Whitesharks 30G Rimless Apartment Build - Page 3

whiteshark · 07/05/2014, 08:28 PM

I also have this idea in my head to program my Apex to do very small daily water changes. On the order of about a gallon per week, done daily at various times during the day. The idea is to have one 2.5 gallon bucket full of fresh saltwater and one empty 2.5 gallon bucket. The Apex, at programmed times, would turn the ATO pump off and the pump going from the sump to the empty bucket on for a short period. Then it would turn that pump off and turn the pump from the fresh saltwater bucket to the sump on until the float switch in the sump for the ATO is activated. This way the exact amount of water that was taken out would be replaced even if the pumps pump at slightly different rates. After the float switch in the sump turned that pump off the ATO pump would be activated again. I'm not sure how feasible this idea is, and it will require a bit more planning, but I'm going to give it a shot. so I needed to start setting that up:

These float switches will stop the whole water change process when activated. So if the fresh saltwater bucket gets low or the changed water bucket gets high the Apex will be programmed to stop the water changing process altogether until the switches are deactivated.

I'm definitely going to need help on the programming language for this...

whiteshark · 07/06/2014, 01:23 PM

Filling it up!

TheKleinReef · 07/06/2014, 02:05 PM

just browsed through the build! looks awesome! i really love shallow cubes, and the faux sandbed is the perfect solution to avoid the sand from getting blown around! definitely gonna follow a long and watch this progress!

theaquareef · 07/06/2014, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whiteshark

Filling it up!

You excited yet man?! Really looking forward to this, great idea and love the size of the tank. Already looks great!

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheKleinReef

just browsed through the build! looks awesome! i really love shallow cubes, and the faux sandbed is the perfect solution to avoid the sand from getting blown around! definitely gonna follow a long and watch this progress!

+1 shallow tanks are always nice.

whiteshark · 07/06/2014, 02:20 PM

Excited yet? This whole process is exciting. I think I enjoy this part of the process more than when it's ready for livestock. Does that make me crazy

?

whiteshark · 07/06/2014, 08:58 PM

Ugh. Apex Fusion is frustrating me. I got the Fusion dashboard running. Got the controller communicating with Fusion. I can turn the outlets on and off from the dashboard, but when I make a new program it won't run it. I send the new configuration to the Apex and it says everything worked, but it won't run the program. It's driving me crazy...

whiteshark · 07/06/2014, 09:40 PM

Controller won't detect my BO box either. So frustrating.

whiteshark · 07/07/2014, 05:38 PM

Think I got the Apex figured out.

Can anyone recommend a good cam for keeping an eye on the tank? I'd like to be able to check on the tank from anywhere with a live video feed.

tmantaylor18 · 07/07/2014, 06:21 PM

I just bought this one since it's highly rated and cheap on amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

whiteshark · 07/07/2014, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmantaylor18

I just bought this one since it's highly rated and cheap on amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Just placed an order. Thanks!

tmantaylor18 · 07/07/2014, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whiteshark

Just placed an order. Thanks!

Just bought it for my aquarium too. Going out of town for a few weeks and want to watch it.

whiteshark · 07/07/2014, 07:18 PM

I'll be out of town for 19 days for Christmas and I definitely want to be able to check in on it. I also want to be able to brag about how cool the fact that I can see my tank from anywhere is lol.

I have a question for the Apex people. Is there a way to program a piece of equipment to turn off after it runs for a certain period of time? I want my ATO pump to turn off if it runs for more than 5 minutes because if it has to run that long something is wrong.

whiteshark · 07/07/2014, 09:17 PM

Does this look like a tank with 2 MP10's and 2 Koralia 1400s, pointed at the sand, going full blast? Click for video.

theaquareef · 07/07/2014, 09:29 PM

You are so damn lucky hahahaha

whiteshark · 07/07/2014, 09:55 PM

Love the way this fand turned out. Hell the barnacles were blowing around the tank I had so much flow going.

Fishy 1 · 07/07/2014, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whiteshark

Does this look like a tank with 2 MP10's and 2 Koralia 1400s, pointed at the sand, going full blast? Click for video.

Haha show that to a sps nut and tell him it's normal sand, he'll ask what are you drinking?

. Sand and tank look great

tallball158 · 07/08/2014, 02:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whiteshark

Excited yet? This whole process is exciting. I think I enjoy this part of the process more than when it's ready for livestock. Does that make me crazy

?

Nope your not crazy, I think the build is the most exciting part myself!

Fishy 1 · 07/08/2014, 04:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tallball158

Nope your not crazy, I think the build is the most exciting part myself!

