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kinetic Red Sea Reefer 170


kinetic

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A few updates:

  1. Setup my Neptune ATK, connected to my Apex Jr. Pretty easy after I updated the firmware and module! Hooked it up to my 5g reservoir in the closet.
  2. Ordered an Aquamaxx GFO/Carbon XL reactor, and 5M of Red/Blue LED light strips that are waterproof. I'm planning on growing a ton of chaeto to fight phosphates in a DIY algae reactor. I'm a little scared of the heat problem that I've heard about, so also looking into purchasing a tube of aluminum. Once I get the reactor, I'll take more measurements to make sure I can get the exact right length of aluminum tube, then mount the LED strip to the aluminum (rather than the reactor). The aluminum should act as a pretty good heat sink. I'm going to run this inline with my chiller and BRS mini reactor (which will hold Carbon). Should get the reactor this week for measurements. I'll then probably take another week to get the aluminum tube ordered and delivered. The lights will be connected to my Apex Jr. and turned on in a reverse schedule as my AI Hydra, and will turn off if the temperature gets too hot. Good project to keep me occupied while the tank cycles.
  3. I'm a bit paranoid that two bottles of Dr. Tim's One and Only arrived with dead bacteria. I think it's too early in the cycle to know, but I cycled my rock for 3 weeks+ with no nitrites detected and ammonia levels never dropping. So I'm skeptical. So I just ordered 4 oz. of Instant Ocean Bio Spira and another bottle of Dr. Tim's One and Only. Going to just pour both those puppies in and see what happens. Probably nothing haha.

I'm not sure about keeping a H. Magnifica anymore. I'm pretty certain that it will outgrow my tank. If not, the entire footprint could become as big as my tank, and my rock only fill up a tiny part of it. I might chance getting 2 BTAs and hope that the ocellaris will accept it as a host. I doubt it, with my luck the ocellaris will host the Gyre pump. What do you guys think?

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5 hours ago, kinetic said:

A few updates:

  1. Setup my Neptune ATK, connected to my Apex Jr. Pretty easy after I updated the firmware and module! Hooked it up to my 5g reservoir in the closet.
  2. Ordered an Aquamaxx GFO/Carbon XL reactor, and 5M of Red/Blue LED light strips that are waterproof. I'm planning on growing a ton of chaeto to fight phosphates in a DIY algae reactor. I'm a little scared of the heat problem that I've heard about, so also looking into purchasing a tube of aluminum. Once I get the reactor, I'll take more measurements to make sure I can get the exact right length of aluminum tube, then mount the LED strip to the aluminum (rather than the reactor). The aluminum should act as a pretty good heat sink. I'm going to run this inline with my chiller and BRS mini reactor (which will hold Carbon). Should get the reactor this week for measurements. I'll then probably take another week to get the aluminum tube ordered and delivered. The lights will be connected to my Apex Jr. and turned on in a reverse schedule as my AI Hydra, and will turn off if the temperature gets too hot. Good project to keep me occupied while the tank cycles.
  3. I'm a bit paranoid that two bottles of Dr. Tim's One and Only arrived with dead bacteria. I think it's too early in the cycle to know, but I cycled my rock for 3 weeks+ with no nitrites detected and ammonia levels never dropping. So I'm skeptical. So I just ordered 4 oz. of Instant Ocean Bio Spira and another bottle of Dr. Tim's One and Only. Going to just pour both those puppies in and see what happens. Probably nothing haha.

I'm not sure about keeping a H. Magnifica anymore. I'm pretty certain that it will outgrow my tank. If not, the entire footprint could become as big as my tank, and my rock only fill up a tiny part of it. I might chance getting 2 BTAs and hope that the ocellaris will accept it as a host. I doubt it, with my luck the ocellaris will host the Gyre pump. What do you guys think?

Where did you get the Dr. Tim's from?  Think maybe it was exposed to heat or something that could've killed the bacteria?

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8 hours ago, Lula_Mae said:

Where did you get the Dr. Tim's from?  Think maybe it was exposed to heat or something that could've killed the bacteria?

I got it once from Amazon, and then again from BRS. Weirdly, the bottles were different colors, but the expiration label was for 2018.

 

I also know there's a freshwater version. I wonder if one of my bottles was freshwater by accident. One was light blue and one was purple. But the freshwater bottle online looks dark blue.

