GTi's CAD Lights 34G Mini-II

[GTi]

That clam is gorgeous. That's what I'm looking most forward to.

Thanks! PEA has some great ones.

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

Bro, every switch out the return?

[GTi]

I've been traveling a fair bit and not keeping this updated with what I have done recently.

 

I finally gave up on the PLS-50 and am now trying the Tunze 9001. When the PLS-50 was working it pulled a lot of skimmate but I found it so touchy that it was too much hassle for me. The Tunze made micro bubbles for a couple of hours then settled in. I'm playing with the mounting height to see if I can get a darer skimmate - it's a light tea color right now. One disadvantage is that when I shut my return pump off to feed the fish, there's back flow through the pump in to the rear chambers and the Tunze sits low in the water and the cup floats off. I will have to look in to running the rear chambers only slightly lower than the display or a non-return valve on the pump line.

 

PLS-50 had a vinegar batch and is all cleaned up. It will appear in the classifieds some time soon!

 

I attached most of the corals to the rock work. Will try to get a FTS shot posted.

 

The anemone's tentacles have become quite short. This was noticeable after a week away. I have moved the rock so it faces the light better and dialed up the Radion another 10% to 85%. I fed it yesterday and it ate ok. Fingers crossed.

 

Bought some new filters, resin and high efficiency membrane for the Spectrapure system. Just need to get them installed.

 

I am controlling 2 75W Cobalt Neotherm heaters with the Apex. One evening the temperature warning went off that the tank was a little cooler than usual (I set the warning to go off if it drops more than 3/10 below usual). One of the heaters was not working. I thought it had broken and put in the back up one I use for water change water. When I plugged the 'bad' one in to double check it, it was fine. Not sure what was going on there - all I could think of was that maybe there was a power fluctuation that knocked it out and it needed a reset? The issue hasn't repeated since.

 

Added an Avast diaphragm pump for my ATO. The Aqualifter I used when I had a summed system would reliably pump the top off water from the cabinet up to the display. The Avast one cost a fair bit more than an Aqualifter but will pump much higher. I actually have a valve inline to slow the flow rate a little.

 

Hi. I'm short on time right now but it's this:

Belkin Residential Gateway Battery Backup BU3DC001-12V and

this cable: 5.5mm/2.1mm Female plug to 3.5mm/1.35 male power cable.

There's a thread on another website about this but it's plug and play.

I bought the BBU new for $40 shipped and the cable was under $5 shipped but took about 10 days as it came from China.

LMK if you need more info!

This battery backup certainly works but the main problem I have is that it kicks on when I use the Apex to shut off the return, skimmer and MP10s at feeding time. Not sure how I will deal with this but it will probably be either only plugging it in when I am away, not turning the MP10s off during feeding or manually turning them off during feeding. I know they have a feed mode where they are on at reduce flow but in the past I have found this to cause more food to get missed by the fish. I really wanted the feed cycle to be a one-touch deal so that when I am away, whoever is looking after things doesn't need to remember to turn it all back on again.

 

Bro, ever switch out the return?

Hi Tron - thanks for stopping by. Yes, I got the Sicce Syncra Silent 1.0. It's rated at 251 gph which is around half of the pump supplied with the tank. Plusses are that it is quieter and I think it generates less heat. The reduced flow allows me to control the amount of flow using the 2 MP10s. Probably overkill but as I had them from my previous tank, it was an easy choice to keep them. The main disadvantage is that when performing maintenance like turkey basting the rocks to remove detritus, as there is less flow through the filter media, the display takes longer to clear. I could stick a canister or hang on filter to speed it up but I'm not that bothered by it so far.

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

You think the 350 gph sicce would be a better choice or suggest the 250?

 

I agree with the noise but am concerned over the heat.

 

 

Also, for now, to ease the water level issue, flip the return nozzle up to avoid drainage to the sump, until you get a check valve.

[GTi]

You think the 350 gph sicce would be a better choice or suggest the 250?

 

I agree with the noise but am concerned over the heat.

 

 

Also, for now, to ease the water level issue, flip the return nozzle up to avoid drainage to the sump, until you get a check valve.

There is a degree of flow adjustment on the Sicces. I'm running mine wide open. I didn't like 500 gph coming out of that small nozzle and as I had the 2 MP10s it was a no-brainer for my set up to go with a much smaller pump. 350gph is probably a good option too - you could always adjust the flow down a touch if you need to. My MP10s are set to a max of around 50% so I don't get sandstorms. That's plenty

 

Thanks for the tip on the nozzle!

