cracker Posted February 9, 2005 Report Share Posted February 9, 2005 Dont you guys have non returns on your main tank returns. If you place them in the right spot, you wont syphon anything back at all. There is ALWAYS a way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cracker Posted February 9, 2005 Report Share Posted February 9, 2005 Hey Nodle....... What does "Mmmmm rubber" mean!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted February 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2005 yes all on separate dedicated 20amp RCD assigned to fish tank and sump room only. I have hole in sea swirl to stop reverse syphon but the hole must be under the water. so, only the top 5-10mm of water gets sucked back down so not completely fixed. still causes a problem hence the reason a UPS is going on there. The skimmer doesnt need to be there, was more of an after thought The UPS does make the RCD redundant - but only for the return pump and heater. RCD covers all other things like lighting, closed loops etc Cracker - a few of us opt against non-return valves as they can restrict flow rate but more so need cleaning every now and then. Nothing like a UPS on the cheap from a sparky mate to keep things running! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted February 9, 2005 Report Share Posted February 9, 2005 The UPS does make the RCD redundant - but only for the return pump and heater. Why power a heater? Ultimatly you won't get much life from the skimmer with the heater running. Would you rather run the return pump for 4 hours without a heater or 1hr with the heater (no science behind my numbers just trying to make a point). The tank will survive for hours/days without the heater, it may not fare so well without the return pump. Pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted February 9, 2005 Report Share Posted February 9, 2005 The other thing to consider is that a lot of the inverters they use in these systems are not true wave current and this will not run a heater (To long since i was at electrical classes at tech but something to do with the SIN wave lenght). Yeah it will, as long as there is current flowing (no matter what the waveform) the heater will work (maybe at a slightly different power). Motors and some switchmode power supplies can be more sensitive to these modified sine wave inverters, with all the higher order harmonics they output. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted February 9, 2005 Report Share Posted February 9, 2005 Look for an inline RCD, some extension cords have them built into the plug. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted February 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2005 my mate that im buying it off is a sparky by trade so he can sort it measured up roughly where i want the holes cut tonight. dont think its going to be too much of a major. I ordered the union ball valves through mico this afternoon and got them to put tank valves aside for me. also bought some fosroc rtv from hollywood fish farm... $14.95 so not too bad for a retail store. re: lighting, i think i'll go 250W 14k, 400W 20k, 250W 14k. will add the 400W later on. where can you get a decent reflector from? i also took a photo of the tank (lights had just turned off, moonlights on although hard to tell with flash on) tonight as i was moving the timber for the kitchen flooring inside. this gives a better impression of what an in-wall looks like! from kitchen: from lounge: so much room on that wall i could almost go to an 8 footer.... whoa STOP!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nodle Posted February 9, 2005 Report Share Posted February 9, 2005 Hey Nodle....... What does "Mmmmm rubber" mean!!! Well it could be a fetish or it could have to do with one of my other hobbys which has been neglected since starting a reef. But i will let you decide as it is always more fun that way. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RnB Posted February 9, 2005 Report Share Posted February 9, 2005 was at a hydroponics shop the other day.... lots of reflecters and ballasts etc... nice parabolic reflector for up to 1000W was about 90cm long , 80cm deep and 30cm high for about $270 I would rather save a little on the ballast and spend in on the reflecter..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cracker Posted February 10, 2005 Report Share Posted February 10, 2005 Nothing wrong with a good ol' fetish...It keeps us on our toes!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted February 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2005 thought i'd get some pic's tonight - specifically to see future growth progress. first up, here's a small xenia I got in May of last year and the same xenia now (left one in the 2nd pic) and some more pic's of random corals etc... (really need to get a quality camera!!!) and finally a green acro just awaiting to colour up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderstorm Posted February 13, 2005 Report Share Posted February 13, 2005 (really need to get a quality camera!!!) Nothing wrong with those pics awesome Love looking at the progress on these reef tanks Thanx peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fay Posted February 13, 2005 Report Share Posted February 13, 2005 Looking Fab Nice job on the house too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted February 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2005 got the additional 2 holes drilled for the closed loops today. only one thing went partially wrong... as i emptied the tank (to about half-way) about 1/4 of the way down i started hearing