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Admonition

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Admonition

Full Tank Shot

02/23/15

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Older FTS

 

 

12/13/14 15989401316_b7c5c8101f_b.jpg

 

 

07/14/14tank2.jpg



06/23/14
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05/27/14
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Coral Close Ups / Growth Pictures


Purple Stylophora
[12/13/14]
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Yellow Frogspawn
[12/13/14]
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[06/14/14]
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Green Duncan
[12/13/14]
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[06/14/14]
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Kryptonite Candy Cane
[06/14/14]
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ORA Green Birdsnest
[06/14/14]
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Purple Zoas
[06/21/14]
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Cyphastrea
[12/13/14]
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Tequila Sunrise Monti Cap
[12/13/14]
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Toxic Waste Leptoseris
[12/13/14]
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Halle Berries
[12/13/14]
15829441387_db028c8550_b.jpg

Bi-color Branching Hammer
[12/13/14]
16015186355_7542e47e1d_b.jpg

Gobstopper paly
[12/13/14]
15827779028_06630aae6d_b.jpg

Aussie Acan Lord
[12/13/14]
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Acan
[12/13/14]
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Royal Gramma / Florida Ricordea
[12/13/14]
16014499542_be4842b552_b.jpg



Current Water Parameters (12/11/14)
Temperature: 78.2 - 77.7
Ammonia: 0
Nitrates: 0
Nitrites: 0
pH: 7.8 - 8.0
Alkalinity: 7.5 dKH
Salinty: 1.025
Calcium: 420
Magnesium: 1340
Phosphates: 0 (Hannah checker, I need to check this with another kit)


Aquarium Specs
Tank: Innovative Marine Fusion 30L
Stand: Innovative Marine Stand for Fusion 30L
Sand and Rock: 15lbs of Cured Live Rock, 20lbs of Carib-Sea Arog-Alive sand (Bimini Pink)
Lighting: Hydra 52
Powerhead: Maxspect Gyre XF-130
Heater: Jager 75 Watt
Filtration: Purigen, Chemipure Elite, inTank filter floss
Salt Mix: Tropic Marine Pro-Reef Salt
ATO: Tunze Osmolator Universal 3155
Controller: Apex with PM2 and AWM
RO/DI Unit: Spectrapure CSPDI 90GPD RO/DI system
Skimmer: Tunze 9001
CO2 Scrubber: BRS Universal Airfilter with SodaSorb soda lime

Doser: Neptune Dos

Dosing Supplements: Tropic Marin Bio-Calcium Original Balling
Misc Equipment: H20cean Refractometer by D-D, Two Apex MPR (Magnetic Probe Rack), APC UPS


Livestock

Fish:
Sixline Wrasse
Royal Gramma
Banggai Cardinal
Pajama Cardinal

Cleanup Crew:
10 Astraea Snails
4 Nassarius snail

Coral:
Yellow Frogspawn
Green Duncan
Kryptonite Candy Cane
Purple zoas
Florida Ricordea
Rainbow Aussie Acan Lord
Bi-color Branching Hammer
Birds of Paridise
Tequila Sunrise Montipora
Red Sea Pulsing Xenia
Green Center Blastomussa wellsi
Pink Pocillopora damicornis
Green Pocillopora damicornis
Electric Green Acropora
Purple & Green Favia
Ultra Cyclops Acropora
Red Scolymia
Black Torch

Crimson Montipora

Ice Fire Acropora echinata

Eagle Eye Zoas

Pink birds nest

Superman Montipora

Green and White Flower Anemone


Maintenance
*Tunze Auto-top off
*Water change 25% every week
*Change Purigen and Chemi-pure every 3 months


Notes

*Tank was upgraded from Nuvo 16 to Fusion 30L on 05/27/14
*Tank was restarted on 05/02/14 after a crash killing all corals
*Tank was originally started as Nuvo 16 on 01/24/12


Once upon a time...

