jcolliii's IM25 Lagoon journey - MASTERTRONIC up and running!

jcolliii

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 9, 2020
Messages
1,030
Reaction score
1,768
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
7-29-20-FTS.jpg

Most current FTS: 7/29/2020. See page 2 or 3 for the switchover to the IM lagoon.

I've been a member here since 2010, but my old email address is no longer valid, and I think I only had maybe 15 posts anyhow. This tank has been running for 3 years, but this past year it had hard times due to my using all of my available time to apply for tenure. Now that that is done, and I've lost a bunch of corals, it's time to get this back into shape. My original build thread is here. But because this is now a total reboot (new aquascape and all) I thought I'd start a new one.

This tank started out as a standard 16g LED biocube. I wanted more power and more control over the color and lighting schedule, so I installed a dual Nanobox retrofit in the stock hood after removing the stock emitter board. I feel like I have been sorta nervous about the settings and probably have had them way too low in the past as well. Anyhow, you can see all that retrofit stuff in the old thread if you're interested.

I wasn't really happy with how the original scape looked either. Too much rock, too much sand bed hidden, and the entire left side was just too busy. Here is what it looked like shortly after initial set up. Nothing fancy, no skimmer, an MJ1200 in back with a 50w heater, carbon in a bag and some filter floss. Had some pretty nice corals, so grew pretty well, others not so much - again, I kept the light too low, I think.

1-10-17.jpg

FTS 1-9-17

So this winter break, I took what was still alive out, cleaned i all well (had some sort of nasty thick rubbery layered buildup on most of the rocks - really fleshy, but not smelly. All I can think of was a mat of dinos and cyano. Anyhow, I took the tank down to nothing, cleaned it out, scrubbed off the rock as best I could with a toothbrush, took some of the rock apart, and came up with a much more minimalist scape. I have three larger shelves in the new scape and one small one up top. The rocks are held together with a superglue-two-part epoxy sandwich, and are bonded to the back wall with regular old Gorilla glue. Yes, it really is reef safe. This is the fourth aquascape that I have used it in. I have always let it cure for at least 24 hours and have never had a problem with it. I used a hacksaw and flattened the back of my shelf pieces, and then glued them to the back of the biocube while it was on its back following a good thorough clean. All surfaces were as dry as I could make them. i propped the rock up with pieces of rock and the glue bottles as I glued them down. I really had to work to pull the old rockscape off the back of the tank, so I am not concerned with the rockwork pulling away from the back wall. I don't know if this would work with a glass back wall because of how smooth glass is.

Anyhow, here is what the new scape looks like now. It is much more open, there are no dead spots for any detritus to collect, and the hermit crabs cannot get on the rockwork to take food from the corals.

1-9-20.jpg


1-9-20-front.jpg


Unfortunately, I didn't manage to save too much. The grandis are still going strong, but have been badly browned. I located an interstellar mushroom that was in a crack, it's now starting to get bigger. And a small piece of birdsnest in two small spots managed to hang on. It's starting to green back up. One of the cyphastreas has a couple patches of polyps left that seem to be coming back and the favites is pale but recovering. I added a small plug of AOGs (had those in a previous setup and they were basically bulletproof) and a really vibrant deep green finger leather of some sort (Sinularia I think). Both are doing well, along with the aquacultured orchid dottyback that I have in there now.

The plan is mostly LPS and palys with maybe a couple SPS up top. Just ordered an autotopoff from autotopoff.com to keep the salinity a bit more stable. The sand will be mostly empty except for either an elegance or a platygyra if I can find a nice small mounded one somewhere. Will probably add one more fish - probably a damsel (no dang clowns), and maybe a fire shrimp. Have started feeding a bit more to get the nitrates elevated a bit and try to get some color back into things.

I need to build a better, more functional stand. All of the biocube stands available look rubbish IMO, so I will probably build something. No plan for a fuge or sump, but I probably will do a chaeto reactor underneath with the red flexible led strips that folks have been using with good success. Thinking of something simple and sleek - maybe gloss white with a zebrawood door. Dunno yet.

Anyhow, that's it for now I suppose.
 
