Salty Lil' Fluval Flex 32.5

[saltyHG]

Purchased a gently used Fluval Flex 32.5 from the marketplace.
It was very local, and we were able to transfer it to my home with all of its current inhabitants.

My main goal for this tank is learning the salt side of things. I have five freshwater tanks currently.
Eventually will like to introduce gobs of corals and maybe another fish.
Yes, there is a Tomini Tang baby in there but the tank will be upgraded by the time it leaves for college.

I "upgraded" the lights this weekend by adding another Fluval Marine 3.0.
I don't feel like the 2nd light added much, but wanted to keep the hood since I have a curious cat.
Temp went up by two degrees in the tank by adding the second light bar, so I ordered some risers off etsy.

 

[Rocks reef]

It looks really good! You are off to a great start.

 

[MichiganReefer]

I have read that having two of the fluval marine lights can cause heat issues in the tank, so keep an eye on that in the warmer months.

If you want to get serious about corals, you will likely want to upgrade your lights at some point. I ordered an AquaIllumination 30" blade grow light after reading good things about it. I'm pairing it with an acrylic hinged lid I found on Etsy, so I will still have a lid to avoid fish jumping out and evaporation. You can check it out in the link below.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1308283445/fluval-flex-clear-hinged-lid-9-15-325?ls=s&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=fluval+flex+32.5&ref=sr_gallery-1-10&sr_prefetch=1&pf_from=search&frs=1&nob=1&content_source=47ca49b7-7557-4c06-afa7-acc236a8fe5d%253ALT90b7644970892b6247b8270db679814bf4e62e7b&organic_search_click=1&logging_key=47ca49b7-7557-4c06-afa7-acc236a8fe5d%3ALT90b7644970892b6247b8270db679814bf4e62e7b&variation0=2876714188

 

[saltyHG]

I have read that having two of the fluval marine lights can cause heat issues in the tank, so keep an eye on that in the warmer months.

If you want to get serious about corals, you will likely want to upgrade your lights at some point. I ordered an AquaIllumination 30" blade grow light after reading good things about it. I'm pairing it with an acrylic hinged lid I found on Etsy, so I will still have a lid to avoid fish jumping out and evaporation. You can check it out in the link below.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1308283445/fluval-flex-clear-hinged-lid-9-15-325?ls=s&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=fluval+flex+32.5&ref=sr_gallery-1-10&sr_prefetch=1&pf_from=search&frs=1&nob=1&content_source=47ca49b7-7557-4c06-afa7-acc236a8fe5d%253ALT90b7644970892b6247b8270db679814bf4e62e7b&organic_search_click=1&logging_key=47ca49b7-7557-4c06-afa7-acc236a8fe5d%3ALT90b7644970892b6247b8270db679814bf4e62e7b&variation0=2876714188

Yes! I found the double lights to create too much heat. (4 degrees!) I got the risers for the top. It was still getting too hot. So then I took the top off and got a 140w Smatfarm Aquasun and just took the lid off altogether. Then. Yesterday I upgraded to a Waterbox 110 in a surprise marketplace find!

 

[MONTANTK]

This tank has intrigued me. What are your thoughts on it as far as flow and filtration? I wish these came with 2-3 Fluval nanos instead.

 

[saltyHG]

I think it's a great little starter tank. The flow is plenty for most softies and starter LPS. I added an extra power head for extra flow. The filtration is OK. I upgraded to the 3-D printed filter rack from the sponge ones that came with it. I'm not sure if I like the bowed glass in the front but I am just at the age where I'm starting to have to use readers so I think I'm just having a hard time with distortion and two different magnifications in my glasses. I just feel dizzy all the time anyway. LoL

 

[saltyHG]

UPDATE: sold this tank and upgraded to a Waterbox 110.4

 

[JakeDaReefer]

Yes! I found the double lights to create too much heat. (4 degrees!) I got the risers for the top. It was still getting too hot. So then I took the top off and got a 140w Smatfarm Aquasun and just took the lid off altogether. Then. Yesterday I upgraded to a Waterbox 110 in a surprise marketplace find!

Looking at the Smatfarm 140w rn, how was it with the 32.5 flex?

 

[Mike.]

Looking at the Smatfarm 140w rn, how was it with the 32.5 flex?

I had the smatfarm 95w when it came out and it grew corals fine, I have recently upgraded to radion xr15 and the color spectrum is better. I wonder if they fixed the white washout on the 140w

 

[saltyHG]

Looking at the Smatfarm 140w rn, how was it with the 32.5 flex?

It was a lot of powerbfor the 32.5. I now have two on my bigger tank (waterbox 110.4) until I can upgrade later. It was plenty for soft corals/LPS. I didn't have any SPS. The biggest downside for me was that I had to run it without the lid, which made my daily evaporation really high.