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IM EXT 50 Tank

Most of my postings here lately have been about the classroom 150 gallon and it has taken up the lions share of my tank time, but meanwhile this tank is humming along nicely with very stable parameters thanks to the All-For-Reef. Still one of the best decisions ive made as a reef keeper. I mainly wanted to hop on here to make a dedicated list of corals that I am looking to purchase over time, so I can stick to it and not blow by budget randomly lol. Wanting to keep adding to this running list as I remember other corals i've been planning for.
  • Purple Monster zoas - thanks @Arvin R !
  • Pink hippo Zoas
  • Green Toadstool- thanks @Arvin R !
  • Green Slimer whenever anyone has frags to DBTC
  • really neon frogspawn (probably from neptune)
  • RT Orange passion acro
  • TGC Cherry bomb acro
  • Generally always looking for really high quality zoas that i'll pay a premium for. They seem to do well in my tank.
  • Nice looking GSP for the classroom tank, going to grow a field on the back wall- thanks @Arvin R !
 
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jstiltne said:
Most of my postings here lately have been about the classroom 150 gallon and it has taken up the lions share of my tank time, but meanwhile this tank is humming along nicely with very stable parameters thanks to the All-For-Reef. Still one of the best decisions ive made as a reef keeper. I mainly wanted to hop on here to make a dedicated list of corals that I am looking to purchase over time, so I can stick to it and not blow by budget randomly lol. Wanting to keep adding to this running list as I remember other corals i've been planning for.
  • Purple Monster zoas
  • Pink hippo Zoas
  • Green Slimer whenever anyone has frags to DBTC
  • really neon frogspawn (probably from neptune)
  • RT Orange passion acro
  • TGC Cherry bomb acro
  • Generally always looking for really high quality zoas that i'll pay a premium for. They seem to do well in my tank.
  • Nice looking GSP for the classroom tank, going to grow a field on the back wall
Click to expand...
I've got. 3in tile of GSP for you. It's long tenticle. I'll pm you a picture later. Please take it before it starts to grow on my glass lol.

I've also got purple monsters.
 
Arvin R said:
I've got. 3in tile of GSP for you. It's long tenticle. I'll pm you a picture later. Please take it before it starts to grow on my glass lol.

I've also got purple monsters.
Click to expand...
All looking great, I left the GSP in the classroom tank over break, i'll be checking on it in a few days but the purple monsters and toadstool are home in this tank for now and theyre very happy!
 
I need some help from the community on an issue I have been trying to tackle, otherwise the tank is looking great! Full shot below. Looking a little packed, but many of the zoas are going to the classroom tank or eventually DBTC. Anyways, onto the main annoyance - MICROBUBBLES.They are not taking over the whole look of the tank, but are just a minor disturbance to the overall aesthetic of the display.
They are clearly coming from my return pump, and before you ask it is not the skimmer, it is not vortexing air from the surface, and I have tightened down all the unions on the way up. My strongest hypothesis after reading a whole bunch online is that my pump is oversized for my return line (sicce syncra 4.0 pushing into a 3/4 in return line) and is causing cavitation due to..and the physics are lost on me here...negative pressure blah blah...my background is marine biology so I am great at identifying biological issues but terrible with the physical science of reef tanks. Help!
Possible courses of action:
1) I do have a manifold coming off the return line that is currently closed, usually goes to my chiller but I took that offline for the winter after cleaning it. I believe I still had a few microbubbles coming from the return even when the chiller was taking some of the flow, which was just pumped back into the sump. Should piping soft tubing onto the manifold theoretically help?
2) Just get a smaller pump? I have the syncra 4.0 on the lowest setting, but I am a big fan of turnover rate between the sump and display.
3) The nuclear option, re-plumbing the return line with 1-inch PVC? Does this matter if my IM-50 return bulkhead is still 3/4 inch, and I would need a reducer before the return bulkhead up top?
Any thoughts or advice you have are appreciated!
IMG_6684.jpg
 