Last edited:

El_Guapo13

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 21, 2019
Messages
1,800
Reaction score
4,227
Location
Greater Houston area
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Love the tank. Also love that you linked the old thread, as I have a 16 Biocube, so if/when I decide to upgrade the lights, it will be a great help seeing how you retrofitted the upgraded lights to the hood for reference.

Also welcome (back) to R2R!!!
giphy.gif
 
OP
OP
jcolliii

jcolliii

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 9, 2020
Messages
1,030
Reaction score
1,768
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thanks guys!

Just curious El Guapo - as you have a BC 16 as well, what sort of stand do you have it on? My very first AIO that I got into the hobby with back around 2005 or so - I found a 18" wide granite top vessel vanity at home dumpster - it was black and had a black 'granite' top on it - it was perfect. Rock solid and relatively cheap. They do not carry that one any more and the ones they have now are crap. Anyway - just curious.
 

El_Guapo13

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 21, 2019
Messages
1,800
Reaction score
4,227
Location
Greater Houston area
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thanks guys!

Just curious El Guapo - as you have a BC 16 as well, what sort of stand do you have it on? My very first AIO that I got into the hobby with back around 2005 or so - I found a 18" wide granite top vessel vanity at home dumpster - it was black and had a black 'granite' top on it - it was perfect. Rock solid and relatively cheap. They do not carry that one any more and the ones they have now are crap. Anyway - just curious.
Just the standard Corallife Biocube 16 stand. Haven't hand any problems with it. And I can probably fit a 5 gallon ATO reservoir underneath it if/when I ever decide to get one...or have the extra money to buy an ATO system lol. Mostly that money thing.
 
OP
OP
jcolliii

jcolliii

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 9, 2020
Messages
1,030
Reaction score
1,768
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
And holy smokes, did reef controllers go up in price. Makes me wish I didn't get rid of my old Apex...
 
OP
OP
jcolliii

jcolliii

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 9, 2020
Messages
1,030
Reaction score
1,768
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Got an ATO in the mail this week for install this weekend. Also got this in and installed today...

pump1.jpeg


pump2.jpeg


Super easy to set up and was making pretty good oscillatory flow in minutes. Have it turned down to approximately half and on the sine setting, it does not blow my sand around - which is what I want. First impression is that the quality is pretty good, and it is really quiet. Like I can't hear it over the sound of my return pump. I may need a quieter return pump. Anyhow, no pics in tank, lights are off now, but will try to get a shot tomorrow. Really small compared to the suction cup mount powerhead I had in there.
 
OP
OP
jcolliii

jcolliii

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 9, 2020
Messages
1,030
Reaction score
1,768
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Love the new pump - can't say enough good things about it. It is dead silent, it's got a limited footprint in the tank, and it moves a lot of water. I like the night mode a lot too... cuts the flow in half so the fish can sleep a bit easier using an optical sensor. I keep it on half flow with about a 5-6 second sine wave.

All parameters still in check (they were when I had neglected the tank too oddly enough). Even with the heavier feedings, I'm still at 0 nitrates. Things are starting to color back up, but getting the sweet spot with these LED's is tough because I went with the Duo retrofit kit to keep the light spread out - so for my little 16, I'm always scared of overwhelming everything with too much light. I've dialed the whites way back to only around 25% during the day, and the blues are up around 65%, violets around 60 and the cyan (which I don't particularly care for) around 30%. I suppose I need to rent BRS par meter to really get this dialed in.

Starting to see some growth again as well. The AOGs popped a couple new babies off, the cyphastrea polyps that were left after my crash are spreading and starting to color back up - I can see fluorescence again, and my favites is showing some nice green rings again.

So, it's time to get this thing stocked back up. Bid on several things on WWC's auctions tonight. I let one go that I'm kicking myself in the butt about, but the main one that I really wanted is the lavender platygyra - it's going to make a great looking colony.

Tonight's haul - quite a few platys...
WWC_lavender_platygyra.jpg


WWC_cosmos_platygyra.jpg


WWC_bicolor_platygyra.jpg


WWC_fried_circuit_platygyra.jpg
 
OP
OP
jcolliii

jcolliii

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 9, 2020
Messages
1,030
Reaction score
1,768
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Anyone ever make plug 'blanks' out of cement and something porus - perlite maybe?

