TimDanger's CADlights 39g Pro

[timdanger]

So, I was inspecting my sump yesterday and I discovered that my Tunze Silence 1073.020 actually has "581 gph" printed on it. This is different than the advertised spec of 634gph. You can kind of see it in the pictures earlier in my thread, but this picture on the ReefBuilders review clearly shows the QMax as "581 gal/h."

 

I called Tunze to ask about this issue, and the person who picked up the phone said that all their documentation lists 634 and that they've never had anyone return a 1073.020. He said they are all sold out of the pump right now so he didn't have one to double-check against mine, but he said they'd get more in on Friday and that he'd call the manufacturer and find out what was going on with that. In the meantime, he said that he wasn't concerned.

 

I love the pump so much that I really can't see making an issue over it, but isn't it weird that a different GPH would be printed on the pump than is advertised everywhere else (including the instruction manual that comes with the pump)?

[timdanger]

Did a fair bit of maintenance last night. I'm ready to really get aggressive in my war on this f'ing GHA. So, after doing a lot of reading... in steps, here is the current plan of attack:

 

1) Remove sponge behind overflow teeth (being used to silence overflow waterfall)

 

2) Scrub the rocks with a toothbrush to remove as much of the GHA as I can without distrubing things too much (took a stab at this lats night -- couldn't do all the rocks, though). clean pumps, too. siphon out as much as I can.

 

3) remove chaeto from fuge, scrub GHA out of fuge/sump

 

4) prune, thoroughly rinse, and reinstall chaeto (... maybe)

 

5) set my skimmer to start skimming wet, such that I'm removing on average a cup of skimmate every 2-3 days if I can.

 

 

and, if this doesn't get me the result I'm looking for in the next couple weeks....

 

 

7) CARBON. DOSING. I'll probably rely primarily on vinegar, with some vodka thrown in. Then, I'll probably start supplement with Amino Acids (maybe Brightwell CoralAmino? Brightwell products seem to be taking a beating lately on the forums, but this one seems to be pretty well received by everyone using it).

 

 

 

Who's got opinions?

[mkregs]

I'm ready to really get aggressive in my war on this f'ing GHA.

Who's got opinions?

 

Mark

[timdanger]

haha.. point taken.

[purplepeopleeater!]

hey man you tank looks awesome with all that coraline algae

btw what is GHA

[thegambler26]

hey man you tank looks awesome with all that coraline algae

btw what is GHA

green hair algae

[timdanger]

Hey, got your message. Best thing to save a buck or two is to just keep your eyes open. On the other site people post stuff for sale almost everyday and the deals are better than store prices. As for me, I have some frags of a few different things. I have a few things I'm holding out on fragging for a bit. I want to give them some more time to grow and some healing time from the last fragging. Ben who is local sells stuff all the time for great prices and he has stuff listed on craigslist. Just run a search for coral frags and you should be able to find him.

 

somehow i missed this message -- thanks for the heads up, dan!

 

hey man you tank looks awesome with all that coraline algae

 

thanks!

[bdesper311]

I feel you on the GHA... i am dealing with some byropsis myself while my tank is cycling. (I told you my tank was cursed). Have you tried some emerald crabs.. they took care of mine in no time in my last tank. I am in the process of dosing Tech M in mine right now so I will let you know how that works out. Thanks again for helping me with my skimmer a while ago

[timdanger]

Well, the wife has advised that I may need to move my tank to accommodate our new bedroom furniture, which was delivered today, but doesn't quite have the same footprint as our previous furniture.

 

I am lobbying against the idea ( ), but we'll just have to see how that goes.

 

I'm not holding my breath.

 

I feel you on the GHA... i am dealing with some byropsis myself while my tank is cycling. (I told you my tank was cursed). ... I am in the process of dosing Tech M in mine right now so I will let you know how that works out.

 

i had some "bryopsis" looking algae during my cycle (see earlier in my thread) -- but, after the cycle completed, it was gone. so, don't panic yet.

 

I don't think it can hurt to dose up your Mg using the Tech M, but again, I wouldn't panic.

