My 30g Finnex w/ Fuge

[Phixion]

Ahh, that helps, thanks Matt. Is there any adjusting that occurs at the knob on the piping that's next to the skimmer? it looks like and adjustment valve of a sort. Also how is the inside of the cup adjusted, I assume there's a valve in the middle on the inside?

 

And an off topic question, how on earth does the fuge light attach to the tank? And lastly, what do you do about your actinic light schedule since the moonlights turn on when the actinics switch is turned off? it won't working having them on a timer since the power is cut completely. =/

[ReefInChicago]

Ahh, that helps, thanks Matt. Is there any adjusting that occurs at the knob on the piping that's next to the skimmer? it looks like and adjustment valve of a sort. Also how is the inside of the cup adjusted, I assume there's a valve in the middle on the inside?

 

And an off topic question, how on earth does the fuge light attach to the tank? And lastly, what do you do about your actinic light schedule since the moonlights turn on when the actinics switch is turned off? it won't working having them on a timer since the power is cut completely. =/

 

1. the valve that's next to the skimmer is how you control how much flow gets into the skimmer. if you stand on the side of the tank that holds the skimmer, face the long view of the tank and look down, the valve setting on mine SEEMS to be set so if the knob is lined up in a vertical fashion (i.e. it's lined up down the long side of the tank), there won't be many bubbles getting into the skimmer cup. if it's horizontal, you'll be getting tons of water in the cup (i.e. the water overflows into the cup and there won't be any flow from the outflow into the chamber since everything's going into the skimmer). as you can see, mine is offset at an angle. the adjustment is not easy, but once you get it set for your tank you shouldn't have to adjust it further.

 

i didn't see any valve or adjustment on the pump itself or inside the skimmer. i think the valve i next to the skimmer is how you control this flow and the amount of water pumped into the skimmer itself. i could be wrong (this is the first time i've run a skimmer), but this setup worked for me.

 

you also probably will need to adjust the height of the skimmer so that the outflow from the valve goes over the baffle into chamber 2, otherwise you'll create backflow that won't allow much water into chamber 1. the skimmer will work fine in this case, but the level in chamber 1 will be very low. by combining the valve control with the height, you can get both good flow into chamber 2 and good skimmate collection.

 

2. lol! the fuge light doesn't attach. it sits directly on top of the fuge. there are little legs that you prop onto the inside wall of the fuge. it's kinda annoying.

 

3. i'm lucky enough to work at home when i'm not traveling. so, i do all my lighting manually. i'll probably invest in a timer for the daylight lamps eventually but right now, i turn the fuge light and actinics on for 12 hours (7 am to 7 pm) and the daylight lamps on for 10 hours (8 am to 6 pm). the moonlight is, obviously, on from 7 pm to 7 am.

 

one thing here: this is a good time to think about flourescing corals for the two points where the moonlamps sit. i've got some neon green center blastos under one side, and will find something similar for the other.

 

hope this helps, and keep posting your pics!

 

matt

[Phixion]

yeah, I don't like how the middle of the tank is left dark when the moonlights are on. I have my daylights on a timer (same one I used for my old AP12g tank) but the actinics I have on an always on outlet because of the need to manually switch them at night. Could you take a pic how you have the legs positioned for the fuge light? I figured it'll be fine sitting atop the glass cover over the fuge, lol! what a crazy design.

 

I'll mess around with the skimmer tonight, or try to at least. Maybe I'll wait a few more days for my corals and fish to all adjust to the new tank.

[ReefInChicago]

yeah, I don't like how the middle of the tank is left dark when the moonlights are on. I have my daylights on a timer (same one I used for my old AP12g tank) but the actinics I have on an always on outlet because of the need to manually switch them at night. Could you take a pic how you have the legs positioned for the fuge light? I figured it'll be fine sitting atop the glass cover over the fuge, lol! what a crazy design.

 

I'll mess around with the skimmer tonight, or try to at least. Maybe I'll wait a few more days for my corals and fish to all adjust to the new tank.

 

 

here's pics of the two ends of the fuge and light.

[Phixion]

Oh, you don't use the glass cover, or did your come with one? Mine came with 2 pieces of glass as top covers...

 

Also have you played around with the return adjustment at all? I guess it adusts how much flow goes to the fuge and how much out through the main return... Which is best? I have mine so there isn't much flow through the fuge...

[ReefInChicago]

Oh, you don't use the glass cover, or did your come with one? Mine came with 2 pieces of glass as top covers...

