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Cultivated Reef

The Official All Solana Owner's Thread


d'Espresso

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Well GSP are the heartier stuff you could get, GSP are good for newbies if you rate it as a coral that wont die on you, but it is not a newbie coral when you consider everything else that comes with it, such as controlling the coral so it wont take over your tank specially on nano reefs , if the GSP is near your aqua scape it will just grow on every rock it touches and you will need to peel it off to control it or place a coral aggressive enough that will stop its growths like a frog spawn or torch. Good luck

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Those of you with the sapphire aquatics protein skimmer.... is it easy to install / easy to clean out? I am a newb with this kind of thing, and want to make sure if I order it, I won't have any problems with installation or maintenance. Thanks!

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d'Espresso can you post some pictures of the skimmate produce by the skimmer and the bubble production as well, I haven't change my stock skimmer yet, can you believe it??? is been about a year and 2 months with that junk hahaha. I'm considering the Sapphire Aquatics, the Euro-Reef or the Tunze 9002 so I'm looking for some reviews on these skimmers.

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Sure I can post it up later on. I'm still at work, it's been along day working 11hour a day from 10-9 everyday. But if you check out my thread on the 2 page or 3 page I have the skimmer sitting flush nothing stick out giving the tank the clean rimless look! I should have plenty picture there.

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My Sapphire is still breaking in.

 

sapphire.jpg

 

what model is that sapphire aquatics skimmer do you have? mine looks alittle different from yours. my pump is on the top side and i see in this photo that yours is on the bottom. did they remodel it?

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what model is that sapphire aquatics skimmer do you have? mine looks alittle different from yours. my pump is on the top side and i see in this photo that yours is on the bottom. did they remodel it?

 

Yes, they've changed the design I believe for most, if not all models, to have the pump on the bottom. Not sure when it started. I've only seen pics of the design you have and assume there are some changes in the dimensions of the unit as a result of the pump relocation.

Edited by dyer_maker
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Solana owners... what is the best way to clean out the back chamber? Right now I don't have a protein skimmer so all I have is the sponge back there, and there is a lot of stuff on the very bottom of each chamber I would like to get out? Is there another way to get it out, or should I just suck it out during my water change?

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Solana owners... what is the best way to clean out the back chamber? Right now I don't have a protein skimmer so all I have is the sponge back there, and there is a lot of stuff on the very bottom of each chamber I would like to get out? Is there another way to get it out, or should I just suck it out during my water change?

When you do your water change, just siphon the junk out of the back chambers. Just don't stir it up a lot because it will get your parms out of spec. I do this about every couple of months when I clean the return pump.

 

what model is that sapphire aquatics skimmer do you have? mine looks alittle different from yours. my pump is on the top side and i see in this photo that yours is on the bottom. did they remodel it?

 

I think the change occured a couple of months ago. I changed out my skimmer body to the new design a couple of week ago and it works much better, more consistent skim. The skim cup and pump are the same.

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TriggerHappyDude
i am a new owner...tank is on my office desk, dont really have wood to anchor the pendant to. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

Can you snap some pictures of the area where the tank is so we can have an idea of whats around it?

Otherwise, I'd have to suggest a different light that clips on.

 

I think the change occured a couple of months ago. I changed out my skimmer body to the new design a couple of week ago and it works much better, more consistent skim. The skim cup and pump are the same.

 

How did you change out the body? Did they switch you? I have the first original body, and wanted to but he didn't let me unless I wanted to pay like $100?

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Or do you guys think I could just turn my second chamber into a mini refugium and get codium and chaeto and just dump a crap load of pods in there and get a small light to help the algae grow, and the pods to breed? If that would work... would they be able to get into the display area of the tank? Please let me know! I don't want to starve my spotted mandarin!

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i just don't think that will be enough pods for your mandarin in the long run. you may want to consider finding him a home if you can't get him on prepared food.

Edited by MedRed
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i just don't think that will be enough pods for your mandarin in the long run. you may want to consider finding him a home if you can't get him on prepared food.

I agree with MedRed... Get him trained on prepared food! There is a bunch of info here on getting them trained.

 

B)

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So I think my plan is... I am going to get 2 (5.5) gallon tanks on the bottom of my stand. And run a pump going into my back chamber, to use the 2 small tanks as a refugium (and having the one going into the other on the bottom to eliminate micro bubbles) and in that refugium, put live rock, chaeto, codium, mud, etc. And then buy a pack of 1,000 pods and just let them breed in there, and slowly add them into the tank, a little at a time. And over time hopefully they would keep breeding and along with all that, and mysis shrimp feeding, my manadarin should be happy, and my biological waste should be taken care of. (If I do this... I am going to try to use all natural filtration (with the exception of the sponge) having no protein skimmer or anything. I think with the extra 10 gallon fuge in there, and the already 30-40lbs of rock, it would do a great job cleaning up.

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watch for overflows...of both sump and display..

 

Why is that? (I mean other than the obvious of not wanting that to happen, is there good percentages of this happening or something along those lines?)

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with the way you described it, it looks like it will be very easy to overflow not only your sump/refuge but also your display.

 

I am looking into a solana and there are only 2 ways of installing a sump I know of and one requires drilling the glass...not something I would want to do. the other would be a little riskier and involve an overflow box and suction

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The other way, is putting on a hang on back filter that will directly flow into the 2nd chamber and the pump from the fuge will run into that hob filter. My lfs makes one that is a box that just flows into the tank and has a hole so that a pipe can run straight into it.

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so you mean you won't actually have a sump, you just have like a cpr fuge then..

 

that is ok.

 

I thought you meant having a sump in your stand.

 

 

ALSO

 

What about stocking for a solana?

I already have 2 Picassos

 

Could I add a school of 5 chromis and a clown or flasher wrasse? I kinda what a potters angel too but in that small space :/

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