lastlight's 34g solana

[Greenmaster]

The tank is looking really good. It looks way bigger then 34g... I believe the 1/4" mesh would stop the fish from jumping... the really small fish may be able to fit through but it would be hard for there aim to be that good... it's not that easy to jump into small holes :D

[lastlight]

Thanks. Yeah unbelievably a bangaii I had bought also jumped. I give up on new fish until I have a canopy made.

The canopy will fix my issue with this new light blinding everyone in the room.

My other issue is the intense heat. My fan unit can't cope with it and I took a stab at the bar fridge chiller today before failing...and then reading more online and finding that they don't really work for ANYONE.

So the good news is I have line plumbed into my basement for a chiller but I don't want to buy one. Tomorrow I will raise the light a few more inches, replace the 4-fan azoo unit with a pair of larger clip-ons and assemble a skirt with ventilation slits for the top of the tank. If it's still too hot then perhaps I will be forced to invest.

My fans come on at 80. They actually can hold the tank at 80 for more than an hour but they can't bring it back to my desired 79. I don't want them running all day and I also don't know if over longer periods/hotter days it will climb higher.

I did mount the fridge over the stairs next to my topup bucket tho. It sure looks sexy haha! But before anyone asks for a ghetto shot...I moved the bucket to the other side of the wall so they're both out of the way lol.

[Greenmaster]

Thanks. Yeah unbelievably a bangaii I had bought also jumped. I give up on new fish until I have a canopy made.

The canopy will fix my issue with this new light blinding everyone in the room.

My other issue is the intense heat. My fan unit can't cope with it and I took a stab at the bar fridge chiller today before failing...and then reading more online and finding that they don't really work for ANYONE.

So the good news is I have line plumbed into my basement for a chiller but I don't want to buy one. Tomorrow I will raise the light a few more inches, replace the 4-fan azoo unit with a pair of larger clip-ons and assemble a skirt with ventilation slits for the top of the tank. If it's still too hot then perhaps I will be forced to invest.

My fans come on at 80. They actually can hold the tank at 80 for more than an hour but they can't bring it back to my desired 79. I don't want them running all day and I also don't know if over longer periods/hotter days it will climb higher.

I did mount the fridge over the stairs next to my topup bucket tho. It sure looks sexy haha! But before anyone asks for a ghetto shot...I moved the bucket to the other side of the wall so they're both out of the way lol.

At what temp does your heater come on? If the sensor is a little old it is possible that it's off by a degree or two... I would check to make sure that your heater turns it's self off at a decent level... I have heard of them coming on and heating while the other is trying to cool... doesn't ever turn out too well...I don't know what you were trying to do with the bar fridge but I think you should be able to make something work with it... I have a bunch of ideas popin' into my head as I type this.

[lastlight]

Ah what the heck here's some lame iphone snaps of the ghetto action. Please take special note of my high-tech flow restrictor.

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/solana/fridge1.jpg

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/solana/fridge2.jpg

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/solana/fridge3.jpg

[Greenmaster]

Can you post a pic of the inside of your fridge? Showing your cooling coils or what ever you got going on inside? Also is that your tank water or is it a closed loop system that is separate from your tank water?

[muck]

BWAHAHAHAHAH... love the flow restrictor Breet.

[lastlight]

Those lines are my tank water. It's a closed loop and it enters the fridge and goes into an ice-cream pail of water that sits inside the fridge. I didn't buy enough hose so the actual loop inside the fridge is only maybe 6 feet long. I know it might work a little bit if I went out and got say 30 more feet and added to my loop but after reading it's pretty obvious this hose insulates VERY well.

The compressor on the fridge also gets crazy hot and It was hot the entire time it was running. Most people that make these things report the fridge burning out pretty fast as they aren't meant to run non-stop like they end up doing.

[mseepman]

Take a look at J&L's site under chillers. They have a blow-out price on the 1/10HP Pacific Coast chiller right now. Would work well for you and you can't beat the pricing.

[Lance]

BWAHAHAHAHAH... love the flow restrictor Breet.

Hey! I like it. I've got two the same on the frag tank.

[Lance]

Brett, are your fans blowing across the surface of the water or venting the air from the light? If not, try aiming the fans at the water surface. Evaporation works quite well.

[lastlight]

Lance the fans blow out across the water...angled about 45 degrees to hit the water.

