Aquatop Recife ECO 40 gallon All in 1 Cube setup

[tviquez10]

I've had a 10 gallon long Nano for 9 years but recently updated to a 20 gallon long using everything from my 10. Then my husband and I got a bug and got another but this time it's a 40 gallon Aquatop that we've been eyeing at our LFS. It has the filter/skimmer components in the back. There are 4 individual filter media cubes that stack. One contains carbon that's like a floss material? I have only used granulated carbon so I'm not sure how well this works. Then there's a phosphate/nitrate absorbing media which are floss like cubes too. The last two are ceramic rings which I've used in my other tanks and like them a lot. For some reason, once I decreased the amount of water in the tank, the top carbon container will not stay under the water that's coming from the skimmer section. I cannot figure out how to make it sink lower. The phos absorber also floats with it so there's a gap between those two and the ceramic rings. Would just using granules like I'm used to using give it more weight so it will stay below the water? It needs to because the top has slits in it and I don't think the tank water is feeding through that carbon part. I don't want to raise the water level more.

 

Another issue I'm having is where I initially wanted to mount my light, I can't because it would be in the way of the filter media that I would need to change out. I moved it to the side which I don't really like. The surface of the water does sit at the bottom of the mount and I'm worried the constant contact with salt water will cause it to break down and rust. Is it ok that water is getting on the mount of the light? Also, I'm used to having my lights directly on a glass top so I'm not familiar will the light arm and open top. How often do I need to clean the lense of the kessil and will microfiber be ok to use? 

 

Next question, (sorry this is so long!) I have a Platinum DC Slim Wave 1600 which does 1579gph. The water movement appears to be great, I don't need an additional power head right? The guy at the fish store said one would be sufficient for this tank. I'm not really liking the looks of the skimmer either so I may upgrade, any recommendations on one? I actually haven't had one in my tank but it was a FOWLER with one clown and a pipe organ coral so I didn't feel like it needed it. I'm also wondering if the skimmer is adding these microbubble that area driving me nuts.

I'd love to cover the rock with coral so I definitely want to get what I need to make it successful. It took me 9 years but I'm finally getting some guts to do coral.lol 

If you read all of this, bless you, I know it was a lot! I'd really appreciate any tips and especially info from those that have one of these tanks! Thank you!

[M. Tournesol]

I don't have your model of aquarium but I can give you some idea to solve your problem.

 

First, you should lower your heater for safety.

Second, I would remove the carbon section and put a bague of carbon under the skimmer. If this work, this should give you a place to put your light mount and solve your problem of the carbon not being submerged.

 

Your powerhead should be good enough but your light has a reputation of not being very powerful. Not a problem for my 7 gallons but could be for you if you want to go full SPS.

[tviquez10]

4 hours ago, M. Tournesol said:

I don't have your model of aquarium but I can give you some idea to solve your problem.

 

First, you should lower your heater for safety.

Second, I would remove the carbon section and put a bague of carbon under the skimmer. If this work, this should give you a place to put your light mount and solve your problem of the carbon not being submerged.

 

Your powerhead should be good enough but your light has a reputation of not being very powerful. Not a problem for my 7 gallons but could be for you if you want to go full SPS.

Moving the carbon there is a good idea but I would still need to get the other ones out periodically. It's a kessil a80 and I researched about it before buying and talked with the guy at the store who actually uses those on his coral tanks. Should I just put the stock light back on? Is the heater good in that section? I'll lower it. Where should I put a thermometer probe if I didn't want it in the DT?

[M. Tournesol]

40 minutes ago, tviquez10 said:

Moving the carbon there is a good idea but I would still need to get the other ones out periodically. It's a kessil a80 and I researched about it before buying and talked with the guy at the store who actually uses those on his coral tanks. Should I just put the stock light back on?

No, the Kessil a80 Is good. You will just have to put any high light coral at the very top center of your DT. If you find that your corals lack light, adding(and not replacing) your stock light could be an easy solution.

47 minutes ago, tviquez10 said:

Is the heater good in that section? I'll lower it. Where should I put a thermometer probe if I didn't want it in the DT?

Since the section has a hole at the bottom, the level should not go too low with evaporation. For the prob, the section with the heater should be good (unless it's a heater controller. In this case putting it before the heater would be better.).

[tviquez10]

@M. Tournesol Is it ok for the arm mount to be partly in the water constantly? 

