My first Reef, New Cobalt C-Vue 18

[CPRATT]

Nutri-Sea Ocean Water

CarribSea live sand

Carrib Sea Life Rock

10 lbs Dry

10 lbs Live

 

Kessil A80 Tuna Blue

Hydor AUQAMAI

 

Cobalt MJ 606

2 filter socks

Poly filter

2 pouches of Chemipure Blue - less than recommended amount

 

2 Oscellarus Clownfish

1 Skunk cleaner shrimp

2 hermit crabs

5 bumble bee snails

2 margarita snails

3 Nassarius snails

Zoa Frag

Hammer Frag

Current Setup

 

 

 

END OF WEEK-1

 

 

END OF WEEK 4

 

7 Weeks in

 

[Christopher Marks]

Welcome to the community @CPRATT! That new Cobalt C-Vue tank looks great, thank you for sharing some real world detail photos. Do the overflows have any sort of adjustment to raise the water level on the display side?

 

That aquascape is seriously cool, I don't think I've seen one quite like that! What sort of plans do you have for coral?

[CPRATT]

Thanks! I just messed with it a bit and it does not appear to have any kind of adjustment, though I could be wrong, I have been in touch with Cobalt quite a bit and they are great. I plan on adding a refegium setup to the back at some point, so instead of buying something from IM or making one I asked and they are testing media racks for the rear chambers and will have something available soon hopefully! As for the plan with the tank, I am Just going to "GO WITH THE FLOW" so to say ha-ha. I have added the Kessil A80 Tuna Blue, and my first zoa.

[CPRATT]

Oh and I purchased the lid kit from cobalt, they do not come with them but they are pretty inexpensive, and look great. You can barely tell its there even in the pic, and its glass compare to screens i think it contains the temp much better. and evaporation is next to nothing.

[Christopher Marks]

14 pounds of live rock isn't bad for a 20 gallon tank, that should be plenty. You also have a little sand bed as well. You could add some rock to your future refugium as well, if you had a little leftover.

[CPRATT]

Cool, well thanks again for the interest! Cant wait for Reef A Palooza Olando to get some more corals!

[Evanski9]

I have some high hopes for this tank.. Its looks good. Its priced right. Hope to see the aftermarket take off for it. 

[CPRATT]

Me too, ha-ha. I think they will come through.

[Evanski9]

They had a rocky release. They said it would release like 2 years ago. Glad to see them starting roll out. 

 

 

[CPRATT]

Yea, that was pretty much all I could find when I looked into them. I am glad that I went this route though so far.

[Red_Blenny]

Glad to see a Colbat tank running. Those tanks look super promising and a great alternative to IM & Red Sea.

[CPRATT]

Just a little update everyone is healthy and looking happy, picked up the aqamai circulation pump this week, and got the A80 up and going, I read recently that the Hammers do better when place at an angle so that the light hits the base, any opinions on that? And a little tip to anyone interested,

 

GO BUY A "E CLOTH" !!! I knew they worked great with windows and i figured the fact that its chemical free you only need water i figured it would be a good use for keeping the glass looking great, well it is! Probably the best thing possible.

[Davin96]

Could you give some details on what all came with the tank? being just about the only confirmed owner i have found on either NR or R2R. Was on the fence between these tanks and IM tanks.

I'm mostly wary about the cvue tanks not have any info out there on them, seemingly no listings for their filter socks which may be the only option for that chamber at the moment, and who knows how long until third party stuff will be made or cobalt will take to pump out some of their own stuff

[CPRATT]

The Cobalt C-VUE 18 Includes

Tank 18G: 20"x16"x13" overall dimensions, 20"x11"x13" display, 0.3" glass, 165gph

2--200 Micron Filter Socks and Nifty Trays with handles that hold them directly under the overflow helping maximum water fall into the sock

The Coblat Mj return pump, size varies by tank along with quantity.

And that is it.

