Polarcollision's Nuvo 24: March FTS

[Tamberav]

What happened to the fairy wrasses awhile back? Did they get aggressive? The hubby really likes the Lubbock's so debating on that.

 

Do you still have the seahorse tank?

[samnaz]

Lucky the tank/everyone survived!

 

Any idea what kinda heater you'll be switching to? I have a Cobalt Neotherm 100 watt, have for nearly two years without issue, but this has got me thinking I might want to switch to something less likely to explode....

[Polarcollision]

On 3/23/2018 at 11:24 PM, pappadumplingz said:

Ah damn that sucks. Heard that some of the older cobalt heaters have a tendency to do this. And scuba is great, got into it last year and have done 3 dives on the GBR and a bunch down here in Sydney. Where abouts do ya plan to go and dive?

Well, it did go a year past warranty. Funny thing is that I had been periodically trying to find out how long it's safe to leave equipment running - lifespans and such--with not much luck. I'm not a take each day til it fails kind of a person. Ahh! I'm so jealous of your reef! Do you have any video or pics? Would love to see! Cozumel is in the works, but Raja Ampat is top of my list.

 

On 3/24/2018 at 9:16 AM, Indiana Reefin said:

Phenomenal tank!!  

Thanks so much for stopping by! Do you have a link to your tank? I'd love to take a peek and see what you're up to.

 

On 3/24/2018 at 9:27 AM, Christopher Marks said:

I'm so glad to hear the heater failure didn't harm anything in the tank, those situations don't usually end well! What a relief, hopefully the stinky smell dissipates today. That resin sounds insane, but I guess it helped prevent greater harm? Yuck!

 

How exciting, you probably weren't nervous the second time! Do you have a goal for where you'd like to go diving some day?

Me too!!! So lucky Tim was home when it happened. The smell is still lingering in the tank, though it's dissipating, and I'm running through carbon. Cobalt said they were shipping out carbon but it hasn't arrived yet. I think the resin allows heat from the elements to transfer to the water - better than a dead air space. Maybe it also protected from electrocution? I don't know how those things work.

 

Every time I got nervous I just reminded myself how no harm came to me the last pool session. Ha! It was fabulous being weightless and laying on the bottom of the pool. Now just need to add corals! The instructor was waaaaaaaay better the second time around, too. We have a dive trip planned to Cozumel. Location was by default since my uncle dives there every year. We're tagging along. On my bucket list is Raja Ampat. There's a youtube video of someon'e entire dive. They showed both the big picture and also zoomed in on all the little reef creatures like squirts and shrimp, etc. It's AMAZING! The biodiversity... just unbelievable. And so beautiful. And pristine. Second on the bucket list is diving with manta rays. And I wouldn't mind diving with belugas some day.

 

 

On 3/24/2018 at 10:29 AM, Felicia said:

Wow, I am so sorry to hear this!  Heaters are one of those things that are just terrifying, but we have to use them.  I am glad everything is doing ok so far because it could have been much worse!  I hope you can get it all cleaned up and that everything stays healthy and happy!  If you're looking for a new heater, my personal favorite is the Aqueon Pros.  They seem pretty indestructible and I've used them for years and never had one fail.  The only issue with them is that they're pretty long relative to the voltage.  The 50W fit in my IM 14 gallon, but it wasn't cutting it this winter, so I needed to up to a 75-100W heater.  The higher wattage Aqueon Pros were too long for my IM 14, so I bought my first Cobalt Neotherm.   Which now I am nervous about!

 

I would return the heater to the company if you have time.  I work for a consulting firm that does a lot of failure analysis for companies.  If companies can get the incident units back, they can do failure analysis to figure out what happened and hopefully improve their product so that type of failure doesn't happen again.  It definitely helps them to keep improving!

