Official Lifegard Aquatics Crystal (AIO) Aquarium Club!!

[Randall S Simpson]

Here is an example using the gravity feed ATO as I have understood the instructions.  Yesterday it was working just fine, water was a hair off my evaporative line so it let in a few burps of water like it is suppose too.  When I just went to plant a new piece of macro algae to hopefully get growing in there I saw this...the black tape is my top limit, it should never be above that.  It had dumped 1/2 of the gravity feed bottle all in.  Now my bottle is only 16.9oz so 7.5oz of RODI water going into 4ish gallons is not likely to kill or even bother anything.  But if I had a larger bottle or smaller tank it could have been bad.

 

Basically if you use these things just make sure you spend some time and get your tubing cut correctly and you use a bottle of the right size.  2.5g maybe go down a bottle size while 10g you could go higher.  Either way I would not use a gravity feed system on larger tanks than 10-15g.  The cheap one from Reef Breeders Prism ATO has one huge problem, it is TOO tall.  You need 2-3" of waterline to make it work and nano/pico I've never had that.  The next step up the Exo ATO just had too many fail saves built into it, everytime I walk by the room the dumb snails have misaligned the magnets and set the alarm off or the sensor is dirty or it has not turned on in over two days.  Just too many alarms.  I have the Tunze nano waiting on me next.  Crosses finger!

[Reefkid88]

The more and more I read reviews on these things,I am starting to think against them. 

 

 Another thing with the Prism ATO's sensor is the low and MINIMUM sensors are almost an inch between eachother. Causing a HUGE inscrese in salinity compared to basicaly any other ato on the market. 

[Randall S Simpson]

My spouse stole my Prism for her freshwater tank and just loves it....

[Reefkid88]

It may be perfect for freshwater,but saltwater,eh. I haven't seen too many reviews and the ones I have seen are iffy. 

[Randall S Simpson]

11 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

The more and more I read reviews on these things,I am starting to think against them. 

 

 Another thing with the Prism ATO's sensor is the low and MINIMUM sensors are almost an inch between eachother. Causing a HUGE inscrese in salinity compared to basicaly any other ato on the market. 

Oh, another do as I say not what I'm doing, you can angle the Prism ATO's sensor so that the 3" vertical is more like a diagonal sensor and find that sweet spot.  But again I am using something as it was never intended and thus removing some of the safe guards.  On her fresh water it could dump that entire 5g and no one in the tank would care and it could always hold 5 more gallons.  The pump and/or sensor would be the only possible damage.  And why I moved it off the reef tank 😀.

[Randall S Simpson]

One of the crabs finally decided to come out and I got some better photos.   I'm still waiting for reefcleaners to get more in, I like them enough to put them in multiple tanks.

 

I also added a small clean up crew to my newest 10g, all snails this time.  I'll see if I have better luck without the hermit crabs, they seem to eat alot of soft corals for me.  I've already lost 2-3 snails to the floor....

 

I'm still running my lights at 20% for 4 hours a day, I'm about to raise it to 40% and see how that goes.  I only have the two Talbot's Damsels + the clean-up crew in there and they get 2 drops of Reef Nutrition a day.  So far no algae or slimes.

 

It took me a few days to finish off my top and I could do so much better now that I figured out what I'm supposed to do, all those videos online really don't help much.  Getting the spline in place was really hard, I have to use a lot more force than I wanted too.  My heat gun was not hot enough or I was using the wrong screen material but it never tightened up like the videos said it would.  Overall I'm happy with it and plan to make more.  I would recommend anyone planning on making more than 2-3 of these to buy a power miter or something similar.

[danieyella]

Haven't added a photo of this tank in awhile, here we are.  Needs a little scraping to clean off some algae on the glass. 

 

 

[Daniel92481]

Hey! Looking good as always @danieyella 

 

 

[DaveDe]

I've had my 14.26G for about a year and a half. I have a Hydor circulation pump (240gpa) for additional flow but the stock in chamber pump died. I'm in the process of cleaning it but I'm thinking of upgrading for the in chamber. If you have the 14.26 what did you upgrade with? 

[The Rainy Day Aquarium]

16 minutes ago, DaveDe said:

I've had my 14.26G for about a year and a half. I have a Hydor circulation pump (240gpa) for additional flow but the stock in chamber pump died. I'm in the process of cleaning it but I'm thinking of upgrading for the in chamber. If you have the 14.26 what did you upgrade with? 

