chimera

aye, so do a good percentage of the 126,000 members of reefcentral $$$ already got a mate who's going to design the controller/LCD screen etc

so long as its food grade brand (ie: anything from supermarket) you should be ok a 2 channel doser is still a 2 channel doser. thats all it does. turn it on, it doses. turn it off, it stops. dosing pumps are a dime a dozen. im talking about a completely integrated unit specifically designed for ca, kh and mg dosing. containers to add RODI too with overflow chambers, each container able to be dosed at different times to get around precipitation issues, controller that can turn a doser on to drip feed the tank over a period of several days thus increasing parameters slowly, a small powerhead in each to ensure the contents are mixed thoroughly prior to dosing. basically everything that can be done DIY with containers, dosers, mixers and timers but fully integrated into a nice little controlled system. i have already done drawings on one and changed it numerous times. just need to make up a prototype to see how it would function and test it

interesting you brought this up actually as i've been thinking about this additive system in the past few days and about an automatic (or simpler) way of dosing it. i've come up with a design for a three-way dosing system based on these additives (essentially 3 x 5 litre containers - one for akl, one for mg and one for ca. each would have a small dosing pump on each and all dosing run by a controller. to get advanced on it, you could have it have a probe for each too ) im interested in expanding on the design and maybe making a prototype for it. getting the containers and dosing pumps made would be easy, the controller would be the tricky part. the important part is dosing the additives over several days rather than just dumping say 3 litres of the alk additive in the tank in one go, as this would raise pH to sharply. could be quite a lucrative business idea if it were cheap enough to make? anyone interested in helping with the design? would sell well overseas i reckon

as a powder

any will do so long as its straight sodium bicarbonate with nothing else added! bake it removes Co2 I believe thus stops pH declining (it actually increases it) plus you dose less baked baking soda than if it wasnt baked. read here... http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php

might open it up tonight first - looks like its just a pententiometer so should be easy enough to see if its that thats the problem or not. cher

well that was a fast response, sent email to american marine at 11:46am, got a reply at 11:49am. said it probably needs a probe replacement unless water got into it causing corrosion - covering their butts i guess.

i'll give it a week and one or both will be suspended. they're not debates, they're ridiculous arguments over trivial things. you said i said he said she said. clearly neither like to be wrong regardless of any literature or otherwise. give it up or i'll lock this thread!

JUST TO JUMP IN ON YOUR LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH A PH QUESTION... I have a American Marine pH pinpoint monitor. When I calibrate it, I turn the "7" screw and can calibrate the fluid to 7 ok. However when I turn the "4/10" screw, it only ever hangs around 6.7 - it won't go any higher. Does anyone know if this type of thing happens when the probe is too old and needs replacing or is the "4/10" screw faulty? Its defaintely pH 10 calibration fluid I'm using, Im edging on the unit being faulty otherwise why would the 7 work? Anyone got a pinpoint pH monitor they can confirm??? Cheers

nice, the guys one hell of a poser - half the shots have him and his family standing in the way! not sure i like the timber above the front of it! mega potential though

yeah well, I'd budgeted on $3k so that made my decision all the more easier

cheap propogation?

Well I bought an HRV system tonight. Had to get a unit to cover vents for 6 rooms (4 bedrooms, office and living area). I could have waited, got quotes on similar systems, looked at kitset or DIY or get a dehumidifier for every room :-? but in the end, took one more look at my windows and thought better now than never It was priced a little higher than I expected so they sold it on the "buy it now we'll take the GST off" deal. So it set me back $3.2k, a tad more than I expected but for the "heating" and condensation benefits I think its worth it (the outlaws have an HRV - based on their one I term the word "heating" more as "taking the chill out of the air" but thats enough for me) Installation is in about 2 weeks time. I opted against getting one installed in the fish room, just extra cost plus I have different plans for venting that room. Strangely enough I dont get any condensation on the window in the fish room either. Well, proof is in the pudding I guess so we'll see how well it works in a couple weeks time!

not sure on the toxin thing, i would doubt it would be that much of a problem in 1 hour. just dont put corals in the buckets so they're touching each other. the bacteria in the tank is in the rocks anyway, not the water so thats most crucial to keep 'alive' (or wet) during the move. would be a good excuse to do a bigish water change while you move, up to 50% i would guess. will be stressful enough for the fish so wouldnt go changing anymore than that.

