oh207 65g Tank Thread

[lnevo]

I find that my 65g evaporates between 6-7 gallon a week in the winter. I had less than half of that evaporation rate during the summer.

I have a very similar eval rate and find that I'm refilling every 4-5 days now vs 7-8 in the summer!!

Its odd because I run the AC all the time in the summer and figured that would suck up any moisture in the air and promote evaporation. During the winter the air is so dry though I guess thats why...but i definitely thought others get the opposite effect..

 

[oh207]

btw all that electronic hardware you have mounted inside the stand is a bad location. humidity or water splash will get to it one day. i would move it to a better location unless money is not a big deal ...

Hi Tonyscoots84, thanks for the feedback. I've always been worry about water damage. Especially after seeing the cabinets of tanks that have been established for some time. I'm planning to secure the cables in a cable conduit and get a few pieces of plexi-glass to mount over the Apex modules. This should help a bit but you're right about humidity. If the cover isn't sealed then I will still have the same problem, or worse, the plexi-glass cover could make the situation worse.
I don't have any other location to place these modules, so I will have to do my best to secure and protect them.
And money is indeed a big deal. I did a lot of research prior to setting this tank up and I knew that I wanted to get the best that I can afford.

 

[oh207]

I have a very similar eval rate and find that I'm refilling every 4-5 days now vs 7-8 in the summer!!

Its odd because I run the AC all the time in the summer and figured that would suck up any moisture in the air and promote evaporation. During the winter the air is so dry though I guess thats why...but i definitely thought others get the opposite effect..

Hi lnevo - I thought the same as well. I was running AC all the time during the summer along with a fan over the sump and another one over the DT. The AC is installed less than 2ft away from the tank, and I thought that because it dries up the air the tank will evaporate more. I was very surprise to see the rapid evaporation rate in the winter. I'm sure there is a very good technical explanation, but I haven't searched for the answer, as yet...

 

[TommyP]

The Webcam that was used to capture those hourly pics above was a TrendNet TV-IP110WN. It integrated with the Apex dashboard, but only provide a static picture.

I've since replaced that Webcam with a DLink DCS-5020. The DLink allows me to Pan/Tilt/Zoom. And it integrates with the Apex dashboard and provides live video feed!

Thanks so much, I wonder if I can use this camera on my iPhone when I'm at work to check out my tank but I don't have an Apex.

 

[walnuts24]

What brand stand and canopy is that?

Really like the tank. Are you having any trouble with the height and cleaning the bottom of the tank?

 

[oh207]

Thanks so much, I wonder if I can use this camera on my iPhone when I'm at work to check out my tank but I don't have an Apex.

Yes, you can use the camera for remote, real-time viewing. Provided that you open and forward the port on your router. The TrendNet camera have a very nice app (Secure View Mobile). The app allows you to view video remotely AND it also supports the built in microphone. You can listen to the tank and you can also transmit audio back. Just in case you want to talk to the fishes...

 

[oh207]

What brand stand and canopy is that?

Really like the tank. Are you having any trouble with the height and cleaning the bottom of the tank?

This is a DeepBlue reef ready tank and this is the default stand that came with it. I took off most of the top portion of the canopy except for 1 support brace in the center which I used to mount the light. So the top is almost fully open. This allows the exchange of gases while maintaing the canopy look, which is exactly what I wanted. I didn't want any light spread from the LED unit escaping beyond the tank.

I don't really clean the bottom of the display tank. All I do is a 20g water change. In the past I used to pump the 20g out of the DT. But I find it easier to turn off my return pump and just pump the 20g out of the sump and replace. And doing this allows me to clean whatever detritus is in the sump.

 

[oh207]

Battery backup failure

I lost power for about 25 minutes last week and the Vortech battery backup didn't kick-in!!! I blame myself for not testing it properly. I just hooked it up and thought it would just work.
The APEX was able to stay online because its connected to a UPS. It did sense the power loss on the second EB8, but the return pump and the other Vortech wasn't shutoff. It seems I need to review the settings and do some testing.
Oh, and I should know better...I need to put my modem, router, and wireless bridge on a UPS as well. That way I get the alert right away and not have to wait for the baby-sitter to call the wife, and then the wife have to call me and tell me the UPS is beeping.

