GrizzleBee's Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 BOOYAKASHA I'm trying something I've never seen before: A tank with tidal cycles. That's right. You heard. Low tide... Hight tide... YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT. Maybe this diagram will sweeten the deal... It's all in the electronic sprinkler valve: When I turn it on with a timer set on 6 hour intervals, it opens, bypassing the top overflow and lowering the water level to the lower overflow. When it shuts off, it closes, and the return pump simply pumps water from the sump back up to the top overflow. It's so simple it's stupid. COOL HUH? Here's some stuff i already have: spinkler valve w/AC converter, pvc fittings, glue and teflon and all that, dremel w/ceramic bit, 2 gallon rubbermaid sump, little pump for a spraybar inside the tank... Haven't decided on a return pump... probably cause I don't have one... or a heater... or bulkheads... I'll get it all though. For the lighting, I'll make a diy hood with that 10w coralife 50/50, that 13w 10k, and a 13w actinic that's still in my nc hood. 36 watts... a good amount... Even though there's really no blue light at sea level, I can't live w/o actinics! Hope you guys are as stoked about this as me. BTW, I'm an 05' reefer in case you haven't noticed!!! Link to comment
icenine Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 Now that... is gonna be neat. Go 05! Link to comment
Bobby417919 Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 This should be pretty cool to see. Good Luck!! GO 05 Link to comment
Snoop Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 This might be able to compete with tigah Link to comment
mushroom head Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 Lookin cool man! Cant wait to see it finished! Link to comment
FateX9 Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 Awesome idea, but what will you be putting on the exposed rock during "low tide"? can't wait to see this in action mike Link to comment
ZooGirl Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 Very creative! Can't wait to see it in the works. Yay...go 05!! Link to comment
chuck22689 Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 im along for the ride this is a great idea cant believe nobody thought about it before Link to comment
Tigahboy Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 I JUST noticed this thread. Your tide pool tank will be a good match against my tide pool tank (tho I'm using a different type of design). Link to comment
Xytrix01 Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 Great Idea, My only concern is that valve. Are sprinkler valves reef safe? you may want to make sure that any part touching water inside that valve is rubber or plastic. wouldn't want the metal to nuke yo tank... other than that looks great! GO '05!!! I JUST noticed this thread. Your tide pool tank will be a good match against my tide pool tank (tho I'm using a different type of design). AH-HA! So that's your "secret weapon" and probably what that funky chamber on the right of your tank is.... I know your secret!!!! Bwahhaahahahah! ha! Link to comment
Tigahboy Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 bingo. but let's not hijack tha dude's thread any further. good luck, Grizzle. may the best tidal pico win. =) Link to comment
Xytrix01 Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 indeed, good luck grizzle! Link to comment
GrizzleBee's Posted October 18, 2005 Author Share Posted October 18, 2005 NO WAY!!! Tigahboyz makin' a tidepool too???? Sweet. Should be some hardcore 04' vs. 05' action. Xytrix01- That's a good Idea. There's screws all along the top to open it up, so I'll check it out. Hopefully it's good cause it's made for use in water, right? just not super corrossive salt water FateX9- I've seen lots of footage of tidal pools at low tide with a crap load of macro that just dry up, then get all juicy again when the tide comes back in. And some leathers too that are exposed. I'm just not sure if there's going to be line of living coralline under the low-tide mark, and dead white stuff above that... Thanks for all the positive comments/suggestions! Link to comment
GrizzleBee's Posted October 18, 2005 Author Share Posted October 18, 2005 Hey thanks. I tried opening the sprinkler valve, but the screws were in really freakin' tight, so I disassembled the one from the misting system for my 55g vivarium. Luckily, there is a black rubber gasket which seals off the water from the metal parts. As far as I can tell, it looks safe to me... Ignore the barbed fitting and all that. this is a diferent valve. Same model though! Link to comment
GrizzleBee's Posted October 19, 2005 Author Share Posted October 19, 2005 NEWSFLASH: ...just odered da bulkheads! it's goin' down!!! FREAL!!! '05!!! Link to comment
Daemonfly Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 Even though you're a '05er, looks like a good idea Link to comment
chuck22689 Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 how are you planing on taking care of the topoff with the water level in the sump changing dramaticle every 6 hours by the way i love this idea Link to comment
GrizzleBee's Posted October 20, 2005 Author Share Posted October 20, 2005 I think I'll make 2 evap marks on the side of the sump, so at high tide, it'll have one mark lower than the one above, which will be for low tide. That way when ever I look at it, whether it be high or low tide, I can relate to either mark in the sump. I'll also be using a glass top and cover on the sump, to minimize evaporation. I may even make an ATO system later on... Link to comment
ProFlatlander15 Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 omg, you just started a revolution if you can pull this off....wow i will DEFINITELY be following this. Link to comment
chuck22689 Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 i showed this thread to a friend of mine at una and he loved it he wanted me to ask if it was cool if we tried to set up a similar system for the biology departmet Link to comment
GrizzleBee's Posted October 21, 2005 Author Share Posted October 21, 2005 Hey thanks man. I got pretty exited when I thought this up on paper a while back. it was like reaching enlightenment/ top of the mountain type things. I'll bet someone's done this before in some form or another... Just never seen it... Bulkheads should get here on saturday, so stay freakin' tuned!!! From the point forward, it'lll be intense. TO THE MAX Oh cool, you posted while I was making another post! Yeah Biology is most definetly my favorite subject. Me and my bio teacher are peas in a pod! I'd be honored if you guys set up one of these in the name of Biology. It'd be cool to make it a really shallow/wide tank, which was what I had origionally planned for. Then this contest came along and... the rest is history! '05!!! Link to comment
neanderthalman Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 I had a thought for your ATO....why not mount the floatswitch at the low-water mark in your sump? Your top-off will only work at high-tide, but it'll still work. You won't have that much evap in six hours, will you? Link to comment
GrizzleBee's Posted October 21, 2005 Author Share Posted October 21, 2005 Thats a good point. I didnt even think about the 2 water levels in the sump!!! I was thinking of a nurce top-off thing, so I could set the air tube at the high tide sump line... Either would work though! Link to comment
Sum_Reefer Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 Good luck with that. Hope everything works out ok. Link to comment
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