Not sure of the cfm on the Azoo 4-fan unit I have. It's a nice looking unit and did the trick for my 150w pendant nicely. I'm going to get a fugly clip on from walmart today and try that before I think about a chiller as it's not exactly within my budget right now.

[abcha0s]

Here's a thought.

The main reason you are having heat issues is that the volume of water is relatively low when compared to the intensity of the light. If you consider the same bulb over a much larger system (say 100 gallons), it is unlikely that you would be having the same problem.

The problem with metal halids is that they are inefficient. Some of the electrical power is converted to light but the the left over energy is converted into heat. This heat is transfered into your tank.

I'm not sure the technical term, but I think it's BTUs. It takes x number of BTUs to heat 35 gallons of water by 1 degree above ambient room temperature. It takes a much bigger X to heat 100 gallons of water by 1 degree above ambient room temperature (within the same period of time).

So, instead of cooling the water, you could also increase the water volume. Instead of a closed loop to a bar fridge (interesting idea :smile:) you could run a closed loop to a sealed 65 gallon barrel. This would effectively increase your water volume to 100 gallons and would solve a number of your problems. You would likely solve your heat transfer problem, but would also increase your stocking capacity and overall system stability.

The best part - much less power consumption than a chiller.

I only suggest this as it appears that you already have the plumbing in place. It should be just as easy as plumbing in a chiller, but much cheaper and with additional benifits.

Might be crazy, but I thought it was worth the suggestion.

Take care

- Brad

[mseepman]

Here's a thought.

The main reason you are having heat issues is that the volume of water is relatively low when compared to the intensity of the light. If you consider the same bulb over a much larger system (say 100 gallons), it is unlikely that you would be having the same problem.

The problem with metal halids is that they are inefficient. Some of the electrical power is converted to light but the the left over energy is converted into heat. This heat is transfered into your tank.

I'm not sure the technical term, but I think it's BTUs. It takes x number of BTUs to heat 35 gallons of water by 1 degree above ambient room temperature. It takes a much bigger X to heat 100 gallons of water by 1 degree above ambient room temperature (within the same period of time).

So, instead of cooling the water, you could also increase the water volume. Instead of a closed loop to a bar fridge (interesting idea :smile:) you could run a closed loop to a sealed 65 gallon barrel. This would effectively increase your water volume to 100 gallons and would solve a number of your problems. You would likely solve your heat transfer problem, but would also increase your stocking capacity and overall system stability.

The best part - much less power consumption than a chiller.

I only suggest this as it appears that you already have the plumbing in place. It should be just as easy as plumbing in a chiller, but much cheaper and with additional benifits.

Might be crazy, but I thought it was worth the suggestion.

Take care

- Brad

Wow...that is taking an approach that I never thought of. Interesting idea.

[lastlight]

Hmm that is interesting. So I guess I'd need to find some sort of sealed reservoir.

I picked up 3 x 120mm case fans today and they have been on for nearly 1.5 hours now and the temp hasn't budged from 80. I need to wait this out to see if the temp is very slowly going up or down.

I also tossed my old azoo unit on top a few minutes ago to sorta simulated an extra 120mm or 2. I have room to do another row of 3 on top of the existing 3!

I will do as many fans as i can fit before the reservoir idea I think tho...i really don't want the leak risk associated now that more fans MAY work.

Thanks for the idea!

[lastlight]

Well nearly 3 hours after the tank hit 80 and the fans came on it has crept up to 81. Had to take the front panel off my carboard pretend canopy and we'll see what that does. Maybe a floating canopy will allow for better evap than a sealed one.

[lastlight]

At what temp does your heater come on? If the sensor is a little old it is possible that it's off by a degree or two... I would check to make sure that your heater turns it's self off at a decent level... I have heard of them coming on and heating while the other is trying to cool... doesn't ever turn out too well...I don't know what you were trying to do with the bar fridge but I think you should be able to make something work with it... I have a bunch of ideas popin' into my head as I type this.

Sorry missed your post when I was putting pics up. The heater and fans are on a Ranco so I'm not worried about accuracy here. I don't like relying on the heater's thermostat.

[Delphinus]

Doesn't have to be a sealed reservoir, just a reservoir. Rain barrell, plastic stock tank, or just another aquarium you can get a good deal on ...

[abcha0s]

Doesn't have to be a sealed reservoir, just a reservoir. Rain barrell, plastic stock tank, or just another aquarium you can get a good deal on ...

