PodRod Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 Your tank is looking great! I've been watching the progress with your tank, as well as Cristina's and EZ's. I simply love this tank and finally broke down and purchased mine yesterday. It will be here next week but I'm going to wait until after Christmas to set it up since I'll be gone for a week over the holidays. I sold my AquaPod 24 about 8 months ago and tried to get out of the hobby but it's like a nasty addiction and I finally caved. I opted for the SunPod 250W MH since I'll be housing mostly SPS and clams. I'm interested in any feedback you have to offer regarding setup/configuration. I was going to stay away from the ACJR but I'm thinking now that it may be wise to go ahead and invest - thoughts? Keep the updates coming - I look forward to the progress! Link to comment
Dirt4dinner Posted November 21, 2007 Author Share Posted November 21, 2007 Glad you got one coming! I am pretty sure with a tank this size that a 150W halide will do the trick for any SPS corals...but I also know that not everyone is into the "hair dryer" light. You might be able to save some money and go with the 150 though...250 is a TON of light for a tank this size, to much in my opinion. So far my only complaint is that the top off bottles only last about 6-8 hours...but then again most all in one tanks don't have them at all. I am hoping with the ACJR that I can minimize the evaporation by only running the fan when it's needed. Tank temp. seems to be the biggest problem, and the best solution for that is the controller. I would get one if the budget allows it. Link to comment
Cristina_j Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 PODROD, I've got a few pieces of SPS in my tank that are doing well under the 150w light, I did have them near the bottom of the tank and managed to bleach all of them (they came from the bf's tank which has t5's). Color is finally starting to come back, well has on everything but the pocillapora (spelling?). I've got 3 different types of Digitata, and a birdsnest frag. Since reaquascaping I've moved them all near the top and they haven't really changed much... Plus I house the clam. I'm wishing for more flow for christmas though! With the 150w on this tank, dropped to near the water my tank ran close to 90 degrees (this is also with glass top off, top on , add another 5+ degrees). So I can't imagine how hot your tank will be if you don't get some sort of controller or chiller. I'm dealing right now with it being 84 degrees in my tank with the lights about 8-10 inches up off the surface of the water. Now I live in FL, where the humidity is still at 90% and our days are still hitting 84-85 degrees. The BF has turned the Air off in the house, and on the weekends with all windows and doors open the tank stays at close to 80. So i guess dependent on your weather, you may have better luck. We'll be looking for your build once you set up. Good luck... Link to comment
ezcompany Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 the tank runs warm because the return pump also runs pretty warm. plus you have the skimmer pump and not as much surface area as rectangular tanks do. if i let my tank run without a chiller and the outer orbits it would be way past 90 degrees Link to comment
PodRod Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 Thanks for the feedback! I took your advice and ordered the ACJR and I’m now trying to decide on which chiller to get. I did not use a chiller on my previous tanks so I have no prior experience with them – any suggestions? I’m looking at the Prime Mini 1/15 but not sure which pump I need. I agree, the 250W is a lot of light but I used a 150W Sunpod on my last two tanks and I was always wishing I had more light. I still have my 150W to switch out if the light is too intense. The hardest part is waiting until after the holidays to set up my tank. In the meantime, I’m watching the progress of the new Solana tanks on the board so keep those pics coming and I’ll reciprocate soon! Link to comment
Cristina_j Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 PODRod, Why don't you set up your tank now and get it cycling, since this coud wait at least a month, you won't be waiting too long, before you can start adding corals and fish right after the holidays and your trip. I went today and picked up a light timer for my tank, I'm starting it off early morning, and turning off at about 11, then it will come back on at 1 or 2 and then back off for the night at 8. I had this recommended by another member and it seemed to be working for them...I figured it was worth a try, and trying to see if it will cut down on my temp in the tank. The chiller I've been eyein is a 1/15hp. I have no clue either on the pump. My LFS has been helping me out tremendously, and even priced out a few items I'll be ordering as Christmas presents... Link to comment