 

Have you tried some emerald crabs.. they took care of mine in no time in my last tank.

 

I have an emerald crab in there now, but I hardly ever see him (i saw him once a few days after I got him, and not again until a few days ago when I took a rock out to scrub some algae off). I have no idea what he's eating.

 

Thanks again for helping me with my skimmer a while ago

 

No problem! hope it's working out for you!

[Markushka]

I got a longspine to help out with gha in my tank and he goes at it, but prefers the little coraline that I have vs. gha

[new2reef]

new pic of my sump (i just cleaned out my skimmer collection cup for the first time since installing!). chaeto is out the wazoo.

Thanks for posting photo of sump. Is your gate value PVC or metal? I was afraid there might not be enough room for a value in cabinet. Might give that a try - still waiting for my Tunze 1073 to arrive.

 

New Tunze 6025 installed on my back wall!

 

More questions. Have been trying to choose powerhead(s) - am down to VorTech, Tunze and Koralia. How do you like the flow of the MP10 and 6025 (2200+ gph)? Too little, too much or just right?

 

Also, how is the fan working in sump - cooling and evaporation? My question is, are you planning to add either a chiller or ATO? Looks like there's plenty of room (holes) for existing cords, but do you think you'd need to add another hole for tubes for chiller or ATO?

 

GHA - I had a lot growing on output of Koralia Nano in BC14. Last week after WC, I forgot to turn it back on. In morning, I found my cowry on pump, so left it off. By lunch, GHA was all gone!

 

Nice coraline on LR!

[steely185]

Turbos and astreas always did the best for me to remove hair algae. If it's turf algae then that's a different story and harder to remove.

[nebthet]

My starry blenny is going nuts on my GHA, and I just started dosing Tech-M. In combination in less than a week about a quarter of it is gone.

[timdanger]

picked up some new stuff yesterday from Fish World in Midlothian (i am not rich enough to continue doing that, though):

 

new coral... green w/ baby blue polyps montipora cap (foliosa?)

 

a little closer view. had some trouble getting the epoxy/super glue to stick. it fell off several times before i had to start over with significantly more epoxy.

 

 

and, midas blenny!:

 

acclimation. not a happy camper.

 

but, a day later... happy!

 

 

he and Jaws the jawfish are definitely keeping an eye on each other. no real physical aggression yet, but definitely some staking-out-territory behavior/assertiveness. I'm not super worried, but i'm going to continue to keep an eye on them.

 

Here are a couple pictures of the new tankmates:

 

 

 

and, an FTS from today:

[timdanger]

Thanks for posting photo of sump. Is your gate value PVC or metal? I was afraid there might not be enough room for a value in cabinet. Might give that a try - still waiting for my Tunze 1073 to arrive.

 

the pump is a copper-y color, but it is regular PVC. definitely don't want to use metal valves. there's plenty of room for valves, though.

 

 

More questions. Have been trying to choose powerhead(s) - am down to VorTech, Tunze and Koralia. How do you like the flow of the MP10 and 6025 (2200+ gph)? Too little, too much or just right?

 

the mp10 gives decent flow. it's just surprisingly loud when it ramps up. i have it running at 100%, though -- when you turn it down, it's not nearly as bad. if i personally had it to do over again, i would still consider the mp10, but i'd also consider the mp40. i don't know if the mp20 would be worth the money over the mp10. the mp10 is a fine investment for a mixed reef, but i want to do heavy sps, so i think i may end up buying either another mp10 or something else down the road when i've got more corals in the way taking up flow. you cannot beat the footprint of the mp10, though, especially on the back wall. and, no heat transfer to the water with the external motor.

 

i really like the tunze in terms of flow, and it is dead silent. it has not added any heat to the aquarium. having said that, it just doesn't give you near the kind of flow that the vortech gives you. if you were thinking about controllable tunzes and a wavemaker, that is not a horrible idea at all. it does take up a fair amount of in-tank space.

