100 Gallon Lagoon-style acrylic AIO

[tharbin]

Another update:

BRS just had a Spring sale that had the Maxspect Gyres at 30% off. Since I liked the flow pattern of the Jump Gyre 2k but felt it was not quite enough flow for the tank, I went ahead and ordered the Maxspect XF-350 Cloud Edition 2-pack.

While I was at it, I decided to also revisit one of my annoyances, the threaded elbow reducer on the return. I've been removing the Loc-line ball valve every few weeks lately because Aiptasia seem to think it is an ideal breeding environment. I haven't been keeping the bulkhead lock nut super tight because I need to unthread the bulkhead when I need to service the return pump. This means that I have to fuss around whenever I pull the valve to de-Aiptasia it.

I didn't realize it at the time but the threaded fitting from Sicce in the SDC 6.0 kit is a 1" NPT thread. Actually I think it is a very close metric equivalent as all of the fittings are metric with close imperial equivalents. Anyway I ordered a 3/4" barb to 1" NPT pipe, a Loc-line 3/4" NPT ball end and 6 segments of 3/4" Loc-line along with the pumps.

I still had the original 3/4" FPT/Slip bulkhead and 3/4" slip elbow that came with my tank and the second set of SDC adapters.

The idea is that I will go from using a 1" tube with a reducing elbow to 3/4" all the way so that I can use the slip elbow. At the same time since the tank is an AIO and I use a DC return pump, the Loc-line ball valve is really superfluous for my setup. Removing it will hopefully eliminate one of the Aiptasia breeding grounds.

I was originally going to put a 3" flare nozzle (came with the tank) on the line but I like the way the RFG interacts with the Gyre so I'll use the VCA RFG from the existing return setup. I'll get it all installed in a day or so.

I installed one of the new XF-350 pumps on the left side wall (the Jump 2k was on the right side wall) and set it up, at least initially. I have it set on 0.8 second random at max 50% and it is just about the right amount of flow for the tank. I'll play around with the settings over the next few days but I like it enough that I went ahead and pulled the Jump 2K out to be cleaned and stored for future tanks. I think the 2K would be ideal for a 40 breeder...

The Foxface has really started to earn its keep as there is no bubble algae in sight, although there is some in the cracks the Foxface cannot reach. It has also started to mellow. It rarely does the dash-of-death now and even hangs out while I maintain the tank, although usually in one of its more visible 'hiding places'.

The various turf algae are still growing but more slowly as the tank is finally starting to mature.

The Aiptasia, what can I say? There are at least four in the tank currently, one in the afore mentioned ball valve, two in the crack between rocks of the Foxface cave and one in the flat-ish center rock. Other than the one in the ball valve they are all good-size, mature, Aiptasia. Time for some bio-control.

I almost hate to add any more fish as the tank's inhabitants seem to have settled into a nice little community, zero tension. no homeless issues, even seem to respect each other's piscineial space.

When I installed the new pump I went ahead and pulled the green birds nest as it was not doing well and becoming an algae magnet. All three of the frags are still going. Two did recede some more but I wouldn't call them write-offs yet and the third one never receded, yet, and appears to be starting to grow.

I'll get some shots once the return is installed and the Gyre is a little more dialed in.

 

[tharbin]

I bought some smartphone filters from Oceanbox Design and decided to try them out with a few coral shots.

The generic acan

The Beach Bums

The Gold Hammer, Orange Monti Cap and the second Green Birds Nest Frag complete with STN that seems to have slowed down.

The Green Birds Nest frag 1 with STN, also slowed down

Junior, the frag from my Tubbs frag

The Peach Hammer with a tiny flaslight providing fill light as an experiment

The Purple Stylo

The Purple Rim Trumpet

The Rainbow Acan

The Tropicana Anacropora

And the Tubbs Stellata along with Green Birds Nest frag 3 with no STN, at least yet

Overall the colors seem very close. The Purple Stylo is the furthest off as it is a much more intense purple, it is also the furthest from the lens at around 16"-18" from the lens. The Tropicana is a little more orangey and the Orange Monti Cap is a little more vibrant.

These were just quick test shots using the 16k filter and a lens hood except the Tropicana, Junior and Rainbow Acan which also had a 4x macro lens.

Very happy with the set. Now I just need to go make the tank look good enough to take some photos so that I can learn how to use the filters correctly.