I had no idea they could explode either! I knew the glass type could crack. That happened to me when I was still brand new, which is why I went with the plastic heater. PetCo only had one 100W heater in stock the night the neotherm exploded - the Aqueon pro-- which I bought out of necessity, rather than choice. It's also plastic, which makes me nervous now, but I respect your opinions and will chill a little. :-) I'm already living on the edge with the Nuvo 24 crack potential... The Aqueon pro 100W fits the chamber well. I like that it has the thermostat on board like the Neotherm did. It is set one degree above what the Reefkeeper temp is set at so that the reefkeeper controls heater powering on/off. Those thermostats on board are the most common fail point for that type and so I'm hoping, crossing fingers, that letting the reefkeeper shut off power will lessen the wear and tear on the heater's thermostat.

 

How many years would you say you have on your Aqueon Pro?

 

It's sitting in a plastic bag on the back porch. I guess if they'll pay for shipping and handling I'll send it back to them. They do give the impression that they want to improve their products, which is reassuring since it can't be said about a lot of companies.

 

 

On 3/27/2018 at 8:53 AM, teenyreef said:

Holy crap! I hope the tank is recovering and I'm glad nobody was hurt.

 

I switched to titanium heaters several years back. I was always afraid of breaking the glass on my glass heaters, but I never thought about having one explode.

Very interested in what brand titanium heater you went with? And very interested in the warranty length? I'm buying a titanium heater in the near future.

 

And yes! Tim did an amazing job saving everyone's life. So lucky he was home. The branching montipora is still pale and not extending polyps and my pink acros are brown where they used to be pink, but everything else looks pretty normal today.

 

On 3/28/2018 at 1:49 PM, Tamberav said:

What happened to the fairy wrasses awhile back? Did they get aggressive? The hubby really likes the Lubbock's so debating on that.

 

Do you still have the seahorse tank?

So. Only one fairy wrasse per tank. Or at least no orange-back fairy wrasse if you want multiple. He's a bully. Everyone else got their fins nipped and hid. Ironiocally now he's the shyest fish in the tank.

 

No more dwarf seahorses. I read up on how they're collected. It's pretty rough on their environment. Just couldn't bring myself to order more.

 

8 hours ago, samnaz said:

Lucky the tank/everyone survived!

 

Any idea what kinda heater you'll be switching to? I have a Cobalt Neotherm 100 watt, have for nearly two years without issue, but this has got me thinking I might want to switch to something less likely to explode....

Yes! I'm so relieved! No one got electrocuted and nothing has died acutely. Still waiting to see how the fish gills and equipment respond to the greasy, sticky thermal transfer resin long term, making sure there's no chronic problems. It will be a month or so before I let that rest. But who knows, maybe we're lucky enough to be cultivating bacteria that eat resins... :-)

 

There should be a silver tag on the cord down near the wall plug. Mine was manufactured 02/2013 which is also the time frame that the 200W heaters with all the problems were manufactured. The plastic mold was not cast correctly or something along those lines. It lead to a weak spot on one of the seams, which is exactly where the crack is on my heater from the explosion. Supposedly the mold was recast and problems should be eliminated, although I'm not sure enough time has passed to declare the heaters 'problem free'. It's your call on the heater. The warranty is 3 years, which I translate to, "we expect this heater could fail after 3 years". There was a glass heater everyone was recommending - possibly Eheim Jagger? - that I used briefly until the glass cracked. Not sure if it was first on this 24 g tank or if it was the Nuvo 8 gallon. But I set this tank up 11/2013 so it's entirely likely the heater ran for 4 years plus a couple months. My new rule is 1 year, maybe 2 years max on heaters now.

 

 

[Christopher Marks]

2 minutes ago, Polarcollision said:

Every time I got nervous I just reminded myself how no harm came to me the last pool session. Ha! It was fabulous being weightless and laying on the bottom of the pool. Now just need to add corals! The instructor was waaaaaaaay better the second time around, too. We have a dive trip planned to Cozumel. Location was by default since my uncle dives there every year. We're tagging along. On my bucket list is Raja Ampat. There's a youtube video of someon'e entire dive. They showed both the big picture and also zoomed in on all the little reef creatures like squirts and shrimp, etc. It's AMAZING! The biodiversity... just unbelievable. And so beautiful. And pristine. Second on the bucket list is diving with manta rays. And I wouldn't mind diving with belugas some day.

