No prob! Last question I swear...for tonight.

The skimmer was pretty filthy when I got it. There are little white calcium deposit dots all over the outside and inside of it. I'm pretty sure that you can't take it apart to get to the ones on the inside, so what is the best solution to soak it in to easily clean off the litttle calcium deposits? I'm guessing vineagar. Please let me know!

Alright guys the time has come to sell mine. If anyone following this thread is looking for a Finnex 30G tank, a solid custom made stand, a chiller, pumps, or other misc items check out my selling thread over at RC:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.p...hreadid=1445850

Thanks a lot guys!
Colin

Have a build thread going ...but...thought I should make of official by adding it here. Modded the back chambers. Thanks Phixion for the inspiration.












I added my CUC yesterday....about 30 days or so until the big transfer.

Ok...now I feel like an official member.

Mark

lol, welcome to the club! Yeah, definitely belongs in here butchered up or not! I really envy how your's is turning out.

Looks like Finnex is uping the ante yet again with a new lighting system!

I saw that new Finnex light. Man...thats just about perfect. I wish it was released a month ago before I got my Aquactinics...I would have been all over it.

I was just thinking about that for your tank build too!

anyone else experiencing a bubbly film covering the surface of the fuge water?

the flow seems ok, but its a brownish small bubbled film on top.....the fuge has sand and chaeto.

i am running a surface skimmer on main tank intake, which does mess with the flow a bit i guess....

I notice a slight film, but it's more-less clear, I don't have any mud or substrate in my fuge though, just strictly chaeto. I DO however have TONS of salt creep buildup on the top of my chaeto when it starts growing above the water surface, lol! The water flow through the outlet grate all flows UNDER the surface film... =/

I want to make a cover for the tank, insread of using the glass tops....any ideas?

Do you want something to keep fish from jumping out or are you thinking more along the lines of a canopy?

If you want to keep fish in, eggcrate or pond mesh netting are pretty common solutions.

where do you get "SLS TEK clip-on reflectors" i cant seem to find them

http://www.reefgeek.com But I bought mine over a year and a half ago. They have since been selling the TEK 2 reflectors which won't work because they are "3 wide rather than the "2 wide like my TEK originals are and so they won't fit being "1 too wide each one. You gotta find the TEKs that are "2 wide or similar reflectors that are "2 wide... Maybe Ebay?

Howdy all! I have been lurking for while doing some research on the FInnex 30. Thanks for all the previous post and suggestions. Always better to learn from others before diving into a new system. The Finnex looks like the best fit for me as an AIO system so I just ordered my Finnex 30 today from Aquacave. Nice online coupon and free shipping for less than $300.00. I ordered the tank only version. I already have a 24" Solaris that I won from a raffle at MACNA XX in ATL that will be going on this system. I am going to stick with the stock skimmer and pump for now and see how I like their performance. I was thinking of going BB in the display with a DSB and cheato in the fuge. But I might go with a 3" SB in the display with LRR and cheato in the fuge. My main occupants in the display are going to be a 8" Rose Nem and 2 hosting Maroon Clowns. It's going to be a mixed reef and a few small squa/crocea clams. With the Solaris I can support any corals that I have in my 160 Cube so it's about time for me to start fragging. Looking forward to receiving the Finnex and setting this system up. I opted to make my own stand from reading all the issues with the Finnex stand. Thanks agian for all the pre-advice! What out for abuild thread that I'll post up soon!

Whooo Hooooooo...flyingarmy. We expect some pics!

did you have to squeeze them to fit in? i spent well over an hour last night trying to fit the 2 inch reflectors in the fixture. Hopefully when i get home today nothing broke, because it seem very very tight fit there.

Nope, didn't have to squeeze anything to fit them. Just popped out the daylight bulbs, clipped the reflectors onto them and popped them back in. The width between the 2 reflectors is about exactly the width of the bulbs though, so the middle actinic just barely fits between the reflector ends, but it's still easy to access.

wait, you only installed 2 reflectors, not 4?

Yup! I don't see how 4 could possibly fit...

i guess i missed that part, i bought 4, and spend almost 2 hours to install them and actually did manage to stuff them in, but when i came home next day, 2 bulbs were out. Started to play with it again, gave up and just left two reflectors in

It's all good! Did you get the bulbs back working? Always nice to have spares though, but there's always Ebay too or other Finnex owners.

bulbs yes, all working. 2 extra reflectors tho.

Another question to you, did you ever thought of replacing the cooling fan on the fixture? I'm thinking about it lately, just dont know if there are quieter fans out there

I did actually replace mine. Only because the stock one is crappy and started sounding like a jet plane... I happened to have a generic brand fan sitting here from a CPU fan/heatsink unit, that I used to replace the stock one with. Make sure whatever fan you get matches the specs of the stock one and get one that's ball-bearing, the stock is just a DC brushless type. It's 12v DC and rated at 0.12A The fan is 40mm but I used a 50mm one and it works out well and is quiet.

hey guys just wanted to let you know that aquactinics actually made some T5 reflectors as well and i believe they are also 2" wide.... just an idea

thats exactly what the last few posts are about, I just didnt realize that you can only fit 2 in there and not 4

Phixion, thank you, i will look into that. getting tired of cranking up the volume on the tv because of this fan

Recieved my Finnex yesterday! They do an excellent job of packing. Can't wait to get it up and running.