 

But yeah, it's been hot, so definitely may have killed off the bacteria. I hope my next two bottles (BIO SPIRA and another dr tims) comes in alive.

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oh interesting, I got this one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001LUMZ4C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I guess it's just for saltwater. Darn it. Maybe I'll just return it to amazon and get the reef.

 

EDIT: From Dr. Tim's website

Quote

2) Saltwater or Reef products which one?

For most of our products, there is no difference between the saltwater and reef versions. We make the two versions because some stores/customers want products that are specifically labelled for reef aquaria. Two products where there are differences are First Defense and Eco-Balance.

 

So there's no difference. Just labeling. Funny, on Amazon, the Reef version is +$6 more.

Edited by kinetic
Found the answer to diff between Reef and Saltwater
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My Skimz QuietPro 4.0 and 2.0 pumps are just too loud. I was going to hold off and just see if they got quieter, but they're loud enough for me to hear in the next room. It's not a super loud dB, but it's not dead silent like people have described their Reef Octopus VarioS or EcoTech Vertex pumps.

 

I'm returning to BRS (they are awesome to let me return them even after using them) and ordered replacement, a Reef Octopus VarioS S-4 and S-2.

 

Lots of people have said good things about it, so I'm confident they should be at least as good, if not better.

 

I was thinking of keeping the Skimz as backups, but maybe a cheaper AC pump as a backup would make more sense.

 

BRS 3-day, hope it'll be here by the weekend for me to install.

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So my ammonia levels have not gone down, and my nitrites never go above 0 or barely detectable.

So last night I added a 4oz. bottle of IO Bio Spira. Before adding it, my ammonia tested at just around 2.0 ppm (or a bit higher) using Red Sea and Salifert tests, and nitrites were undetectable using salifert.

Today, less than 24 hours later, ammonia is down to 0.3 ppm and nitrites up to 0.5ppm (maybe more, hard to tell with this Salifert test)! Wow.

For sure the bio-spira worked. I just got another bottle of Dr. Tim's one and only as well (my third 4 oz bottle), and dumped that in today after testing as well. Why? I don't know, just because I wanted to make sure I had some bacteria that was alive.

Either my past 2 bottles of Dr. Tim's One and Only were very dead, or Bio spira is just a lot faster with processing ammonia. Either way, it's still cycling and we'll see how it all goes.

My latest bottle of Dr. Tim's One and Only had a bunch of junk at the bottom of it. I shook the bottle a bit before adding the whole thing, but this time there was quite a bit of brown debris at the bottom that I haven't seen with past bottles. BIO SPIRA went in brown, but didn't have big bits of gunk. 

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My ammonia is now almost undetectable, and nitrites are pretty high, around 3ppm. I dosed a tiny bit more ammonium chloride today, but I think I'll now stop dosing until both ammonia and nitrites drop do below 0.2ppm. Once that happens I'll try dosing more ammonium chloride and see if the levels go down to 0. I'll keep waiting for 0.2ppm drops to dose until both are undetectable.
 
My Skimz QuietPro 4.0 DC pump and 2.0 DC pumps are pretty loud. At 40% my return pump registers 55dB. I asked BRS if I could return them and they said yes. I'm replacing them with Reef Octopus VarioS S-4 and S-2 pumps. They're a bit more powerful, but they can be controlled down to fit the bill. I'll be running the S-4 at around 550gph, and the S-2 around 250gph. I was originally going to go for the Vectra S1 as my return, but I keep seeing broken down M1 pump threads pop up. Even though replacements and what not are sent out quickly, I have yet to see any problems with VarioS pumps. Skimz users say their pumps are really quiet. VarioS owners say it's dead silent, and there's no noise at all. So I'm hoping for the best.
 
I don't really need to control these with Apex, other than on/off. I'll have the return on the Apex Jr.'s eb4 outlet, but the skimmer/reactor VarioS S-2 pump will just be on a powerstrip. I'm saving the last outlet I have for my algae reactor light (turning it off if things get too hot).
 
I'm considering getting an eb4 or even an eb8 to control:
1. Heater
2. Chiller
3. Return pump
4. Reactor/Chiller pump
5. Algae reactor lights
6. Skimmer pump
7. Gyre pump
 
- I'll probably also eventually get an auto feeder. Then my Apex would turn off the return and skimmer pumps, feed, and then turn on the return and skimmer pumps again. Good for when I'm not in town (which will be often)
- I want to control the algae reactor lights to be opposite of my AI Hydra, so a simple time based on/off would work here. I will also have a heat failsafe, so if the heat gets too much (like beyond chiller ability) I will shut off the reactor lights
- If leaks are detected, I'll probably have everything except the gyre pump stopped and an alarm sent. If anything, I have a nest cam that I can look through or call someone to go over and check. The gyre pump should keep things alive for a bit.
 