 

i don't have any experience with the new koralia evolution pumps. the old koralias seem to add some heat to the water and are not as quiet as the tunzes. i would much rather have one mp10 than 2 controllable koralias and a wavemaker.

 

as far as the amount of flow i have in the tank currently, it's fine for now, but again, i think i'd like to add an mp10 to the other side and maybe run them both at 80% for about 2500gph (not including return pump). that would quiet things down, too. and, i do like the pumps despite the unexpected noise.

 

 

 

Also, how is the fan working in sump - cooling and evaporation? My question is, are you planning to add either a chiller or ATO? Looks like there's plenty of room (holes) for existing cords, but do you think you'd need to add another hole for tubes for chiller or ATO?

 

the fan in the sump works well -- the one from cad is super loud, but it is muffled somewhat by the cabinet. i also run the cad 2-fan azoo-style fan over my overflow, and it only runs while the halide is on. the sump fan runs while the actinics are on (including the halide cycle).

 

because the fans work reasonably well at maintaining temperature, i am not going to add a chiller at this time. i maintain 79.2-80F after switching out the stock return pump.

 

i do lose a fair amount of water to evaporation. 5gal of RODI lasts me about 9 days. i added a JBJ ATO in December, and it has made my life exceedingly easier. i use it in Mode B (with two float valves in the sump) and with a Tom's Aqua Lifter (which i highly recommend). it just uses airline-sized tubing, but there's plenty of room in the existing cabinet holes to run extra hoses and wires. no problem there if you wanted to do that.

[new2reef]

I've never seen PVC values that color, that's why I ask. Only seen gray or white. I'm a bit concerned about the rust on the metal inside cabinet - how are your hinges looking?

 

I'd love to get an MP40 - I like the idea of an external pump (heat) - but the cost is a bit much at this time. I've read great things about Tunze, but the 6025 are too low gph, while the 6055 with controller is even more expensive ($500+)!

 

I think I'm going to take a chance on a pair of Koralia Evo 1050s. They are very low wattage and I can hook them up to my Reefkeeper. I've been very happy with my Nano PH. Never found mine to be loud - the hood fans and chiller return pumps are much louder in my tank.

 

Thanks for info on fans and ATO. I've already bought an Azoo 2 fan unit and was wondering where to add fans - sump or overflow. May try both. Will hook to Reefkeeper to turn on and off according to heat. I'm thinking to use the funds I save by buying Evo over VorTech now for JBJ ATO and pump. I like the idea of keeping water level constant for SG and skimmer.

 

Thanks again for the replies and detailed info! Seeing how nice your tank looks, I really want to get mine filled - hope the Tunze arrives on Monday!

[new2reef]

picked up some new stuff yesterday from Fish World in Midlothian (i am not rich enough to continue doing that, though):

 

a little closer view. had some trouble getting the epoxy/super glue to stick. it fell off several times before i had to start over with significantly more epoxy.

 

 

and, midas blenny!:

 

but, a day later... happy!

 

Nice Monti - I'm looking forward to having MHs where I can keep a couple SPS. I like how you stuck that frag to the side of the LR - should grow out nice. Wasn't sure how glue/epoxy worked under water.

 

Cool Midas Blenny. Always liked blennys. I recently added a Canary Blenny to my BC14. I really like him - he swims around front of tank a lot. I just need to ensure he eats enough. They have very small mouths, and my Clown and Sixline are very agressive come feeding time (i.e. they are pigs).

[timdanger]

I've never seen PVC values that color, that's why I ask. Only seen gray or white. I'm a bit concerned about the rust on the metal inside cabinet - how are your hinges looking?

 

my hinges are completely rusted over (and i know a lot of others on here have the same issue). Eddie at Cadlights said that he just gets them at home depot if i want to replace them. i probably will, as the doors on the cabinet are getting kind of loose. when i do, i'll spray them with some rustoleum (or krylon fusion if i have any) to protect them a little bit better.

 

I'd love to get an MP40 - I like the idea of an external pump (heat) - but the cost is a bit much at this time. I've read great things about Tunze, but the 6025 are too low gph, while the 6055 with controller is even more expensive ($500+)!

