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Coral Vue Hydros

ZNinerfan's 38 Gallon Innovative Marine


ZNinerfan

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Filled the tank and got Ecotech and AI Vega setup. I decided to go with 3 pillars connected at the top. Here are a couple of shots:

 

Filling Tank:

 

NanoReef1_zpscd282182.jpg

 

All setup:

 

NanoReef2_zps2f637b77.jpg

 

Additional thoughts:

 

The AI controller is pretty slick. It is all connected via wireless. Setup seemed pretty straightforward too.

 

Next up is getting some pieces of acrylic to get the sump going. Once the sump is running I will hook up the ATO, Protein Skimmer, and reposition the the second heater.

 

Any thoughts or opinions?

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Had to update the AI controller firmware to fix an issue with the fixture fan.

 

Tank will have been up a week tomorrow. I decided that I will get my first fish for the tank tomorrow along with some members of the CUC. Current inhabitants are 3 electric blue hermits, 2 zebra hermits, 2 electric orange hermits that I brought over from my rock curing tub.

 

My rock had been cooking in my tub for about 5-6 weeks before being put in the tank so I felt good in that regard but I wanted to make sure my readings were ok since the tank is new and the sand bed started as dry sand.

 

I tested the water to make sure things looked ok. Using Salifert kits I got the following readings:

 

Ammonia - 0

Nitrites - 0

Nitrates - 2ppm

 

I can see pods in the tank now and nuisance algae seems to be a minimum at this point. Not sure what fish to get first.

 

I'm thinking of a total of 3 fish for the tank with a 6 line wrasse being one of them when the tank is fully populated. I'll get the 6 line wrasse last.

 

Maybe a blenny of some sort this week?

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Brooklynkidd718

I like how the lid fits. Unfortunately when I bought and set up my mini. It never came with the clips that hold the lid up. I went back to the aquarium store which is about 35-45min got another set that doesn't fit. Long story short I still haven't used my lid. ?

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I like how the lid fits. Unfortunately when I bought and set up my mini. It never came with the clips that hold the lid up. I went back to the aquarium store which is about 35-45min got another set that doesn't fit. Long story short I still haven't used my lid.

 

Sorry to hear about the clips not being included with your setup. I agree that they are a good design and make the use of a lid pretty simple.

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I wanted to update the progress of my setup. Earlier in the week I had an acrylic shop cut 4 sheets of acrylic cut for baffles to replace the 6 pieces of glass that were cut poorly by the glass shop. I glued the first two pieces in using the Momentive RTV 108 silicone glue I purchased for the glass baffles.

 

The first two pieces went in just fine:

 

Sump1_zps40b1b1ec.jpg

 

The bead along the seam was clean and then I added an additional layer again to ensure that everything was watertight and strong.

 

The second baffle was much more difficult. The edge along the inside was glued cleanly just like the first baffle, however, the inside of the second baffle basically had a ton of silicone glue smeared along the seam with a popsicle stick.

 

Sump2_zpsc604ff77.jpg

 

I picked up these 1 inch cubes from the acrylic shop and used them as spacers for the raised pieces.

 

Sump3_zps9738c9e0.jpg

 

I will let the silicone cure for another 24 hours and water test the sump to make sure the compartments are properly sealed. I will add in my miracle mud and sand in the refugium compartment mid week next week and I will most likely get the sump going next weekend.

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I set up my sump today. Spent the majority of the day mixing and getting the saltwater ready. Here are a couple of shots of the sump up and running:

 

Skimmer Chamer (Chamber 1)

 

Sump4_zps6041faa7.jpg

 

Fuge (Chamber 2)/Return Chamber (Chamber 3)

 

Sump3_zpsa994f8c6.jpg

 

The refugium has a base layer of miracle mud with aragonite sand on top and live rock rubble on top of the sand. It is lit by an Innovative Marine Nano LED light. I had to tape the light to aquarium as I broke the fixture that attaches to things. I will have to grab some chaeto from a local shop at some point.

 

I think I will need a new return pump. The mag drive 7 that came with my overflow from Lifereef is just too loud due to being throttled down with a ball valve. The pump is insanely loud.

 

Last piece of equipment left to setup is my Avast ATO.

