Saturday, November 21, 2009

Other Tank Hardware...

This post is about some of the other particulars of my setup. Overall system management is a Reefkeeper 2. I do have the webserver set up so I can monitor the tank from any web browser (it's connected to an old Pentium 3 computer sitting in the basement). I use a Tunze 6100 and a small Korilia nano for flow in the tank. A Maxi-mod 1200 is available as a backup.

The sump is pictured at right; I just added a larger model last week after using a smaller Pro-Clear since the tank's 2005 start up. Skimmer is a Tunze 9010.... compact, energy efficient, easy to clean, and quiet. Heater also rests in the sump.

The thin white tube feeds topoff water from the basement.







Return pump is an Iwaki MD-30. The smaller Iwaki pumps are quiet (no fan), cool, and use relatively low energy. You can see the Sunbrite timer pack under the tank as well.









Topoff water comes from an old 15 gallon tank sitting on an use d aquarium stand. I manually fill the tank every week or so with RO; it's mixed with a Sodium carbonate and/or sodium bicarbonate to maintain the tank's alkalinity and PH. A SpectraPure "Liter Meter" doses the water upstairs to the sump.








Finally, the RO system. An electronic valve (upper left) is turned on for 2 hours daily by a timer (at right). The valve feeds water to the RO system (middle left), which flows to the Rubbermaid container. This water is used for making up water for topoff and weekly changes.