You are much braver than me! That is a very good outlook about it all, I'm sure as your practice more everything becomes more comfortable. Cozumel is a perfect goal to have, the Yucatán Peninsula is gorgeous, I've only seen the reefs through a snorkel mask though!

[Felicia]

6 minutes ago, Polarcollision said:

I had no idea they could explode either! I knew the glass type could crack. That happened to me when I was still brand new, which is why I went with the plastic heater. PetCo only had one 100W heater in stock the night the neotherm exploded - the Aqueon pro-- which I bought out of necessity, rather than choice. It's also plastic, which makes me nervous now, but I respect your opinions and will chill a little. :-) I'm already living on the edge with the Nuvo 24 crack potential... The Aqueon pro 100W fits the chamber well. I like that it has the thermostat on board like the Neotherm did. It is set one degree above what the Reefkeeper temp is set at so that the reefkeeper controls heater powering on/off. Those thermostats on board are the most common fail point for that type and so I'm hoping, crossing fingers, that letting the reefkeeper shut off power will lessen the wear and tear on the heater's thermostat.

 

How many years would you say you have on your Aqueon Pro?

 

 

Very interested in what brand titanium heater you went with? And very interested in the warranty length? I'm buying a titanium heater in the near future.

 

 

 

The glass ones are the ones I generally avoid and the plastic ones seem to be more durable.  I've never heard of one of the Aqueon Pros exploding, so maybe that's some specific issue with the Neotherm?  I think you have the Aqueon set up just right.  That's how I always ran mine, set 1 degree higher and then on a separate controller.  Most heater failures you hear about are related to the thermostat and overheating, so I like have the failsafe of have two thermostats: one on the heater itself and one on the controller.  That way if either fails, the heater will get shut off before it overheats.  I love the durability of the titanium heaters and have used those as well, but I worry with those about only have one point of control for the thermostat.  With those you just have the external controller and if it fails, the heater won't shut itself off before over heating.  Honestly, there are pros and cons to all the models: durability vs. multiple points of control for the thermostat.

 

I honestly do not know how old my oldest Aqueon is at this point.  I have almost every size (50 W to 300 W) and I've just kept them all and grab whichever one I end up needing for a build.  Some of those are all the way back from my freshwater tanks, so like 8+ years old.  None have been in constant service though for more than 2-3 years at a time.  However, I've always been able to pull them out of storage and use them without any issues.  Basically they just seem pretty indestructible.

[pappadumplingz]

I’ve got some videos and pics posted on the thread in my sig @Polarcollision. Going to indo this year for a camp, and we’ll be diving Buton island, so I’m one step closer to the same dream of raja umpat.

[teenyreef]

6 hours ago, Polarcollision said:

Well, it did go a year past warranty. Funny thing is that I had been periodically trying to find out how long it's safe to leave equipment running - lifespans and such--with not much luck. I'm not a take each day til it fails kind of a person. Ahh! I'm so jealous of your reef! Do you have any video or pics? Would love to see! Cozumel is in the works, but Raja Ampat is top of my list.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by! Do you have a link to your tank? I'd love to take a peek and see what you're up to.

 

Me too!!! So lucky Tim was home when it happened. The smell is still lingering in the tank, though it's dissipating, and I'm running through carbon. Cobalt said they were shipping out carbon but it hasn't arrived yet. I think the resin allows heat from the elements to transfer to the water - better than a dead air space. Maybe it also protected from electrocution? I don't know how those things work.

 

Every time I got nervous I just reminded myself how no harm came to me the last pool session. Ha! It was fabulous being weightless and laying on the bottom of the pool. Now just need to add corals! The instructor was waaaaaaaay better the second time around, too. We have a dive trip planned to Cozumel. Location was by default since my uncle dives there every year. We're tagging along. On my bucket list is Raja Ampat. There's a youtube video of someon'e entire dive. They showed both the big picture and also zoomed in on all the little reef creatures like squirts and shrimp, etc. It's AMAZING! The biodiversity... just unbelievable. And so beautiful. And pristine. Second on the bucket list is diving with manta rays. And I wouldn't mind diving with belugas some day.