An extra FMM module from my ATK for a total of:
1. PMUP
2. ATK sensor low
3. ATK sensor high
4. LD-2 leak probe (in cabinet)
5. LD-2 leak probe (behind cabinet on floor)
6. Solenoid to refill 5 gallon ATO reservoir
7. OS-1 optical sensor for ATO reservoir low
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7 hours ago, Lynton said:

SounDs really well thought out but these apex boggle my mind!! ?

I feel you. One part of me just wants to do all that manually and not worry about weird errors or failures in the system. The other part wants to tinker and feel OK about leaving a tank unattended.

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Cycling Complete for 5 days

 

Good news, my tank cycled well! For 5 days now, I've been able to dose 2ppm of ammonia and have levels come down within 12 hours to 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites. My Nitrates were 50ppm, but after three 50%+ water changes, I'm down to 10ppm. I didn't have any containers big enough to do anything bigger than that. I used two 18 gallon tubs, which I premixed about 16 gallons into one, and drained the same amount into the other. 

 

There's no green algae anywhere, which I guess is good. Nothing really was put in the tank that could've had algae hitch hike over. But there is a film of transparent stuff, that looks a bit brown when I scrape it off with my flipper magnet. My skimmer started picking it right up. That's a good sign. No clean-up-crew until I build up a good amount of algae...

 

Algae Reactor done

Finished building my algae reactor. My chaeto should be arriving tomorrow from reefcleaners.org. Once I have that in the reactor, I'll take some photos of the final product and post the specs. It's not the prettiest, but it should work well.

 

NoPo4-X

I decided to try some NoPo4-x, since it came with my Red Sea Mature kit, and I ended up not using it. I think it's just vinegar to be honest. Anyway, I'm on day 3 of using it. Hasn't really helped nitrates, though hard to tell since I'm doing huge water changes. But today I'm done doing big water changes, and I'll see if the NoPo4-x does anything with the remaining nitrates. I'm getting the chaeto tomorrow, so I'm thinking of just not using it anymore and saving it for later if my nitrates aren't able to come back down.

 

At this rate, I probably will have a ULNS tank and not even need a CUC =P

 

Lights on

Turned the lights on! Here's a properly white balanced photo of it:

 

37439787656_9d51ab8c78_b.jpg

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Full system setup. Main display tank with sump, and in the adjacent closet is the carbon reactor (brs mini), Algae Reactor (AquaMaxx XL with custom aluminum heat control), and chiller. Also in the closet is a 5 gallon HPDE ATO reservoir with the ATK PMUP, OS-1 level sensor for low water. The ATO reservoir is fed by my RO/DI.

 

23654055648_e6783d9b87_b.jpg

 

Algae Reactor

All the parts used for this algae reactor:

 

AquaMaxx Reactor XL:
https://www.marinedepot.com/AquaMaxx_Fluidized_GFO_and_Carbon_Filter_Media_Reactor_XL_Chemical_Reactors-AquaMaxx-UJ5313-FIFRISCR-vi.html

 

LED Grow Lights:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MRHQMYH/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Clip on Fan:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012BKZC86/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Aluminum tube:
http://www.speedymetals.com/pc-4689-8379-6-sq-wall-sq-tube-6063-t52-aluminum.aspx

 

Heatsinks:
http://www.heatsinkusa.com/4-850-wide-extruded-aluminum-heatsink/

 

Just added some chaeto from ReefCleaners.org. I decided to go with them because the chaeto is grown in a fishless system. I'm crossing my fingers it's also GHA, Bubble Algae, etc. free. When I put the chaeto in, there was a bit of sand in the chaeto, as well as a few big amphipods. Didn't see any nuisance animals.

 

37458517306_3dae0532f1_b.jpg

 

Here's a look at the sleeve I put together for the LED lights. I'm probably overly scared of heat problems with these Amazon grow lights, so I bought a 5.75"x19" square aluminum tube and stuck the lights on the inside of it. I probably should've gotten a 6" tube because it's a tight squeeze getting the reactor in and out with the LED lights.

