Kessil

Derek's 225g - Magnifica / SPS Reef

derek_SR said:
So I replaced the 4-Pump versa rail with 2x Hydros Soles (AWC duty) and a Hydros Minnow (2-part duty). Mostly this was to get everything on the Hydros ecosystem, I've had my eye on the Soles for a long time.

All devices were easy to add to my existing collective - it seems the Soles require a direct power connection, although the Minnow is powered off of the BUS cable. If you are considering these pumps you're probably already familiar with the Hydros software and concept of "Schedules" so I don't bother going into that.

The Minnow is great - it's not silent but fairly quiet. Should work great for 2-part dosing duty. It comes with small barbs, so would be tricky to use RODI tubing - silicone tubing hooks right up, though.

The Soles use 1/4" John Guest fittings - just like on the Versa. However the version used on the Soles is terrible - it's EXTREMELY tight. I couldn't even get them fully seated on the first try, and have to disassemble to fitting to get the tubing back out. I finally resorted to removing the crush washer inside to get a decent, functional seal. There are a couple other suggestions on the Hydros forum to deal with this issue, but it's a huge problem IMO - shouldn't have to DIY a very standard 1/4" push-fit connection.

The other problem is the direction the fittings point- they stick out kind of cattywampus and make it difficult to keep rigid 1/4" tubing organized:

View attachment 61367

The good news - they are super robust, solid, and well built. They are also very quiet - even at high speeds. It's a smoother sound than the Versas which get really whiny and clunky at even medium speeds.

The best part though is that (so far) they are extremely precise. The initial calibration nailed it, and every time I've tested since they are perfectly spot on. I did not have this experience with the Versas - which were often difficult to calibrate and would often drift quickly post-calibration. Very happy with this aspect so far, and they have instilled a lot more confidence in my AWC process than with the Versas, which I had to constantly monitor to avoid salinity swings. These two pumps are pushing/pulling from the garage - about 35-30ft runs of tubing.
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Could you not use the Minnow that has two dosing pumps for the AWC? Or did you go with the Soles to be able to push more water?
 
MarcosD said:
Could you not use the Minnow that has two dosing pumps for the AWC? Or did you go with the Soles to be able to push more water?
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The minnow isn’t really designed for continuous duty - the Soles are running 24/7. Minnow is more for dosing, has a lot smaller pump heads and is less robust in general. The soles are designed for AWC and Kalk and lanthanum and such.
 
My mag balled up this weekend for a few minutes. Some do this commonly, mine does it pretty rarely so I grabbed some cool pics:

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Happened to also reveal their most recent clutch of eggs:

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Also did some major rework with my aquascape, though it’s kinda hard to tell from this pic (basically the entire right side). Mag all back to normal also:

IMG_3465.jpeg
 
When’s your “talk” at Kenny’s
Your inhabitants agree with your method
As always, when it comes to your tank...standing on chair, clapping
And, your fish tell me they need more headroom!
Keep doing what you’ve been doing
 
derek_SR said:
My mag balled up this weekend for a few minutes. Some do this commonly, mine does it pretty rarely so I grabbed some cool pics:

View attachment 65856

View attachment 65858

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View attachment 65860


View attachment 65863

Happened to also reveal their most recent clutch of eggs:

View attachment 65864


Also did some major rework with my aquascape, though it’s kinda hard to tell from this pic (basically the entire right side). Mag all back to normal also:

View attachment 65865
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Literally looks like a centerfold out of a reef magazine! Professional photo work nice job!
 
MarcosD said:
Sand sifting gobies are so cool but man it sucks how they’ll rearrange your entire sand bed!
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Ehhhh, I don’t mind sand bed getting rearranged - the flow does way more damage than the goby does anyway.

The problem is they sprinkle sand over everything. It’s not an issue with small frags but once acros get larger the sand will get stuck in their branches - leading to infections and tissue loss and the accumulation of muck and crap. I have to baste off my acros in certain spots where the goby likes to do his thing almost every day. Drives me nuts!

PjFish said:
When is when?
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Maybe in the next year or so, starting to think about it a lot.
 
Alexander1312 said:
That's a ton of work. Specifically for this size. But I can tell you are thinking about this a lot so it is going to happen.
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Yeah…definitely not a task I’m looking forward to. And glass brings its own set of challenges and anxieties.

I am also growing tired of the xf350 gyres. I have 6 total that I swap out two at a time. And I’m down to my last two good impeller magnets (2 out of 8 total: the 6 I bought + 2 replaced on warranty). All others have rusted and split. I love the flow these produce but I don’t like how frequently they rust and need to be replaced. My pumps are all out of warranty now so I’m looking at maybe other options.

The strongest contender is the SOW20 - the ones I use on the opposite side of the tank have been reliable, require little cleaning, and are very cheap. Only downside is no wave engine support.
 
@robert4025 uses the Reef Octo powerheads on some of his tanks with the wave engine. How do you like them Robert?

I just think the gyre design is flawed (all of them license the same patent from Maxspect, and all seem to have the same magnet issue). I'm still a fan of Ecotech pumps after all these years, but there's no replicating the style of flow a gyre gives.

The other option is treating them like consumables. All pumps will fail. The other options are crazy expensive (Panta Rhei, Abyzz on a closed loop, etc.).

Haven't tried the new Tunze ones yet but I heard they're pretty nice.
 
derek_SR said:
Yeah…definitely not a task I’m looking forward to. And glass brings its own set of challenges and anxieties.

