AcroporaLokani's Frag Tank

[brshriver]

So I just saw incredible pics on your other thread. The puppy ate that camera that took those pics? Say it ain't so.

 

Also - on the frag discs, mine have been soaking in water for ~48 hours now, switched out the water last night, so new water each 24 hours.... think they're good? I made about 120 discs between large and small..

 

did you just dump them all in your tank after wards or slowly add them? Somewhere I hear 1 disc for each gallon of volume... which would mean roughly 70 discs... got lots of room in my sump..

I put mine in a gallon pitcher and let the waste of my RO/DI filter fill the pitcher and overflow into the wash basin. That works really well.

[rbrusletto]

So I just saw incredible pics on your other thread. The puppy ate that camera that took those pics? Say it ain't so.

 

 

I put mine in a gallon pitcher and let the waste of my RO/DI filter fill the pitcher and overflow into the wash basin. That works really well.

 

 

Not a bad idea, would have to mod my current RO setup...

[brshriver]

Not a bad idea, would have to mod my current RO setup...

I had an RO/DI that already drained into the wash basin anyway, so all I had to do was throw the plugs in a pitcher and put it in the basin. My kind of solution

[AcroporaLokani]

OUCH that sucks!

 

I've been happy with my sony SD-850, but it's still a point and shoot... goot for all around everything, but it does do time lapse too..

 

 

Also - on the frag discs, mine have been soaking in water for ~48 hours now, switched out the water last night, so new water each 24 hours.... think they're good? I made about 120 discs between large and small..

 

did you just dump them all in your tank after wards or slowly add them? Somewhere I hear 1 disc for each gallon of volume... which would mean roughly 70 discs... got lots of room in my sump..

 

Ill look in to that camera.

 

With the frag disks I just added them whenever I needed them. Usually the frag glue does not stick well to wet frag plugs so I just keep them in a dry bucket after they have cured.

 

And if you already soaked the plugs in distilled white vinegar for 48 hours then yes your plugs are ready to use , Happy fragging.

 

So I just saw incredible pics on your other thread. The puppy ate that camera that took those pics? Say it ain't so.

 

Yes, and thanks most of the pictures were the pic of 75-100 pictures taken.

 

Not a bad idea, would have to mod my current RO setup...

 

What brand of RO do you have? I don't use one since the water I use is from an underground river that flows right under my house (and the whole town I live in) and its clean from the water tests I have done, but I'm moving in about two weeks and the water at my new home is from a natural spring and there are a few minerals that I don't think would be to good for the tank so I ill end up having to get one. But its worth it since my new yard is huge.

 

I had an RO/DI that already drained into the wash basin anyway, so all I had to do was throw the plugs in a pitcher and put it in the basin. My kind of solution

 

Sounds like a good solution.

[rbrusletto]

Heres the equivalent, mine is two years old, I've got a 20 gallon rubbermaid, that I have a float valve mounted so it fills ~15 gallons, then a 1" bulkhead at the bottom for pouring water into buckets .... I'll see if I cant get a pic.. I've never tested the max I can get for gpd... but I've done at least 40-60 gpd...

 

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~act...es~vendor~.html

 

I had an RO/DI that already drained into the wash basin anyway, so all I had to do was throw the plugs in a pitcher and put it in the basin. My kind of solution

 

 

mine wasterwater line goes directly into the on the floor, so no luck there...awesome idea though..

[AcroporaLokani]

That looks like a good one. i was looking at one that was about $120 but I think it may be to crappy so ill look more in to the one you posted thanks

 

 

 

 

Oh and I made a few new molds for frag plugs.

[brshriver]

That looks like a good one. i was looking at one that was about $120 but I think it may be to crappy so ill look more in to the one you posted thanks

Well, I own a couple of units now and I wonder if there is any difference between them all in the end - except for bells and whistles like inline TDS meters, pressure gauges and auto back flush. I have a CoraLife with a booster pump (we are on well water) and it has an auto back flush feature that back flushes the membrane for about 5 seconds every time you power up the pump. That is a really nice feature. However, the pump's diaphragm went up in around a year causing it to leak. Replacement parts are hard to come by other than contacting the manufacturer. They sent me a replacement part for free - but it was the wrong one . The power supply also fried in under a year, but I bought a generic replacement on ebay and wired it in - putting that EE degree to good use.

 

As for the rest of the components, it all depends on the membranes and cartridges. Most of the coralife unit is very generic. 3 canisters for cartridges that are universal sized and then an RO membrane housing that also seems to fit standard sized membranes.