Attached to two sides are 4.8" x 8" heatsinks. Lots of thermal paste + some JB weld to hold them on. Cured for 24 hours.

Lastly, very quiet low powered clip on fan above. So this is probably the coolest algae reactor in the world LOL.

 

23654050748_e2e711f26a_b.jpg

 

37458505046_8e1a41d56f_b.jpg

 

 

Here it is all assembled:

 

23654043068_34d4e4867f_b.jpg

 

36837256743_7255f9352e_b.jpg

 

And a fun glorious photo down the tube with the lights on:

 

36796353214_0c37cf8939_b.jpg

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A few new additions:
 
AlgaeBarn 5280 pods
 
And picked up a rainbow BTA
 
I offered $70 for the BTA on ebay, not expecting him to take it, but he took it so I guess I had to pay. I put it in a QT for a day and he seemed fine. I had cipro tabs ready, but looked good after 24 hours. I acclimated for 1.5 hours (30 min temp + 1 hour drip) and put him in the tank. He bubbled up, walked around, floated around, walked around some more, and now he's half hiding in a crevice.
 
It came with a lot less color than the photo (obviously the photo is ridiculous), which was totally fine. But since I introduced it, I think it's lost even more color. Bummer. So it's on day 3 now, and even with pumps off and squirting mysis into it's face, it won't eat. I can touch the tentacles and feel it stick, but I guess it's not hungry yet. It's peaking out into the light, so hopefully it'll be happy soon.
 
Measuring all my parameters, still 0 on ammonia/nitrites and about 10ppm on nitrates. Just got my Hanna phosphate checker, but haven't busted it out yet. Good amount of brown algae film everywhere though.
 
37284671040_09de4963e8_b.jpg
 
37543192771_8299f9dff4_b.jpg
 
I'm guessing it'll figure itself out and hopefully color back up.
 
I'll keep trying to feed it, and maybe it'll absorb some of the phytoplankton I'm dosing everyday for the pods.
 
Skimmer Update
 
Got a replacement Simplicity skimmer impeller to see if it helps the sound. After a few seconds of screaming baby noises, it actually dropped down considerably in noise.
 
23691165078_e1cdb58a6b_b.jpg
 
Before the new impeller, I was measuring 65 decibels.
 
After new impeller, it was 77 decibels... and about 10 minutes later it's now at a cool 58 decibels! Much better. I think I'll just keep this skimmer. The sound is definitely manageable.
 
If Reef Octopus ever puts together a smaller Elite skimmer, I'll get that, but I think I'll just settle for this at the moment.
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22 minutes ago, kinetic said:
A few new additions:
 
AlgaeBarn 5280 pods
 
And picked up a rainbow BTA
 
I offered $70 for the BTA on ebay, not expecting him to take it, but he took it so I guess I had to pay. I put it in a QT for a day and he seemed fine. I had cipro tabs ready, but looked good after 24 hours. I acclimated for 1.5 hours (30 min temp + 1 hour drip) and put him in the tank. He bubbled up, walked around, floated around, walked around some more, and now he's half hiding in a crevice.
 
It came with a lot less color than the photo (obviously the photo is ridiculous), which was totally fine. But since I introduced it, I think it's lost even more color. Bummer. So it's on day 3 now, and even with pumps off and squirting mysis into it's face, it won't eat. I can touch the tentacles and feel it stick, but I guess it's not hungry yet. It's peaking out into the light, so hopefully it'll be happy soon.
 
Measuring all my parameters, still 0 on ammonia/nitrites and about 10ppm on nitrates. Just got my Hanna phosphate checker, but haven't busted it out yet. Good amount of brown algae film everywhere though.
 
37284671040_09de4963e8_b.jpg
 
37543192771_8299f9dff4_b.jpg
 
I'm guessing it'll figure itself out and hopefully color back up.
 
I'll keep trying to feed it, and maybe it'll absorb some of the phytoplankton I'm dosing everyday for the pods.
 
Skimmer Update
 
Got a replacement Simplicity skimmer impeller to see if it helps the sound. After a few seconds of screaming baby noises, it actually dropped down considerably in noise.
 
23691165078_e1cdb58a6b_b.jpg
 
Before the new impeller, I was measuring 65 decibels.
 
After new impeller, it was 77 decibels... and about 10 minutes later it's now at a cool 58 decibels! Much better. I think I'll just keep this skimmer. The sound is definitely manageable.
 
