Journal of a Mad Scientist: ADA 120-P (56K warning!)

[SuRje1976]

dufus - Here's another shot for you!




Bob - The Nitrate & Phosphate come from the left funnel, the Trace and Fe come from the right funnel. The center flask will contain the Equilibrium "slurry." It is sitting on a magnetic stirrer. I am not using the AquaController *yet* Maybe I'll shoot Steve a PM and see what we can see!

Lynn - Thanks! If you aren't already aware, you are welcome to stop by anytime to see it!

[dufus]

That's nuts!
I love the magnetic stirrers though, they can entertain me almost as long as TPT!

[dufus]

I alos see you've changed your status to- MAd scientest!

[SuRje1976]

Originally Posted by dufus

I alos see you've changed your status to- MAd scientest!

LOL...it's actually been that way for many months now

[dufus]

Huh, well it's true!!!

[Betowess]

OK, I can see the peristaltics. Are those boxes underneath them part of the delivery? Well, I'll wait for the write-up! That's pretty interesting outflow on those beakers or what ever they are called. It does look ala "Mad Scientist" laboritorish.

I decided to mix my trace, K and KNO3 together and dose PO4 separately for now. Apparently, the trace (well, Flourish or TMG) is pretty stable with everything except PO4 which makes it nasty fast, right? At least that's what I read on Wasserpest's cheap auto dosing thread.. Didn't want to pop for four peristaltic setups so am doing the Aqar.Systems 606 pump dosing method. I may pop for a couple of peristaltics for the PO4 eventually.

[fresh_lynny]

You actually have a magnetic stir bar and plate set up too...I love it. You have to come over my house. I have a freaking lab set up as well. I even use my hood as a laminar flow...hahahaha ya freak. I can't wait to see it.

[jt20194]

Sergio,

So… if you are going to us a magnetic stir bar and plate then are you going back to RO water. Also, depending on your water source, you might be able to blend the RO/DI with the sediment/carbon block filtered water to arrive at the macro levels you need. Using a needle valve on the pre RO/DI water allows you to set the flow very accurately. Your union joints can blend the two sources that you can then test and adjust until you have what you need. With respect to the back pressure you mentioned, are you referring to the peristaltic pumps? If so, take a look at the LiterMeter III. I purchased this recently and absolutely would recommend it. It is almost silent (the latest release) and has a draw height of 25ft and a delivery height of 60ft!!! Further, you can add two additional pumps that are controlled by the main microprocessors in the base unit. Last but not least, I would look into the AquaController, since I saw some X10 controllers in your power strips I know that you are using X10. By blending the best of the best of these technologies, I can tell you that you’ll have complete control of the various elements you need to adjust. Whatever you decide, I know it will be a great solution and I look forward to seeing your posts!

I said this before but posts like yours and the others provide a great source of info that helps all of us. This post lead me to the check valves I need to blend my water sources. Also, this weekend I am adding a second float switch to my sump that serves as a safety stop on my automatic water drain system. This enables me to remove the ball valve I had on my drain line that I used to synchronize my drain and fill rates. I am beginning to really enjoy this hobby!

Jim

[AaronT]

That's one crazy high tech setup you've got there. I think you made the right choice going with wood for a hardscape. In my experience, the larger the tank, the harder it becomes to scape using rocks.

If you haven't already gotten the acrylic for the Tek light sheild I would shy away from Home Depot. Their prices tend to be outrageous for acrylic. Check your local listings for a plastics shop. Most all of them have scrap bins that they sell from by the pound for next to nothing.

[SuRje1976]

Jim - My tap GH is just under 2. I'm able to use the stirrer to homogenize enough Equilibrium in 1L so that dosing 30mL daily will keep my GH between 4 & 5. What I'm trying to say is that though trial and error, I've been able to determine the limits of the stirrer and pump combo. It doesn't work too well when I add much more than 50g of Equilibrium to a liter of water. The stirrer can't agitate ALL of the Equilibrium in the volumetric flask, and it "clumps" up. I need to dose about 1.5g of Eq daily, so if I use tap and a 50g/L "slurry," then dosing 30mL daily keeps me at my desired GH. My liter lasts a month this way. If I was to use RO, I'd need 4.5g of Equilibrium daily, so 90mL of the "slurry." I'd have to refill it more frequently than every 2 weeks. Call me lazy, but that's not long enough!

As far an the pumps, The micro and macro pumps have a draw height of 12ft., and 25ft. for the "slurry" pump. Not sure what the delivery head is - the manufacturer doesn't list it in their spec. sheets, but I think they'll do the trick. I will definitely look into both the LiterMeter and the AquaController, thanks for the suggestions! As soon as everything is set in stone, I'll post a separate thread on the dosing. Thanks for the kind words. Like you stated - I was able to put this together only because of the fantastic documentation by others here of their own solutions!

[SuRje1976]

Aaron - Thanks for the suggestion. I will see if there is such a shop around here!

[SuRje1976]

So the Mopani that I ordered came this morning, and I spend a good bit of time trying different orientations. Turns out the pieces are a bit smaller than I anticipated, so I may actually wind up using the whole lot of them! Now I don't have the tank yet, but to give perspective I used my kitchen table. The tiled part of the table is the same length as the tank, left to right. The tank is as deep front to back as three (of the four) tiles. The tallest wood (on the left) will likely protrude about an inch, maybe two from the water once the substrate is in. Here's what I came up with.

Head On:




Left Side:




Left Diagonal:




Right Diagonal:




Right Side:




Slightly Above:





Ok, FIRE AWAY!

[jeffboyarrdee]

i like it so far...im sure when you put it in your tank with the substrate in place...and when the plants are grown in...im sure it would look great! you can never fully tell in the beginning, but i do like the arrangement that you have... i also have some wood arrangements that need some criticism...soon.

[fresh_lynny]

Originally Posted by SuRje1976

Aaron - Thanks for the suggestion. I will see if there is such a shop around here!

Sergio...Canal Plastics over here in Manhattan if you need acrylic. If y ou can't make it out, give me the dimensions and specs and I will pick it up for you~

[fish_lover0591]

wow this is going to be one nice setup i'm going to be watching this thread for now