JoeBlog

The price on the new mag drives should be about $332US plus shipping.

I believe that the squirts have always been available in a 240V version. It is the HD 4-way that I have been patiently waiting for. I will keep you posted.

I guess I am really luck since I have 4 tangs in my tank at the moment. I just love tangs. I know that my system is too small (5x2x2) for all four when full grown, but they are just little guys now (~3") and I am getting a much bigger tank in the near future, well before they are full grown. I have a yellow, Kole, Achilles, and Powder Blue. I had to remove the powder blue for a few days when I added the last one (Achilles). Now, they've found their pecking order and get along great.

Hey Layton- Looking amazing!! Those acros have grown heaps since the last time I was over at your place. I will have to stop over again soon to see it first hand and pick up the frag "with my name on it". I just getting ready to redo my tank. I'm moving it to another room to get it out of the HOT conservatory, redo the aquascape because I can't stand it as it is now and really need to clean up all the ghetto DIY BS. I want to tap your wealth of knowledge/experience from your latest move. Cheers, Steve

I've built one of these and had it on my tank for the better part of a year. It worked great. I did place a nipple at the top and connected it to a venturi. Without this, it did lose its suction quite a few times, even without the power going out. :evil: With the nipple/venturi, no problem.

I was interested in going the Zeovit route since I have seen some amazing tanks using it. I asked Brendan for some information ages ago. Still waiting, so I decided to give the MM a try.

Thanks for the piece of mind Layton! That's great news since it works amazingly well. And even better, the price is right!! 8)

I’ve just started a dosing regiment on my tank following the instructions in CHEMISTRY AND THE AQUARIUM: A Homemade Two-Part Calcium and Alkalinity Additive System by RANDY HOLMES-FARLEY, Ph.D. It suggests using calcium chloride and magnesium chloride (as well as baking soda) as part of the dosing mix. I have done so over the past few days with awesome results, i.e. parameters right on my target. However, I am a bit concerned about the effects of chloride on the overall chemistry of the water. It has been pointed out to me by some that the chloride can have detrimental effects on salinity levels over time due to chlorine buildup in the water???? I am completely clueless to all the chemistry jargon and thus simply followed these instructions since 1) the guy does have a PhD, 2) it came from a reputable source and 3) the person that I bought the dosing pump off of was using the same exact setup (a reputable, successful reefer). Should I in fact be using Hydroxide instead of Chloride? BTW, this stuff is amazingly cheap. I bought a 25KG bag of both for less than $30!!! Awesome if it is the right stuff, but not so good if it isn’t!! I did some quick calculations as well and this stuff should last me YEARS!!

Hey Layton- How is the work on your controller coming along? Any progress? Steve

Funny, I just sent Robert an e-mail with the proposition. I think that you are right about the cost (you would certainly know seeing that this is your area as well). I really hate these damn fans! I am seriously considering moving the tank, but have been put off by my last move experience as well as your (Layton's) post on the move (not to mention the wrath of my wife). Hope the fish/corals are recovering well BTW. Steve

I have actually gone the timer route for one of the two small computer fans (4" types) in my hood that work in conjunction with the lights, but at times it actually pushed my temp pretty low on its own. I shoot for an average temperature of 26.5 since it is now moving towards summer and harder for me to keep those temps down. (25 during the winter) With the one fan set on a timer on these cloudy cooler days, it can drop my temp down to 24 on its own if I (or rather my wife when I’m at work, which irritates her significantly) am not around to periodically check on it. I am shooting for consistency in temp. I don’t want to have more than a 2 degree temp swing in a day if I can help it. Optimally, it would be less than that, but just too difficult with this fan set up. The main problem is that my wife insists that the tank be in the conservatory until we buy our new house (year or so away) and have a dedicated fish room due to my unfortunate incidents of massive water spillage early on. Because of this, I am especially sensitive to weather changes. Just last week with the slightly warmer temperature (sunny 25 degree day), I had to gradually turn on my fans as the temperature rises and then gradually turn them off as evening approaches. I have 5 in total: two computer fans in the hood, one box fan also in the hood, another box fan in the window blowing onto the refugium and another to free stand in the door to cool the room itself. So this procedure is a real PITA and on this nice 25 degree day, the tank temp still climbed to almost 28 degrees with all those fans on!!! I really don’t see any way that I am going to keep up as the summer moves on. Given this insane situation with the conservatory pushing temps even higher than the outside temps, do you think that purchasing a large chiller will even help, or is the only option to convince the Mrs. that it must go in the lounge? For the sake of my marriage, I HOPE that this isn’t the case. I guess another alternative is to get a “controller†to turn these fans on and off with changes in the ambient and tank temperature. I have a mate (and fellow reefer) here in CHCH that specializes in these things. I may have to give him a call and try to work out a deal!

