Lighting System Redesign Continue...
I have heard great things about Reeflux Double Ended HQI Bulbs so I decided to give them a try since many people have reported amazing growth with these bulbs. In the Lumenarc III Stealth Mini Double Ended HQI Reflector is a single 250 watt Reeflux 12,000K Double Ended HQI Bulb which put out such a beauitulf white/blue intensity that I have been searching for. So while were at it I thought that this would be not time to skimp on the Ballast. I choose the Coralvue Electronic Dimmable Ballast which is a revolutionary piece of equipment in my mind. With this device I can actually manually drive down the intensity of the Metal Halide Bulb to 35% of the original 250 watt intensity using a turn dial nob located on the ballast (the ballast has been snuggly secured in an accessible area of the Aquarium Stand for this reason). This is a great feature that is usefull when acclimating new Corals or reducing the heating effect of Metal Halide Lighting on those hot summer days. This new system is very promising and I cannot wait to get some Corals & Clams going soon.
Originally I started out with a JBJ 1/15 hp Nano Chiller which seemed to be being overworked. The chiller was constantly on and the Air Filter was constantly clogged. The worst part was that the Aquarium water temperature had a very wide range of fluctuation which is not suitable for an environment that I would design to be as stable as possible. So I have decided to upgrade Chillers to a Pacific Coast Imports CL-280 1/10 hp Chiller. The control module of this chiller is a Digital LCD Display and maintains my Aquarium temperature at 79 degress Fahrenheit. Their is also an integrated Electrical Socket to control a heater (I am not personally using this feature in my setup).
Photograph - Pacific Coast Imports CL-280 1/10 hp Chiller.
__________________ My marriage is perfect! My job is great! But why are my tank parameters all out of whack???
I currently employed the use of a do-it-yourself Automatic Freshwater Top Off System that utilized a standard Float Switch with a Snail Gaurd, a Freshwater Resevior (2.5 gallon All Glass Aquarium) and a Tom's Aqualifter Pneumatic Water Pump rated at 3 gph. This solution worked fine but left gaps in certain aspects of the protection against water pumps running dry and over topping.
To address some of the gaps I turned to the Tunze Osmolator 3155 Automatic Freshwater Top Off System. This system incorporates an electronic time controller and current limiter for the pump connected whcih results in a higher operational safety. This unit protects the metering pump against running dry and reports an empty freshwater resevior. The precise water level is ensured by a non-wearing optical sensor and a transistor switch without any moving parts. This sensor is insensitive to soiling, light or magnetic fields.
Its “automatic eye” recognises the water level precisely, even small waves or level variations cannot irritate the unit. This is a definite improvement over situations where snail or wave can cause cause a Float Switch to accidently dose Freshwater which can adversly effect saliniaty levels. An independent safety sensor with a separate power supply circuit and relay control ensures reliable overflow protection. Finally all functions are clearly displayed by LEDs on the main control panel and safety messages are also indicated by acoustic signals. This is one of the more pricey units but definitely worth every penny in my opinion for the increased accuracy and incorporated protection features.
Photograph - Tunze Osmolator 3155 Automatic Freshwater Top Off System.
__________________ My marriage is perfect! My job is great! But why are my tank parameters all out of whack???
I am running the same ballast on a SE reflux 12k with lumenBright reflector and I have been very happy with the results so far.
__________________ "Noone cares how much you know, untill they know how much you care."
"Fear Leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering"
I only have just a few pieces of LPS, as my tank is relatively new, I have one more "step" to go before I reach full intensity but I have already seen color improvement from when I brought them home from the LFS.
__________________ "Noone cares how much you know, untill they know how much you care."
"Fear Leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering"
With a new job comes more responsibility and also increased hours spent at work rather then being home with your arm in the Aquarium. So I wanted to bring a new level of automation and control in my Reef Aquarium. I turned to the Digital Aquatics ReefKeeper 2. An amazing piece of equipment that after using it I honestly didn't know what I was doing without one. I managed to replace 4 bulky power strips with one Digital Aquatics ReefKeeper 2 (8 Channel Stock Unit) and one Expansion Module. This device not only enhances the level of control that you have over your Aquarium and Aquarium Equipment but also performs Data Logging and allow your to remotely view your Aquarium via the Internet.
