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Double or Nothing... AJ's 405-Gallon Reef Savvy Upgrade
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- Thread starter Stylo328
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joseserrano
2500 Club Member
awesome build.
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Stylo328
Active Member
Thank you so much!
Thanks for the compliment.
Appreciate the affirmation. I really tried to enjoy the build.
More pics when I figure out how to get rid of these darned bubbles!!!
They are coming, promise.
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Stylo328
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Thanks everyone for all of the kind words. I have to say that I hate micro bubbles!!!! I am losing the battle and the war!
As you can hopefully see from the photos, they are everywhere! I relocated the skimmer, tuned the drains, set the Vectra's low, then high, then somewhere in the middle, then a combination thereof. I have added filter floss to the baffles along with three layers of pond filter media and still the tank is filled with the bubbles.
I have undone and redone the true union ball valves, applied silicone to the PVC joints and still the bubbles persist. I am at a complete loss of what else to do. Living with them is not an option.
Add to that, I had an issue with the reeflink where the lights on the unit turned white and red and it stopped working. A quick phone call to ecotech and they walked me through reformatting the SD card and it seems to be working again. I had to disconnect two of the MP40s and reconnect them in order for the schedule to take.
This week the tank had caught me every step, still no regrets. Although I do miss how well tuned he 187 was. It was on complete auto pilot.
On a more positive note, all of the fish that were recently added seem to be doing well and everyone is feeding on hikari brine infused with metroplex and focus along with PE mysis (a few fish had whit stringy stools).
If you have any suggestions on the microbubbles, I am all ears.
As you can hopefully see from the photos, they are everywhere! I relocated the skimmer, tuned the drains, set the Vectra's low, then high, then somewhere in the middle, then a combination thereof. I have added filter floss to the baffles along with three layers of pond filter media and still the tank is filled with the bubbles.
I have undone and redone the true union ball valves, applied silicone to the PVC joints and still the bubbles persist. I am at a complete loss of what else to do. Living with them is not an option.
Add to that, I had an issue with the reeflink where the lights on the unit turned white and red and it stopped working. A quick phone call to ecotech and they walked me through reformatting the SD card and it seems to be working again. I had to disconnect two of the MP40s and reconnect them in order for the schedule to take.
This week the tank had caught me every step, still no regrets. Although I do miss how well tuned he 187 was. It was on complete auto pilot.
On a more positive note, all of the fish that were recently added seem to be doing well and everyone is feeding on hikari brine infused with metroplex and focus along with PE mysis (a few fish had whit stringy stools).
If you have any suggestions on the microbubbles, I am all ears.
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Stylo328
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locito277
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Thanks everyone for all of the kind words. I have to say that I hate micro bubbles!!!! I am losing the battle and the war!
As you can hopefully see from the photos, they are everywhere! I relocated the skimmer, tuned the drains, set the Vectra's low, then high, then somewhere in the middle, then a combination thereof. I have added filter floss to the baffles along with three layers of pond filter media and still the tank is filled with the bubbles.
I have undone and redone the true union ball valves, applied silicone to the PVC joints and still the bubbles persist. I am at a complete loss of what else to do. Living with them is not an option.
Add to that, I had an issue with the reeflink where the lights on the unit turned white and red and it stopped working. A quick phone call to ecotech and they walked me through reformatting the SD card and it seems to be working again. I had to disconnect two of the MP40s and reconnect them in order for the schedule to take.
This week the tank had caught me every step, still no regrets. Although I do miss how well tuned he 187 was. It was on complete auto pilot.
On a more positive note, all of the fish that were recently added seem to be doing well and everyone is feeding on hikari brine infused with metroplex and focus along with PE mysis (a few fish had whit stringy stools).
If you have any suggestions on the microbubbles, I am all ears.
I know a way to keep,those bubbles from ever bothering you again! I'll keep the tank lol! Looking great! Btw I'm staying next to the Alamo. It's gone :-/
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I think I have said it before the way the intakes are on the vectras would be my guess I had a problem with my m1 that caused micro bubbles the other thing to do is wait a week or so and if there is any leaks in the pipes u will see salt creep
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Stylo328
Active Member
It's been a while since my last update and there are a few changes to note.