 

The price I picked mine up for was $203.00 with tax included. In Tampa FL

 

I contacted them about replacement filter socks last week, and other products, mainly a media rack for the rear chamber. As for the filter socks they are currently awaiting a revamp to their website to make them available, although they recommended using other filter socks on the market if needed, I clean mine weekly with my water change and they seem to be holding up fine anyways. They are currently testing the media racks and could not give me an official timeline, the only thing said was that they hope it is soon. So if you want instant gratification when it comes to upgrades go with IM . IMO I prefer the tank to the IM mainly for what you get for the $ right out the gate. The pump turns this thing over like crazy, i have had to cut back on the flow twice, and added a AQAMAUI to be able to mess with the flow more, but those things are a way bigger headache then they are worth so far anyways. The damn thing does what it wants lol. So I only plan on using it for when I am feeding, and turn the return pump off. Which Size are you looking at?

 

The biggest let down so far is that Cobalt was just so unprepared, for releasing these tanks period. And not to scare anyone away!

 

They do not come with the lid, which irritated me because the manual, and the box both say that it is supposed too, Then I realized that someone Literally, Marked " Optional Lid Kit" Off of the Top of the Box With A friggin Sharpie.lol. Although they are not expensive the one for the 18 is glass and is $19.99

 

On the Upside though, customer service has been respectable and fast. A few hours and all of my questions were answered although with a gray line. I will give the tank a lot of credit though, I love it. I really really hope that it can take off and we see new options, or additional items in the near future.

 

Any other questions ask away! The whole reason i posted was to help out other people looking into them with such limited info! I hope i covered some good points for you.

[Davin96]

how does the plumbing look?  more so meaning, is the nozzle removable to possibly add a second return nozzle with maybe loc-line fittings or the like?

[CPRATT]

12 hours ago, Davin96 said:

Could you give some details on what all came with the tank? being just about the only confirmed owner i have found on either NR or R2R. Was on the fence between these tanks and IM tanks.

I'm mostly wary about the cvue tanks not have any info out there on them, seemingly no listings for their filter socks which may be the only option for that chamber at the moment, and who knows how long until third party stuff will be made or cobalt will take to pump out some of their own stuff

yes i don't see why you could not if that was what you wanted to do...the one it comes with is adjustable up/down left/right as well. They set them up to be drillable as well in the rear chambers if you wanted to go that route at some point as well.

[CPRATT]

Replacement Filter socks are now available a very reasonable price if ya ask me!

 

 

https://www.cobaltaquatics.com/collections/tanks-lighting/products/c-vue-200-micron-filter-sock?variant=5752992432157

[Zn00py]

Just saw these tanks yesterday and I I will order one.

[CPRATT]

On 2/12/2018 at 9:23 AM, Zn00py said:

Just saw these tanks yesterday and I I will order one.

Go for it! As soon as cobalt has them in stock again.... lol... I am planning on ordering the 45. The only thing i would recommend is to plan for some editing, especially without them really having the kind of aftermarket stuff IM or other brands do. The main thing i have done is glue a couple of pieces of acryllic on the back side of the overflows  play with it a little in sizes to get the water level where you want but it brought my up significantly in the display and gives you room for more volume overall. Oxygenates the water pretty well with the drop off it creates into the filter socks, since the return puts a load of flow into the tank i have turned it all the way down and use my aqumai for additional flow

[Copedog]

I'm interested in getting this tank as my first foray into saltwater.  I'm trying to decide between a simple tank with a HOB filter or an AIO.  I plan on only keeping softys/LPS and a couple clowns.

 

I have couple quick questions.

 

How did your water level raise job work out? Do you have any recent pics?

 

Can you remove the back covering and add a fuge in one of the compartments with a light for chaeto? Can you estimate the sizes of the compartments?

 

Are you still liking the Kessil? Did the Orbit not have enough power?  

 

Is the lid working out?  My pics of it?  This tank will be in my 6 year old twins room so I definitely need a good one.

 

Anything else you have discovered that you like/dislike?

 

Hope you are enjoying the tank and thanks in advance for the info.

 

[melson]

Looks gorgeous! It'll look nicer when you get some corralline going on those rocks!

 

I plan on getting a 26g for my office before I get married and the wife moves in

 

Please keep us up to date on pictures!