lost 2 shrimps (when moving tanks) 1 foxface rabbitfish (didnt eat), 1 copperband butterfly (got stuck to side of a powerhead), 1 bicolour blenny (jumped out) and 1 mandarin (jumped out) in last 2 years.

ok so i looked it up, it's "pedal disc"

I moved a 4 foot marine about an hour drive. Had a 200 litre drum which I used to get 60% of the water. Obviously dismantle the lighting, chiller etc first. Put about half the water into a large drum. Take out the live rock (LR) first and put any of it that doesnt have corals into the drum also. Put any corals or any LR with easily damaged corals into buckets with more water. Lastly, take fish out and put them into buckets (easier to catch without rock!) The water temperature shouldnt drop quick enough so long as you drive straight to the destination. Setup the tank first, put all LR from the drum into the tank first, pump the water from the drum into the tank. Add the fish then the rest of the corals. Setup your heating first (specifically being winter ) then all the rest of the equipment. Just remember you cant "pull" the anemone off the glass, you're likely to rip its legs (??? forget what you call it) off. If it's on a rock, you'll be sweet. If possible, dont let any inverts (specifically shrimps) be exposed to the air. DO make sure you put the tank near powerpoints! Do make sure you use polysterene (or preferably get a nice flat new piece if the old one is screwed) Oh and make sure the floor is able to hold whats likely to be at least 700 kg's of weight! You're more than welcome to borrow my 200 litre drum and about 10 x 20 litre buckets with sealable lids for transporting if you need. PM me if you want to borrow them. You can then collect NSW or make up ASW for the remaining saltwater

How quickly does Alk get depleted in peoples tanks each week? Mine dropped heaps in 1 week, kH from 8.5 to 5.2 (also Ca from 420 to 370, Mg from 1350 to 1230) Not sure what my pH is, gotta calibrate my pinpoint again. I gotta up my Ca reactor bubble rate i think to maintain these levels and I'm only at about 60% stocked in corals! What can cause kH to drop so fast?

yup, about 6 months?

did a 200 litre w/c yesterday. last night i have never seen polyp extension that much ever. it was literally amazing, the hydno was double the size simply because all its polyps were out - it was like a big fuzzy ball another thing, how quickly does Ca, Mg and alk get depleted in peoples tanks each week? mine dropped heaps in 1 week, Ca from 420 to 370, Mg from 1350 to 1230, Alk from about 8.5 to 5.2. I gotta up my Ca reactor bubble rate i think to maintain these levels and I'm only at about 60% stocked in corals! (hint hint, anyone with nice SPS frags let me know!)

http://www.hrv.co.nz/ (who would have guessed? ) you can click online quote, but they will phone you and organise a time to come around and do there sales pitch will post the price they offer next tuesday

just get a BIG skimmer and dont worry about it

awesome! weird little things, fragile at all? they look it! regal looking happy too my one is FAT! but such a cool fish.

yeah got a dude from HRV coming around next tuesday night to explain how it works (looking at the web site its not rocket science ) and give us a price. the inlaws got there home done cost them about $2.5k or so. if I did DIY and it came within $500 or so of that i'd rather just pay HRV to install - at least it comes with warranty and you know it works problem is with bunnings is those systems are usually "cheap" in terms of quality too, as above, noisey fans for example. also they typically suck you in to it by advertising the entry level price, then you work out you have to add on extra $$$ for more rooms then the controller is basic, oh you need this one its $$$ more and by the time you've finished, you're not far off a professional system we got 4 bed + study so im picking it's going to be the higher side of $2k will see what they say...

we have mega-condensation on the windows, everywhere. 25 yr old house completely rennovated but already mold around one bedroom window - unreal!!! so, am going to look at HRV or DVS today, i checked out both web sites and they basically look like they achieve the same thing so I guess it comes down to cost? has anyone had any issues with one or the other? anything that you dont like about it? i read that spores on the windows can also cause issues with (or cause?) asthma. i have mild asthma myself and dont want my kids to potentially suffer the same issues. are there any other systems that can be used for condensation control? (other than a dehumidifier on 24x7!!!)