First Reefing adventure.. 65G AIO

[newfly]

Why let it get up to 82?

i think i get why you're asking. I can set it to 80 and accomplished the same thing.

The reason is i want to get notation only if the heater fail ON. Maybe this is not the best method, but my thought is the tank should not exceed 82F without heater failure. In this case, i want all alarm and notification to send out. If i set the High temp to 80, in summer time, the tank will likely get to 80 and is not because of the heater.

 

[max_nano]

By the way, what would be the benefit using controller as main control? Isn;t it the same either way? Both heater internal control and external control have to both fail before bad things happen.

If the controller more precise in maintaining temp? I'm pretty happy with this new heater. Temp varies from 77.9 - 78.1 in the last 24 hours.

The temp probe on a controller should be more reliable than your heater so i think it is a better option. All depends on which heater and controller you have.

One of my heaters has a build in temp setting but it’s inaccurate, it is off by about 2° based on other thermometers I have. So I have to set it to a higher temp and then I use my controller for shut off when it gets to proper temp.

I don’t have long term experience to know which way is better for longevity of your heater. My personal approach will be to proactively replace heaters and then put them in storage as back up

 

[newfly]

The temp probe on a controller should be more reliable than your heater so i think it is a better option. All depends on which heater and controller you have.

One of my heaters has a build in temp setting but it’s inaccurate, it is off by about 2° based on other thermometers I have. So I have to set it to a higher temp and then I use my controller for shut off when it gets to proper temp.

I don’t have long term experience to know which way is better for longevity of your heater. My personal approach will be to proactively replace heaters and then put them in storage as back up

I agree the heater build in temp is not accurate. I rely on the external temp probe to tell me the actual tank temp. I'm not relying the temp marking on the heater. I adjust the knob on the heater until the external probe reach the desire temp.

I like the proactive approach of replacing the heater. How often (every year?) do you replace the heater?

 

[max_nano]

I like the proactive approach of replacing the heater. How often (every year?) do you replace the heater?

Great question, I have the same one lol. I don’t know but have been trying to find out what a good cadence would be. Im thinking every 1 or 2 years maybe? But am concerned that could be wasteful, some heaters have 3 year warranty

 

[newfly]

Great question, I have the same one lol. I don’t know but have been trying to find out what a good cadence would be. Im thinking every 1 or 2 years maybe? But am concerned that could be wasteful, some heaters have 3 year warranty

Aqueon Pro have lifetime warranty. I'm not suggesting it will last a lifetime, but apparently they are good at replacing the heater.

 

[Corallus]

I'm going to offer my unsolicited opinion on a part of your fish stock list
If it were me, I'd plan on 2 azure damsels and 2 neon dottybacks instead of 3 of the damsels and one dottyback. Both of those can usually be paired - get a large and small one, QT them together (make sure you have plenty of PVC sections or other hide spots in QT), and introduce them to the display together. I'd do the damsels and the dotty's all at the same time, and add them as the last round to your display together. They are both territorial and will pester most new additions at first, but they should settle in pretty well as final additions. IME, chrysiptera damsels will pair up if there's three, and harass the unpaired one.

 

[newfly]

I'm going to offer my unsolicited opinion on a part of your fish stock list
If it were me, I'd plan on 2 azure damsels and 2 neon dottybacks instead of 3 of the damsels and one dottyback. Both of those can usually be paired - get a large and small one, QT them together (make sure you have plenty of PVC sections or other hide spots in QT), and introduce them to the display together. I'd do the damsels and the dotty's all at the same time, and add them as the last round to your display together. They are both territorial and will pester most new additions at first, but they should settle in pretty well as final additions. IME, chrysiptera damsels will pair up if there's three, and harass the unpaired one.

Interesting idea. Unfortunately i already have all the fish (some in QT). The dottyback is quite mellow as far as dottyback goes. He is in the same QT as 2 chromis and 3 azure. No fighting of any kind.

Finding the right size fish is a challenge. I visit 3-4 LFS every weekend. Getting tired after a while

 

[newfly]

Although i have a FOWLR tank for the a long time, this is my first experience with skimmer.