[M. Tournesol]

🤷‍♂️

 

Google give this answer http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2491557

[tviquez10]

@M. Tournesol I've been googling a bunch and have found mixed answers as well😬

[M. Tournesol]

Then maybe lower your water level 🤷‍♂️. I wish you good luck

[tviquez10]

@M. Tournesol I will see what I can do, thank you very much for your help!

[tviquez10]

I cannot figure out how to lower the level in this first chamber so that the water level isn't the same in it as in the display tank. I tried lowering the foam but it didn't make a difference. You can tell I'm a total newbie at this AIO, I'm used to HOB filters 😂 Can someone just help me come up with a modification for the whole thing that they used on a similar AIO?? I'm probably going to use the carbon I'm used to using instead of what came with it but I'd like to do it all at once if there are other setups that make more sense. There's also stuff on the surface of the water in the DT that I could probably clear if I could lower the level in the first chamber. There appears to be micro bubbles flowing around in the tank. I just can't figure it out.lol And the difference in water levels of the DT and return pump side is normal correct?

@M. Tournesol Help? 😆

[M. Tournesol]

1 hour ago, tviquez10 said:

I cannot figure out how to lower the level in this first chamber so that the water level isn't the same in it as in the display tank. I tried lowering the foam but it didn't make a difference.

Your water level in the first chamber cannot go lower because your baffle is what gives it a minimum level height.

Her a basic guide on sumps. A lot of the information in it applies to AIO (internal sump):

https://www.reefaquarium.com/2012/some-sump-basics/

 

If you really want the level of the water in your aquarium to be higher, you could :

• Cover the lower part of you comb.
• Fill the hole in the third chamber

 

[tviquez10]

@M. Tournesol Aquatop actually called me back and told me I could put a piece of rock on top of the filter media box, which I did and it worked. When I turn the skimmer back on, I'm going to add filter floss in the skimmer chamber to cut down on the microbubbles. When some say it takes a while to break in a skimmer, what does that mean?

 

I'm actually going to be making a mini refugium in the filter media section for copepods to help feed my goby and keep my nutrient levels under control. They're elevated in my other tank with a HOB so I want to keep them stable in this one which will have more coral.

 

I was going to put the carbon where you had recommended, under the skimmer, and keep the biospheres in the chamber under the copepod box. Does that seem to be a good plan?

[M. Tournesol]

1 hour ago, tviquez10 said:

When some say it takes a while to break in a skimmer, what does that mean?

https://www.simplicityaquatics.com/blog/protein-skimmers-how-to-break-in-a-protein-skimmer/

 

[mcarroll]

On 1/4/2022 at 10:38 AM, tviquez10 said:

I cannot figure out how to lower the level in this first chamber so that the water level isn't the same in it as in the display tank.

Are you trying to increase bubbles or noise level?   Otherwise I'm not sure I'd suggest lowering it. 😉

 

BTW, it looks like it's already 1/2" lower or so....should be enough.

 

What pump is being used for return?

 

On 1/4/2022 at 10:38 AM, tviquez10 said:

There appears to be micro bubbles flowing around in the tank.

Unless your protein skimmer is leaking or some other "malfunction" is causing the bubbles (assuming not or you would have said so already) his will stop over time as the tank ages.

 

On 1/4/2022 at 10:38 AM, tviquez10 said:

And the difference in water levels of the DT and return pump side is normal correct?

This is the compartment that will change levels due to addition or removal of water, such as via evaporation.   This is also the chamber where your ATO sensor needs to go.  👍

 

On 1/10/2022 at 8:09 AM, tviquez10 said:

When some say it takes a while to break in a skimmer, what does that mean?

Usually there are oils on the plastic and glass parts from being made and from being handled.  Oils break the surface tension of water and thus mess up your skimmer's performance.

 

Eventually bacteria and other factors will break down/remove these oils and things will normalize.

 

If it seems bad, remove all the skimmer parts and give them a thorough wipe down with warm water and vinegar.  It shouldn't take long to normalize after that.

 

The only other caveat I'll suggest is to read up on that skimmer....I'm not familiar with it, but some skimmers are real turds and are worth no effort.  (Rare these days, but still possible.)  If you find yours to be in that category (turd), search for an aftermarket replacement such as the ones from Tunze, etc.

 

On 1/10/2022 at 8:09 AM, tviquez10 said:

I'm actually going to be making a mini refugium in the filter media section for copepods to help feed my goby and keep my nutrient levels under control. They're elevated in my other tank with a HOB so I want to keep them stable in this one which will have more coral.

Strange...those are nutrients your corals need.   What is "high" and what makes you concerned about it in the other tank?