Same here, buying all the parts, researching and putting it all together is so much fun

, once it's all setup it kind of gets boring until stuff starts growing and you need to frag things

whiteshark · 07/08/2014, 09:13 PM

So the MP10s seem to have "broken in" a bit and are quieting down, overflow is silent, no sand storms, Apex is programmed and working well; all in all I'm really happy with how this all came out. One annoying thing right now is the skimmer producing macro bubbles in the reaction chamber. It sounds like a pot of boiling water. Guess it needs to break in and maybe be adjusted a bit, but it's relatively minor. I mean I still hear the fridge from across the room over the tank which sits just a few feet behind my chair.

For redundancies sake:

All calibrated with calibration solution and all read exactly the same. I guess 3 isn't necessary, but it's amazing what you collect when you're in the hobby for a few years.

Also got a new toy:

I'm hesitant to add it, though, because the Tunze is doing a great job. I may just keep it as a backup, not sure yet.

whiteshark · 07/10/2014, 06:25 PM

Got the webcam today. LEDs really mess with it. Turning the T5s on helps.

The resolution is pretty pathetic. I guess I can't complain too much, though, for 30$. If anyone else is on Fusion and wants to see what the resolution looks like shoot me a PM with your Fusion ID and I'll add you as a viewer.

tmantaylor18 · 07/10/2014, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whiteshark

Got the webcam today. LEDs really mess with it. Turning the T5s on helps.

The resolution is pretty pathetic. I guess I can't complain too much, though, for 30$. If anyone else is on Fusion and wants to see what the resolution looks like shoot me a PM with your Fusion ID and I'll add you as a viewer.

Yeah I noticed the same thing at first. You have to login to the webcams IP to change the resolution. Is yours at 240p?

tmantaylor18 · 07/10/2014, 06:45 PM

The angle of the camera is also really going to matter. Make sure the camera lens doesnt have direct contact with your bulbs. I raised mine up higher and it looked way better.

whiteshark · 07/10/2014, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmantaylor18

Yeah I noticed the same thing at first. You have to login to the webcams IP to change the resolution. Is yours at 240p?

Yeah I changed it to 640, but its still meh at best. I've fiddled with the angle and stuff and have gotten it to a decent point. I noticed it has to be pretty damn close to the tank to get decent picture. Again, though, I can't complain for what I paid. It will be good for disaster checks though. I'll be able to see fish floating or corals bleaching.

tmantaylor18 · 07/10/2014, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whiteshark

Yeah I changed it to 640, but its still meh at best. I've fiddled with the angle and stuff and have gotten it to a decent point. I noticed it has to be pretty damn close to the tank to get decent picture. Again, though, I can't complain for what I paid. It will be good for disaster checks though. I'll be able to see fish floating or corals bleaching.

Haha yeah, its no 1080p camera thats for sure.

When mine is far away from the tank the light makes everything glow and looks blurry. Thinking this camera is only going to be good nice and up close for when gone on trips.

whiteshark · 07/10/2014, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmantaylor18

Haha yeah, its no 1080p camera thats for sure.

When mine is far away from the tank the light makes everything glow and looks blurry. Thinking this camera is only going to be good nice and up close for when gone on trips.

Yup. The camera actually looks nice under normal lighting conditions. When moving it around the living room it gives a nice picture. I bet even a high res camera would be screwy with these LEDs though. They give all cameras fits. It does the job for what it is. I'm satisfied enough with it.

On an unrelated not, I'm get quite annoyed with my skimmer sounding like it's boiling pasta. I'm not worried about microbubbles. It's these gurgling, belching bubbles that are annoying me. I don't remember this being an issue with my ASM.

07/05/2014, 08:28 PM	#51
whiteshark Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bethlehem, PA Posts: 3,024	I also have this idea in my head to program my Apex to do very small daily water changes. On the order of about a gallon per week, done daily at various times during the day. The idea is to have one 2.5 gallon bucket full of fresh saltwater and one empty 2.5 gallon bucket. The Apex, at programmed times, would turn the ATO pump off and the pump going from the sump to the empty bucket on for a short period. Then it would turn that pump off and turn the pump from the fresh saltwater bucket to the sump on until the float switch in the sump for the ATO is activated. This way the exact amount of water that was taken out would be replaced even if the pumps pump at slightly different rates. After the float switch in the sump turned that pump off the ATO pump would be activated again. I'm not sure how feasible this idea is, and it will require a bit more planning, but I'm going to give it a shot. so I needed to start setting that up: These float switches will stop the whole water change process when activated. So if the fresh saltwater bucket gets low or the changed water bucket gets high the Apex will be programmed to stop the water changing process altogether until the switches are deactivated. I'm definitely going to need help on the programming language for this... __________________ Deep Blue 60 gallon cube: Setup in progress.

