http://www.reefaddicts.com/blog.php/1136-Midnight en Mon, 20 May 2013 01:12:15 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.reefaddicts.com/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.reefaddicts.com/blog.php/1136-Midnight http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28776-Apex-Wireless-Module-Setup Sat, 19 Jan 2013 14:00:55 GMT So yesterday I got my shipment of the new MP60 and the Apex wireless module. I needed to upgrade the firmware and the web pages from apex as I was... So yesterday I got my shipment of the new MP60 and the Apex wireless module. I needed to upgrade the firmware and the web pages from apex as I was behind one update. Those of you that have not updated recently may want to becase the new pages are live and look like the ones Curt had at MACNA 2012. Here is my status screen as an example:




As you can tell that is quite different than the old. It is customizable and you can even add a tank cam.

The Wireless Apex Module does two main things for Vorteech users. It allows you to use a GUI to set them up and you can set schedules for them to change modes at different times of day or other events like feeding. This took me a minute to figure out because you have to setup Profiles for the different modes first.

When you go to the Profiles tab you you have to create a profile for each mode that you would like to use. i created one for reefcrest, lagoon, and pulse. I have mixed pump sizes, so I opted to create three profiles for each pump size. The reason to have one for each size, is that 20 percent on a MP40 is quite different than on a MP60. Here is how the profile looks:




As you can tell from the picture above, I named this profile Crest40, which allows for easy memory when coding the outlet. You can also see that this is Reef Crest mode and max pump speed is capped at 60 percent.

Next you have to go into Outlet setup. When you configured and added the pumps to the Wireless Module, it automatically creates an outlet for each pump. This is where you have to tell the outlet what profile you want it to run. This is also where you can set up a schedule for it to change modes depending on time or events. The example shows how I set mine up. This may change or get tweaked, but this was the first go at it, and it works.



You notice I setup a pretty simple schedule without too many statements.

Some thoughts on the feed modes:

The Apex has four feed modes which are just virtual buttons. These can be set up to do different things to different outlets. More like you would want to have the pump go to a slow constant flow for 10 minutes when you drop the food in and then run nutrient export for five or ten minutes next. Then return back to the regular schedule. I will probably do something like this in the future. You may ask why you would want the option to tun off the pumps like the above picture shows. This could be useful when adding corals to the display or taking pictures.

In closing, I am really glad I got the Wireless Module, though it does take some work to set up. ]]> Midnight http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28776-Apex-Wireless-Module-Setup http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28773-January-Full-Shot Tue, 15 Jan 2013 00:24:35 GMT I owe a FTS for this month so here you go. This was a quick Iphone 4s shot with some editing for flavor. In the future I am going to be adding some... I owe a FTS for this month so here you go. This was a quick Iphone 4s shot with some editing for flavor. In the future I am going to be adding some more blue LED's to the front of the tank to help bring out the corals in pictures.




The tank is doing well at this time. I am adding one to two corals a month as I can afford. Really need to sell our old house soon. I am finally going to be putting the Calcium Reactor online. I had to order parts for one of my MP40's, so I am running with only one pump and the return at the moment. I also ordered one MP60 and a APEX wireless module.

I found a great way to clean the glass of the aquarium. I took a piece of 1/4 inch acrylic and used the jointer to make a super clean edge. That little scraper cleans everything off the glass at once. Really if I would use the Tiger Shark Magnet daily this wouldn't be necessary But, none the less it scrapes the coraline and film algae off like a charm.

Question for you all, How often do you guys spot feed your LPS corals? ]]> Midnight http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28773-January-Full-Shot http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28717-Borrowing-a-Friends-Macro-Lens Tue, 27 Nov 2012 01:21:46 GMT My wife and the kids usually share Thanksgiving with two of our friends and godparents to our children. They came to our house this year and we had... My wife and the kids usually share Thanksgiving with two of our friends and godparents to our children. They came to our house this year and we had a great feast. The turkey was fried to perfection and we ate until we were fat and happy. And no, we did not burn down the house or kill the family by frying the turkey.

I found out that they had a Cannon macro lens and asked to borrow it to take pictures of the reef. This is my first experience with the lens, so it took some getting used too. This is the 50mm EF coupled with the Cannon EOS 7D.















Let me know what you think ]]> Midnight http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28717-Borrowing-a-Friends-Macro-Lens http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28673-Top-Down-Pictures-from-my-reef Sat, 13 Oct 2012 13:17:37 GMT I wanted to share some pictures I snapped with my new Top Down Photo Box (http://www.melevsreef.com/shop/tdpb.html) that I picked up at Macna this... I wanted to share some pictures I snapped with my new Top Down Photo Box that I picked up at Macna this year. Overall the tank is doing nicely. I have zero algae on the rock work, And I only have to clean the glass weekly. I notice coral growth on most of them daily. I am still not running my calcium reactor be cause my calcium and alkalinity are not being used up yet with so few corals in the system. Sit Back and Enjoy

This one seems to be a slow grower



This one is doing great, you can even see it is spreading and encrusting on the other rock



As you can tell from the bottom of this pick, this meteor shower is working



One of the few corals that made the temp storage and transfer to the new tank.



