Kessil

Alex’s IM 150 EXT

Alexander1312 said:
Yes, and what you are describing is also a reason for it to happen (calcification of the impeller) in my opinion. So, I claim that there are at least two reasons - beyond just referring to the impeller design errors. There is a point to make about whether the design issue is the only cause for it. For the older models, this might be potentially true.
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Interesting. Never saw any calcification on my impellers but I’ll take your word for it ;)

So cleaning with acid = cracked impellers
Not cleaning with acid = cracked impellers

Very happy to no longer be using these things!
 
Cleaning with different acid = (maybe) not cracked impeller.

And if anyone can break those fancy Reef Octopus pumps, it is probably you :). Even with invisible calcification.
 
I Have had similar issue with my impellers on my MP40 I soaked it in citric acid for two days no specific ratio. And found it cracked and rusted. I assume for short period of time contact should not be an issue. But if soaked, could potentially crack them, I wish i took pictures.
 
Ayman said:
I Have had similar issue with my impellers on my MP40 I soaked it in citric acid for two days no specific ratio. And found it cracked and rusted. I assume for short period of time contact should not be an issue. But if soaked, could potentially crack them, I wish i took pictures.
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Did not know that the MP40s had these issues too. I forgot to mention that I user higher concentrations of citiric acid and keep it soaking for several days, and I am pretty certain this adds to the issue. Also, my impeller broke a couple of days after cleaning too. I am switching now to sulfamic acid - as per separate post - and limit the the exposure time to exactly the recommended dose and only for a few hours to max of 24 hours, which is what Fauna recommends for their product (which I do not use).

The gyres seems to have these design issues but there are a lot of people who keep the impeller alive much longer (they clean them regularly, but limited soaking time), so it can be done most likely.
 
I ordered some branched live rock from Tampa Bay Saltwater and picked it up today. It definitely exceeded my expectations! Additionally, the packaging has significantly improved since my last order.

Unfortunately, one large piece has some large gray/blue sponges on it. What are your thoughts on that?

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Turkeysammich said:
Dunno. It’s your call. I suppose as long as the rock doesn’t smell your good. 15 hours is a longtime with no heat. Or did it have heat packs. I’m just commenting on how the water looks.
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Yes, understood. My question was more around how concerning the blue sponge on the rock is? I remember vaguely that Paul Baldassano had an issue with a blue sponge which killed all of his acros. I just cannot imagine they would ship this if so bad.
 
Did not know they would respond so quickly, but this is what they said it is:

tbsaltwater.com

Pink Condominium Tunicate - Aplidium sp

ID - Translucent pink solitary tunicate colony. Tips - We find these tunicates are easy reef safe keepers in lower light. Random flowing water that is filled with nutrients will sustain them. Dosing phytoplankton is highly recommended. Rated - Reef Safe
tbsaltwater.com tbsaltwater.com
 
B the Nano Reefer said:
My experiences with encrusting sponges, pretty much all that I’ve come across is that they tend to spread quickly, tend to smother stuff (including corals), and if you remove them, but miss even the slightest bit of it, it’ll grow back
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As mentioned above, seems like these were tunicates, not sponges according to TBS. Still. I removed them all, which came off relatively easy.
 
I took out several KP live rock pieces from my display and moved them into the sump last weekend to make space for the arrival of the TBS branches.

My vision was to add them in the middle to create a three dimensional area where I can add several of the very nice acros I still have in my nano tank and which I got mostly from @dandemeyere and @derek_SR. They all love it in the nano tank, encrusted very well, but I was hoping they would not make themselves too comfortable there. Still, they will have to move this weekend.

I recognize that glueing them on branches would not be easy but I ran out of space and this was the best action I could come up with.

I took two of the larger branches and locked them into each other in the middle - the other pieces are now in my sump (which is now full of live rock which I do not actually like too much).

This is how it looks now, and while this does not look great, I realized I very much like the look of branches in general.

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Alexander1312 said:
First impeller of one of the six Maxspect XF350s gyres that I have which is now gone. The last two I bought in May last year, the first one more than a year ago.

Thinking now switching to sulfamic acid for cleaning, but not to Fauna due to their too high price for this. Will try to revive this thread here:

Sulfamic acid to clean pumps?

Has anyone used this to clean pumps etc, vs the other acids we typically use? It is supposed to work very well. Not sure where to purchase this or any side effects.
www.bareefers.org
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It should be well known that I am not a BRS fan (or Amazon for that matter). But I asked BRS if the cracked impeller was still under warranty and they sent me these two (original order was two XF350). I appreciate their customer service.

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Alexander1312 said:
It should be well known that I am not a BRS fan (or Amazon for that matter). But I asked BRS if the cracked impeller was still under warranty and they sent me these two (original order was two XF350). I appreciate their customer service.

View attachment 67839
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Now that’s impressive!
There’s a lot to be said for good customer service
 
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