I’m Back From 2006

[ben1234]

I’ve had quite the sabbatical. I’ve seen things. I’ve grown. I’ve lost. But I’ve thankfully matured. Oh, and now I have money to burn. I’m big into freshwater planted tanks, always have been, but I’ve got that salty itch again. I love the idea of a very low maintenance mixed reef-softie dominant with one or two LPS. An AIO tank seems to fit my need for now. I’m thinking a purely stock Fluval Evo. A tank I don’t need to worry about weekly, nay monthly, water changes. No dosing. Little testing. I may be talking in the wind here but I wanted to share with you all, I’ve returned to the forums, where I learned from some of the original greats. I can’t wait to learn to all those that have blazed their own long after I was gone. Cheers to adventure. 

[ReefGoat]

Not trying to piss in your cheerios. But the smaller the tank the more frequent you’re hands on. I’m sure there’s mature 13 gallon tanks out there that are hands off with only monthly maintenance. But generally the smaller the tank the more hands on it is. My 5 gallon has daily chores. Has to be closely monitored. When something goes bad in a small tank it goes bad QUICKLY. It’s not a set it and forget it tank 
 

yes bigger tanks are more effort required when you’re doing maintenance. But in my experience the smaller tanks are less effort but more frequent. 
 

the fact that you’re wanting a softie tank does help though. But I still think your maintenance will be weekly not monthly. At least until it reaches maturity. An ATO will be a must

[ben1234]

Thanks Goat! Appreciate the sound advice. I’m changing my approach slightly. I have an IM lagoon 25 gallon and two AI Prime (OGs) I’m thinking I’ll end up using. ATO is solid advice I’ll take up. I had a float switch ATO back in the day that stuck due to build up, ultimately leading to a minor crash and what seemed to be constant instability if I didn’t clean it monthly. I like the idea of either the electric probe or optic ATO set ups. 

 

I pulled out my old AI Primes today and took them apart to clean the fans. I let the lights sit on my wood worktop while they were on for about 10 minutes. I started to smell a incense-ish smell, only to find they were burning the wood! Is this a light or a fire starter?! It does make me wonder if I had too much intensity on my shallow reef last go around. Those lenses obviously magnify an immense amount. 

[notwithit]

Welcome back ben! Am in a similar boat. Had a sabbatical, worked hard, now I get to spend some money on a nice setup. Good luck!

[ben1234]

8 hours ago, notwithit said:

Welcome back ben! Am in a similar boat. Had a sabbatical, worked hard, now I get to spend some money on a nice setup. Good luck!

Thank you and good luck to you with your new setup! Any ideas as to what you’re thinking tank/equipment wise?

[Staticmoves]

Welcome back Ben.

As @ReefGoat mentioned, pissing into the wind with your mouth open is all part of getting back into it.

sound like your off to a great start on some plans. looking forward to see what materializes.

are you thinking dry rock or live?

[notwithit]

1 hour ago, ben1234 said:

Thank you and good luck to you with your new setup! Any ideas as to what you’re thinking tank/equipment wise?

You can go check, my thread out at some point. Waterbox 60.2, ai 32, and some other stuff.

 

Have you done any testing on the AI Primes? Was curious how their PAR is now. Also, if too intense of light may be an issue, how do you plan to combat that?

[Staticmoves]

11 hours ago, ben1234 said:

Thanks Goat! Appreciate the sound advice. I’m changing my approach slightly. I have an IM lagoon 25 gallon and two AI Prime (OGs) I’m thinking I’ll end up using. ATO is solid advice I’ll take up. I had a float switch ATO back in the day that stuck due to build up, ultimately leading to a minor crash and what seemed to be constant instability if I didn’t clean it monthly. I like the idea of either the electric probe or optic ATO set ups. 

 

I pulled out my old AI Primes today and took them apart to clean the fans. I let the lights sit on my wood worktop while they were on for about 10 minutes. I started to smell a incense-ish smell, only to find they were burning the wood! Is this a light or a fire starter?! It does make me wonder if I had too much intensity on my shallow reef last go around. Those lenses obviously magnify an immense amount. 

new lenses are only about $15 as well. may be worth the fresh start.