 

I got a third unit with a used setup for my latest build. It has SpectraPure DI cartridges. They seem to be better than the CoraLife and Kent Marine ones with my well water as I replaced existing ones with them and finally got to 0 TDS. So I would recommend SpectraPure cartrirges.

[JourneyReef]

Would you consider putting some prices next to your pics so people can PM you if the prices sound right?

[AcroporaLokani]

Well, I own a couple of units now and I wonder if there is any difference between them all in the end - except for bells and whistles like inline TDS meters, pressure gauges and auto back flush. I have a CoraLife with a booster pump (we are on well water) and it has an auto back flush feature that back flushes the membrane for about 5 seconds every time you power up the pump. That is a really nice feature. However, the pump's diaphragm went up in around a year causing it to leak. Replacement parts are hard to come by other than contacting the manufacturer. They sent me a replacement part for free - but it was the wrong one . The power supply also fried in under a year, but I bought a generic replacement on ebay and wired it in - putting that EE degree to good use.

 

As for the rest of the components, it all depends on the membranes and cartridges. Most of the coralife unit is very generic. 3 canisters for cartridges that are universal sized and then an RO membrane housing that also seems to fit standard sized membranes.

 

I got a third unit with a used setup for my latest build. It has SpectraPure DI cartridges. They seem to be better than the CoraLife and Kent Marine ones with my well water as I replaced existing ones with them and finally got to 0 TDS. So I would recommend SpectraPure cartrirges.

 

Thanks for the info, coralife was the $120 RO I was looking at so you guessed it . Ill probably have to take an hour or so to look each brand up and reviews for them. I dont think I would want to spring for the boost pump, I am going to have good water pressure at my new house but I hope it will be good enough.

 

Probably a stupid question but how do you hook on of these up? I haven't ever had one. I usually just try and stick with the basics for my tanks but now I am thinking the source water may not be pure enough for my SPS.

 

Would you consider putting some prices next to your pics so people can PM you if the prices sound right?

 

If you are interested in any of my corals you can PM me, I would put the prices up but I think that is against the rules since this is not the livestock sale forum (I may be wrong and it could be perfectly fine to label each pic with prices not to sure). But the best way to contact me is in PM if you are interested in buying any of my coral frags . And I do ship if you were interested.

[nate_j]

 

 

where do you get all of your little frag pieces from? do you buy them? and are they for sale?

[brshriver]

Thanks for the info, coralife was the $120 RO I was looking at so you guessed it . Ill probably have to take an hour or so to look each brand up and reviews for them. I dont think I would want to spring for the boost pump, I am going to have good water pressure at my new house but I hope it will be good enough.

I have two coralife units (or at least they started that way). They have been ok, but I did have the problems l mentioned above.

 

No need for a booster pump if your public water supply is 60 to 80 PSI. Most are. I have well water and my well pump runs at 40PSI. I would rather use a booster than up the well pressure setting. 40PSI will still run the RO/DI unit, but it is more efficient if you boost the pressure to 60 to 80 PSI.

 

Probably a stupid question but how do you hook on of these up? I haven't ever had one. I usually just try and stick with the basics for my tanks but now I am thinking the source water may not be pure enough for my SPS.

Not a stupid question at all. I remember wondering the same thing and never really got a decent answer. It was all "buy some things that look like they will work and trial and error from there and buy more things".

 

Some notes:

 

1) RODI units produce about 3 gallons of waste/non-filtered water for every gallon of RODI water. So you need a place to drain the waste. The unit will have two 1/4 inch tubes for output. A blue one which will be the pure water. A red one which will be the waste water. These are easy to extend with john guest fittings and cheap tubing if you need. John guest fittings are awesome and require no tools or much knowledge to use. You just insert the two ends of the tube in them, push hard, and you are done!

 

2) The EASY option: You can buy a fixture to hook the unit up to an existing sink - a wash basin sink that will hold a 5 gallon jug is ideal. This is the easiest way to go if it works for your setup. You simply attach the fitting to the end of the faucet and away you go. I have one that has a button that lets you easily switch between using the sink and running the filter. With this setup, you put the waste line in the basin and a collection container in the basin and turn on the sink. Just hank the RO unit on the wall near the sink. When the collection container fills up, it simply overflows down the sink drain. Flow rates are slow so wasting water is not a big problem if you accidentally let it run over night.

 

3) More automated but more also complicated option: You can tap off of an existing plumbing line just like a refrigerator's ice maker would. Ice maker kits will even work for this. For the unit that fills my salt mix tub, this is what I have done. It is more complicated though as you need an auto shutoff valve to turn the unit off when it is filled or you will flood the room. You still need somewhere to drain the waste water though. It doesn't have to be too close, but close enough to run a little nylon tube to without the tube being in the way.

