A
Anonymous
Guest
Hey, I did DIY aeration before. Got tired of standing splashing the water around by hand. Now THAT is the true spirit of DIY! 
Louey
Louey
A
Anonymous
Guest
Just a short related note... don't use straw or airline tubing to blow air into tank to aerate it. The amount of CO2 in our exhale is high enough to run calcium reactor. So if you do that for a moderate amount of time, you will be doing more harms that goods when the pH drop too far. Besides, it give you hyperventilation...
<still dizzy>
<still dizzy>
As I was reading this yesterday I thought to my self that the battery air pumps where the only thing I bought for the Y2k (that wasn't) that was worth anything. I then start reading another post and the lights do out here. Out for 5 hours because someone played chicken with a power line pole and lost. So I got to pull mine out and give them a whirle. Taqlk about freeky timing.
Glad everything pulled through!
That was me during the blackout. Beer in one hand, turkey baster in the other. (just like thanksgiving.)
Louey":396dux6i said:Hey, I did DIY aeration before. Got tired of standing splashing the water around by hand. Now THAT is the true spirit of DIY!
Louey
That was me during the blackout. Beer in one hand, turkey baster in the other. (just like thanksgiving.)
3 days on two D batteries?!! That's great. I was worring that it will be like 3-4 hours or so.
I'm not sure that an airstone maximizes movement: the big (huge) bubbles I get without it clearly move lots of water. I don't see how small bubbles would move more... that's an interesting problem though.
Thanks a lot, sounds that it's really a great device to have in an emmergency.
Mihai
I'm not sure that an airstone maximizes movement: the big (huge) bubbles I get without it clearly move lots of water. I don't see how small bubbles would move more... that's an interesting problem though.
Thanks a lot, sounds that it's really a great device to have in an emmergency.
Mihai
Thank you. It's been 6 days since power was restored and everything still looks fine. My green monti cap doesn't looks so green anymore, but hopefully it will color up soon. If not, they are cheap and fast growers.
One of my favorite LFS's in the area (Boardroom Aquatics), was without power for a week. He took heavy losses in his coral tanks. I'd say prolly 90% dead. I wonder if his livestock was insured?
Louey
One of my favorite LFS's in the area (Boardroom Aquatics), was without power for a week. He took heavy losses in his coral tanks. I'd say prolly 90% dead. I wonder if his livestock was insured?
Louey
Louey":1kvqqapn said:
That really sucks. Before I set up my tanks(50 and a 100).....I tried to get my homeowners insurance to insure my tank because I wanted to keep corals...but they would not so I just keep fish and some creepy crawlies.
Think I will pick up some Feater Dusters soon.
I just bought a "battery backup pump" from Azoo. I misread the description and thought that it automatically went on when the power went out and then recharched the battery when the power came back on. This it does, but it also runs continuously when it is plugged in. This is for a tank at the office, so I won't always be there to turn it on if the power goes out. On an ambitious day, I might try to rewire it so that it is off until the power goes out. Right now my tank looks like a giant protein skimmer Just wanted to warn you all not to buy this pump unless you plan to have it always on or you plan to turn it on when the power goes out. ( $70.00 from drsfosterandsmith.com)
PS If anyone has any suggestions as to how I might go about rewiring it please tell me. I know a fair amount about electronics but I'm not a electical engineer. I haven't opened it yet to see what the format is. If it's just one big printed board then there's probably no hope.
And one more thing. I would think that it wouldn't matter if you used an airstone or not when talking about circulation. The air moving through the water column displaces water which causes movement. As a bubble rises, water fills in to take it's place, pulling water upward. As long as the amount of air moving is the same, it shouldn't matter if the air is in small bits or big bits. The only this is, an airstone might cut down the output of an air pump, so NOT using one might be slightly more efficient. If you're concerned with gas exchange, on the other hand, smaller bubbles are much better because there is higher surface area to bubble volume ratio. These are just my thoughts, though.
Just wanted to warn you all not to buy this pump unless you plan to have it always on or you plan to turn it on when the power goes out. ( $70.00 from drsfosterandsmith.com)PS If anyone has any suggestions as to how I might go about rewiring it please tell me. I know a fair amount about electronics but I'm not a electical engineer. I haven't opened it yet to see what the format is. If it's just one big printed board then there's probably no hope.
And one more thing. I would think that it wouldn't matter if you used an airstone or not when talking about circulation. The air moving through the water column displaces water which causes movement. As a bubble rises, water fills in to take it's place, pulling water upward. As long as the amount of air moving is the same, it shouldn't matter if the air is in small bits or big bits. The only this is, an airstone might cut down the output of an air pump, so NOT using one might be slightly more efficient. If you're concerned with gas exchange, on the other hand, smaller bubbles are much better because there is higher surface area to bubble volume ratio. These are just my thoughts, though.
sawyerc,
I don't think you have all the parts needed to automatically start the pump when the power goes down. I think you need a relay that's closed when you have power on and open when the power goes down. Maybe there is another solution, but I'm not aware of it.
It might be more cost effective to go get the $12 pump from PetSmart. That is unless you want to have fun rewireing it.
Secondly I'm not sure that this is correct:
It is the same volume, but it might not induce the same amount of water movement. I don't know fluid dynamics enough to argue that though :-(.
Regards,
M.
I don't think you have all the parts needed to automatically start the pump when the power goes down. I think you need a relay that's closed when you have power on and open when the power goes down. Maybe there is another solution, but I'm not aware of it.
It might be more cost effective to go get the $12 pump from PetSmart. That is unless you want to have fun rewireing it
.Secondly I'm not sure that this is correct:
sawyerc":1ti5oy5q said:
It is the same volume, but it might not induce the same amount of water movement. I don't know fluid dynamics enough to argue that though :-(.
Regards,
M.
I don't know enough fluid dynamics either so that makes two of us
For the pump: I was hoping that the ac power supply to the battery charger would be before the ac power supply to the air pump so that I could just disconect the power supply to the air pump but the battery would still charge. In a power outtage, the pump would still know to go on and run from the battery pack but when the power came back on, it wouldn't run because the power would be disconnected from the pump part. Does this make any sense? Of course that is depending on a very specific configuration of the wiring. But you're right I might need to get a relay and put it in there somewhere if I can't get access to the one that's probably already there. I'm determined to make my 70 bucks worth it even if it means tearing apart the whole thing and investing 70 more in components.
For the pump: I was hoping that the ac power supply to the battery charger would be before the ac power supply to the air pump so that I could just disconect the power supply to the air pump but the battery would still charge. In a power outtage, the pump would still know to go on and run from the battery pack but when the power came back on, it wouldn't run because the power would be disconnected from the pump part. Does this make any sense? Of course that is depending on a very specific configuration of the wiring. But you're right I might need to get a relay and put it in there somewhere if I can't get access to the one that's probably already there. I'm determined to make my 70 bucks worth it even if it means tearing apart the whole thing and investing 70 more in components.
sawyerc":3cnrwcac said:
It does. You're right, all it takes is probably a normally closed relay that you connect between the battery and the pump and make the command work from the power source (I'm not sure if you can find a relay working on AC command, if not a bridge + one capacitor would do, make sure they can take 110V). Sounds like a fun project
.M.
Sponsor Reefs
We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.
Click here to sponsor $10:
