WaboSS's 40 Breeder Build!

[Waboss]

Been silly busy lately, but figured it's time for a quick update.

ATS has been doing it's job, so I'm happy with it. It's still pulling a good bit of slimy crap but that's to be expected with how high my nitrates were (pic below).

The display itself is doing pretty well. I've removed some of the LR to make more room for better flow and added in 2 of the Maxpect nano tech bio blocks as I'm trying to get away from Marine Pure to see if that lowers the Aluminum that's showing up in my ICP tests. With SPS I didn't really care as the levels weren't that high and the tank was doing well, but now that I'm adding a good bit of pricey LPS to the tank, and I've heard some stories about LPS being more sensitive, I figured I'd give it a shot.

Couple of new additions to the Euphyllia tower

 

[Waboss]

About 2 weeks ago I switched from Tropic Marin's All for Reef to Aqua Forest's 1-2-3 simply because my tank was using more Alk than Cal and Mag. So I figured having them separate would help me "fix" that. Well now my tank is 'eating' more Cal than Alk! Hahaha! I'm not quite sure why, but I am noticing that pretty much all my torches are starting to grow more heads, so I'm guessing that building out the skeletons has something to do with that.

Oh, and for what it's worth, I had no issues with TM's All for Reef, everything seemed to be quite happy, but it's more difficult to tweak the amounts with a single product and I didn't feel like figuring out the amounts to make it with different ratios. Also, if my current consumption keeps up like it is right now, I'll likely switch from AF's 1-2-3 to just running a calcium reactor and possibly dosing trace elements. But that's not going to happen soon.

Oh, and finally, a super cool member of the local reefing community here gave me a Blasto so I could "test" my Filefish and see if he'd eat it, pick at it, or just ignore it. Well it turns out, he has no interest in it at all. The only LPS I've seen him mess with was torch I had that was dying from shipping stress (he leaves all the healthy ones alone).

 

[chris k.]

What overflow are you using , it looks like a ghost overflow. Did you drill it or have someone drill the hole?

 

[Waboss]

What overflow are you using , it looks like a ghost overflow. Did you drill it or have someone drill the hole?

It's an Eclipse Small. I drilled it myself, I've drilled all my tanks for years (make that decades....lol).

 

[lpsouth1978]

It's an Eclipse Small. I drilled it myself, I've drilled all my tanks for years (make that decades....lol).

I love a good 40b build, I'm working on one right now. Yours looks great.

The Eclipse is a decent overflow and served me well on my previous 40b. I am currently building another and chose to go with the Fiji Cube overflow this time. The issues I had with the Eclipse, was that the external box sits so low, in comparison to the inner, that the water level was below the trim and it also made it harder to get it silent. I ended up glueing a piece of acrylic to the front of the internal box, covering part of the weir and raising the water level.

 

[Waboss]

I love a good 40b build, I'm working on one right now. Yours looks great.

The Eclipse is a decent overflow and served me well on my previous 40b. I am currently building another and chose to go with the Fiji Cube overflow this time. The issues I had with the Eclipse, was that the external box sits so low, in comparison to the inner, that the water level was below the trim and it also made it harder to get it silent. I ended up glueing a piece of acrylic to the front of the internal box, covering part of the weir and raising the water level.

Thanks! It's always a work in progress. Once I move into our "forever" house, then I'll move back up to something more "reasonable" for what I like hahaha. Something between 180 and 320 gal I figure.

Yeah the overflow can be annoying. I just adjusted where I drilled the hole so the display water level was higher (can't see it with the trim) and had to play with return pump and drain settings to get it mostly quiet. I think the thing that bugs me the most is how close to the lid on the outside box I have to keep the water level in order to keep it mostly quiet. How are you diggin' the Fiji Cube overflow?

 

[lpsouth1978]

Thanks! It's always a work in progress. Once I move into our "forever" house, then I'll move back up to something more "reasonable" for what I like hahaha. Something between 180 and 320 gal I figure.

