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[mynd]

Hello Everyone,

I figured I would start this here and see if it gets moved or not, but this seemed the place to start this.  I am gong to do a complete diary of start to finish Aquapod and all mods including the addition of corals to my AquaPod 12.  If you are interested in costs, time and the addressing of issues as they arise for the AP12 you might want to take a look back here from time to time.

I guess I will start off with the purchase of it from Dr. Foster and Smith.  Ordered it on a Monday and received it on a Thursday.  Very nice if I may say so myself.  The tank lighting did not seem correct so I contacted them and guess what.  They sent me another tank.  So now I have two for the time being.  It was a great opportunity to check things out and do a comparison.

If you purchase a AP12 and turn on the lights it is a common mistake to think that the leds are not working if you have not plugged in the additional adapter for them.  Along with that I strongly suggest that you remove everything that is in the tank including the sponge and consider some changes right from the very start.

I like the idea of better water flow so the maxijet 900 was a great upgrade ( I don't consider this a mod cause nothing was actually drilled or broken in the process ) just take the included pump and use it for your water change tank instead.  In addition to this I made the locline ( that is the bendable Y connector that you received in the box ) shorter leaving only one extender on each side and then the end piece ( this is the piece that looks like a vacuum cleaner attachment ).

In the new units if you have a white or transparent sticker on the inside of the tank on the reflector inside the hood your tank and hood are not in the recall even though the model number is 7050.  If you do not see a white or transparent sticker with the serial number on it, I would suggest contacting current-usa or taking it back to your LFS ( Local Fish Store )

Checking out the 4 chambers in the back on the new models the first chamber ( starting on the left ) does extend all the way to the bottom of the tank and the water then passes through a slit about 2 inches up from the bottom into chamber 2 which when full passes over the divider into chamber 3 ( both of these chambers are a little higher then the bottom of the tank ) which then escapes into chamber 4 about 2 niches from the bottom of the tank ( chamber 4 does go all the way to the bottom of the tank again ) However, there is a dead area under chamber 2 and 3 where the accumulation of garbage can occur.  I WILL BE CLOSING OFF THAT AREA ( first mod ).  In addition to this I will be drilling a hole into chamber 3 where the plastic was molded ( this hole is clear as day when you see it ) The Hole I am drilling is so that I can put a rubber grommet in there and run a 1/2 ID hose from the cl-150 thermo electric chiller into the tank.  The pump ( a blueline 20-hd ) will be placed outside the tank and pull water from chamber 3 and feed the chiller.  So, hose from chamber 3 feeds pulls water to pump, then pushes it through the chiller and the returns line runs back into chamber 2 and into tank.

The reason I am doing the chiller is because I want the tank to remain a constant temperature ( period, end of story ) dealing with a heater and changes in season are just a PIA ( pain in the you know what ).  Chiller ( no additional heater ) and that is all.

Chamber 1 will be filled with poly-filter in 3 levels and the bottom portion of the tanks vents into chamber 1 as well as the next intakes up will be covered with black all-glass silicone ( 3 ounce tube is plenty ) There is more then enough silicone to plexiglass the dead area closed in chamber 4 as well.  With that completed I will then consider ( NOT DOING THIS YET ) changing the lighting to the AquaPod 70w. ( the 150 has too many trade offs to use on this size tank ) yes there are more bulbs, but it also is too long to fit on the tank, it is 20" and the 70w is 16.5" and yes I am interested in aesthetics. The 70 also requires less top off ( not interested in a top off unit, they are ugly and just more things to plug in and connect ) and in this amount of water depth the only thing you are really doing other then potentially having a HQI system in the event you decide to upgrade, you are creating more heat.  Using a chiller who cares, but I do care about top off and dealing with how much water evaporation will occur over a period of time.  This will be covered in this diary. So will prices, models and where items were purchased.

While I contemplate my next move and continue on with my story I am going to post a picture of the first and foremost thing you should have done once you received your tank and after checking for cracks and being sure you have all the items you are suppose too.

