John's SPS Shallow 90g Peninsula-Lagoon build

minus9 · Jul 28, 2022

Janci said:
It will be cheaper to move, for sure
Do you think that the lens on the Kessil for the lower tank is really necessary or is that just for visual purposes, to avoid light spill?

Yeah, for sure. I need the lens more for the clams and to increase the intensity at that height (and to control the spill). I'm actually going to use a 500x over the 10g to maximize intensity, as the 360x with the 35 lens (at that height) is on the low end for croceas for me. I would rather have too much power/intensity and lower it, then to have just enough.

minus9 · Jul 29, 2022

I had a chance to stop by @uniquecorals today and hand picked this piece of Australian rock and some finger rubble pieces. This stuff is pure awesome! Maybe I’ll start to do some scaping this weekend?
Big shout out to Emilio and Abe at Unique!

minus9 · Jul 30, 2022

Loaded full of Tunze media and ready for action.

minus9 · Aug 1, 2022

Nothing new today other than replacing the ATK on my temp tank. That ATO system has to be one of the worst systems ever designed by a major company. If it wasn't for the manual float valve stop, it would've dumped 15 plus gallons into the display. Now my salinity is 33ppt and not the usual 35ppt. Between the crappy optical sensors and their locations relative to each other and their lack of longevity (constantly failing), they are the weakest links in the system and one of the most important, but completely unreliable. Anyone reading through this thread and is considering this ATO, I would advise you to use a gravity fed system, Tunze 3155 or the Avast Marine ATO. Don't waste your money on the ATK. There are so many things I love about my apex system, the ATK isn't one of them.

drawman · Aug 1, 2022

minus9 said:
Nothing new today other than replacing the ATK on my temp tank. That ATO system has to be one of the worst systems ever designed by a major company. If it wasn't for the manual float valve stop, it would've dumped 15 plus gallons into the display. Now my salinity is 33ppt and not the usual 35ppt. Between the crappy optical sensors and their locations relative to each other and their lack of longevity (constantly failing), they are the weakest links in the system and one of the most important, but completely unreliable. Anyone reading through this thread and is considering this ATO, I would advise you to use a gravity fed system, Tunze 3155 or the Avast Marine ATO. Don't waste your money on the ATK. There are so many things I love about my apex system, the ATK isn't one of them.

Agree on the Tunze 3155 not sure I would go with another. Sorry to hear the Neptune sucked for you.

minus9 · Aug 2, 2022

drawman said:
Agree on the Tunze 3155 not sure I would go with another. Sorry to hear the Neptune sucked for you.

I’m sure it (ATK) works for a lot of people, but it’s been nothing but trouble for me. Meanwhile, the Tunze 3155 that I bought in 2015 is still going strong and is doing the job until I move everything back into the display, then it will go back on the nano. A friend gave me a 3152 a while ago as a backup, so it’s getting used on the nano ATM. I rigged up a temp gravity fed 5 gallon bucket on the display and it’s been rock solid. Gravity for the win!

minus9 · Aug 6, 2022

I didn’t get a chance to work on the scape, but maybe tomorrow will work out? I did manage to test a few things and I’m happy with the results. Alk is being consumed, so I’m happy with that progress and there’s a nice measure of NO3 (5.7ppm) and PO4 (0.13). So I can buffer up a little and add some PNS Probio in the morning and I’ll be ready to go soon. I need to order a new pH probe for the apex and the new heater system should be in Monday. I’m going to try the Helios/Schego (BRS) 300w system. I’ll keep the Ranco and hopefully upgrade the probe to titanium at some point. I’ve been giving frags and corals to friends, so the temp tank is getting lower on animals. I also took my Goni’s into @GoldenStateCorals and let Elliot frag the crap out of them, so he should have plenty to sell to everyone soon. He actually gave me a frag of the blue goni over a year ago, but he ran out of it, so I thought it was only fair to give him all the frags (pay it forward, right?). Between the blue and red Goni’s, I think he has just over 60 frags total.

Here they are just before I took them in.

minus9 · Aug 7, 2022

I had time to set up and calibrate my new Sentia dose for the nano system and really like it a lot. It was super fast and easy to set up and calibrate. The app is great and I really like how it’s so easy to use and program.
I’m probably going to buy another set and use it on my main display. Getting notifications and reminders through the app is awesome, plus connecting to the dosers is super fast, unlike the GHL, which I absolutely hate to program or connect to, as it takes forever and sometimes stalls completely.

Here are a couple screenshots of a sample schedule.

minus9 · Aug 9, 2022

I picked up my new heating system today from @GoldenStateCorals, thanks to Elliot! I'm trying the new IM Helios universal controller and the BRS branded Schego 300w for the 90g. So far it was easy to install and calibrate, so we'll see how it holds temp? I wish the controller had hardware mounting options instead of sticky velcro, but I have a 3D printer, so I'll make a bracket/holder for it. Or I should say, I'll have @neon_reefer design a holder for me and I'll print it.

I hope to see some familiar faces this weekend at RAP.