 

On 1/10/2022 at 8:09 AM, tviquez10 said:

I was going to put the carbon where you had recommended, under the skimmer, and keep the biospheres in the chamber under the copepod box. Does that seem to be a good plan?

I would leave both out – this is a reef tank, and not a fish tank, correct?

 

 

[tviquez10]

47 minutes ago, mcarroll said:

Are you trying to increase bubbles or noise level?   Otherwise I'm not sure I'd suggest lowering it. 😉

I was trying to get the particles on top of the water to go away. It looked like the water was re-entering into the DT from the slots in the first chamber. I thought it needed to flow down from the DT to that chamber but I guess it's fine. According to my LFS, the particles are likely calcium from the salt mix... It's really irritating and I'd like to get rid of it. It's actually in my 20 gallon as well. I recently switched to IO Reef crystals. I'm going to be changing to redsea as my bucket of IO gets low. I'm not liking how high my calcium and magnesium is. I lowered the salinity of my mix and it seems to have helped some.

The return pump is stock. I'd like to upgrade. I'm not sure I like it. Any recommendations? I've never had an AIO so to change out the return pump in the future, just shut off the heater and return, hook up the new pump, turn on and add some water in that back chamber? Or will it pull in what it needs to once I have it running?

53 minutes ago, mcarroll said:

Unless your protein skimmer is leaking or some other "malfunction" is causing the bubbles (assuming not or you would have said so already) his will stop over time as the tank ages.

The skimmer came with it and there were absolutely no directions. I have no idea if it's working properly be because I've never had one. I turned it off and the bubbles in the DT went away. I was going to put a piece of filter floss in the part between the skimmer chamber and next one to hopefully catch those bubbles. It was pulling brown skim so I believe it was working. I do like how quiet everything is now without it on. Haha 

 

56 minutes ago, mcarroll said:

This is the compartment that will change levels due to addition or removal of water, such as via evaporation.   This is also the chamber where your ATO sensor needs to go.  👍

 

I did figure that out and would like an ATO but I'm a little nervous about possible malfunctions. I know everything can malfunction but that would be a very large one to happen if I went on vacation.

 

58 minutes ago, mcarroll said:

 If you find yours to be in that category (turd), search for an aftermarket replacement such as the ones from Tunze, etc.

I may not give it much more of a chance, and upgrade the skimmer as well.

 

59 minutes ago, mcarroll said:

Strange...those are nutrients your corals need.   What is "high" and what makes you concerned about it in the other tank?

 

 

1 hour ago, mcarroll said:

 

The 20g is about 0.25-0.5 phosphate, nitrate 10-20(using API... I'd like to get Hanna checkers at some point for more accurate results. I'm having a hard time discerning the color differences.)

 

1 hour ago, mcarroll said:

would leave both out – this is a reef tank, and not a fish tank, correct?

I would like it to be predominantly coral with 2-3 fish max. So carbon really only needs to be used if I have treated the tank with a chemical? I have been reading mixed reviews on the use of carbon in saltwater. I guess I am so used to it from my planted freshwater, I assumed it needed to be in my saltwater tanks as well. I'm definitely receptive to advice, so I will take recommendations to make this go round successful and minimally stressful. Lol

[tviquez10]

@mcarroll Let me add, my calcium in my 20 is 480 and mag is the highest number on the chart, I can't remember off of the top of my head. I'm not home to look at my notebook. I have corals in that tank, so I'm aware that corals feed off of those levels. I just may need to stock a little more corals in there to lower it some. Everything seems fine so I may just not even need to worry about it. I was told at the LFS that he has had customers have issues with IO Reef crystals since they were bought out or something. 

[mcarroll]

1 hour ago, tviquez10 said:

According to my LFS, the particles are likely calcium from the salt mix... It's really irritating and I'd like to get rid of it. It's actually in my 20 gallon as well.

Is it the stuff from this pic?

 

On 1/4/2022 at 10:38 AM, tviquez10 said:

 

Is that bubbles or particles of something?   I'm not sure anything from your salt bucket (ie calcium) would float like that.

 

If you shut off the pumps and let things come to a complete standstill can you get a better picture?

 

Can you scoop them out with something semi-permeable like a paper towel?

 

I use IO and Reef Crystals too....you might get a bag that's solidified cuz it seems like who's making it now has cheaped out on the kind of plastic used in the bag.....seems to have a very short shelf life now compared to the old days.  But that shouldn't give you "floaties".  It could give you some inert white sediment in your mixing container tho....chalk.