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Finally got my overflow and return pump synced. I was looking at my refugium and noticed two massive isopods playing around in the live rock. I could tell they were isopods by their black eyes.

 

I managed to catch one but the other one is hiding out in the live rock for now.

 

On another note, I ordered a new return pump:

 

Sicce Syncra Silent 2.0 Multifunction Aquarium Pump (568 GPH)

 

Not as high a GPH rating but I am hoping that this pump is more quiet compared to the Mag 7.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have updated the original post with a new full tank shot.

 

What I have changed since my last post:

 

I replace my Mag 7 return pump with a Sicce Syncra Silent 2.0 Multifunction Aquarium Pump earlier in the week. It managed to quiet the noise of the overflow due to having less flow than the Mag 7.

 

I added an additional 20 lbs of aragonite sand to my display tank. I found that the sand bed was just too shallow from an aesthetic perspective. Plus I think a deeper sand bed makes my cerith snails a bit happier.

 

I gave my zebra hermits to a friend of mine. The hermits had great personality and were always active but I found they were always pestering the snails to no end. All I have left are blue legged hermits in the tank.

 

I added a pygmy angel a week ago who seems to be settling in nicely.

 

For a second I thought that I had copper leeching into my tank because snails, red legged hermits, and shrimp kept dying immediately upon introduction to the tank. Salinity, nitrates, nitrites were all looking good so I suspected copper. After ordering a copper test kit and testing there was no copper.

 

Upon further investigation, I found that it was my acclimation procedures that was killing the new inhabitants. I am used to floating and releasing fish from my freshwater fish keeping days so I figured I was safe doing the same for saltwater invertebrates. Lesson learned!

 

Next up is hooking up my Avast ATO. Going to hit my LFS today to get some air hose tubing and get the ATO going. It will save me from the morning and evening top off trips to the garage to get RO/DI water.

 

Only other issue I am encountering is temperature. I can't seem to get the tank to hold at a steady 77 degrees as I would like. I find the temperature will shift from 77-81 degrees depending on the ambient temperature of the room. I knew I had a get a chiller but I didn't anticipate getting one this early in the year. I will have to decide what I want to do before I start adding any corals.

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Looking good.

 

Thanks for the kind words. It's been a long time in coming and I feel like I still have miles to go!

 

Wanted to update. I setup my ATO. The Avast ATO was super easy to install and setup. I am using an aqualifter pump to pump the water into the sump when needed.

 

Here are some shots of the setup:

 

Avast electrical plug for with the aqualifter pump plugged in:

 

ATO1_zpsc33c3f38.jpg

 

Aqualifter pump and 5 gallon water container containing RO/DI water:

 

ATO2_zps0554e829.jpg

 

Avast sensor in my sump:

 

ATO3_zps0361fc9e.jpg

 

I have to say, this ATO is a quality unit and so far I am very happy with it. One of best qualities is the simplicity of it all. About 7 years ago I had a Tunze ATO system that was a real pain to get working right, which really turned my off of ATO's in general.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm looking for lighting options and how to mount a vega on a Nuvo 38 that i plan on purchasing. I can't hang it from the ceiling or the wall. can you post a pic of your tank mount? Thanks!!!

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Can you post a picture of how you have your Vega set up on the rails? I'm about to buy a Vega, and still have no idea how to put it on top of my tank without drilling a hole in my ceiling or my wall. Thanks!

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  • 2 weeks later...
Great looking tank build you have here. What are you using for overflow from the tank to the sump?

 

Setting up a new 38 today. Would like to see the overflow setup when you get the chance.

Thanks

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  • 3 weeks later...

Added a FTS today. Sorry for not keeping up with the thread. Been busy at work. I will take some pictures to address the questions posted.

 

Just as an update on what I have done on the tank since the last time I posted. I removed all of the BRS dry rock and replaced it with 95 lbs of live rock from the LFS. I managed to score two very large pieces that went with the dual pillar look I really wanted.

 

The new live rock has been in the tank for a week. After another 2 weeks, if everything is stable I will add my first piece of coral. Some GSP.

 

I got rid of the BRS rock because I wanted more flora/fauna in the tank. Despite seeding everything with live rock rubble I felt that the tank needed something more.

 

I also added a fan to the sump to help control the temps on the tank. So far, despite hitting a heatwave where the temperature has been over 105 degrees all week and the AC not being able to keep up. The tank has peaked at just under 81 degrees.

