Zibba's Reefs -- ADA 90P & Envision 100g

[revhtree]

Looks great and nice photos!

 

[zibba]

Beautiful pieces!!

Looks great and nice photos!

Thanks! I intended to update yesterday, but we ended up running errands all afternoon. Cleaning tank and water change got pushed back to tonight.

 

[MarvinsReef]

Thanks! I intended to update yesterday, but we ended up running errands all afternoon. Cleaning tank and water change got pushed back to tonight.

I understand pushing back the tank chores/maintenance all too well. haha. two good excuses I have are my little munchkins.

 

[zibba]

I understand pushing back the tank chores/maintenance all too well. haha. two good excuses I have are my little munchkins.

Ha, definitely and kids are a great excuse, for sure. I don't have any kids (that I know about, jk) yet, but someday.

Well the skimmer came in yesterday and I took a bunch of pictures....but, by the time I got done doing a water change, setting up the skimmer, cleaning some pumps and re-setting up my QT tank (and doing about 10 other chores around the house), I was exhausted and didn't get a chance to edit/post any pictures. I plan to get through the pictures and give a proper update this evening.

I wanted to start the QT up fresh because I added the salt too fast last week and there was some precipitate clouding up the tank. I started mixing up some new water for my first fish that I'm hoping to get this Friday. I need to pick up a few snails (thinking ceriths) for the diatoms this week too. I'd like to order a full clean up crew from one of the online vendors because they're so much cheaper, however, I'm concerned that they'll just die of starvation if I add them too quickly.

 

[thanhreef]

Your tanks looks great. I can't wait my new tank finishing the cycle.

 

[MarvinsReef]

Ha, definitely and kids are a great excuse, for sure. I don't have any kids (that I know about, jk) yet, but someday.

Well the skimmer came in yesterday and I took a bunch of pictures....but, by the time I got done doing a water change, setting up the skimmer, cleaning some pumps and re-setting up my QT tank (and doing about 10 other chores around the house), I was exhausted and didn't get a chance to edit/post any pictures. I plan to get through the pictures and give a proper update this evening.

I wanted to start the QT up fresh because I added the salt too fast last week and there was some precipitate clouding up the tank. I started mixing up some new water for my first fish that I'm hoping to get this Friday. I need to pick up a few snails (thinking ceriths) for the diatoms this week too. I'd like to order a full clean up crew from one of the online vendors because they're so much cheaper, however, I'm concerned that they'll just die of starvation if I add them too quickly.

man, I'm so jealous with people that can set up a QT. I think I will have to convince the wifey that I "need" a QT set up, just so I can set up the 28g JBJ sitting in the garage. LoL. anyway, looking forward to seeing the pics.

 

[Flipside]

Dude! You have to have a QT, Marvin! It's soooo essential. Personally, I lost well over a 2K in livestock, in an old 225g I had because I was reckless. Murphy's Law, right?

Just posting to show some love. Very nice goings, Z! Love the chalice and the rockscape! Now, come do mine! LOL!

 

[zibba]

Dude! You have to have a QT, Marvin! It's soooo essential. Personally, I lost well over a 2K in livestock, in an old 225g I had because I was reckless. Murphy's Law, right?

Just posting to show some love. Very nice goings, Z! Love the chalice and the rockscape! Now, come do mine! LOL!

Haha, thanks Flip. I'm tempted to add more rock to the Envision but I think it will look better if I let the corals fill the empty space down the road. And, for the record, your scape looks perfect with the dimensions on your tank.

I didn't have room for a QT when I had a system set up back in MN and I ended up getting an ich outbreak that killed a few fish. I'm trying to avoid it this go-round even though I know how hard it is to keep ich out of a tank. But being practical, I'd really just like to avoid introducing some of the more dangerous parasites, bacteria, fungia, etc.

You can see some ich present in these pictures, but I just tried to keep water quality high and fed food soaked in selcon and garlic. Save for a few fish, everyone lived happily ever-after:

 

[Flipside]

Nice shots, bro. Love the wrasse. I had one that looked similar... was called a Christmas Wrasse... Not sure if that is one, but looks similar.

I'm curious on the unveiling of the skimmer you chose. I should have piped-up earlier when you were deciding. To me, that selection would be a no-brainer. I know you made the right decision.

 

[zibba]

Nice shots, bro. Love the wrasse. I had one that looked similar... was called a Christmas Wrasse... Not sure if that is one, but looks similar.

