72 Oceanic Reef Ready Bow Front Evolution...

I

incysor

New Member
Hmmm. A window unit costs less than a chiller. A chiller that's sitting in the heat isn't as effective as one that's not. That's why most of them aren't designed to sit outside.

Also it will add significantly to the overall heat in a room. I've got one friend that has a 150g in his office with a 1/2hp chiller. This is in an office building with huge central AC units. The chiller put out enough hot air that it would raise the temp in his office by 10 degrees or so until he attached some cheap ac ducting to the chiller and ran it up into the suspended ceiling. His office is probably 15ftx20ft.

I did a lot of research on them when I setup the tanks the first time. After doing a bunch of research I decided that trying fans first was a good idea. As it turned out they did the job, and cost me a lot less both to purchase and in electricity than a chiller would have.

I'm not saying he might not have to buy a chiller anyway. Just that trying the fans first might be a good idea.

B
 
M

mikeguerrero

Active Member
Incysor,

Your advice is very valuable to me, I will consider all points. I just don't want hot chiller air heating up my living room, that i cannot take.

I would have to see how many times would my chiller turn on and stay on, that's when it gets hot.

As for the ATO I'm there, I'm going to get one for sure. I'm seeing evaporation already per day and I haven't even gotten lights.

Brian, do you really think I should do the mode on the 1200 maxi-jet? Right now they are on deflectors that they came with, pointing downward towards the bottom of the tank.

My sand has parted like a sand dune. Tell me more on this mode, your opinion.

Mike
 
I

incysor

New Member
The DIY works if your PH are turned on and off via a wavemaker type device.

I haven't used the reefkeeper you're using so I don't know if it's turning them on and off or not.

I wouldn't worry too much about it unless you feel like you're not getting enough randomness in your flow.

B
 
M

mikeguerrero

Active Member
I need some help deciding between a 10 gallon AGA reservoir tank or a 5 gallon black bucket. I will be using the JBJ ATO. I can get the tank for $7.98 or $2.99 for the bucket.

I fill up the sump about 1/2 a gallon in a day maybe less. If I purchase the tank I have to find a way to conceal it since I'm out of cabinet space. As for the bucket it's black and I could set it next to the cabinet and place a nice plant on top of it.

I know a lot of people have 5 gallon buckets but have smaller tanks than me. I cannot find anywhere online where I can get a 10 gallon black bucket.

Anyone ???

Mike
 
I

incysor

New Member
Mike,

How much room do you have left under the cabinet? I found that a tall kitchen trash can had a more compact footprint than a typical 5g bucket, and holds more water.

Looking at the pics, it looks like you have room for a small black cabinet that you could set next to the tank to hold the reservoir, and some fish supplies.

B
 
M

mikeguerrero

Active Member
B,

I have zero room for any type of reservoir, just enough space for future Deltec products and that's about it; like the phosphate reactor.

Lend me a link where I can purchase any small black cabinet. Do you recommend that I stick with the 10 gallon AGA? As I think the 5 gallon bucket would be empty too soon.

While I have you on this subject; I know you are not the chiller man but have you heard anything on this chiller:

Aqualogic Trimline Delta Star 1/4HP Chiller TLD-3

They talk about it on marine depot. It's between that one or the 1/4 Articia JBJ chiller.

Here is the link on the Aqualogic :

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem. ... ct=AL2115K
Mike
 
M

Master Er

New Member
Mike,
IMO, I dont think you would need a big water reservoir...3 or 4 days worth of water for topping off would be enough. I think 5 gallons would be fit since you'll be checking out your tank everyday. 4 days worth is long enough. I would think that you would need a bigger reservoir if you were maintaining 5 tanks but since it'll only be one tank....5 gallons would be sufficient enough. Thats my opinion.
 
S

sadielynn

New Member
I like the idea incysor had of a kitchen trash can and they come in lots of colors that would match but if you have no choice how bout the bucket with a silk plant
 
I

incysor

New Member
The 7g trashcan will generally last me nearly a week.

All you need is something to hide the pump and the container, and just run the lines around the back of the stand to the sump. The 7g trashcan I'm using generally has about 6g of water in it and it lasts about 5 days before I have to refill it.

I've got no real advice when it comes to chillers. When I was researching them I just did searches for the models I was looking at over on reefcentral, and reefs.org.

B

Something like this would do if you had room.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... 8%3A105905

Smaller and would be a bit more of a hunt to find a container that'll fit inside it, but it would probably look nice.
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/re ... B0002TPE5U

This one is a bit larger.
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/re ... B0002TOIRA
 
M

mikeguerrero

Active Member
Sadie,

You are the best, I'm going to order this one. It has the right appeal next to my cabinet... The price is great as well, lets just hope it's sturdy to hold at least 10 gallons of water....

I will order it this tommorrow....

Thanks,

Mike
 
M

mikeguerrero

Active Member
Well Reefers,

The weekend is here and I decided on the JBJ 1/4 chiller. I had to upgrade my pump to the Mag 12 and I'm going to be using my mag 7 to refill my tank on water changes !!!

I did my best to find a suitable place in my house that wouldn't make it look cheesy. I guess that is why JBJ came up as the winner, they are elegant in what they produce.

I also ordered the Coralife 48" Advanced series HQI 300 watt. I'm starting to think I should go more powerful lights and enter the world of pendants. But then again I'm going for a closed look in my living room.

Enjoy the pics.

Mike













 
D

dragon79

New Member
looks very nice mike, looks very clean. All your colors too. I know you either like Black or Silver/Platinum Look.
 
M

mikeguerrero

Active Member
In an attempt to by-pass an ATO systems, I decided to purchase the Oceanic glass tops to minimize evaporation.

Because my sump also has a glass top to reduce noise, I felt that the addition of the glass top on the tank would curve my evaporation which was about 1/2 a gallon a day.

They fit really snug and are much higher quality than the AGA top, which was reasonably cheaper.

There has been and will continue to be a lot of debate as to those that use tops and those that do not. I purchased a really nice size chiller for my tank and I made sure to go over the recommendation to keep these extras that trap heat.

As a previous owner of the JBJ 12 gallon cubes, I rarely ever had evaporation issues, topping off was very easy. I expect to do the same with this new setup.

My question to you all, is regarding the temp setting on my chiller and reef keeper. I have my reef keeper turning on the chiller when it reaches 82 degrees and shutting off when it reaches 76.5.

The chiller is factory set to 77 degrees +/- 1 degree. Is this gap in temp too much for my reef from 76.5 to 82 degrees? Should I close the gap more? Doing so will probably keep my chiller working more, but as of today, it's hardly ever on.

I really like that it's not on as much as I thought it would be. Anyway your suggestions are going to be taken seriously.

Thanks,

Mike





 
D

dragon79

New Member
on a side note: You'll have to update your signature Mikey. Cuz that don't look much like a 12 gallon nano cube anymore there, hehe.

***i just noticed that***

hehe
 
S

sadielynn

New Member
I think that you will be fine with the settings mine swings from 80.1 to about 73.0 degrees , I had ask awhile back and they concensus was that you dont want swings greater than 4-5 degrees in a 24 hour period , I dont have a heater because I do have the ph filter that does put off heat but our swing is at a peak of 80.1 after lights out to about 75.0 degrees depending on the central air setting
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top