a flip-flapping. took me a few seconds and noticed my blenny was in one of the closed loop outlets (that isnt 'connected' yet) i opened the ball valve and out he popped into a icecream container and put him back in the tank. he's not looking too happy at the moment, colours have gone pale and his tail curled over. but, now the tank is filled back up again he's back into the same spot! you'd think he'd learn the first time. as i was pouring water on the drill bit to keep it cool, i could actually feel my heart beating harder and faster as it reverberated through my chest!!! that was some of the most stressful 20 minutes this year so far :-? additionally, i did NOT have a 3rd hole drilled (4th outlet hole) for the closed loops. it was basically a decision based on retaining tank strength. as suggested by cracker instead (who was here when the drilling was happening) a pipe up and over the side of the glass coming out nearer the centre of the tank should give some alternate current. i might even put the pipe near the front and pointing backwards. i will post a picture of the new valve's tonight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RnB Posted February 14, 2005 Report Share Posted February 14, 2005 reminds me of a sailing mate who's favourite saying when anchoring off a leeshore is.... If you park on the railway line... sooner or later, the car will not start, the door will not open... and a train will come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted February 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2005 there's always a possibility something will happen with anything you do. its simply time vs the risk involved. in this case, low risk (according to glazier) so i opted for 20 minutes with risk of tank cracking versus 20 hours+ of stripping it out completely (well, still with plenty of other risks involved) here's a pic of the 2 additional valves: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted February 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2005 i got a pic of my poor wee blenny after he went down the fish hydroslide note his colours almost completely faded. he is ok now thankfully!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted February 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2005 oh, and while im at it more pic's!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cracker Posted February 14, 2005 Report Share Posted February 14, 2005 Beautiful job mate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted February 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Just back to the UPS question again, I got the UPS yesterday, it's 2kVA. If the UPS will only run the return pump, how long should I expect to get out of it on battery? The return pump is an Iwaki 55RLT, 1.6 amps and 82 watts i think?? Not sure on other details etc, can get that info tonight. Whats the formula?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 At 1.6 amps that's 370VA!! I don't think it's that powerful. At 0.6 Amps it's around 140VA. You might want to double check the current drawn. It should be stamped on the motor. Also don't go by the wattage on the motor. Watts are different from VA (volt amperes). The UPS you use should specify a full load backup time. So you take you Rated UPS load (in VA) and divide it by the load you are going to power (in VA) then multiply this by the specified full load backup time. This gives you the total backup time. This is not strictly true, but if anything, you will get more backup time at lower than maximum VA. Or you could get a fancy UPS which displays and estimated backup time ;-) Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted February 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 1.6amps was read from here: http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_pumps_iwaki_japanese_american_md5570100_information.asp?CartId= but thats at 115 volts Perhaps half this then? 0.8 amps? Will check tonight. If it is, then about 184VA. I thought Watts = VA??? I will check tonight and re-post, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 I thought Watts = VA??? How are your complex numbers ;-) VA is a measure of "complex power" (measured in VA) which is made up of reactive power (measured in VA) and real power (measured in Watts). The vector sum of real and reactive power is "complex power" Reactive power is used by inductive (coils of wire) and capacitive loads. You may have heard of "power factor" (PF) which related to the vector angle between complex power and real power. A PF of 1 means the power is purely real. For example Fluro ballasts are coils of wire, and often have a PF correction capacitor to cancel out the inductance. What it is doing is increasing the power factor from about 0.6 up to about 0.9. Which reduces the amount of reactive power used. Reactive power is virtually wasted power, but you are still charged for it. In the case of motors the complex power (in VA) can be about 30 - 40% more than the real power (in Watts), so the difference is significant in calculating the backup time. Just incase you were actually interested. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RnB Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 run it up, cut mains and time it........ in theory.... we should have retained the America's cup. I think the state of the batteries prob a big facter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 run it up, cut mains and time it........ in theory.... we should have retained the America's cup. So true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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