Phixion Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 Just to give credit where it might be due, I've been having a very positive experience with the Finnex 30g stock skimmer. Within a day of filing my tank with quasi-cured rock (had been out of water for about 30 hours), the skimmer cup was half full with really dark green skimmate. Don't know why my Finnex skimmer is performing well while others have not (or whether it will continue to do so, but I thought I'd share my positive experience. The Finnex skimmer is 90% patience and like 10% luck. I dunno, but mine works GREAT! Once in a while it'll have odd spats where it just works weird, but the rest of the time it does what it does and does it well. Link to comment
UWW Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 I am thinking about getting the Finnex M-Tank 30 w/ the T5 lighting, what is your guys thoughts on this? What will I be able to keep? Should I replace the bulbs, can I add individual reflectors and how? Link to comment
Phixion Posted May 31, 2008 Author Share Posted May 31, 2008 I am thinking about getting the Finnex M-Tank 30 w/ the T5 lighting, what is your guys thoughts on this? What will I be able to keep? Should I replace the bulbs, can I add individual reflectors and how? Read up on my Finnex 30g tank thread linked in my signature below. All of your questions will be answered in there. Link to comment
UWW Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 where did u get ur clip in Tek Reflectors and how do you put them in? Link to comment
MLK Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Burtbollinger, I love the Wire references! Tell me if you have any fish named Avon, or Marlo...LOL Omar... Anyways, I might be getting a 30gal M tank this weekend. The whole setup includes the stand and 150 MH light, and all equipment for $375. Does this sound like a good price to pay for a 7 month old setup? Link to comment
Phixion Posted July 28, 2008 Author Share Posted July 28, 2008 Burtbollinger, I love the Wire references! Tell me if you have any fish named Avon, or Marlo...LOL Omar... Anyways, I might be getting a 30gal M tank this weekend. The whole setup includes the stand and 150 MH light, and all equipment for $375. Does this sound like a good price to pay for a 7 month old setup? I'd say yes. UWW, I got my reflectors from Reegeeks.com but they sell the newer versions of them which are "1 wider and will NOT fit in the stock fixture without serious bending and/or modification of things. The ones I have simply just clipped onto the bulbs. Clip-in. Link to comment
swjim Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Hi all, I have a new Finnex 30 gal M tank with 6x24 T5s in the process of cycling right now. It has only been up for about a week and a half with about 30lbs of base rock and 6lbs of live rock. For those of you who are using the stock skimmer, did you need to do any tuning, height adjustments or mods to it in order to improve its efficiency or did you just drop it in and let it break in normally? I havn't started running the skimmer yet, I'll probably turn it on after I start adding inhabitants, I just want to see if there is anything I can do in the mean time. Thanks. Jim Link to comment
Phixion Posted July 28, 2008 Author Share Posted July 28, 2008 I just dropped mine in and did adjustments to the adjustment knob about a week after having it running when I could actually tell how much differance an adjustment made. You can put the skimmer in a bucket to break-in however to minimize the micro bubbles while it breaks-in in your tank. But no mods necessary to the skimmer for it to work well. Link to comment
swjim Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Thanks Phixion, that's great to hear. I'll keep my fingers crossed that I have similar luck to yours with my skimmer. Link to comment
Cshradr7 Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 i haven't been following this thread for quite a while...actually since i got my m-tank right after they came out so maybe this has been talked about, maybe not. has anybody figured out a way to clean between the back glass and the fuge? i'm getting ready to sell my tank so i can study abroad but it just looks dirty with all that algae still stuck between there. any thoughts? Link to comment
Phixion Posted July 28, 2008 Author Share Posted July 28, 2008 i haven't been following this thread for quite a while...actually since i got my m-tank right after they came out so maybe this has been talked about, maybe not. has anybody figured out a way to clean between the back glass and the fuge? i'm getting ready to sell my tank so i can study abroad but it just looks dirty with all that algae still stuck between there. any thoughts? Short of removing the fuge, not really. On my tank I see some weird water level thing going on between the fuge acrylic and the glass on the side like when you put water between two pieces of glass. No algae growing though between fortunately... Link to comment
MLK Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 What exactly is it about the stand that ppl do not like? I understand that it would be wobbly considering that with the tank it would be pretty top-heavy, but is this because it is on carpet? Would a fix be to lay some thin brick tiles underneath it? Does anyone who has hardwood floors think the stand is wobbly still? Link to comment
Phixion Posted July 29, 2008 Author Share Posted July 29, 2008 I don't understand the whole hating the stand either. Just about ANY AIO specific stand is crappy in one way or another. Short of using actual WOOD to make a stand, any using particle board will be crap really. That all said, I'm satisfied with my Finnex stand as it does it's job which is hold the tank! Link to comment
MLK Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 If i am unwilling to change out the stock pump, would putting one or two koralia powerheads make up for it? Also, what are the main differences btwn the gen 1 and gen 2 tanks? the tank I'm going to get appears to be a gen 1 version. From looking at pics, what I noticed was the gen 1 tanks have the refugium all the way on the right side, and the return from the pump is in the middle of the tank. Is there any noticeable difference in the performance btwn the two? Link to comment
