Rays on a budget- My (somewhat long) story w/pics

[ullr49]

Good thing you’re not in Switzerland, you could face legal action for making your fish work overtime.

You can laugh but it’s not a joke there was a law passed that stipulated that you must maintain the nature cycle of day and night in terms of light.

 

[nes999]

Good thing you’re not in Switzerland, you could face legal action for making your fish work overtime.

You can laugh but it’s not a joke there was a law passed that stipulated that you must maintain the nature cycle of day and night in terms of light.

wow! thats crazy!

 

[tscharf]

hey mike, i know its been a while but im still following your progress, love the work thats coming along, your like freakin mcguyver with this stuff

 

[Clearwater guy]

Thanks man! I sure am trying. It's been tough with the Tilapia not breeding well...but that appears to be solved...

Isn't it amazing how a problem that you actually know about can sneak around you? I've meant to get the lights on schedule for a long time, and I knew it needed to be done...but it went so long that I forgot to consider it as a source of trouble...

Stay tuned! I'm not done yet..not by any means.

Mike

 

[tscharf]

sure is funny, look forward to seeing more

 

[Clearwater guy]

Ok...Finally got this figured out. Not only were the 2 sub-panels not installed properly, but the service entrance isn't rated high enough for what was even there already.

I got this much done last night, I'll run the new wires today while no-one is home to be bothered byt the power being off. Then the 2 sub-panels will be eliminated and those circuits will be imoved to the new box.

so this will make everything safe from the meter inward...but the power company is going to have to upgrade their part soon as well. The wires coming off the line aren't rated for 200 amps even if they were new...but 30 year old Aluminum wires are going to be even worse. I bought copper to feed the new box, and the old box will have it's load dropped by 60 amps...so the old one will be good to go as well..

This is all assuming I can fit 3 more wires through the conduit coming in...

 

[ullr49]

Looks like you had a very interesting setup there. Those main wires can be “fun” to pull sometimes.

Where did you get your transformer for the flux capacitor? Is the best bet a neon sign transformer and what voltage works the best? I’ve seen what looks like a good deal on some 6kV volt and some 10Kv. The tool man in me tends to go with bigger is better, but that can get you in trouble some times.

 

[Clearwater guy]

Yeah...pulling wires is fun...there is technically "room" for them, but I was only able to get one in so far...then I had to re-connect everything to get the pumps going.

It's gonna really suck if I have to replace the conduit.

On the transformer...yes, Neon sign transformer. This on is a 3000v if I remember correctly, but I may need to upgrade...but before I do that I am going to make an air dryer filled with re-useable dessicant. That will make it much more efficient due to the extreme humidity. You really want the Ozone generator to be no more powerful than you need..it's bad for you in too high of a concentration, and most simple timers have 15 minute on times...so you'd hate to have something so powerful that it can only run 30 seconds per hour...

Mike

 

[ullr49]

I'm just looking at on for a deodorizer. I currently have an older car that needs something exercised from it because it is truly evil. I was thinking I could just put it in the car and let it run for a while with it sealed up. Kind of an ozone blaster to be used in non occupied areas.

 

[Chaz88]

Yeah...pulling wires is fun...there is technically "room" for them, but I was only able to get one in so far...then I had to re-connect everything to get the pumps going.

Not sure what method you are using to pull the wire, but if you pull a piece of disposable wire-fishing cord with each one you will always have a pull cord to use again. You can buy cans of this disposable cord in places like the Home Depot electrical section. I always pull one with my last wire so it is there if I ever need it. You can also buy wire lube that makes pulling wire easier.

Saw in another post that the incoming service needs upgraded. You will likely have to contact the company and pay for that. They will use aluminum to replace the smaller gauge wire. Copper is just to expensive in those sizes. last time I checked, along the lines of $20 a foot for copper.