Yeah the overflow can be annoying. I just adjusted where I drilled the hole so the display water level was higher (can't see it with the trim) and had to play with return pump and drain settings to get it mostly quiet. I think the thing that bugs me the most is how close to the lid on the outside box I have to keep the water level in order to keep it mostly quiet. How are you diggin' the Fiji Cube overflow?

So far, I am very happy with the Fiji Cube Overflow. The outside box sits high enough that the waterline sits just above the bottom of the trim. I am also able to have a Bean animal overflow that is quiet without the water in the overflow being right at the top of the box.

The only issue I have had is with one of the bulkheads, that go through the tank. The bulkhead was stripped, so I couldn't tighten the bulkhead nut. I sent an email to Fiji Cube, but never got a response, so I found a new bulkhead at the LFS. I had to shorten the bulkhead as it stuck out too far into the external box. The issue now is that the internal box does not fit as tight into that bulkhead, so it slowly leaks when the power is out and will overflow my sump if the power went out for more than an hour or so. I am still working on getting a replacement bulkhead from Fiji Cube, so hopefully I can get that fixed soon.

 

[Waboss]

Ok, so update time on the Ole Thread!

There's been a few changes (naturally).

• The Maxspect nanotech blocks seem to be doing one heck of a job, so that's nice. Assuming you can believe what they say, the 2 blocks I put in has the equivalent biofiltration area as 80#'s of LR, so we'll see I guess.
  • I removed about 2 quarts of Marinepure sphere's when I added them, still have about 1 quart to remove, I'll likely do that next weekend. Nutrients are coming down nicely though, so I'm attributing that to the ATS and the new nanotech blocks (haven't reduced my feeding.....I like my fishes to be happy! haha)
• I swapped out the old "prototype" ATS that I made for a "new and improved" one that's about 12% slimmer, and has some adjustments based on what I learned from the first couple I printed. It seems to be rockin' along, so I'm pleased
• I pulled the second custom Aquarocks piece I had as I didn't want to get rid of any more LR in the display AND with having it, the first one, and the LR, it was just too "crowded" for me. The flow around the tanks is much better now too. So that's cool. I replaced it with one of Lee's larger magnetic pieces and it's now becoming my "torch garden".....or something like that.

Tank Walk around:



Updated ATS (Ignore the Star Wars sounds in the background, I forgot to turn down the TV! Haha)

 

[Waboss]

Just a quick update. The ATS is doing what ATS's do, so that's pretty solid.

I made a bracket for my Kamoer X1 pro 2's yesterday so I only have to put in 3 screws and they all line up neatly.

I've added some coral and moved things around a little, but really I'm just happy watching everything grow!

 

[Waboss]

Ok, so finally got the equipment organized in a way that the wife is happy with it and it doesn't kill me to add/remove/clean stuff. Plus, it freed up the rest of the space in the sump area...........so now on to a bigger sump!! Haha

Only thing left is to put some tint on the doors/windows so it's a little more subdued.

 

[Waboss]

Figured it was time for me to update this thread. I don't know why, but I forget to update it for rather long periods of time!

So, I changed out the lighting to a Reefbreeders Photon 32-V2+ w/ wifi/app card. Which is pretty cool. Of course because I can't help myself with tinkering around, I also have a Sky on preorder, so we'll see which one ultimately wins out!

Dosing wise, I swapped out the Kamoer X1 Pro 2's for a Red Sea ReefDose 4. Why? Because it's more compact in the stand, the app seems to work well, and so far, it's been very accurate. I have nothing against the Kamoer's though, they're great little dosing pumps!

Moving on, I did swap out the DIY 20L sump I had and put in an Advanced Acrylics sump I picked up locally. It gives me more space and allows for more volume (all good things on a sump!). The down side is that the ATS I designed/printed was made specifically to "mount" to a 20L, so it's not viable on this sump. So for now it's removed, I need to see what I want to do next (make a bracket or something).