PodRod Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 PODRod,Why don't you set up your tank now and get it cycling, since this coud wait at least a month, you won't be waiting too long, before you can start adding corals and fish right after the holidays and your trip. I went today and picked up a light timer for my tank, I'm starting it off early morning, and turning off at about 11, then it will come back on at 1 or 2 and then back off for the night at 8. I had this recommended by another member and it seemed to be working for them...I figured it was worth a try, and trying to see if it will cut down on my temp in the tank. The chiller I've been eyein is a 1/15hp. I have no clue either on the pump. My LFS has been helping me out tremendously, and even priced out a few items I'll be ordering as Christmas presents... Cristina, I'm also looking at the 1/15 chiller and I'm dropping strong hints for my husband that this would make a perfect gift! On my last two AP 24G tanks, I had a 150W Sunpod and had it set on timers that worked perfectly. I had the lights come on at 11:00 and off at 8:00. I had a small fan set to come on with the lights and maintained a consistant temp of 78-79 degrees. I would love to go ahead and set up my tank when it gets here next week, but I just can't leave for 9 days with the pumps circulating. There is just too much that could go wrong and I'd worry the entire time. Plus those first few days are always so much fun to watch the small changes begin to occur. I'll just have to keep following you tank until then! Let me know how the timer works. PodRod Link to comment
Timanator Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 Good lord this is a baller project!!! Looks schweet so far. Link to comment
Dirt4dinner Posted November 27, 2007 Author Share Posted November 27, 2007 I got my Aquacontroller Jr. in the mail today!!!! Took me a few hours to get it all programed, and set up. It's a pretty easy process...except for when I accidentally deleted all the programs right when I got done. Oops...don't select Init. Memory, bad idea. So, I got to program mine twice. While I was gone for the holidays my buddy didn't remember to empty the skimmer, so my algae problem got 10 times worse over the 5 days I was gone. I am running a super wet skim trying to get it cleared up a little. I am going to do the first water change tomorrow. Other than that the 8 snails are doing well, and keeping it fairly clean, but they couldn't keep up with the skimmer overflowing the whole time I was gone. Oh well. That's exactly why I didn't add any fish or corals before I left. Link to comment
PodRod Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 I'm glad to see your tank coming along so well. I'm setting mine up this weekend (Cristina talked me into it in her last post). I'm relieved to hear the ACJR was not too hard to program - did you connect it to your computer or program it from the controller? Just curious as to if I need to purchase the optional serial port... Welcome back from vacation - can't wait to see more pics as you begin stocking! Link to comment
Dirt4dinner Posted November 27, 2007 Author Share Posted November 27, 2007 I'm glad to see your tank coming along so well. I'm setting mine up this weekend (Cristina talked me into it in her last post). I'm relieved to hear the ACJR was not too hard to program - did you connect it to your computer or program it from the controller? Just curious as to if I need to purchase the optional serial port... Welcome back from vacation - can't wait to see more pics as you begin stocking! I didn't use the serial port connection at all. I just simply set on the ground in front of it and entered everything in. A bit of free advice...write out all the programs you want to use, then go through and enter them. If you ask nicely I might even type out the programs that I have done so far to give you a head start...unless you want to go at it on your own (it wasn't that hard). Link to comment
rmcgookey Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 I like that setup! I just set up one of these tanks over the weekend. started a thread here... http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...c=137911&hl= Link to comment
PodRod Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 I didn't use the serial port connection at all. I just simply set on the ground in front of it and entered everything in. A bit of free advice...write out all the programs you want to use, then go through and enter them. If you ask nicely I might even type out the programs that I have done so far to give you a head start...unless you want to go at it on your own (it wasn't that hard). Pretty please, pretty please, pretty please I would LOVE to have a head start Link to comment
