Archive for December, 2011

Andysworld! Advent Calendar – Dec 25 – Merry Christmas

Sunday, December 25th, 2011

merrychristmaslindseyandme

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Andysworld! Advent Calendar – Dec 22 – I wonder how large their electric bill is?

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011

merrychrimbohouse

(not my house, I could not afford the electric bill!)

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Andysworld! Advent Calendar – Dec 21 – This got my attention, late last night, Seneye High Temperature Alert!

Wednesday, December 21st, 2011

seneyehighalert

I’m currently evaluating a new product for the Aquarium, it’s called a Seneye. It claims “the biggest innovation in aquatics has arrived”, after the mad panic, of rushing out to the fish house early this morning, it was a false alarm! (Tropical fresh water temperature range is from 22 – 32 Deg C).

It seems to be having teething issues!

Watch out for my review later….

UPDATE: This was caused by a bug in the software, as you can see on the Seneye screenshot, I’m running version 114, Seneye stated “Additional error checking code had been added into the latest version of the seneye connect PC software which should stop these incorrect readings.” I’ve download version 118, and will install shortly.

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Andysworld! Advent Calendar – Dec 20 – Andy needs another TDS Meter – dropped mine in a bucket of water!

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

Looks like I’m going to have to purchase a new TDS meter, I dropped my current TDS meter, in a bucket of reverse osmosis water, and I now know, it’s not waterproof because it’s stopped working! (if you cannot be bothered with all the text, just scroll down and watch the video!)

So the last sentence is probably reading gibberish for the non-fishkeepers or chemists among you, TDSTotal Dissovled Solids – many different definitions, but in simple terms a measure of the combined content of all inorganic and organic substances contained in a liquid.I live in a very hard water area, it’s like liquid rock coming out of the tap, pH is very high, approx 8.5 (alkaline) – that stuff that furs up the kettle, washing machine and dishwasher elements – is the calcium carbonate (chalk) – it just so happens that the Yorkshire Wolds are very chalky, so the water that flows through the chalky hills, ends up with chalk dissolved in it! (different to when we lived on near Dartmoor, the water was acidic, because the water runs off the peaty moors!). So TDS of my tap water is approximately 490.

Problem, I keep many fish from South America, which prefer acidic water conditions, of a pH of approx 6.0 – 7.0 (neutral). Put them in declorinated, mature water of 8.5, and they are not going to be very happy or breed.

The TDS meter allows me to check, the water quality output after it has been “treated” from, the Reverse Osmosis units, it’s not really “treated”, Reverse osmosis (RO) is a membrane technical filtration method that removes many types of large molecules and ions from solutions by applying pressure to the solution when it is on one side of a selective membrane. The result is that the solute is retained on the pressurized side of the membrane and the pure solvent is allowed to pass to the other side. To be “selective,” this membrane should not allow large molecules or ions through the pores (holes), but should allow smaller components of the solution (such as the solvent) to pass freely.

So the water which is output from the RO units, is very pure, with very little inorganic and organic substances, TDS reading of 000 – 001 is obtained. This is almost the equivillent of distilled water, which is used to top batteries in cars, and also used in your iron, to stop it furring up (remember that chalk again!).

RO water it is too pure to sustain proper chemistry to support an aquarium ecosystem, so I re-mineralised with the correct aquarium salts, or blended with existing filtered tap water.

Here’s a quick video, of my Commercial Laboratory quality ELGA Reverse Osmosis Units, in the fish house:-

Apart from the following video, maybe giving you a headache, because of the microphone on the video camera, picks-up the pump noise (it’s not that loud in reality), the noise of running water may want to make you go to the the toilet!

[flv:https://andysworld.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Andys-RO-Works.flv 480 360]

Water is fed through the following stages

  • STAGE 1  – 5 micron Sediment 10″ filter made of 100% pure polypropylene fibres. removes dirt, sand and rust
  • STAGE 2  – 1 micron Sediment 10″ filter made of 100% pure polypropylene fibres. removes dirt, sand and rust
  • STAGE 3 – a granular activated Carbon 10″ filter composed of high – performance activated carbon. removes free chlorine, odour, organic contaminants, pesticides and chemicals.
  • STAGE 4 – a carbon block 10″ filter composed of high performance carbon. removes trihalomethanes, pesticides, volatile organic chemicals and 99.95% of giardia and cryptosporidium cysts
  • STAGE 5 – A ChlorPlus-10 10″ filter designed to remove chlroine and chloramines.