And finally, I just today installed a Bubble Magus filter roller. While it's still very new to me, so far, I'm wondering why in the world I didn't do this ages ago. I ran my system "sockless", mainly because I hated changing/washing socks. But then I needed to vacuum the sump regularly..........which honestly didn't happen. So the other night I decided to just order a filter roller. After debating/researching all the ones I could find, I landed on this one, and so far, so good (time will tell).

Ok, so now for a couple of pics. I'll try to take some better ones later and add them too.

Pre-filter roller

And post-filter roller. Hadn't cleaned up yet, but you get the idea. Had to move the skimmer to the second chamber as it wouldn't fit in the first with the filter roller. This sump has a sock holder/dosing tube holder built in and I didn't want to cut it out.

 

[Waboss]

Lots of updates this time round!

So, first off, I changed my light out again (I know, I know). And I have to say, I do like the new light a lot, maybe not as "full" a spread as the Photon (or the SKY I tested out), but for my use, I'm liking it best. Is it perfect? No, but it's very nice should get the job done well.

I'm now running a Kessil AP9X and am quite happy (for now). It has the "Kessil shimmer" that's a little heavy for me, but does come pretty close to matching what I see when diving/snorkeling in shallower reefs, so that's cool. It has the optics to make it almost perfect for a narrower, rectangular tank (not so much bleed to the front and back......like the SKY had for me), and spectrum adjustments don't require me to set the different LED's individually (although it does have a fair bit of adjustment if you want it). The final "win" is that my wife like it's better than the last light, she thinks it looks more sleek and less cluttered.......so that's always a good thing.

Secondly, I finally got around to making a new ATS for the new (to me) sump. So far it's working well, but the vibration from the pump carries through the ATS to the sump, which makes it pretty loud. I've put in some rubber pieces to help out, and it does, but not enough. I think I'm going to need to make the pump "remote" and mount it to the sump with the rubber suction cups that come with it and then connect it to the ATS with some flexible silicone tubing, that should make it as quiet as it can be.

As far as effectiveness, it's breaking in well. I'm still cleaning off a bit of the brown slime (from too much nutrients), but it's starting to show patches of turf algae, so it's progressing. I do need to figure out a better LED for it as the one I'm using is not ideal at all.

Finally, I swapped out the Red Sea "gyre" for a pair of MP10's. I like that the gyre allowed me to only have 2 pumps (I also have an older Jebao in the bottom on the back left side to push detritus to the front to be cleaned out during water changes. But I didn't like the lack of adjustment in changing flow without adding a second on on the opposite side. Now it's not that big a deal, since with the MP10's I have 2 (one on each side), BUT, the gyres are pretty large inside the tank, and space is a premium in my small tank. So I opt'd for MP10's. I have to admit, I like how easy it is to clean them (since I decided to pick up extra wet sides).

So that's it for now. There's some more "minor" changes I'm planning, but nothing major.

 

[Waboss]

No super exciting updates today, but I did pull the Deltec skimmer I had in the sump and replaced it with an Aquamaxx ConeS CO1. While I really liked the Deltec, the size was a little large once I installed the filter roller. It would never sit level in the sump as it leaned against the filter roller motor (just a little, but enough that I wasn't happy with it).

The new skimmer fits without the collection cup touching the FR motor (just barely, like you can see daylight between them, but not much). So far, it's doing a good job, I've always like Aquamaxx skimmers too, and they're built well, so I'm sure it'll do fine.

 

[Waboss]

Just thought I'd throw this up here!

 

[Kraig]

Lots of updates this time round!

So, first off, I changed my light out again (I know, I know). And I have to say, I do like the new light a lot, maybe not as "full" a spread as the Photon (or the SKY I tested out), but for my use, I'm liking it best. Is it perfect? No, but it's very nice should get the job done well.

