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schgr.cube's Ultum Nature Systems 45u - tons of new coral added


schgr.cube

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A little good, and a little bad:

 

Good:

  • Things are still running great with the glassware, even after multiple times turning the pumps on and off, so I feel pretty good about this working long term.
  • My Lux order shipped, hopefully I'll have the new puck in a few days to see how it looks! I'm very excited for this.
  • The fan seems to have brought the temp down, so I'm not as worried about cooking the tank long term, but I'm still going to look for a chiller for a more reliable solution long term.

Bad:

  • I'm not sure if it was the heat, the transfer, I didn't let the PVC glue cure long enough, or a combination of multiple things, but I have a decent bacterial bloom going on. I'm not sure how much it is impacting things, but I am going to do a 40% water change once I have a minute to step away from work and see if that helps.
  • I still don't see my fish, and I have lost 3 pieces of SPS already. I am a little worried about my jawbreaker mushroom too, it isn't looking amazing at the moment...
  • My temperature controller doesn't seem to be working right, it is reading the temperature (whether in the water or outside of it) at ~180*F. I am going to see if I can calibrate it, otherwise I might have to order another one...
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Oh damn,that is no good about the bacterial bloom bud. Hopefully everything settles out and everything is good. 

 

 There is no way that is right lol. 180* is prettttttttty insane. 

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18 minutes ago, Reefkid88 said:

Oh damn,that is no good about the bacterial bloom bud. Hopefully everything settles out and everything is good. 

 

 There is no way that is right lol. 180* is prettttttttty insane. 

 

Yeah, I don't think it is horrible, but my tank is definitely a bit cloudy. MOST things are still open and happy, but the SPS is definitely struggling.

 

And yeah, 100% not right lol. Even with the probe outside of the water it is registering the same temperature, so I have a feeling either the probe or the unit is boned. I've had it for a few years now, so its not like buying a new one is unwarranted at this point....

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Things have cleared up completely the tank is looking much happier already. The SPS I thought were goners don't seem completely out yet, although there is quite a bit of skeleton showing on some of them. So far only three pieces affected, hoping they can recover but they were all free either way.

 

I'll grab a photo a bit later today to show the tank a bit better, but this setup seriously looks SO clean in person. Looking head on, the glass really almost just entirely disappears inside the tank.

 

I put in an order for some inverts from Reef Cleaners, which will ship Monday and hopefully be here first thing Tuesday. The order was for the following:

  • Babylon Snail
  • Bumble Bee Snails
  • Cortez Cerith Snails
  • Dwarf Cerith Snails
  • Dwarf Planaxis Snails
  • Dwarf Trochus Snails
  • East African Cerith Snails
  • Limpets
  • Money Cowries
  • Nerite Snails
  • Virgin Nerite Snails
  • Pom-Pom Crab
  • Candy Cane Pistol Shrimp
  • Porcelain Anemone Crab

Some of this will be going in the sump as I prepare for that to be a diverse environment as well, but I am excited to start getting more inverts into this tank. I'll wait for the pistol shrimp to make sure it arrives okay, and then pick up my Hi-Fin Goby I want so I can see how they rearrange the sand bed. 😛

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1 hour ago, mdannyg said:

Sorry you had a setback, but I love that scape and the framing of the tank with the windows!!

 

Thank you!

 

I actually adjusted the scape a little bit already, as I was having a hard time envisioning how certain things would grow in with the old one. The new one looks a little boring from the front in photos, but looks great in person and looks especially good from other angles. I also think it has some nice open space in the middle for activities (or a nice little ric garden!).

 

First proper FTS:

UNS45u-0039.thumb.jpg.a42913a2a57919c6806e116702839d28.jpg

 

From above:

UNS45u-0040.thumb.jpg.015668fc35643e813d3b598ab2589dd1.jpg

 

And a semi-side shot to show the business of the glasswork on that side, but it really still isn't as obtrusive as other options.

UNS45u-0041.thumb.jpg.7c630f097f03dd864a0581162bea5c28.jpg

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4 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

Pics are looking super super clean and clear. You happier with everything now ? 

I mean, they’re better than they were before lol. I’m still trying to get things down again. 

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Received my Luxdium Gold puck today, initial impressions:

 

Installation was quick and easy, no issues whatsoever. Played around with the presets that Lux provided, and do really like the crispness of their "Optimized III" full spectrum preset, its a really much better looking white overall. I am going to need to mess around with a new schedule layout, and will likely need to borrow a PAR meter to make sure I am not cooking my coral here, but I REALLY like the spectrum so far. I was also able to get a really nice showoff blue with their "Ultra Pop" preset, I think this will give great results over time.

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23 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

Aaaaaa shhiiii !!!! Almost wanna get an older prime and try one out. They look very promising. 


You should! Or find a semi broken hydra to hack apart and make a hybrid with your T5 fixture. 
 

 

 

And ARGH, I’ve got flatworms!! 🤬 I was so careful, but I have quite a few I can see. Not sure if I should just do Flatworm Exit, or try out a Springers Damsel and see if it takes care of the problem. Not opposed to that, but probably wouldn’t keep the damsel long term. 

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Sturgi_0225
1 hour ago, schg said:


You should! Or find a semi broken hydra to hack apart and make a hybrid with your T5 fixture. 
 

 

 

And ARGH, I’ve got flatworms!! 🤬 I was so careful, but I have quite a few I can see. Not sure if I should just do Flatworm Exit, or try out a Springers Damsel and see if it takes care of the problem. Not opposed to that, but probably wouldn’t keep the damsel long term. 

