Mindflux Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 A week into my Solana build I'm having issues getting my heater calibrated right. It's a 75w Jager heater. I initially tossed it in the tank and set the dial for 76 and let it go for a couple days. Tank pretty much has ready 78-80 the whole time. Calibrated the heater the other day to 80 and re-adjusted the blue ring to 76... tank still at 78-80. No lights on the tank just yet. Am I not calibrating this thing right? Instructions: Unplug heater Move red-arrow to temperature read by good thermometer. Turn blue dial to desired temperature plug back in I've done this twice yet and I'm still seeing a 2-4 degree variance. I wonder if I dial down to 72 if I'll see 74-76 ish. The whole point of buying the nicer thermometer was the calibration, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa1tx Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 There are a lot of variables that go into tank temp. This time of year especially I doubt you are going to need a heater. I run one in the winter but I rarely turn my house heat on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindflux Posted May 27, 2011 Author Share Posted May 27, 2011 You are right.. I just don't want any winter surprises. We keep the house pretty cool in the winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa1tx Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 Honestly I would not worry about it until November when it starts to cool off. I think you are calibrating correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindflux Posted May 28, 2011 Author Share Posted May 28, 2011 Starting to see the mushrooms and other 'live' plants extending out from the LR now. I'm also seeing what I believe to be TINY starfish on my glass. They're no bigger than grains of rice, some are missing a limb or two while others are whole. If I knock them off the glass they show back up later, so they're definitely alive whatever they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Starting to see the mushrooms and other 'live' plants extending out from the LR now. I'm also seeing what I believe to be TINY starfish on my glass. They're no bigger than grains of rice, some are missing a limb or two while others are whole. If I knock them off the glass they show back up later, so they're definitely alive whatever they are. Asterina stars. Opinions on them are mixed. I find them a nuisance, i've got hundreds-thousands of them now. If you don't have fish that prey on shrimp, you can get some nice harlequins that are both pretty and will keep your asterina population in check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindflux Posted May 28, 2011 Author Share Posted May 28, 2011 Starting to see the mushrooms and other 'live' plants extending out from the LR now. I'm also seeing what I believe to be TINY starfish on my glass. They're no bigger than grains of rice, some are missing a limb or two while others are whole. If I knock them off the glass they show back up later, so they're definitely alive whatever they are. Asterina stars. Opinions on them are mixed. I find them a nuisance, i've got hundreds-thousands of them now. If you don't have fish that prey on shrimp, you can get some nice harlequins that are both pretty and will keep your asterina population in check. Right now my tank consists of nothing but LR. I'll keep that in mind but there MIGHT be a half dozen to a dozen of 'em here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindflux Posted May 29, 2011 Author Share Posted May 29, 2011 Ok, an interesting problem I've been noticing the past week. The Solana has a built in overflow, second chamber (where my skimmer is presently but usually reserved for carbon bags and such) and a third chamber for the return pump (which is also where my ATO float switches are) As days progress on, the foam filtration just inside of the overflow seems to clog up (not sure with what, there's nothing in the tank but LR). In turn the "display" area of the tank rises as the overflow volume slows.. which lowers the water enough in my overflow/return pump area to kick on my ATO. This seems to be SLOWLY lowering the SG in the tank, since it's not simply evaporation it's topping off, but "low volume" due to a "clogged" filter (that's really not clogged, but just water logged).. upon removal of the filter the DT portion of the tank gets lower again and the water level where the ATO/return pump are now "overfilled". The cycle continues once I put the filter foam back in. This causes problems (in both cases) with my skimmer since my water level does not stay constant.... Is it typical to see the ATO slowly drop your SG in your tank or am I doing something wrong in this balancing act? If I removed the foam filter all together this would never happen but the overflow is LOUD this way.... and I think going 2-3 days or even longer isn't out of the acceptable range for cleaning filter media, is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindflux Posted May 29, 2011 Author Share Posted May 29, 2011 Ok. It seems my ATO has topped off for no reason, and excessively - the bottom switch is completely covered by water now. It added so much water that my 9002 skimmer started sucking water into the airline... Not sure why I can't get the water to stay constant in the back part of the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindflux Posted May 30, 2011 Author Share Posted May 30, 2011 Anyone have thoughts on my water level dilemma in post #9 and #8? