BubbleMyTip's 90 gallon sps dominant tank build

bubblemytip · Jan 10, 2019

Helfish said:
Great addition to the tank and hopefully he/she will settle well. Does it have name yet? Love those clams!

No name yet. Will let my niece decide when she’s next in NZ.

Here’s a short video of the reef.

Helfish · Jan 11, 2019

Gorgeous! The fish seem to be relaxed, as they swim very peacefully and apparently do not harass each other. The colours of the corals really pop and as they grow, the Tunzes will be hidden in no time

Really great when there is no powerheads showing, I think that can distract the view, looks more natural this way.

bubblemytip · Jan 24, 2019

Just thought I’d share this pic taken under 14K lighting.

slow growing but so far worth it.

Powder blue tang is a champion. No signs of illness. Nice and fat. Constantly eating algae. Has taught the foxface to graze the back glass. They seem to be friends now and follow each other around.

Also installed a Teco tk500 chiller/heater. It is very good. Should have bought it sooner. It is easily keeping the tank cool. I have it plugged into the apex which is set to turn it off if it overheats or overcools the tank. It is slightly noisier than the fan I was using but it is on a fraction of the time and keeps the room’s humidity down.

In other news, the solenoid outlet on my apex EB6 power bar failed in the ON position. Fusion was trying to turn it off but the actual relay was broken. Neptune support told me to hit the outlet with a rubber mallet. It seems to be working again, but I have switched the solenoid to another outlet. However, because this seems to be beyond the EB6 relay’s capabilities (switching on/off every 4 minutes or so), I have ordered the aquacare basitech controller to take over the main switching of the solenoid to avoid this in future. The basitech is purpose-built for this application. I will use the apex to monitor and as a simple timer only. Or may just buy a timer and use the apex for strict monitoring. Undecided.

bubblemytip · Mar 12, 2019

Update: I've been worried about the Apex, and because I run a classic with the international EB6, I don't have that many options for new accessories. I was on the fence about going controller-free, or getting a 2016 apex brain to have as a spare, but in the event something happens to my apex, I don't think replacing it with another apex is much of a fix.

In light of this, I have ordered a GHL Profilux 4e with three of the new Powerbar 6.1e. Will probably be 4-6 weeks before it arrives and I have a chance to set it up.

Aside from this, the reef is really growing. I'm going through about 1/2 cup of calcium reactor media a week as well as replacing all evaporated water with saturated kalkwasser. I will post some photos later in the week.

Helfish · Mar 17, 2019

bubblemytip said:
Update: I've been worried about the Apex, and because I run a classic with the international EB6, I don't have that many options for new accessories. I was on the fence about going controller-free, or getting a 2016 apex brain to have as a spare, but in the event something happens to my apex, I don't think replacing it with another apex is much of a fix.

In light of this, I have ordered a GHL Profilux 4e with three of the new Powerbar 6.1e. Will probably be 4-6 weeks before it arrives and I have a chance to set it up.

Aside from this, the reef is really growing. I'm going through about 1/2 cup of calcium reactor media a week as well as replacing all evaporated water with saturated kalkwasser. I will post some photos later in the week.

Great to hear everything is going well. Looking forward for those delicious pictures

GHL has good and reliable reputation. Haven't used their new systems, but it seems they have made them more user friendly, which is always good. How are you dosing the kalkwasser?

bubblemytip · Mar 17, 2019

Kalk is dosed via the same kind of dosing pump I use for the calcium reactor - IKS Vario Blue 2. It is set to run with a few conditions: only when the calcium reactor isn't working (ie between 8pm and 10am), and only if the display's pH is < 8.5, and then it is controlled by several level switches. It is also restricted to run for 30 seconds 10x an hour. So there is very little chance of danger.

bubblemytip · Mar 17, 2019

Quick photo taken on the weekend

Hemmdog · Mar 17, 2019

bubblemytip said:
Quick photo taken on the weekend

Looks great man! Awesome build!

bubblemytip · Mar 17, 2019

Hemmdog said:
Looks great man! Awesome build!

Thanks!