 

Also have you played around with the return adjustment at all? I guess it adusts how much flow goes to the fuge and how much out through the main return... Which is best? I have mine so there isn't much flow through the fuge...

 

mine didn't come with a glass cover, either for the main tank or the fuge.

 

i've got the return adjusted so i can tell, via current viewed from the top, that there's a reasonable flow.

 

next, the bad news, or the potentially bad news. i've seen more of the isopods the past couple nights. i was able to get a blurry pic of this one this evening.

 

anyone got either good or bad news for me? should i be running downstairs to get the 29 high and try to catch the fish?

[ReefInChicago]

i decided to start an isopod patrol. between last evening and this morning, i removed 14. the majority of them were either on the back or on my filtration bag in the back chamber, which leads me to believe these are indeed the scavenger type. i missed the biggest one, which managed to crawl into a rock after i took the pic but before i could get the baster on him.

[Phixion]

I emailed Finnex and they promptly replied to my questions, one answer might benifit you too depending where you got your tank from... First my email to them, then their reply back to me:

 

subject: M-Tank

 

message: Hello, I recently purchased one of the last 30 gallon glass M-tanks

that includes a built-in refugium, refugium light, protein skimmer, and

4x24w T5HO light fixture, and I have a few questions about the tank. I have

the tank set up and everything is working fine, I was very please with how

it was packaged for delivery transport.

 

My first question is with the light fixture. I notice that the moonlights

turn on when the switch for the actinic lights is turned off. Is there a way

to independantly control the moonlights so that I can use the actinic lights

on a timer along with the daylights rather than have to switch them on and

off manually?

 

My next question is, how does the refugium light attach? I don't understand

how the legs for it attack to the fixture or to the tank, the instructions

only show how to attach the main lighting fixture lights to the tank.

 

My last question is wondering what the control valve knob to the main pump

return is for, and what's the ideal setting for it. Also how do I adjust

the skimmer to eliminate the micro bubbles it produces? Thanks for any

help!

 

-Matthew

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Hi,

 

Thanks for purchasing our aquarium.

 

1. A separate power supply cord has to be added to the fixture for

independent control the moonlight.

 

2. The refugium light sit right on the glass cover. No legs to attach to the

fixture.

 

3. The valve is for adjusting the water flow into the refugium. If you want

the flow very slow to go through the refugium, you make adjustment by

turning the knob.

 

4. We will release a protein skimmer adaptor kit to reduce micro bubbles and

noise in mid January. If you purchase the aquarium from on-line retailers,

we should have you name on our list. If you purchase the aquarium from a

local fish store, you can pick up the kit from the store, when it is

available.

 

Ken

[ReefInChicago]

I emailed Finnex and they promptly replied to my questions, one answer might benifit you too depending where you got your tank from... First my email to them, then their reply back to me:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Hi,

 

Thanks for purchasing our aquarium.

 

1. A separate power supply cord has to be added to the fixture for

independent control the moonlight.

 

2. The refugium light sit right on the glass cover. No legs to attach to the

fixture.

 

3. The valve is for adjusting the water flow into the refugium. If you want

the flow very slow to go through the refugium, you make adjustment by

turning the knob.

 

4. We will release a protein skimmer adaptor kit to reduce micro bubbles and

noise in mid January. If you purchase the aquarium from on-line retailers,

we should have you name on our list. If you purchase the aquarium from a

local fish store, you can pick up the kit from the store, when it is

available.

 

Ken

 

thanks!

 

i got mine from nanotuners, so i'm hoping i'm on the list for the skimmer adaptor kit.

 

i did my weekly water changes today, and hit a major milestone:

 

ph: 8.2

ammonia: undetectable

nitrites: undetectable

nitrates: undetectable

phosphates: undetectable

calc: 415

 

i've usually had a trace of nitrites, nitrates and phosphates, so i'm really happy to see this. i had virtually the same results for the 12g, btw. the 6g still has traces of nitrite (0.01), nitrate (2.5) and phosphate (0.03). overall, some pretty good parms that i hope i can continue.

 

oh, and i've apparently hit some sort of limit on the pics i can post. do i have to go back and delete some of the earlier ones?

[Phixion]

oh, and i've apparently hit some sort of limit on the pics i can post. do i have to go back and delete some of the earlier ones?

