Jason's 300 gallons of frustration and fun
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Radman73
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Radman73
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Wrasse is steadily improving. Still feeding a mix of LRS, pellets, selcon, focus, kanaplex, and a little garlic. Fins are growing back great with still a little redness on his left side close to the tail.
My wife is amazingly supportive of this hobby and how much I spend on it. Maybe until this past weekend. Not only did I bid(and win!) on some of LRO's eBay auctions, I also got sucked into my first live sale on this site lol! I had budgeted about $150 to get a few corals to QT in my 60 cube before I break it down, clean everything, move it, and set it back up. I think I'm closer to $300 right now with some WWC auctions to go! All good though, as we've all missed having some coral to look at. Putting them in the cube for 76 days since I'm only about 2 weeks into the fallow period for it anyway. I'll post pics when I get everything in!
My wife is amazingly supportive of this hobby and how much I spend on it. Maybe until this past weekend. Not only did I bid(and win!) on some of LRO's eBay auctions, I also got sucked into my first live sale on this site lol! I had budgeted about $150 to get a few corals to QT in my 60 cube before I break it down, clean everything, move it, and set it back up. I think I'm closer to $300 right now with some WWC auctions to go! All good though, as we've all missed having some coral to look at. Putting them in the cube for 76 days since I'm only about 2 weeks into the fallow period for it anyway. I'll post pics when I get everything in!
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Radman73
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@mcarroll Tagging you for Stream 3 feedback!
So, UPS brought me some good stuff today. 2 Stream 3's, a 3155 ATO, and a Kessil H380 for the fuge.
On the Stream 3. It is significantly smaller than I expected. I guess reading the dimensions online and breaking out the measuring tape would have helped lol! To me, it's rather small. It feels substantial though and not cheap, which it isn't.
Instructions are good. Make sure you really push the impeller assembly into the body. It took more force than I thought it would.
It's extremely quiet. If it wasn't for the debris storm it kicked up I wouldn't have thought that it was running and that was at full power. I can see the gyre patter it creates with just a single pump. I am unsure of placement. It was recommended to put both center of the back wall and point them in opposite directions. I'll probably put the second roughly opposite of where I have the first as eventually I'll probably move my MP40 in between them.
No corals yet so it'll be a while before I can speak to the effectiveness of the flow. Eventually they also be controlled by my Apex so that should help me. The hope is 2 Stream 3's and one MP40 will provide adequate flow for SPS. I'm impressed with its ability to wrap flow all the way around a 72x24 tank though!
So, UPS brought me some good stuff today. 2 Stream 3's, a 3155 ATO, and a Kessil H380 for the fuge.
On the Stream 3. It is significantly smaller than I expected. I guess reading the dimensions online and breaking out the measuring tape would have helped lol! To me, it's rather small. It feels substantial though and not cheap, which it isn't.
Instructions are good. Make sure you really push the impeller assembly into the body. It took more force than I thought it would.
It's extremely quiet. If it wasn't for the debris storm it kicked up I wouldn't have thought that it was running and that was at full power. I can see the gyre patter it creates with just a single pump. I am unsure of placement. It was recommended to put both center of the back wall and point them in opposite directions. I'll probably put the second roughly opposite of where I have the first as eventually I'll probably move my MP40 in between them.
No corals yet so it'll be a while before I can speak to the effectiveness of the flow. Eventually they also be controlled by my Apex so that should help me. The hope is 2 Stream 3's and one MP40 will provide adequate flow for SPS. I'm impressed with its ability to wrap flow all the way around a 72x24 tank though!
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Radman73
Valuable Member
Got the second Stream 3 installed. I now have no sand in my back corners lol! I think I need to move them more towards the center, lower, and then angle them up a little bit. I had been hoping to "hide" the cords by lining up the cord with the side of the overflow, but let's be honest, only fellow reefers notice or even care about the cords.
The Streams have also let me know how entirely inadequate my sand rinsing was. I probably needed at least another 3-4 hours of rinsing sand to avoid the cloud. Should be fixed by a quick change of the filter socks.