 

[tharbin]

I got the new return in yesterday evening so I can now more easily pull the return pump for cleaning and got rid of one Aiptasia. I also added the second gyre on the right end and then set the two gyres for 40% anti-sync'ed at a 2 second cycle. Nope, way too much flow. Turned it down to 30% (the gyres only do 10% increments). It seemed about right...

The placement of the second gyre though is not the best. I may pull it or mount it vertically. What I didn't plan for was that my new return plumbing greatly increased the flow and the RFG is working much better. I turned the return pump down one notch but it still stronger than before.

I do like the diverters on the XF series gyres. They allow me to 'aim' the flow better.

Anyway, watched some television and started to clean things up for bed but when I went over to the tank, it was a sand blizzard. One of the birds nest frags was on its side, the center of the tank was sand free. I went ahead and got cleaned up for bed figuring I'd look after it in a little while. I came back and my wife had fixed the coral plug for me. I started looking around for other damage I saw a little black snoot with a white stripe sticking out of the top of the Foxface cave. He was trapped in a scene reminiscent of a blizzard scene from back East. He was literally sand bound. The lights were too low to take a photo and the Foxface did not look happy so I had to dig him out. Then I unplugged the second gyre just to get things calmed down. Other than moving the sand off of some of the other corals, that is how the tank is now. I'll work on it tonight or tomorrow. I probably could have gotten away with just the Jump 2K if I had moved it to the other end of the tank. Oh well, you can't have too many pumps. I'll stick with the XF-350 as I like the diverters.

I also played with the smartphone filters some more today.

The Beach Bums again (tried using 2x digital zoom with 16k filter)

The goni, I still need to find the goni the right spot.

Pinhead

I tried again to get the orange monti cap, a little better but still not vibrant enough

And the purple stylo, much better

 

[TheWB]

I got the new return in yesterday evening so I can now more easily pull the return pump for cleaning and got rid of one Aiptasia. I also added the second gyre on the right end and then set the two gyres for 40% anti-sync'ed at a 2 second cycle. Nope, way too much flow. Turned it down to 30% (the gyres only do 10% increments). It seemed about right...

The placement of the second gyre though is not the best. I may pull it or mount it vertically. What I didn't plan for was that my new return plumbing greatly increased the flow and the RFG is working much better. I turned the return pump down one notch but it still stronger than before.

I do like the diverters on the XF series gyres. They allow me to 'aim' the flow better.

Anyway, watched some television and started to clean things up for bed but when I went over to the tank, it was a sand blizzard. One of the birds nest frags was on its side, the center of the tank was sand free. I went ahead and got cleaned up for bed figuring I'd look after it in a little while. I came back and my wife had fixed the coral plug for me. I started looking around for other damage I saw a little black snoot with a white stripe sticking out of the top of the Foxface cave. He was trapped in a scene reminiscent of a blizzard scene from back East. He was literally sand bound. The lights were too low to take a photo and the Foxface did not look happy so I had to dig him out. Then I unplugged the second gyre just to get things calmed down. Other than moving the sand off of some of the other corals, that is how the tank is now. I'll work on it tonight or tomorrow. I probably could have gotten away with just the Jump 2K if I had moved it to the other end of the tank. Oh well, you can't have too many pumps. I'll stick with the XF-350 as I like the diverters.

I also played with the smartphone filters some more today.

The Beach Bums again (tried using 2x digital zoom with 16k filter)

The goni, I still need to find the goni the right spot.

Pinhead

I tried again to get the orange monti cap, a little better but still not vibrant enough

And the purple stylo, much better

Wow, seems like you’ve got a lot of flow now. Remind me to start my Jump 4K and 2K on their lowest settings and then ramp up from there. Don’t want to bury my fish, lol.

 

[tharbin]

Wow, seems like you’ve got a lot of flow now. Remind me to start my Jump 4K and 2K on their lowest settings and then ramp up from there. Don’t want to bury my fish, lol.

TLDR: Too many pumps, too shallow a tank, too stubborn to do right.

Your tank is an inch taller than mine and looks like it will also run with a little higher water line in the display. That 1"-1.5" difference may be all the difference between a sand storm and peace and tranquility. I would not have called the flow in the upper half of the display excessive even with both gyres at 50% level.

