BornToHula

Tank looks amazing! Now get it wet already!

Thanks! The goal is to have it wet before Christmas.

Wow!

Nice. Brenner build the stand too? How tall is the canopy?

The stand and canopy are from Costal, they are basically Planet Aquariums' in house stand builder. Its 1 foot tall. I'm going to have to do a few modifications to fit the lights under it.

The tank is finally in!

I'm looking forward to seeing how it turned out! Did you order the full package with stand and canopy?

Yes, I got a stand and canopy made to go with the tank. I haven't seen them yet, but I'll be sure to post lots of pictures when I do!

Also, ordering the stand with the tank gives the tank a 7 year warranty which is why, along with time constraints, I ordered the stand instead of making it myself.

Electrician just left, I now have two dedicated 20 amp circuits with GFCI for the tank!

The tank is in at the store too, just waiting on delivery!

If it's the tank I saw at RCA, then it looks awesome! If there are a couple of unidentified fingerprints on the left glass pane... it wasn't me. [emoji6]

Hey no touching!!

Electrician just left, I now have two dedicated 20 amp circuits with GFCI for the tank!

The tank is in at the store too, just waiting on delivery!

He was trying his best to be an 80's action star, just couldn't hold on long enough!

Wow I thought I had removed a couple of big bubbles in my tank but those are at least twice as big!

How did the Aiptaisa X go on the palys?

How is your new skimmer doing? Any noticeable increase of performance from the Skimz?

I'm tempted to go the CaRX route instead of using dosing pumps, but it seems the reactors need just as much if not more maintenance than the pumps.

Perhaps you are right. I don't need the special features at all, its just fun having the latest gadgets to play with! I definitely should have done more research on the Vectra to see it wasn't apex ready before pulling the trigger and ordering it though.

I think that Jaebo is the exact same pump as the Waveline with different stickers on it. Good call on going with the Jaebo as its much cheaper.

Unfortunately I did open the Vectra box to look at it so hopefully BRS will still accept its return.

So how do you connect it to the apex then? It has a controller similar to the MP's so shouldn't it work like they do?!

You don't, for the time being at least. The Vectras do have a similar controller to the Vortechs, which is why I assumed it would hook right up to the Apex WXM module. Apparently Ecotech changed something internally so it does not connect.

I will probably end up keeping it, but the though has passed my mind to return it and get something like this Waveline: http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/dc12000-a-waveline-apex-ready-dc-variable-speed-pump.html

I hope so!

The people at Apex quoted in the reefcentral thread didn't seem too hopeful. After doing some internet snooping I saw that Apex announced a return pump recently, and considering they just released their own powerheads I'm sure Ecotech isn't too happy Apex is entering their markets.

In other news I was browsing reefcentral today and saw that the Vectra returns pumps aren't compatible with the Apex WXM module . That was the major reasons I went with it, I assumed that all the Ecotech stuff always works with Apex. Guess not.

I was really looking forward to having the Vectra go into feed mode when I use the Apex automatic feeder so all the food doesn't go down the overflow. I don't see any other pumps that will do this either, so I guess I will stick with the Vectra. Everything else about it seems good.

Thanks for the info on not using tape. Now that you mention it I can see how the tight fitting on plastic threads could cause an issue with the tape though.

Yup. 2 gallons of muratic acid. Be very careful. Don't inhale.

Any reason why to do an acid bath over curing it for a few weeks? I'm curious because I'm in the process of curing some Marco rock and the dry rock I bought from you and wondering if I should go the acid route instead.

Congrats again, can't wait to see this set up!

What kind of bath are you giving those Marco Rock? Acid bath?

Yeah, it's pretty normal to have some exposed thread. You might even use some teflon tape to be safe.

Did you get in on the Halloween sales for the other fixture?

Ok cool. I will be using the tape or paste on the threads to be sure there are no leaks.

Yep, bought the second ATI fixture during the halloween sale from premium aquatics. No word on when its going to ship from ATI yet.

My guess is that the threads are just extra long but make sure they are not cross threaded because that is pretty easy with plastic fittings. If they are to long you can always take a saw or Dremel and cut the extra threads off the bottom.

Thanks, I will probably saw the ends off the adapters to give a better looking fit.

I can't seem get my threaded adapters to fit all the way into my bulkheads. There are still threads left in the bulkhead, but it would take a huge amount of force to screw these guys in. Is it normal to have this much space between an adapter and bulkhead?

Those goni's are lookin' great!

Any fear the Emperor will use them as a snack?

I'm skeptical of the 35 hours as well. There doesn't seem to be any real reviews of it out there either, so I guess we are both early adopters. As long as a single backup battery can last a full workday I'll be happy.

I was worried that a single gyre running may not agitate the surface enough produce enough oxygen for the tank. Once the battery kicks in the gyre will automatically go to 30%. You can daisy chain two backups together to get double to run time on a single pump, no unplugging the old backup and plugging in to the new one required.

I can't find a pet food container size that will work for me. I think I may go the DIY route and build a small glass or acrylic tank for my ATO reservoir. A dual electric solenoid setup is wayyyy over my head so I'll leave that for yall to figure out.

In other news got a new shipment of equipment in today!

2nd Gyre XF150

2 Ice Cap Modules

Ice Cap Battery Backup (I'm thinking of going ahead a getting a 2nd one so each unit will have a backup.)

Vectra L1 return pump

Apex Leak Detection module with 3 leak detectors

Another Apex powerbar

2 Finnex 500W heaters

I *think* all I have left to order is:

2nd ATI Hybrid Powermodule - I'm trying to wait for a coupon or for it to go on sell, doesn't look like its going to happen though!

T5 bulbs

Plumbing parts

Sand

2 boxes of salt

75g tank for sump

Work to be done before the tank arrives:

This weekend I am going to start curing the dry rock I have. I power washed it clean this past weekend so hopefully the curing process wont take more than a few weeks.

Move the 40g planted tank away from the new tank's spot.

Have electrician install 20 Amp circuit, GFCI, replace current outlet with a 20 amp outlet and hopefully add a 2nd 20 amp outlet.

Cut baffles and install in sump

I had Marc from Melev's Reef build a custom acrylic ATO container. It's 14.75" long, 4.5" wide, 24" tall - approximately 7 gallons. This allowed me to put it on the right hand side next to the sump and use up some previously unusable space. The tank evaporates about 3 gallons/day max so it only holds 2 days worth of water. I put an electric solenoid on the RO/DI feed line and hooked that up to a programmable light timer that has it turn on for 1 hour M, W, F, Sa. Ta-da! Infinite ATO. I just check the TDS every once in a while when I hear it running, or when I make a lot of water for a water change and call it good.

Ah, that would be ideal to have it hooked up to the RODI unit. Unfortunately my unit is at the opposite end of the house and I don't think my wife would allow a water line to be running through the kitchen!

You could check out Advanced Acrylics for an ATO container. I had them custom make mine and I really like it. They also have stock sizes up to 30 gallons, and usually have a black friday sale too!

Cool, thanks for the recommendation. A little more than I was hoping to pay, but I will definitely keep and eye on it for black Friday!

Yeah, the flex PVC would only be for two awkward angles going up from the manifold to the return lines. That being said I still need re-think my plumbing and re-locate the manifold over the sump so I may be able to hard plumb it all.

Also I'm curious what do y'all use for auto top off containers on larger tanks? I want something that will fit under the stand, but most the containers I see online are only around 10 gallons. A 16 gallon tall aquarium would be perfect, but they don't seem to be commonly available.