I'm now running a Kessil AP9X and am quite happy (for now). It has the "Kessil shimmer" that's a little heavy for me, but does come pretty close to matching what I see when diving/snorkeling in shallower reefs, so that's cool. It has the optics to make it almost perfect for a narrower, rectangular tank (not so much bleed to the front and back......like the SKY had for me), and spectrum adjustments don't require me to set the different LED's individually (although it does have a fair bit of adjustment if you want it). The final "win" is that my wife like it's better than the last light, she thinks it looks more sleek and less cluttered.......so that's always a good thing.

Secondly, I finally got around to making a new ATS for the new (to me) sump. So far it's working well, but the vibration from the pump carries through the ATS to the sump, which makes it pretty loud. I've put in some rubber pieces to help out, and it does, but not enough. I think I'm going to need to make the pump "remote" and mount it to the sump with the rubber suction cups that come with it and then connect it to the ATS with some flexible silicone tubing, that should make it as quiet as it can be.

As far as effectiveness, it's breaking in well. I'm still cleaning off a bit of the brown slime (from too much nutrients), but it's starting to show patches of turf algae, so it's progressing. I do need to figure out a better LED for it as the one I'm using is not ideal at all.

Finally, I swapped out the Red Sea "gyre" for a pair of MP10's. I like that the gyre allowed me to only have 2 pumps (I also have an older Jebao in the bottom on the back left side to push detritus to the front to be cleaned out during water changes. But I didn't like the lack of adjustment in changing flow without adding a second on on the opposite side. Now it's not that big a deal, since with the MP10's I have 2 (one on each side), BUT, the gyres are pretty large inside the tank, and space is a premium in my small tank. So I opt'd for MP10's. I have to admit, I like how easy it is to clean them (since I decided to pick up extra wet sides).

So that's it for now. There's some more "minor" changes I'm planning, but nothing major.

Nice tank! I'm currently building out my first, a 40b. About the last thing I need to purchase is the light. I've been back and forth between the Photon 32-V2 pro and the Kessel AP9X. What was the main reason you jumped ship from the Photon to the Kessel? The main reason I've been leaning towards the Photon is I'm not sure I want as much shimmer as the Kessel seems to have.

Any input you are willing to share would be great. Thanks!

 

[Waboss]

Nice tank! I'm currently building out my first, a 40b. About the last thing I need to purchase is the light. I've been back and forth between the Photon 32-V2 pro and the Kessel AP9X. What was the main reason you jumped ship from the Photon to the Kessel? The main reason I've been leaning towards the Photon is I'm not sure I want as much shimmer as the Kessel seems to have.

Any input you are willing to share would be great. Thanks!

There were 2 main reasons really. The first is that I really do like the fact that I can set a color/intensity I like and not have to worry about all the channels to make sure things are happy (unless I want to, so the flexibility is nice). Second, the Kessil just looks better atheistically and keeping my wife happy is very important.......hahaha!

You can't go wrong with either light though, both will work very well. It just depends on your preferences.

 

[Kraig]

There were 2 main reasons really. The first is that I really do like the fact that I can set a color/intensity I like and not have to worry about all the channels to make sure things are happy (unless I want to, so the flexibility is nice). Second, the Kessil just looks better atheistically and keeping my wife happy is very important.......hahaha!

You can't go wrong with either light though, both will work very well. It just depends on your preferences.

Thanks for the reply. I'm going to have to flip a coin soon

 

[Waboss]

Nothing terribly exciting to update on today, but I have plans! haha.......

