Yeh, rimless is nice, but for a bedroom tank, it's unnecessary for me. I'm trying to decide if I want a canopy on it or not since the light that will go over it is a GHL Mitras 7206. Just gotta see what it looks like aesthetically before I pull the trigger on building a canopy.
The problem I see with the noopsyche and smatfarm for this tank is the layout (specifically the spread between the two pucks). I had to move the AI Primes about 14" apart to get rid of the center hotspot and light the outer areas of the tank. You can't really do that with the Noops and the Smatfarm.
Wow thank you so much for this! I will have my dad help me with these modifications - I want to start the tank with the best filtration possible instead of trying to fix it later on.So, the stock filtration is a poor design (Talking about Media AND Chamber design), BUT it can be fixed. My Recommendation is to get the InTank Media Baskets or the 3Deep ones, the 3Deep are supposedly better, but they only ship from England so transit time and shipping will put them about $20 over the InTank option. Also, get yourself 2 pieces of plexiglass or acrylic, as well as some silicone, and you'll want to reinforce the AIO chambers. As this tank stands, water leaks in from everywhere and has no clear "path". It's easy to correct when the tank is dry, but after you fill it, you either have to drain it or just live with it.
The problem stems from 2 places, 1st and probably the biggest issue is that water can seep in from everywhere because it's not totally sealed. This is where the silicone comes into play, you can view the diagram below. Problem 2 stems from their use of Sponge Baskets, they opted to perforate the sides of the filter chambers to allow water to flow willy-nilly into them, which isn't good. Problem 2 is where the Plexi-glass and some more silicone comes in. You want to block the perforations to force water to have to go through just the top 2, into the next chamber (the filter media chamber), let it flow down through your filter media, and out of the bottom into the return chamber. This will make the filtration as good as it can be.
The green is the most critical part to be sealed, you could also seal the filtration area as well if you were so inclined. The pink boxes show you where the perforations are, they run the entire length of the sponge filter boxes. The InTanks try to correct this by creating a shielding to force more water up, but water is still able to get in and go down, which sort of defeats the purpose, by blocking the perforations you're making life easier on yourself and the water flow path.
Personally, these are the mods I've made to mine:
Kraken Lid
2x AI Prime HD
Sicce Syncra SDC 3.0 Return Pump
IceCap K1-Nano Protein Skimmer
InTank Media Baskets
And since I already did the Sicce SDC pump, I opted to go with the Sicce XStream SDC wavemakers so that they're all controlled via the same app (feed time I can shut off all pumps in one app instead of needing 2).
As far as beginner corals, the short answer is yes, you can keep softies, some LPS, and NPS under the Marine 3.0 Lights, BUT you have to place them higher up typically (Middle of tank and higher). This means if you ever do upgrade your lights, you'll likely have to move them down to the bottom 3rd most likely. Just something to consider.
I think that's awesome that you have the tank in your daughter's room - my dad is the one who got me into the hobby.
I kept freshwater tanks since I was 5 or 6, but this is my first time delving into saltwater. Fishkeeping is something my dad and I share to this day!
Ok - looking at this again in preparation for sealing the areas you recommended. I can't tell where exactly you are saying to install the plexiglass - can you explain a little more? Also, I took your advice and got an InTank basket for one side. Will probably add another one later.So, the stock filtration is a poor design (Talking about Media AND Chamber design), BUT it can be fixed. My Recommendation is to get the InTank Media Baskets or the 3Deep ones, the 3Deep are supposedly better, but they only ship from England so transit time and shipping will put them about $20 over the InTank option. Also, get yourself 2 pieces of plexiglass or acrylic, as well as some silicone, and you'll want to reinforce the AIO chambers. As this tank stands, water leaks in from everywhere and has no clear "path". It's easy to correct when the tank is dry, but after you fill it, you either have to drain it or just live with it.
The problem stems from 2 places, 1st and probably the biggest issue is that water can seep in from everywhere because it's not totally sealed. This is where the silicone comes into play, you can view the diagram below. Problem 2 stems from their use of Sponge Baskets, they opted to perforate the sides of the filter chambers to allow water to flow willy-nilly into them, which isn't good. Problem 2 is where the Plexi-glass and some more silicone comes in. You want to block the perforations to force water to have to go through just the top 2, into the next chamber (the filter media chamber), let it flow down through your filter media, and out of the bottom into the return chamber. This will make the filtration as good as it can be.
The green is the most critical part to be sealed, you could also seal the filtration area as well if you were so inclined. The pink boxes show you where the perforations are, they run the entire length of the sponge filter boxes. The InTanks try to correct this by creating a shielding to force more water up, but water is still able to get in and go down, which sort of defeats the purpose, by blocking the perforations you're making life easier on yourself and the water flow path.
Personally, these are the mods I've made to mine:
Kraken Lid
2x AI Prime HD
Sicce Syncra SDC 3.0 Return Pump
IceCap K1-Nano Protein Skimmer
InTank Media Baskets
And since I already did the Sicce SDC pump, I opted to go with the Sicce XStream SDC wavemakers so that they're all controlled via the same app (feed time I can shut off all pumps in one app instead of needing 2).
As far as beginner corals, the short answer is yes, you can keep softies, some LPS, and NPS under the Marine 3.0 Lights, BUT you have to place them higher up typically (Middle of tank and higher). This means if you ever do upgrade your lights, you'll likely have to move them down to the bottom 3rd most likely. Just something to consider.
The pink boxes that say perforated is where the Plexi goes, cover all but the top 2 perforations, the green line is the line you need to make sure is sealed fully, most of the time water is only coming in from the bottom right and left sides of the green line, but there have been a few where it's all over so...:
Ok great, thank you - I think I got it now.The pink boxes that say perforated is where the Plexi goes, cover all but the top 2 perforations, the green line is the line you need to make sure is sealed fully, most of the time water is only coming in from the bottom right and left sides of the green line, but there have been a few where it's all over so...:
Just fyi, I know quite a few people using the other filter chamber for a reactor, usually GFO or something along those lines. So a 2nd InTank isn't necessary per se. It will depend on what your bioload looks like and what you're having trouble managing. I'm fine on Nitrates and Phosphates with 2 InTanks, but I dose NoPoX regularly (creates more coral food).
Yeah I figured I'd just keep the stock filter cartridge in one side until I decide to/need to do something different. Also plan on using the included biomedia in there for a quarantine tank after my tank has finished cycling. I'm going to use MarinePure ceramic biospheres in the InTank.
