Marine Moron: Take Two!

[Bedowyn]

Hello Everyone. I have a story that you might find entertaining.

Once upon a time, their was a 40 year old man, with a 3 year old daughter and a lovely wife. That lovely wife had encouraged said man to take up his long neglected desire to start up the Marine hobby. And so equipment was purchased, research was done, and conversation was had. Indeed, you can see some of that conversation here: http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/318523-marine-moron-first-nano-reef/

 

And then things changed. An inheritance came to the family from the passing of the man's father. And said money was directed into the concept of fixing and selling the old house, and moving to a new. Everything miscellaneous was put on hold, and the equipment went into storage. It took a year to fix and sell the old house, another year to build the new house, and then two more before we were able to finish and paint the basement. It has litteraly been 4 years, this week. But FINALLY, the used Bio Cube 29 has a permanent home, and the process can start anew. Hence this new thread.

 

Here is the kicker though. I have forgotten EVERYTHING. Indeed, I am not even sure what all I have. And I definitely am not up to speed on what the state of the hobby and its technology might be. For example, I know I ordered a Steve's LED setup for my hood, but never tested it or put it in place. And now I am not sure if that unit is worth having, given how much LED technology has advanced in the last few years. So I have to wipe away all the previous, cobwebbed presumptions and half memories, and start from scratch.

 

Having rediscovered my previous post, I became very excited and just had to start a new one. Even if it is a bit premature (for lack of details). I am going to do an inventory of my current equipment. And I will probably come back with a whole boat load of questions. Who is with me?

[WV Reefer]

Staying tuned.

[ajmckay]

Welcome back. It will come back quickly Just take a few window shopping trips around your LFS!

[Clown79]

Welcome

 

Ask as many questions as you need. Everyone on here is really helpful

[SelectedByNature]

Wow this is just like my story!

 

Minus the wife, and daughter, and new house. Actually I guess the only thing we have in common is a biocube, but I'm cheering for you bother.

[fishhands]

At least you're hobby isn't phones or computers. Those have really changed in 4yrs.

[Bcb577]

Everything has changed,I would suggest that you sell it all to me for ten bucks and start over,lol jk

[Bedowyn]

Actually, Im an IT manager. You know... computers... phones.

[gonebad395]

Wow this is just like my story!

 

Minus the wife, and daughter, and new house. Actually I guess the only thing we have in common is a biocube, but I'm cheering for you bother.

I laughed my ass off on this

But on a serious note welcome back man some things have changed but the basics are still the basics read a bit it will all come back

[Bedowyn]

The intent is to drag out all the equipment and do an inventory. I will post the results with relative questions, and hopefully that will get things going for us.

 

In the meantime, lets talk about a basic RO water setup. Cost? Time? Difficulty? Pros and cons. Thanks!

[ajmckay]

IME getting an RO filter is a great idea. My tank was never truly "awesome" (meaning I never felt it was truly successful because I was always battling algae and high nitrates) until I switched to making my own RO water at home. I started with tap and quickly moved to store bought RO filtered water from the refill machine. Cheap but never really knew what the TDS of the water was - honestly I had algae issues with that water as well. I don't know of any cons to setting up an RODI.

 

 

Plan to spend $125-$200 for a basic unit. The spectrapure refurbished units are pretty popular because they're on the lower end of the cost spectrum and the resident RODI filter expert recommends them.

 

That being said, however, you can also get some pretty awesome deals at BRS, MarineDepot, AirWaterIce, etc... I think most would say spend the few extra dollars and get a unit that takes full size filters over the "value" systems you get on eBay and the like.

 

The time to set it up is minimal. Probably took me an hour my first time around but I also had a piece that broke so I had to run to ACE and find a replacement. I ordered a BRS unit and it came with everything I needed. I used a saddle valve and tapped into a cold water copper pipe in my basement.

[Bedowyn]

My thinking as well; start off optimal and avoid hauling tons of water down the stairs.

 

Would this model not suffice?

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00204CQF6/ref=twister_B00DV4370M?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

[Newstead]

My thinking as well; start off optimal and avoid hauling tons of water down the stairs.

 

Would this model not suffice?

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00204CQF6/ref=twister_B00DV4370M?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

That looks like just a RO unit. You really want RODI. I was going to buy a refurbished Spectrapure 90g system but they ran a special on a new system that included replacement filters. TDS meter, etc. so I went with that one. Keep an eye out.

 

Here is the refurbished unit

 

http://spectrapure.com/Refurbished-90-GPD-RODI-System

[Clown79]

Either use ro/di or distilled. Its pure water. Ro will still have stuff in it.

[reeferbrownies]

Im running a full size Ebay RODI unit under the name WaterProShop. It's functioned fine for me at 0 TDS. When it came the DI tube was cracked and they shipped a replacement in a few days.

[Bedowyn]

The link should have been to a RO and DI unit, 50 gpd, for about $75. Which happens to be the amount I have.

[Polarcollision]

I splurged on a spectrapure RODI system 3 years ago. Have only changed the sediment filters once (because our water is full of silt) and the RO membrane once because I thought it was failing. It wasn't, I was. 0 TDS still.