 

4) For top-off control, DON'T buy the little cheap kent marine style float valves that look like a rectangular toilet float combined with a pressure sensitive solenoid. I tried this first and found it error prone, leaky, etc.. Buy an electronic solenoid to cut off the water supply to the RODI unit. They have john guest fittings built in and install effortlessly. Also by an electronic ATO switch to control the solenoid. Plug in the ATO switch, hang it in the collection container so that it shuts off at the desired fill level, plug the solenoid into the ATO, turn on the water supply and away you go. It will fill the container and shut off everything when it is done. Just don't "hang" the ATO switch on a random pipe in the basement while rearranging things, turn the unit on and forget about to hang the ATO switch back in the container - that tries to ATO your basement and is a very wet experience. Personal experience talking there

 

To get pure water, depending on your tap water, you'll need one or more DI stages after the RO. I think I need two or three.

 

Hooking up the units is easy. Making sure you don't flood something is the only trick

 

HTH

[dtfleming]

Yea I've had water on the basement floor from forgetting about the water and left it running. I run mine into a 20gal trash can. airwaterice.com has some good units. I buy my filters from them. I have a 6 stage unit and can get a tds of 0ppm of well water. I really need a booster pump though.

[The Propagator]

I would get a Canon powershot if it were me.

Can't beat them for the price and photo quality.

[AcroporaLokani]

where do you get all of your little frag pieces from? do you buy them? and are they for sale?

 

I grew the parent colonies and then fragged them. So the original parent corals I did buy but I made all the frags myself, Its a lot easier to frag corals than most people who have never tried think (as long as you have good lighting/water/water flow that is). And yes they are for sale, you can send me a PM if you are interested in buying some and I will ship to anywhere in the continental U.S.A if you pay for shipping/box .

 

I have two coralife units (or at least they started that way). They have been ok, but I did have the problems l mentioned above.

 

No need for a booster pump if your public water supply is 60 to 80 PSI. Most are. I have well water and my well pump runs at 40PSI. I would rather use a booster than up the well pressure setting. 40PSI will still run the RO/DI unit, but it is more efficient if you boost the pressure to 60 to 80 PSI.

 

 

Not a stupid question at all. I remember wondering the same thing and never really got a decent answer. It was all "buy some things that look like they will work and trial and error from there and buy more things".

 

Some notes:

 

1) RODI units produce about 3 gallons of waste/non-filtered water for every gallon of RODI water. So you need a place to drain the waste. The unit will have two 1/4 inch tubes for output. A blue one which will be the pure water. A red one which will be the waste water. These are easy to extend with john guest fittings and cheap tubing if you need. John guest fittings are awesome and require no tools or much knowledge to use. You just insert the two ends of the tube in them, push hard, and you are done!

 

2) The EASY option: You can buy a fixture to hook the unit up to an existing sink - a wash basin sink that will hold a 5 gallon jug is ideal. This is the easiest way to go if it works for your setup. You simply attach the fitting to the end of the faucet and away you go. I have one that has a button that lets you easily switch between using the sink and running the filter. With this setup, you put the waste line in the basin and a collection container in the basin and turn on the sink. Just hank the RO unit on the wall near the sink. When the collection container fills up, it simply overflows down the sink drain. Flow rates are slow so wasting water is not a big problem if you accidentally let it run over night.

 

3) More automated but more also complicated option: You can tap off of an existing plumbing line just like a refrigerator's ice maker would. Ice maker kits will even work for this. For the unit that fills my salt mix tub, this is what I have done. It is more complicated though as you need an auto shutoff valve to turn the unit off when it is filled or you will flood the room. You still need somewhere to drain the waste water though. It doesn't have to be too close, but close enough to run a little nylon tube to without the tube being in the way.

 

4) For top-off control, DON'T buy the little cheap kent marine style float valves that look like a rectangular toilet float combined with a pressure sensitive solenoid. I tried this first and found it error prone, leaky, etc.. Buy an electronic solenoid to cut off the water supply to the RODI unit. They have john guest fittings built in and install effortlessly. Also by an electronic ATO switch to control the solenoid. Plug in the ATO switch, hang it in the collection container so that it shuts off at the desired fill level, plug the solenoid into the ATO, turn on the water supply and away you go. It will fill the container and shut off everything when it is done. Just don't "hang" the ATO switch on a random pipe in the basement while rearranging things, turn the unit on and forget about to hang the ATO switch back in the container - that tries to ATO your basement and is a very wet experience. Personal experience talking there

 

To get pure water, depending on your tap water, you'll need one or more DI stages after the RO. I think I need two or three.