Soooooo, my beloved Nuvo 16 developed a crack at the joint of the base glass and the curved glass after two years of being up. Lucky for me the crack didn't leak water, but I nonetheless needed a new tank. I subsequently took this opportunity to purchase a slightly larger tank. Although I loved my little Nuvo 16, I definitely regretted not getting a slightly larger tank. I fully intend to go WAY larger in the future when the wife and I purchase a house, but for now, I'm happy with a smaller saltwater. That being said:



Enter the Innovative Marine Fusion 30L!

I honestly loved the look of the tank, and it was exactly what I was going for. Although a bit pricey, my LFS was selling it for exactly what MarineDepot had it listed for. So I picked it up.

Although I loved the curved glass of the older Nuvos, I definitely don't think the new shape of the Fusion line is bad- I actually like it. Not to mention the tank feels more secure without a curved pane of glass and an upgrade in the thickness of it. I also noticed that these tanks now come with a thin glass panel behind the black acrylic false wall to aid in keeping the false wall in check. I personally never had an issue with my false wall bowing (only a small silicone issue which pushed live sand into my rear chamber), but I'm happy to have the added 'strength'. As far as the tank's top, I'm not sure if I like it. I definitely like the change from the glass top- which you always had to clean and definitely trapped heat inside the aquarium. But the netting top seems like an afterthought. The seams where the plastic borders connect are not flush with each other and look like a child glued them together lol. Not to mention, the borders' widths are thick (about 1.25 inches). While this isn't a HUGE issue, I would have liked to have had them thinner so as to not take away that much more of my light on the perimeter of the tank. Although honestly, that's probably just nitpicking.

As for the stand- good god. I'm not engineer or carpenter, but I can put together a stand. And I will say the Innovative Marine Fusion 30L stand was by far the most frustrating thing I've ever put together. I literally created new curse words while completing this project (just ask my wife). There are sections that don't naturally sit flush, which are forced flush by the metal cam locks. The holes drilled for the wooden dowels were just slightly over sized, allowing the dowel to slide right in instead of having resistance, and some of the holes seemed to go deeper into the stand than logic would assume. Also, the 'instructions' had portions where you needed a close up to see how things were arranged, but the 'close up' was almost the same size as the tiny picture it was 'enlarging' to begin with. In the end I completed the stand and weight tested it for about 300lbs spread evenly over the surface area of the top (my estimated tank's weight) and it held without issue. That being said, save yourself the ridiculous $300 this thing costs, and either build your own wooden one or purchase one from your LFS. Seriously, you'll save yourself passing a kidney stone lol.

Any who, that's my initial opinion so far. The tank is not wet yet as I had to make saltwater to compensate for the extra volume. My intention is to use the Nuvo 16's water in addition to freshly made water (essentially just a big water change). I also debated about using my Nuvo 16's sand, but decided against it. I plan on using a fresh bag of sand and simply seeding the tank with everything else (my live rock, water, and media baskets). I understand my tank will most likely mini-cycle, but I have nothing aside from snails and two shrimp and figure it'll be easier to go with new sand. Plus, I'm concerned about stirring up stuff from the sand bed as well as introducing critters I may not want from the old tank's sand bed.

More to come, including photos. I can't wait to add water, now to finally decide on what light to purchase.....hmmmm.......

 

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Congrats on the purchase of a new tank!

 

Regarding the stand... well I did run into a few issues but wasnt to bad. Some of the wood post literally would fall inside the holes intended. Not sure why they put numbers on the boards, when instruction manual doesnt use them. LOL

I did have some mounting points where the screws will just keep spinning, but it held just fine.

 

One recommendation about your heater. 50w seems a bit low for that size tank. I would highly recommend getting the Cobalt NEO-Therm 100w heater. Works great! I got the 100w versus the larger one because, the 100 watt fits perfectly in the overflows without sticking out. That allows the heater to be fully submerged in water.

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Admonition

Thanks!