 

Unfortunately, yeah. the limit is 5mb. You could always start up a FREE Photobucket account, that works well. www.photobucket.com

 

My ammonia has been 0 since I started the tank, and my nitrates were at 1 last night. Rather than start out a fresh tank, I transfered all of my existing livestock and some of my L/R from my Aquapod 12g into my new Finnex 30g. I also added 26lbs. of new L/R as well. In my case the only danger was a potential for a nitrate spike from the shock of the move, and mixing up the L/S with the new sand I added. Luckily everything has been very low to undetectable. The water is crystal clear and everything looks great. I was fortunate enough that my new L/R I got had been sitting in curing bins for almost 2 months at the LFS and was completely ready to go into an established tank. I kept the rock under water the entire time, even during transport to eliminate as much die-off as possible. Everything worked out great! My only parameter concern was that my pH started out at 8.0 in the new tank... Low, but within range. I'll have to test again tonight, as well as test my Ca and Alk since I have a clam in the tank.

 

I got my tank from Premium Aquatics, so I should be on that list I'd imagine... As for the glass covers, I'll have to get a pic of that to show you. I only found them by chance, as the were heavily bubble wrapped naturally in the bottom of the box under the tank. I almost didn't even see them till i dug around in there to see if I missed anything. I'm sure if you decided you wanted them, they could send you the covers at least for the cost of shipping, if not totally on their tab.

[ReefInChicago]

Unfortunately, yeah. the limit is 5mb. You could always start up a FREE Photobucket account, that works well. www.photobucket.com

 

i'll look into setting up one of those accounts tomorrow. today i'm going to zap a couple early pics.

 

thanks!

 

matt

 

here's an updated fts.

[Phixion]

new FTS looks great, Matt!

[ReefInChicago]

new FTS looks great, Matt!

 

thanks. it's starting to look a bit better, i think, esp. w/ some corraline algae growing in on the rocks. i'm still a bit worried about the isopods, but the more i read up and compare what i see with what's in the literature the less i worry. the paranoid in me was thinking about where to set up the 29 high i have in the basement as a fish holding tank, though. come to think of it.......that nice tank and stand just sitting down there......hmm.......

 

 

now i need to work on seeding some more zoas in some of the mid rockwork, and adding something on the right side that'll fill upwards (have seen a couple really nice candycanes that might do well there). i'm also looking for one ric or shroom frag that i can fill one of the lower areas with. i'll probably be looking into a couple lower-light sps frags for the top areas come springtime. i was considering a clam, but it seems like everyone here says you can't do a clam under anything but halides, and that's not going to happen on this tank. what do you have on yours, in terms of lighting? if it's t5's, do you think your clam will do well?

[Phixion]

Yes, mine is equipped with the 4x24 T5HO fixture. It's plenty bright I feel, but definitely not as bright as if the fixture had individual reflectors like some I've seen. Needing MH only for clams isn't true. I know quite a few reefers that have and do keep clams under T5HO. But I wouldn't do it under anything less than our fixtures or 96w, and it should be T5HO, not standard T5's. From the previous owner of my clam, he says the clam looks good so far and doesn't look like it's reaching a lot for light like it might if I were to have it on the sand. I have it as high up on my rock as I could put it, I believe it's only about an inch to inch and a half below the surface of the water at it's highest point. So i can't get it any closer to the light, lol!

 

I too am looking at some lower light SPS, a few montis and maybe torts. We'll see what I can find that can thrive under 96w of T5HO. hey Matt, I'm curious to your tank temps since you've had your's. I run up to 83 by the day, and 80 at night. I just have a 100w heater in it right now which I know isn't enough for a 30g tank (I have a 50w I can throw in at any time also, so I'm covered there) but i think either I need to adjust down my heater though I almost never see it on, it's set at 77 if I recall... I'm seriously considering running the heater off my CoralLife digital timer, so that it'll only be allowed to turn on at night, thus hopefully keeping the temps closer to 80 in the day. I know come summer I'll need a chiller and I'm going to be getting an Arctica Nano chiller for that, especailly since they are saying So. Cali where I live should have average temps OVER 100 this summer, ugh! I also don't have the skimmer running yet, and I'm sure that might affect temps up or down in someway when I start running it which I'll work on tonight...