07/06/2014, 01:23 PM	#52
whiteshark Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bethlehem, PA Posts: 3,024	Filling it up! __________________ Deep Blue 60 gallon cube: Setup in progress.

07/06/2014, 02:05 PM	#53
TheKleinReef Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Northwest Suburbs, IL Posts: 63	just browsed through the build! looks awesome! i really love shallow cubes, and the faux sandbed is the perfect solution to avoid the sand from getting blown around! definitely gonna follow a long and watch this progress! __________________ i'm still clueless to how this site works.... Current Tank Info: DSA NEO 65

07/06/2014, 02:20 PM	#55
whiteshark Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bethlehem, PA Posts: 3,024	Excited yet? This whole process is exciting. I think I enjoy this part of the process more than when it's ready for livestock. Does that make me crazy ? __________________ Deep Blue 60 gallon cube: Setup in progress.

07/06/2014, 08:58 PM	#56
whiteshark Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bethlehem, PA Posts: 3,024	Ugh. Apex Fusion is frustrating me. I got the Fusion dashboard running. Got the controller communicating with Fusion. I can turn the outlets on and off from the dashboard, but when I make a new program it won't run it. I send the new configuration to the Apex and it says everything worked, but it won't run the program. It's driving me crazy... __________________ Deep Blue 60 gallon cube: Setup in progress.

07/06/2014, 09:40 PM	#57
whiteshark Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bethlehem, PA Posts: 3,024	Controller won't detect my BO box either. So frustrating. __________________ Deep Blue 60 gallon cube: Setup in progress.

07/07/2014, 05:38 PM	#58
whiteshark Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bethlehem, PA Posts: 3,024	Think I got the Apex figured out. Can anyone recommend a good cam for keeping an eye on the tank? I'd like to be able to check on the tank from anywhere with a live video feed. __________________ Deep Blue 60 gallon cube: Setup in progress.

07/07/2014, 06:21 PM	#59
tmantaylor18 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Sunnyvale, CA Posts: 4,143	I just bought this one since it's highly rated and cheap on amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

07/07/2014, 07:18 PM	#62
whiteshark Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bethlehem, PA Posts: 3,024	I'll be out of town for 19 days for Christmas and I definitely want to be able to check in on it. I also want to be able to brag about how cool the fact that I can see my tank from anywhere is lol. I have a question for the Apex people. Is there a way to program a piece of equipment to turn off after it runs for a certain period of time? I want my ATO pump to turn off if it runs for more than 5 minutes because if it has to run that long something is wrong. __________________ Deep Blue 60 gallon cube: Setup in progress.

07/07/2014, 09:17 PM	#63
whiteshark Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bethlehem, PA Posts: 3,024	Does this look like a tank with 2 MP10's and 2 Koralia 1400s, pointed at the sand, going full blast? Click for video. __________________ Deep Blue 60 gallon cube: Setup in progress.

07/07/2014, 09:29 PM	#64
theaquareef Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 578	You are so damn lucky hahahaha

07/07/2014, 09:55 PM	#65
whiteshark Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bethlehem, PA Posts: 3,024	Love the way this fand turned out. Hell the barnacles were blowing around the tank I had so much flow going. __________________ Deep Blue 60 gallon cube: Setup in progress.

07/08/2014, 09:13 PM	#69
whiteshark Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bethlehem, PA Posts: 3,024	So the MP10s seem to have "broken in" a bit and are quieting down, overflow is silent, no sand storms, Apex is programmed and working well; all in all I'm really happy with how this all came out. One annoying thing right now is the skimmer producing macro bubbles in the reaction chamber. It sounds like a pot of boiling water. Guess it needs to break in and maybe be adjusted a bit, but it's relatively minor. I mean I still hear the fridge from across the room over the tank which sits just a few feet behind my chair. For redundancies sake: All calibrated with calibration solution and all read exactly the same. I guess 3 isn't necessary, but it's amazing what you collect when you're in the hobby for a few years. Also got a new toy: I'm hesitant to add it, though, because the Tunze is doing a great job. I may just keep it as a backup, not sure yet. __________________ Deep Blue 60 gallon cube: Setup in progress.

07/10/2014, 06:25 PM	#70
whiteshark Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bethlehem, PA Posts: 3,024	Got the webcam today. LEDs really mess with it. Turning the T5s on helps. The resolution is pretty pathetic. I guess I can't complain too much, though, for 30$. If anyone else is on Fusion and wants to see what the resolution looks like shoot me a PM with your Fusion ID and I'll add you as a viewer. __________________ Deep Blue 60 gallon cube: Setup in progress.

07/10/2014, 06:45 PM	#72
tmantaylor18 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Sunnyvale, CA Posts: 4,143	The angle of the camera is also really going to matter. Make sure the camera lens doesnt have direct contact with your bulbs. I raised mine up higher and it looked way better.