 

Hooking up the units is easy. Making sure you don't flood something is the only trick

 

HTH

 

Im not sure what my PSI will be, I am building my new house myself but I haven done the pluming yet. I'm actually trying to find a plumber in my area willing to drive to my building site (Its in the middle of no where, No neighbors for about fifteen miles ). And I wont have city water, Ill have cisterns filled by spring water. My house will actually be run off of solar power since there are no power lines or water lines or anything like that so there isn't an option for city water.

 

Ill probably end up setting this RO up in my laundry/mud room since there will be a drain in the floor and a big tub sink.

 

With 3 gallons of waist water for every gallon produced ill probably have to have a drain in the floor just so my house doesn't flood.

Im not sure if I would want to hook the RO up to my actual plumbing just because I would be worried like you said about it not shutting off, Ill probably go with one that just goes on the sink.

 

And thank you so much for all your helpful information.

 

Yea I've had water on the basement floor from forgetting about the water and left it running. I run mine into a 20gal trash can. airwaterice.com has some good units. I buy my filters from them. I have a 6 stage unit and can get a tds of 0ppm of well water. I really need a booster pump though.

 

Ill look in to that web-site thanks.

 

 

I would get a Canon powershot if it were me.

Can't beat them for the price and photo quality.

 

 

YAY! Prop isn't banned anymore. Or the board I was reading wasn't true about you getting banned.

 

Ill look in to the powershots, I was actually looking at one camera that was about $3,000 that took very nice pictures (don't remember the name). But that will be a while off until I can save up 3K and money for the lenses.

[kgehrke]

I just got one from the filterguys.biz and I like it. It came with a line tapping thing, but I wasn't sure were I wanted it permanently so i went to lowes and bought about 5 adapters that work perfectly from my sink to my ro-di unit. I think going with one from air water ice or filterguys is the way to go. Both places have great customer service and very high quality products. I went with the ocean wave plus and am happy with it.

Cool idea with the solar power, you should post results about how it works for you. Another cool, energy saving, fish related, idea is RC's thread of the month. I'm not a fan of the site sometimes, but they do have some cool people on there. This guys uses tubes coming down from his roof to light his tank, results are very cool.

[AcroporaLokani]

I just got one from the filterguys.biz and I like it. It came with a line tapping thing, but I wasn't sure were I wanted it permanently so i went to lowes and bought about 5 adapters that work perfectly from my sink to my ro-di unit. I think going with one from air water ice or filterguys is the way to go. Both places have great customer service and very high quality products. I went with the ocean wave plus and am happy with it.

Cool idea with the solar power, you should post results about how it works for you. Another cool, energy saving, fish related, idea is RC's thread of the month. I'm not a fan of the site sometimes, but they do have some cool people on there. This guys uses tubes coming down from his roof to light his tank, results are very cool.

 

Yes I've heard of the tubes for the roof "solar tubes" Is what they are called, Its lets natural sun light in the tank and is about $350 per tube. I just haven't seen any results for the colors of corals (specifically SPS corals) but ill look it up. I don't like RC either, I got banned from it about three years ago some guy started a thread about the best way to cull baby seahorses and I got in to an argument with him and was banned the next day.

 

Ill look in to filterguys and air water ice for the RO.

 

Also with the solar tubes I can't have any obstructions on my roof (I get about six to eight feet of snow in the winter, last year it even snowed on the fourth of July), I would just be worried that the top of the solar tube would get snow stuck to it and my roof would cave in after it all piled up or it would melt and leak. I can't even use sky lights for that same reason. I think it probably would be for efficient for me to buy two or three more solar panels to power a MH than to be standing out side looking at a caved in roof LOL. But if I could figure out how to be able to use one of those solar tubes it would be awesome.

[brshriver]

Yes I've heard of the tubes for the roof "solar tubes" Is what they are called, Its lets natural sun light in the tank and is about $350 per tube. I just haven't seen any results for the colors of corals (specifically SPS corals) but ill look it up.

The reefcentral thread shows excellent SPS colors and growth.

[brshriver]

Im not sure what my PSI will be,

It will probably be around 40. A booster pump is not needed but increases production rates and purity. I have ran for over a year at 40 PSI and got around 8 TD purity.

 

My house will actually be run off of solar power since there are no power lines or water lines or anything like that so there isn't an option for city water.

Way cool! When we lived near Denver, there were lots of companies that provided solar power for houses off the grid - typically in the mountains

 

Ill probably end up setting this RO up in my laundry/mud room since there will be a drain in the floor and a big tub sink.