For starters, in an attempt to address the microbubble situation, I redid all of the intake plumbing for both Vectras. I took the pumps apart to check the impellers for any debris and to make sure that the o-rings were properly seated. I also removed several layers of the Matala pond filter pads, lowering the water level in the sump and increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the bubble traps. I also swapped the Vectras and plumbing from one return to the other to isolate if it is a pump issue. While not 100% gone, the bubbles are 90% better. And the ones that remain continue to come from the right side of the tank. I will take another crack at finding the air leak this weekend.
After manually dosing for a few weeks, I finally got the MTC ProCal up and running with the aquarium plants.com CarbonDoser. I chose to use reborn in the main chamber and ARM in the second chamber. I have the CarbonDoser set to 6 psi with 6 seconds between bubbles. I've been testing alk twice daily and it is holding constant. I tried adding a second PH probe to the Apex, but that was a fail. As soon as I plug the second probe in the second port, the main port goes out of whack. I'm going to give Neptune a call as I was unable to find a remedy online. Worst case scenario I will add a PM1.
Speaking of PH; with a full house, wife, kids, dogs, etc... PH has been ranging from 7.7 at night to a high of 8.1 during the day. Having had good results with kalk on the 187, I added a PM Nielsen reactor online with the ATO. Just got it plumbed last night.
I'm optimistic this will help. Also looking to add a refugium to the same end. I am evaluating lighting options now to maximize growth while keeping heat down. May end up going with a Kessil purple light, but also considering the radion fresh water version. Happy to hear your thoughts.
Here are a few pictures of the aquascape for the fuge.
I've added a few fish since he last update. Two rainfordi gobies, a pair of onyx Picasso clowns, a labouti fairy wrasse, blue sided fairy wrasse, Japanese four line wrasse, and a rosy scaled fairy wrasse. All are eating and I have seen no sign of disease. I had to trap and remove the four line as he was an absolute terror, attacking the rosy scale and mystery wrasse ceaselessly. He is now in the sump, pending return to the LFS.
Here are a few random photos, including one of the clowns who have chosen the orange galaxea as their host.
For starters, in an attempt to address the microbubble situation, I redid all of the intake plumbing for both Vectras. I took the pumps apart to check the impellers for any debris and to make sure that the o-rings were properly seated. I also removed several layers of the Matala pond filter pads, lowering the water level in the sump and increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the bubble traps. I also swapped the Vectras and plumbing from one return to the other to isolate if it is a pump issue. While not 100% gone, the bubbles are 90% better. And the ones that remain continue to come from the right side of the tank. I will take another crack at finding the air leak this weekend.
After manually dosing for a few weeks, I finally got the MTC ProCal up and running with the aquarium plants.com CarbonDoser. I chose to use reborn in the main chamber and ARM in the second chamber. I have the CarbonDoser set to 6 psi with 6 seconds between bubbles. I've been testing alk twice daily and it is holding constant. I tried adding a second PH probe to the Apex, but that was a fail. As soon as I plug the second probe in the second port, the main port goes out of whack. I'm going to give Neptune a call as I was unable to find a remedy online. Worst case scenario I will add a PM1.
Speaking of PH; with a full house, wife, kids, dogs, etc... PH has been ranging from 7.7 at night to a high of 8.1 during the day. Having had good results with kalk on the 187, I added a PM Nielsen reactor online with the ATO. Just got it plumbed last night.
I'm optimistic this will help. Also looking to add a refugium to the same end. I am evaluating lighting options now to maximize growth while keeping heat down. May end up going with a Kessil purple light, but also considering the radion fresh water version. Happy to hear your thoughts.
Here are a few pictures of the aquascape for the fuge.
I've added a few fish since he last update. Two rainfordi gobies, a pair of onyx Picasso clowns, a labouti fairy wrasse, blue sided fairy wrasse, Japanese four line wrasse, and a rosy scaled fairy wrasse. All are eating and I have seen no sign of disease. I had to trap and remove the four line as he was an absolute terror, attacking the rosy scale and mystery wrasse ceaselessly. He is now in the sump, pending return to the LFS.
Here are a few random photos, including one of the clowns who have chosen the orange galaxea as their host.
dragon99
2500 Club Member
Looking good!
I don't have a refugium, but if I get one put together it will have this light:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/d...s-mixed-reef-build.241805/page-8#post-2888977
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-should-i-proceed-with-my-triton-refugium.260955/#post-3099631
I don't have a refugium, but if I get one put together it will have this light:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/d...s-mixed-reef-build.241805/page-8#post-2888977
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-should-i-proceed-with-my-triton-refugium.260955/#post-3099631
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Looks great!
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