 

1 hour ago, tviquez10 said:

I recently switched to IO Reef crystals. I'm going to be changing to redsea as my bucket of IO gets low. I'm not liking how high my calcium and magnesium is. I lowered the salinity of my mix and it seems to have helped some.

Unless redsea is cheaper, I'd consider just switching to plain Instant Ocean.  

 

Reef Crystals is what you buy to get elevated calcium and alk for your corals, so you might've gotten it by mistake.  (Don't need elevated levels unless you have stony corals....in some scenarios it's still only optional.)

 

Just in case you're worried about high levels because you see other folks worry about "high levels" in their salt, I'll say it:  There's nothing wrong with high levels...any tank should be fine with RC's level (or other similarly enhanced salts).  🙂 

 

In particular, there's nothing harmful about elevated mg or ca.

 

However, reducing your salinity does have the ability to screw some things up if you take it too low.

 

Best to leave your salinity where it's supposed to be.  👍

 

1 hour ago, tviquez10 said:

The return pump is stock. I'd like to upgrade. I'm not sure I like it. Any recommendations? I've never had an AIO so to change out the return pump in the future, just shut off the heater and return, hook up the new pump, turn on and add some water in that back chamber? Or will it pull in what it needs to once I have it running?

Mostly wondered in case you were using a non-stock pump that might not be tuned to the tank.  You should be fine with that tho.

 

I'm not sure how your return is connected in that tank....but replacing it should be the reverse of installing it.  (Assuming you installed it. 😉)   Hard to imagine you'd have to drain any water to do it.

 

Unless your pump looks like some kind of custom abomination like this:

 

1 hour ago, tviquez10 said:

The skimmer came with it and there were absolutely no directions. I have no idea if it's working properly be because I've never had one.

We can help with this....but first....

 

1 hour ago, tviquez10 said:

I turned it off and the bubbles in the DT went away.

Is this the same as the particles?  Or do you have particles AND bubbles???   I'm hoping it's only bubbles because that makes plenty of sense.  🙂

 

At least for the bubbles you know it's the skimmer now!  Not uncommon.

 

1 hour ago, tviquez10 said:

It was pulling brown skim so I believe it was working. I do like how quiet everything is now without it on. Haha 

Here's your skimmer:

Er, I mean here's your skimmer:

😉

 

It's not fancy, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

 

I'm guessing that you must have to "tune it" by raising and lowering that whole skimmer body in the skimmer chamber?  Try that....make what seems like a logical (but SMALL) adjustment up or down (whatever makes the most sense to you) and the wait 24 hours to see how it skims that way.  Make another adjustment if needed, but base the adjustment on the quality of the skimmate more than how it's currently skimming/bubbling, etc.  Then wait 24 hours again to judge whether it was a good adjustment or not by judging the skimmate.  Repeat as many days as needed to dial it in, but it usually doesn't take too many iterations.

 

Also, try googling this skimmer to see if it's garbage or not.  If it's garbage then it's not worth troubleshooting, just leave it out and start looking for a replacement.

 

But if it's fine (most likely) then it either just needs some adjusting (most likely) or needs some more break-in time.

 

Stay patient while you're making adjustments, and pay attention to do the adjustments as close to the way I recommended as you can.  

 

4 hours ago, tviquez10 said:

I did figure that out and would like an ATO but I'm a little nervous about possible malfunctions. I know everything can malfunction but that would be a very large one to happen if I went on vacation.

There's more chance of you forgetting to top off and causing a problem that way, for what it's worth.  But I totally understand the paranoia.  

 

Here's what I did in your shoes when I finally "bit the bullet" and set up an automatic top off:  Hook up a lamp to the outlet as well so there's a light on while the top-off runs.  

 

You'll be able to visibly see the ATO running and shutting off every time AND you'll have a great indicator if it's running longer than usual.   I did it this way for over a year and had no incidents.  Be careful in the placement of your sensor and make sure it's very secure and can't be knocked loose.  After that there really isn't room for many problems to happen.  The sensors themselves are almost fail-proof.  If you think there's a chance of snails getting on the sensor, then use a snail guard.  The only time I've ever had a problem with snails is in a freshwater tank that's loaded with trumpet snails....little ones can get inside the snail guard and have occasionally stopped it from turning on.  I've never had one stick on.....but (e.eg) Tunze's Osmolator (and O. nano) has a programmed shutoff time to prevent over-filling even if it were to happen.  👍

 

4 hours ago, tviquez10 said:

The 20g is about 0.25-0.5 phosphate, nitrate 10-20(using API... I'd like to get Hanna checkers at some point for more accurate results. I'm having a hard time discerning the color differences.)