Dirt4dinner Posted November 27, 2007 Author Share Posted November 27, 2007 Pretty please, pretty please, pretty please I would LOVE to have a head start I figured you would ask! Here is how my DC8 is set up. You can do whatever works for you, I found that some of the larger plug transformers had to be put in certain spots to get everything plugged in. 1- LT1 (metal halide) 2- LU1 (Left moon light) 3- HEA (heater) 4- FAN (Jebo Fan) 5- KOR (Koralia Pump) 6- EMPTY 7- LU2 (Right moon light) 8- EMPTY Here are the programs that I have so far. If Temp < 78.7 then HEA on If Temp > 79.0 then HEA off If Temp < 79.3 then FAN on If Temp > 79.0 then FAN off If Time > 8:30 then LT1 on If Time > 22:00 then LT1 off If Time > 21:30 then LUN1 on If Time > 9:00 then LUN1 off If Time > 21:30 then LUN2 on If Time > 9:00 then LUN2 off So those basic commands turn my heater on and off with .3 degree temp swing, and same for my fan. It also turns my metal halide on and off, and the lunar lights over lap the metal halide by 30 min. I would still like to set up a program to turn the metal halide off if the temp hits 83 or higher. I am also wanting to install an alarm buzzer to notify me of temp spikes in either direction, and also to notify me if the power goes out. But I have to figure out what type of buzzer I need to buy to hook it to the DC8. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions. -DIRT4DINNER p.s.- on a side note, since I installed the ACJR, my temp has not swayed more than 1.3 degrees total!!! That includes all night long with the house pretty chilly, and also with the house pretty warm during the morning! The Jebo Fan and 50W heater are doing the trick...and the aquacontroller is working like a CHARM! Link to comment
Dirt4dinner Posted November 30, 2007 Author Share Posted November 30, 2007 Well, I ran into a little problem last night with the new aquacontroller. The temp probe went bad over night. I check the back log, and at 4 am the tank was 79, one hour later it checked in at 120. So, the temp probe has been sent to Neptune and I am waiting for the replacement. I also more than doubled the clean up crew. I added 4 small blue leg hermits, 3 more cerith snails, 3 nassarius snails, 1 emerald crab, and 1 sally light foot crab. They did a pretty good job over night getting rid of some of the algae. However some of the algae has grown HUGE, and I might have to start taking it out by hand. We will see what they can do to it before the new temp probe gets here. Link to comment
PodRod Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 Wow - that's a bummer about the temp probe. I hope that is an uncommon problem since I'll be installing my ACJR tomorrow. Thanks for the program by the way! I got my tank set up today and water is all made and ready to go. I just need to find live rock tomorrow and I'll be in business. Hopefully your additional clean up crew will take care of the algae problem. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! Link to comment
Dirt4dinner Posted December 8, 2007 Author Share Posted December 8, 2007 Well, It's been nearly 2 weeks since I have updated this. I have since added nearly 20 corals ranging from Watermelon Zoas, to neon green slimer, and several acans. There is a whole host of SPS, LPS and zoas. I have also added several fish including; a court jester goby, yellow watchman goby, yellow strip shrimp goby and today a Tri Spot Wrasse. There is also a Tiger Pistol Shrimp hanging out with the watchman goby. The tank is doing VERY well. I got my temp probe back from Neptune, ordered a pH probe and added a SUPER tiny power head from www.fragglereef.com which I am really happy with and am using just to get a little flow between a couple rocks. Anyways, I will be adding photos in the next few weeks, I don't like the look of the coral puddy I had to use to mount the SPS frags, so I need a little algae to cover up the white puddy, then I will post photos. Link to comment
Dirt4dinner Posted January 5, 2008 Author Share Posted January 5, 2008 Hey everyone, sorry for the LONG delay! I have had some ups and downs with the tank. I made one pretty major mistake that cost me a few fish. Thankfully no corals though. I am not used to a tank this small...which was a BIG mistake when planning my additives. I use Tropic Marine Pro Salt and do weekly water changes of 5 gallons. I was also adding the recommended dose of B-Ionic solution. I was testing Calcium and was within the high range of acceptable, HOWEVER I was NOT checking my Alk. (STUPID I KNOW!). So, with the lose of a few fish for no apparent reason I started trying to figure out the problem. My calcium, NO2, NO3 and Ammo where great, I have my pH being monitored and it is steady and perfect, my temp stays strong with the ACJR running the show. So that left me wondering. That's when I tested my Alk and found out it was sitting just over 15!!! YIKES. So that is what killed my fish. I have since remedied the problem and the tank is doing very well! My only problem now is a little bit of cyno. that won't go away. I think this is from phosphates in my water, but I haven't confirmed this. It has gotten better but is not gone. I took a series of photos today to share with you all and you will see the cyno in the bottom. I just added those pieces of white rubble today because I added a Pearly Jawfish to the tank, and thought he might need some building material. As you can see I have stoked the tank pretty heavy with SPS corals and a few LPS and some zoas. The SPS are doing phenominal in the tank. They have been in there about one month and have already started to cover the putty I used to mount them. I was lucky enough to get EVERY coral in the tank for free at this point (it's all about who you know!). I added a barred Goby, and a Midas Blenny today as well. The fish are already eating, and I am confident with the Alk in check that things will go ok. Enjoy the photos! -DIRT Link to comment