Filling the tank ( regular water ) and checking for leaks, while I let the tank burn in for 14 hours.  Temperature of the room is 65 degrees, water temperature was 47 degrees when I added it to the tank 5 hours ago.  The heater is OFF and I am running all lights on with the maxijet 900 running through the locline.  Current temperature after 5 hours is 60.2 degrees.  We will see what it is when I wake up in about 6 hours. Current time is 1:35am

I am not going to check for errors tonight, but I will edit and check tomorrow   If you want to send me comments please PM me, otherwise I am asking that people do not reply to this thread.  If you do, well then I guess you did not read this far. LMAO 

Burn-in tank for 14 hours to check for leaks and other items listed above:

[mynd]

Morning all,

Oh by the way, the tank was a cool 64 degrees after waking up. Ambient room temperature this time of the year.  Well pretty close.

Today I decided to do my water system, so I installed my Kold Ster-il unit.  I really like this unit and the water it produces without any waste at all.  Unlike some RO/DI systems it allows me to run the water at 3.5 Gallons per minute, which I don't just because running it slower makes it even better. Information after testing proves my water is pure. 

Three Canister System, sorbs and restricts the following: Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Copper , Iron, Zinc, Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOC), tannins, Proteins, Dissolved Organics, Chlorine, Pesticides/Insecticides, Metal Particulates, Algae, Fungus, Giardia, Cryptospordium, and E. coli Bacteria, etc.... Water Flow Rate: 3.8 Gpm @ 40 psig

I have added another unit to the end for a $18.00 - MIXED BED COLOR CHANGING DI RESIN CARTRIDGE from the The Filter Guys.  All in all the water I get out is perfect for my reef tank.  So here are a few pictures of the unit installed with a 3/4" ball valve as well as a 3/4" union for easy removal.  Installed it without any leaks at all first try so that is always a plus. 

The unit was about $200.00 and the media runs about another $70.00 USD and lasts about 5000 Gallons, so this time around having a 12 Gallon AP the water should last oh about 50 years.  Considering I run the water at about .5 Gallons per minute  makes it even better.  All cartridges are visual in degradation, so this makes for easy replacement.  I certainly will not wait the full fifty years, but overall it should last a few and do really well the entire time.  Much better then some RO/DI membranes and their life span. Actually, running a kold ster-il unit before your RO/DI Unit will make your membranes last even longer.  Something to consider.

Here are some photos of the installed unit for your viewing pleasure.  I will be showing the installation of the chiller next which requires a little drilling into the hood, some grommets and some really nice flex tubing which is fiber wrapped so it does not kink and allows for really nice bending attributes. Stay Tuned!

[Candi]

can't wait to read/see more!

[mynd]

So here we are today.. In this episode I am going to show you the mods made to the tank so far that were discussed in the first post, well some of them anyway.  I just want to say I am sorry to anyone that has a slow connection, since this thread will be picture intensive.

One of the first mods done to create a top skim and make sure the water travels over the filter floss and down through the purigen was too silicone the bottom two intakes on the back of the tank:



Doing this was not an easy task.  I actually had to put tape on the inside of the chamber and lay the tank on its back as to not allow silicone to drip through.  It might not be pretty but it will be effective and hardly seen once the rock is in the tank and Coraline starts to grow.

The second thing I did was to put the main tank on top of some Styrofoam so that if there is any level issues ( which there are not ) the weight of the water distributed over the Styrofoam will alleviate any pressure on the tank in the corners.  Now, this is really not so much of an issue when it comes to 10 gallons of water but I strongly suggest it for larger tanks.  As you can see by the photo I was allowed to keep the other tank that was faulty when it arrived.  I siliconed up the small leak and removed the lighting components in the second tank.  I will be using this to create water for weekly water changes.  This will also be nice if any problems arise and I need to do a large water change.