I replaced mine with a Sicce Syncra nano. Although I had the 4.1 gallon AIO. The stock pump on the 14.26 is 103gph-ish and the Syncra nano throws out 110gph so it might be a good replacement. 

[Randall S Simpson]

I have 2 Tunze 5024.040 Compact Water Pumps on my 4.1 gallons, one stuck to the right bottom side and the other in the back compartment connected to a Random Flow Generator from Vivid Creative Aquatics.  The Tunze pumps have doubled in price since I set up my tanks so they may not be worth it any more.  I really like them thou.  Same with the flow generator it is 1/3 higher now.

 

My 10 gallons have the same Tunze pump flow generator combo but I am using a Tidal 35 HOB filter on the left side.  I really like the water flow these two filters crashing into each other causes.  Same problem within 18 months they have almost doubled in price.

 

If I had that tank I would just use the 10g setup with a larger pump and the next step up HOB filter.  But you would have to make or pay someone to make a custom top due to the HOB on the side.  I made my own and it was not too hard, just needed to watch alot of videos.

[Norman123]

Hello everyone!

 

I am a little late to the party but I thought I might try to revive this thread.  I just set up my 24.9 Crystal tank and am wondering/hoping that I can hang a HOB on the back.  I bought the Advanced Hang on back refugium PRO serious made by Fiji cube.  I know that the glass is only 6mm and am a little nervous about hanging it on there.  Any thoughts?

[banasophia]

2 hours ago, Norman123 said:

Hello everyone!

 

I am a little late to the party but I thought I might try to revive this thread.  I just set up my 24.9 Crystal tank and am wondering/hoping that I can hang a HOB on the back.  I bought the Advanced Hang on back refugium PRO serious made by Fiji cube.  I know that the glass is only 6mm and am a little nervous about hanging it on there.  Any thoughts?

Not sure about the HOB question, but looking forward to seeing your tank!

[Norman123]

Thank you Banasophia! It's been a very slow build, but I am hopeful.  Adding up the cost just now is making my head hurt...

 

So far I have purchased but not all yet installed;

 

Tunze 3155 osmolator ATO

Ecotech Vortex MP10 with Nem protect powerhead cover

Inkbird ITC-306A Wifi Aquarium Temperature controller

Red Sea customizable DIY Aquarium Net cover

Tunze Marina eco-chick Refugium LED

Tunze Comline 9001 DC Nano skimmer

Caribsea Liferock Shapes/Arches tunnels & a few small live rock from the local fish store

Marine pure biofilter media 

Fluval E advanced Electronic heater

and of course the Fiji cube refugium that I am not hesitating installing due to the weight.

 

The tank cycled very quickly (I seeded it with a bottle of bacteria and added some copepods) and so I was able to add two tiny frostbite clownfish a couple of days ago.  I am going to take it slow.

 

I would love to see everyone's tanks so hoping people jump back on here!

 

[banasophia]

11 minutes ago, Norman123 said:

Adding up the cost just now is making my head hurt...

Oh yeah… best to avoid doing that!

 

I really wanted a Lifegard tank, but never ended up with one… they’re such nice looking tanks. This was a little Lifegard AIO from my LFS that I’ve probably posted in here before.

[Norman123]

They are pretty tanks and the back chamber is of a reasonable size IMO.  I’m just a little puzzled by the 6mm glass thickness. Standard I suppose.

 

 

[banasophia]

18 minutes ago, Norman123 said:

They are pretty tanks and the back chamber is of a reasonable size IMO.  I’m just a little puzzled by the 6mm glass thickness. Standard I suppose.

 

 

Yeah I thought that was pretty standard for nano tanks…

[Randall S Simpson]

Just some random info I've figured out over the last year.  The 9.98g one with the chamber in the back can hold the in-tank media basket on the left side (all these are pricey) @ $40, right next to the media basket Innovative Marines BioSkim DC Nano AIO Protein Skimmer @ $100 will just fit, I mean exactly fit (some people don't like it so read some reviews and they are VERY hard to find for sale), and lastly if you are having issues with temperatures Innovative Marine makes a 30W version with a 3.5" element it is tiny @$70 (you must have good flow over the element and the temp sensor needs to be as far away as you can get it, I've had no issues with the element in the back and the temp sensor in the main tank, search for Helio Error 5 if you want to know more).

