Tank Journal Archive

['vspec']

Ok so did the back black acrylic piece arrive? That was a mouthful?
any reason why your going acrylic is the tank is glass? Or have I asked this already.

 

[daveH]

I ended up getting a company in here in Brisbane to cut the back panel for me, did an amazing job and did it the next day for me. The company in Sydney just kept dicking me around so I told them to forget it.
I acrylic glued the dividers to the panel in the back and them siliconed the whole thing in - it only needs the silicone to hold it in place and give it a bit of a seal, it virtually sits there by itself. Fitted in perfectly and looks good.
I went with the acrylic back panel for a number of reasons, I wanted to follow the design of the Yasha - it allowed all the holes and slots I needed to be easily cut - and I like the black background.

Doing a pump and water test

Tank set up with coral from the Yasha - just getting everything running properly.
I'm having very small ammonia spike at the moment (.15) - using fresh coral sand (even though I washed it before hand I think thats the cause) and the rock from the Yasha.
I haven't put any stock in yet, I'm hoping the spike will pass soon.
The corals and my one fish are holding up in the yasha till things settle down.
I might keep doing a couple of water changes and keep the skimmer running to see if that helps the problem.

 

[daveH]

Well . . . just sitting around waiting for the new tank to cycle . . . ho hum :(

 

[MagicJ]

How's the Arduino going Dave?

 

['vspec']

That came up really nice dude.
No such thing as waiting when you have a beer in your hand.

 

[daveH]

How's the Arduino going Dave?

Having a little bit of a bottleneck at the moment. Josh decided to go with a different configuration to supply the 10v (see diagram).
He was having a problem getting the full 10v through, but has been successful with this configuration - it's only a slight variation of your diagram using the same components. He has been able to get good range of percentages of 10v but is getting a bit of voltage creep when on the meter.
I don't think he's actually worried about the programming, it's just getting the electrics correct. Things are going slowly also because he's got Uni exams on at the moment and hasn't had the time to concentrate on the Arduino stuff - just for another week I think/hope.
I haven't even tested my new lights yet. Oh, I tried the UV purples and they turned on great, so I guess I've got some of the wiring correct!!
By the way I read some earlier posts you had about setting up the LEDs and you mentioned that the drivers get quite warm, the literature with the drivers don't mention that. I was now wondering if they are going to get too hot the way I have them in a drawer, I think I'll have to put a small fan in the back of the drawer, what do you reckon?

 

[MagicJ]

daveH

What current are you planning to drive the led's at? Yes, the drivers get warm, but not hot and they are designed to operate at 60 degrees so I don't think it would be a problem. Try it first - if you have a problem then you can find a solution.

 

[daveH]

daveH

What current are you planning to drive the led's at? Yes, the drivers get warm, but not hot and they are designed to operate at 60 degrees so I don't think it would be a problem. Try it first - if you have a problem then you can find a solution.

750mA should be high enough don't you think?

 

[MagicJ]

750mA should be high enough don't you think?

Personally, I don't run mine over 700mA - on a small, shallow tank you could probably get away with 500mA with no problem. This will also negate any heat issues you may have had at the actual led's.

 

[daveH]

Personally, I don't run mine over 700mA - on a small, shallow tank you could probably get away with 500mA with no problem. This will also negate any heat issues you may have had at the actual led's.

That sounds a lot better

 

[MagicJ]

I will respond to your circuit above tomorrow :)

 

[daveH]

I will respond to your circuit above tomorrow :)

Thanks Shane

 

[MTG]

:poidh

looking good dave! love the yasha style, how does the back filters work exactly got a diagram? i see the slots go deep underwater what stops the water level in the display from dropping?

what did they sting you for the acrylic?

 

[daveH]

Well, everything is moved over to the new tank and doing great.
All the chemistry is spot on. I was able to match the exact readings as the old tank.
Just a tiny amount of micro bubbles but they'll settle down.
The pics are about 2 hours after the move. The return pump setup is working great - good variable flow positioning with the two outlets plus the arm they're on can rotate 360. I ended up changing pumps, I had an Eden but it was too strong even turned right down, which then made it noisy.
I now have an Enheim 1000 which is perfect and absolutely silent.
I'm using the Yasha lights till I get the new LEDs up and running which should be soon I hope - just sorting out some details.
Very happy with the new setup :)

 

[daveH]

Whoo Hoo . . . got the new LEDs working (manually dim at the moment) UNBELIEVABLE!!! :)
The colour arrangement worked out perfect - no spotlighting or shimmer, just really nice even lighting with great variables with the separate whites blues and violets. The blues and violets make the corals really pop.
Can't believe how much better this setup is over the Yasha lights.
Ended up being a really enjoyable project.
All the corals are thriving now that they have a bit more space, never seen them opened up so much.
Will definately have some photos up tomorrow, have to play with camera settings to try and get something that does it justice.

 

[MagicJ]

Great news Dave - look forward to the pictures :)

 

[MagicJ]

Having a little bit of a bottleneck at the moment. Josh decided to go with a different configuration to supply the 10v (see diagram).
He was having a problem getting the full 10v through, but has been successful with this configuration - it's only a slight variation of your diagram using the same components. He has been able to get good range of percentages of 10v but is getting a bit of voltage creep when on the meter.

This is the circuit that you have used above

I had a bit of a laugh when I saw this, as I have traveled down this road about 8 months ago :p

You may remember this graph from another thread

[Broken External Image]:http://www.thereefuge.com/board/attachments/pwm-graph-gif.3268/

The red line is the results from using this circuit - I originally built this circuit and had the same issues as you i.e. unstable output voltage. You will notice that the output is not linear and provides little change in output for the first 2.2 volts. I actually sent a PM to Katchupoy on Reef Central (I guess that this is where you found this circuit) but he could not explain these results other than he may have used a PNP transistor. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about electronics to explain it either.

Following further research, and questions on other forums, it appears that most people are using the circuit originally provided to you.

How were you testing the original circuit?

 

[daveH]

Trying every camera in the house to get a decent pic of the tank and the corals.


This pretty close to the colour, the UV purples really add a great look.



The blastos are just loving the new lights, I've never seen them more open.

All the chemistry is spot on this morning.
Just sitting back and looking at it now. :)
I'll keep playing with the camera settings to see if I can get some better shots - any suggestions on settings for tank shots??
I'm using a Fuji Finepix S9500. I don't really like it but maybe I can find a manual setting that will work.
My best shots at the moment are coming from my iphone with the $7 macro lens - go figure.

 

[MagicJ]

Dave, see if you can set a Custom White Balance (refer Page 66 of the manual) - hold something white/grey (the top off your skimmer?) in the tank and use that to set the white balance.

 

[daveH]

Dave, see if you can set a Custom White Balance (refer Page 66 of the manual) - hold something white/grey (the top off your skimmer?) in the tank and use that to set the white balance.

You looked up my manual - amazing ;)