If Reef Octopus ever puts together a smaller Elite skimmer, I'll get that, but I think I'll just settle for this at the moment.

I’m no expert when it comes nems, never had luck with the 2 I’ve had over the years but really hope urs does well for you.

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9 minutes ago, Lynton said:

I’m no expert when it comes nems, never had luck with the 2 I’ve had over the years but really hope urs does well for you.

Thanks! The trick for me has been really strong light, lots of flow, and extremely stable tank parameters (salinity, temperature, pH specifically). Also proper initial acclimation is a must. They are super sensitive to pH swings, and will die in a month if they were poorly acclimated.

 

Also if they get damaged or have infection, it's rare that they can recover on their own. Using a treatment tank, you can dose ciproflaxin with 100% water changes daily over the course of a week and then they can be pretty hard after recovering. Kind of a lot of work, but saving an anemone is hard! The best luck is to have them ship healthy, and they can live for a super long time.

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Mine were good in the respects that they found a place straight away and were feeding for weeks on end no problems then I wake up to find them in the powerhead as they Ave gone walk abouts in the night! They are great things to Ave my clowns hosted straight away and loved it I just don’t like the unpredictability that comes with them.. but the more I see these mini max  enenomies the more I want some.

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1 hour ago, Lynton said:

Mine were good in the respects that they found a place straight away and were feeding for weeks on end no problems then I wake up to find them in the powerhead as they Ave gone walk abouts in the night! They are great things to Ave my clowns hosted straight away and loved it I just don’t like the unpredictability that comes with them.. but the more I see these mini max  enenomies the more I want some.

Oh yeah, anemones walk all over the place. Always need guards over powerheads for sure. My gyre has one, and good thing too because this anemone went right into it the first day. Good thing it was powered low and had the mesh guard.

 

I think a walking anemone means something weird changed in the tank. Instead of them creating SPS genocide to let you know, I wish they would have a better warning system.

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26 minutes ago, kinetic said:

Oh yeah, anemones walk all over the place. Always need guards over powerheads for sure. My gyre has one, and good thing too because this anemone went right into it the first day. Good thing it was powered low and had the mesh guard.

 

I think a walking anemone means something weird changed in the tank. Instead of them creating SPS genocide to let you know, I wish they would have a better warning system.

HAha yea if only they apex came up with an alarm system for moving nems  ?

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I've been waiting and waiting to find a H. Magnifica anemone, but nothing turned up yet. I'm going to work on getting a flat top rock as a pedestal for the magnifica. I'll try to figure out how to work it into the rockwork to make it look nice. Probably will be 6"x10", which is going to be pretty big compared to the minimal rock I have.

 

In the meantime, my rainbow BTA is finally coming out a bit more and bubbling during the day. I think he finally ate some mysis yesterday, hard to tell though.

 

37366027590_d8172fce1b_b.jpg

 

I have 1ppb phosphates, and less than 10ppm of nitrates. I'm trying to feed a whole lot more to get these poopy parameters up. Decided to get a small geometric pygmy hawkfish. I guess they're technically anthias, but they act just like hawks. He's been eating at least 3 - 4 big mysis a day:

 

37366030340_45c10e080f_b.jpg

 

I thought he would just disappear into the rockwork, but he perches out on a rock most days. The only other live creatures is the hiding anemone and 4 nassarius snails, so I think he feels pretty comfortable. Eventually when I get the h. mag into the display and settled down, I'll add the small harem of clownfish...

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Well, my anemone is really coming out these days. Not hiding in a cave at night either. Won't eat any mysis though, even though i turn off the pumps and just lay down at least a whole cube of PE mysis.
 
36991613193_fc11f4f2c1_b.jpg
 
37613110826_46dae7a430_b.jpg
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13 hours ago, dpoltsdsu said:

That fish is really cool. How's it doing?

Really well! Comes all the way out and perches on a rock during the evening and morning hours when the lights are pretty dim. Shoots out of the cave to grab food during the day. He's eating about 3 - 4 whole PE mysis a day. Today, however, he ate one gigantic one and hid for the rest of the day. Maybe took on a too big of a mysis. I'll try feeding another tonight and see if he'll bite.

 

He's the only one in the tank, so I think he's OK. I can see these fish being super cryptic with more aggressive or any other fish around that might spook them.

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