SuncrestReef Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Have any of you reefers written up a detailed operations manual for your aquarium system? My Reefer XL 425 is relatively new, only running now for five months, so I'm still learning the ropes. But for the past several months of setting up my system, going through the cycling process, testing water parameters, and fine-tuning my Apex programming, I've learned a lot about how the system works and what to watch out for if anything looks like it might be going wrong. But now that there's life in the aquarium, I've started to wonder what would happen if I needed someone else to take care of the system for me, or (heaven forbid) if something happened to me, how would my wife know what to do to keep things alive and running smoothly? There are just so many components to the system. Even the basics of how to log into Apex Fusion and what all the sensors & outputs are used for seems daunting to explain to someone who wasn't deeply involved in designing and setting it up. So, I'm starting to think about writing a comprehensive Operations Manual for my aquarium system. Everything from how to turn on the RO/DI system to fill my mixing station tanks, mixing up new salt water, testing water parameters, feeding, cleaning/replacing filters, emptying & cleaning the skimmer, replacing reactor media, maintaining the UV sterilizer, cleaning the refugium, and monitoring and controlling the Apex. There's just so much to document, it seems daunting to think about. So, have any of you written up such detailed documentation for your family in case of emergency? Once I have mine completed, I intend to publish it as a template so others can take and modify it for their systems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted September 18, 2018 Author Share Posted September 18, 2018 Here's a rough draft of my operations manual topics: 1) System Overview a) Display tank i) Pumps ii) Lighting iii) Lid iv) Corals v) Fish vi) Inverts vii) Rock viii)Sand b) Cabinet i) Sump area ii) Control area iii) Interior lighting iv) Door release and hinges c) Sump i) Filter chamber ii) Skimmer chamber iii) Return chamber d) Plumbing i) Return pump ii) Manifold iii) Reactors iv) Valves v) UV sterilizer vi) Flow sensors vii) Refugium e) Electrical i) Aquarium dedicated circuit ii) UPS iii) Generator f) APEX ii) Probes (1) Temperature (2) Salinity (3) pH (4) ORP (5) Leak detectors iii) Modules (1) EB832 (2) FMM_Leak (3) FMM_Flow (4) FMM_ATO (5) WXM (6) COR (7) DOS (8) PMK (9) PM2 (10) DOS_AWC (11) AFS (12) WAV (13) Icecap (14) Breakout box g) Skimmer (1) Skimmate locker (2) Swabbie h) Mixing Station i) Conduit between tank & mixing station (1) Water tubing (2) Electronics ii) RO/DI (1) Water supply valve (2) Filters (3) Automatic flush unit iii) Water storage tanks (1) RO/DI storage (a) Float valve (b) Optical sensors (2) Saltwater tank (a) Optical sensor (b) Heater (c) Salinity probe iv) Mixing pump v) Valves vi) Automatic water change i) Accessories i) Refractometer ii) Water test kits j) Vendors & warranty information i) Red Sea ii) Neptune Systems iii) Bulk Reef Supply iv) Premium Aquatics 2) Operations a) Apex monitoring i) Apex Interface (1) Fusion (2) Apex.local (3) Browser access (4) Smartphone app (5) Tablet in cabinet ii) Inputs iii) Outputs iv) Logs v) Alerts b) Feeding i) Feed Mode ii) Fish iii) Corals iv) Automatic feeder c) Routine Maintenance i) Water testing (1) Salinity (2) Alkalinity (3) Calcium (4) Magnesium (5) Nitrates (6) Phosphates (7) ICP testing (8) Nitrites (9) Ammonia (10) Recording test results in Fusion ii) Water changes (1) Auto water changes (2) Manual water changes iii) Automatic Top Off (1) Optical sensors (2) Float valve iv) Tank cleaning (1) Flipper glass cleaner (2) Sand vacuuming v) Filter cleaning (1) Filter cups (2) Pump filter covers (3) Refugium drain screen (4) Refugium and reactor drain filter socks vi) Skimmer maintenance (1) Emptying skimmate locker (2) Cleaning skimmer neck (3) Cleaning skimmer cup (4) Skimmer cleaning vii) Mixing new saltwater (1) Pump operation (2) Transfer RO/DI water to saltwater tank (3) Adding salt (4) Testing salinity viii)Dosing (1) Mixing soda ash (2) Mixing calcium chloride (3) Mixing Magnesium (4) Monitoring and filling dosing containers (5) Adjusting dosing quantities ix) Reactor maintenance (1) Replacing reactor media (2) Adjusting reactor flow x) UV maintenance (1) Diverting return flow for UV maintenance (2) Cleaning UV tube (3) Replacing UV bulb xi) Refugium maintenance (1) Drain cleaning (2) Refugium cleaning xii) RO/DI filter replacement xiii)Pump maintenance (1) Powerheads (2) Return pump (3) Refugium pump (4) ATO pump (5) Mixing station pump d) Lighting i) Lighting schedules ii) PAR monitoring 3) Troubleshooting a) Apex alerts i) ATO ii) Leaks iii) Power iv) Skimmer v) Refugium vi) RO/DI tank b) Salinity c) Water level d) Water temperature e) Water pH f) Lights disconnected g) UPS beeping h) Flow meters i) Apex backup/restore 4) Supplies a) Salt b) Dosing additives c) Fish/coral food d) Test kit reagents e) Filters i) Filter socks ii) Filter cup fiber iii) Powerhead protective covers iv) RO/DI filters 5) Online resources a) PNWMAS b) Reef2Reef c) Neptune forums d) Facebook groups 6) Local resources 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 Wow sounds impressive! Im tagging along Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted September 18, 2018 Author Share Posted September 18, 2018 (edited) 3 minutes ago, R-3 said: Wow sounds impressive! Im tagging along Since my table of contents is 5 pages long, I expect the final document to be at least 100 pages long once completed. This will be good incentive for my wife to resist the urge to poison my food...🤣 Edited September 18, 2018 by SuncrestReef 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 1 hour ago, SuncrestReef said: Since my table of contents is 5 pages long, I expect the final document to be at least 100 pages long once completed. This will be good incentive for my wife to resist the urge to poison my food...🤣 Wow - an ambitious undertaking for sure. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailingeric Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 Mine is complicated- Drink beer, watch fish. 😋 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdxmonkeyboy Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 I know one thing, if you ever get that manual finished you are going to be drowning in ladies. Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdxmonkeyboy Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 This is a good idea. I just completed the same thing for my wife for when I am out of town. Here is the complete document....I. Aquarium. A. Trouble shooting 1.something doesnt seem right. B. Don't touch a God [language filter] thing.C. Call the following people in order: 1. Jorge 2. jeff 3. shark lover chris.Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk 4 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 23 minutes ago, pdxmonkeyboy said: This is a good idea. I just completed the same thing for my wife for when I am out of town. Here is the complete document.... I. Aquarium. A. Trouble shooting 1.something doesnt seem right. B. Don't touch a God [language filter] thing. C. Call the following people in order: 1. Jorge 2. jeff 3. shark lover chris. Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk I see you’ve learned not to put me on the list. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdxmonkeyboy Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 I see you’ve learned not to put me on the list. I fear all those inner city types now. Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higher Thinking Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 If something happens to me, my wife already knows she's just going to call Robert (@badxgillen). It'll be his problem then. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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