 

Good to know I'm not the only one who ran into those issues building the stand lol.

 

I listed the 50 watt Jager simply because that is all I have atm (it was in my Nuvo 16). But thank you for the recommendation, I was actually researching that exact heater, the Neo-therm 100watt, glad to know that's the size that fits on the 30L. It seems a little pricey but I can't find anything but great reviews, and if it really sticks to within 0.5 of a degree, than I think its worth the price and may be on my shopping list for this tank!

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Admonition

Thanks, I definitly love the look and the extra space. Can't wait to start adding corals to it.

 

Speaking of which, I moved everything over from the other tank. I definitly need more rock. I'll most likely move that one on the left over to the space on the right, and then fill the void on the left with a nice large piece :) Anywho, I tried attaching the IM Clamp 8 lights to this tank until I can figure out what light fixture to buy- and they don't fit lol, glass is too thick. Soooo, my fusion will be lightless until I can figure out what to buy.

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Thanks, I definitly love the look and the extra space. Can't wait to start adding corals to it.

 

Speaking of which, I moved everything over from the other tank. I definitly need more rock. I'll most likely move that one on the left over to the space on the right, and then fill the void on the left with a nice large piece :) Anywho, I tried attaching the IM Clamp 8 lights to this tank until I can figure out what light fixture to buy- and they don't fit lol, glass is too thick. Soooo, my fusion will be lightless until I can figure out what to buy.

This will be my first salt tank and i tentatively chose the Aquaticlife T5 4 Lamp with Moon LEDs. I hope that's 36in including the mounts. They seem to have pretty solid reviews and for a decent price

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Admonition

Thank you for the suggestion. I'm honestly prefer to stick with an LED setup myself. I'm on the fence about picking up the 27 inch Maxspect Razor 160 watt or a single AI Hydra or EcoTech Radion.

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Thank you for the suggestion. I'm honestly prefer to stick with an LED setup myself. I'm on the fence about picking up the 27 inch Maxspect Razor 160 watt or a single AI Hydra or EcoTech Radion.

I'm debating similar lights for my 16 Nuvo, which hopefully soon be a 34g Cad Lights. I think I've decided on the AI Hydra. I'm a dork for the programming, even the tank won't benefit. For me, the Radion is too expensive compared to the Hydra for very little gain and I'm starting to not like the Maxspect mounting design...removing the light for all tank maintenance seems like a pain. I'm planning on something like this: http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/340886-im-nuvo-16-my-first-build/?p=4648776. Excited to see what you choose!

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Thank you for the suggestion. I'm honestly prefer to stick with an LED setup myself. I'm on the fence about picking up the 27 inch Maxspect Razor 160 watt or a single AI Hydra or EcoTech Radion.

 

Even though you posted on my thread, I would go Radion. Coverage edge to edge is perfect and I still feel like the colors produced because of the controller is hard to beat.

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Admonition

Rdck: yeah I just couldn't justify the extra money, plus, radions are recommended for a 24x24, not a 36 apparently.

 

And I actually looked at that guy's build, but it seemed a little out of my DIY league.

 

Ahanix: thank you for the reply. The controller wasn't a factor with me because I plan on picking up the apex soon.

 

------

 

All that said, I decided on getting the AI Hydra 52. Placed my order the other day, just gotta wait for my cranky UPS guy to deliver it! My plan is to hang the lights from a shelf I'll instal above the tank. Pictures soon to come :)

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Admonition

World Wide Corals' 24 Live Sale was a success, with me purchasing three new lovely additions to the tank, a yellow frog spawn, WWC Utter Peace Zoas, and WWC Watermelon Zoas :D Pictures to follow their arrival!

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Well Santa just showed up at my house dressed in a UPS uniform :) My 15lbs of BRS Reef Saver Dry Rock and my BRS Two Part complete came. AND my AI Hydra 52 from Marine Depot arrived as well!

