CanadianGuy Posted February 3, 2004 Share Posted February 3, 2004 I just wanted to run my setup by you all and see what you think. Please feel free to make alternate suggestions. 20g long tank Coralife Aqualight 30" 2x65w w/legs AquaC Remora 22" Refugium 2 Powerheads - Maxi-Jet 600s 150w Heater - brand suggestions? 40lbs of Live Rock 1-1.5" Sand I was going to use a SCWD since I heard you can put them directly onto your powerhead, but I didn't realize they were so BIG! I don't have a sump so I can't really have it outside of the tank...can I run a powerhead inside the tank to the SCWD outside and then run hoses to each sode of the tank? or will that just make for an unsightly mess of hoses? Where can I find a good wavemaker that isn't too expensive? I'm going to DIY an auto top-off out of a 5g water bottle and an air pump. I have a test kit...it's a "Master Marine Test Kit" by Marine Enterprises International...it tests for pH, Nitrite, Ammonia, and Copper. I don't know if it's any good...I'm not sure that I trust it so I was thinking about a Salifert kit. I was also told that a refractometer was much more accurate than a hydrometer...is it really worth the extra cost?? And I was wondering about a light for my refugium. How much light do I need? I was looking at a Jalli 18w PC...will this be enough? I'm sure I left some things out...but how does it sound so far? __________________ James Link to comment
Ike Posted February 3, 2004 Share Posted February 3, 2004 Wavemaker: http://www.marinedepot.com/a_wm_asnw.asp?CartId= Also, you might consider running 2x50watt heaters so that if one gets stuck on it won't cook the tank. Save your money on the refractometer. Just be as consistent as you can using your hydrometer. Take the money you saved & buy a Ph pen and Salifert test kits for Ca and Alk. What will be your water source? Link to comment
Tempest Posted February 3, 2004 Share Posted February 3, 2004 I disagree about the refractometer. If you use a swing arm hydrometer you'll need to adjust the reading for temperature every time you measure your water. The refractometer automatically takes temp into account. Sound like a real nice set-up. Enjoy. Link to comment
zzpw3x Posted February 3, 2004 Share Posted February 3, 2004 Enlighten me for I may be wrong here. If you do a 10% water change you are changing 2 gallons of water. If the 2 gallons is at 70°C, then the temp error is inducing about 0.002 error into your swing arm reading. So if you are ±0.002 salinity with the 2 gallons and you pour into the 18 gallons, the overall salinity is changing much much less than 0.002 (0.002 * 2/18 delta), so who cares if you don't adjust for the temp when you make the reading? Dale Link to comment
CanadianGuy Posted February 3, 2004 Author Share Posted February 3, 2004 Thanks guys, I'll be using RO water from the LFS until I can get my own setup at home. Actually by getting the refractometer thru Nana_Reef.com it isn't very expensive compared to a quality hydrometer.... why not have the most control you can over the quality of your water? Link to comment
Ike Posted February 6, 2004 Share Posted February 6, 2004 Well, the temp of the new ASW that you're mixing up for a water change should be the same temperature as the water in your tank so why do you need a refractometer with auto temp compensation? You shouldn't be pouring 70 degree water into an 80 degree tank anyway. Link to comment
zzpw3x Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 I'n not trying to be difficult, but if you pour 1 gallon of 70 degree water in to 9 gallons of 80 degree water, the water temp is going to change 1 degree. As long as you do it slowly (over a minute or so) I don't think 1 degree is going to hurt anything. Link to comment
CanadianGuy Posted February 10, 2004 Author Share Posted February 10, 2004 Wether it has ATC or not doesn't matter. It's still a more accurate way to check your salinity. Link to comment
min Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 please enlighten me on how to do this "I'm going to DIY an auto top-off out of a 5g water bottle and an air pump. " i would like to do one also. perhaps a diagram and how it works. thanks Link to comment
Empty Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 To DIY a topoff with a bottle and an air pump: Silicone/epoxy/whatever two hoses into the bottle. One should go to the top, the other should dangle to the bottom(or *almost* the bottom if you plan to topoff with kalk). Mount the above-water one to the airpump, mount the other in the tank *above water level* so you don't get a siphon when the pump turns off. Then put the pump on a float switch. I haven't done this, but I have a float switch on the way. ~Empty Link to comment
Isaka Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 Looks like you have done your homework. That setup should be sweet.. very expensive.. but sweet Link to comment
greatwit Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 i would recommend ebo-jager heaters. not too expensive and very reliable. Link to comment
1fish2fish Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 As far as the refractometer vs hydrometer goes, I would tak the refractometer any day of the week. Notice when you go to the home page here there is an offer for a refractometer for $49. A bit spendy depending on your budget, but it will give you dead on readings for years to come and in a small volume of water like our nanos (mine is between 3 and 4 gallons) accuracy really does count. I'd rather spend $49 on a refractometer than lose any of my animals. But then I take losing an animal personally and feel really bad when it happens. Link to comment
CanadianGuy Posted February 10, 2004 Author Share Posted February 10, 2004 Min, Empty pretty much covered the way the ATO is built. The air pump pressurizes the water bottle and the water has nowhere to go except up the airline that is dangling near the bottom. All you need is the float switch, an air pump, and the water bottle...you could use any container you like...I just chose the water bottle because it's easier to seal airtight than say a Rubbermaid container. Thanks, Isaka I put a lot of effort into picking the best products I could...I could have done it cheaper I'm sure, but I didn't want to cut corners and possible pay for it later. greatwit, I came to the same conclusion...2 50w Ebo-Jagers. 1fish2fish, I ordered my refractometer through the nano-reef.com deal. It is more money but again I didn't want to cut corners. Especially on such a small volume of water. Besides I've been reading some posts on how far off people hydrometers were off! Plans for the tank have changed slightly. I went with 2 smaller heaters instead of the larger one. I've also done away with the 2 powerheads and will run a closed-loop system with a SCWD and a Mag5, using Loc-Line to direct the currents. I'm also thinking of using a Neptune Aquacontroller II...that's still in the clouds tho...I'm just drooling over it at the moment! Thanks for the input guys! Link to comment
Empty Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 Ebo-Jager heaters are the best damn heater on the planet. I once forgot to turn one off before doing a WC in a big FW tank. When I got back from the bathroom (yay for lugging and flushing old water- this was pre-Python;) the heater was sizzling and melting through the mounts. I watched it drop into the tank with horror, and heard it go PFFFFZZZZZ! as it made a small cloud of steam. What I did not hear, though, is the PTINK! noise all aquariasts loathe and fear. Yes, indeed, the heater survived. It is still chugging along 2 years later. ~Empty Link to comment
CanadianGuy Posted February 11, 2004 Author Share Posted February 11, 2004 Cool...good to know! Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.