7.4G Peninsula SPS Dominated Build

[MONTANTK]

Decided to stop by the LFS today and picked up a few more frags! New additions include:
-JF Fox Flame
-ARC Proximo
-Black Dragon Acro

Also hooked up 2 Kamoer Bluetooth dosers and have a 3rd on order. For $60 you can’t beat these pumps! Looking forward to testing out their longevity

 

[MONTANTK]

One issue I seem to be running into is a nervously high water level in the display and I can’t really see any reason why this should be happening. I know my power is raising it at the front a little but water is literally spilling over the top of the baffle in the back. Part of me wants to attribute this to the poor filtration design but I am going to do some more investigating. Only thing I have sitting in the first chamber is some filter floss and a mechanical sponge. Hopefully I’m able to come back with a fix.

 

[eag]

One issue I seem to be running into is a nervously high water level in the display and I can’t really see any reason why this should be happening

I think this is the problem I was describing earlier - it is related to the return pump flow and the bottom drain. I solved it by plugging the drain and drastically restricting the return flow.

Part of me wants to attribute this to the poor filtration design

Yes, I'm pretty sure it's a design flaw... The overflow didn't provide enough throughput, so they added a bottom drain, except that ended up coupling the flow throughput to the back chambers to the flow throughput of the filter media... And flow throughput to the back chambers affects the display level. This doesn't happen when you use the overflow only.

I wrote more about it in my build thread here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/lifegard-aquatics-7-4g-pico-build-the-burry.736530/#post-8201886

 

[GK3]

One issue I seem to be running into is a nervously high water level in the display and I can’t really see any reason why this should be happening. I know my power is raising it at the front a little but water is literally spilling over the top of the baffle in the back. Part of me wants to attribute this to the poor filtration design but I am going to do some more investigating. Only thing I have sitting in the first chamber is some filter floss and a mechanical sponge. Hopefully I’m able to come back with a fix.

How far does the water in your pump section drop when the pump is on vs off?

 

[Daniel92481]

Looking good! Try removing the mechanical sponge and using the filter floss only. Stuffing the mechanical sponge down will make the water level rise and hard for water to penetrate through.

 

[MONTANTK]

How far does the water in your pump section drop when the pump is on vs off?

Because of the design I have to combine second and third chamber. I’d guess 3 inches

 

[MONTANTK]

Looking good! Try removing the mechanical sponge and using the filter floss only. Stuffing the mechanical sponge down will make the water level rise and hard for water to penetrate through.

There’s a drain hole on the bottom and I removed the strainer. That helped tremendously. I just wish the overflow teeth went up higher so I could get some surface skimming going

 

[Daniel92481]

Yea, good deal. I have the 4.1 and used the drain plug too vs. the strainer. Awesome little tanks!

 

[MONTANTK]

Yea, good deal. I have the 4.1 and used the drain plug too vs. the strainer. Awesome little tanks!

I didn’t use the plug, I just left it open. I don’t use the plug because it’s tough maintaining the water level because my pump is so strong

 

[Daniel92481]

Oh...you left it open! Interesting.

 

[eggplantparrot]

I believe I have the OG Chinese brand of these tanks in 5G form.

the weir is the brand name cut out of the glass instead of straight teeth and the bottom are straight teeth instead if a hole.

I blocked my bottom with a piece of acrylic super glued and knocked out parts of the top weird letters (the middle of the letter 'D' and 'g'.

I have designed a printable filter sock for it for this if you guys are interested and the dimensions are the same. it does require buying the filter mesh, a sewing machine and a tiny bit of DIYing.

 

[eggplantparrot]

Nano Build - Eggplant's Desktop Garden

As my 14G Not a Cube is nearing 9th month since it has been up, I feel like I am needing to mess with the tank less and less, to the point where it is almost on autopilot. it is quite filled up with growing corals, and only needs daily feeding and weekly water change. this makes me feel an...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[MONTANTK]

I believe I have the OG Chinese brand of these tanks in 5G form.

the weir is the brand name cut out of the glass instead of straight teeth and the bottom are straight teeth instead if a hole.

I blocked my bottom with a piece of acrylic super glued and knocked out parts of the top weird letters (the middle of the letter 'D' and 'g'.

I have designed a printable filter sock for it for this if you guys are interested and the dimensions are the same. it does require buying the filter mesh, a sewing machine and a tiny bit of DIYing.

Wow awesome rock flower nems! I had luck with IM filters socks when I cut some of the black plastic to make them more flexible. Swapped them out for filter floss though. I really like the dimension of the tank but I just wish it had a better filtration system

 

[MONTANTK]

Another update: I think the drain was only part of the issue. I think my ATO is malfunctioning due to my lights shining on it. Noticed quite a bit of water missing from my reservoir after filling it yesterday and my water level rose quite a bit. Might try cleaning off the sensor to see if that helps. Luckily salinity didn’t drop that much

 

[eag]

Noticed quite a bit of water missing from my reservoir after filling it yesterday and my water level rose quite a bit.

You should be able to tell whether the problem is the ATO by looking in the back chamber. If the ATO caused the water level in the chambers to rise well above the sensor, then that's your problem. If instead, the chamber levels are mostly correct and only the display level rose, then the problem is more likely your bottom drain and filtration, and your ato is only reacting to the falling levels in the back.

 

[Tcook]

A Tanaka or pink streak would look great in that tank. I like where you have those 2 small tanks. Good work!

 

[MONTANTK]

You should be able to tell whether the problem is the ATO by looking in the back chamber. If the ATO caused the water level in the chambers to rise well above the sensor, then that's your problem. If instead, the chamber levels are mostly correct and only the display level rose, then the problem is more likely your bottom drain and filtration, and your ato is only reacting to the falling levels in the back.

The level rose everywhere. I turned the ATO off and decreased the water level to see what happens. The reason I think it’s the ATO is because optical sensors can fail if light is shining at them

 

[MONTANTK]

You should be able to tell whether the problem is the ATO by looking in the back chamber. If the ATO caused the water level in the chambers to rise well above the sensor, then that's your problem. If instead, the chamber levels are mostly correct and only the display level rose, then the problem is more likely your bottom drain and filtration, and your ato is only reacting to the falling levels in the back.

Figured I’d give you an update. It looks like the problem is related to the drain. For some reason when I tried running with a lower water level, the water began evaporating from the display which is why my ATO added so much water. I’ll have to find a drain plug because I threw the old one out mistakenly hoping that solves the evaporation issue and things go back to normal

 

[Lilmatty5dimes]

Corals are starting to color up nicely. Montipora is growing and the Acros seem nice and happy. My Blondies finally opened up too! Had to move my Speckled Krak because it didn’t like all the light it was getting.

Wow tank looks amazing. Love the idea of a nano tank with spa.

 

[MONTANTK]

Wow tank looks amazing. Love the idea of a nano tank with spa.

Thank you! The tank has had its challenges but everything is doing really well! The only bad news is I am almost out of room for new frags