 

 

I had no idea they could explode either! I knew the glass type could crack. That happened to me when I was still brand new, which is why I went with the plastic heater. PetCo only had one 100W heater in stock the night the neotherm exploded - the Aqueon pro-- which I bought out of necessity, rather than choice. It's also plastic, which makes me nervous now, but I respect your opinions and will chill a little. :-) I'm already living on the edge with the Nuvo 24 crack potential... The Aqueon pro 100W fits the chamber well. I like that it has the thermostat on board like the Neotherm did. It is set one degree above what the Reefkeeper temp is set at so that the reefkeeper controls heater powering on/off. Those thermostats on board are the most common fail point for that type and so I'm hoping, crossing fingers, that letting the reefkeeper shut off power will lessen the wear and tear on the heater's thermostat.

 

How many years would you say you have on your Aqueon Pro?

 

It's sitting in a plastic bag on the back porch. I guess if they'll pay for shipping and handling I'll send it back to them. They do give the impression that they want to improve their products, which is reassuring since it can't be said about a lot of companies.

 

 

Very interested in what brand titanium heater you went with? And very interested in the warranty length? I'm buying a titanium heater in the near future.

 

And yes! Tim did an amazing job saving everyone's life. So lucky he was home. The branching montipora is still pale and not extending polyps and my pink acros are brown where they used to be pink, but everything else looks pretty normal today.

 

So. Only one fairy wrasse per tank. Or at least no orange-back fairy wrasse if you want multiple. He's a bully. Everyone else got their fins nipped and hid. Ironiocally now he's the shyest fish in the tank.

 

No more dwarf seahorses. I read up on how they're collected. It's pretty rough on their environment. Just couldn't bring myself to order more.

 

Yes! I'm so relieved! No one got electrocuted and nothing has died acutely. Still waiting to see how the fish gills and equipment respond to the greasy, sticky thermal transfer resin long term, making sure there's no chronic problems. It will be a month or so before I let that rest. But who knows, maybe we're lucky enough to be cultivating bacteria that eat resins... :-)

 

There should be a silver tag on the cord down near the wall plug. Mine was manufactured 02/2013 which is also the time frame that the 200W heaters with all the problems were manufactured. The plastic mold was not cast correctly or something along those lines. It lead to a weak spot on one of the seams, which is exactly where the crack is on my heater from the explosion. Supposedly the mold was recast and problems should be eliminated, although I'm not sure enough time has passed to declare the heaters 'problem free'. It's your call on the heater. The warranty is 3 years, which I translate to, "we expect this heater could fail after 3 years". There was a glass heater everyone was recommending - possibly Eheim Jagger? - that I used briefly until the glass cracked. Not sure if it was first on this 24 g tank or if it was the Nuvo 8 gallon. But I set this tank up 11/2013 so it's entirely likely the heater ran for 4 years plus a couple months. My new rule is 1 year, maybe 2 years max on heaters now.

 

 

I use the Finnex titanium heaters. The cheaper ones with the mechanical controllers. To avoid any chance of the controller failing, I run them through my Apex controller, so the power gets turned off of the water gets too warm. 

[Zuma]

Beautiful tank!  Love the colors.

[Polarcollision]

04.26.2018 full tank shot

 

just an iPhone shot to save time

[Polarcollision]

I sent my very first Triton Lab water test off today. Last water change was 11-18-17, so a little more than 5 months ago. Very interested in the results! I've been relying on trace element dosing and then there's the micro-resins in the water from the heater explosion.

 

also... I'm finally certified!

[mystersyster]

Congrats! I have not done a water change in 3 months...

 

Everything looks awesome! Looking forward to seeing your results!

[vlangel]

Your tank looks great but I miss the gsp, LOL.

[Zuma]

Really awesome tank and impressive density of corals!  Also interesting that you have not done a water change since way back in November; I was just reading Reef Keeping volume 3 and they we're recommend only changing 10-25% of the water once a month; there's a lot to be said for stability.

[Polarcollision]

7 hours ago, mystersyster said:

Congrats! I have not done a water change in 3 months...

 

Everything looks awesome! Looking forward to seeing your results!

Nice! How's it working out for you? I assume pretty well. personally I really enjoy being more hands off. It makes reefing more enjoyable and less tedious.