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

Because of the frogspawn, the mp10 is on same side add my return, so it's moving sand on opposite end...

 

Trying to do the same as you. Not sure which though.

 

Much smaller pump? Forgot to ask

[GTi]

Because of the frogspawn, the mp10 is on same side add my return, so it's moving sand on opposite end...

 

Trying to do the same as you. Not sure which though.

 

Much smaller pump? Forgot to ask

I meant a much smaller return pump (Sicce Syncra 1.0). You've got a lot of unidirectional flow there! My frogspawn is almost 2 heads but is also the limiting factor in my tank (as well as not blowing the fire fish around too much!).

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

What i meant was, is the size actually smaller than the cad pump? or similar size...

 

One other thing, if I decide on the 251gph sicce 1.0, you mentioned you can somewhat adjust speeds?

[GTi]

What i meant was, is the size actually smaller than the cad pump? or similar size...

 

One other thing, if I decide on the 251gph sicce 1.0, you mentioned you can somewhat adjust speeds?

The Sicce is a little smaller in size than the original pump. Yes, all of the pumps in that family have a dial on the front that partly restricts the intake and allows a small amount of flow adjustment.

[D Z]

So is the stock pump loud in comparison to the Sicce. My tank is going in my bedroom so I want it to be as quiet as possible, but if it is only a minimal improvement, it's probably not worth it to me.

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

I never noticed any issues at first, lately I've noticed more of a humming sound, perhaps vibration, but i am more concerned about heat coming from the pump, as the tank is less cool than normal...

[D Z]

OK...I'll keep that in mind. I am not quite sure what to expect yet for heat. My bedroom is upstairs and in the summer my upstairs can get a little warm(up to 83) as heat rises, but we pretty much run our ceiling fan in our room constantly so we will see how that affects it. Replacing the return pump would definitely be the first thing I would recommend on any AIO that is having issue with heat.

[GTi]

So is the stock pump loud in comparison to the Sicce. My tank is going in my bedroom so I want it to be as quiet as possible, but if it is only a minimal improvement, it's probably not worth it to me.

Mine was noisy off the bat. Vibration as well as general noise. I also felt the flow was too high for one small nozzle and I was heaving heat issues too.

[D Z]

And so far the Sicce 1.0 has solved all of your issues?

[GTi]

And so far the Sicce 1.0 has solved all of your issues?

I have far too many issues for a mere pump to solve! It's quieter but not silent, runs cooler and I prefer the flow rate.

[D Z]

LOL.....I'll keep that in mind.

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

They're on sale at the moment

[D Z]

They're on sale at the moment

Where?

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

Premium Aquatics

 

 

 

 

PS-- are you guys using the reactor + biopellets with your tanks?

[GTi]

Premium Aquatics

 

 

 

 

PS-- are you guys using the reactor + biopellets with your tanks?

I have the reactor - in its box! Was thinking about carbon and GFO. I've never run pellets. Not sure if I'll use the reactor or not. I'm lightly stocked with just 2 clowns and a fire fish. Weekly 5 gallon water changes. I'll stop being lazy and test some parameters and see whether anything needs doing.

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

I'm at a loss.

 

Randomly, whether connected to the rusty tunze magnet or not, I've had issues with algae and corals not doing well. Test show undetectable as clearly they're getting used by the algae.

 

Trying to figure out if biopellets will do much.

[Dramad1]

Premium Aquatics

 

 

 

 

PS-- are you guys using the reactor + biopellets with your tanks?

Im using the reactor with 100ml vertex biopellets, I haven't had any algae at all, since the beginning. Started w/ 50ml and slowly increased to 100ml over a minth and a half or so. I have the reactor right after the skimmer with the return turned towards the skimmer intake. I also have a small bag of carbon before the last baffle before the return. So far so good, no algae at all.

Also feed 3 times a week with a mix of frozen, flake, rc, and coral frenzy and pellets.

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

In 8 months I haven't had issues. This is the first.

[Dramad1]

Weird, do you think the rescape could have stirred anything up?

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

I don't think that is the culprit. Really just moved 2 rocks, removed a coral; however, I removed my fuge basket, cleaned it, discarded unwanted calerpa and added fresh chaeto.