AJ's Acro Adventure [RSR 750XXL]

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AJsReef

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nice i was concerned about using 3 rms mounts mainly because of the position on the overflow and that center light but it looks like yours worked out fine. awesome good stuff. im getting closer and closer. im having an electrician come in to make sure i got the proper power in my room..lol.. everything looks awesome though, are you still using the ato reservoir it comes with , and that new setup just to feed it or did you just scrap it completley?

The overflow lid has a piece that pops right off which easily fits the mount. I was worried about it too and figured I may end up having to dremel the lid, but the dremel stayed in the box haha.

I'm running the stock reservoir. Its a little inconvenient to reach the back rear chamber with the return. The worst was trying to fill it with buckets. Now I have the RO line running to it I will probably keep it. Goal will be to add a solenoid and a second optical sensor to automate it topping off.
 

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nice i have a water change station wit ha 50 ft hose so hopefully it will be easy enough to just fill like that. awesome to know about the piece that pops off i will definatly be using that.!!!
 
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Big news, fish are in!


The ~4 hour car tip was a success with no livestock lost. In order to move the corals I did have to frag down a lot but overall I'm very happy! For now the corals are just spread about for acclimation. During the move I did manage to break my Reef Octopus 150int which was on the upgrade (eventually) list. Thanks to the Black Friday sales I picked up a 200int Elite that is currently breaking in.

Finally have a Blue Tang too, from LA Divers Den!

 

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Looking great!
 
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Some unfortunate news, not sure if it was the move, fragging, or the tank just being immature but I lost a lot quite a few of my the corals. On a positive note, all the fish are alive and well! Even the Trigger that was stuck with UPS for nearly 3 days :)

I've added a GFO and Carbon reactor. The carbon reactor seems to have made a huge difference in water clarity especially looking lengthwise down the tank. I purchased filter cups instead of running the socks. I ordered them with the adapters but found they aren't necessary. Currently running floss in them changing the floss every 2-3 days. I also have a doser and NOPOX on order to start dosing in hopes of maintaining the system at UL nutrient levels.

The RO Elite 200 skimmer continues to break in some. I'm struggling to get any real volume of skim. However, the O-ring does appear to have seated finally.

My Varios arrived last week. I'm hoping to get it set up Saturday when I finally have time off!
 

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I finished hooking up the return pump on mine today. I had to swivel out the end that connects to the pump in order to get a good connection. Were you able to hook yours up where it clicks into the wall? I can see why some people have replumbed this thing. Those plastic plumbing parts are nowhere near as sturdy as PVC.

About how long did it take to cycle?
 
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I finished hooking up the return pump on mine today. I had to swivel out the end that connects to the pump in order to get a good connection. Were you able to hook yours up where it clicks into the wall? I can see why some people have replumbed this thing. Those plastic plumbing parts are nowhere near as sturdy as PVC.

About how long did it take to cycle?

I can definitely agree with the replumbing. It’s a step they certainely skimped on. I ended up using the 1 1/4” union to hard pipe then coupler to threaded adapter and about 4 inches of soft pipe with plastic clips. Seems to work fine but was quite frustrating to accomplish. That and the pump right now has a fair amount of vibration noise...grrr

I was prettty aggressive with adding bacteria supplements whether or not they are snake oil. I’d say my cycle could’ve taken a light bioload in about a week. If not earlier if I didn’t destroy my original skimmer. I still don’t have the new one performing as well as I’d like. FWIW, I also have much more confidence in the Prodibio line up after trying it. I won’t be using Dr Tim’s again
 
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Well it's been a busy week!

Headed down south for New Years and was able to swing by World Wide Corals on the way home. I should've known better... Ended up buying 5 frags, 2 of which were mini colonies. Shout out to Carlos for really being awesome. Had a great time and even the wife enjoyed it, which is a first in a fish store. I even managed to get a coral I've wanted for a longgg time Tyree Pink Lemonade.


Excuse the photography I'm still using my iPhone. Really need to start pulling out the DSLR.