Fish seem to enjoy the increased flow. Yay. I'll have plenty of time to continue to play with them.
The Streams have also let me know how entirely inadequate my sand rinsing was. I probably needed at least another 3-4 hours of rinsing sand to avoid the cloud. Should be fixed by a quick change of the filter socks.
Fish seem to enjoy the increased flow. Yay. I'll have plenty of time to continue to play with them.
mcarroll
10K Club member
What???
Real reefers watch animals and pay no attention to anything else. (Are cord-watchers even human??!!)
Caring about cords is for manufacturers....and Tunze has worried about theirs sufficiently....even has an Urchin-guard on it!!
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Radman73
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What???
Real reefers watch animals and pay no attention to anything else. (Are cord-watchers even human??!!)
Caring about cords is for manufacturers....and Tunze has worried about theirs sufficiently....even has an Urchin-guard on it!!
Yeah, I stopped caring when I realized that when I viewed other people's tanks, I didn't notice the cords. The animals certainly don't.
I think I'll move rubble from the fuge to the back corners as that should help knock down the sand excavation as well.
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Radman73
Valuable Member
This is what I was going to say!
Any specific kind of feedback you were looking for on these besides they seem to be well made and, especially with a 5 year warranty, seem to be a value? I won't have corals in there for a couple of months plus.
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Radman73
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So, went into the garage this morning and saw an amber light on my chiller. First thought was, crap, it's broken. Only a clue bag like me would buy a chiller and not realize it has a heater built into it too. Especially when the front has the word "Heater" on it. So, the heater is apparently running lol!
How has the temp been? Running your chiller that you got online or is it regulating enough on its own in the Florida heat?
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Radman73
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Temp has been a non issue. Even when the power went out, temp only started climbing on day 4 or 5. Nothing was in the display at that point so pumps only ran when the generator ran. I have a marine battery to provide the backup power though. Max temp was 85 I believe. The chiller would have been able to help if I had plugged it in.
I think the Stream's are at least as effective as MP's on the ends, though I've never owned an MP60 to compare it to. It's definitely more useful than a MP40 on each end. With a single stream 3 water would circulate around the entire tank. With both you can that flow meets roughly in the middle of the tank front and circulates through the middle. Without corals it's difficult to tell how much flow the rock work is getting compared to flow right up next to the glass. My initial impression is that 2 Stream 3's will not be enough flow long term as corals are placed and start to fill in. That shouldn't be much of a surprise as their price is more equivalent to MP40's, two of which wouldn't be near enough flow either. I do feel two Stream 3's are adequate to start, something I wouldn't say for MP40's. I may augment with other, more directional pumps pointing from the upper back corners toward the angled opposite corner. a 6105 for instance in each corner pointing diagonally across would probably be all the additional flow required.
We'll see as I start adding corals. Unless there is a crazy sale on power heads Black Friday I don't plan on adding additional pumps until I see how these perform with corals in the tank.
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Radman73
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Not much to update. Been a tough time. Went away for a week and had to come home a day early due to my father in law succumbing to lymphoma. He was a great man who will be sorely missed.
My daughter had told me some algae was starting to grow and she was right. Ironically it's only growing in the cone of where the single light had been hung. I guess a small amount had established itself there. I was feeding heavily when treating my wrasse for a bacteria infection so that's the likely culprit. The GHA has been slowly fading to white over the last several days. At some point I'll need to reach in and start the manual removal process and I'll have to remind myself that I actually like the 30" depth lol. Probably go at it this weekend. For the most part, it appears it'll be dying out on its own. This is a fairly common stage of a new tank anyway. I'm actually encouraged that it's not continuing to spread and flourish.
The wrasse is doing great.
Lesson's learned from my week away? My 220 will consume about 10 gallons of top off in roughly 6 days. I need to mount the ATO controller where it's easier for a tank sitter to se it as my daughter had no idea it was out. I will move forward with my plan to run the ATO wiring through the wall to the garage and utilize a 32gal brute as the reservoir pumping up into the fuge. The I can run the ATO the reservoir and utilize a float to keep it filled. If the ATO reservoir overflows, it'll be noticed pretty quick in the garage and cause no real harm.
