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Sup everybody! I must say, I really like this thread. Just about every one I meet, I am totally wrong on how I pictured them, lol. Well, here I am, name is Dodge and wife, Cherrie. 1st pic is at the house, hours before 4th of July X-Plode-A-Thon. 2nd pic is at the lake, Saddle Dam. Sent from my Man Cave while having a cold one! [emoji41]

A special thanks to Roy Seine aka Stykaster of Pacific Corals and Jim Armstrong aka Gumby. Many of you know Roy he has been a passionate force in the hobby for decades and is an expert on clams. Jim maintains the Boys and Girls Club tank and has donated many hours and his own coral to the cause. I want to make a lot of money this Saturday to get a new tank for them and replace all the corals they lost this winter due to the inclement weather. These two will be doing much of the behind the scenes work in setting up the show. They are two of the most hardworking, dedicated and generous people you will ever meet! They will never sing their own praises but you can always count on them! Not only will Roy and Jim be up at 4 am (or earlier knowing Roy) getting ready for the show, but Roy is also donating a 100 dollar gift certificate!!

Why A Peristaltic Pump? This is covered in great detail on the internet. In summary: ○ More reliable consistent flow Read more about the official MasterFlex Calcium Reactor thread here. They are spendy, 200-400 dollars. And they are awesome. (hint, if you can spare the reef $$, stop reading this and go get one!) http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2368618 For me personally? I needed to babysit some SPS. I knew that my CR flow would dip and sometimes clog. Rather than risk someone else's coral I decided to step up the game a little. Check out my flow before and after: BEFORE AFTER: Why A DIY Peristaltic Pump? The primary reason is simply to save money. By saving money, you might be able to have a spare on hand. For me, I try to have 2 of anything critical because reef stores are not open 24/7 and Amazon cannot ship fast enough to save your coral if things go wrong. Building One - Parts Pump and Motor - $30 The pump and motor itself. Search ebay for 'large peristaltic' and you will find this one: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1312.R1.TR4.TRC0.A0.H0.XLarge+peri.TRS1&_nkw=large+peristaltic&_sacat=0 Pumps come and go. It is nice to have one with: § At least two rollers (anti siphon) § Stainless steel bearings (not a plastic, noisy pump) This setup requires a brushed DC 12v motor so that it can be PWM controlled. A better setup would be a stepper motor based motor and controller. Future? Motor Speed Controller - $11 You want a PWM speed controller. This controls the speed so the flow can be dialed in. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DVGGWC0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Note: There are tons of cool options here. Web controlled, LED speed display etc. I did find though that certain PWMs cause the motor to overheat so you may need to experiment if deviating from this one. Power Supply - $6.50 12volt 2 amp power supply with a wiring adapter. Here is one on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-Switching-100-240V-Connector-Security/dp/B06XPF9NPL/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1507776121&sr=8-14&keywords=12V+2A+Power+Supply It is better to find one that is UL Listed. Once you are past the power supply though, everything is low voltage. The wiring adapter is key (the green thing in the pic). It makes taking power from the adapter simple, just turning a couple of screws. Wire - Free to $16 If you have any kind of wire laying around that is 16 gauge or bigger, feel free to repurpose it. Some wiring connectors such as 2 spade connectors can be soldered onto the back of the motor or possibly crimp Building One - Assembly Wiring The wiring is very basic and covered with the PWM controller documentation. Basically the power goes from the power adapter, to the PWM controller, to the motor. Everything is labelled, it is super easy. The hardest part is attaching the wires to the motor. You can use a variety of methods, but a crimp on spade connector can work. Be sure to use the right gauge wire. I used 16 gauge because I had some from other projects. It's nice to use 2 different colors, pick one such as red for positive, black for ground and be consistent. Boxing There are allot of options. Mine is stuffed into a double gang electrical box ($2). I just drilled some holes and routed wires. Here is the inside For more details etc check out this thread: The results are detailed in another thread: Special Considerations: Tubing wears out and fails, you need to place the pump in a location such that if this happens, water will drain into the tank instead of onto the floor! Ideally monitor the flow with the APEX flow monitoring kit 1/4" adapter. That way when the tubing goes you can quickly replace it. Sound! This is a pretty quiet pump, but it is not as quiet as an MJ sitting underwater in the sump. So keep that in mind... Super Important: Don't turn down the pump so low that it does not run smoothly. That will overheat the motor as it is basically starting up from stopped several times per second. The pump should run smooth with no visible lurching...