I am also growing tired of the xf350 gyres. I have 6 total that I swap out two at a time. And I’m down to my last two good impeller magnets (2 out of 8 total: the 6 I bought + 2 replaced on warranty). All others have rusted and split. I love the flow these produce but I don’t like how frequently they rust and need to be replaced. My pumps are all out of warranty now so I’m looking at maybe other options.

The strongest contender is the SOW20 - the ones I use on the opposite side of the tank have been reliable, require little cleaning, and are very cheap. Only downside is no wave engine support.
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How old are the 350s?
 
Darkxerox said:
@robert4025 uses the Reef Octo powerheads on some of his tanks with the wave engine. How do you like them Robert?

I just think the gyre design is flawed (all of them license the same patent from Maxspect, and all seem to have the same magnet issue). I'm still a fan of Ecotech pumps after all these years, but there's no replicating the style of flow a gyre gives.

The other option is treating them like consumables. All pumps will fail. The other options are crazy expensive (Panta Rhei, Abyzz on a closed loop, etc.).

Haven't tried the new Tunze ones yet but I heard they're pretty nice.
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Love the Reef Octo Pulse pumps! Got two still running for over 5 years with zero issue, even when we hardly clean them. Put out tons of flow too. Really underrated pumps.
 
derek_SR said:
Yeah…definitely not a task I’m looking forward to. And glass brings its own set of challenges and anxieties.

I am also growing tired of the xf350 gyres. I have 6 total that I swap out two at a time. And I’m down to my last two good impeller magnets (2 out of 8 total: the 6 I bought + 2 replaced on warranty). All others have rusted and split. I love the flow these produce but I don’t like how frequently they rust and need to be replaced. My pumps are all out of warranty now so I’m looking at maybe other options.

The strongest contender is the SOW20 - the ones I use on the opposite side of the tank have been reliable, require little cleaning, and are very cheap. Only downside is no wave engine support.
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I added an xf350 but gave it away after a year due to the maintenance just needed to be taken out every 3 months or so and scrubbed..
But my two Jabao SCP180 Sine gyros so far have needed to be taken out once in three years to clean out the vermetidae worms ..Once a month i do just reach in and scrub with toothbrush since the nem covers get a bit clogged.. they run 24/7..not bad for
Only 118 bucks

​

 
Darkxerox said:
@robert4025 uses the Reef Octo powerheads on some of his tanks with the wave engine. How do you like them Robert?

I just think the gyre design is flawed (all of them license the same patent from Maxspect, and all seem to have the same magnet issue). I'm still a fan of Ecotech pumps after all these years, but there's no replicating the style of flow a gyre gives.

The other option is treating them like consumables. All pumps will fail. The other options are crazy expensive (Panta Rhei, Abyzz on a closed loop, etc.).

Haven't tried the new Tunze ones yet but I heard they're pretty nice.
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Looks like there are two different versions of the 350s - the old version and v2, see link below. All six gyres I own have the same v2 shaft setup and I have not seen any rust yet, but I am only running them for approx 10 months, so probably too early to tell (?). Also, I do not have an issue with a bit of rust since my tank has been consistently deficient in iron :). It would take a lot of convincing for me to replace them as I attribute them primarily to not getting any cyano.

store.coralvue.com

Maxspect Gyre Replacement Shaft Set (One Pump)

Shaft + Bushing Set (1 shaft with 2-set of bushings) for the Maxspect Gyre pumpRead Overview Tab for list of included parts.
store.coralvue.com store.coralvue.com
 
Alexander1312 said:
Looks like there are two different versions of the 350s - the old version and v2, see link below. All six gyres I own have the same v2 shaft setup and I have not seen any rust yet, but I am only running them for approx 10 months, so probably too early to tell (?). Also, I do not have an issue with a bit of rust since my tank has been consistently deficient in iron :). It would take a lot of convincing for me to replace them as I attribute them primarily to not getting any cyano.

store.coralvue.com

Maxspect Gyre Replacement Shaft Set (One Pump)

Shaft + Bushing Set (1 shaft with 2-set of bushings) for the Maxspect Gyre pumpRead Overview Tab for list of included parts.
store.coralvue.com store.coralvue.com
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I'm not worried about the rust from a water quality perspective, the issue is the magnet swells up - causing the pump to get super noisy and eventually fail altogether since it jams up in the housing. Mine tended to get bad around the year mark - let me know what you see with the v2s. Is that the "cloud edition" ? I have 2 of these.

robert4025 said:
Love the Reef Octo Pulse pumps! Got two still running for over 5 years with zero issue, even when we hardly clean them. Put out tons of flow too. Really underrated pumps.
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Just placed an order for a Pulse 4 today! These totally flew under my radar. I am excited to try it.
 
Unzipped the "good" camera for DBTC and Swap updates, so I decided to take some pictures of some old (and new) favorites in the DT:



Fruity Pebbles:
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Greg's Unicorn - this thing is really becoming a favorite:
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JF Fox Flame:
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Vivid Confetti, kinda hard to get a decent pic in the new spot:
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Blue zing birdsnest:
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Golden hammer, really big these days:
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Mushroom land. Mushrooms finally seem to like my tank!
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Lastly - the good ol PC rainbow from the SPS growout contest, really starting to look nice. Do we still think it's PC rainbow?
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