Packing has been their forte for the past almost couple years now with these tanks.

Volk, yeah the fan replacement is definitely quite pleasing to the ears. Nothing worse than an annoyingly loud tiny fan.

im thinking im investing too much money in this crappy light fixture all together...didnt you ended up getting something new for it?

Not really, I only added in the reflectors, and then a pair of R2 moonlights (which I ordered the single, but they sent me the double, SCORE!). And then replaced the fan of course. And since mine is almost 2 years old now, I've also replaced the bulbs a few months ago for new. I think the combo I went with is in my tank thread... I'm seriously considering upgrading to the new Finnex T5 fixture that comes with 9x1w LEDs.

whats the point of these moon lights when you cant set them on the timer??

Why can't you set them on a timer? Is there only one plug for the moonlights and T5s? On the MH 150W light there is a seperate plug for all three elements (MH, T5, and Moons). It would seem silly not to be able to put them on different times.

i dont know how it is on the new fixture, but on the prev. version, there are two plugs, one for whites, one for blues, moon lights only go on if you use the switch to shot the lights off so you cant time the night lights, so they are useless

On a timer, or a controller like mine is the moonlights are indeed pointless as you're actually cutting power to the actinic circuit, so switch on or off, the moons won't work. But the R2 ones I have are better anyways as they spread the blue light evenly, rather than just a narrow beam on each end of the tank leaving the middle dark as the stock ones do.

lol sorry guys, i guess i should have read back a little more .... i thought you guys were talking about original tek reflectors thats why i mentioned the aquactinics.... my bad.

Well we were, it's all relative really.

Hey Phix. On the Finnex 30 gallon, what brand/type of bulb should I buy to replace the fuge bulb?

Gosh I dunno, that reminds me that I've never replaced mine yet, eek!

GUYS! Huge problem, my return pump died. I need to get a fast replacement. Pump i had was the pump that came with the tank. I never liked that pump. what should i get? It would be nice to get a MAG pump, since i can get it from a LFS today. But no idea what pump will fit there.

Anyone, what do you guys replaced yours with?

Thanks in advance.

I replaced mine with a Rio 14HF. It's loud, but the flow is double what the stock pump is. It's almost exactly the same size as the stock pump (see the pics comparing the two pumps on about page 20 of my Finnex thread in my sig below) and it'll work with the T-pipe setup with vitrually no modifications. Ken @ OceanReeflections helped me find the best suited and sized pump for our tanks, and the Rio 12 or 14 HF fits that bill. The 12 is the same sizeas the 14, but less flow/power consumption.

is your pump still loud?

Yes, though it doesn't seem like it since I've long gotten used to it. Rio pumps in general is loud. I need to replumb mine though because the T-pipe is "3/4 diameter (O.D.) and really the pump should be used with "1 O.D. plumbing. I've been told by TAAM reps that could be contributing to the noise from it.

just a thought. while i was waiting for the impeller to come in directly from finnex, i threw in a MJ 1200 to run as a return pump.. And now im thinking.... the flow is a bit slower then i had with the finnex pump for sure. But do i really need it to be strong? I have the vortex mp20 moving all the water pretty well. But what I really like about the MJ is that its completely silent. I hear nothing from it, and i was able to hear the sounds from the finnex return pump.

What do you guys think about this? What are the cons on running a slower return pump for me?

Main reason i decided not to go with the RIO pump is that its noisy and I dont know about now but few years back using a RIO as a return pump was a big risk since they would break and leak oil or whatever that crap was right into the tank and kill everything in seconds.

MP20? Man, you're good to go with the MJ1200 in the back then!! My stock Finnex pump was silent with my experience. The Rio has a loud buzz to it... =/ But since you have the MP20 in the tank, your return is pretty much just moving water through the back rather than adding on the task of keeping the flow moving in the display. So honestly, you should be fine just as you have it. In my case I rely on the main return pump both for flow and to pass water through the rear chambers and fuge. I might change this up one day as I have a K-2 in the display right now, but maybe a pair of K1's are in order instead...

should this fan be ok?
http://www.coolerguys.com/840556021834.html

i see there an option for 3 or 4 pins, i think the actual fan in te fixture is only 2 pins...

That should work! The important part is matching the amperage to the stock fan. Stock is like 0.16A But with mine, it was a 2-wire fan and I just hard wired it in. With a 3-wire, one wire is for fan speed control which is irrelivant in our fixtures, you just need to wire the "hot" and ground wires. Also, the stock fan is 40x40mm but since the one in your link is 50x50mm like the one I swapped with is, the fan will only be held in by one of the 2 screws that hold it in place. Just thought I'd toss that FYI in there on that. But it's not a problem and doesn't cause any vibration or noise issues for me, just be sure it's held in tight enough where it won't move or vibrate around.

does it have to be exactly 0.12A rated? i know nothing about these things.

Not exactly, but you want it as close as possible. If it's too low rated, it won't work or can burn out.

Quick question....


I have tons of micro bubbles. Looks like they are possibly coming from the skimmer or from the water overflowing from the skimmer chamber. I took out the sponge and just use the little black box with a filter piece in it and live rock rubble in the chamber with a eggcrate bottom. What do you guys do for the micro bubbles? Thanks in advance!

Well the spong is supposeed to help, but how new is your tank and how long have you been using the skimmer? It can take a week or two to break-in fully...