I'm curious on the unveiling of the skimmer you chose. I should have piped-up earlier when you were deciding. To me, that selection would be a no-brainer. I know you made the right decision.

Oh snap, now the pressure is on. I hope I made the right choice. Honestly, I think they all would have done a good job. Give me a few more hours and I'll load the pictures up.

 

[Flipside]

So, all night I was wondering... "what exactly does a few more hours mean in Phoenix?" LOL! Here in Texas, it means 2.5 hours... exactly.

 

[MarvinsReef]

So, all night I was wondering... "what exactly does a few more hours mean in Phoenix?" LOL! Here in Texas, it means 2.5 hours... exactly.

:hammer:


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[zibba]

Now that's funny, I don't care who you are! Well then, without further ado, I went with the ATB 840 v2:

Really, it came down to a decision between the XP2000/3000 and the ATB. At first, I had a hard time justifying spending more on the ATB but I ended up getting 14% off, so that was the tipping point.

Quick initial reaction
The good:
- The skimmer and pump are solid
- The collection cup is nice and big
- Super easy to assemble


The unknown:
- The silicone tubing that connects the pump to the skimmer body wasn't snug and there were microbubbles leaking into the sump. I fixed this using two zip ties. I thought this was a little rinky-dink, but it fixed the problem.
- Quiet (not super quiet), but I think it's too early to tell how quiet it will be
- Microbubbles from exhaust, these should die down after it breaks in

Too early to really give a reliable review so I'll hold off on commenting too much. Just happy to have the ATB on-line!

 

[MarvinsReef]

Thought so..

A lot of happy ATB users.


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[zibba]

...

 

[zibba]

Thought so..

A lot of happy ATB users.


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It was literally paralysis by analysis when reading skimmer reviews. I had read a lot of ATB and SRO reviews -- I think I would have been just as happy with the SRO. I was originally leaning more toward the SRO XP3000, but I'm glad I decided against it, as I think it would have been overrated and probably would have taken up too much room in the sump.

 

[zibba]

I also finally upgraded the return pump from a Rio 3100 (900 gph) to a Sicce Sycra 4.0 (950 gph). The Sicce needed to be sent in for some warranty work, but now it's back to 100%. The Sicce has a better flow curve and I had to readjust the gate-valves on the Herbie overflow to compensate for the extra flow. But the extra flow isn't why I upgraded, I just wanted something that was quieter and more reliable. It's also smaller so it takes up less room in the sump. Here are a few pictures:

Rio:

Sicce:

[This picture was taken before it was sent in for repair -- it's all cleaned up and rockin' now!]

 

[MarvinsReef]

good deal! 1smile1

 

[Flipside]

Ding, ding, ding! I would have picked the ATB over the others too. The new pump on them are supposedly pretty good, and get great reviews (new type of Sicce). I've never run that particular unit before, but I have run ATB's. They are rock solid.

I'm interested in your pump choice now. Is that quieter than that Rio? I'm running the same Rio from my sump to the fuge. I've never had one fail, though as cheap as they are, I'm sure I've just been lucky.

 

[zibba]

Phew, glad that it passed muster. I read that the "v2" came with the Sicce "Syncra" pump, but the model on them reads "PSK 1000." I was under the impression that the psk's were the old version, but I guess that the 1000 is the upgrade from the PSK-2500 and I guess it's considered to be in the "syncra" line up. I don't really know what to make of it all. At the end of the day, I just want it to be as close to silent as possible. And, after it breaks in and the slime builds up a bit, I think it will be.

Re: Rio v. Sicce. When I first set it up, it was the loudest piece of equipment on the tank and I'm OCD about noise so I searched for a quieter option. Reef Builders gave the Sicce Syncra's their seal of approval, so I figured I'd give it a shot. While I waited for the Sicce, I decided to take off the front cover of the Rio and, once the slime built back up, it really quieted down. All in all, I thought that the Rio did a fine job and I'm not going to sell it -- I'll keep it as a back up for when I need to clean/service the Sicce. I can't hear the Sicce 4.0 running right now over the Sicce PSK-1000 on the ATB (i.e., the ATB is louder), but I'll give it a few weeks and reassess. If you want my completely unscientific estimate, I'd say that the Sicce is putting out at least 100gph more than the Rio (but again, that wasn't the deciding factor for me). Considering that you can buy two Rio 3100's for the price of one Syncra 4.0, I'd say the Rio is a really good choice since it quiets down and draws the same amount of electricity.