[ReefInChicago]

Yes, mine is equipped with the 4x24 T5HO fixture. It's plenty bright I feel, but definitely not as bright as if the fixture had individual reflectors like some I've seen. Needing MH only for clams isn't true. I know quite a few reefers that have and do keep clams under T5HO. But I wouldn't do it under anything less than our fixtures or 96w, and it should be T5HO, not standard T5's. From the previous owner of my clam, he says the clam looks good so far and doesn't look like it's reaching a lot for light like it might if I were to have it on the sand. I have it as high up on my rock as I could put it, I believe it's only about an inch to inch and a half below the surface of the water at it's highest point. So i can't get it any closer to the light, lol!

 

I too am looking at some lower light SPS, a few montis and maybe torts. We'll see what I can find that can thrive under 96w of T5HO. hey Matt, I'm curious to your tank temps since you've had your's. I run up to 83 by the day, and 80 at night. I just have a 100w heater in it right now which I know isn't enough for a 30g tank (I have a 50w I can throw in at any time also, so I'm covered there) but i think either I need to adjust down my heater though I almost never see it on, it's set at 77 if I recall... I'm seriously considering running the heater off my CoralLife digital timer, so that it'll only be allowed to turn on at night, thus hopefully keeping the temps closer to 80 in the day. I know come summer I'll need a chiller and I'm going to be getting an Arctica Nano chiller for that, especailly since they are saying So. Cali where I live should have average temps OVER 100 this summer, ugh! I also don't have the skimmer running yet, and I'm sure that might affect temps up or down in someway when I start running it which I'll work on tonight...

 

interesting about the clam. i've got a spot or two that could handle a smaller one up high, but i don't know much about them. what sp. is yours? i've read that the smaller ones feed mainly off of phyto early anyway. thoughts?

 

from a temp perspective, i'm in the semi-frozen tundra of chicago, where this winter it's been mostly semi and not so much frozen. we run our house temps at 67-68 degrees all winter, and during summer when we have the air on, it's around 78. my tank runs at a pretty constant 78 degrees (that's what my heater is set on) measured in the fuge with a floating thermometer (i have one of those stickons on the outside, but that's mostly so i can see BIG swings if they happen).

 

i'm using a 200w (or 250, i can't remember) stealth, and mine seems to be calibrated pretty well. i can't tell if it's on or not, but it works (i use small stealths set at the same temp to heat my water for changes.....it comes up from the ro/di in the basement, which is in the 50s all year 'round.......great for storing wine but not so good for fish). i had a 200w in my 55g freshwater that i 'set and forgot'......until one day i looked at the sticky thermometer and it said 83! i dumped a floating one in just to be sure. the stealth was set for 78. i adjusted it down to 73 and it's been 78 since. <shrug>

 

calibration is important, i guess.

 

i don't get much daytime swing, if any, but that's probably due to the cooler house temps. it'll be interesting to see what summer does in terms of the temps. i don't have any chiller plans right now, but i may need to.

 

let me know what you think about the clam.......there are some pretty nice ones at a couple lfs's i've seen, but i've always thought they were out of my reach until i got halides.

 

thanks!

 

matt

[Phixion]

No prob Matt. My clam is a Croeca clam. I'd say that mught be a good type to try out. Mine was originally under 150w Mh from the previous owner and I'm not sure what it was under from the 1st owner...

 

For temps, my apartment stays in the 70's by day. During our 110+ heatwaves this past summer, I kept my A/C at 77 24/7 so it would at least not run the whole tyme, but cycle on and off. The corner my tank is in is usually about 5 degrees warmer than by the A/C, so figure 82F in the summer. I'm thinking my temps might be higher than others with the tank well partly because of my location, but also I'm sure the glass covers heep a bit more heat in as well. the only part of the tank not covered, is the part where the light is over. The fuge and front most area are covered with the glass. I'd leave it off, but I fear for my clown and jawfish if I were to. I open my windows at night for the time being since it dips into the 40's by night, and the apartment is in the low to mid 60's. I guess my temps aren't that bad really. I'd like to keep as close to 80-81 as possible however.

 

I'd say go for a clam though, just find out which would be best under 96w of T5HO.

[jantu02]

Tagging along...

 

Your tank looks great so far. I got the same tank with the upgraded lighting for chrsitmas sitting in my basement. I am just waiting for my stand to be finished.

