- Thread starter
- #21
Hydros system seems fine so far with the exception of the XP8. I think one of the outlets isn't producing any power (outlet 7 to be specific), dunno if it's a hardware or software issue.
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Journal Tsing's 180 - WIP
- Thread starter SingAlongWithTsing
- Start date
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Not saying it's bad but I had read this before. Not sure if you've seen it: Don’t buy a Hydros XP8 - Defective & Support is non-existent
- Thread starter
- #23
so this is gonna sound really stupid but i got the outlet to work again lol.
i took an extension cord and just kept plugging and unplugging it til the outlet worked again LOL. guess something inside the box was stuck?
Glad it worked out. Sounds like something may be loose.
WOW amazing build!!!! Are you located in SoCal?
- Thread starter
- #26
Yep, inland empire to be specific lol
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Relearning how to use the Canon
Random close ups
Think I got regular Altenathera instead of the mini variant lol or maybe I need to trim it down more often to keep it low.
Havent decided between using Rotala Orange Juice or Dwarf Hair Grass as the main carpeting plant yet. I definitely know that I dont want to use Rotala H'ra though lol.
Also planning a Yugan reactor / setting some money aside for it. Going with sch 80 of course, debating on if I want both chambers to be made with clear pvc or not lol
Aquascape_SG
New Member
Mind blowing thread. I'm now green with envy seeing all that beautiful gate vales and other plumbing stuff. You're really dedicated to this hobby as can be seen from your willingness to spend money, time and effort to building the system and maintain it. I'll be following this thread for future updates.
Personally I would go for dwarf hair grass as the main carpeting plant. It will give a nice green lush look with the other more colorful stems at the back for contrast. Also they're easy to maintain. I have tried OJ as carpeting plant. At first it will look nice but in order to maintain it, you have to be constantly be uprooting the old stems and replanting the tops on a regular basis. If let untrimmed it can grow messy and ruin the scape. Easy maintenance for the long term should be taken into consideration. Just my 2 cents.
I love that you're using a gyre pump. Which one is it? How is it working out for you?
I tried using one in the past but it would bend all my stems in one direction.
I tried using one in the past but it would bend all my stems in one direction.
- Thread starter
- #29
Gyre XF330 Cloud Edition, connected straight to my Hydros Wave Engine v2.
Had to turn it down to 52%, didnt want to break the surface too much and degas too hard.
Been thinking about getting a 2nd one and going with set up A, B, or D.
I have an old jebao scp 150 and that thing was way too damn strong even at the lowest setting lol.
Are you finding that it does a good job of picking up detritus off the substrate without disturbing the plants too much?
- Thread starter
- #31
It helps keep food in the water column but sometimes stuff might get caught in the anubias and javafern sections. i mainly added the gyre to help distribute flow for co2 and ferts.
the more I price check the parts for the yugen reactor the more I wonder if it's worth it. each refill (110 day avg) costs me $36~45.
might be cheaper to just build an acrylic box as a reactor but the main con would be repairing it if something inside breaks.
I may have missed something here, what is meant with 'refill'?
This would work, as your effective surface area (6" * 24") is same as your calculated 141 surface area. In fact you could keep it even simpler, use a square box without the divider in the middle.
I really like the idea of simple boxes (from IKEA, or Tupperware) as they can be sourced cheaply, opened if necessary, and seem especially fit for smaller tanks. In the thread on the other forum, #85 , I gave some examples for one particular tank. There is no need for any specific form factor (like a tube), as long as the reactor's water/CO2 absorption area is correct for the size of the tank and there is a gentle water flow inside.
- Thread starter
- #33
I have to swap or refill a 20lb co2 tank about every 110 days with an injection rate of 90~100 cc/min. I run my co2 8hrs a day. that barely got me to about a 0.9 pH drop in 2hrs on the 180 gallon with 60 gal sump.
Right now (after swapping tanks today) i bumped it to about 120 cc/min, still running 8hrs a day. 1 pH drop in 2hrs on the 180 gallon with 60 gal sump.
Estimates for how often I have to swap at certain injection rates. Looking more and more like I have to replace my double cerges lol
I should probably recalibrate my pH pen just in case first before building anything.
I dont have to worry about the tupper ware box popping open with the amount of gas i would have to push?
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If your reactor is 1 meter below your tank, you would have 0.1 atm over pressure. It is the water column that gives the pressure, and as it is a system with open water inlet and outflow the gas injected will not give any additional pressure. I guess that the safest would be a box with a lid that can be clamped, as I found several with some online search and posted above. I believe that we will see gradually more of these implementations of the reactor, especially for smaller tanks.
- Thread starter
- #35
i think eventually they'll evolve into something like distro plates or water reservoirs in pc builds. something like this
- Thread starter
- #36
lmao apparently reactor 2 has been dripping or leaking and i didnt notice, worst case scenario it would have been leaking for 2 months LOL
ripped out the cable management box to confirm
calcium stain, had a long line from the top of the reactor
would also explain why the return pump was able to suck water from the reactor 1 and the reactor pump. normally it cant do that but with an air gap providing a bit of a venturi effect might give it enough of a boost
ripped out the cable management box to confirm
calcium stain, had a long line from the top of the reactor
would also explain why the return pump was able to suck water from the reactor 1 and the reactor pump. normally it cant do that but with an air gap providing a bit of a venturi effect might give it enough of a boost
Nice, but not inexpensive....
How about this?
As comparison, this box in a household shop in HK. I placed it upside down, this is how I would use it as the top is slightly smaller surface than the bottom so that when the CO2 pocket grows the reactor capacity increases (you don't want the reactor capacity to decrease when the CO2 pocket grows, as this would give a positive feedback loop **).
Sturdy, and with these clamps impossible to open accidentally.
19.9 HK$ = 2.5 USD, just for comparison.
Note: Cheating a bit, as this is a small box when I was thinking about good solutions for 10-20 gallon tanks. But you won't go broke with a bigger box from the same shop.
** I care about this feedback loop as I prefer to use my reactor in overflow mode. This keeps my injection perfectly stable, not affected by any instabilities from my CO2 regulator. If I would want to reduce reactor capacity, CO2 ppm in the tank, my solution would be to put a small piece of floating styrofoam in the box, reducing the active CO2/water surface, so that I can adjust reactor power by 10% or so without relying on my regulator. I believe on the long term this will be accepted as a low cost solution for CO2 injection, uncomplicated, adjustable by as little as a few %, and giving the best stability in the tank.
Note: Don't want to derail your thread @SingAlongWithTsing , it is probably better if I comment further on the reactor in the other thread. Apologise if I added too much here. You may just want to go with the now proven concept of the pvc pipe.
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I think you may over complicating the build. $20/ea pipe clamps??
What are these?
Fair enough, I am not the best in DIY
What keeps me busy is the prices I see for some plumbing materials in the US (or the 100 USD Barrow's plate mentioned above), much higher than in HK.
We just need a really simple box/pipe with inlet/outlet for aquarium tubing and one/two connections for CO2/degassing tubing. A box is a nice alternative to a plumbing pipe, because it could be very compact and is mass produced for kitchens or storage at low price. I would hope that could be constructed for no more than 10-20 USD or so? I would hope for some practical low cost solutions, cost engineered and using the most affordable off the shelf components and some glue?
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you can scoop a 2" pipe plus connectors in my part of the US for small dollars, is all i mean. $20 or $18 each for pipe clamps/holders is wild and something @SingAlongWithTsing with have to explain to us. You can get pipe holders/clamps for very cheap. Much much less than $18 a piece.
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