In this third photo I have already dremeled out the back of the tank for the supply and return hose for the external hd-20 blueline pump and the Pacific Coast CL-150 chiller.  I will show you the hook up for those in the next post, but right now I am only showing you the cut outs and how the hose will eventually run.  I feel it is important to mention that if you have the hose coming from the rear chamber to the pump that the return should also be in the rear chamber as well.  I will be changing this depending on expected return flow and may be pulling the water from the main tank through the back wall and returning to the main tank.  Not utilizing this method and going with a pull from the back chamber and a return to the main tank or vice-versa might create a flow problem.  Once I see the flow in action and determine the actual rate of return flow into the tank will decide where I pull and return to.





This concludes today's post, but I will be returning to show you the actual pump installation and chiller connection in the next thread.  Check back for updates

[Subliminal]

Which model is that?  The HQI or the PC?

[mynd]

This is the PC model.  In the future I might upgrade to a MH system.  However, currently I want to keep the tank ( stock.. lol ) as far as lighting goes.  Since I had the other tank I decided to ( and forgot to mention ) take out the fan in the hood and install it in the main tank hood.  Now the main tank has two fans in it.  There is a place in the main tank hood for a second fan which is empty and a 2 pin connector already available to you if you decide to add a second fan.

I am not interested in the lighting mods from nanotuners for one reason. I don't want to have 150w metal halides with actinics built into a plastic hood with minimal ventilation. For some reason ( and maybe it is just me ) I don't think it is a matter of "if" but more a matter of "when" the unit will catch on fire.  I hope I am wrong "otherwise they would not sell it".  If I want better lighting I am going to go with the 70w HQI Sunpod.  Unless Coralife comes out with a 16.5" fixture ( non hanging ) with actinics, proper ventilation and light control for me to use.  I don't see the point of going with 150w HQI on a 10 gallon tank with the exception of the countless options in bulbs a person has to use ( which is nice ).  The heat, evaporation, costs are just not worth it to me.

[Subliminal]

I was more or less refering to the 70 watt version that is available on Dr. Fosters, rather than any modded version on the nano forums.

But cool.  That's still like 4-5 watt per gallon with teh compacts.  That should really get things a growin!

[mynd]

On we go....

Today is all about drilling the holes in the back wall of the AP12 and running 1/2" barbed elbows through the back wall where they will connect to the 1/2" hose inside the back chamber.  This hose will run out the back of the tank as shown above.

In order to achieve this great feat of engineering you will need either a small drill that can fit in the tank with a 7/8 Spade Style Speed Boring Bit and a dremel in order to smooth the edges, or you can try to do it all with the dremel ( not suggested ).  I actually started with the drill bit by hand and then after about 30 minutes and some pain ridden fingers had gotten through the plastic enough to use the dremel to clean it up.

Drilled holes with black 1/2" barbed elbows in place:



After this I took a 3/4" grommet which can be purchased at home depot or you can get them at FrozenCPU.  What I did was take the grommet and cut it in half with a razor blade.  This gave me two equal sides to put on a nice finish for the 1/2" barbed elbows.  I would give a link to where I got them, but I could not find them in black online, so I went to the PetShanty and Charlie just happen to have a couple lying around ( what luck ).

Here is the finished 1/2" barbed elbows with grommet finish:





Damn!  How professional can you get?  Don't forget to hook up the hose before pvc gluing the 1/2" barbed elbows into place.  Throw on a little black silicon if you like to keep the grommet in place.  The grommet is so tight I did not use any myself.

The next post I will do will show you how to connect the hose to the 1/2" barbed elbows and out to the Blueline 20 HD External Water Pump, onto the chiller and back into the tank.  So check back in a couple days or so to see the continuation.

[mynd]

And so another day begins.. Well, I would have shown you how to install this, but they say a picture is worth a thousand words.  Basically I received my CL-150 Chiller, which I got for 200.00 over at Champion Lighting and Supply ( Gary ). Gary was nice to match prices and then even give me a coupon for another 10% off. Great deal since I bought from him before. It came with 2 clamps so all I had to do is go get another 2 from Home Depot for the other hose connections.