After that pitstop on the way home I told myself I really need to figure out the dosing situation. I'm still at a loss with which route to go. Carbon reactor or doser or another DOS... Decisions, Decisions... Any opinions out there?

While online looking at dosers I stumbled upon Living Reef Orlando's new auctions. Originally, I was planning on hitting up WWC, LRO and Top Shelf Aquatics on the way back home. Decided to call it a day after paying my tab at WWC. The LRO stuff tonight was just too good to pass up. Picked up 6 frags which will ship sometime soon. With this crazy weather LRO called off shipping, smart move. I even managed to snag a RR Pink Floyd for under $90 (can you tell yet I like yellow.)


AND last but not least, my skimmer woes continue. I just can't for the life of me get this thing to skim the way I want it to. Pump at 100% and valve open mid way has the bubbles pea sized right at the base of the neck. I still hardly pull any skim and what I get is really light in color with little to no chunks. The neck does get gross but I want a cup of gunk already!

 
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Well decisions have been made...

GHL 2.1 on the way as well as NYOS 220. Hopefully will have both early next week :)

LRO Auction winnings this week, time to start filling the tank!

RR Pink Floyd (1/2")


LRO Sunset Milli


LRO Berries and Cream Milli


LRO Hornets Nest Milli


LRO Blues Clues Tenuis


LRO Smurfette Tenuis
 
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Well its been a busy last 10 days. Had a small bacterial bloom right after dosing BioDigest. I failed to account the fact I was already running NoPox so I will likely be suspending the BioDigest. I've also turned my nopox dosing down by 2ml. GHL Doser has arrived although I didn't get around to setting it up due to the bacterial bloom. I ended up doing some heavy WCs and decided not to mess with dosing during them. I'll probably add it to the system tomorrow. The Reef Octopus skimmer has been replaced for a NYOS 220. It's slightly more audible but within 24 hours is pulling a much more consistent skim mate. Weekly water test yielded no surprises this week 7.7dKH, 437ppm Calcium, <.5ppm Nitrate, 0 PO4. I've decided to start dosing Acropower as a trial. It seems to be cheaper than the reef energy set. Combined with the fact the tank is really Acro only right now and the positive reviews I'm excited to see what will happen!





OH and one more thing...
 
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Weekly update - Moorish Idol in, Radion Diffusers Installed

1/17 - Moorish Idol arrived healthy from Live Aquaria. Stunning fish, extremely excited to have one after years of reading about them. I'm going all out to give this guy his best shot. Ordered NLS pellets and Brightwell AngelLixir. Have been feeding 3x a day with soaked pellets on top of my normal feeding routine. I've noticed he seems to eat some Calanus but no brine shrimp yet. Definitely a more timid eater but slowly moving up the water column. Supplementing with Red/Green/Purple algae changed at least once a day. While the fish is adjusting my goal is to have algae accessible throughout the day. Initially, my Yellow Tang bullied it a bit but now they have established order and follow each other around. There is a clear area of ownership with the Idol having a cave it seems really comfortable in on the right side of the tank. This is awesome as previously most my fish hung out on the left side.




Through research there's quite a lot of successful keepers who mention maintaining a large pod population much like having a Mandarin. As a result, I finally got around to ordering a H380 as well as a Chaeto and pod order from Algae Barn. Should be all set up in a few days.


Received the XR30 diffusers today. Will do a full review on the soon. Initial thoughts; accomplish the goal, do a great job blending light BUT fitment leaves some to be desired. Biggest win, no more hotspots on the TV! The images don't do the glare justice. With the TV on in the day its barely noticeable there is a tank. When the lights ramp in the evening its not existent. Before, the intense light of the 6 pucks could always be seen. Couldn't wait until 9pm for the lights to go out so I had glare free TV.

BEFORE:



AFTER:



Skimmer Saga Update - Nyos 220 is pulling thicker skim daily. It's a winner!