The Digital Aquatics ReefKeeper 2 refers electrical sockets that it can control and display the staus from the main display as channels. Here is how I set my Digital ReefKeeper 2 for my Aquarium.
Jasonanatal's Digital Aquatics ReefKeeper 2 Settings
Channel 1 (Tunze Osmolator 9002): This channel is set to always on for a constant supply of power to the Tunze Osmolator 9002 Automatic Freshwater Top Off System.
Channel 2 & Channel 3 (Pump One & Pump Two): These channels are set to wavemaker mode. These two channels switch on and off for a duration of 2 minutes each.
Channel 4 (Metal Halide Lighting on Expansion Module): This channel is set to turn on at 2:00pm and turn off at 10:00pm with a safety feature to turn off if the Aquarium water temperature reaches 81.5 degrees Fahreneheit.
Channel 5 (Tunze Nano DOC 9002 Protein Skimmer): This channel is set to "Protein Skimmer" and is on until I enter standby mode to which turns the channel off. After standby mode has completed the channel waits an additional 5 minutes (time I choose and entered manually) before turning back on.
Channel 6 (Marineland Visi-Therm Stealth 100 watt Heater): This channel is set to turn off should the Aquarium water temperature reach 78.5 degrees Fahreneheit.
Channel 7 (Aqua Ultraviolet 25 watt Ultraviolet Sterilizer): This channel is set to turn on between the hours of 12:00am and 11:00pm. with a safety feature to turn off if the Aquarium water temperature reaches 81.5 degrees Fahrenheit.
Channel 8 (Pacific Coast Imports 1/10 hp Chiller): This channel is set to turn on at 78.5 degrees Fahrenheit and turn off at 78.0 degrees Fahrenheit.
Standby Mode is set to run for 30 minutes.
Photograph - Digital Aquatics ReefKeeper 2.
__________________ My marriage is perfect! My job is great! But why are my tank parameters all out of whack???
The Following User Says Thank You to Jasonanatal For This Useful Post:
This device not only enhances the level of control that you have over your Aquarium and Aquarium Equipment but also performs Data Logging and allow your to remotely view your Aquarium via the Internet.
Really nice equipment your employing.
I really like the RK2. Very nice (and stylish) controller. Technically speaking, the RK2 does not perform data logging, the free MyReef software does. This is an important distinction for me, since I do not have a PC to run MyReef; I use Macs. I was seriously considering getting an RK2 before I realized that the main unit holds no log data. The ACjr became the alternative, but now I'm fixated on having a (more expensive) ethernet-ready controller, such as the AC3 or the RKE.
With that said, there is a chap that used his noggin to perform RK2 data logging with a small device and graph the uploaded data on his website. Really nice graphs.
Argh... Do controllers simplify your reef setup, or just make everything more complicated and risky? I'm torn...
I really like the RK2. Very nice (and stylish) controller. Technically speaking, the RK2 does not perform data logging, the free MyReef software does. This is an important distinction for me, since I do not have a PC to run MyReef; I use Macs. I was seriously considering getting an RK2 before I realized that the main unit holds no log data. The ACjr became the alternative, but now I'm fixated on having a (more expensive) ethernet-ready controller, such as the AC3 or the RKE.
With that said, there is a chap that used his noggin to perform RK2 data logging with a small device and graph the uploaded data on his website. Really nice graphs.
Argh... Do controllers simplify your reef setup, or just make everything more complicated and risky? I'm torn...
Rroselavy, that is correct. The MyReef application actually will perform that Data Logging. But we should all have an Elos Biotopus Controller. The ReefKeeper Elite Does look very beautiful though!
__________________ My marriage is perfect! My job is great! But why are my tank parameters all out of whack???
28 gallon JBJ Nano Cube HQI Reef Aquarium Update. 
icon under their name to add to their reputation. 
The ReefKeeper Elite Does look very beautiful though!