(it is important, as the reverse osmosis membrances are expensive, not to clog them up, or damage them with chlroine.

  • STAGE 6 – Water is fed into the Elga Boost Pump, which has a small water filter (STAGE 7) before water is fed into a small water tank, maintained by a float system, so water is pumped from this tank under pressure. The pressure is approx 8.5 bar, which is double tap water pressure.
  • STAGE 8 – Water is then fed into a Elga Prima 1, which has another pretreatment cartridge (STAGE 9) which protects the RO membranes by removing particulates and chlorine. This unit has two RO membranes. (STAGE 10 & 11)
  • STAGE 12 – Water leaving the  Elga Prima 1, is then fed into a Elga Prima 3, which has another pretreatment cartridge (STAGE 13) which protects the RO membranes by removing particulates and chlorine. This unit has 4 RO membranes. (STAGE 14-16).

Water leaving the Elga Prima 3 has a TDS of approx 0.

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Andysworld! Advent Calendar – Dec 19 – My VMware Christmas Gifts – from the VMware Festive Journey to the your Cloud

Monday, December 19th, 2011

For the last two weeks, VMware have been running VMware Festive Journey to the your Cloud, a daily draw competition, where you could win, cameras, iPods, Gift Vouchers, and VMware Merchandise.

It finishes on the 23 December 2011, so you’ve got a few days left to register, answer the question, and be entered into the daily draw!

I’ve been lucky to win a few items

vmwarefestivejourneytoyourcloud

vmwaregifts

Some handy winter car items, an ice scraper, torch and travel mug!

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Andysworld! Advent Calendar – Dec 18 – Tilly at Christmas!

Sunday, December 18th, 2011

tillyatchrimbo

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Andysworld! Advent Calendar – Dec 17 – Festive Treat – Japan Photograph Album Complete! – Online Here

Saturday, December 17th, 2011

japan

A few have been asking for a while, and it’s only taken me 6 months to complete this! But it’s been a fanastic reminder of our Holiday to Japan in March 2011! Some of you will have already seen a few photographs, but this is the first time, I’ve uploaded the entire album (these were the photographs that have made it into the album!).

If you’ve not worked out how to access the Holiday Photograph Album Click the Photo above.

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What to purchase a vEXPERT, VCP, VMware Admin, VMware Geek this Christmas?

Saturday, December 17th, 2011

If you wondering what to purchase a vEXPERT, VCP, VMware Admin, VMware Geek this Christmas, why not consider one of the best Technical books on VMware HA and DRS!

My Christmas Present from Secret Santa!

My Christmas Present from Secret Santa!


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Andysworld! Advent Calendar – Dec 16 – Box of Willies Delectable Cacao for Christmas, Go on you know you want to, it is Christmas!

Friday, December 16th, 2011

I’ve blogged a few times about Willies Delectable Cacao. Because I had completed all my household chores this week, Lindsey bought me a present!

If you fancy some proper Rich Dark Chocolate flavoured with Orange this Christmas, rather than that overseas “stuff” from the EU, “tap it and unrap it ““you know the one that Dawn French advertises!” (we do not mention their name since they left York!).

Try Willies Delectable Cacao Cuban 65, Luscious Orange. Made in Devon, England, Great Britain!

and if you are interested in where the Baracoan Cacao beans are from, here’s some pictures taken in Baracoa, Cuba, when we visited. (and also spotted the worlds smallest frog!) – it wasn’t a chocolate frog!

Hiya Willie!

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Andysworld! Advent Calendar – Dec 15 – Times are hard, time to cash in the coppers!

Thursday, December 15th, 2011

I do not know how long I’ve been collecting one and two pence (1p and 2p) copper coins, I’ve just been throwing them in a terroctoa urn, until I broke it! Times are hard, and Christmas is coming….

…. so time to cash them in.

coins

This plastic bag weights 10kg, contains approx 1000 2 pence coins, and 1255 1 pence coins!

‘Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves’

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