Reefer 350

[HarryPotter]

45 minutes ago, mpsti05 said:

Harry what bulb combo do you use? Probably picking up a 36” 6bulb ati dimable from a local. Selling the nanoreef light

 

My favorite combo is 3 Blue plus, 2 Coral Plus, and a Purple plus. The color is crisp and corals look great without that alien-abduction style blue look xD 

 

If it’s not blue enough for you, you can do 3B+, 2C+, and a P+  

 

Be back later, Justice League time!

[HarryPotter]

So my skimmer has not really worked for a year so I just had it set “off” with apex. It had a thick cover of coralline over the entire pump body and acrylic housing- something I just didn’t want to deal with. I couldn’t take it apart because coralline covered all the screws, so I just left it in my sump. It’s an Aquamaxx CO1, not cheap, which was a shame to ignore.

 

Yesterday afternoon I saw we had two gallons of white vinegar in the pantry so I decided to run the skimmer in 70% pure vinegar. At first it just had a few bubbles in the bottom section per usual, not really working at all. But a few hours later it’s going nuts! The Acrylic is totally clear and the pump/bubbles are 20x stronger. I am going to leave it running in the vinegar for 24h and then run it in tap water to get it cleaned off before putting it back in the sump. 

 

A $5 fix to what I thought may be trash!

Here it is after 12h. The thick layer of coralline and snail shells just melted off and I have bubbles again!

 

 

In other news, I apparently still have a large mystery urchin in the sump! It came in on a piece of LR that I got for my sump at least a year ago. I don’t know if it’s reef safe so it’ll stay down there!

[Reefkid88]

Oh oh post after cleaning pics !!! Its crazy how vinegar just destroys algae. 

[HarryPotter]

10 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

Oh oh post after cleaning pics !!! Its crazy how vinegar just destroys algae. 

 

 Huge difference compared to the thick coralline buildup it had before! Right now it is running in tap water, tomorrow I will put it in the sump and see if it’ll work! It may take a few days to break in since it has no slime inside. It honesty looks like new, which is nice because I got it used with the tank!

 

[DaveFason]

Amazing what a little TLC will do! 

 

Everything else still running well with the tank?

-Dave

[HarryPotter]

37 minutes ago, DaveFason said:

Amazing what a little TLC will do! 

 

Everything else still running well with the tank?

-Dave

 

Yessir! Acros are forming forests and reaching for the top, while LPS are growing so quickly that I give away the colony and just keep a frag- in two months they’re colonies again. Equipment is all working, minus the apex wireless control which has been down for a week. Very unreliable in my experience; I have a simple WiFi adapter but the apex needs to be reset and or wiped frequently for it to function.

 

It is a very old apex JR though, so it could be age. The tank should independently take care of any ph or temp issue, so I am not to concerned with lacking monitoring. 

[banshee]

I'm pretty excited to see this. I'm waiting on my Reefer 250 to arrive. How's your experience been so far? Anything I should immediately change or look for? 

 

Okay. I'm off to stalk through your thread now.

[HarryPotter]

morning PE

 

[mitten_reef]

9 minutes ago, HarryPotter said:

Love the purple tips - even with just the morning daylight!

[HarryPotter]

19 hours ago, banshee said:

I'm pretty excited to see this. I'm waiting on my Reefer 250 to arrive. How's your experience been so far? Anything I should immediately change or look for? 

 

Okay. I'm off to stalk through your thread now.

 

Few things. 

 

One: screw all cleaning magnets. Clean the glass weekly with a razor- takes 5 minutes and you will NEVER scratch the glass or damage the silicon. Throw it away after. This is probably my 6th tank, and I finally learned that no matter the brand cleaner they can and will scratch- you want to keep it nice, use a razor and put your arm in the tank. The tank is in pristine condition. 

 

Two: the stock return nozzle isn’t nice. It puts water at the top of the tank.... back into the filter. You’ll want to get something that allows you to aim the slow more towards the bottom of the tank. 

 

You can buy this already made: https://vividcreativeaquatics.com/shop/red-sea-reefer-ultimate-return-line-upgrade-25mm-to-12in-rfg/

 

or you you can DIY it yourself with about $15 of loc line parts. 

 

Its important; why have fancy filtration if you are going to just be filtering the same water over and over again? (I know not literally the same, but it does increase efficiency). 

 

3rd: Avoid chemical filtration as much as you can. It’s harsh- a GFO overdose will kill your acros when it drops PO4 to fast. If you are relying on GFO, if you put in too little or don’t refresh the media your nutrients will go up. Keep it simple! I have just filter floss in this tank, and I do monthly 20g water changes. (I do doze Ca and Alk due to the quantity of hard corals). 

 

Theres no no need for all the fancy reactors. 

 

4th; keep it clean. Start with dry rock, I recommend reefcleaners. Every coral you buy gets broken off it’s plug, dipped in CoralRX, and inspected for pests before it goes into the tank. Aptasia is a PITA, as are flatworms or coral eating nudibranches. Coralline will grow even if you don’t start with live rock- be patient and it’ll be great! 

 

5th; have fun. There’s no need to over-complicate it. Once it’s running, you’ll never need that ammonia test again. I test Alkalinity and salinity monthly and that’s it. Corals and fish are simple; provide food, lighting, and clean water and they thrive.  

 

hope that helps!

[banshee]

9 hours ago, HarryPotter said:

 

Few things. 

