8 gallon NPS Reef

exnisstech · Sep 19, 2025

I love silicone vs vinyl and is what I use on all of my return pumps. It kinks easier than vinyl but is so much easier to work with if you have slight angles. I also think it helps reduce noise / vibration.

BristleWormHater · Sep 19, 2025

exnisstech said:
I love silicone vs vinyl and is what I use on all of my return pumps. It kinks easier than vinyl but is so much easier to work with if you have slight angles. I also think it helps reduce noise / vibration.

Im definitely going to take that advice, working onto the back of my 25 gallon is a pita with the viynl, I basically have to rip everything out if I need to clean something off a pump.

BristleWormHater · Sep 19, 2025

Lighting is still a hangup at the moment, was hoping to get some more inspiration from @exnisstech then I saw the xr15. Anyone got a good solution for this? @twentyleagues I think you recommended something before?

exnisstech · Sep 19, 2025

Gen 4 XR15 isn't inspiring?

tbrown · Sep 19, 2025

ParlAquatics

3D Printed Aquarium products and custom design. Improve your experience with these easy to use solutions for common and specialty aquarium needs.

parlaquatics.com

Sam's website store.

BristleWormHater · Sep 19, 2025

tbrown said:
ParlAquatics

3D Printed Aquarium products and custom design. Improve your experience with these easy to use solutions for common and specialty aquarium needs.

parlaquatics.com

Sam's website store.

Oh, I didnt know he had a store, already sent him a pm.

tbrown · Sep 19, 2025

BristleWormHater said:
Oh, I didnt know he had a store, already sent him a pm.

He's not around Reef2Reef much these days.

tbrown · Sep 19, 2025

If he doesn't get back to you, let me know and I'll shoot him an email.

twentyleagues · Sep 19, 2025

BristleWormHater said:
Lighting is still a hangup at the moment, was hoping to get some more inspiration from @exnisstech then I saw the xr15. Anyone got a good solution for this? @twentyleagues I think you recommended something before?

Honestly they are nps corals so they dont need light. Save your money and just get something cheap and blue so you can see them. A small rgb freshwater nano light will work fine just turn off the rg and leave the blue low. Suncorals and dendros glow in blue light, bright lighting is detrimental to them most wont feed in lighting, you can train them to extend polyps in the light but why if you dont have other corals in with them. Best thing I did for mine was move them out of my reef into their own tank that was dimly lit with just actinic light. Low level of blue will allow you to see them and allow for them to fluoresce and keep algae down.

BristleWormHater · Sep 20, 2025

twentyleagues said:
Honestly they are nps corals so they dont need light. Save your money and just get something cheap and blue so you can see them. A small rgb freshwater nano light will work fine just turn off the rg and leave the blue low. Suncorals and dendros glow in blue light, bright lighting is detrimental to them most wont feed in lighting, you can train them to extend polyps in the light but why if you dont have other corals in with them. Best thing I did for mine was move them out of my reef into their own tank that was dimly lit with just actinic light. Low level of blue will allow you to see them and allow for them to fluoresce and keep algae down.

Another thing I thought of, how important is temperature? Since nps are typically deeper should I keep the water at a lower temp or just stick to regular reef temp?

twentyleagues · Sep 20, 2025

BristleWormHater said:
Another thing I thought of, how important is temperature? Since nps are typically deeper should I keep the water at a lower temp or just stick to regular reef temp?

Corals over all have a pretty large range of temps they can live in. We shoot for that 78f for what reason? I'm not sure. I have kept corals in a range of temps, I typically keep my reef at around 76f. I had an 8g at work on a desk years ago with no heater it typically was around 72f corals and the one fish were fine. I think as long as it doesnt get below 68-70f they will be fine probably able to go lower but I am not sure.

exnisstech · Sep 20, 2025

BristleWormHater said:
Oh, I didnt know he had a store, already sent him a pm.

I ordered from Sam's site with no direct contact personally and it was a smooth transaction with fast shipping.
I should have mentioned that rather than tagging him.

BristleWormHater · Sep 20, 2025

twentyleagues said:
Corals over all have a pretty large range of temps they can live in. We shoot for that 78f for what reason? I'm not sure. I have kept corals in a range of temps, I typically keep my reef at around 76f. I had an 8g at work on a desk years ago with no heater it typically was around 72f corals and the one fish were fine. I think as long as it doesnt get below 68-70f they will be fine probably able to go lower but I am not sure.

I think I'll just stick to the lower range of recommended temps, ill shoot for 76.

exnisstech · Sep 20, 2025

Hey @BristleWormHater this light may be worth taking a peak at. It comes with a bracket that looks similar to mine that I was able to cut a slot in so I could center it.

New jebao led lights

Hi, just found that FYI : https://a.aliexpress.com/_Ez4taxM https://a.aliexpress.com/_EzX72OS Enjoy

www.reef2reef.com

tbrown · Sep 20, 2025

I've got a Reef Breeders Pico on my freshwater tank that I really like. They're not super expensive and come in a variety of color choices.

The downside is that the spectrum isn't adjustable. The only adjustments are run time (start and finish) and intensity.

BristleWormHater · Sep 25, 2025

Just waiting on a few things now, I placed an order from Sam's site, he said he'd throw in some free stuff too :)
I also ordered the ioaio return pump, that gets here Saturday. Ill get a light and a powerhead soon, but I haven't yet since they arent necessary to start up the tank.

BristleWormHater · Sep 27, 2025

The pump has been installed! Just waiting on the nozzle from Sam. I need to mix some salt water too.

@exnisstech what do you have your pump set to? Also wondering if you still use the filter sock in the back chamber. Im going to cut out some wiers the same way you did on your thread.

tbrown · Sep 27, 2025

BristleWormHater said:
The pump has been installed! Just waiting on the nozzle from Sam. I need to mix some salt water too.

@exnisstech what do you have your pump set to? Also wondering if you still use the filter sock in the back chamber. Im going to cut out some wiers the same way you did on your thread.

I was trying to figure out how you fit 3 pumps and return lines in the chamber then I realized that 2 were reflections...