Shaun's 2000 Litre (530 USG) Living Reef & Red Sea Max S 650 LED Design & Build

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
I think it may be the case that the tank is big enough to accommodate two Male Lyretails? The amount of Females present may also influence any aggressive tendencies?
If I were in an environment with ten dirty trollops then I'd be more than happy if my mate took five of them off my hands!
 
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Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
You may recall a week or so ago I had an issue with the Tunze Osmolator failing just before I flew out of the country with a tiny piece of detritus on the optical sensor causing it to stop topping up.

I considered all sorts of options, a back up Osmolator, Apex ATK and finally went back to a basic physical system with no electronics to fail. A gravity fed ATO

I couldn’t risk using the 425 litre RODI tank for this because there would be a major siphon issue if the float valve failed. It would empty around 300 litres into the sump before the levels stabilised which is, well not good.

So my solution was to use a 30 litre container which I used to use to store RODI and I have many, so the maximum exposure if it failed would be 30 litres into the sump which would have no affect on the tank. This will last around 4 days during testing depending on temperature conditions etc.

Now 30 litres should be ok, as it would only be used if the Tunze Osmolator failed and for a few days, but what I’m also going to do if I feel necessary, is hook up a pump and hose from the 425 litre RODI tank into this smaller 30 litre container which I can switch on if need be via Apex and refill it manually from anywhere in the world. I could add some float switches but thats just things to fail or cause issues, so I think I’ll just time how long it takes to fill it and use that as a rough guide if I ever need to.

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What is with the nice Bone China tea cup? You are aware that the Corona Virus comes from China, so you should be drinking from a paper cup?
 

SPR

Well-Known Member
I think it may be the case that the tank is big enough to accommodate two Male Lyretails? The amount of Females present may also influence any aggressive tendencies?
If I were in an environment with ten dirty trollops then I'd be more than happy if my mate took five of them off my hands!

Lol! I agree 100%
 

SPR

Well-Known Member
One of the final pieces of ‘engineering’ on my new system, is something I thought of a while ago regarding the waste saltwater from water changes

I have quiet a large block paved driveway and also patio area, and when I did manual water changes with buckets, I always threw the waste saltwater down the driveway. And I noticed that is had a good effect on keeping any moss/algae at bay, because of the salt which also helps prevent it re growing when used regularly.

So instead of using around 5 litres of Jeyes fluid (which isn’t cheap) or at least reducing the amount, I’ve installed a 1000 litre IBC container to collect and store the waste saltwater. And this will be hooked into a hose pipe and gravity fed to dispense the saltwater all around as and when required. I also have a 5000lph pond pump and very long hose as well for a bit of a quicker method

The thing that looks like a cannon, it the RODI waste pipe (and DOS tubing) covered with insulation to prevent any freezing issues.

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Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
I have to tell you this story. When I did water changes I also used the old saltwater on paving stones etc. I also used to use it on the pavement outside the house as weeds and stuff would grow along the bottom of the outside wall and the saltwater put a stop to this. One thing to note at this point is that in Germany the householder is responsible for keeping the pavement outside the house clean and tidy. Old school German women still sweep the pavement and road guttering once a week! Using the saltwater meant that I didn't have to get down on my hands and knees twice a year to cleat the pavement of moss/weeds etc with a scrapper.
However, one day a bloke from the local council knocks on our door and informs me that I have to stop doing this or I could be fined and face possible prosecution. One of my neighbours had reported me. Now, here in Germany it is illegal to even wash your car at home. You have to clean the car at an authorised car wash. The reason being is that they don't want the shampoo and detergent to wash down the drains and end up in the water column. I was reported for sending saltwater down the drains. I was expecting Greta Thurnberg to come knocking at my door to give me her, "you have ruined my childhood" speech!
So, I am back to getting down on my hands and knees twice a year, and if needed, my saltwater now gets emptied down a drain at the back of the house where nobody can see me do it ! The other stupid point is that when it snows, which it can do a lot in the winter, people go out and throw salt/grit all over the pavements! It's normal for every house to have a big bucket of salt/grit in the garage because by law I have to keep the pavement outside my house free from snow by using, yes, you have guessed it, salt/grit !

It's a strange country, with strange rules, full of strange people, except me of course!
 

SPR

Well-Known Member
The weather is rubbish in England at the moment, so I need a break, so I’ve decided to jump on my jet plane (well it belongs to Ryanair actually!) Monday and go and hit my golf balls far and wide for 7 days in Spain were, well it’s warm, generally not wet, and hot.

It was a difficult decision as you can imagine, but my body just craves the Mediterranean sun! Lol
 
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SPR

Well-Known Member
I installed a camera at the rear of the tank a few weeks ago, primarily so I can see if there are any issues and also if I get any notifications from the leak detector I can double check. Sometimes they can give false alarms if they get even a little moisture near them and it’s now sat on a paper towel to reduce this.

I’ve also got a 59 second defer delay command on the Apex alarm notifications to prevent any alarms from sensor ‘noise’

I’ve also installed a DD temperature controller today as another line of fail safe on the system. Apex gave a false low temperature when I was away, or something odd happened and it turned on the heaters. I did a remote reset and when it came back up it was showing the correct temperature and heaters off. I reported this to Neptune, but it seems to have sorted itself out, but I’m not taking any chances

So for the heating system, I have Eheim heaters with their own thermostats, the DD as primary controller and then Neptune Apex as a final failsafe. Apex leaves the outlet on unless it detects a temperature of over 29c (or whatever I set it at) and then will switch the whole heating system off automatically.

I’ve also put the temperature display at the back of the tank, but can check it with the camera if need be. The camera fully rotates, zooms and goes up and down so I can see anything, calcium reactor etc.

Here’s a few pictures of the leak detector and display


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