Connected her all up and Wala!  Everything is in order.  I have the pump pushing the water through the chiller and back into the tank at a constant flow of 240GPH.  That is a really for added circulation to pick up on the dead spots that the MJ900 does not cover.  Just keep in mind that the tank is in my basement office and it normally does not go above 75 down here, so the chiller will be in heat mode most of the time.  The nice feature of the CL-150 is that you do not need an external heater or have to push any buttons to change over manually.  The chiller cools and heats on its own.

Now without further babbling here is a picture of the tank ready for salt, water, sand and rock.  All ready to go folks and when this is completed, you will be able to see the tank online over at Mynd's ReefCam.





Everyone once in awhile you get to do something that just makes you smile.  This really makes me smile. Just remember this post is not over yet. I will be posting the whole process of water addition, testing, and adding the sand and rock ( if I ever get any ) lol.  I will also document any additions with coral and fish.

[twan]

So $200 and its a heater and a chiller?  Nice!  Does it have a LCD display to set the parameters up??

[mynd]

It sure does.. Nice unit, but I would not put it on anything over 20 Gallons.  I could not find the cl-150 image and you even get the cl-85 manual in the box.  But they are identical in how they work / look.

[mynd]

Another Day Closer....

Well what an adventure this has been.  I mean seriously.. why would anyone want to take this hobby on.  All it is, is FUN!  I received my salt ( Oceanpure ViaAqua ) this week and I have my water and sand. What?? No rock.. Will be here tomorrow or Thursday.  More of a chance on Thursday since i called pretty late today.  Anyhow at this point I really have nothing other then some information and a couple pictures to show off.  Everything is working well, no leaks from the get go ( another plus ) water has been running for a couple days.

Just finished adding my salt to get it up to the proper specific gravity.  I then checked everything out and all seemed perfect.  After a couple days and a misconfigured ( getting that fixed ) ph monitor showing only 8, but tests showing 8.1.5 I decided to add some ph buffer, just a 1/4 teaspoon.  Well... that brought the ph up, but guess what it also skyrocketed the DKH... 15.. Whoa!  So what I did is add 3 balls of calcium ( it comes in little balls ) to the water.  This should drop your DKH a little. Well, lots of wells here..  that clouded up my water..

Rock comes in tomorrow or Thursday, should have cleared up by then and if not.. I am not really worried about the params atm.  Could not be happier.. Tank works, lights work, timers work, UPS works, chiller works, pumps work really nice, salt is phenomenal, and I have stock on tests and water.  I don't think I missed anything.

I will be back on the weekend to show off my AquaScaping and see what you all think.  Hopefully the chemical reaction in the tank will have disappeared by then.  Don't want to show you more pictures of a cloudy tank.





See ya soon!  PS the reason the tank is 78 and the outside temp is also 78 is because when the chiller starts it removes the heat from the water.  It then pushes it out the side and into that thermometer.  So what you are seeing on the themostat is a temporary false reading.. However.. The chiller is perfectly chilling the water down in about 15 minutes ever 4 hours while the lights are on.  Wooohooo!  Oh yea!  One more thing.  You NEED to have a fan blowing on the external pump or the pump gets super hot and transfers more heat into the water.  The fan was five dollars at lowes and keeps the pump so cool it is unreal.  Little extras to make it all better.  Gotta love it!

[Subliminal]

Wow.  You're really taking your time with this endevour.  I think I started my first tank around the time you started building this, and now I've already broken down that tank and have my second tank thriving...

Not an insult, by any means...you just must be one patient guy!

[twan]

Im going to read up on that cl-150, thanks. 
Post a pic of the 'scape when your done.

[mynd]

OK... Here we go.. The first of many.. Let the comments, advice, suggestions begin



The water has been in the tank for about 1 hour, and the haze is leaving quickly.  Life is good today..  I will be removing some of the rock after the cycle.  However, I want it all totally cured so I can easily choose my pieces.