Toss a pic in since I might make the meeting Randall and my daughter Ella Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Awesome!!!!! I'm building one! Thanks Jeramy!!!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oh snap! Glad you did this! I had this pump saved in my eBay favs for future experiments. looking at the pump head...any chance you think 2 could be linked together for a stenner style dual head auto water change pump? You don't have any pics of the head removed? As you were mentioning, changing to a stepper would be cool too, would be interested to see the input shaft/pump head interface. keep on DIYing Jeremy!

I like that pipefish..................now I am going to have to buy some tickets

Not sure about most of you, but I often wonder/ imagine exactly who I'm talking to. Perception can be such a batch. So I thought it might be fun to do a thread yearbook style of sorts. . Lets all say hello! I'lll start. Myself (Mike) and my beautiful wife Joanna.

Lol that's great! Hey uhh can I get a cut off your asskrak? Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Good luck Greg! I will be tied up at the frag fest so unfortunately won’t be able to come down to help. Sorry you will miss the event but you obviously have bigger things to take care of 😁

I have to bow out of helping you. Hurt my back earlier this week, and can't really lift anything... Good luck! It will be worth it in the end. Sent from my LG-H871 using Tapatalk

Nice writeup Jeremy! Thanks for putting this together.

That pipefish is awesome!!

this thread has me very confused.. which honestly, is pretty hard to do. Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

I can help anytime/anywhere you need me. 7am might be a stretch, but put me wherever you need me. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

In production!

Prototype

Get this man a volunteer frag! You too Prime...Spetra, I have to think about...We'll just see what makes it into a leaky bag and go from there. Just Kidding friends, having a little fun here. Looking forward to seeing you all there.

Shout out to Cyrus Forell the owner of Barrier Reef Aquariums!! He has supported our local club for almost ten years and will be one of the vendors at the show! Cy is a very generous guy. He recently was involved in helping a disabled man help with his dream of getting a tank. I know he has helped many of the other local clubs ! He also as many of you know has a great shop in Renton, Washington. I can't wait to see what he brings to the show! He will also be donating a 50 dollar gift certificate to the raffle !

I need that jellyfish tank!

Share some love! If you win, please grow this one out and share the love with others.

Just another update for anyone interested. Going on 4 days now. Really doing a good job holding the flow steady. Best of all, no clog ups. The pressure of a peristaltic is a good match for a calcium reactor with it's own pressure. Liking it!

If you can get gravity/siphon to be reliable, seems like the best of the best. Keep us posted I am quite interested. I am going to try one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MCWL4UX/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 With one of these I already had laying around: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DER02OE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 as a 40 dollar experiment. Hoping with PWM I can slow it down/make it quiet. And, with the apex hoping it stays consistent!

We've had 10 showings in the 3.5 days we've been listed. The offer on the new place was accepted as long as we sell in the next week or two which looks more than likely. October 16th is the tentative close date so probably moving shortly after that. We are exhausted already. Spent 4 days in Santa Cruz with the family this week on vacation so coming back to this madness has been fun. Oh well, got to surf the hook and capitola!

Such a good thread! Here is my girlfriend and I! If I'm lucky you'll see her at a meeting this summer [emoji12] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Me on the right in both pics.

Oh, almost forgot my fish keeper, Ava. She hand feeds the fish twice daily, and makes command decisions on aquascaping and fish names.