I don't care for the bulge in colonies that you let grow out where the original plug was as they encrust. I was thinking that a nice way to get that rounded brain coral look would be to make some blanks in the shape of a brain coral (semicircular) with a frag plug sized hole in them so that the plug could just be glued in and the coral would just encrust over the gap and just encrust away. Anyone ever done something similar?

I used to just epoxy some rock rubble pieces together and call it good, but I want to turn these brains into nice natural looking pieces, and something along these lines might work out nice for what I have planned. How long does the cement have to cure before going into the tank? Any particular kind of cement better?
 
OP
OP
jcolliii

jcolliii

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 9, 2020
Messages
1,030
Reaction score
1,768
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
So far the Jebao SLW-10 continues to be easy to use, and completely silent. With the return pump off, I cannot eve tell that it is running unless I look at the water surface or the fish swaying back and forth. I mean silent actually literally. I am sure that, given a completely silent room with the return off you would be able to hear a very slight noise, but it is that quiet. Makes me want to have a quieter return pump now. I might cut a small footprint out of the BC filter sponge material and put that under the return pump to quiet it down.

Anyhow, no issues at all with the pump, it is *plenty* powerful for my tank. On the Sine mode, 60 or 70% is as high as I go - and if I change to constant mode at 60% the sand starts to blow around, but the ramp down on sine mode does the trick with keeping the sand still. I have the pump mounted to the overflow, and I am pretty confident that the magnet seal is nice and tight. Looks like it was put into a plastic housing and then that housing was filled up with two-part epoxy. With the new corals coming, I may have to move the pump to the left wall, we'll see. So far, so good - great little pump. And little is a great descriptor. Takes up very little space in the tank.

1-22-20-FTS.jpg


Speaking of noise - when I installed the Nanobox duo retrofit in the hood, I retained the stock fan - so there is the heatsink fan on the Duo itself, and the biocube fan moves air into and out of the hood - I want this fixture to be nice and cool so I get the maximum life out of it. But the stocker BC fan can be less than silent. So I have begun to look for a silent 50mm fan with the correct hole spacing and depth to replace that stock BC fan with. I think I may have one in my parts bin somewhere, but not sure how quiet it is. If anyone has replaced the fan on a 16BC, would love to hear about it.
 
OP
OP
jcolliii

jcolliii

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 9, 2020
Messages
1,030
Reaction score
1,768
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Corals are growing great -maybe I'll get my macro lens out later. Anyhow - was at the reef store a few weeks back and was looking at a tank, and well... something new is in the works.

Bought a box of the Caribsea branch rock to get going on the scape. Read a lot about folks getting a whole box of one shape, so was a bit nervous about that, but I got some pretty great shapes...

branches.jpeg


So, I set to work. I will be needing a fairly short scape, so didn't want any branches to stick up too far. Initial branches.

new-scape1.jpeg


Getting there...

new-scape2.jpeg


Just about done. Love dollar store superglue. Now if I could just find dollar store epoxy sticks. Going to get out an old purple pvc primer and add sand while wet to cover up the epoxy. This rock really does look great. Tank is here, but waiting on the stand. Just a few teaser pics for now.

new_scape3.jpeg
 
OP
OP
jcolliii

jcolliii

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 9, 2020
Messages
1,030
Reaction score
1,768
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Upgraditis hit hard a few months ago and I had been accumulating equipment.

Been really diggin on branch scapes lately, and saw one of the newer IM lagoons (not the AIO one) at a local reef store a few months ago and that really made an impression. But I wanted the AIO one to keep things simpler, so ordered the tank from BRS and the stand directly from IM (BRS was out). For the scape, I went with the Caribsea branch (previous post). I have to say - I don't know if BRS gets this stuff in and opens the boxes and repacks them or if that is the way they come from Carbibsea, but all of my branches were intact and unbroken, and I got a variety of shapes - mostly 2-branch, but with a good number of 3- and 4-branch rocks as well. Like I said, I had been digging on branch scapes, and I did have a couple pieces of tonga left over from a long-gone cube build, but abandoned that idea when I tried looking for more and hit a brick wall. But - I wanted something like this...