I bought two of the blue 55g food grade (new) barrels here in Calgary. They have a removable lid but are completely air and water tight. The lid has two standard FPT fittings, so plumbing is easy. I forget what I paid, but I think it was something like $80 each.

http://www.calgaryplastic.ca/Barrels.htm

I would trust these not to leak more than my tank.

[lastlight]

This will be in my basement and has to be a closed loop as my tank isn't drilled. To my understanding it MUST be sealed in the basement because there will be a full siphon establish for the loop to function. If power was lost to the pump that's down there the tank would siphon my display.

[Dez]

Ack, let the heat creep. Shut the lights off or set your controller to have the lights come off if it hits 82 degrees. Let the tank have a few cloudy days if the weather is hot outside. Shouldn't hurt it. Simple is best.

[lastlight]

Yeah I can't really do it that way with just the Ranco as my controller.

Someone has pm'd me regarding a used chiller and if that doesn't pan out I may grab that J&L one. I've spent 2 days fiddling with this oven/light and it's really ticking me off.

[Delphinus]

This will be in my basement and has to be a closed loop as my tank isn't drilled. To my understanding it MUST be sealed in the basement because there will be a full siphon establish for the loop to function. If power was lost to the pump that's down there the tank would siphon my display.

It might be more trouble than what you were hoping to do so I meant it more academically if nothing else. I was thinking an overflow in your mini sump and then pump from the secondary tank back into the mini sump. That would effectively make it your real sump and you'd have no overflow issues short of draining your mini sump which is a tiny volume comparatively. If you used a float switch or valve based topoff you'd have to switch it to the basement tank since the level in the mini sump would no longer deviate.

A sealed container would have poor (well, nonexistent, really) gas exchange and presumably less ability to shed heat as well. I imagine some heat would be lost through the tank walls but nowhere near the same as an open water surface. Plus the pressurized lines, the pressurized vessel and the lack of ease of cleaning would make a sealed closed loop idea a total non-starter if it was me considering it. :p

[lastlight]

Tony why the deuce are you not on msn? I'm confused and need you to explain this magical setup you speak of.

[Delphinus]

Tony why the deuce are you not on msn? I'm confused and need you to explain this magical setup you speak of.

InsomniacWife(tm) hijacked the pooter. Canreefin'/MSN'in by bb is le
suck.

Think of a gravity fed refugium that the DT drains into, and it drains into the sump. Except it has a pumps that also pumps back into the DT.

Your current sump becomes like that. This basement tank becomes the 'new' sump.

Hope this makes some sense. My thumbs are about to fall off.

[lastlight]

My current sump? We'll catch up tomorrow maybe =) My brain is sleepy.

[Delphinus]

"Current sump" being the little compartment thing in the back of your tank. Wasn't quite sure what to call that..

[lastlight]

Tony how do I gravity drain from the back compartment? There are no holes below water level...

[Delphinus]

You'd have to add one or maybe an overflow box. It's probably not the easiest thing to do given the tank is kinda running. :)

[lastlight]

Well I found a nice solution to my heat issues after a few days of wavering between a chiller and thowing myself down the stairs.

In the end I made a floating canopy/light skirt thingie out of the cheapest pressboard I could find, glue and ugly screws. If you've liked some of the ghetto aspects of my builds, you will LOVE this thing haha. Pics when the lights come on again tomorrow. I'm doing only a 4 hour photoperiod since everything non-sps in the tank sorta got mad after I plugged the big light in.

The key to success here was lowering my ambient temp. What I've done is taken a spare timer from my last build and plugged the window ac into it. Right now it kicks on for as long as my lights do. This has actually allowed my 3 new 120mm fans to get it back down to 79. It can do this when room temp is 23 or less I've found.

Also I'm running the lights 8am - 12pm as it's cooler than late afternoon. I will likely shift/extend that soon. I'm thinking 10-6 may be my goal.

In other news my royal gramma's eye did heal itself. Then it disappeared. I'm honestly so frustrated with fish as the last 3 I've added have jumped or vanished. I'm still left with my blenny and 2 chromis! Maybe some things were meant to be?

[Stones]

This was definately the funniest thing I've read in a good while.

Well I found a nice solution to my heat issues after a few days of wavering between a chiller and thowing myself down the stairs.


Your tank is coming along very Brett. You've got some amazing growth out of those SPS in just 6 short weeks. Looking foward to seeing the pics of your new canopy.

[Greenmaster]

I would say that everyone should have a cover of some kind or at least edges the go up 6-12" past the water level.