 

7 hours ago, vlangel said:

Your tank looks great but I miss the gsp, LOL.

It's not gone completely, though it looks like it from this angle. It's still gracing the water line mid-tank. If the stars ever align, I still plan for a large tank, 6-7 feet long and there will be lots of GSP featured.

 

Soooo... I didn't see a seahorse, but I did dive through a reef in Cozumel that reminded me of your tank.

 

5 hours ago, Zuma said:

Really awesome tank and impressive density of corals!  Also interesting that you have not done a water change since way back in November; I was just reading Reef Keeping volume 3 and they we're recommend only changing 10-25% of the water once a month; there's a lot to be said for stability.

A few years ago I geeked out on Randy Holms Farley's reef chemistry notes. He has a recipe for maintaining all seawater ions with just dosing. It's working for me in the sense that my parameters are easy to maintain and corals seem to be healthy for the most part. This will be the first time I actually know exactly how well it's working in a chemistry sense. The major elements must be within acceptable ranges because everything is happy. But it's the trace and minor elements I'm most curious about.

[DaveFason]

Tank is looking stellar. The bubble gum monster is gnarly! 

[gena]

So pretty!  I love your chalices, always have.  Congrats on the certification .

[Christopher Marks]

Absolutely beautiful @Polarcollision! I'm curious to see what your test results show, it's amazing how stable these systems can become once we stop making changes all the time.

 

Congratulations on your dive certification! 🐡 🐠 🐟

[vlangel]

On 4/27/2018 at 1:26 AM, Polarcollision said:

 

 

It's not gone completely, though it looks like it from this angle. It's still gracing the water line mid-tank. If the stars ever align, I still plan for a large tank, 6-7 feet long and there will be lots of GSP featured.

 

Soooo... I didn't see a seahorse, but I did dive through a reef in Cozumel that reminded me of your tank.

 

 

O wow, that will be quite an upgrade.  And hooray for gsp!

 

That is neat that you saw an area in the reef that reminded you of my tank.  I was going for a realistic natural look.  I know my tank is not indicative of most seahorse enviroments though.  I think they like the lagoon seagrass areas.

[Polarcollision]

On 4/27/2018 at 5:33 AM, DaveFason said:

Tank is looking stellar. The bubble gum monster is gnarly! 

HA! Thanks! I gave it some really gnarly superglue lumps to grow over. 😉

 

On 4/27/2018 at 9:05 AM, gena said:

So pretty!  I love your chalices, always have.  Congrats on the certification .

I just so happen to have a small pancake size miami hurricane that needs a new home... ? You could look at them every day. 🙂

 

On 4/27/2018 at 4:54 PM, Christopher Marks said:

Absolutely beautiful @Polarcollision! I'm curious to see what your test results show, it's amazing how stable these systems can become once we stop making changes all the time.

 

Congratulations on your dive certification! 🐡 🐠 🐟

I'll post the results as soon as I have them! This kinda seems like something to do a little more often for a while just to get a really solid dosing plan in place for the trace and minor elements.

 

I'm so excited to go diving again! I can't believe someone would rent me a tank of air now. I thought I was going to be all over the coral, but it was actually the fish that blew my mind. The colors on some of them are just indescribable. Even photos and videos just fail to capture the juvenile yellowtail damsel. It's like a living blue LED factory come to life. And there's a parotfish (?) with yellow and orange and purple and white gradations that are so subtle and intense that it's like a living opalescent aurora.

 

On 4/28/2018 at 10:57 AM, vlangel said:

O wow, that will be quite an upgrade.  And hooray for gsp!

 

That is neat that you saw an area in the reef that reminded you of my tank.  I was going for a realistic natural look.  I know my tank is not indicative of most seahorse enviroments though.  I think they like the lagoon seagrass areas.

Yeah, I have to figure out where I want to live the rest of my life and buy a home there. I thought it would be Seattle, but traffic and housing is getting over the top for the lifestyle I want to live. Sooo, once we've figured out the rest of our lives, then the dream tank can become a reality too. I already know from seeing a friend's 400 gallon tank that mine will be the major focal point in the main living area. I want it to feel like there's a window to the ocean right. there.