That is exactly how I started - making it in the big tub sink and letting the waste and overflow (when I left it on too long) go down the sink. Quick, easy, effective.

 

With 3 gallons of waist water for every gallon produced ill probably have to have a drain in the floor just so my house doesn't flood.

Quick note. A 50gph unit will only produce about 2 gallons an hour so there are only 6 gallons of waste water an hour going down your sink - so that is not so bad.

 

Im not sure if I would want to hook the RO up to my actual plumbing just because I would be worried like you said about it not shutting off, Ill probably go with one that just goes on the sink.

You can still put the collection container and the waste line where they can overflow into a drain and not worry about it even if you tap off the plumbing. You can tap off of the plumbing line and use a $5 john gest manual shutoff valve to turn the supply to the RODI on and off. I have a few manual shutoff valves on mine even with all of the ATO junk.

 

Ill look in to the powershots, I was actually looking at one camera that was about $3,000 that took very nice pictures (don't remember the name). But that will be a while off until I can save up 3K and money for the lenses.

I use a PS - IS2 I think with 12x optical zoom and 0 inch minimum macro focus. I am happy with it .

[AcroporaLokani]

The reefcentral thread shows excellent SPS colors and growth.

 

Ok, Ill have to look it up. My internet isn't working properly for some reason. So it sometimes takes me like 20 minutes just for the "reply" page on here to even load.

 

It will probably be around 40. A booster pump is not needed but increases production rates and purity. I have ran for over a year at 40 PSI and got around 8 TD purity.

 

 

Way cool! When we lived near Denver, there were lots of companies that provided solar power for houses off the grid - typically in the mountains

 

 

That is exactly how I started - making it in the big tub sink and letting the waste and overflow (when I left it on too long) go down the sink. Quick, easy, effective.

 

 

Quick note. A 50gph unit will only produce about 2 gallons an hour so there are only 6 gallons of waste water an hour going down your sink - so that is not so bad.

 

 

You can still put the collection container and the waste line where they can overflow into a drain and not worry about it even if you tap off the plumbing. You can tap off of the plumbing line and use a $5 john gest manual shutoff valve to turn the supply to the RODI on and off. I have a few manual shutoff valves on mine even with all of the ATO junk.

 

 

I use a PS - IS2 I think with 12x optical zoom and 0 inch minimum macro focus. I am happy with it .

 

Yea I am in the mountains, I don't like having neighbors .

 

I want to thank you again for all your help, I don't think I've posted with someone as well informed about any form of tank equipment in my year of posting on NR. I probably would have been lost if I just ordered some random RO, But now I think I know enough to get one.

 

And that is very good to hear that it will only make about 3 gallons of waist water an hour, I probably would only use the RO for toping off the tank. And since my new frag tank/ display will be a covered 55 gal it shouldn't need more than a gallon or two a day.

 

EDIT I just looked up the solar thread on RC, I have now decided to have the solar tubes for my new frag/display tank. I looked at how they sit on the roof and since they are metal I think the snow will just slide off of them and there wont be a problem with the snow stacking up.

[brshriver]

I want to thank you again for all your help, I don't think I've posted with someone as well informed about any form of tank equipment in my year of posting on NR. I probably would have been lost if I just ordered some random RO, But now I think I know enough to get one.

glad it helped - I learned most of that the hard way

 

EDIT I just looked up the solar thread on RC, I have now decided to have the solar tubes for my new frag/display tank. I looked at how they sit on the roof and since they are metal I think the snow will just slide off of them and there wont be a problem with the snow stacking up.

make sure to run actinics so you can have the cool blue glowing eyes on your roof at night like he did

[AcroporaLokani]

I got a 14 inch suntube today. I was thinking about running possibly a few actinic PC lights or 50/50 PC if I can find a good one. It would be very funny to see the "UFO" lights from the top of the suntube.

 

I was thinking about this one,

 

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...amp;pcatid=9870

 

So now ill have to try and sell the two 70 watt MH lights since I won't need them any more

[AcroporaLokani]

So today I'm hoping to get the suntube installed, the room the tank/tube is going in isn't completely finished so I should be able to get it installed quickly without having a huge mess of drywall dust.

[davidr2340]

 

Of this build!

[AcroporaLokani]

 

Of this build!

 

 

 

Kiss my sass. Here you go

[brshriver]

So today I'm hoping to get the suntube installed, the room the tank/tube is going in isn't completely finished so I should be able to get it installed quickly without having a huge mess of drywall dust.

Excellent! Can't wait to see how they work!