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 In regards to post #8 and the foam block. You will get die-off from the live rock during the cycle. This is what is getting trapped in the foam block. You might have to clean it daily until your tank matures more. And as for #9, maintaining the water level in an all-in-one can be tricky. I had the same problems when I had a 24g AquaPod. So if I understand correctly, you ATO added more water than it should? Possibly a bad lower switch then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindflux Posted June 1, 2011 Author Share Posted June 1, 2011 In regards to post #8 and the foam block. You will get die-off from the live rock during the cycle. This is what is getting trapped in the foam block. You might have to clean it daily until your tank matures more. And as for #9, maintaining the water level in an all-in-one can be tricky. I had the same problems when I had a 24g AquaPod. So if I understand correctly, you ATO added more water than it should? Possibly a bad lower switch then? It SEEMS like it added more water than it should. But, I tested rather rigorously last night. I'd lift the whole ATO float setup out until I hear a relay click and put it back in the water until the relay clicked again. It's VERY little motion needed to trip the bottom "primary" float switch. The only thing I can think of is when my foam block gets clogged the water level in my DT portion rises a little bit since the flow has been slowed by debris (making the back area go low, causing topoff perhaps?). Cleaning the sponge levels the DT area back out but in turn the back portion gets 'flooded' (because the DT leveled off and some top off occurred?)...? I'm not sure honestly. Since I posted I haven't seen the over-topoff symptom happen again to my knowledge. I think it's a combination of clogged foam pad and top off tweaking at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindflux Posted June 13, 2011 Author Share Posted June 13, 2011 Put my light fixture on. This was before the MH really had a chance to warm up so it is quite blue. It looks better now, I just have to organize the wiring so it's less visible and cleaner inside the stand as well. All of the mushrooms/zoas that were on the LR are really happy to see light now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindflux Posted June 14, 2011 Author Share Posted June 14, 2011 Having trouble with my dual coral life light timer. The 'night/evening" timer (4 outlets) starts running slow. I set it at 8PM last night and this morning at 8AM it thought it was 6AM.. so my actinics wouldn't have come on for 2 more hours (right when my MH150 kicks on). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindflux Posted June 14, 2011 Author Share Posted June 14, 2011 Does anyone have recommended lengths to keep the MH and Actinics on? Right now The Actinics run from 8AM to 8PM and the MH from 10AM to 6PM, but when I get home around 3-4PM I usually click the MH off due to the tank being in the low 80s (82F) and not wanting to get any warmer. Which brings me to question #2. How can I keep the tank cooler? I know I could add a fan to blow across the water surface to use evaporative cooling... but I'd like to explore what else I can do before going that route (or a chiller, yeesh) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I can't recommend anything on how long you leave your lights on, I think it's personal preference. Just wanted to say I faced the same situation with my tank and the heat. I like mine to stay at 74 and I wasn't willing to get a chiller. In the end, unless you can crank your a/c way down 24/7 you will need a chiller to have the MH it sounds like. Unless you can bring your temps down with fans. Or ditch the MH for T5s or LED's or a mix of the two. I had to go with LEDs because my tank is so deep. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 The light sure looks good though! The whole tank does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindflux Posted June 15, 2011 Author Share Posted June 15, 2011 I can't recommend anything on how long you leave your lights on, I think it's personal preference. Just wanted to say I faced the same situation with my tank and the heat. I like mine to stay at 74 and I wasn't willing to get a chiller. In the end, unless you can crank your a/c way down 24/7 you will need a chiller to have the MH it sounds like. Unless you can bring your temps down with fans. Or ditch the MH for T5s or LED's or a mix of the two. I had to go with LEDs because my tank is so deep. Good luck! I was afraid of this. Problem is the tank (without a light) was staying at between 78 and 80 depending on the temperature of the house. That's with my Eheim Jager thermostat set at 74/75. So I'm not sure where the excess heat is coming from other then the recirc pump and skimmer pump... We keep the house at 75 when we are here and 78 when we are away, any cooler and the A/C seems to run forever and gets uncomfortable if you are in the path of a vent. When the house was at 75 the tank was typically at 78 (early morning) and by afternoon it was around 80 (when the