20161210_095728.jpg


Lots of swimming spaces between the branches - each branch is separate from the others, with no branches shaded out, and there is a lot of real estate on the sides of the branches - not to mention lots of sand space. So I played around for several hours one night, and came up with the scape shown in the previous posting.

new_scape3.jpeg


To hide the white water weld after it dried, I used some low viscosity superglue and added some aragonite sand. Once that dried, I used some purple pvc primer and sort of smushed it on over the paler bits. I used 2 or 3 coats on the white stuff, and it came out okay - can definitely still tell it's a different material, but it's hidden a bit.

new-scape-in-tank.jpeg


(Not in permanent placement). But this gives you an idea of the open space, coral placement possibilities, and because the rock is not touching the back at all, the flow will really prevent detritus from accumulating behind the aquascape. This rock was super easy to work with, it was really easy to break with one sharp blow of a hammer, and easy to put together with the gel superglue-water weld sandwich technique. Didn't need any rods or zip ties - this stuff has such a super rough surface, the superglue and epoxy really get in there and lock it together fantastically well. I did use a lot of both - maybe 6-8 tubes of dollar store SG gel and 6 or 7 tubes of waterweld. I think it came out great!

For the substrate, I went with the Caribsea dry aragonite that I picked up at my local Petco - I think it was around 7 bucks for a 10 pound bag. Was super surprised how clean it was - I put it into a 5 gallon bucket rinsed it once and barely any dust came off of it! This stuff is quite a bit coarser than the Caribsea oolitic sand I used in the Biocube - which I am really liking - it does not blow around in even a farily good current and it is really easy to stir around.

sand.jpeg


To seed the tank with bacteria, I did two things - I added about 2 cups of my original, unwashed sand from the biocube into this tank after the aquascape was added and after the tank was filled up with a mix of 30% biocube tank water and 70% new IO new salt water. Additionally, I added a full small bottle of Bio Spira that I also grabbed at Petco (making sure the expiration date was still good - something you should always check at Petco). I stirred the sand around to make sure the bacteria were somewhat distributed. Then I just transferred all of the fish and corals over to the new tank after scrubbing off any algae on the frag plugs. I started feeding and closely monitoring ammonia, NO3 and ALK. I never saw any evidence of an ammonia spike, and nitrates started coming up very shortly. So, I have to say, I am impressed with the Bio Spira - but I am sure the old tank water and sand helped ensure that there was no cycle. Additionally, the uneaten food built up slowly, and the fantastic circulation pattern in this tank also helped the food float around until either eaten or removed by floss or sock. Also, the Caribsea rock is supposed to have bacterial spores built in somehow. Anyhow - never saw even a glimmer of NH3, and the NO3 is at a good level right now - around 2.5 or so.

I really wanted to keep the Nanobox large retro (Duo) +m that I had in the Biocube, but conversations with Dave at Nanobox indicated that this retro could be converted to a Duo fixture for $175, but he became confused when I indicated that this was my only light fixture and that I would need just the parts sent to me for the conversion and he stopped returning my emails. So I removed the retro and sold it off. Pity - I LOVE that Bluefish controller. I ended up with a Maxspect Razor x in the 100w size - which is the perfect size for this tank, IMO. It was really down to the Razor or the Ethereal, and I wasn't sure about all of that weight from the fixture hanging off on one point on the glass, so I went with the Razor. I really love the look of the fixture, and I love the color temperature that I have it dialed in to, but I don't love that it sits overlapping the tank cover, making it tough to access the water without moving the light around. I may try reversing the light feet so that the lip is on the inside of the tank, making removing the lid much easier. I had seen that Bluefish controllers were made for the older Razor fixtures, but it looks like production of that has ceased. Am thinking about getting one of the BF Mini's and figuring out the install on my own. I have seen the interface with the massive wireless module that Maxspect offers and it appears to be much substandard to the Bluefish ap. I would love it if Maxspect wireless users would chime in here and convince me otherwise - $50 is a lot cheaper and less time consuming than $100 and ripping into the fixture's guts.