 

[lnevo]

It should have just worked...unless it wasn't charged...i have the ups plugged into one of my controller relays and had it on the wrong port for a while...but otherwise theres no settings...it should work as long as cabled up properly...

 

[oh207]

It should have just worked...unless it wasn't charged...i have the ups plugged into one of my controller relays and had it on the wrong port for a while...but otherwise theres no settings...it should work as long as cabled up properly...

I know, I figure it would just worked. It was so simple to hook-up. I didn't even bother to test it at first. I should have known better to test especially since I bought it used. Its been connected for over a month now, so it should be fully charged.

 

[Jenna X]

Yes, you can use the camera for remote, real-time viewing. Provided that you open and forward the port on your router. The TrendNet camera have a very nice app (Secure View Mobile). The app allows you to view video remotely AND it also supports the built in microphone. You can listen to the tank and you can also transmit audio back. Just in case you want to talk to the fishes...

Tagging along! I'm technically challenged lol How secure is the connection? I mean do you have to log in to access your own video?

 

[oh207]

Tagging along! I'm technically challenged lol How secure is the connection? I mean do you have to log in to access your own video?

I have some experience with networking so it wasn't difficult for me to setup. In terms of security, it all depends on how secure you want to be. I'm comfortable with opening the port on my router/firewall. And access to the camera is secured with a username and password. I never checked to see if the transmittance of the username and password is encrypted.

Best practice is to ensure you have a fairly complex username and password. Since you can store the login information on your mobile device for easy access, another thing to consider is to have a password to lock your mobile device, just in case you loose it.

 

[oh207]

Video of Tank

So the tank has been fishless for 2 months now. Everything is growing like crazy. There are giant pods running around all over the rocks. And I thought all the Blue xenias were dead, but they all grew back and flourishing now.
Video was recorded on Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8uXcAJDtLpg

 

[lnevo]

Nice man...looking packed in there! Love the open rock work!

 

[oh207]

Nice man...looking packed in there! Love the open rock work!

Thank you lnevo. Its getting packed especially with the Nems. I like having lots of rock. The tank looks too empty with little rocks.

 

[Jenna X]

I have some experience with networking so it wasn't difficult for me to setup. In terms of security, it all depends on how secure you want to be. I'm comfortable with opening the port on my router/firewall. And access to the camera is secured with a username and password. I never checked to see if the transmittance of the username and password is encrypted.

Best practice is to ensure you have a fairly complex username and password. Since you can store the login information on your mobile device for easy access, another thing to consider is to have a password to lock your mobile device, just in case you loose it.

Thank you. I'm sure this would be helpful to others as well.

 

[MrsDubs]

Your DT is awesome! Love your anemone. Will be following along.

 

[oh207]

Your DT is awesome! Love your anemone. Will be following along.

Thank you. My setup is relatively new still have some ways to go.

 

[oh207]

Reactor back online

So today I hook-up back the GFO reactor. Its been offline for about 3 months now. I started to see some nasty algae growing in the sump. And the DT glass needed more frequent cleaning.
I didn't have any space to easily mount the unit since I upgraded to the larger sump. So I had the great idea of sitting the canister in the last chamber of the sump. Works out perfect.

 

[oh207]

Some pics...

Took a pic yesterday, the GBTA keeps moving back and forth...he was getting me worried so I took precaution and put protection over the powerheads. I hope he settles in the new spot.
Also looks like some diatoms, or probably cyano appearing on the sand. This is what prompted me to reconnect the GFO/Carbon reactor. I'm surprised its growing because the tank has been fishless for 2 months, so there was no feeding. Except I squeeze .5ml of Selcon in the tank once a week. I might have to stop doing that...