Vitaly's Red Sea Reefer 250 build...

[Westside Guy]

Thanks for the pictures and I can see why you can only place 9 gallons in the tank to avoid the siphoning issues.
By the way, where is the water level in your overflow, most people are recommending that you have it about 1/2 - 1 inch below the emergency drain pipe.

 

[Vitaly S]

So over weekend I've added a pair of clowns and I've also added Cobalt Heater 300W which actually consist of 2 pieces. I've placed them on both sides of the overflow. Before I had heater that did not have temperature sensor and was only controller by Apex, using new heater I should have a more redundancy in temperature control. However, for some reason my temperature seems to be more viliotile than before. Not sure if this is due to different heater placement.

Left side:

Right side with clowns

This is screenshot of my temperatures over 1 month, big drop is when i was doing water change and replaced heater.

Second Image is one day history.

I might play more with heater placement to see if it would make more stable water temperature...

 

[Vitaly S]

Thanks for the pictures and I can see why you can only place 9 gallons in the tank to avoid the siphoning issues.
By the way, where is the water level in your overflow, most people are recommending that you have it about 1/2 - 1 inch below the emergency drain pipe.

About an inch or so.

 

[Westside Guy]

I have found that anything from 1 inch or less to the emergency drain pipe is pretty quiet on my 250.

 

[powers2001]

So over weekend I've added a pair of clowns and I've also added Cobalt Heater 300W which actually consist of 2 pieces. I've placed them on both sides of the overflow. Before I had heater that did not have temperature sensor and was only controller by Apex, using new heater I should have a more redundancy in temperature control. However, for some reason my temperature seems to be more viliotile than before. Not sure if this is due to different heater placement.

Left side:

Right side with clowns

This is screenshot of my temperatures over 1 month, big drop is when i was doing water change and replaced heater.

Second Image is one day history.

I might play more with heater placement to see if it would make more stable water temperature...

What do you have your heater set to and what do you have your heater's outlet on the Apex programmed to? You should have your heater's own set point at couple degrees above what the Apex is set to. That way your heater's control is not fighting the Apex's control.

 

[Vitaly S]

What do you have your heater set to and what do you have your heater's outlet on the Apex programmed to? You should have your heater's own set point at couple degrees above what the Apex is set to. That way your heater's control is not fighting the Apex's control.

Hmm... I've actually set it up competently opposite. My heater is set for 78 and apex is set up for range 75-82. Thinking of having power always to heater, and if heater thermostat fails apex would take over.

 

[Vitaly S]

Haven't done updates in a while.

Since last update, I've gotten cleaner shrimp, about 10 hermit crabs and a six line wrasse, which I had for about 3 days, and then it decided to jump out , found it dried up in the morning...

Waiting on my cover, but Clearview (on R2R they are listed under ArtFully Acrylic) has some sort of delay, so not sure when I will get my lid

I've also gotten some corals, got yumas (green and red), some zoas (was given for free ), gsp and hammer coral.

I've also decided to put chaetomorpha in my refugium and got Kessil's Flora H80 light. I run this light at night on opposite schedule to my normal lights.

Overall tank is doing good, only have a bit much of cyano-bacteria. I do have low Nitrates at 2 and Phosphates at 0.02, so not sure what causing this to be present for last 2-3 weeks.

Below are the photos:

 

[powers2001]

@Vitaly S How do you like your skimmer so far? How does it compare to other skimmers you have used?

 

[Vitaly S]

@powers2001 Skimmer is alright. Even though it was in proper depth (per instructions) it was not skimming properly, I had to raise it about half inch, and put almost at max setting. After this skimmer works as it should producing nice foam, and I get dark brown/black (coffee color) liquid. I clean it once a week, neck of the skimmer does get really dirty, wish it had squeegee like new RedSea skimmers have.

This is my first skimmer, so can't really compare to anything...