SirTagle Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Hey everyone, sorry for the LONG delay! I have had some ups and downs with the tank. I made one pretty major mistake that cost me a few fish. Thankfully no corals though. I am not used to a tank this small...which was a BIG mistake when planning my additives. I use Tropic Marine Pro Salt and do weekly water changes of 5 gallons. I was also adding the recommended dose of B-Ionic solution. I was testing Calcium and was within the high range of acceptable, HOWEVER I was NOT checking my Alk. (STUPID I KNOW!). So, with the lose of a few fish for no apparent reason I started trying to figure out the problem. My calcium, NO2, NO3 and Ammo where great, I have my pH being monitored and it is steady and perfect, my temp stays strong with the ACJR running the show. So that left me wondering. That's when I tested my Alk and found out it was sitting just over 15!!! YIKES. So that is what killed my fish. I have since remedied the problem and the tank is doing very well! My only problem now is a little bit of cyno. that won't go away. I think this is from phosphates in my water, but I haven't confirmed this. It has gotten better but is not gone. I took a series of photos today to share with you all and you will see the cyno in the bottom. I just added those pieces of white rubble today because I added a Pearly Jawfish to the tank, and thought he might need some building material. As you can see I have stoked the tank pretty heavy with SPS corals and a few LPS and some zoas. The SPS are doing phenominal in the tank. They have been in there about one month and have already started to cover the putty I used to mount them. I was lucky enough to get EVERY coral in the tank for free at this point (it's all about who you know!). I added a barred Goby, and a Midas Blenny today as well. The fish are already eating, and I am confident with the Alk in check that things will go ok. Enjoy the photos! -DIRT So you were using B-Ionic 2 part solution? I didnt know that could make your Alk go that crazy. I would of thought your Ca would go up faster then the Alk would. Where you dripping in 5 ml of both solutions everyday? Just wondering, nice tank too. What does one of those things cost? Link to comment
Dirt4dinner Posted January 5, 2008 Author Share Posted January 5, 2008 I was dosing 1 cap full of each daily. My calcium was high...but not dangerously high. It was at about 480-490. However that alk was going up, up, and away! The tank, stand, and light retail for about $800 and that includes the skimmer and return pump. I am super happy with it! Luckily I have connections in the local area and got it for retail. After owning it for a few months though, it's worth every penny to buy it retail! Link to comment
SirTagle Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 I was dosing 1 cap full of each daily. My calcium was high...but not dangerously high. It was at about 480-490. However that alk was going up, up, and away! The tank, stand, and light retail for about $800 and that includes the skimmer and return pump. I am super happy with it! Luckily I have connections in the local area and got it for retail. After owning it for a few months though, it's worth every penny to buy it retail! Nice price, I think those things go for like $1300 or something right? So, I guess the reason why the Ca and Alk was getting so high was because there were no hard corals that used either of the two for building material. I do not have any hard corals either, but I do dose B-Ionic when ever I can, usually after I do a full water test. Nice tank man!! Link to comment
kc350twin Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Nice price, I think those things go for like $1300 or something right? So, I guess the reason why the Ca and Alk was getting so high was because there were no hard corals that used either of the two for building material. I do not have any hard corals either, but I do dose B-Ionic when ever I can, usually after I do a full water test. Nice tank man!! One question. It's probably the pictures but is the light path of the pendent really narrow? Is the Light height adjustable? I just did some research on it after seeing your post and man I think I need one of those. Great looking tank. Thanks for any info in advance. KC3 Link to comment
Dirt4dinner Posted January 6, 2008 Author Share Posted January 6, 2008 I don't consider the light path to be narrow at all, I think it's just the photo. The light can be adjusted up and down about 8" or so...more than enough! People who don't run chillers or fans on these tanks have to move the light WAY up to keep the temp down. I have found that with an ACJR and a dual Jebo Fan system that I can maintain a tank temp without having the light very high. The higher the light the more light that is cast onto the walls around the tank, and I don't like to light up the whole living room. All in all the tank is terrific, the light is terrific and I couldn't be more happy. My only recommendation is to purchase some type of controller to help keep a steady temp. Link to comment
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