Well, it’s not even full blown summer yet, and I am struggling with the temperature of my tank already. I am completely over having to incrementally turn on and off all these damn fans in order to keep my temp reasonably under control. :evil: So, I wanted to ask for recommendations for chillers that can handle approximately 2000L. What are the better brands? What prices you do you think are reasonable for them? Where to get them? There wouldn’t by chance be anyone that has a spare they are looking to unload? Thanks!!!

I have actually spent quite a lot of time putting these things together and very happy with the amount of water movement I am getting from them, especially since I spent hardly anything for them (monetarily that is, probably way more than the cost of the Tunze counting my time, but I suppose that's the fun of DIY ). Having said that, I certainly don't think that they are a perfect substitute for the Streams (with controller) for the reasons that I have previously stated. In particular, I would really love to be able to shut these things off (or at least tame them down) for feeding, vary the output for greater wave simulation other than just massive turbulance, etc... Actually, the turbulance is quite a pain in the ass since there is a bit of splashing up on the lights, and have to clean them every other day. :evil: For the money, I am totally stoked!!

Sorry I'm such an idiot on pictures up. :oops: Third time's a charm!

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=253928&highlight=stream Here is the link to the DIY Sea Swirl: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=417003&highlight=sea+swirl

Sorry about the problem with the picture. I followed the instructions under the technical forum, but it obviously didn't seem to work out so well. Here is another attempt with a different image hosting and sharing website (www.dotphoto.com) http://www.dotphoto.com/SAN1/CA/45/3D/iCA453DAB-25AF-4B43-A781-2CD2EDE617D3.jpg

Well Pies, here's a picture of the latest version of the DIY Stream. I was originally using some cheap Regent power heads and got a pretty decent push. A very cheap option at < $50 including new pump. I was fairly happy with that, but had this Extrema lying around and thought that the extra power (and thus larger propellers: two in a cork screw alignment) would really do the trick. Wow, much better!! I now have a problem with my sand blowing all over the place and occasional splashing over the side. :-? http://www.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=17429377/PictureID=380300998/t_=17428912 Don’t get me wrong. I in no way suggest that these are the perfect replacement for Streams since it is a real downer not having the controller and I highly doubt that these things push 12000 L/h. Also, I can’t seem to get them to start up again if the power goes out, i.e. the props just jerk around inside until you slightly raise them out of the water. Also, there is only a 50/50 chance of it going the right direction upon startup. On one of the first attempts, I had my wife plug it in under the tank and unfortunately it started up in reverse and A LOT of water blew back out of the tank on to her back side. That wasn’t one of my better moments!!! I'm starting to stock up some Acros and thus needed the extra flow NOW. So, this setup will work for me until I can get my hands on the OM 4-way. If I didn’t have the extra Extrema lying around, I would have never gone this route since the pumps are rather dear and I might as well bite the bullet at that stage and get the real deal with all the perks that come along with it.

Hey Brian- It might be best for you to simply check out their webpage: http://www.oceansmotions.com/ It is very well presented with videos, etc... there.