As long as you're even vaguely right in your interpretation, you're fine.  👍   A Hanna checker would be nice, but probably not necessity.

 

4 hours ago, tviquez10 said:

I would like it to be predominantly coral with 2-3 fish max. So carbon really only needs to be used if I have treated the tank with a chemical? I have been reading mixed reviews on the use of carbon in saltwater. I guess I am so used to it from my planted freshwater, I assumed it needed to be in my saltwater tanks as well. I'm definitely receptive to advice, so I will take recommendations to make this go round successful and minimally stressful. Lol

2-3 is a lot for the tank size unless they're pretty small fish.

 

There are some good reasons to use carbon in fresh or salt, but neither should require 24/7/365 use of it.

 

The main reason to use carbon these days seems to be if your tank has a dino bloom.  Dino's release toxins in their mucus and carbon can adsorb them out of the water....protecting the inverts (eg pods, snails, etc) who are usually first to succumb to those toxins.

 

4 hours ago, tviquez10 said:

@mcarroll Let me add, my calcium in my 20 is 480 and mag is the highest number on the chart, I can't remember off of the top of my head. I'm not home to look at my notebook. I have corals in that tank, so I'm aware that corals feed off of those levels. I just may need to stock a little more corals in there to lower it some. Everything seems fine so I may just not even need to worry about it. I was told at the LFS that he has had customers have issues with IO Reef crystals since they were bought out or something. 

Not bad at all.   High Ca and Mg have no effect whatsoever on anything.   I've had Mg and Ca both "peg the meter" at different times....I figured in one incident (over 10+ years) that I had accidentally raised Ca up over 600 ppm.  If anything corals looked better for the next few days....but I assume that was my imagination looking for them to look worse and being surprised. 🙂 

 

I agree that you have nothing to worry about.

 

There have been some issues with Instant Ocean freshness, but I haven't had that happen in quite a while.  If you get a solidified bag/box, call them and they will replace it.  I've used one like that without much issue though....just leaves sediment in the mixing container and probably has slightly altered mineral levels....not enough to matter though, judging by the results.

 

If your salt isn't solidified in the container, then you're probably just fine.  

 

You do know about the settling issue with all salts tho right?  In general it's a good idea to re-mix any bulk salt before you start scooping out of it.   Even better is to buy salt mix in the correct size for your mixing container so you can use a whole container at once, eliminating the possibility of settling being an issue.  Instant Ocean makes the most sizes of salt of any maker I'm aware of....down to 10 gallons I think.  

 

It simplifies salt mixing SO MUCH if you can just dump in a whole pre-measured package at once.  👍👍👍

[tviquez10]

On 1/11/2022 at 10:34 PM, mcarroll said:

Is it the stuff from this pic?

Yes, it's not bubbles and I've tried the paper towel method which didn't work very much. It is more of a particle. There seems to be less on the surface in my new 40g now, but about the same in my 20g. I'm still thinking it's the salt because I didn't notice it before in my 20 before the switch to Reef Crystals. I use a heater and powerhead and let it mix for 24hrs.

 

(I'm having a hard time quoting on my phone so I'll try to separate paragraphs answering your questions)

 

I bought a bucket and the salt is still very loose and fine like it should be, no hardening or anything. The rubber ring around the top actually seems better in this bucket than the bucket of regular IO I've had before. I also have some rice in a filter sock in it to help with moisture since I live in a very humid state. 

 

I'm very relieved to hear that there are really no ill effects from elevated Ca and Mg. I only changed my salinity to 1.025 to 1.024 so there wasn't much of a change.

 

My return pump looks exactly like that picture🤣

 

I raised the skimmer up a bit and the bubbles coming up out of the chamber stopped. The skimmate is a brown/dark greenish color and it's not filling up the cup really quickly like before so I think I have it in a good position and I believe it may finally have broken in so I will keep it for now.

 

Thank you for the tips on the ATO, I will refer back to this post if I decide to go with one.

 

I plan to have my Pajama Cardinal and one other mid level swimmer (haven't decided on if I want to get a black and white True Percula Clown. I have an Ocellaris Clown in my other tank and she is a biter, doesn't bother my other fish though just my hand😑 So I'd really like a fish that won't draw blood. Haha). Any recommendations on a peaceful fish to add with the PJ? I've done a good bit of research but I'm a very indecisive person🤦I would like a Mandarinfish but that will be a long while before I get one. I bought copepods and set up a mini refugium in the back of my AIO for them to hopefully reproduce so that when I get one in the future, it will have plenty to eat.