Thanks,
I went kind of crazy last night with the videos. I still need to make a controller/electrical video.
I'll be making more videos soon on water testing, and the KISS method.
Jared
Cpllongjk's Red Sea Reefer 170
- Thread starter cpllongjk
- Start date
Thanks,
I went kind of crazy last night with the videos. I still need to make a controller/electrical video.
I'll be making more videos soon on water testing, and the KISS method.
Jared
sittnon18s
josh
The videos don't work.
Sent from my SM-G935R4 using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G935R4 using Tapatalk
sandipan.ece
Member
The videos work for me.
I have watched all of them. Since i have such a similar setup, i took special interest in carefully following them.
Thank you for making these videos.
I have watched all of them. Since i have such a similar setup, i took special interest in carefully following them.
Thank you for making these videos.
I'm sorry they don't work it could be a browser problem.
Here's a link to my sump video and if you want to see the rest just view the channel.
https://youtu.be/_KMSjJxNqP8
Tonight I'm going to post a few videos about testing. So, stay tuned.
Jared
Thanks!
Slight upgrade coming soon!
SCA 50G Cube drilled for Synergy Reef Shadow Overflow
I am upgrading because I literally have 2" between the front rocks and my glass. Within several months I will be pressed for space with all the tabling acros I have near the front.
With this new tank and the shadow overflow I will gain the 4" of overflow depth and add an additional depth of 4". So in total I will be gaining 8" of front to back space for corals to grow. It will make the tank feel much bigger than it is and allow lots of room for those beautiful acros to fill out.
SCA 50G Cube drilled for Synergy Reef Shadow Overflow
I am upgrading because I literally have 2" between the front rocks and my glass. Within several months I will be pressed for space with all the tabling acros I have near the front.
With this new tank and the shadow overflow I will gain the 4" of overflow depth and add an additional depth of 4". So in total I will be gaining 8" of front to back space for corals to grow. It will make the tank feel much bigger than it is and allow lots of room for those beautiful acros to fill out.
sandipan.ece
Member
@cpllongjk, I am curious to know your views about your calcium reactor setup. I have seen the reactor video in your youtube channel. I am thinking if I should get a calcium reactor since my kalk seems to have a difficult time keeping with the alk demand and too much kalk causing high pH. I am thinking of supplementing it with two part. Or should I go calcium reactor route?
Is a calcium reactor over kill for a reefer 170? I do not have any upgrade plans in near future. Please share your thoughts.
Is a calcium reactor over kill for a reefer 170? I do not have any upgrade plans in near future. Please share your thoughts.
Hey,
A calcium reactor is total overkill on a reefer 170. Even a nano-sized calcium reactor is overkill. The setup cost of a reactor is much more expensive than even a more expensive dosing system.
To give you an example...
CaRx Setup: CO2 Tank - 100, CO2 Regulator 300 (good one), CO2 Regulator 100 (bad one), Nano Calcium Reactor 100-300 depending on model.
Total Cost 300-700 depending on equipment choices.
Dosing System: (Adequate) BRS Dosers 50-100 per doser x2 - 100-200, (Best) Neptune DOS- 300
Total Cost 100-300 depending on equipment choices.
A dosing system for a smaller tank makes more sense because the setup cost is low and the running costs are low too. On larger tanks dosing large amounts of Calcium and Alk will cost more as time goes on. With a dosing system you will have to dial in both calcium and alk as they are depleted and added back to the tank at different rates.
A calcium reactor system is great for a larger tank because it has a high upfront cost but saves you money over the course of the years running due to low operational costs. CO2 refills are cheap and media is cheap. One bonus to a CaRx is that Calcium and Alk are added back in the proper proportions by adjusting the drip rate. All you do to make sure alk and calcium are at proper levels before adding the calcium reactor is to use additive to get your alk/ca at the level you want... then use the calcium reactor to maintain those levels at their natural rates. CaRx setups also have the added bonus of adding trace elements to the water that doesn't happen with dosing chemicals. (I employ a CaRx over dosing for this reason alone.) I also like the added benefit of being able to upgrade to a large system as time moves on. With a CaRx system, I only have to replace the recirc pump if it were to go out, a relatively cheap fix.
Some people have ran numbers on a CaRx vs Dosing Setup over time and if memory serves, CaRx doesn't make sense on tank systems smaller than 200ish gallons. Over 200ish gallons you start to use a lot of additives and it starts getting expensive.
However, that's all relative because a full blown sps system will consume more alk/calcium than a mixed reef. Also the trace element thing can be fixed by making sure you do your weekly/monthly water changes religiously. (I'll be honest, I'm actually bad at this!)
I am very sorry for the book I just wrote but these were the things I considered when I set up the CaRx on such a small system. I've been in the hobby for 18+ years now and after so much time buying and selling and losing money on tech that I just bought a few years ago to replace with something else I should of bought... I believe in buy once and forget it later.
To give you an example, if I were to setup a dosing system I would buy once a Neptune DOS and not even dabble in the cheaper version like BRS Dosers. The BRS Dosers are a great product and before the DOS probably one of the best things on the market. But, now that the DOS is out nothing else competes IMO!
sandipan.ece
Member
That is a perfect reply. Exactly what I was looking for. I have an unused Neptune doser, I will use that to setup 2 part dosing to supplement Kalkwasser. Thank you for helping out with your advice.
By the way, any new pictures of your tank and corals?
You're Welcome!
I will use the cleaner to clean the glass tonight or tomorrow and post pictures tomorrow night. I usually take pictures at night when kids are in bed so they don't mess with my camera equipment.
New tank looks very sleek. Look forward to it setup.
Thanks. I've been researching stands. I've custom built oak stands in the past but it's a lot of work and I have a buddy who built a stand recently out of T-Slot Aluminum. I was thinking of doing the same thing however, I was going to use picture hangers and skin the t-slot with either painted wood or use oak plywood and stain it.
In my head the panels, which would be roughly 24x34", would just hook to the t-slot like a picture hangs from a wall. In order to remove the panels I would just have to lift up on the panel and pull out. I could even use 1/4" oak plywood but 1/2" would look better but weigh more.
It was actually very easy and Steve from SCA was very easy and good to work with! I just asked them for a quote for a shadow overflow drilled on the rear wall with a single 1/2" return line. Once I was happy with the cost I provided the drill template .pdf that I found on the synergy reef website.
The only thing you have to think about is how high do you want the water level. I wanted the water level to be 1.25-1.5" below the rim of the tank since I have really high flow. But if you had lower flow you could probably have the overflow meet the rim of the tank. If the overflow meets the rim of the tank then the water level would be 3/4" - 1" below the rim.
Jared
