400 gallon project

untamed · #1 03-03-2007, 02:07 AM

I've made enough headway on the "Black Box" to provide an interesting update...so here goes.

The box is mounted on the wall above the primary sump. This also helps hide a few power cords for the skimmer, Ca reactor recirc, and light lifter.

Inside the box is the main powerbar for the Aquatronica controller. The controller itself is also inside the box, along with all the connectors for pH, ORP or whatever else I may add in the future. For now, there is only a pH reading from the probe located in the Ca Reactor. The flash lit through the smoky black plexiglas and you can see the powerbar inside.

The reason that the Aquatronica is hidden away is that I rarely ever have to access it. All the input is handled by a 15" Touchscreen display that is mounted on a swing arm directly in front/below the rear centre viewing area.

I won't attempt to turn this into a detailed discussion of the AQT controller or AQT software, but these are the things that the controller is going to be handling for now:

1) Heating/Cooling using 2 x 250W heaters and 4 fans

2) CO2 solenoid based on pH reading from the Ca Reactor

3) Ca Reactor flow rate via control of the Omega peristaltic pump

4) Movement of the lights up and down. (I need to do some more wiring to enable this, but once completed the controller will be able to start the lights in the morning at 2 feet off the tank surface and slowly lower them to the water surface for Noon...then back up again in the evening.

5) Kalk reactor flow rate via another Omega peristaltic pump that I have yet to purchase! (I haven't bought a Kalk reactor yet either!)

...Yes, the fish get to watch TV if they get bored.

untamed · #2 03-03-2007, 02:21 AM

The tiger prawns have been cooking in there for three days now, and I have yet to be able to measure any ammonia. Typical of this hobby...the one time you want to see ammonia, you can't get it!

The prawns themselves still look pretty normal. They haven't turned to mush or anything like that. Maybe I should have used a dead fish instead...

There is a distinct smell starting to happen...and the tank is getting cloudy, so there must be some progress being made. Sigh...patience....patience.

Does anyone have a Nitrite kit they don't need any more? I don't want to purchase one, but I would like to monitor this cycle. Free, hands on, guided tour to anyone who wants to drop a nitrite kit off!

justinl · #3 03-03-2007, 04:57 PM

holy hell! high tech. I got two words for you my friend: "dream tank." and that is one niiiiice black box

I put a dead frozen shrimp in my tank to cycle and i got no ammonia either. I think it may have been a cooked shrimp? By the time it was half decomposed (by half i mean half the body was gone) I just threw in a chunk of squid and a new shrimp that was bigger and uncooked. I also added about 40lbs of cured LR and about 7lbs uncured LR rubble. that got my cycle going.

Chin_Lee · #4 03-03-2007, 05:19 PM

I've used pure ammonia from the grocery store to cycle my freshwater tanks before (with a fluidized bed filter). I would start off really small amounts and gradually increase until it was getting so efficient that I could dump in a table spoon of ammonia and get no reading by the next day.

Quote:

Originally Posted by untamed

The tiger prawns have been cooking in there for three days now, and I have yet to be able to measure any ammonia. Typical of this hobby...the one time you want to see ammonia, you can't get it!

The prawns themselves still look pretty normal. They haven't turned to mush or anything like that. Maybe I should have used a dead fish instead...

There is a distinct smell starting to happen...and the tank is getting cloudy, so there must be some progress being made. Sigh...patience....patience.

Does anyone have a Nitrite kit they don't need any more? I don't want to purchase one, but I would like to monitor this cycle. Free, hands on, guided tour to anyone who wants to drop a nitrite kit off!

untamed · #5 03-06-2007, 04:50 AM

6 days and still no measureable ammonia. That's it...tomorrow the prawns are coming out and I'm going to throw a large dead fish in there!

michika · #6 03-06-2007, 07:08 PM

Did the "television" you got for your aquatronica controller come as part of a package or did you have to purchase that and set it up separetly?

untamed · #7 03-06-2007, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michika

Did the "television" you got for your aquatronica controller come as part of a package or did you have to purchase that and set it up separetly?

It is more of a computer monitor than a TV... Aquatronica has an option by which you can connect the controller to a computer. In my case, that computer is an old laptop. That is an option that has to be purchased and it provides the connection cable as well as the computer software. You have to provide the computer.

The computer can be connected all the time, or just intermittantly when you want to make a change or update the firmware of the controller.

The Touchscreen is just an additional monitor connected to the laptop. I'm not aware of anyone else running AQT with a touchscreen...probably because touchscreens tend to be expensive. (I was fortunate to find one at a good deal!)

michika · #8 03-06-2007, 11:50 PM

I like the idea a lot. Can I ask where did you get the touch screen?