On the bright side, in the slight film algae on the glass it appears that I have a bazillion pods in the system. Yay. Or a bunch of fine particulate trapped in the hair of the algae. Boo. On the outside of the glass I'm finding it gets dirty very quick due to a young niece and nephew looking at the tank every time they come over. That's a definite yay.
Black Friday will be a tough decision day for me. Plan had been to splurge on a new Apex and/or package if they have any kind of sale/bundle. But the astronomy bug has bit me again and I can get a nice to great 8" scope from 1k to 1.6k. A new return is still a must and it will likely be a Fluval SP6. Decisions, decisions.
My daughter had told me some algae was starting to grow and she was right. Ironically it's only growing in the cone of where the single light had been hung. I guess a small amount had established itself there. I was feeding heavily when treating my wrasse for a bacteria infection so that's the likely culprit. The GHA has been slowly fading to white over the last several days. At some point I'll need to reach in and start the manual removal process and I'll have to remind myself that I actually like the 30" depth lol. Probably go at it this weekend. For the most part, it appears it'll be dying out on its own. This is a fairly common stage of a new tank anyway. I'm actually encouraged that it's not continuing to spread and flourish.
The wrasse is doing great.
Lesson's learned from my week away? My 220 will consume about 10 gallons of top off in roughly 6 days. I need to mount the ATO controller where it's easier for a tank sitter to se it as my daughter had no idea it was out. I will move forward with my plan to run the ATO wiring through the wall to the garage and utilize a 32gal brute as the reservoir pumping up into the fuge. The I can run the ATO the reservoir and utilize a float to keep it filled. If the ATO reservoir overflows, it'll be noticed pretty quick in the garage and cause no real harm.
On the bright side, in the slight film algae on the glass it appears that I have a bazillion pods in the system. Yay. Or a bunch of fine particulate trapped in the hair of the algae. Boo. On the outside of the glass I'm finding it gets dirty very quick due to a young niece and nephew looking at the tank every time they come over. That's a definite yay.
Black Friday will be a tough decision day for me. Plan had been to splurge on a new Apex and/or package if they have any kind of sale/bundle. But the astronomy bug has bit me again and I can get a nice to great 8" scope from 1k to 1.6k. A new return is still a must and it will likely be a Fluval SP6. Decisions, decisions.
Jim Harrison
Active Member
My condolences.
I'm waiting for Black Friday to pick up a controller and a different return pump. My current return only does 6x turnover and I need to bump up to 10x if I'm going to implement the Triton method. Also considering purchasing a store bought sump. I don't like the one I have (homemade).
I'm waiting for Black Friday to pick up a controller and a different return pump. My current return only does 6x turnover and I need to bump up to 10x if I'm going to implement the Triton method. Also considering purchasing a store bought sump. I don't like the one I have (homemade).
Tank looks pretty good!
I've got a SP6 on my 220, purchased last Black Friday, and am well pleased with it. It's pushing plenty of flow through two 3/4" returns, augmented by a brace of mid-sized Gyres - one at each end. When I feed my fish, I don't feed the tank - I feed the return pump, which then blasts food into every part of the display within a second or two - and the chase is on!
I also modified the pump's intake by creating a PVC elbow that pulls water from the bottom of the return section. I felt that the pump's intake was mounted a bit high for my taste, given the water level in my sump.
~Bruce
I've got a SP6 on my 220, purchased last Black Friday, and am well pleased with it. It's pushing plenty of flow through two 3/4" returns, augmented by a brace of mid-sized Gyres - one at each end. When I feed my fish, I don't feed the tank - I feed the return pump, which then blasts food into every part of the display within a second or two - and the chase is on!
I also modified the pump's intake by creating a PVC elbow that pulls water from the bottom of the return section. I felt that the pump's intake was mounted a bit high for my taste, given the water level in my sump.
~Bruce
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