I'm rethinking my love of lagoon-style tanks in a mixed-reef environment. I think they are great for sps bare-bottom tanks and sand-bottom softie/lps tanks but not so much for a mixed reef. It is too hard to get enough difference in flow patterns without more height. If I were to do this all over again, I would have a tank 20" or even 24" deep. I never thought about it before this tank but all of my favorite tanks were lps/gorgonian/feather duster/sponge/tunicate/macro algae tanks that were in 40 Breeders, or 55 Talls. They didn't have high flow as part of their requirement for success. I also used Tunze 6055s in all of them or modified MaxiJets before the Tunzes were around. The Tunzes made a world of difference in the tanks and they were all I used from then on until I retired from reef keeping. I'm not sure why I didn't just buy Tunze pumps again when I started back up except that I started with a 15 gallon nano and wanted something low profile and with more programming flexibility. With the Tunze I set up a pattern and rate and that was it. I added the light sensor that reduced the flow when lights were off but It wasn't really very flexible. It looks like the new controller coming out will fix that.

I did attempt to set up quiet zones in this tank with the aquascape but when a tank only has 14"-15" of water height what would be a 'dead zone' can just as easily become a vortex by just a small change in flow rate or direction. The Neros were good for getting different zones because they were small and directional but they didn't have any angular adjustment (with the 'please don't shred my fish' guards on them) and the blast zone in front of the pump could easily damage even hardy corals if placed too near it. The sheet action of the gyre allows for closer placement of corals. In a large tank I can see uses for the Neros but I think they make too many 'can't place coral there' spots in a small tank, unless placed on the ends or a really deep tank. I really needed to put the Neros on the ends of the tank instead of the back wall but I refused. That's where the gyres ended up anyway.

If the tank was bare-bottom I could make it work fine as I can find enough quieter spots for the fleshy corals, although I am having trouble finding a good spot for the goni. Having a sand-bottom though means I also need to avoid vortexs in the unpopulated areas. Unfortunately, bare-bottom isn't really a thing for me as I not only like the look of sand but I like the dynamics of the sand. I like sand-sifting fish and sand-sleeping fish and sand dwelling snails, worms, starfish, brittle stars, macro algae, etc. One of my favorite things to do is to watch the tank while the lights are out and see dozens of little Cerith and Nassarius snails pop out of nowhere.

It also doesn't help that the Maxspect controllers are not very flexible. If you use a Tunze DC Stream/ Nanostream controller it is a simple linear dial with pretty fine control of speeds. Nero controllers pretend they are 100 steps but in reality they are more like 32. The Maxspects are 10. I don't remember now whether the Jump controller was also just 10 or not.

So bottom line: I have too many pumps now, I spent a lot of extra money because I wanted clean ends on the tank which I gave up anyway. I wish I had gone with a taller tank and I probably should have just stayed with what I knew, Tunze. I could have placed the Tunzes on the back wall, like I insisted and aimed them for good flow.

I do like both the gyre and the Neros though. I view the gyre as a great overall tank pump that provides the right kind of current for sps and the Neros are great to fill specific areas or as general flow as long as they are not placed too close. I'll probably end up with something like one 5k gyre and one Nero 3 and some pretty strange aquascaping. Or replace the Nero with a Tunze.

 

[tharbin]

So this morning I was looking over the aftermath of the Blizzard of 2024. Turning off the second gyre pretty much solved it and the flow actually looks pretty good. I think I may need to touch up this area a little and think about a little re-scaping but everything else is pretty much just putting sand back where it belongs.

I'm going to leave the second gyre in place but unplugged for now as I think it is breaking up the flow a little. I will probably play around with the two pump idea some more, maybe with longer on/off times to see if I can reduce the vortex created in the middle. It doesn't seem there is a way to program them for a dwell time between pulses so when one is off the other is on. I'd like to be able to set up: one, short pause, other. With a little work on the scape I can probably get everything working fine and one pump is actually plenty for this tank (rated at 5280 gph). I like the idea though of counterflows and I don't think I want to use one in its reversing mode. I doubt that is great for longevity and probably harder to scape for.

I really don't care for the app yet, I find it cumbersome and unintuitive to use. It also seems to be a one way programming set up. If I change the setting on the controller, it does not seem to pick that up in the app. I'm probably just using it wrong but I spend more time figuring out how to change something than actually changing it. I'm sure I'll get use to it but right now it's frustrating.

 

[TheWB]

So this morning I was looking over the aftermath of the Blizzard of 2024. Turning off the second gyre pretty much solved it and the flow actually looks pretty good. I think I may need to touch up this area a little and think about a little re-scaping but everything else is pretty much just putting sand back where it belongs.