I decided I needed a clam and picked this up right after Macna



This Candy Cane seems to be happy



This coral is making a huge come back after near death in the temp setup



Here is another one that was nearly gone





This guy was butchered by the fragger and is nearly healed up, every day the polyps seam more complete



Well, that is all I got for October. Hopefully I will have some new additions to share next month.

Remember you can subscribe to my Blog by clicking the link on the right hand side of this page. ]]> Midnight http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28673-Top-Down-Pictures-from-my-reef http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28615-My-Macna-2012 Mon, 08 Oct 2012 20:08:17 GMT I have to say that I had an awesome time at Macna. I only saw a few Reef Addicts while I was there but I saw many great speakers and learned a... I have to say that I had an awesome time at Macna. I only saw a few Reef Addicts while I was there but I saw many great speakers and learned a bunch.

My view from the hotel and the Chase building that seem to be exited about LED's. The whole time I wanted to go buy an Ipad for some reason





Reef Addicts and Melev's booth, that was my home base area while I waited on different speakers to be up





Jessy wouldn't give me a Reef Addicts pin while I was there. The tank that Marc raffled was very cool and perfect for next to the sofa.

Speaking of Marc, here he is with Scott Fellman doing there stand up routine. I think they were even trying to present something about Aquascaping.



I took a ton of pictures of the speakers that I went to, but because of the poor light post came out blurry. I did't pack a tripod of a external flash. The rest are pictures form notable tanks that I saw and the Robosnail, That I thought was cool.





















I would love to go next year but because of the date, I do not think I'll make it. If you have questions about any of the images just ask. ]]> Midnight http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28615-My-Macna-2012 http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28245-Algae-issues-gone Sun, 16 Sep 2012 22:06:35 GMT Well the Algae issues that i was experiencing are gone, they have moved on to the next new tank. The Zoas are opened and the fish are Fat and... Well the Algae issues that i was experiencing are gone, they have moved on to the next new tank. The Zoas are opened and the fish are Fat and happy.



And here are some weeds



This is that 48" LED strip from Reefkoi.com, I am very happy with it for the $149.00 price tag. ]]> Midnight http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28245-Algae-issues-gone http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28235-Tampa-Florida Sun, 09 Sep 2012 12:51:05 GMT So I am leaving for Tampa in a few minutes. I will be down there through Friday and was wondering what Local Fish Stores I should try to get to... So I am leaving for Tampa in a few minutes. I will be down there through Friday and was wondering what Local Fish Stores I should try to get to while I am in town? I prolly just do some window shopping since Macna is just around the corner. ]]> Midnight http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28235-Tampa-Florida http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28231-September-Eye-Candy Wed, 05 Sep 2012 19:13:58 GMT Some shots that I took today None of my zoas are doing well. As you can see they are closed up. This frag got relocated by clean up crew, it... Some shots that I took today

None of my zoas are doing well. As you can see they are closed up. This frag got relocated by clean up crew, it hasn't been anchored down because I am trying to find their happy place.



You can also see in these images the brown algae I am dealing with, It just doesn't seem to want to go away.



This Galaxia is looking happier, it nearly parished in the temp setup


That is all I got for now. ]]> Midnight http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28231-September-Eye-Candy http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28213-Test-results-for-August Sun, 26 Aug 2012 20:37:03 GMT I need to make a fancy table like Melev has, this was cut and pasted from a MS Excel spread sheet. Blanks are for lack of kits, where as zeros meant... I need to make a fancy table like Melev has, this was cut and pasted from a MS Excel spread sheet. Blanks are for lack of kits, where as zeros meant tested but undetectable results. I have not put my CA reactor on line as it is not needed at this point. I may need to bring the ALK up a smidge and let the CAL drop a smidge but other than that the numbers look good. That said I am still observing some stringy brown algae junk that I am certain will eventually fade, even though it does detract form the overall tank look.