 

My wife also purchased me a 1/15 hp Current USA chiller for the tank in anticipation of her unwillingness to use AC when I am at work (at least she thought of the tank)... Anyway, I am having difficulty deciding how to plumb the chiller. The two options I came up with:

 

Option #1

Plumb the chiller with an external pump (Eheim 1260 rated 602 GPH or Eheim 1262 rated 898 GPH). Water would be pulled from the central sump area and returned to skimmer section. My only concern with this option is running an external pump. I have no experience with external pumps and I concerned, well I should say my wife is concerned about the noise associated with the pump. (She couldn't stand the sound of an air pump on our 10 gallon goldfish tank!!!)

 

Option #2

replace the stock pump (which is rated at 475 GPH) with a larger pump such as this:

 

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=VA2719

or

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=VA2721

 

The ViaAqua pumps are rated 977 and 1077 GPH respectively. These pumps seems to be the only ones that will fit the narrow opening in the main return area of the sump. This pump could sit in the same location as the stock pump and act as both the main return pump while, at the same time, feed water to the chiller. The chiller has a minimum flow through of 100GPH for proper functioing accordinag to the manufactorer. I would need to split the output from the pump from 3/4" into one 1/2" line for the chiller and one 5/8" line for the return. My concern with this option is having to reduce the output from the pump from 3/4" into one 1/2" line to the chiller and one 5/8" return to the main tank... Microbubbles may be an issue I've been told... Does this sound feesible?

 

This is my first reef tank so I am trying to do it right. What does everyone think???

[Phixion]

Matt, here's a pic of my tank where the glass covers are visible...

 

 

More than likely what's holding my heat in... It was cool outside today, peaked at 70F so my tank only peaked at 81.9F thankfully.

[ReefInChicago]

Matt, here's a pic of my tank where the glass covers are visible...

 

 

More than likely what's holding my heat in... It was cool outside today, peaked at 70F so my tank only peaked at 81.9F thankfully.

 

yeah, more than likely you're not getting much if any surface transfer of heat, so the day and the lights are likely driving the temps up. actually after looking at this on your tank, no offense but i like the open top better. more air exchange general, and certainly less 'stuff' to keep clean. otoh, it's limiting in the sp. of fish i can keep, and a potential jumping hazard. tradeoffs. right now i don't have any known jumpers, but ime with fw tanks, ANY fish can attempt aerobatics, regardless if they're supposed to or not.

 

jantu, you might want to head over to phix's thread and ask the chiller q there, or just post it as a standalone. i don't know much about chillers and plumbing (actually, i'm giving myself too much credit.....i know NOTHING about chillers and plumbing), so i'm afraid i can't help you. someone can, though.

 

matt

[Phixion]

There's also the evaporation trade-off with having the covers as well. But my concern was for my potential fish that can jump like my jawfish. I could always relocate my clam to where my torch on the left side is, then it would be directly under the light and not under the glass cover. I left a skimmer question for you in my thread.

[ReefInChicago]

There's also the evaporation trade-off with having the covers as well. But my concern was for my potential fish that can jump like my jawfish. I could always relocate my clam to where my torch on the left side is, then it would be directly under the light and not under the glass cover. I left a skimmer question for you in my thread.

 

from an evap perspective, i add water am and pm. total for the week is somewhere around 4g (so, let's say a bit less than a quart each add. i'm gonna need to think about this when i hit the road again for business (next week), because my wife wil be feeding and topping off. hmm......better write all this stuff down and give her a checklist .

[jantu02]

Do you run any filter floss or other mechanical media in the back of your tank?

[ReefInChicago]

Do you run any filter floss or other mechanical media in the back of your tank?

 

yes, i have a bag that contains floss, carbon and purigen. i've positioned it so it's sitting on the intake to the skimmer and the outflow from the skimmer runs over/through it, and if i'm mucking with the baster to blow detritus off the rock i'll actually put the mouth of the bag over the outflow so the flow runs directly through.

 

i change the floss 2x per week (testing day, water change day).

[jantu02]

Did you start your tank with the carbon and purigen or were they added after the initial cycle? How often do you change the carbon and purigen?

[ReefInChicago]

Did you start your tank with the carbon and purigen or were they added after the initial cycle? How often do you change the carbon and purigen?

 

both were added later (i.e. 6 week old tank, added the carbon/purigen/floss1.5 weeks ago). i wanted a bit of mechanical filtration (floss) and read around here abt purigen and its ability to bond nutrients, so i decided to go with that as well. the carbon was actually an afterthought as i was changing out the carbon i keep in chamber 3 (with pump and heater) of each of my cubes. purigen i'm not as sure on......you have to keep an eye one it as it discolors. they claim 6 months or so, but i don't know if 'they' are correct.