 

[clabern]

@powers2001 Skimmer is alright. Even though it was in proper depth (per instructions) it was not skimming properly, I had to raise it about half inch, and put almost at max setting. After this skimmer works as it should producing nice foam, and I get dark brown/black (coffee color) liquid. I clean it once a week, neck of the skimmer does get really dirty, wish it had squeegee like new RedSea skimmers have.

This is my first skimmer, so can't really compare to anything...

I have the same Skimmer in my 250. I have so far been using it without raising it, but I have the baffle into the return chamber pretty low. That said I haven't been super happy with it so far (pretty wet skimming, and twice now I've had it randomly overflow).

I've been contemplating raising it, so I may do that now if it seems to be working better for you.

 

[Vitaly S]

I have the same Skimmer in my 250. I have so far been using it without raising it, but I have the baffle into the return chamber pretty low. That said I haven't been super happy with it so far (pretty wet skimming, and twice now I've had it randomly overflow).

I've been contemplating raising it, so I may do that now if it seems to be working better for you.

@clabern Funny thing, after I posted this yesterday, it started overflowing, literally in course of 2 hours cup was full. Not sure what caused this, I have not changed anything...

I've been dealing with cup getting filled with water a few times (probably happens once a month). I do have baffle at the lowest setting, water is at 7" in the skimmer chamber, and skimmer wheel is at 16. The reason I raised it a bit is due to overfilling water.

I am planning to disassemble skimmer and fully clean it either this or next weekend, maybe this will help

 

[clabern]

@clabern Funny thing, after I posted this yesterday, it started overflowing, literally in course of 2 hours cup was full. Not sure what caused this, I have not changed anything...

I've been dealing with cup getting filled with water a few times (probably happens once a month). I do have baffle at the lowest setting, water is at 7" in the skimmer chamber, and skimmer wheel is at 16. The reason I raised it a bit is due to overfilling water.

I am planning to disassemble skimmer and fully clean it either this or next weekend, maybe this will help

Ah, that stinks (the overflowing)! I ordered a cheap acrylic riser to sit it on. I figure once that arrives (this weekend) I'll take the skimmer out and give it a vinegar bath and cleaning before putting it back in on the riser.

This is also my first "real" skimmer (I've only ever had HoB/smaller skimmers in the past), so I'm learning it's weirdness as I go.

 

[Vitaly S]

I've emptied the cup, at night and no overflow. So not sure what caused it... I use plastic eggs crates I bought on Amazon, was very cheap, all skimmer risers that I saw we're $59+

 

[clabern]

I've emptied the cup, at night and no overflow. So not sure what caused it... I use plastic eggs crates I bought on Amazon, was very cheap, all skimmer risers that I saw we're $59+

While at home yesterday I started hearing a trickling and sure enough it had overflowed again.

I found this skimmer riser at MarineDepot, $27.99 was a decent price IMO.

 

[Vitaly S]

Not bad, although I think 4" minimum height might be too much, at least for my sump

 

[powers2001]

@Vitaly S Do you have your Hydras connected to your Apex through Iota wirelessly or are you running your Hydras standalone through MyAI App?

 

[Vitaly S]

@powers2001 I connect through WXM module to Apex.

 

[Vitaly S]

Another update, since I have not done this in a while...

I finally have my clearview screen, so no longer need to worry about jumpers
Cyano is pretty much gone, and now coralline is appearing on rock and powerheads.

Got 4 new fish, besides my clowns. Got 2 Azure Damsels, Midas Blenny and Randal Anthias, had them for about 3 days now, and they seem to be doing great!

Decided to get rid of chaeto, I was getting slime in sum where it was growing. Got rid of filter socks, and replaced them with holders filled with seachem matrix rocks.

I have problem with zoas closing, which I believe is due to explosion of pod population. I've created separate post about it.

 

[Westside Guy]

I have really enjoyed reading about your progress, thanks for sharing. Have you given some thought to getting a doser? If yes, what brand/model?

 

[Vitaly S]

At some point yes. Do not think I am there yet, water change replenishes enough for now.
Since I have Apex, I am thinking to get their 2 dose pump. Also thinking of getting Trident, but will give time to see if there are any issues, probably will get in 2020...