Halmus' 120 Reef Tank

[halmus]

Speaking of the Apex, here it is. I dedicated an area in the closet where all of the electronics are located. I just finished building an acrylic shield that isolates the controller from the water splashing and humidity that can happen by the mixing tank.

<a href="http://s1048.photobucket.com/albums/s372/halmus/Coral%20Tank/Apex%20Updates/?action=view&current=9.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s372/halmus/Coral%20Tank/Apex%20Updates/9.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

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There is a door that is held on simply with velcro for access to the system.

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It's not the cleanest acrylic work I've done, but it does the job.

 

[halmus]

In one of the pictures you can also see the second "water-bug" sensor system. There are two sensors in the display stand, one on the floor underneath the aquarium, and another by the chiller where the two bulkheads exit my fuge/frag tank. Most of the critical areas where leaks can happen are covered. Again, this is tied to the Apex. When necessary, the pumps and other equipment will turn off for a specified amount of time and I get the e-mail of a lifetime. If it's just a fluke, things will turn back on after an hour.

 

[halmus]

In the future, I may install solenoids on the RO/DI to be able to filter water remotely. I ran extra electrical lines to the garage that aren't being used right now.

 

[halmus]

One last addition for now the Apex setup. I added one float switch to each of the light shields I have over my overflows on the display.

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These will shut off the flow to the tank if the water backs up in the overflows.

The other float switch I added was to the secondary refugium. The way the water is forced to return back to the main sump, it was likely that some day it would get clogged and try to overflow. It's been running 7 months now and hasn't happened yet, but it's nice to know that technology should help prevent that now. Everything's been tested, and does what I want it to while I'm watching it. We'll see.

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[NC2WA]

halmus,

will check out the camera tonite..

have you learn the chain rule and the application of the derivative? love the chain rule...can take complex equations like this,

〖15x〗^5+ 〖4x〗^4 + 3〖3x〗^3+ 2〖3x〗^2+5x and solve it matter of seconds.

 

[1guydude]

okay hamlus i think u got a LIL carried away with all ur gizmos and gadgets lol... Sounds nice though, just wish i knew wat i was looking at and wat that equation even is lol. Keep it up, watever it is lol.

 

[halmus]

A lil' carried away? Come on, you can do better than that. The Hubble relied on less technology. Wait till I reveal my newest innovation. You've heard of shock collars (training collars) for your dog? What about a tang sized one? That's right. He better stop attacking my favorite corals. I'll learn 'em.

I wasn't going to post anything for a while, but my wife got excited tonight. She said the clam was spitting something out. So, I had to have a talk with her about the birds and bees. She didn't believe me that it was actually spawning. I did a little research and it's common for this to happen when the clam is either very happy or very stressed. All my parameters are on, so I guess she's happy?

<object style="height: 390px; width: 640px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/n9IdNbCeFNo?version=3&feature=player_detailpage"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/n9IdNbCeFNo?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="360"></object>

 

[halmus]

By the way Guy-Dude, that's my un-clear way of saying thank you and I'm aware that I'm far beyond out of control. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing, and then over-doing.

NC2WA-
Fifth degree polynomials like that are almost a relief to me now, the derivative/integral is simple. I'm taking math notes these days where I can go pages without seeing a number. It's all Greek. I'll be taking Matrix algebra again, because I liked it so much... or because I spent too much time that quarter focusing on Java.

 

[mojoreef]

Wow your tank looks amazing Halmus!!! good for you. and yea your a tech geek, lol


\great stuff


Mike

 

[DolphinLVR]

Love all of the stuff you have done with the Apex!

I may have to come down one weekend to check out your system and pick your brain

 

[halmus]

Wow your tank looks amazing Halmus!!! good for you. and yea your a tech geek, lol\great stuffMike

Thanks for the compliments and stopping by Mike. The tank is definatly over mechanized but ive tried to minimize the possibility of the technology failing and biting me in the behind. I'm planning on entering it into the international Turing contest this year. Any CS geeks out there? I guess you'll have to google it.

 

[halmus]

Love all of the stuff you have done with the Apex!I may have to come down one weekend to check out your system and pick your brain

Just give a PM some time and you can come check it out. I do need to clear it with he boss of the house first.

 

[NC2WA]

Any CS geeks out there

Computer Science???

 

[DolphinLVR]

Just give a PM some time and you can come check it out. I do need to clear it with he boss of the house first.

LOL no worries......I can relate!

 

[halmus]

Computer Science???

Ya, I was making a bad joke referencing Alan Turing and the Turing contest held annually. I imagine you'd have to had studied computer science to get the joke, or know really obscure facts about encryption during WWII.

 

[NC2WA]

I took a couple of classes, but then changed major to Mktg. However, I have been in the software industry for 20+ yrs.

BTW, your camera looks nice...wow, you have a ton of SPS corals...nice.

 

[halmus]

I appreciate everyone following along. I have a few last details to add to the current technology in the system. This is the other end of the closet opposite the Apex. It's where the networking is for the tank. I ran a wireless bridge that I run the web cam and apex off of. The power for this, and the apex head unit is backed up by a small Uninterrupted Power Supply. The networking for the rest of the house is run off of a matching UPS. That way, when power goes out, there is just enough juice for the Apex to get an email out.

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I also added a lamp to the front of my tank that lights up when the IP camera is active. That way, my wife and I are reminded when we might be on candid camera. It's the little red light on the left side of the aquarium stand. It's not overly obvious, but in person, it's enough to remind us.

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[halmus]

I made an acrylic box for top-down photography while my garage was already a mess from other acrylic projects. Here are the pics. They're all from my IPhone, so everything is a little too blue.

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[halmus]

This is the new birdsnest. I'm still excited about the buy.

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What's that? A softy? I had a really nice yellow leather a couple years ago that didn't survive an emergency aquarium swap. I found another and couldn't help it. I love these corals. I just have to find a special place for it where it's safe from other corals and can grow in.

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This has been the problem area in the tank. That bare rock looking space is all EPO Puddy where I finally won the war on a large patch of zooanthids. It's blending in a little better now, and I'll be getting a couple nice chalice and acan colonies to put there and cover it up. Maybe only 1 or 2 if I can find a large colony that's reasonably priced.

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[NC2WA]

where did you find the yellow fiji leather??