[CPRATT]

On 2/25/2018 at 4:46 PM, Copedog said:

I'm interested in getting this tank as my first foray into saltwater.  I'm trying to decide between a simple tank with a HOB filter or an AIO.  I plan on only keeping softys/LPS and a couple clowns.

 

I have couple quick questions.

 

How did your water level raise job work out? Do you have any recent pics?

 

Can you remove the back covering and add a fuge in one of the compartments with a light for chaeto? Can you estimate the sizes of the compartments?

 

Are you still liking the Kessil? Did the Orbit not have enough power?  

 

Is the lid working out?  My pics of it?  This tank will be in my 6 year old twins room so I definitely need a good one.

 

Anything else you have discovered that you like/dislike?

 

Hope you are enjoying the tank and thanks in advance for the info.

 

Hey, sorry for the late response been swamped and havent been on. I still love it, i have made some changes but here is the most recent pic, Ill try to get some pics later today,

as for your questions

I have a 2 year old son, who is as Floridian and fascinated with the ocean as myself. That being said he is all over the tank all day long and the lid is perfect, he knows not to mess with anything other than my refractometer  anyways haha. IT would probably be completely fine for your kids room.

 

1) The idea defiantly works! I can squezze in another gallon of volume im going to play with it some more, just sticking plexi in front of the overflow worked but i wanna make new pieces to project the water flow in to the center of the socks that is were you will get the most efficient filtratration for shure rather then it just drooling down into it...

2) Yes you can for sure, i have actually taken some off on accident by sliding the lid back in forth

3) I LOVE the kessil shimmer it is amazing, not being super expierienced yet i would almost recomend the AI PRIME, ONLY because it will give you more options to play with as for the controller it is a must and The A80 is ABSOULUTLY enough light

right now my peak is

50% Intensity

20% COLOR

for a few hours i ramp up fast and stay up there the majority of the day WIth only a couple hours draw down and everything seems to be doing great!

4) As for dislikes there is very few, other than wishing my wife would let me start up anopther bigger tank! haha.

The way i did things has been fine, I am lucky a local store sells it for 12 bucks a jug but the combo of NUtri SEA water and Live sand and Live Rock all right at the begging of setup makes this a ridiculously fast cycle and process. At this size though it is fairly inexpensive to go that route.

 

The main recomendation i have is to go to arcreef.com

Buy the Purple Helix. Stability is kind of important so i waited till the end of the first month before adding it but I am not BULLSHI**ING 3 days and i had green coraline forming all over the tank. Plus they give back to the ocean and i support that 100%. I am waiting until the end of the month to show the progress after adding it.

 

Buy Loc Line and a couple extra return nozzles, flow has been the biggest enemy for me yet, I finally have it down, I have the stock pump cranked all the way down and pointed at my torch, got rid of the aqaumai those things are crap! And went with the MP10 on the wave setting its perfect!

Thanks for responding, hope i am able to help some if i missed any thing let me know!

 

[Copedog]

Thanks for the update. Appreciate the info. Tanks look like its off to a good start.

 

Still debating what tank to get. I wish there was more info out there about this new line of tanks.

 

I do have one more question.  Are you using the glass lid and how is it working out?  I want to limit evap as much as possible, but have read about issues like temp, condensation, salt creep, etc.  What is your experience?  

 

Again, thanks for your time and happy reefing.

[CPRATT]

Just now, Copedog said:

Thanks for the update. Appreciate the info. Tanks look like its off to a good start.

 

Still debating what tank to get. I wish there was more info out there about this new line of tanks.

 

I do have one more question.  Are you using the glass lid and how is it working out?  I want to limit evap as much as possible, but have read about issues like temp, condensation, salt creep, etc.  What is your experience?  

 

Again, thanks for your time and happy reefing.

I wipe the lid down and the outside of glass down everyday with a e cloth takes 5 mins, salt creep no biggie and after having it with no lid for the first month, next to no evap i mean absolutely minimal, all i do is leave the lid off of the rear chamber and that has aloud most of the heat trapped from the pumps to escape and some air to water mixture. hope that helps!

 

[ramona]

Any updates on this tank?