commod0re's UNS R90 Build

[TheWB]

QT update: progress! Finally printed my aio insert

I designed a very simple and low-profile 2-chamber aio area for this. Not intending to put much equipment in here at all, just a heater, a small return pump, and a basic rim-mount ATO

I had already printed a 3-part lid as well, here it is dry fit:

This tank was most recently used as a planted terrarium and I haven’t cleaned the rest of that up yet, but, it was enough to ensure that everything fits so I’m happy. I’ll need to get some large pipe segments to put in for hides

Fluconazole update:
Yesterday I went over everything in my display tank with the siphon, didn’t take water out just siphoned through one of the filter socks and man so much came off so easily, seems like it’s really working! No pics because the lighting isn’t good for it right now but I’ll take some later today. There’s still some algae but it’s supposed to take 3 weeks so plenty of time left lol

Gear update: once again and as predicted I have already grown tired of squeezing filter socks, so I ordered a Nature Dimensions N-Clear M dual-unit fleece roller setup. I like that it requires no modifications to the sump+plumbing and if two ends up not being enough I can add a third into the third filter sock hole later. I think two will be enough though. Very excited about that.

Love the AIO insert. I'm following another thread where the guy made a completely 3d printed coast to coast AIO insert for a 40b. I really wish I had the time and patience to learn how to do 3d printing. Maybe someday but for now I don't even have anywhere to put one in addition to not having time to learn how to use it.

Glad to hear that the Fluconozole seems to be working.

I was thinking about trying one of the N-Clear fleece rollers because I haven't been able to make the Klir 7 work but that's due more to a design flaw in my AIO than it is the fault of the Klir7. I would have to modify my sock chamber for a N'Clear though because it's 7", I'd need a modified adaptor plate. Decided to go with a more simple solution and got a Nosok which seems to be working great. I'm even using lengths of the Klir fleece as an extra layer of filtration in the Nosok on the inside of the mesh screen that comes with it.

 

[commod0re]

Love the AIO insert. I'm following another thread where the guy made a completely 3d printed coast to coast AIO insert for a 40b. I really wish I had the time and patience to learn how to do 3d printing. Maybe someday but for now I don't even have anywhere to put one in addition to not having time to learn how to use it.

Glad to hear that the Fluconozole seems to be working.

I was thinking about trying one of the N-Clear fleece rollers because I haven't been able to make the Klir 7 work but that's due more to a design flaw in my AIO than it is the fault of the Klir7. I would have to modify my sock chamber for a N'Clear though because it's 7", I'd need a modified adaptor plate. Decided to go with a more simple solution and got a Nosok which seems to be working great. I'm even using lengths of the Klir fleece as an extra layer of filtration in the Nosok on the inside of the mesh screen that comes with it.

They do sell an adapter for 7” sock chambers for like $15 that might work for you, and it looks like if that wouldn’t work they’ll even do a custom one for $25

I considered a nosok as an intermediate solution, and they do look pretty nice but I just like how infrequent roller maintenance is lol

 

[commod0re]

Algae progress pics

Zoas are beginning to re-emerge

Bonus koosh being cute and wiggly

 

[Char.toombes]

Yes I am sure it was the right level, things seem more stable, I haven’t had to fiddle with the gate valve at all and it seems like my ATO usage rate has stabilized

I have a Jebao DCP-5000 in there and run it at 45%

Not to hijack the OP, but I was curious as to what made you choose the DCP-5000. I sized my return at 3x the tank volume running at 80% and went with the DCP-2500. Still haven’t gotten to setup everything yet so if I want to do exchanges i still have time.

 

[commod0re]

Not to hijack the OP, but I was curious as to what made you choose the DCP-5000. I sized my return at 3x the tank volume running at 80% and went with the DCP-2500. Still haven’t gotten to setup everything yet so if I want to do exchanges i still have time.

No big reason really, I wanted to have headroom to potentially add a UV or something else down the line

 

[commod0re]

OK well the algae didn’t completely subside after the full treatment, and it seems to be back to full strength as well… so that’s a bummer. I’ve seen some people on here say they tried a second round at double dose but I couldn’t find anyone who came back again after that to report whether or not it worked… so I guess I’ll have to try it myself and find out lol

aside from that my new fleece rollers arrived this week finally! I’ve spent the last couple of days working through improving the setup because I have already found some interesting problems to overcome

So first thing’s first: 2 rollers is the max without making bigger changes. The drain into the sump dumps water directly over the middle of the first filter sock hole so a roller can’t physically fit there. I 3D printed a plug for that hole and installed the rollers in 2 and 3 so that problem is solved.

Second problem: the rubber mount things don’t seal well at all on this filter sock holder. I think that part of that us because of the third problem, and part of it is just the shape of the sock holes doesn’t match the shape of the rubber thing very well and so it just can’t seal no matter how mucb you play with it. I’m going to try to print something to help with this.

Third problem: the filter sock holder is kinda weak. It’s just a 15 inch long piece of 7.8mm thick acrylic and it’s only suported on the two short edges… when you put fleece rollers on it, it sags noticeably! Not only that but it’s not a super snug fit so water can leak out around the edges. I printed some rails that snap onto the edges to fill the gap and add some rigidity. It works well, holds the holder mostly flat with the weight of the rollers, but I think I am going to tweak it a bit more to get a little more rigidity out of it

Fourth problem: it’s kinda loud! Water comes in now onto the plug over the first sock hole, it splashes. I’ll CAD and print something for this once I have all the leak paths fixed. I’m debating between a simple ramp, or something that can also conveniently hold a media bag of activated carbon

Fifth problem: the sock chamber has these emergency drain vents a little above the holder, which bypass the filter socks/rollers, to prevent the filter sock chamber above the socks from overflowing but some of the water that comes out of the drain immediately splashes through the first one, that water bypasses the fleece and contributes to noise so I’m going to plug it and leave the other 2 open

Really none of those issues reflect on the rollers themselves, rather just the specific combination of them and my sump. No big deal really

The rollers themselves seem pretty nice. Even with the bit of bypass-leaking I’m working on fixing the submerged fleece _is_ starting to discolor so it’s working. Since I have such a low bioload I expect it will take longer than usual to calibrate the sensor height… so I’m going to do some algae cleanup today to accelerate it a bit lol

 

[commod0re]

I discovered this morning that one of the rollers was bound up from the chunk of algae I chucked into it and it was starting to stretch the fleece out like taffy… whoops lol

I decided to go with the media cup idea and am iterating on a design that’s working decently well. Here’s the version I printed last night, which is the second prototype version

This time I have the central ramp height in a good spot. It catches the water perfectly. However the water still splashes with nothing in there and it’s pretty noisy, so I’m definitely not done yet

With a media bag of activated carbon in place though it works pretty well! But this also is not yet perfect, if I push the carbon all the way in it doesn’t drain fast enough so it backs up and overflows. Same thing if I just let the empty part of the mesh bag stay in the cup lol.

I started prototype 3 printing a bit ago. Next one is a bit wider, so the carbon and mesh bag can spread out a little more and be less restrictive. I also added a “ski jump” water cushion to the base of the cup which I hope will reduce the noise level when there’s no media in there. We shall see in about 2.5 more hours lol