TOPICS and WORKSHOPS of INTEREST
- Thread starter kevin
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What's Jakes effects?
I would think any DYI course would involve costs for materials etc. Even if the one person is building it during the class. You would need to cover that.
At MACNA does that draw quite a few different suppliers to the conference anyway. Would they put on a presentation about why there products work. Say like Zeo presenting this is why our additive system is best for SPS systems.
Or hey how about something as simple a a DYI class on making your own phyto or food blends.
The Bornemen presentation must have been in '02 over hear in the Lawrencville area. But it seems longer than that.
I would think any DYI course would involve costs for materials etc. Even if the one person is building it during the class. You would need to cover that.
At MACNA does that draw quite a few different suppliers to the conference anyway. Would they put on a presentation about why there products work. Say like Zeo presenting this is why our additive system is best for SPS systems.
Or hey how about something as simple a a DYI class on making your own phyto or food blends.
The Bornemen presentation must have been in '02 over hear in the Lawrencville area. But it seems longer than that.
I think plumbing is more descriptive and actually more accurate. Hydronamics in an aquarium relate more to flow in the main aquarium and I don't think anyone is really that interested in the math behind the flow. I would actually be interested in tips and techniques for better plumbing in the aquarium. I can glue pipes together pretty well and I know a couple things that most don't, but I bet there is a lot I don't actually know.
If I understood properly, he got a 4' tank (90 gallons I think) running full flow with 4 maxijets by simply alternating them in the proper sequence. He bascially "rocked" the tank like you would a baby and got great flow from small pumps.
Why would a person talking about electricity and safety be a liability issue? Even if there were a demonstration on say building your own float switch or wiring a ballast, I don't think there would be any issue much less a HUGE LIABILITY issue. I have been to numerous car audio conferences and nobody has every had a problem with demoing wiring of amps, speakers and such. The last conference I went to actually showed how to do a DIY amp. The fragging demo we had in February was more dangerous than basic wiring 101.
My reference to hydrodynamics was less about the water movement in the tank, and more in the vein of plumbing, in that water doesn't always do how people think it might, and plumbing can really effect that flow. An example is how we prevented our sump return and overflows from siphoning all the water out of our system in case of power loss by drilling a small hole in the return tube just as it enters the fish tank, below the level of the glass and at or just above the waterline. When power is lost, this small hole that squirts just a little water out under normal operation causes the siphon to break by allowing air in to the system, preventing a reverse siphon effect from occurring. The effect is easily enough understood once you see it in action, but the principle isn't quite common sense unless you're a long-time reefer or plumber. We considered, for example, using a ball valve off of the return line under the tank to supply water to the fuge, but my roomie pointed out that not only are these hard to fine-tune for water-flow, but that the pressure on the system might just turn that little opening into a pressure nozzle, and seriously degrade the performance of the sump.
Yes, plumbing in the end is still probably the best term, but I'd be just as interested in the hydrodynamic principles of the plumbing as I am ways to fit pipe parts together and the proper amount of teflon tape to use.
Leroy and Sally Jo from G.A.R.F.
I agree those are all good topics to discuss.
I wouldn't T from the return into the fuge but rather from the drain. More nutrients will flow into the fuge that way.
BTW, I personally point two of my four locline ends above the water line. One to stop the reverse syphon, but also to increase oxygenation of the water. Also, I warn everyone I know to avoid teflon tape under pressure because it will likely fail eventually and often leaks immediately.
We chose not to utilize that method, but a much cheaper one instead. Since it's a HOB fuge that is actually propped up against my sump-box, I use a power-head to get the flow started, and then let gravity do the work of carrying the water down into the fuge and simply have the tubing that runs to the fuge wedged in just so in my overflow box; this way the siphon on the fuge line actually breaks even before the flow down to the sump box does (the end of the tubing is in the internal overflow, but hanging just</em> above the water-line in the external over-flow box), which is good since my fuge's return feed dumps in right on top of my sump itself, thus preventing an overflow in my sump.
I never considered failure of teflon-tape on non-threaded plumbing, but that's good to know. There is none anywhere on my tank's plumbing, only in the plumbing for my RO/DI as recommended by the manufacturer... Guess what?
It leaks.