 

I think I'm going to take a chance on a pair of Koralia Evo 1050s. They are very low wattage and I can hook them up to my Reefkeeper. I've been very happy with my Nano PH. Never found mine to be loud - the hood fans and chiller return pumps are much louder in my tank.

 

sounds reasonable. the reviews i've read about the evos have sounded positive, so i'll be interested to hear how they work out for you.

 

Thanks for info on fans and ATO. I've already bought an Azoo 2 fan unit and was wondering where to add fans - sump or overflow. May try both. Will hook to Reefkeeper to turn on and off according to heat. I'm thinking to use the funds I save by buying Evo over VorTech now for JBJ ATO and pump. I like the idea of keeping water level constant for SG and skimmer.

 

Thanks again for the replies and detailed info! Seeing how nice your tank looks, I really want to get mine filled - hope the Tunze arrives on Monday!

 

the ATO was a key addition. much MUCH more consistent skimmer production with that constant water level (plus, as an added bonus, the room temperature ATO water (so, ~71F) helps to keep the tank cool during the time when it's evaporating the most!).

 

i'm anxious to get mine filled as well -- unfortunately, these last two additions were awfully pricey, so i'm probably tapped out on fish budget for a while. i guess i just have to sit back and watch things grow.

 

Nice Monti - I'm looking forward to having MHs where I can keep a couple SPS. I like how you stuck that frag to the side of the LR - should grow out nice. Wasn't sure how glue/epoxy worked under water.

 

Cool Midas Blenny. Always liked blennys. I recently added a Canary Blenny to my BC14. I really like him - he swims around front of tank a lot. I just need to ensure he eats enough. They have very small mouths, and my Clown and Sixline are very agressive come feeding time (i.e. they are pigs).

 

Thanks!

[new2reef]

Rusty hinges seem to be a common problem. Glad they are easy to find. As a precaution, I've painted my with a couple coats of rustoleum.

 

The specs on the Evo seem really good, as does the price. Will let you know how they work out - once I get some water in the tank.

 

Thanks for info on ATO. Never run a skimmer before, but I've read water level is key. Will go with the fans + ATO, and hope I don't need a chiller ($$$)!

 

I suspect by the time I get mine equipped and full of water/LR/LS, I'll be out of funds!

[awbowden]

So how are you liking the Tunze Silent?

 

I just installed mine, same model. It is real quiet, which is obviously why i replaced the stock pump, however the flow is quite a bit less. Have you noticed any adverse affects in having low flow through the sump? The other downside to it IMO is that the running water level in my tank has dropped a bit. Did you experience the same?

 

Pics look great.

 

Thanks.

[timdanger]

So how are you liking the Tunze Silent?

 

I just installed mine, same model. It is real quiet, which is obviously why i replaced the stock pump, however the flow is quite a bit less. Have you noticed any adverse affects in having low flow through the sump? The other downside to it IMO is that the running water level in my tank has dropped a bit. Did you experience the same?

 

Pics look great.

 

Thanks.

 

I still love the pump. It is definitely less flow than the stock pump, but that's not necessarily a bad thing when you have powerheads providing water movement in the display. i'm running an mp10 and a tunze 6025, which gives me about 2200gph in addition to the return pump flow. I figure, after head-loss, i'm still getting 7.5-8x turnover flow through the sump, which I think is pretty good for skimmer production, pod production, etc. i might get a little more detritus settling in my fuge with the lower flow, but i haven't noticed that being a problem.

 

i'm not sure what you mean by the running water level -- do you mean in your display tank? i guess that's possible, but i don't think the difference would be substantial (1/4" at most).

[awbowden]

I still love the pump. It is definitely less flow than the stock pump, but that's not necessarily a bad thing when you have powerheads providing water movement in the display. i'm running an mp10 and a tunze 6025, which gives me about 2200gph in addition to the return pump flow. I figure, after head-loss, i'm still getting 7.5-8x turnover flow through the sump, which I think is pretty good for skimmer production, pod production, etc. i might get a little more detritus settling in my fuge with the lower flow, but i haven't noticed that being a problem.