 

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It's gonna take me a few days to actually set up the light, but I can't wait. My plan is to mount it under a shelf I'll install above the tank. As for the rock, I'm impressed with the look and wish I went with dry rock like this from the getgo. I'm actually debating removing the small piece of live rock in the left hand corner of my FTS above, and replacing it with the dry rock. I just feel the dry rock replacement has better flow and area for mounting things smoothly. But we'll see

 

Anywho, updates to come Monday when I'll be aw to install the light hopefully.

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So I finally got the free time to install the Hydra 52, and let me just say- wow. First off, I was wicked concerned about a single fixture reaching across my 3 foot wide tank; however, this little beauty covers that and then some! So if anyone is in the same boat, a single AI Hydra 52 mounted parallel to the tank -will- reach out the full 36 inches that AI advertises on their website.

 

I ended up having the light mounted parallel to the tank because of the tank's dimensions, which is a pain in the butt given that AI has not properly addressed customers doing this. All of their products are geared toward mounting the light perpendicular instead. The next best way to mount this light is hanging, which easily overcomes this issue. The only problem is I live in an apartment, and my ceiling is concrete. So even if I wanted to risk punching holes in the ceiling, I definitely wasn't that much of a daredevil. So I opted for hanging the light from a shelf. Subsequently, my apt has studs every 24 inches on center, which put my current tank's position too far left :( So I had to drain all the water out in buckets, move the blasted thing over nine inches to the right, and then fill'er back up. Once that was done came the hard part hah. It took about an hour to install the shelf, mainly because the stud wouldn't except the 2.5 inch screws all the way without some.....gentle loving....but eventually it all worked out. I've got to touch up some portions where I scraped off the white paint, but here are some pictures of the end result.

 

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I currently have the light about 14 inches off the top of the glass, which is about 26 inches from the top of the sand to the bottom of the light. I'll play with the height tomorrow and cut the wire for a much cleaner look. I also plan to pick up a cord cover from HomeDepot/Lowes to hide the black power plug hanging from the light (hate that thing). But all in all, I love the light. At 100% output with all my apartment's lights off, it lit up my entire living room hah. Next purchase...Apex :D (just have to convince the wife...) Anywho, I'm glad I got the light situated because tomorrow is when my goodies come from World Wide Corals, woot!

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So I ended up adding the BRS Reef Saver Rock to the tank after a good RO/DI bath. I must say, the rock is really easy to work with and fits together almost like legos. I'm pretty happy with the new layout, and it gave me some room in the front to lay down other corals as well. I also got in my first coral of this tank! Two groups of zoas and a frog spawn. The zoas are still not happy campers, and continue to half open and then close shut. My frogspawn just recently started to open up, 8 hours later lol. Hopefully they're just shy after their trip and will open up fully over the next few days.

 

Also, I have an update for my light setup. I ended up cutting the hanging wire at the point it touched the top of the tank (picture one) in case I ever want to lower the light from its current position. And instead of cutting off that extra 12 inches worth of wire, I strategically coiled it up and inside the EXT rails on both sides. This way I always have the ability to hang the light directly over the water level if I ever was that crazy lol. This is definitely a great option for anyone running a similar setup. And of course, I also hid the Hydra's power cord behind some wire racetrack.

 

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Okay, so a much needed update lol. Here are two updated full tank shots with the addition of the Hydra 52 light, BRS Reef Saver Rock, and new coral additions! The watermelon zoas kept their color but the utter chaos zoas haven't. I'm hoping a little more aclimation will bring them back. And the frogspawn has been opening up more with every day :) So far, so good!

 

fts062314.jpg

 

fts2.jpg

 

utterchaoszoas.jpg

 

frogspawn.jpg

 

watermelonzoas.jpg

 

 

And some pictures of my cleaner shrimp and nas snail just because!