I currently have Tunze 9004 DC. Its making some noise. Can't really judge if its normal or not.

Anyhow, i am complete novice on tuning the skimmer. My tank is new and i don;t think i have too much nutrient in the water. The skimmer is not pulling any dark skimate. I'm getting cloudy water.

 

[newfly]

I found a neat trick for mechanical filtration. The 2.75inch filter sock is a pain to clean because its so small and this tank have 4. I cut a piece of filter pad, and just lay it on top of the filter sock holder. It seems to work. the pad trap most of waste, and its very easy to rinse out the pad.

 

[newfly]

I'm going to offer my unsolicited opinion on a part of your fish stock list
If it were me, I'd plan on 2 azure damsels and 2 neon dottybacks instead of 3 of the damsels and one dottyback. Both of those can usually be paired - get a large and small one, QT them together (make sure you have plenty of PVC sections or other hide spots in QT), and introduce them to the display together. I'd do the damsels and the dotty's all at the same time, and add them as the last round to your display together. They are both territorial and will pester most new additions at first, but they should settle in pretty well as final additions. IME, chrysiptera damsels will pair up if there's three, and harass the unpaired one.

You're right on. The 2 Azure pair up and almost kill the other azure. i have the bullied azure in a separate tank. Once he heal, i wil likely need to rehome this poor fish.

Now the azure pair start to harass the 2 chromis about twice its size. Minimum harassment for now. 2 more weeks, and they get transfer to the main DT. Hopefully with more space, they can find their own corner.

Dottyback have been the model citizen. I saw the azure trying its luck with the dottyback and got his ass kick! Awesome to watch. If you look up close to the dottyback mouth and teeth, you won't want to mess with it.

 

[newfly]

Did my first water change today. It was a breeze! Turn on the drain pump for a few mins. Then turn on the fill pump! Easy. I drain a bit too much, and have to mix a small second batch of saltwater. I will get the hang of it after a few tries. Good thing is Tropic Marine Salt mix really quickly. A couple of hours and i'm done.

Mixing saltwater involved turning on the RODI valve, set timer for 30mins. After 30mins, add 3.5 cups of salt and turn on the mixing pump.

 

[newfly]

Reefi Uno LED light arrived and installed. Haven't play with the settings yet. Using the default LPS Photo setting. Installed the cabinet doors.

Light mounted 10.5 inch above the water line.

 

[Coral reefer]

Haven’t heard of that one before.

 

[newfly]

Haven’t heard of that one before.

It’s a small company based in Oregon. Designed in US but of course made in China.

it’s in between the black box led and the likes of kessil. I don’t have experience with coral so can’t really tell how good they are.

it have wifi server build in. Control is super easy . For noob like me, I will stick to the preset LPS or SPS setting.

build quality is impressive I must say. No complaint here.

you can find reviews in site like reef2reef.

180w and I got it for $280 each. Cost Slightly more than prime 16hd , but this thing put out a lot more light. I just pickup the par meter, will publish the par reading in a few days.

 

[Coral reefer]

180 w seems like a ton!

 

[newfly]

Got the PAR reading using the default LPS photo setting ~148W per puck.

I'm hoping to eventually get LPS likes Euphyllia, Chalice & SPS montipora ,birdnest and Mushrooms

Any suggestion on tweaking the setting?

 

[Coral reefer]

That’s gonna be way too high for most lps. Should be good for montis and most sps, but on the high end for sure.

 

[newfly]

That’s gonna be way too high for most lps. Should be good for montis and most sps, but on the high end for sure.

What should i target for? There is a master percentage knob that i can change. This is with 100% of the program. I can tune down to 80%, 70%.. etc

 

[Coral reefer]

Probably start at 50%

 

[newfly]

Bought a cheap 3D printer Sovol SV01 ~2 weeks ago. Didn't have time to setup until last weekend. It was not as painful as i feared. Assembly and setup took about 1 hour mainly because the instructions is more or less crap. Print some small test model and it turn out good at the get go. Got a bit brave and started the media rack print ( ~26hours est) since 5pm yesterday using PETG filament. Use 270C nozzle and 70C bed temp, Looking good so far.