 

i'm not sure what you mean by the running water level -- do you mean in your display tank? i guess that's possible, but i don't think the difference would be substantial (1/4" at most).

 

I am running an MP10 and K3 in the display so I wasn't too concerned with flow in the display either. I was just wondering if there would be any adverse affects with dropping the flow through the sump by about 1/3 or so. Affects in terms of the efficiencies of skimmer, chemi-pure, media, macro algae, etc. It sure is quiet though.

 

Yes, I meant the water level in the display. Even a 1/4" less bothers me, I would prefer the level to be as near the top as possible. I am considering blocking up the bottom half of the overflow grate, just don't know if this would create too much of a waterfall.

 

Thanks.

[timdanger]

Found my emerald crab scaling my orange digitata last night. i had to poke the little jerk away with a turkey baster. digitata was NOT happy at the time, but it had fully recovered by the next day.

 

 

 

I am running an MP10 and K3 in the display so I wasn't too concerned with flow in the display either. I was just wondering if there would be any adverse affects with dropping the flow through the sump by about 1/3 or so. Affects in terms of the efficiencies of skimmer, chemi-pure, media, macro algae, etc. It sure is quiet though.

 

i figure increasing contact time with all that stuff has got to be a positive -- forcing more of the water to sit around with the media/macro.

 

on the other hand, anthony calfo has suggested that you want to get your ball of chaeto "spinning" in the fuge with laminar flow... but i just don't know that this is always an option, especially on smaller tanks (where "8x flow" is not nearly as fast as in a bigger tank).

 

Yes, I meant the water level in the display. Even a 1/4" less bothers me, I would prefer the level to be as near the top as possible. I am considering blocking up the bottom half of the overflow grate, just don't know if this would create too much of a waterfall.

 

i've read that people have been able to stop the waterfall by using a ziploc bag. i don't get much of one, as is, but if i had higher flow, i'd be looking into that. in your case, if you manually raised the overflow teeth, it would definitely increase your display depth. that being said, you may be in danger of the vortech overflowing the tank (depending on what mode you're running). i've gotten a wife within an inch of the lip on short pulse (but i can't stand the noise that the vortech makes in short pulse, so i usually run reef crest)!

[new2reef]

It sounds like everyone is very happy with the Tunze Silent pump, but lower flow is a good point.

 

Given what you now know about the pump, would both of you stick with the 1073.020 (634 gph) or have gone with the 1073.040 (792 gph) for more flow? The 1073.040 is much closer to the rated flow of my stock pump (740 gph). New Pro systems have a 1000gph pump!

 

What's the down/up side to the lower/higher flow pump? I think you said the overflow noise was much reduced with the lower flow. Never had a sump before, so is lower or higher flow better for Cheato and fuge inhabitants?

[timdanger]

It sounds like everyone is very happy with the Tunze Silent pump, but lower flow is a good point.

 

Given what you now know about the pump, would both of you stick with the 1073.020 (634 gph) or have gone with the 1073.040 (792 gph) for more flow? The 1073.040 is much closer to the rated flow of my stock pump (740 gph). New Pro systems have a 1000gph pump!

 

What's the down/up side to the lower/higher flow pump? I think you said the overflow noise was much reduced with the lower flow. Never had a sump before, so is lower or higher flow better for Cheato and fuge inhabitants?

 

look, if price is no object, you go with the 1073.040 -- it's adjustable down to whatever you'd need. however, the .040 is almost twice the cost. for $85, you get a great, quiet pump that is pretty versatile, and still gives you the 8x turnover through that is often recommended, which allows greater contact time for the skimmer/chaeto/chemical filtration media (carbon, gfo, etc.). slow flow would definitely benefit fuge inhabitants. after head loss, you're really only getting, what, an extra 80gph or so? i certainly would listen to other opinions about the "right" flow through the sump, but IMO the $60 is better spent elsewhere, not on getting nominal extra flow through the sump.