 

shrimp.jpg

 

snail.jpg

 

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So I tried my hand at BRS two part today. My calcium and alkalinity were low so I tried dosing. BRS recommends getting your tank's levels to 420 calc, 9 dKH, and 1350 mag before daily dosing, which is actually what I normally run. At the moment my calc was at 360, alk was at 8.2, and mag was at 1360.

 

So the BRS calculator recommended 81ml to bring it to 400 calc. I tried this because they recommend not bring up my calcium more than 50ppm in a single day. So I added 80ml and waited. Four hours later I tested and my calcium was 440! I retested two more times and every time I hit 440 on the nose. So, although this product really works, I suggest starting with half their recommended dose -.-

 

That being said, I used my own advice and just dosed half their recommend dosage to bring my alk from 8.2 to 9, which ended up being 5ml of solution. Hopefully my half dose isn't so drastically over my goal.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I've been severely slacking in the picture department, but I finally got my wife to snap some pics of my new additions! I ended up taking advantage of the WWC ebay sale and won some cool stuff, includinga Duncan (which has about five tiny heads already sprouting up around the base of the single head), a Kryptonite Candy Canes, and a ORA Neon Birdsnest. I also took the leap and picked up a Six Line Wrasse from these guys as well, and I LOVE him.

 

So here are current FTS, one with only the whites on because it comes out clearer on my wife's DSLR camera, and one under the normal lighting I have running:

 

tank-1.jpg

 

tank2.jpg

 

 

And here are my lovely additions (including another shot of my frogspawn):

 

duncan.jpg

 

candycane.jpg

 

frogspawn-1.jpg

 

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I'm having issues uploading the birdsnet, but as soon as I get it fixed I'll post up the picture.

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On top of the new livestock, I also went ahead and purchased an Apex Gold controller and their subsequent probe rack. I'll say this, the controller is wicked expensive, but totally awesome. I can't explain how great it is to be able to control my aquarium while I'm away from home. Not only can I access my tank via the internet on any computer (like my laptop while staying at a hotel in another state), but even from my phone! In seconds I can access the controller via my smartphone and control the tank while I'm at dinner at my in-laws, running errands, or even at work ;) There's nothing worse then being away and wondering, did I leave the lights on, forget to turn the pump back on, turn off the ATO? Also, the ability to set alarm perameters and have the controller email and text me if something is out of wack brings peace of mind. If anyone is debating on a controller, I really recommend it.

 

I haven't even begun to really get into the power that this controller brings to the table, but so far its impressive. That being said, I have average computer knowledge, and while setting this thing up didn't require a master's degree in computer programing, it definitely wasn't plug and play. It took me about eight hours to set it up, mainly because I have an unusual internet setup that made initial setup difficult, and wireless setup frustrating. But in the end I got it up and running with help from Neptune System's online support. I will say this, if you get this controller I HIGHLY recommend setting it up via a wired connection to your modem/router. I had it running on a wireless connection via the Netgear Gaming Adaptor they recommend, but it would disconnect me from Fusion (the web based program that lets you connect to your system online) at random. I eventually got frustrated with the disconnects because that online access was one of my main reasons for getting the system, and subsequently ran a 50 foot white Ethernet cord to my modem. Ever since I've done that I have had zero connection issues :)

 

Now that I had my controller, I had to figure out how to mount the blasted thing with all its wires and boxes. I know I definitely did not want to drill it into the stand. Instead, I wanted something removable. I subsequently decided to build a false wall which would accomplish the objective of removability AND help hide the mess of wires spewing out of this system. So I headed to Lowes! I ended up buying a sheet of particle board (4 feet by 8 feet) for $7 and they cut it for me. I also picked up some wood screws, bolts, and nuts and headed home.

 

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I took the two side pieces and screwed them into the main piece of board on both sides as a way to hold up my false wall. I then grabbed my drill and hole saws and punched out some holes to run the wires through. I also measured and diagrammed out where I wanted each unit of the system to sit, and subsequently drilled out mounting holes I would later run screws through to mount each box to the board. This setup allows me to easily add an extra Energy Bar underneath the original, and add another two modules if needed at a later date.