Hey Brian- The OM wave makers don't have their own pumps. It is simply an alternating flow device, i.e. similar to the SCWD, but with it's own motor to alternate the flow (as opposed to the power of the water pump) and thus much less head loss than the SCWD and it can handle much more flow. It is this alternating motor that we are waiting on, i.e. a 240V version. As soon as I hear that the motors are ready to go, I will be placing an order. Cheers, Steve

For those that are fairly DIY savvy and interested in Sea Swirls or Streams, but put off by the retail prices, RC has some pretty detailed threads on how to make these on your own. I have personally made the Streams (not as sweet as I would have liked, but then again only ~$50 including the pump and they can still push a hell of a lot of water, i.e. over the side of the tank!!! ). From what I've read, the DIY Sea Swirls look and perform exactly the same as the retail version (given that you can find the right motor), but a bit involved to build.

Hey guys- I've already heard back from Paul at OM (talk about amazing service, the guy is great). Here's what he had to say. So, it looks like we are in business!! It would definitely pay to have a look at the website if you haven't already. http://www.oceansmotions.com/ He can do custom input/output sizes, etc..., (I believe this costs a bit extra though), so something to think about before we place an order. So far, James and Layton have expressed interest. My father gets quite irritated with having to drag big boxes to the post office, so I could probably fit two more on this order without pissing him off too bad. If anyone else is interested, please let me know. I will keep everyone posted with updates as I get them from Paul. One last note, Paul has expressed concern over the electrical certification for NZ on these new motors. I assume that this is the PITA that he was talking about in the orders that he filled for www.reefonline.com.au. I haven’t heard of this before on all of my international orders. Is there something that I should let him know about this?

Excellent! I will send Paul another e-mail letting him know that I have at least 3 orders and see if we can speed up the process on these 240V motors. I will let you guys know of the progress. Cheers, Steve

Yeah Layton, that is exactly it. I think that www.reefonline.co.au is a bit pricy. You can buy them directly from OM for about $390NZ (not including shipping). Well, that’s not exactly true since they aren’t available just yet, but once they are, Paul said that they will be the same price. That’s interesting Pies that you have heard negative things. I read RC fairly religiously and have only heard people rave about them. I think that your closed loop design with the Eheims is brilliant and will probably do the same on my new system. However, that’s not really comparable to the OM since it is a “wave making†system, and I think it is certainly one of the best available, i.e. benefits of closed loop (no pumps in the tank), next to no additional head for the alternating flow system (SCWDs aren’t even in the same league), etc… The plumbing is certainly a bit more involved, but no where near prohibitive given the benefits involved. When you add the Revolutions to the OM, you not only get the alternative flow concept, but also the benefits of the Sea Swirl concept, which in themselves are at least $225NZ (MarineDepot, not including shipping). So, for slightly more than the price of two Sea Swirls, you could have a comparable OM HD 4-way with the Revolution nozzles. If you are even considering using the new 1†SCWDs, I think that it is a no brainer to go with the OM Squirt instead since they are about the same price (at least in expectation given the suggested prices for the new SCWDs) and there is no flow restriction with the Squirts like you have with the SCWD. Why pay for those amazing pumps and then turn around and kill it with a SCWD????? Like I said, I am personally going to go the OM route. I’ve sent quite a few e-mails to them to urge a quicker release of the 240V motors. As soon as they become available for direct order, I’m going to try to get 3-4 people together for a bulk order to share the shipping expenses as well as possibly getting a deal on the per unit price. I will be doing the shipping through my father in the US, so we will be avoiding the GST and customs charges as well. As soon as I hear anything, I will post a notification. If anyone is interested, please let me know.

Instead of using the SCWDs, have you guys considered using the Oceansmotion Squirts? They are the only OM that have a 240V motor readily available. I am running two Amp Master 3000's on closed loops and desperately waiting on the OM HD 4-way to have the international motors.

Excellent advice!