swjim Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 If i am unwilling to change out the stock pump, would putting one or two koralia powerheads make up for it? I think you'll find a lot of people who have supplemented the stock pump with additional powerheads. As to how many to add, it really depends on what you want to keep and how your rock structure is laid out. Right now I have a single Koriala2 in my tank that is currently cycling. I have around 40lbs of rock in the tank. My plan is to have mostly SPS and LPS with some ricordia and zoos and I have already decided that although the flow is pretty good I will want to add a second Koriala when I start adding corals. Link to comment
Phixion Posted July 30, 2008 Author Share Posted July 30, 2008 If i am unwilling to change out the stock pump, would putting one or two koralia powerheads make up for it? Also, what are the main differences btwn the gen 1 and gen 2 tanks? the tank I'm going to get appears to be a gen 1 version. From looking at pics, what I noticed was the gen 1 tanks have the refugium all the way on the right side, and the return from the pump is in the middle of the tank. Is there any noticeable difference in the performance btwn the two? You are corect about the differances between the 2 generations of the tank. The ONLY noticeable differance I can conclude between them is the 2nd gen seems like it might get more thurough flow through the back as the water has to flow completely under the fuge to get to the main return pump, where with the 1st gen version, the water under the fuge can lay stagnent and not necessarily get sucked up by the pump into the display. I do like having the pum in the middle though and the fuge on the side as it seems easier to view the fuge this way, and also it's really nice having the main return plumb through the middle of the false wall instead of off to one side. As to your other question, swapping pumps certainly is not required. You'd do just fine say adding either a pair of K1's or Tunze 6025's to each side of the false wall to add flow to the display. I upgraded my return pump for 2 reasons really, one was just to see if it could be done successfully, and the other was to actually achieve double the flow through the back if possible. Link to comment
MLK Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 So you think the Tunze 6025's wont be too strong for the tank? I was thinking about the Koralia 1's, but I heard from a guy from the LFS that his Koralia died in his tank, releasing some yellow toxin that killed a couple of his fish... Link to comment
Phixion Posted July 31, 2008 Author Share Posted July 31, 2008 I have a Koralia and have had NO problems with it. Neither has anyone I know with them. The Tunze won't be too much flow though. Link to comment
MLK Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 What pump can I replace the stock pump with? I got my used 30g M tank today and the back pump is noiser than I believe it should normally be (lots of loud banging noises, I believe there is something wrong with the rod that holds the impeller, or it may be something completely different). I just need something asap, it doesn't have to be something stronger I just need a solution by tomorrow night. I won't be able to sleep very much with this loud noise. Link to comment
Phixion Posted August 1, 2008 Author Share Posted August 1, 2008 What pump can I replace the stock pump with? I got my used 30g M tank today and the back pump is noiser than I believe it should normally be (lots of loud banging noises, I believe there is something wrong with the rod that holds the impeller, or it may be something completely different). I just need something asap, it doesn't have to be something stronger I just need a solution by tomorrow night. I won't be able to sleep very much with this loud noise. First try cleaning out the stock pump if you haven't done so already. If that doesn't help, soak it in vinegar for a couple hours then rinse off thuroghly. If that doesn't help, the pump I used was the Rio 14HF. The 12Hf is the same size (slower GPH though at around 660gph I believe) but be warned that Rio pumps are very noisey. =/ Good luck!! Link to comment
MLK Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 Well, the initial problem I had with the stock pump was that it wouldnt work when I first turned it on. After fiddling with the impeller and so forth it works but with a lot of rumbling noise. I noticed that the rod that runs in the middle of the impeller has a gash in th middle of it and one of the ends is pretty worn down. I placed an order on the finnex website for a replacement pump as I want it to be as quiet as possible. They haven't answered whether they can sell a replacement impeller or not so I just bought a whole new pump. My next question is, where can I get a replacement bulb for the fuge? I asked finnex about this as well and they told me to buy a new fixture from premium aquatics for $30. All I need is the bulb and I cant seem to find it anywhere. I asked finnex about the bulb as well with no response. Link to comment
Phixion Posted August 3, 2008 Author Share Posted August 3, 2008 That's odd, Ron @ Finnex is usually VERY good at responding promptly, unless you emailed him yesterday (friday) in which you won't get a response till monday. Turn around on emails is usually next day unless you get it in earlier in the day as has been my exerience with them and my numorous emails I've sent inquiring about EVERYTHING, lol! The fuge light bulb should just be a standard 13w dual (linear) pin CF bulb. There is no need to buy a new fixture for it. Here's a link to one. Link to comment
Obsessed Reefer Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 Hey Phixion, Can you post the dimensions of the tank, display, and sump? Thanks! Link to comment
MLK Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 That's odd, Ron @ Finnex is usually VERY good at responding promptly, unless you emailed him yesterday (friday) in which you won't get a response till monday. Turn around on emails is usually next day unless you get it in earlier in the day as has been my exerience with them and my numorous emails I've sent inquiring about EVERYTHING, lol! The fuge light bulb should just be a standard 13w dual (linear) pin CF bulb. There is no need to buy a new fixture for it. Here's a link to one. Thanks a lot for the quick response and the link Phixion! I really appreciate it!!! BTW, is there a phone number that I can call for Finnex? I busted the front glass cover piece with my knee the other night and I also want to buy a silencer thing for the skimmer airline. Link to comment
Phixion Posted August 3, 2008 Author Share Posted August 3, 2008 The skimmer should have came with one. I don't have a number unfortunately, just their email. Link to comment
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