I'm going to leave the second gyre in place but unplugged for now as I think it is breaking up the flow a little. I will probably play around with the two pump idea some more, maybe with longer on/off times to see if I can reduce the vortex created in the middle. It doesn't seem there is a way to program them for a dwell time between pulses so when one is off the other is on. I'd like to be able to set up: one, short pause, other. With a little work on the scape I can probably get everything working fine and one pump is actually plenty for this tank (rated at 5280 gph). I like the idea though of counterflows and I don't think I want to use one in its reversing mode. I doubt that is great for longevity and probably harder to scape for.

I really don't care for the app yet, I find it cumbersome and unintuitive to use. It also seems to be a one way programming set up. If I change the setting on the controller, it does not seem to pick that up in the app. I'm probably just using it wrong but I spend more time figuring out how to change something than actually changing it. I'm sure I'll get use to it but right now it's frustrating.

You’re not running a controller right? Maybe hook up the gyres to separate plugs on a smart power strip that you can control on/off times and put one on each end. Then just run one at a time for like 10 or 20 minutes at a time in each direction using your preferred flow rate/pattern. That will get you back and forth flow throughout the day without running both gyres at the same time. Kinda like a tide going in and out but at a faster rate.

 

[TheWB]

TLDR: Too many pumps, too shallow a tank, too stubborn to do right.

Your tank is an inch taller than mine and looks like it will also run with a little higher water line in the display. That 1"-1.5" difference may be all the difference between a sand storm and peace and tranquility. I would not have called the flow in the upper half of the display excessive even with both gyres at 50% level.

I'm rethinking my love of lagoon-style tanks in a mixed-reef environment. I think they are great for sps bare-bottom tanks and sand-bottom softie/lps tanks but not so much for a mixed reef. It is too hard to get enough difference in flow patterns without more height. If I were to do this all over again, I would have a tank 20" or even 24" deep. I never thought about it before this tank but all of my favorite tanks were lps/gorgonian/feather duster/sponge/tunicate/macro algae tanks that were in 40 Breeders, or 55 Talls. They didn't have high flow as part of their requirement for success. I also used Tunze 6055s in all of them or modified MaxiJets before the Tunzes were around. The Tunzes made a world of difference in the tanks and they were all I used from then on until I retired from reef keeping. I'm not sure why I didn't just buy Tunze pumps again when I started back up except that I started with a 15 gallon nano and wanted something low profile and with more programming flexibility. With the Tunze I set up a pattern and rate and that was it. I added the light sensor that reduced the flow when lights were off but It wasn't really very flexible. It looks like the new controller coming out will fix that.

I did attempt to set up quiet zones in this tank with the aquascape but when a tank only has 14"-15" of water height what would be a 'dead zone' can just as easily become a vortex by just a small change in flow rate or direction. The Neros were good for getting different zones because they were small and directional but they didn't have any angular adjustment (with the 'please don't shred my fish' guards on them) and the blast zone in front of the pump could easily damage even hardy corals if placed too near it. The sheet action of the gyre allows for closer placement of corals. In a large tank I can see uses for the Neros but I think they make too many 'can't place coral there' spots in a small tank, unless placed on the ends or a really deep tank. I really needed to put the Neros on the ends of the tank instead of the back wall but I refused. That's where the gyres ended up anyway.

If the tank was bare-bottom I could make it work fine as I can find enough quieter spots for the fleshy corals, although I am having trouble finding a good spot for the goni. Having a sand-bottom though means I also need to avoid vortexs in the unpopulated areas. Unfortunately, bare-bottom isn't really a thing for me as I not only like the look of sand but I like the dynamics of the sand. I like sand-sifting fish and sand-sleeping fish and sand dwelling snails, worms, starfish, brittle stars, macro algae, etc. One of my favorite things to do is to watch the tank while the lights are out and see dozens of little Cerith and Nassarius snails pop out of nowhere.

It also doesn't help that the Maxspect controllers are not very flexible. If you use a Tunze DC Stream/ Nanostream controller it is a simple linear dial with pretty fine control of speeds. Nero controllers pretend they are 100 steps but in reality they are more like 32. The Maxspects are 10. I don't remember now whether the Jump controller was also just 10 or not.

So bottom line: I have too many pumps now, I spent a lot of extra money because I wanted clean ends on the tank which I gave up anyway. I wish I had gone with a taller tank and I probably should have just stayed with what I knew, Tunze. I could have placed the Tunzes on the back wall, like I insisted and aimed them for good flow.

