auto top-off pump

Port 2: Moonlight lights

Port 3: Actinic lights

Port 4: Daylight lights

Port 5: Wavemaker pump 2

Port 6: Wavemaker pump 1

Port 7: Heater

Port 8: Return pump

1. Feeding

This is a special mode that can be used when you are feeding your livestock. It disables the Wavemaker ports (Ports 5 and 6).

The duration of this mode is 15 minutes and a countdown is shown on the screen.

2. Water Change

This is a special mode that can be used when you are doing maintenance on your tank, such as a water change. It disables the ATO, Wavemaker, Heater and Return ports (Ports 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8).

(This mode does not have a preset duration and can only be terminated by pressing the joystick down.)

[Zac]

1. Standard Lights

This option will let you setup your light schedule. These settings are for your Daylight port (Port 4).

The Actinic Port (Port 3) is offset by 30 minutes. The offset is for both ends of your lighting cycle. Actinic lights will turn on 30 minutes before and turn off 30 minutes after your Daylight lights.

You can use the joystick up/down to increase or decrease the selected field. You can use the joystick left/right to move to another field.

The times are in military time (24hrs format).

After configuring your light schedule, navigate to the “Ok” button and press the joystick. Navigating to the button “Cancel” and pressing the joystick will discard any changes.

This menu option is used to setup your light schedule, the dimming port output level and also turn your lights on/off for those occasions when you just want to temporarily show off your tank to your guests.

LED PWM

This option will let you setup the maximum level of your dimming signal for each dimming port.

It is preconfigured to always start and end at zero.

The wave pattern that will be generated is a parabola, which simulates the rise and set of the sun.

You can use the joystick up/down to increase or decrease the selected field. You can use the joystick left/right to move to another field.

After configuring your maximum level for each dimming signal, navigate to the “Ok” button and press the joystick.

Navigating to the button “Cancel” and pressing the joystick will discard any changes.

[Gouldian]

Hey bro,

Hope to see your set-up in person one day.

[MadScientist]

Me too

[Zac]

Sure Bro Gouldian and Mad Scientist. but my tank is just a super simple setup. still struggling to get my sps to be more colorful lots to learn from you guys!

[Zac]

WaveMaker used to use this option for my K nano and K1 alternating at different interval. however after changing to Mp10 i seldom us this feature.

[Zac]

These are the few add-ons that I've recently acquired:

1) Dosing Pumps

2) Wireless Attachment

3) RF Expansion module (Controls my MP10 and Radion--which I plan to add-on )

4) Salinity Hub w/ Probe

honestly speaking the 1st Generation RA controller isnt very stable but after 2 years alot of improvement has been made to the controller i dare say that now the controller is very stable and easy to use. When i say easy to use means that the Reef Angel has developed a software (RA Wizard) that makes customizing the controller a breeze!

The Wireless Attachment is definitely a must to acquire!!! it allows me to monitor and control my reef wireless at any part of my home! for instance when i wake up in the morning i usually will go to my tank which is in another room to check if everything is ok is there a drastic PH Swing ? temperature too high or too cold? salinity spike? (in case i forgotten to top up my DI water attached to my dosing pump for water top off) or dosing pump faulty etc......... now when i feel lazy i will just check my galaxy note and when i hit refresh using the RA App wala! immediately i have the parameters at my fingertips. also i can choose to switch off or on any any ports this is very useful for example when i see that the room temperature is getting a little to high i will just hit port 7 on which is attached to a fan!

i also like the fact that i can tuck away the controller away form the danger of water splashes! one bad point is that this is not splash proof. when doing water change i will just hit water change mode which switches off my dosing pumps, lights and also wavemakers! Currently waiting for my relay expansion pack to arrived so i can plug in and control another 16 ports!( Up to 8 relay expansion modules can be connected simultaneously, for a total of 72 individually controlled sockets! that is if you need that much LOL)

Did i mention that i can monitor my params and also control the ports when iam away from home even overseas! when my temperature hits 29 my lights will automatically go off and the controller will send me an email or sms then i can decide if i need to switch off other ports if necessary.

i am still trying to figure out how to best configure it to fully ultilise the potential of the controller and also make reefing easier! The folks using this controller loves it and they are constantly giving feedback and dreams list to make the controller better for us reefers!

Thats all for now will update when the next shipment comes in.

Cheers

[Zac]

something Cool that i code with my Reef Angel.

In this code, I have my vortech mp10 run in long pulse for from 3pm to 5pm at 100%

and reefcrest from 10pm to 6am at 40%

then reefcrest from 6am to 3pm at 80%

I also have the vortech go to constant at 0% when I'm doing water changes.

[tropic]

Very techy. Read these also quite popular in reefcentral. Just a quick check, what voltage is the main controller unit running on? The relays port has a US plug point ( notice you use a pin adaptor)

[Zac]

All Reef Angel products are ready to be used worldwide. Any voltage from 100VAC to 250VAC and any frequency from 50Hz to 60Hz.

yes it is currently US Plug. can't wait for the universal plug version to be out, they are working on it. no news of release date yet.

[Zac]

set up my float switch yesterday. since iam not using ATO i have been thinking how i can utilize my float switch. decided that i should use it to alert me if my pump decided to fail on me.

[Zac]

my controller send me an email alert while i was changing water. how cool is that!

[Zac]

finally set up my frag tank. got my RA controller to on the fan on my frag tank at 27 deg and off it at 26.5 deg. will post pics when it is set up and operational

[Zac]

my web banner show T1 = frag tank temperature.

T2= Display Tank temperature.

[Zac]

my controller alerted me .. Low PH, hmm is it normal for PH to swing to 7.8 ?