Right now, I am using the filter sock and the media caddy with floss and carbon, but I ordered a standalone floss holder for the sock side. I like the socks, but don't like how they are one piece - making them tough to clean. They are also pretty pricey. For heaters, I hated that the Eheim was too long - never had a problem with the Eheim heaters. For right now I am using one of the Aqueon fixed temp 100w heaters. These are around 25 bucks at Petco, have a fixed internal thermostat set for 78 degrees, and a *very small. I think mine was around 5 or 6 inches long. I was a bit nervous, but I put it in there and waited for the temp to come up and measured with my NSF-calibrated digital thermometer and that sucker was 0.2 of a degree off. I have that 100w heater blugged into my Inkbird as well - for safety and redundancy. My inkbird has also been calibrated, and usually displays within 0.2 of a degree of the actual temperature. So far, I am really happy with this heater and will likely pick up a second one for redundancy.

I use a $25 wireless smart power strip for controlling the return pump and the Jebao wave maker which is super silent, easy to control, and easy to clean. I also will control an ATO with one outlet, and perhaps a dosing pump with the last one. Cannot say enough good things about this cheap, silent clone of the Nero. One of the SLW-10's easily provides enough flow for this tank, but I will probably pick up a second at some point. At around $60, why not!? No, they're not wireless - but in no way is that feature worth an additional $200 to me.

The return pump is quiet enough as is - but it does have a sort of low, gravelly noise - still much quieter than the biocube, but I may eventually replace the return pump with a Sicce - I love those pumps and they are *QUIET*.

Forgot how much water evaporates from an open top - I probably add more than a quart a day - so I also just ordered an Aquagadget Titanium ATO unit from BRS. I like the dual conductivity-type probe sensors. That will be on a timed outlet on my smart power strip to turn on 3 or 4 times a day for 2 minutes or so each time. That should prevent any liklihood of overpumping even if the sensors were to fail.

Right now I am skimmerless. I am totally considering the IM DC skimmer though. I hear very good things about it, and that it is pretty quiet as well. Just ordered some new corals from Aqua SD as well - first time ordering from them, and only ordered a couple things. More on corals in the next post.

Here is the current FTS. Really loving this setup, and this aquascape!
FTS_3-29.jpeg
 
OP
OP
jcolliii

jcolliii

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 9, 2020
Messages
1,030
Reaction score
1,768
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
About a month ago, the wife bought me some corals - NO KIDDING. She's super thoughtful, always finds gifts in advance, and is starting to enjoy looking into the tank. She bought these corals as an anniversary present from cornbred's live sale.

CB_Bubblegum_montipora.jpg

Wanted a Bubblegum monti for quite some time, and this one (although definitely shopped) really does have tips that are that green. It's already grown quite a bit.

CB_Valhalla_acropora.jpg

This Acro is a thing CB calls 'Valhalla' - and photos of it on his website are pretty amazing. It really does have bright fluorescent yellow growth edges. The adult colony he shows on his website looks amazing. It already appears to have a branching coralite coming on one side and the frag plug is already completely covered - so seems to be a good grower.

CB_bloodshot_Krakatoa.jpg

And this was one my wife really liked - one polyp of these guys: 'Bloodshot Krakatoa'. One nice big polyp showed up, and that is now one adult and two fully open babies - so this one seems to be a good grower as well.

I'm going to try and get some in-tank photos tonight, but I do not have a yellow or orange filter, so I'll try to get the color temps right in Lightroom.
 
OP
OP
jcolliii

jcolliii

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 9, 2020
Messages
1,030
Reaction score
1,768
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Also just bought a few more on AquaSD's recent sale. Been looking for a nice hammer and torch for a decent price for awhile, and found both. Will be here this Thursday...

ASD-24k_torch.jpg

This is a think ASD called '24K branching hammer' - but to me, it looks more like a rainbow - gold tentacles with green margins and purple stems. Can't wait!

ASD-Blacklight_torch.jpg

And this torch ASD calls 'Blacklight'. Looks neat for sure. I hate clownfish with a passion - bitchy little buggers. But when this guy gets bigger, I might have to get one.
 

TheWB

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 22, 2017
Messages
2,315
Reaction score
3,575
Location
Puyallup,WA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Also just bought a few more on AquaSD's recent sale. Been looking for a nice hammer and torch for a decent price for awhile, and found both. Will be here this Thursday...