 

One: screw all cleaning magnets. Clean the glass weekly with a razor- takes 5 minutes and you will NEVER scratch the glass or damage the silicon. Throw it away after. This is probably my 6th tank, and I finally learned that no matter the brand cleaner they can and will scratch- you want to keep it nice, use a razor and put your arm in the tank. The tank is in pristine condition. 

 

Two: the stock return nozzle isn’t nice. It puts water at the top of the tank.... back into the filter. You’ll want to get something that allows you to aim the slow more towards the bottom of the tank. 

 

You can buy this already made: https://vividcreativeaquatics.com/shop/red-sea-reefer-ultimate-return-line-upgrade-25mm-to-12in-rfg/

 

or you you can DIY it yourself with about $15 of loc line parts. 

 

Its important; why have fancy filtration if you are going to just be filtering the same water over and over again? (I know not literally the same, but it does increase efficiency). 

 

3rd: Avoid chemical filtration as much as you can. It’s harsh- a GFO overdose will kill your acros when it drops PO4 to fast. If you are relying on GFO, if you put in too little or don’t refresh the media your nutrients will go up. Keep it simple! I have just filter floss in this tank, and I do monthly 20g water changes. (I do doze Ca and Alk due to the quantity of hard corals). 

 

Theres no no need for all the fancy reactors. 

 

4th; keep it clean. Start with dry rock, I recommend reefcleaners. Every coral you buy gets broken off it’s plug, dipped in CoralRX, and inspected for pests before it goes into the tank. Aptasia is a PITA, as are flatworms or coral eating nudibranches. Coralline will grow even if you don’t start with live rock- be patient and it’ll be great! 

 

5th; have fun. There’s no need to over-complicate it. Once it’s running, you’ll never need that ammonia test again. I test Alkalinity and salinity monthly and that’s it. Corals and fish are simple; provide food, lighting, and clean water and they thrive.  

 

hope that helps!

Thank you! I'll order the return line upgrade now. I'm using BRS Pukani and shelf rock but I may order some ReefCleaners too. I set up a quarantine tank already and it appears to be cycled. Just have to do a big water change. Can't wait for the tank itself to arrive!

[HarryPotter]

Excited for my first Triton test! I did a water change a few days ago, so I will wait 2 weeks (midway between monthly water change) to take a sample and send it out. It’s actually really exciting for me because I just know my Alkalinity and salinity.... who knows what I could find?! BulkReefSupply had a great Black Friday deal on it. 

 

[HarryPotter]

 

Messy messy  

 

 

[vlangel]

Looking really good Harry.  Now that the skimmer is all cleaned up from the coraline, how is its performance?

[HarryPotter]

2 hours ago, vlangel said:

Looking really good Harry.  Now that the skimmer is all cleaned up from the coraline, how is its performance?

 

Still too early to know! Bubbles haven’t quite reached the cup yet, it’s still breaking in. How are the ‘horses? 

[vlangel]

8 hours ago, HarryPotter said:

 

Still too early to know! Bubbles haven’t quite reached the cup yet, it’s still breaking in. How are the ‘horses? 

The 'horses' are doing great.  They have been more active lately.  Sammy tries to woo and impress Delilah and she flirts back but isn't ready for more than that.  So eventually Sammy ends up courting with Eve.  Its complicated, LOL.

[mitten_reef]

tank is looking good. looks like those aquarium club kids made a hell of a haul. how's your battle with the algae on that RFA rock, looking better there too?  

[banshee]

Where is this mess you speak of?

[HarryPotter]

I took my Triton sample this morning and will send it off this afternoon! Very excited to know complete parameters of my tank- besides salinity and Alkalinity I have no clue! I think it will be $35 well spent. 

[teenyreef]

I've enjoyed doing the Triton testing in my tanks. You have to be careful in reading the results because some of the elements that may be off have no known "correct" or "harmful" levels, just "off from normal". But you already know better than to chase numbers if things are doing well. And it looks like things are doing well!

[HarryPotter]

So far squat from fluconazole  

[HarryPotter]

On 12/2/2017 at 5:11 PM, teenyreef said:

I've enjoyed doing the Triton testing in my tanks. You have to be careful in reading the results because some of the elements that may be off have no known "correct" or "harmful" levels, just "off from normal". But you already know better than to chase numbers if things are doing well. And it looks like things are doing well!

 

Totally agree regarding adjusting for all of these elements! I take a more hands off approach, and mainly did the Triton to see whether I am limiting growth via Ca/Alk/Mg/PO4/NO3. The most actively I may chase any numbers is doing a water change every 2 weeks instead of monthly xD 

[teenyreef]

You may be disappointed to find out Triton doesn't measure NO3 or Alk. I know I was . The ATI test does do nitrates, as well as a testing your RODI, but there are a few trace elements that Triton does that ATI does not.

 

When did you start doing fluco? I thought you just got your skimmer back online - did I miss a post?

[HarryPotter]

4 minutes ago, teenyreef said:

You may be disappointed to find out Triton doesn't measure NO3 or Alk. I know I was . The ATI test does do nitrates, as well as a testing your RODI, but there are a few trace elements that Triton does that ATI does not.

 

When did you start doing fluco? I thought you just got your skimmer back online - did I miss a post?

 

Oh I made a thread. ReefHD sent be a bottle. Didn’t do squat so far ?

[teenyreef]

Ahhh...following now