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Setting up a new 38 today. Would like to see the overflow setup when you get the chance. Thanks

 

Below are pictures of my overflow setup:

 

 

Here is the overflow box that hangs off of the back of the aquarium. It requires no further priming once setup. There is a mini box that sits inside the tank that skims the surface prior to going into the U pipe.

Overflow1_zpsbe9387b3.jpg

 

A hose then goes from the bottom of the overflow box into my sump.

Overflow3_zps02a28a1f.jpg

 

Here is a shot of the hose leading into the first chamber of my sump.

Overflow2_zpsf57085db.jpg

 

My return pump in chamber 3 of the sump pictured here. I didn't like the mag drive that came with my setup from Life Reef so I replaced it with another pump.

Overflow4_zpsd8a8dbb9.jpg

 

Here is the return hose back into the back of the tank.

Overflow5_zps36a2289b.jpg

 

Overall, I am very happy with the overflow setup and would recommend it to anyone looking to do something similar. I hope this is helpful.

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I'm looking for lighting options and how to mount a vega on a Nuvo 38 that i plan on purchasing. I can't hang it from the ceiling or the wall. can you post a pic of your tank mount? Thanks!!!

 

I purchased the AI fixture rails thinking that I could place the light along the width of the tank. After it arrived and I put it together I came to the realization that it held the light along the rails from front to back. I had pieces of glass leftover from my sump baffles that I couldn't use as the edges weren't cut square so I placed a piece on the AI light rails and then placed the fixture directly on top of that. The dimensions of the piece of glass are the following, 15.5"Lx11.75"W. I found it to be a fairly nice size as it allowed me to keep the power supply right behind the light fixture.

 

Here is top/front shot from the top.

Lighting_zps09d48421.jpg

 

Here is a shot from the side showing where the power supply is sitting behind the AI Vega fixture.

Lighting2_zps29bfbe5b.jpg

 

Hope this helps.

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Below are pictures of my overflow setup:

 

 

Here is the overflow box that hangs off of the back of the aquarium. It requires no further priming once setup. There is a mini box that sits inside the tank that skims the surface prior to going into the U pipe.

Overflow1_zpsbe9387b3.jpg

 

A hose then goes from the bottom of the overflow box into my sump.

Overflow3_zps02a28a1f.jpg

 

Here is a shot of the hose leading into the first chamber of my sump.

Overflow2_zpsf57085db.jpg

 

My return pump in chamber 3 of the sump pictured here. I didn't like the mag drive that came with my setup from Life Reef so I replaced it with another pump.

Overflow4_zpsd8a8dbb9.jpg

 

Here is the return hose back into the back of the tank.

Overflow5_zps36a2289b.jpg

 

Overall, I am very happy with the overflow setup and would recommend it to anyone looking to do something similar. I hope this is helpful.

 

What prevents the sump pump from overflowing the main tank if the overflow loses its siphon? Do you have a float switch in the main tank as a cutoff?

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What prevents the sump pump from overflowing the main tank if the overflow loses its siphon? Do you have a float switch in the main tank as a cutoff?

 

That's a good question. Short answer is that there is no check against the sump pump from overflowing the display tank. That being said, the overflow will never lose its siphon by design. Even with everything shut off, there is still water in the two compartments that both ends of the u-tube sit in to ensure that siphon is never lost. The only way for the siphon to be lost is to physically remove the u-tube at which point you will have to re-prime it with some flexible air hose. Now if you have a super powerful return pump and couldn't throttle it back then you do run the risk of running your sump dry and flooding the display tank.

 

The overall system pretty much self regulates so there isn't any risk to flooding either the display tank or sump as the sump can handle any runoff from the display tank with room to spare.

 

All things being equal, I do feel that that a plumbed tank will be just a bit cleaner and more tucked away than my current setup. For those of us with tanks that aren't plumbed, this is a viable option to run a sump with a reliable overflow box. At the end of the day both setups seems to come out to the same overall costs but it is just a question of when that money gets spent.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Just wanted to update. I took the aquarium down over labor day weekend. I am just too busy with work to devote the proper time to the tank. I ended up giving most of my equipment to an in law to use with his current setups.

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