[banasophia]

That’s a really good tip on the heater… is it this one? Wish I’d known last week… it looks both short and narrow and like it has really good reviews. It is quite pricey but when working with a really limited amount of space, could be worth it.

 

 

I actually just ordered a new heater last week for my Studio 12 cuz I needed a smaller heater so I can set up a refugium in my middle chamber. I need to move my heater into the return chamber so it needs to be shorter to stay below the water level maintained by the ATO. I got this YukiHalu brand heater below… it’s only $18 and 4.3 inches, but still about the same diameter as a standard sized heater… if it doesn’t work out I’ll definitely try the innovative marine. 

 

 

[Randall S Simpson]

Yes that is the heater, but you can get it cheaper from IM directly.  It has a lot of good points but you must have good flow over the element or you will be driven mad by the element low flow alarm.  You can work around this by keeping the temp probe further away from the heater.  It is suppose to auto shut off if out of water but I have not tested it.

[Randall S Simpson]

Finally got my stand built and am I going to try and keep a build log on the next 10g.  Here it is as of last night with all the glued Marco rock partially filled with water.

 

 

[Randall S Simpson]

3 pieces of Marco Small Foundation rock (ordered 4)

Ordered 1 bag of Marco Nano Shelf rock (way more than enough)

Used 2 large tubes of glue

 

[Randall S Simpson]

I do love the foundation rock since the bottom is cut flat with a saw and gives you a great base to build off.  I cut the NO3 Brick with a CLEAN chop saw to fit into the bottom section of the inTank basket.  Followed the directions listed on the NO3 Brick, I would have used whatever other media I had, really did not have to be this brick, I just had some and like that you can just cut to size.  Just be aware it will be VERY dusty so wear proper PPE.  I have finished filling the tank, added the media filter and per the cycling kit raised the ammonia to 2 then added proper amount of bacteria.  At this point I'm supposed to add a hardy fish but I see that as a cruel gamble so I'm waiting.  I'll try and get more photos of my progress tomorrow.

[Randall S Simpson]

Almost forgot I added the heater, they raised the price on this little guy, They were high at $70 now they are stupidly expensive at $85.  My spouse did find a silence switch on the side of the heater so much nicer to not have that thing going off every 10m for 5s in the summer.  So they raised the priced $15 more dollars and it still does not come with an element magnet.  I have attached a two pack that fits just fine from amazon.  You really want to use 2 of the magnets per heater since the magnets are not very strong.  I also added 3 more media blocks in the back compartment just for more filtration down the road.  My Eco-pods are in the mail.  I've been planning this for like 6 months and had to order something today I forgot!

[banasophia]

1 hour ago, Randall S Simpson said:

I have finished filling the tank, added the media filter and per the cycling kit raised the ammonia to 2 then added proper amount of bacteria.  At this point I'm supposed to add a hardy fish but I see that as a cruel gamble so I'm waiting.  I'll try and get more photos of my progress tomorrow.

Hi there - VERY IMPORTANT - be sure you do not add any fish at this point if you added ammonia to the tank. Yes, it would be cruel and it would likely kill the fish. 
 

I know it can be confusing with the directions but it’s one or the other: you can EITHER do a “fishless” cycle where you add your beneficial bacteria and ammonia drops (which serves as a food source for the bacteria) to 2 ppm and wait for the tank to complete its cycle before adding any fish, OR you can do a “fish-in” cycle where you add the bacteria and you add one or two small hardy fish (the fish food and fish waste serve as the food source for the bacteria). NEVER ADD BOTH AMMONIA AND FISH while cycling a tank.
 

Also always make sure everything is functioning in a new tank before adding fish… be sure you can maintain the proper temperature, salinity, and water level, and that your pump is working.
 

When I do a fish-in cycle with beneficial bacteria, I usually run the tank for a few days to make sure it’s running okay, temp is stable, I’m able to maintain the water level with top offs if there’s evaporation, flow is okay. Then after I confirm everything is fine I test my water (or have it tested) to be sure the salinity and other parameters are normal, I add at least two different sources of beneficial bacteria (as a backup in case one was damaged, such as from temperature extremes during shipping/storage), then I add 1-2 small hardy fish such as an ocellaris clownfish pair.