Weekly todo: Set up Doser and Fuge
 

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In that one photo with your SPS frags on a frag rack...... whose frag rack do you use I have the exact tank you do in white and I can’t find any good frag racks go stick on that will hold!!!!..? Thanks
 
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In that one photo with your SPS frags on a frag rack...... whose frag rack do you use I have the exact tank you do in white and I can’t find any good frag racks go stick on that will hold!!!!..? Thanks
Funny you mention it. I grabbed it at WWC when I picked up a bunch of frags and I realized I had no rack. It's an Eshopps, didn't hold well. Ended up breaking it when some irregular plugs took a bit more force and it pulled free from magnets. Still looking for a new one rated for 3/4inch glass...
 
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Should be upping the stick count next week, good night on the LRO Ebay Auctions last night. Got a lot of the pieces I wanted but missed the Cornbred Maleficent for $55!

Tyree Rogue Milli


LRO Sleeping Beauty


LRO Cherry Cola


LRO Barbies Jeep


LRO Extreme Mr Pacman


LRO Bali Shortcake


LRO Gold Member


LRO Grape Ape


LRO Berry Bruiser x2



LRO Sticky Icky


LRO Turquoise Stag
 
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Seems like I'm in the true hurry up and wait part of the build. ~25 Acro frags in, fish and CUC stocked nicely. Now its all waiting to see how these frags take. But man do frags look small in a 6 footer.

Updates:
Did a full "refurb" on the RODI work horse and picked up the HM Digital COM-100. TDS was coming out at just below 1ppm, hoping with the new membrane and filters I'll get back down to 0.


Purchased the Red Sea Cover kit and made the frame up. Will get around to the netting in the next few days. Nicely made but a bit of a PITA.


AND the big NEWS... I'm turning off the AWC/NoPox pulling my filter cups and switching to Triton. The tank was just too "clean." Still on the fence about dosing NO3 to somewhere in the 1-5ppm range.





To close, the NYOS 220 is really proving itself to be a big time champ, this is 1 days skim.

Might have to look into a Swabbie and Davie Jones locker soon...
 

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Wow that is a LOT of skim!

Hopefully that settles down for you because I don't think they make a Davie Jones locker in a 55g drum size!
 
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Wow that is a LOT of skim!

Hopefully that settles down for you because I don't think they make a Davie Jones locker in a 55g drum size!

HA, I'm wondering how long the 5 gallon would last, surely awhile. Just glad to have a skimmer that can pull waste :)


Cue start of Nitrate dosing
 
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First test results of NO3 dosing show my NO3 just below 1ppm. Went ahead and dosed another 6ml as maintenance dose. Early visual feedback is PE is already much greater than at 0 NO3. I'm starting to think some of the bleaching/STN I had may be due to the ULNS. With deeper research I found WWC runs much higher NO3. My frags from WWC seemed to have suffered the most at 0 NO3, coincidence? We shall see...
 
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Little bit of a frustrating update. Had 4 frags RTN this week. Tested all water parameters at first sign and no issues found there. I did dose Prodibio without thinking...going to suspend indefinitely. Thinking the logical cause was too many/too high bacterial strains in the water. Oh well, lesson learned.

Ordered a few of the last pieces of the automation puzzle today with the president day sales going on and a vacation planned next month; Swabbie and Davy Jones Locker.

Now just to figure out some kind of automated feeding to sustain the fish for a few days. I'll have someone come feed frozen a bit but need to supplement the nori. Thinking Julian Sprungs nori flakes in an autofeed. Perhaps a second feeder with pellets. My Moorish and friends (Tangs) love their feedings!

Going to look into a webcam for the tank (possibly sump) as well. That way I can have "eyes on the ground" if anything goes wrong while I'm away.
 

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Wow, Our builds are very similar. Setting up my ghl doser now. Where did you get the tubing for yours and what size is it? Thanks

I’m also looking for a camera setup. I use Arlo for my home security but looking for something that I can stream live from an IP address so other people can check it out also.

Do you have your cheato setup yet? Would love to see a pic of it.
 
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