 

http://spectrapure.com/RO-RODI/RODI-SYSTEMS

[Bedowyn]

Based on further discussion, I went ahead and ordered the amazon system while it was on sale, and before I spend the money on something different.

 

I also - finally - did that inventory. Wow. I have no idea what I have, but I guess I should start at the beginning. So, stay tuned... more posts coming as I can type them and figure out how to post pictures.

[Bedowyn]

So the first thing I will say is that this system does not make picture manipulation very easy or intuitive. Definitely not WYSIWYG, unless I am doing something wrong. Having said that, I will do the best I can. (And probably do quite a few quick edits to get it just right.)

So, I pulled out everything I have. The basic inventory was the Oceanic BioCube 29, with original unhinged hood, relative power supplies, and a very old, beat up but sturdy stand. There was also a a box from Steve's LEDs and another unopened one from inTank. Keep in mind that I did a bunch of research, did some purchasing, and then immediately dropped the entire project. So I am clueless as to some of this content, and my thinking when I made the purchases.

The hood is very straight forward (I think) and unmodified: two tubes and a strip of LEDs, I presume for "nightime" lighting. The Steve's package was clearly intended to be an LED upgrade, but we will get to that in due time.

The cube itself is also unmodified. It is clearly used, but seems in good shape. I obviously need to do a leak test, before I get too much farther. I do recall removing the floor from chamber #1, but I think it is otherwise "original."

 

If you read my old thread, you will see that their was a "rock wall" included with my original purchase. Basically, and as I understand it, this is a platform that goes up the back wall, glued to which are a set of inert "live rocks." The idea is to add more surface are to the tank, while attractively using the back wall of the tank. A couple of pieces came loose and need to be (hot) glued back. But I really like this idea and hope it will work well.

 

 

Next, we will open up that inTank box, and try to figure out what the hell I ordered for myself. This is where I am going to need some help. Stay tuned.

 

[Bedowyn]

Ok, so the tank is fairly straight forward. But what is in the inTank mystery box? 4 years ago, I went on a shopping spree, gathering items big and small. Much of this was based on comprehensive advice. And now, I recall neither what I bought, nor why. I really REALLY need any and all available advice on these items. What are they? Are they still viable and valid? What do I do with them? What should my alternative be?

 

 

But first, the un-boxing. It was tightly packed and full of goodies. Here you see them arrayed before you. Exciting, yes?

 

 

But what they are? Let us look at each...

 

 

"Chemi-Pure Elite." I presume this is the high end equivalent of charcoal, providing chemical filtration? I also gather that it goes in a bag, suspended in chamber two?

 

 

"Purigen." Absorbent filtration. My presumption is that this also goes in the second chamber, and is serving as the physical filter? Goes in a bag, or just a big wad?

 

 

Deeper in the mystery... A pair of towers... baskets... I'm not sure? A "fugee basket" and a "media basket." My rusty memory tells me that these go in the back, and make changes easier. But a fugee is a kind of helpful algae? That does the biological filtration? Help!

 

 

The "Nano Glow" is a bit more obvious. I presume it mounts over the window at the back, and helps or fugee grow and thrive?

 

I remember wanting some sort of active agitation as the water came back into the tank. I do NOT remember the specifics, but I presume this is it.

 

Standard magnet tank cleaner thingy. (I think.)

 

 

This guy claims to be a Cobalt MJ-1200. And I presume this is my pump? Goes in chamber one? If so, I do not see how it would work.. Again... help?

 

 

And then there is this guy. I have NO idea what this is, or what purpose it should serve.

 

Many many questions. I also notice that I have NO heater. What do I need? What else am I missing? So... thoughts? Please... THANKS!

[Bedowyn]

I found this page. Very helpful.

 

http://shop.mediabaskets.com/Oceanic-BioCube-29-Package-Deal-BC29-Bundle.htm

[Bedowyn]

Final opening was the box from Steve's LED. This was the one I was most concerned about, because it had been moved 4 times, and the box was totally shredded on one end. Plus, I also was not sure what exactly this should have contained. But it looks really good.

 

Going through the contents, I found some stickers and business cards. Because, Marketing.

Of course, I found the L-Shaped Light setup, two separate power supplies and a connecting wire. This was not all clear to me until after I had read some relative directions. (The results are below.)

 

There also seemed to be a small, more generic LED setup, with a remote control. This baffled me, because I did not know what these where for.

But then it all became a bit clearer, because they were good enough to include an invoice and packing list.

 

Steve's customer service has been, so far, very good. I was able to determine that the small LEDs are apparently intended to be moon lights, although I am still not sure if I actually need these, and/or how I will use them. Thoughts?

 

 

 

I was much better at figuring out how to hook up the two power supplies to the main lights. And I was able to do a quick test. HORY CLAP, those things are bright. My presumption is that the two separate power supplies are intended to allow a kind of sunrise/sunset effect. But will I be able to gradually bring them up or down, ala a fader? Or will I just pop them on and off with a timer?

In any case, it looks like I have some hood surgery to do.