DATE	SG	PH	ALK	CAL	MG	NO3	PO4	TEMP
JAN
FEB
MAR
APRIL
MAY
JUNE
JULY
AUGUST	1.027	8.54	7.0	500		0	0	79.7
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC

Edited in new table from MS word using the Excel data ]]> Midnight http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28213-Test-results-for-August http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28212-Monthly-podcast Sun, 26 Aug 2012 16:42:02 GMT Since the last pod cast was :Reef Addicts Podcast #11 (http://www.reefaddicts.com/content.php/315-Reef-Addicts-Podcast-11) by melev... Since the last pod cast was :Reef Addicts Podcast #11


by melev
Published on 07-27-2011 09:11 PM
when can we expect a new one? ]]> Midnight http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28212-Monthly-podcast http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28205-Baby-is-1-Month-Old Tue, 14 Aug 2012 03:28:26 GMT My tank has been officially set up for one month now. Things are starting to settle down now. I have seen a lot of stringy brown algae and I had... My tank has been officially set up for one month now. Things are starting to settle down now. I have seen a lot of stringy brown algae and I had about three days of Diatoms. I have been cleaning the skimmer cup daily for the most part. I have added 5 frags and 5 Pajama cardinals. There is not a lot to see as the tank is huge and the livestock is minimal at this point. Regardless, i wanted to document and share. The fish are all staying Primarily on one end of the tank, I am not sure how to remedy this.











All of these corals leek even better in person. These pictures were all taken with the Iphone 4s and edited in photo shop. On the list of things to get is a macro lens for the cannon and I need to make a photo box to shoot from above. Also I think I need to turn off the LEDs when I take pics. ]]> Midnight http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28205-Baby-is-1-Month-Old http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28203-Some-things-have-gotten-done Sun, 12 Aug 2012 13:24:23 GMT I have been taking things slow, as I do not want to rush into anything with this tank. I am also now waiting on my wife, the teacher, to start... I have been taking things slow, as I do not want to rush into anything with this tank. I am also now waiting on my wife, the teacher, to start getting paid again. It's tough to start stocking a tank when your account says stop, no, and don't.

I ordered this 48" LED light from Reefkoi.com. They carry many different styles of LED fixtures and this one seem to fit my bill the best.

EvoSlim Aluminum Striplight 48" 36watt


The one I have is composed of mostly 8000k LEDs with four blues mixed in. They will make them any way you want but it may take time as they don't order LEDs often.



As you can tell, I puts out mega light and covers the refugium nicely.



This auto top off system has been set up since day one of the tank. This supply gives me about 9 days of top off water.



I used a Auto top off system from aquahub.com, the only problem is the relay has stopped working right and so I had to rewire the float switches inline with the power until I can get a new relay.



Due to fundage, I still don't have the manifold plumbed. For this reason I am running the bio pellet reactor off of a small pump. Carbon and calcium reactors are not online yet.



As you can see from the photo, I have a ton of room in the sump. I don't expect it to ever be too cramped to work on any thing. ]]> Midnight http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28203-Some-things-have-gotten-done http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28180-An-update-for-Marc-more-to-come-in-the-afternoon Wed, 01 Aug 2012 11:38:02 GMT Marc being the smart *** that he is wanted a two week update, so being the smart *** that I am here you go: Image:... Marc being the smart *** that he is wanted a two week update, so being the smart *** that I am here you go:




Watching the tank grow can be exhausting though.



More to follow ]]> Midnight http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28180-An-update-for-Marc-more-to-come-in-the-afternoon http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28154-Day-1-Friday-the-13th Fri, 13 Jul 2012 21:23:51 GMT Just as good a day as any to give your new tank its fist birthday. Right now between 1600 and 1800 all the lights are on, I have set them each for 6... Just as good a day as any to give your new tank its fist birthday. Right now between 1600 and 1800 all the lights are on, I have set them each for 6 hours with a two hour start delay for each halide. As you can see I have not cut off the threaded stock from the lights because the lights are not centered front to back over the tank, this may need fixed if I decide the front of tank is too dark. The rails stop at the crown molding in the garage which would give me a couple of inches.



As there is not a lot to see, I did not edit these at all. I think I transferred 8 fish and hand full of corals. The rock has lost almost all of its coraline with the exception of 3 patches. However, it is pest and xenia free and ready for a new leaf. fist order of business is going to let the tank adjust and settle for two weeks, meanwhile I am going to get some fish in quarantine.



I am going to wait to add any more clean up crew until I see some algae as the snails, conchs, and cucumber have nothing to eat at the moment.



Next week I will test and post some parameters, as of right now everything is at new salt mix levels. ]]> Midnight http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28154-Day-1-Friday-the-13th http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28153-Mostly-Pictures-of-What-I-have-gotten-done Fri, 13 Jul 2012 11:20:35 GMT The sump arrived on Wednesday, I rushed home from work to get started on everything that needed to be done. Image:... The sump arrived on Wednesday, I rushed home from work to get started on everything that needed to be done.



At Marc's suggestion I filled the bottom of the stand with sand instead of concrete, it took five bags of sand.







Even conned my wife into helping some.









I took a bunch more pictures but Photobucket is not working with me right now, it seems there was an error during upload with many of the pics. ]]> Midnight http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/28153-Mostly-Pictures-of-What-I-have-gotten-done