house was at 78) without the light. It seems the light has added 2-4 degrees to the tank depending on the temperature of the house. I do have another fixture with 2x 10K HOT5's and 2 460nm Actinic HOT5s because I was worried about the MH heat, but the MH would allow me to keep pretty much anything I wanted where the T5 lights might not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindflux Posted June 15, 2011 Author Share Posted June 15, 2011 The light sure looks good though! The whole tank does. Thanks. It looks even better now that I've cleaned the glass inside and out now. The starphire glass is really amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Hmmm, I see. I've read quite a few posts saying that consistency is more important than temp, to a point of course. And of course depending on what's in your tank. What about a chiller makes you not want one? Then you could keep your tank exactly where you want it all the time, and still be comfortable in the house. About the lights, how deep is that tank? Are you wanting to keep high light stuff all over, even on the sand? With a good T5 I'm sure you could grow anything up in the top half, and there are a ton of lps and softies for the rest of the somewhat lower light areas in the bottom half. Not trying to talk you out of your awesome light because it's really nice! I would've gone MH if I could've made it work. Just brainstorming with you since I mulled over all these choices for the past couple months Hopefully those with way more expertise in this area will post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teresa Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Does anyone have recommended lengths to keep the MH and Actinics on? Right now The Actinics run from 8AM to 8PM and the MH from 10AM to 6PM, but when I get home around 3-4PM I usually click the MH off due to the tank being in the low 80s (82F) and not wanting to get any warmer.Which brings me to question #2. How can I keep the tank cooler? I know I could add a fan to blow across the water surface to use evaporative cooling... but I'd like to explore what else I can do before going that route (or a chiller, yeesh) In terms of temperature, I had this same problem when the summer hit. Some good recommendations were made and I learned a little bit more about cooling - in particular how important the space where the water meets the air is for evaporation and therefore cooling. I didn't want to spend the money on a chiller either and I didn't like how fans would mess with the clean display of my tank. Instead, I used an air pump and tubing to disturb the water at the surface and increase evaporation. Since you have an ATO, you don't need to worry about too much evaporation. I bet you could place a small rigid tube in one of the back corners of your tank about an inch or two below the surface of the water. Once the air pump is turned on, all you would be able to see is the constant bubbling (rather than a ugly tube). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindflux Posted June 15, 2011 Author Share Posted June 15, 2011 Does anyone have recommended lengths to keep the MH and Actinics on? Right now The Actinics run from 8AM to 8PM and the MH from 10AM to 6PM, but when I get home around 3-4PM I usually click the MH off due to the tank being in the low 80s (82F) and not wanting to get any warmer.Which brings me to question #2. How can I keep the tank cooler? I know I could add a fan to blow across the water surface to use evaporative cooling... but I'd like to explore what else I can do before going that route (or a chiller, yeesh) In terms of temperature, I had this same problem when the summer hit. Some good recommendations were made and I learned a little bit more about cooling - in particular how important the space where the water meets the air is for evaporation and therefore cooling. I didn't want to spend the money on a chiller either and I didn't like how fans would mess with the clean display of my tank. Instead, I used an air pump and tubing to disturb the water at the surface and increase evaporation. Since you have an ATO, you don't need to worry about too much evaporation. I bet you could place a small rigid tube in one of the back corners of your tank about an inch or two below the surface of the water. Once the air pump is turned on, all you would be able to see is the constant bubbling (rather than a ugly tube). I'm doing the same thing presently with my locline off my return pump. One of the segments off the LocLine "T" points toward the surface of the tank to agitate the water line. I did this initially to help aerate the tank more for the live rock until I got everything else running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindflux Posted June 17, 2011 Author Share Posted June 17, 2011 Put my MP10 in last night and tuned a nice wave into the short pulse mode... looks great. Problem is I put it into night mode when I went to sleep and when it came out of night mode this morning and back into my preferred program the wave wasn't anything like what it was last night. Not sure how that happened. The strength I set and the length of the pulse I set were still programmed in, it just wasn't making the same wave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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