ReefingCanuk
New Member
My journey with this tank has been equal parts fun and challenging. It has some great features, but frustrating ones too. So let me share my journey and see where this take us.
EQUIPMENT: I got all the options; Fluval PS1 Protein Skimmer, second Fluval LED Bluetooth light, and Fluval CP3 Power Head. I changed the circulation pump to the Sicce Syncra 1.5 for some better flow. I adjusted the light's "auto" mode to keep the whites at about 25% and longer sunrise / sunset. Also changed one carbon filter out for a ChemiPure bag.
STARTUP: Got it going with 38lbs of live rock, aragonite sand, and Seapora water. I've been VERY lucky with my startup. It cycled fast, helped to the next step with some hermits and a snail at first then a pair of clowns. First algae bloom was quickly handled by adding a scopus tang, and only adjustment was to bring pH and alkalinity up using AquaVitro 8.4. Surprisingly a few mushroom corals hitch hiked on my live rock and bloomed quickly. Nice indicator on water quality!
CURRENT STATUS: Five weeks in and the dual clowns and solo tang now keep company with some zoas, a green goddess, a red plate, a kenyan tree, a GSP mat trying to grow across the back, an anthelia by the cave, and the start of a euphyllia garden. All very small frags, but they are open and happy with water parameters holding. Like I said, LUCKY! Pressing the pause button on adding any more until I am sure everyone is happy. Most coral are still on their plugs for some fine adjustment moving before making a permanent home.
CHALLENGES:
HEAT - The has been the single biggest challenge that has now been vanquished. With all those motors and double lights and a lid holding in all the heat it was a struggle to keep it below 80. Fluval design engineers missed this by a mile. I tried many different things, including removing the back flap and feeding door and putting ice packs in the back when it was hitting 80. It was driving me CRAZY! I had to watch it all day. So this led me to my first hack. Instead of buying a $700 chiller I built my own cooling system. I got 2x 80mm variable speed DC fans on Amazon for $20 (AC Infinity meant to cool down your PlayStation). Using a door hole saw drill bit I carefully cut two holes in the removeable back flap. Then I used the foam packaging the fans came in to cut some seals for the base of where the fan would sit fixed with some hot glue to provide a seal so they only pulled air out of the aquarium.
How did it work? I ran them at medium speed (almost completely silent) for half a day and it worked....too well! I was now at the point where the heater needed to come on. Ugg! SOLUTION? I now run everything on a schedule. Using a Geeni smart power bar I setup a schedule on my phone. Protein Skimmer runs from 10pm through 8am and the Power Head the opposite. This reduces the heat being generated, plus the skimmer is noisy and the tank is in the main living area, so this was to keep other house residents happy. With the ChemiPure I don't need the skimmer on 24/7, and the power head being on break from 10pm to 8am gave the fish a more relaxing sleep. Next I set the fans to come on from 11am through 8pm and are set to the low speed. I also put the heater on an Inkbird sensor so I can check the temp no matter where I am, get a temp trend chart, and have the added safety of an emergency off if the heater fails on (best $50 spent). All of this has worked like a charm - tank is always between 76 and 78.
OTHER challenges? Micro bubbles from the PS1 Skimmer. It took about 3 weeks for the skimmer to break in and not dump microbubbles everywhere. I wedged a microfibre cloth against the side seam of the skimmer where the bubbles were getting out and that reduced it by half. Only breaking in fixed the issue. I once cleaned the cup really well and it started all over again, so I now keep the bottom of the cup with a nice layer of slim to keep the big bubbles going.
So that was been the start up. I'm thinking I should patent my cooling and automation system and sell it to Fluval!
Here are some pic, I will work on getting better ones as the tank starts to mature.
EQUIPMENT: I got all the options; Fluval PS1 Protein Skimmer, second Fluval LED Bluetooth light, and Fluval CP3 Power Head. I changed the circulation pump to the Sicce Syncra 1.5 for some better flow. I adjusted the light's "auto" mode to keep the whites at about 25% and longer sunrise / sunset. Also changed one carbon filter out for a ChemiPure bag.
STARTUP: Got it going with 38lbs of live rock, aragonite sand, and Seapora water. I've been VERY lucky with my startup. It cycled fast, helped to the next step with some hermits and a snail at first then a pair of clowns. First algae bloom was quickly handled by adding a scopus tang, and only adjustment was to bring pH and alkalinity up using AquaVitro 8.4. Surprisingly a few mushroom corals hitch hiked on my live rock and bloomed quickly. Nice indicator on water quality!
CURRENT STATUS: Five weeks in and the dual clowns and solo tang now keep company with some zoas, a green goddess, a red plate, a kenyan tree, a GSP mat trying to grow across the back, an anthelia by the cave, and the start of a euphyllia garden. All very small frags, but they are open and happy with water parameters holding. Like I said, LUCKY! Pressing the pause button on adding any more until I am sure everyone is happy. Most coral are still on their plugs for some fine adjustment moving before making a permanent home.
CHALLENGES:
HEAT - The has been the single biggest challenge that has now been vanquished. With all those motors and double lights and a lid holding in all the heat it was a struggle to keep it below 80. Fluval design engineers missed this by a mile. I tried many different things, including removing the back flap and feeding door and putting ice packs in the back when it was hitting 80. It was driving me CRAZY! I had to watch it all day. So this led me to my first hack. Instead of buying a $700 chiller I built my own cooling system. I got 2x 80mm variable speed DC fans on Amazon for $20 (AC Infinity meant to cool down your PlayStation). Using a door hole saw drill bit I carefully cut two holes in the removeable back flap. Then I used the foam packaging the fans came in to cut some seals for the base of where the fan would sit fixed with some hot glue to provide a seal so they only pulled air out of the aquarium.
How did it work? I ran them at medium speed (almost completely silent) for half a day and it worked....too well! I was now at the point where the heater needed to come on. Ugg! SOLUTION? I now run everything on a schedule. Using a Geeni smart power bar I setup a schedule on my phone. Protein Skimmer runs from 10pm through 8am and the Power Head the opposite. This reduces the heat being generated, plus the skimmer is noisy and the tank is in the main living area, so this was to keep other house residents happy. With the ChemiPure I don't need the skimmer on 24/7, and the power head being on break from 10pm to 8am gave the fish a more relaxing sleep. Next I set the fans to come on from 11am through 8pm and are set to the low speed. I also put the heater on an Inkbird sensor so I can check the temp no matter where I am, get a temp trend chart, and have the added safety of an emergency off if the heater fails on (best $50 spent). All of this has worked like a charm - tank is always between 76 and 78.
OTHER challenges? Micro bubbles from the PS1 Skimmer. It took about 3 weeks for the skimmer to break in and not dump microbubbles everywhere. I wedged a microfibre cloth against the side seam of the skimmer where the bubbles were getting out and that reduced it by half. Only breaking in fixed the issue. I once cleaned the cup really well and it started all over again, so I now keep the bottom of the cup with a nice layer of slim to keep the big bubbles going.
So that was been the start up. I'm thinking I should patent my cooling and automation system and sell it to Fluval!
Here are some pic, I will work on getting better ones as the tank starts to mature.