jstiltne said:
I need some help from the community on an issue I have been trying to tackle, otherwise the tank is looking great! Full shot below. Looking a little packed, but many of the zoas are going to the classroom tank or eventually DBTC. Anyways, onto the main annoyance - MICROBUBBLES.They are not taking over the whole look of the tank, but are just a minor disturbance to the overall aesthetic of the display.
They are clearly coming from my return pump, and before you ask it is not the skimmer, it is not vortexing air from the surface, and I have tightened down all the unions on the way up. My strongest hypothesis after reading a whole bunch online is that my pump is oversized for my return line (sicce syncra 4.0 pushing into a 3/4 in return line) and is causing cavitation due to..and the physics are lost on me here...negative pressure blah blah...my background is marine biology so I am great at identifying biological issues but terrible with the physical science of reef tanks. Help!
Possible courses of action:
1) I do have a manifold coming off the return line that is currently closed, usually goes to my chiller but I took that offline for the winter after cleaning it. I believe I still had a few microbubbles coming from the return even when the chiller was taking some of the flow, which was just pumped back into the sump. Should piping soft tubing onto the manifold theoretically help?
2) Just get a smaller pump? I have the syncra 4.0 on the lowest setting, but I am a big fan of turnover rate between the sump and display.
3) The nuclear option, re-plumbing the return line with 1-inch PVC? Does this matter if my IM-50 return bulkhead is still 3/4 inch, and I would need a reducer before the return bulkhead up top?
Any thoughts or advice you have are appreciated!
View attachment 44193
Click to expand...
Display to sump and return
Rate should be able 5 x display volume

And then blow the water around with power heads and the like
 
In that case, i've been waiting for an excuse to jump into the DC return pump game, VarioS 2 (792GPH) here I come! That should be sufficient with the manifold splitting the flow in mind. I have a ball valve on the manifold to adjust the amount of flow it gets, and I'll probably get the currently closed manifold set up to just recirculate water in the sump while I wait for summer and my chiller to come back into play. Thanks for the tips!
 
jstiltne said:
In that case, i've been waiting for an excuse to jump into the DC return pump game, VarioS 2 (792GPH) here I come! That should be sufficient with the manifold splitting the flow in mind. I have a ball valve on the manifold to adjust the amount of flow it gets, and I'll probably get the currently closed manifold set up to just recirculate water in the sump while I wait for summer and my chiller to come back into play. Thanks for the tips!
Click to expand...
Varios pumps are amazing! Good choice.
 
I know you said you checked the unions, but I'd... check the unions and all the junctions. Including if the final connection to whatever locline or other return outlet nozzle setup.

I was getting microbubbles in my Reefer 170 and it was the final connection to the return nozzle. A layer of Teflon tape and it was solved.
 
richiev said:
I know you said you checked the unions, but I'd... check the unions and all the junctions. Including if the final connection to whatever locline or other return outlet nozzle setup.

I was getting microbubbles in my Reefer 170 and it was the final connection to the return nozzle. A layer of Teflon tape and it was solved.
Click to expand...
I have a bulkhead with a RFG locline screwed in - just from your reefer 170 was the problem right outside the tank behind the bulkhead, or inside the tank itself?
Edit: Should be mentioned I am hard plumbed with a slip bulkhead going behind the tank, then slipped into a 90 degree elbow down to the sump
 
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jstiltne said:
I have a bulkhead with a RFG locline screwed in - just from your reefer 170 was the problem right outside the tank behind the bulkhead, or inside the tank itself?
Edit: Should be mentioned I am hard plumbed with a slip bulkhead going behind the tank, then slipped into a 90 degree elbow down to the sump
Click to expand...
It was inside the tank, kinda. The Reefer return comes up through the overflow area floor, straight up, then a 90, then it has a slip fitting that is attached to the weir area, and finally the locline attachment is there.

.
Locline
===O==O==oooo
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||
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For me it was both of those final attachment points. The first I didn't have the pipe seated deep enough, and therefore the o ring wasn't fully engaged. The last I needed a bit of extra goo to block (might've just been the first section though).
 
WHOOPS Been a long time since updating this, but finally got a second to do so now that I am on summer break. The tank has matured quite a bit and I am shifting primarily to SPS with a focus on Millepora as they seem to do WAY better in my tank than Acros, for whatever reason. I also intend to seek out high end chalice and montis; after a while it seems like I would prefer to grow what my tank wants me to as opposed to forcing things that don't do well or changing things up.
IMG_7646.jpg
 
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