 

So, check out these pics I ripped off google. They look like the areas we dove through in the shallow reefs. The seahorses are usually attached to the purple sponge/gorgonian fingers or wrapped around that cone algae thingy.

 

Where ever sand collected there was often these cup stalk algae that they liked, but it's really exposed and probably not the first choice for homes

 

They look like the purple sponge fingers - blend in perfectly!

 

They were often in the stuff growing on the limestone boulders like this, rather than out in the sand flats. These two ^ and below really remind me of your tank. It's so similar to with the pillars and mix of goodies growing on them.  (Didn't see an eagle ray either, so definitely have to go back!)

 

[vlangel]

Thanks for showing me that polarcollision.  I love seeing that there are seahorses in areas with rock other than sand flats with grasses.

[Polarcollision]

Results of this tank’s first ever Triton water test are in! Last water change was 11-15-2017, so a little over 5 months on this water. After I sealed up the package, I realized I didn’t know salinity, it was 1.029. Oops. A little high, so I expect the actual readings are less concentrated now that salinity is corrected back to 1.026. 

 

There are a few things to tweak (I’m looking at you Calcium and Mg test kits; they read within targeted range), and overall I feel like the dosing and filtration system in place is working well. Did I mention it’s been 5 months since any water came out of the tank??   😉

 

Si level isn’t unexpected since our water supply is mountain runoff. I’m experimenting with a higher K level, and happy to see it elevated. One other thing I’m aware of: PO4 is elevated. Happy to see it’s still dropping slowly from the potassium nitrate dose a few weeks back. All the nasties have disappeared at least.

 

Things that caught me unaware: Br, B, and Sr are not anything I’ve thought about so plenty to geek out on in the next few weeks to see what happens with the coral when they come in line.

 

I’ll update with my home test kit results for comparison when I get home.

 

[Polarcollision]

To compare, here are test kit values of same water sent to Triton.

 

mg: 1400

ca: 450

kH: 8

pH: 8.0

salinity: 1.028 (not what I mis-remembered above)

K: 420

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

B=boron

• helps buffer pH swings (RHF)

• > seawater levels, confounds alk test

• not in my alk dosing solution

• used in calcification and by algae

• increases red and pink SPS color. I’ve often wished for brighter pinks and reds

• increased growth rate. My coral grow slowly.

• helps reduce zooxanthelle for more vivid colors

• RHF says not to increase above NSW, and slightly lower is OK.

• RHF borate fro grocery store can be used to dose

 

Br=bromine

• not much is known about its biological function. May brighten fluorescence and metallic colors. http://www.joy-reef.com/en/bromine/

 

Sr=strontium

• required by my sea slug

• needed for stony coral growth, used similar to Ca. 

 

 

Si=silicon

• need a silicon filter on RODI unit or replacement. 

• glacier melt-off water source

 

[Christopher Marks]

On 5/14/2018 at 12:34 PM, Polarcollision said:

Things that caught me unaware: Br, B, and Sr are not anything I’ve thought about so plenty to geek out on in the next few weeks to see what happens with the coral when they come in line.

So cool to see it all broken down, even heavy metals! 

 

What are your plans for directly dosing boron and bromine moving forward?

[Polarcollision]

5 hours ago, Christopher Marks said:

So cool to see it all broken down, even heavy metals! 

 

What are your plans for directly dosing boron and bromine moving forward?

Right?! It’s quite a relief to see confirmation of so many things going well.

 

RHF says it’s not important if boron levels fall a little bit, zeovit method micromanages it. I’ll fall somewhere in the middle and dose borax a couple times a year in a single bolus. Or. Maybe I’ll just do a 90% water change every 5-6 months. The fauna Marin trace element supplements don’t say exactly what’s in them beyond these elements (iodine, strontium, barium, and unknown heavy metals). All but barium were lowish in the Triton results so I’ll increase the additive in the dosing containers for now, and look for replacement trace elements that actually list their ingredients in the near future. 

[Star-39]

Is the orange monti stuck to the glass or back? So in love with your tank 😍