I’m in same boat I think I’m going damsel route if I can find one locally, so far I’ve done ok with populations control via WC and manual removal but time will tell. Good luck in your fight!! 

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 That would be ideal,honestly. I was trying to get that diy light from the person on R2R but he went ghost. 

 

 I would judt get the damsel,it will be a quick,chemical free wipe of them lol. 

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16 hours ago, Sturgi_0225 said:

I’m in same boat I think I’m going damsel route if I can find one locally, so far I’ve done ok with populations control via WC and manual removal but time will tell. Good luck in your fight!! 


I need to double check if I can find one locally as well, I never really pay attention for damsels when I’m out browsing… 

 

15 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

 That would be ideal,honestly. I was trying to get that diy light from the person on R2R but he went ghost. 

 

 I would judt get the damsel,it will be a quick,chemical free wipe of them lol. 


Yeah I’m leaning toward the damsel, I really do prefer to keep things natural as well if I can. 

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Welp, that was easy. Had time earlier this afternoon and just stopped by the closest LFS, had plenty in stock. Got a smaller one that looked healthy, they are damn pretty in person. If it behaves, maybe I’ll keep it…

 

Oh, I also forgot to mention, I picked up a Halloween hermit crab and a small two head of Duncan yesterday. Both pickups are being shy today so far, so maybe pictures tomorrow. 

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Took this for someone on Facebook, but figured I would show it on the forums as well. I will have to think of a more elegant solution for the fan eventually, but it is doing the trick right now. The yellow/orange outlet box is for the float switch, which I am trying to set up in the display as cleanly as possible. Hoping the switch will disappear as much as possible, but it is worth it for the safety factor of shutting off my pump in the event of a potential overflow.

The Y split clear tubing is attached to the AQQA wavemaker pump I have, and is how I get most of my water flow.

 

UNS45u-0042.thumb.jpg.fdea7bad0400dfee02221138a75034d1.jpg

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Decided to try to grab some photos of the new puck from Lux, just to give an idea of the spectrum and presets they recommend. Just as a reminder, this is the Luxdium Gold puck shown on an AI Prime HD. These photos are mostly unedited, although I tried to get the Ultra Pop preset a bit closer to how it looks in real life (unsuccessfully):

 

Optimized III:

UNS45u-0043.thumb.jpg.f4883f9c4ad9b1d375c391674a21552e.jpg

 

Ultra Pop:

UNS45u-0044.thumb.jpg.0134ed853ec8f596fc387228305c9a5f.jpg

 

Ultra Blue:

UNS45u-0045.thumb.jpg.0c5412506d517a9b0fc24fd6604d7d0b.jpg

 

Reef Daylight:

UNS45u-0046.thumb.jpg.a3e9a223fa9ccc3fa97e6b2a57052d04.jpg

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That looks incredibly amazing !!! The Optimized setting looks so freakin' good though,its the right amount of daylight but still retains enough blue to catch the cool colors. 

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13 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

That looks incredibly amazing !!! The Optimized setting looks so freakin' good though,its the right amount of daylight but still retains enough blue to catch the cool colors. 

 

Yeah that is what I have been running most of the time so far, but I finished up a schedule that moves between them all quite a bit. I'll have to post up the details of it later.

 

Had a nice delivery just show up from @johnmaloney / Reef Cleaners!

UNS45u-0047.thumb.jpg.96365ca47c6e36a561388f29ba02cf48.jpg

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 How is everything reacting to the new spectrum ? From what I see even within a few days,the zoa's in the pics look happy and great. All the new additions look awesome as well. 

 

 Here soon,maybe this weekend I am going to pic up a few things for a clean-up crew or even those Sharknose,they actually looked healthy and were like 1.5" long. Might even be a mated pair because they followed ome another literally sides together all around the tank for like the 10 minutes I watche them. 

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12 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

 How is everything reacting to the new spectrum ? From what I see even within a few days,the zoa's in the pics look happy and great. All the new additions look awesome as well. 

 

 Here soon,maybe this weekend I am going to pic up a few things for a clean-up crew or even those Sharknose,they actually looked healthy and were like 1.5" long. Might even be a mated pair because they followed ome another literally sides together all around the tank for like the 10 minutes I watche them. 

 

I'm not too sure yet, I actually ended up pushing to full intensity after a conversation with someone with a similar setup. I really think I was pushing way too little light before, but I am on the list to borrow a PAR meter from my local reef club to find out for sure.

 

Oh man, that actually sounds perfect! I was thinking about doing a pair of Sharknose before I lost mine, but I am really enjoying this damsel so far so I may rethink my plan.

 

12 hours ago, Sturgi_0225 said:

How goes the fight with the FW? Is the damsel doing his/her job from the looks of it? 

 

Not much to report yet, as he/she is still getting used to the tank and is just starting to come out of the rocks. I haven't noticed as many flatworms lately, but that could just be a coincidence and maybe they are all over the rocks.

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On 8/2/2022 at 8:55 PM, Sturgi_0225 said:

How goes the fight with the FW? Is the damsel doing his/her job from the looks of it? 

 

You know, I do have to say....I really am not seeing many flatworms right now. I see a few along the sandline that are probably too difficult for the Springer to get to, but I am not really seeing any on the glass anymore. It could be that they are hiding, but I was seeing increasing numbers every day until I got this fish.

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  • schgr.cube changed the title to schgr.cube's Ultum Nature Systems 45u - tons of new coral added

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