ASD-24k_torch.jpg

This is a think ASD called '24K branching hammer' - but to me, it looks more like a rainbow - gold tentacles with green margins and purple stems. Can't wait!

ASD-Blacklight_torch.jpg

And this torch ASD calls 'Blacklight'. Looks neat for sure. I hate clownfish with a passion - bitchy little buggers. But when this guy gets bigger, I might have to get one.
Love the scape and your coral choices. Welcome to the Lagoon club.
 
OP
OP
jcolliii

jcolliii

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 9, 2020
Messages
1,030
Reaction score
1,768
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thanks! Probably the most thought and work I've ever put into a scape before.

A maybe slightly better FTS from tonight. Light was low and fish were active though. Color of the light is pretty close though.
FTS-3-30-20.jpg


One of my current favorite corals. C3PO Lithophyllon. The color is pretty close in this picture - the body is even more saturated orange and the tentacles are a bit more yellowy but definitely have a slightly green hue. I feed this guy a ton and it barely grows. Must be a pretty slow grower - it sure is pretty though.
C3PO_3-30-20.jpg
 
OP
OP
jcolliii

jcolliii

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 9, 2020
Messages
1,030
Reaction score
1,768
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
3/31/20 Update: IM Aqua Gadget Titanium ATO

Have been looking at alternatives to autotopoff.com devices as I recently got an ATO from them that worked for a total of 5 or 6 days before the relay went out. I was never satisfied with their response that was basically 'Yep, probably the relay - you send it back, we'll fix it and then ship it back to you.' Total crap of a response to a defective unit pretty much out of the box. So instead of sourcing the relay and fixing myself, I decided to give the new IM ATO device a try.

I ordered it from BRS, and their free shipping using Spee Dee usually gets to me the next day. It shipped yesterday from BRS and it was on my doorstep at noon today. Nice box, not the greatest internal packaging, but it arrived in good order and everything was intact.

ATO3.jpeg


ATO2.jpeg


The ATO comes with dual level detection devices that are actually conductivity probes. One lead of each probe sends out a small voltage (5v) and, if the probe is submerged, that will complete a circuit as it is picked up by the second lead (thanks to salt water being quite conductive) and the voltage is then detected by the controller box for the processor to interpret. Both probes are mounted on waterproof magnetic mounts. One thing I can say right away is that the magnets in these mounts should be *much* stronger. You could easily move one (or both) of these magnet mounts while doing work in or near the back chamber. Very strong magnets are pretty dirt cheap these days, and the sensor locators are not the place to skimp a buck or two on subpar magnets. They work, the sensors are certainly not going to fall off of the glass, but I want magnets that are strong enough that effort needs to go in to moving them.

ATO1.jpeg


And that's it really. The control box has four cables coming out - a power cord, the two sensor wires (with disconnects - that is nice), and a short beefy three prong wire to power your return pump of choice. Simply put the sensors where you want them, use the suction cups to help secure the wires, plug in your pump, and power on the device. You don't have to know which is the lower and which is the upper sensor - the board is smart enough to figure that out on its own.

ATO4.jpeg

You can see the lower sensor on the right in this image submerged and the water just barely touching the upper sensor at the left.

I'm using a maxijet 900 right now because these stupid pumps are loud - and I want the auditory reminder that the pump is going. I will also be using my smart power strip to power this device on just twice a day for 2 minutes at a time. I like redundancy. If my smart power strip fails, the sensors will still operate and vice versa.

Setup was super easy, and so far the only thing to note that is not the best are the magnets in the sensor holders. But - with the suction cup wire holders in place, there is probably less liklihood of the wires sensors being easily moved. Again, the magnets are not super weak - but they certainly could be stronger. Plugged it in and it worked exactly how it was supposed to. I like the sensors - conductivity sensors are rock solid and should last for a good, very long service life. And the price is right - it's currently $69.99 at BRS - although you do need to supply your own pump.

I've got high expectations for this device, but quality looks good, and setup was really simple.
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 37 52.9%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 37 52.9%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 15 21.4%
  • None.

    Votes: 17 24.3%
  • Other.

    Votes: 6 8.6%
Back
Top