• I have an Alkatronic I'm going to test out and see if I like it as much/more than the Trident (you never know, I might)......whenever I can convince myself to take the seemingly significant amount of time it'll take to get it all set up and running
  • I think it could be nice feed the "waste" back into the tank AND reduce my reagent costs....but maybe it's not worth it. Time will tell.
• The new ATS seems to be "rockin' like Dokken", so well in fact that my phosphates are dropping too fast and my coral are getting all kinds of ticked off. So I'm making adjustments to deal with that
• Still need to plumb in the flow sensor. I want it as I think I'm pushing a bit more than I'd like. I don't want it because I really don't like Neptune's flow sensors.........but if I have 2, and swap them out when cleaning, might not be so bad. I dunno.

That's pretty much all the plans I have for moving forward now. My nice stable "can grow anything" tank is all jacked since I added the ATS and it "took off". So addressing that really trumps anything else I'm doing. The good thing is that I can start dosing aminos again and feed more (which I like, since I do believe fish likely eat more than once a day in the wild).

 

[Waboss]

Hmm, seems I've neglected this thread a bit more than normal. Guess I should post an update. Even if no one looks at these, it'll be a good log for me to have an look back on! Hahaha!

Ok, so here we go.

First I'll follow up on my comments from the last post.

• I did NOT end up using the Alkatronic for more than about 2 weeks. I'm sure it's a fine piece of equipment, but it wasn't anything that was going to make me switch from my Trident to using it (and I'm not going to use two different ones on the same tank).
• The new "HOS" (Hang on Side.....haha) ATS I put together and printed is still working well. I see some improvements I'd like to make and maybe I will on the next iteration.
• I did plumb in the flow sensor and that's all working like a champ, so that's good.

Now on to new things (I mean come on, there's always new things................right?)

• I had been playing around with a CO2 scrubber, and it's working out very well. If I can keep my PH at 8.3-ish, my coral growth is off the charts and I have to increase my dosing by at least 15%. I'm really only able to keep it at around 8.15 right now though (summer and all).
• I had started designing and printing frag racks that I could shape to what I needed in the tank (really, what I have room for) but that got old. SO! I started using TLF Stax rock and using a diamond hole saw to basically turn rock work into frag racks. Looks better in my opinion and also adds filtration (since it really is LR once seeded). In the past, I had tried forming little frag-pockets/hole with Marcos cement, but that's messy and a pita.
• I still love the Kessil AP9X. Everything has responded well.
• I did switch my dosers around and installed a Red Sea 4 head doser, so far, so good. It's been accurate and hasn't failed, so all good news.
• Oh, and I an effort to make our living room less "all aquarium", I built a new side mounted equipment "rack" on the side of the stand and removed the big cabinet. Also removed an "eyesore" cabinet from the other side that housed the ATO reservoir and replaced it with a much nicer looking IM Hydro-something or another (I don't remember the name)

Ok, so now on to some pics (I mean really, that's all most want to see anyway right? )

LINK to quick video.

 

[Waboss]

Ok, so I had decided a while back that until I get another "big boy tank", I'm keeping my corals on frag plugs so I can move them easily. I've moved my tank 3 times in the past 8 years and each time it's a pain to move the coral and keep them safe when they're attached to to the rockwork. So eventually I will build out a new tank and make it look more "reef like" than my existing "frag-style" tank.

To that end, I wanted to swap out another rock structure I had in there for something that would likely allow me to provide better flow for some of the torches in the tank. We'll call it a "torch island" of sorts. In the past, I would use marco cement and make little "pods" for the frag plugs to sit in. But that was a bit problematic. Sure, it looks better, but often times I'd have to re-drill out the holes or have one that the frag plug would get stuck in and stuff like that, so I was looking for solution with less hassle.

So, I whipped up some of these little "frag plug stands" and printed them out. I went through a few iterations, but landed on this style for now. It allow flow through it in a hope to reduce detritus build up. They work very well and once they're covered in coraline algae, they'll look fine I'm sure.

Now, I have more room for frags as they grow out, and I'm still maintaining the filtration ability of having LR in the tank as well as home for the little critters that like to live there. So all in all, it's a win win (maybe I should try to find some sand colored filament and print them out of that!).