Projects with Sam · Aug 9, 2022

minus9 said:
I picked up my new heating system today from @GoldenStateCorals, thanks to Elliot! I'm trying the new IM Helios universal controller and the BRS branded Schego 300w for the 90g. So far it was easy to install and calibrate, so we'll see how it holds temp? I wish the controller had hardware mounting options instead of sticky velcro, but I have a 3D printer, so I'll make a bracket/holder for it. Or I should say, I'll have @neon_reefer design a holder for me and I'll print it.
I hope to see some familiar faces this weekend at RAP.

fusion360 is sooo worth learning...

minus9 · Aug 9, 2022

Projects with Sam said:
fusion360 is sooo worth learning...

Yeah, I’ll get to it some day. Prusa slicer is doing the job so far, but I do need to spend some time learning more about designing.

Projects with Sam · Aug 10, 2022

even tinkerCAD would be enough to make mounts and easy stuff with I suppose. And a heck of a lot less difficult. I got my 8yr old designing on tinkerCAD in an afternoon.

minus9 · Aug 29, 2022

I caught this guy on the glass this morning after I fed the tank. I’m glad I found it before I started to move things over. Ribbon worms can be nasty little critters. I haven’t narrowed down the species, but it’s behavior is predator-like, so it’s hanging in container by itself for now. I’m also hearing faint cracks/clocks in the tank, so either there’s a pistol or mantis in one of the rocks. I’m going to pull each rock one by one and see if I can grab it?
Meanwhile, I’m finishing up the panels for both tanks, shouldn’t be long now.

neon_reefer · Aug 29, 2022

sounds like you got the live rock in there from unique corals.... maybe that stuff should have gone to QT before adding??

Hope you can figure all the nasties out of the tank .... I would hate to see a new setup go through a rough patch .

minus9 · Aug 29, 2022

neon_reefer said:
sounds like you got the live rock in there from unique corals.... maybe that stuff should have gone to QT before adding??

Hope you can figure all the nasties out of the tank .... I would hate to see a new setup go through a rough patch .

Nah, no QT necessary for live rock. That’s what the cycle is for, observing and watching all of the cool things find their way around the tank. Whether it’s good or bad, I like to witness all of the things that come with live rock, that’s part of the fun. Nearly 40 years of doing this and there’s always something new to find. To me, this is the best part of reefing. I’ve seen countless threads where people are ready to take a flamethrower over nothing, when they could’ve just used a little common sense and patience to deal with the issue. Still, one of my favorite things is to look at the tank at night, it’s really fascinating how much stuff/life exists in our tanks. I enjoy this part of it just as much as watching corals and animals grow. The animals and life that come with live rock are just as important as the beneficial bacteria. In fact, it’s the “other” life that’s truly important, sponges, tunicates, worms, pods, etc I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Janci · Aug 31, 2022

minus9 said:
Nah, no QT necessary for live rock. That’s what the cycle is for, observing and watching all of the cool things find their way around the tank. Whether it’s good or bad, I like to witness all of the things that come with live rock, that’s part of the fun. Nearly 40 years of doing this and there’s always something new to find. To me, this is the best part of reefing. I’ve seen countless threads where people are ready to take a flamethrower over nothing, when they could’ve just used a little common sense and patience to deal with the issue. Still, one of my favorite things is to look at the tank at night, it’s really fascinating how much stuff/life exists in our tanks. I enjoy this part of it just as much as watching corals and animals grow. The animals and life that come with live rock are just as important as the beneficial bacteria. In fact, it’s the “other” life that’s truly important, sponges, tunicates, worms, pods, etc I wouldn’t have it any other way.

No everybody is a fan of it, but i wish we had live rock available to start up a tank.

minus9 · Aug 31, 2022

Janci said:
No everybody is a fan of it, but i wish we had live rock available to start up a tank.

For me, it’s much easier to deal with pests than to deal with the agony that is dry rock. Plus, most of the dry rock I see doesn’t look good except the dry pukani rock. I absolutely hate the look of Marco rock and the whole idea of the NSA fad that’s taken over. A lot of people have these elaborate structures that kinda look cool, but there’s no place for the fish to hide or feel safe. I’ve snorkeled on a few reefs and I’ve never seen these structures in nature. We’ve gone from the rock wall to origami. But that’s the cool thing about this hobby, you can make it your own. Fish are half the reason I’m in this hobby, so I feel it’s my responsibility to provide them with as much security as possible, in return they will behave in a somewhat more natural way in our tanks (at least that’s the goal). I’m with you, we should have access to real live rock, but we don’t need as much as we previously thought, so a little goes a long way.
Speaking of live rock, I really need to get busy and finish the scape so I can get this tank going again. Maybe with this heatwave we’re experiencing here in SoCal, I’ll get it done?

minus9 · Sep 1, 2022

I finally finished the equipment panel and dosing shelf for the double nano lagoon. Hopefully it’ll have some water in it soon? Tomorrow I’ll work on the 90g equipment panel, but this triple digit heat is keeping me inside for most of the day.