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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 7/14/2008 3:27:44 PM
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| How about taking LR and cementing them together to form specific shape to form around the return pipe. On an earlier note,,,I'm taking some slack from another forum about idling down the flow at lights out. I'm using the fact that the Tunze controllers have this option and my LFS uses this option on their Reef Display Tank. But the argument is that the controllers feed most at night. But I believe that the corlas adapt to their surroundings and can/will change their feeding habits. What do you guys think???? Is it stupid to stop the CL when lights go off??? Not forgetting the return pump(750 gph) still on 24/7
Hello, My name is Mr. Tang and I'm a reefoholic
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| Cementing liverock together may not be the easiest task but if you can do that it probably would be ok (or using two part epoxy to hold them in place). What I have seen people do is drill holes in the rock and use acrylic rods to hold the rock together or use zipties. I don't use any type of night modes on my wavemakers (on my current tank or any past tanks) but then again I never had as much flow as you are going to be using. I know many people that do shut down their powerheads for the night time and many that don't. What I would suggest is trying it both ways to see if you notice a difference in the corals and other inhabitants. Like you mention, it is not like there will be no flow at night just less flow.
________________________________________________ Keith "Simply put, you believe that things or people make you unhappy, but this is not accurate. You make yourself unhappy." Wayne Dyer
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Last Login: 4/2/2008 4:57:58 AM
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| Reeflo pumps here, You can start and stop our pumps as often as you like, however, the effect on the motor will relate to how frequently you do it. The major strain is on the capacitor (starter)...this device is not expensive and is easily replaced.. The less obvious effect is on the motor itself....The rule of thumb is the if you restart your pump more than 20 times a day the effect will show..Also important is that you will use more energy with the start spike than if you just keep the pump operating at a constant draw...keep in mind that our pumps work very well with wavemaking devices that use the constant flow of the pump (and low wattage) and translate it acording to your needs
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| Thanks reeflow for your response!!! I was hoping that your pumps could handle the off/on starts. Again this forum steps up with quick answers!!! So maybe this alternating pump idea isn't going to work With that said,,,I still want to come up with alternating flow with a CL without using Ocean Motion. What are my options?????????
Hello, My name is Mr. Tang and I'm a reefoholic
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Group: Forum Members
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What if the pumps are alternating only 4 - 6 times in a 24 hour cycle?? The pump would run for a few hours and turn off and the other pump would turn on. Would that still wear the pump out??? I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on pumps only to wear them out because I've made a bad decision in my flow method.
Hello, My name is Mr. Tang and I'm a reefoholic
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| To me it sounds like Reeflo is saying using an OM is the best alternative for your situation as it will cause the least amount of stress/strain on the pump. In the long run it will cost less (buying one pump instead of two or three and on your electric bill due to the start up electical needs of the pump). So the OM would be their suggestion as the safest way to do this. Now if the OM is not possible, then keeping the start/stops to a minimum would be the next best option. So in your case (like you mention) having the on/off only 4-6 times per day would be the next best thing. IMO though you may want to have a third pump on hand for that emergency replacement as you do not know when the pump may fail. It could be 6 months, it could be 12 months or it could be 2 years. Going back to something we talked about earlier, LR cementing, etc.. to form formations around overflow and tubes. If you happen to get Freshwater and Marine Aquarium (FAMA) magazine there is a great article this month by Bob Goemans. It talks about using Great Stuff (the foam insulator stuff) to build formations. Great Stuff has one made for ponds that people are starting to use. It can be shaped, cut etc.. to make very neat formations and looks fairly natural. You can even put in some pieces of rock, sand, etc.. to make it even more relalistic. I am thinking about picking up a can or two of it and playing around with a 10 gallon tank to see what I can come up with.
________________________________________________ Keith "Simply put, you believe that things or people make you unhappy, but this is not accurate. You make yourself unhappy." Wayne Dyer
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Group: Forum Members
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| I'm starting to agree with you!!! These pumps aren't cheap and my wife would kill me if I designed this system for the pumps to wear out premature!! Does MarineDepot sell OM??? I have heard some bad stories about these things getting stuck due to sand particles getting inside them. I wish there was another alternative. So if I went with a Dart pump and a OM,,,should I get a 4 way or 2 way??? If I went with a 2 way, couldn't I have three returns connected to it. And of course a 4 way, I could have even more. I think six returns should be enough for a 5' long tank. I think???? The problem here is I just don't know enough about these things to fell confident enough to be the bullet and buy one!!!
Hello, My name is Mr. Tang and I'm a reefoholic
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I will look into the foam!!! Great idea!! I;m in the landscape business and we build ponds all the time and I didn't even think about using them!!! The only problem is getting the colors to match. I will be using dry rock that is bleach white. I understand that the coraline will grow over everything in time but you don't want it to look goofy
Hello, My name is Mr. Tang and I'm a reefoholic
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| MD doesn't carry the OM, your best bet IMO is going directly to the manufacturer. When I was looking into getting one they were great at helping me figure out which one would work best and even helped in figuring out a design. But since I already had my glass tank and didn't want to drill it for a closed loop, I decided to not get one. I had not heard of any issues with sand causing problems, but I really haven't been looking either. As for the foam, the pond one is black so with white rock there will be a noticable difference. Until algae starts growing it will probably look funny. But give it a few months and hopefully you won't even be able to tell. Or find a paint that is safe for use underwater (epoxy based I think, but not sure) that you can use until the coralline starts to take over.
________________________________________________ Keith "Simply put, you believe that things or people make you unhappy, but this is not accurate. You make yourself unhappy." Wayne Dyer
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