 

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I then applied two coats of white Kilz 2 Latex Primer over the whole thing ($5 a gallon). I then used my airbrush to subsequently apply black paint over the primer. After everything was dried, I popped everything in place. I ended up using two nuts per mounting hole as spacers between the particle board and each box to allow the unit to 'breath'. I then ran the wires through to the back of the board and utilized Command Outdoor Hooks String Light Clips (clear) to hold up the extra cord lengths in neat oval patterns. I will say this, I LOVE those little clips, and also used them on the back of my stand to organize all my wires and drip loops. They're about $8 for a package of 16 clips. I then screwed a large surge protector onto the same backside of the false wall (where all the wires were), and plugged the Energy Bar from the Apex system into that (because the Energy Bar is not a surge protector). I then simply plugged my surge protector into my wall, and voila!

 

apex1.jpg

 

Oh and here is that probe rack by Neptune Systems:

proberack.jpg

 

The probe rack is rather expensive at $40, but I was happy with the quality. Essentially its acrylic with a magnet lol. I ended up buying it simply because I needed a rack that would accompany four probes, and after much debate, making my own would have been more frustration than it was worth doing. This one by Neptune also has the added bonus that one of the holes is larger than the others, offering enough room to drop in the temperature probe through the top without having to run the wire backwards through the rack. Also, a note for anyone running the IM Fusion 30L, this probe rack fits perfectly in the second rear compartment (heater compartment, not were the intake grates are). I have mine in the one on the right side, away from my heater (which occupies the left compartment).

 

 

Oh, and a moment of silence for my 150 Gallon freshwater tank. It sprung about a thousand leaks while I was building this false wall. Luckily I had just returned home from Lowes and was drilling the particle board about three feet away when it happened. I heard a wierd noise, like static from a TV and figured it was just the canister filter (which sometimes makes noise). I walked over to check on it, opened up the cabniet, and my eyes fell upon about twenty different waterfalls pouring water everywhere. I ran around like a crazy person trying to contain the indoor pool I was about to have, and drained water as fast as possible. Luckily I have tile, and only the tank (duh) and stand were damaged.

 

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Nice set up, I want the gold box but I am trying to justify if I really need it, I don't but really thought it would be a nice piece of equip to have. I'm going to blame nanotopia for making her set up so awesome that I feel I just need to have it.

Bummer on the tank, do you plan to reseal it?

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Thank you. Yeah I've wanted it for two years, so it's pretty much been a saving game ever since.

 

And no I don't. I'm sure it can be done, but I don't believe I can do it correctly. Plus, I'll always have that in the back of my mind

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The tank is looking great.

 

I am still collecting all the parts and pieces I want while waiting for the custom stand, 30L and XR15's to get here.

 

I almost got the Neptune gold but decided to piece together a neptune system instead since I really wasn't sure if I needed the ORP.

 

I went with the Apex Controller with Lab Grade pH probe and added the AFS since I travel a lot for work, WXM for VorTech, PM2 and Lab Grade Salinity probe. $984 for everything. Expensive but since I am gone for a week every time I leave which is once or twice a month I need to be able to monitor and have my wife make the correct actions if needed. The nice part is I work from home when not traveling so I can monitor pretty closely the rest of the time.

 

I ordered the Reeflink when I ordered my XR15's so I am going to compare the functionality of both when it comes to the EcoTech products but will most likely be selling the reef link. Or maybe I will keep it for a while to see if EcoTech comes out with a bunch of wireless accessories for it. Only $99 and in the grande scheme of things that is relatively cheap for a reef tank piece of equipment so I'll probably just stick it in a closet for a while.

 

I run a apple airport extreme time capsule for internet with a plug in apple airport for extended wireless coverage in the house, I hope that the Apex will play well with it because my plan was to plug the airport into the wall behind the aquarium and connect the apex to it.

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