I do like both the gyre and the Neros though. I view the gyre as a great overall tank pump that provides the right kind of current for sps and the Neros are great to fill specific areas or as general flow as long as they are not placed too close. I'll probably end up with something like one 5k gyre and one Nero 3 and some pretty strange aquascaping. Or replace the Nero with a Tunze.

I kinda feel the same way about the tank height. I love the lagoon concept but for flow those extra couple of inches at the top would have been nice. I feel like these were the things that would have been worked out if we’d been able to continue uninterrupted with the feedback on the prototype. Too late now.

 

[tharbin]

You’re not running a controller right? Maybe hook up the gyres to separate plugs on a smart power strip that you can control on/off times and put one on each end. Then just run one at a time for like 10 or 20 minutes at a time in each direction using your preferred flow rate/pattern. That will get you back and forth flow throughout the day without running both gyres at the same time. Kinda like a tide going in and out but at a faster rate.

Nope no controller. Well actually I do have one for the fuge light:

Other than that just two American DJ PC100A power centers 8 gang power strip with separate switches for each gang.

That's a pretty good idea though. I can do it with the Neros as you can set different on and off times so if you add a little extra off time on the 'main' unit and then use anti-sync you get a dead spot between pulses. This was the way we did it in the pre-controller days. I used to use timer power strips from CoraLife or something like that. They had some always on outlets, some timer outlets and some reverse timer outlets. They broke a lot but they did the job with our old prop-modded MaxiJets.

EDIT---
I just realized while a good idea, it won't work with the XF-350 CEs. You use one controller and power supply for both pumps.

 

[TheWB]

Nope no controller. Well actually I do have one for the fuge light:

Other than that just two American DJ PC100A power centers 8 gang power strip with separate switches for each gang.

That's a pretty good idea though. I can do it with the Neros as you can set different on and off times so if you add a little extra off time on the 'main' unit and then use anti-sync you get a dead spot between pulses. This was the way we did it in the pre-controller days. I used to use timer power strips from CoralVue or something like that. They had some always on outlets, some timer outlets and some reverse timer outlets. They broke a lot but they did the job with our old prop-modded MaxiJets.

EDIT---
I just realized while a good idea, it won't work with the XF-350 CEs. You use one controller and power supply for both pumps.

Well then maybe just ramp each one down to its lowest setting while the other is operating with your preferred settings and alternate them? Basically that would accomplish the same thing.

 

[tharbin]

Well then maybe just ramp each one down to its lowest setting while the other is operating with your preferred settings and alternate them? Basically that would accomplish the same thing.

That's kind of what it was doing in anti-sync mode. One would ramp from 10% (lowest setting) to 30% while the other did the opposite. I think it would work fine in a longer tank but the waves don't have time to decay in a 4 foot tank so I end up with a vortex dead center of the tank. You can't really dial the gyres in like you can a Nero so I have to work with the preset patterns. I'm going to fuss with it some more after I do a few maintenance items by changing to different pulse times. They are pretty course settings though, I think it was something like .2s, .8s, 2s, 6 s or something like that.

 

[TheWB]

That's kind of what it was doing in anti-sync mode. One would ramp from 10% (lowest setting) to 30% while the other did the opposite. I think it would work fine in a longer tank but the waves don't have time to decay in a 4 foot tank so I end up with a vortex dead center of the tank. You can't really dial the gyres in like you can a Nero so I have to work with the preset patterns. I'm going to fuss with it some more after I do a few maintenance items by changing to different pulse times. They are pretty course settings though, I think it was something like .2s, .8s, 2s, 6 s or something like that.

Instead of pulsing can you just run one at 30% for an hour and the other at 10% and then alternate. Does it have to pulse?

 

[tharbin]

Instead of pulsing can you just run one at 30% for an hour and the other at 10% and then alternate. Does it have to pulse?

Yes, I think I can. I'll give it a try.

 

[tharbin]

I noticed I had the filter on my phone so I grabbed a random shot from the living room couch:

 

[tharbin]

Our fish seem to be camera shy. If I go up to the glass, the Foxface, 'Coris', and Firefish almost always come up to the glass to let me know they want food. The Black Ray will do it sometimes and the Hectors never. But if I then raise the camera they are all gone except the Hectors and the 'Coris'. The Hector just keeps doing what he does and the 'Coris' swims around wildly back and forth through the rocks giving me dirty looks.

I wanted to try again to get shots of the fish without wasting all day on it. I managed to get two okay shots.

I may try disguising the camera to look like a giant Mysis Shrimp or TDO pellet.