Helfish · Mar 18, 2019

bubblemytip said:
Kalk is dosed via the same kind of dosing pump I use for the calcium reactor - IKS Vario Blue 2. It is set to run with a few conditions: only when the calcium reactor isn't working (ie between 8pm and 10am), and only if the display's pH is < 8.5, and then it is controlled by several level switches. It is also restricted to run for 30 seconds 10x an hour. So there is very little chance of danger.

I see, so you control the IKS doser currently with the apex and it is basically operating on/off cycle of the dosing pump? I'm setting up kalkwasser dosing as well, however i just got an single dosing pump to do the job. Now I'm pondering, how to add some safety controls to it. Your tank looking gorgeous, as usual.

bubblemytip · Mar 18, 2019

Helfish said:
I see, so you control the IKS doser currently with the apex and it is basically operating on/off cycle of the dosing pump? I'm setting up kalkwasser dosing as well, however i just got an single dosing pump to do the job. Now I'm pondering, how to add some safety controls to it. Your tank looking gorgeous, as usual.

Thanks. I’m going to use the Tunze 3155 osmolator with its switchable socket to control the IKS and then the ghl will be a backup control to that. Lots of options out there for the control required. If you’re going to use kalk, best to have some protections in place. I don’t use a stirrer, I just dose from a large container.

You could also dose a set volume of kalk per day (less than daily evaporation) and then run a freshwater ato separately.

Helfish · Mar 18, 2019

bubblemytip said:
Thanks. I’m going to use the Tunze 3155 osmolator with its switchable socket to control the IKS and then the ghl will be a backup control to that. Lots of options out there for the control required. If you’re going to use kalk, best to have some protections in place. I don’t use a stirrer, I just dose from a large container.

You could also dose a set volume of kalk per day (less than daily evaporation) and then run a freshwater ato separately.

Great tips, thanks! Seems like you have safe setup. I was initially looking the Tunze calsium dispenser 5074 https://www.tunze.com/fileadmin/gebrauchsanleitungen/x5074.8888.pdf
but I thought that might be too much kalkwasser dosing as the tank is still very young. Now I am planning to use a doser and pump kalk at night time only. Just would like some other protection also, but I do not have any controllers atm. Just need to do some more research I guess

bubblemytip · Apr 3, 2019

A few additions to install in the coming week - two Tunze 6040s and an Alkatronic.

The 6040s should add plenty of flow to the reef. In total, I'll have x3 stream 3s (all with flow rectifiers), a 6055, a 6095 and two 6040s. All controlled via a Tunze 7096. Hopefully no deadspots...

The Alkatronic should be a fun addition. Just going to use it as a monitor to begin with, and then I might use it to control my calcium reactor.

bubblemytip · Apr 24, 2019

Another quick photo. I moved the structure on the left to the left more so that I wouldn’t have to prune the tricolour acro just yet. [emoji28]

bubblemytip · May 9, 2019

A couple of quick photos. Everything is going well!

Still haven’t transitioned from the apex to ghl. But I have set up the GHL Profilux 4e and learning the programming and getting comfortable with it. So far it has been easy. Slight issue with the shipping of a couple of the powerbars that were damaged in transit but should be sorted in the next month or two.

Alkatronic is monitoring well too and I have linked it to the GHL. [emoji3526]

bubblemytip · May 26, 2019

I transferred my Apex gear today and did my best to make the wiring presentable. Had been using the P4e as a monitor only for a few weeks so I could get used to the programming. Then I just labelled all my equipment on the switches, programmed them (even did some double-programmable logic!), and it was a very easy switch! All done through the GHL connect App.

I have to say, it was much easier to manage the cables with the GHL than it was with the Apex.

bubblemytip · Nov 17, 2019

I should probably update this thread!

Things have continued to grow. My sixline wrasse unfortunately found a small gap in my screen top, so I will need to acquire another wrasse of some sort - maybe another sixline or a yellow coris.

This week I am upgrading my lighting from the GNC AM366 series to the GNC Bluray, so I will have approx 1,428 LEDs blanketing the reef which should further minimise shading issues.

Pics to follow.