I agree that electrical wiring is not difficult by any means. But if you are showing how to wire something up and one of the attendees goes home and tries it, does it incorrectly, and burns down their house, lawsuits are very possible. Miswiring a ballast can be a fire hazard. Car audio is a vastly different beast we're talking 12 volts vs. 120 volts
It isn't volts that kill you it is amps and that is entirely based on the circuit design. You can get hit by 200,000 volts and walk away from it. If my choice is to eat a 250w ballast or eat 800 watts of car audio amplifier output... I will take the ballast.
As for someone showing you how to do something and you going home and screwing it up, you can't sue for that and win. No insurance company is going to take a threat like that into consideration. If so, there wouldn't be fragging demos, construction projects demo'd at places like home depot, snake handling shows, etc. Absolute worst case scenario you could ask people to sign a waiver, but that is WAY overkill. I don't even think you would need a disclaimer in front of the presentation.
I didn't mention anything killing anyone. I was speaking of fire hazards. low voltage systems rarely catch fire. High voltage (over 50 volts) systems do regularly.
Sure you could sue for that. Why do think their are disclaimers on shows like jackass and what not. Ask a liability insurance company what the premium difference would be between a show with an electrical demo and one without.
Anyway, it is not that big a deal. if you want to learn to wire something up there are plenty of how to books at home depot. It is not hard.
disclaimer: I in no way encourage jackasses to try and wire any electrical devices without proper certifications and licensing from the local electrical union and state licensing boards
Topics I'd like to see:
Photography: For amateurs to get good pics
Nitrate control
Breeding of various types of shrimps and copepod-type critters
I also like the earlier idea that there could be two tracks for certain topics, a more basic, and a more advanced.
Photography: For amateurs to get good pics
Nitrate control
Breeding of various types of shrimps and copepod-type critters
I also like the earlier idea that there could be two tracks for certain topics, a more basic, and a more advanced.
In my experience, car fires from faulty wiring are VERY common. I personally have smoked more zero gauge wire from dropping screwdriver at the wrong time than I ever have wiring a home. Voltage has very little to do with fire. Voltage is oft misunderstood.
I didn't say you couldn't sue. I said you couldn't sue and win. If someone ever did sue and win, nobody would ever show anyone anything DIY. There are websites with photo how tos, books, videos, TV shows etc on doing this stuff and they are no more or less liable as the information is exactly the same only the media is changing. The only reason an insurance company would care is if someone could be injured during a demonstration not somebody sueing for personal injury or loss by trying something at home.
Why would this media be any less liable for showing you how to do something?
Two things cause that disclaimer. First, standard boiler plate you see in every movie/TV show credits. Second, it has been argued in court that these shows promote and encourage dangerous and reckless behavoir. Showing someone how to safely wire a ballast does not fall into this category.
I shot an email to my lawyer to see what she thinks, but I bet she will back me up on this.
There are disclaimers in all how to books that deal with anything that could potentially cause damage and/or injury. I am sure there are disclaimers on any show that does the same. Any demo that doesn't provide a disclaimer is setting themselves up for a suit.
I am an electrician and am well aware of the definition of amps, volts, watts, ohms, etc. I was speaking of types of electrical systems when referring to low or high voltage. As for fire stats, look it up I am fairly sure that high voltage systems produce far more fires than low voltage systems.
Anyway, I am not that concerned with the liability of it. I am not the one paying the GL insurance or organizing the event. Truce?
I am not against a disclaimer as I said above, but again I don't think someone writing a book or giving a presentation does so in fear of a lawsuit. Time and time again free speech rights alone protect a person from such nonsense.
Again situational and has much more to do with design than voltage. A 12V transformer isn't really any more or less of a fire hazard than a 120V transformer. They can both burn a house down or set a car on fire and will usually do so due to some fault in the design or implementation.
Given how many people I have spoken with recently that don't know what a GFCI outlet is or simply don't run one, I think it is just a good idea to educate them on installing one in their home near their tanks. Showing them how to do it isn't a bad idea either. I liken it to cooking. You show people how to cook without going into long disclaimers, waivers etc about the fire being hot.
THese are all great ideas. They are a lot different than I have seen for recent conferences. I like hands-on stuff. THat is why the workshops at SWU were hands-on (Photography and Coral Fragging).
Keep these wonderful ideas coming as we can incorporate them into MACNA in 2008
Keep these wonderful ideas coming as we can incorporate them into MACNA in 2008
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