d2mini's "Essential Focus" Mixed Reef Build

[d2mini]

Damn man that sucks!


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Yep. Not fun.

Dude, that blows. I know what you mean though. I feel like, compared to previous tanks, my current almost 2-y/o Reefer 250 has been cursed.


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What the heck is going on? :uhoh3:

Damn.... That sucks!!! I just had my return pump go out on me today. Not sure why, but it killed my kole tang(maybe a ph swing). Everything else seems fine. I went ahead and aimed both power heads at the surface and the new return pump comes in tomorrow.

Aw man, sorry to hear that.

Yikes! That could have been disasterous! Glad everything is OK and no losses as a result.

Yep, got real lucky me thinks.

Wow that looks bad but I guess it could of been worse. I am going to go though my whole system this weekend just to double check for weak links.

Yup, luckily it was pretty isolated.

Sorry Dennis! Sure glad it wasn't worse though. That could have been a much larger issue.

I'm really glad I was able to put all my electronics in a separate cabinet this time.

Ya, it's mounted pretty high up and back from the sump, too. But I guess nothing is safe from a geyser of saltwater.

Damn, that is really crap luck [emoji35]! I have been delaying wire and power outlet cleanup on my tank but you really moved it up the priority lather for me!


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Get on it.

I am so so sorry to see what happened to you. It might be hard to accept but there was a fair amount of good luck on your side with all of this.

Totally.

Dennis, glad this resulted in minimal damage. How extensive was the damage to your home? Looking forward to seeing what kind of redundancy you build in.

Thankfully, zero. The wife who was still in the bedroom while I discovered this and cleaned up didn't even smell the slight electrical stink once I fired up the stove with my bacon and eggs.

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

Sorry to hear this Dennis.

 

[d2mini]

On a lighter note, here's Wally busted on tank cam when I was checking in yesterday.

 

[choss]

Ha! Even your tank cam shots are awesome.

 

[damienpbuckley]

On a lighter note, here's Wally busted on tank cam when I was checking in yesterday.

Hahaha gold


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[Joe Kelley]

WALLY!!!! Glad you're ok Dennis.

 

[d2mini]

Yeah, he was up to no good as usual.
Camera is sitting on the kitchen counter. His furry butt is sitting on the window bench.
When I first signed on, all I saw was furry crotch, :hmm6: looking for food. :facepalm:

 

[networkcrasher]

More updates under the hood.

GHL flow meter installed on the drain plumbing.

The flow meter is currently reading about a 3-4x turnover rate depending on how much water is actually in the system.

Which size flow meter did you end up with? What's the actual reading you're getting? Did you put it on the drain just for convenience sake?

 

[d2mini]

Which size flow meter did you end up with? What's the actual reading you're getting? Did you put it on the drain just for convenience sake?

GHL 9000 L
~500 gph
The drain was where I had the most room.

 

[networkcrasher]

Interesting. 500gph seems so low to me for this tank. Is your vectra pushing a lot more than that?

 

[d2mini]

Interesting. 500gph seems so low to me for this tank. Is your vectra pushing a lot more than that?

That's just over 4x turnover. And I KNOW that's what i'm getting.
I bet many people that think they are getting X amount of turnover may be surprised. Especially using DC return pumps.
My return plumbing is a bit restrictive due to the plumbing inside the overflow, but these pumps don't seem to handle back pressure all that well.

That said, my Vectra L1 is running at 68% power and I'm diverting some of it to the refugium.

 

[networkcrasher]

Thanks Dennis. Always a great synopsis as usual. I am spec'ing out such a similar tank to yours and I'm working through the return pump I need to get, as well as flow meters and was trying to figure out the sizes I should consider. All of the manufacturer data and sheets for the Elos 125xl suggest it will move a whole hell of a lot more than 500gph, but if that's what the GHL says, no reason to doubt it.

I originally considered the L1, but I'm leaning more towards the VarioS-8 (might go down to a 6 now, not sure what i'll do) as it works with the apex setup that I already own. The 1" flow sensor on the apex FMM module only goes up to 1500 GPH, which scared me until your post.

On my lifereef sump, I think i'm going to dedicate a return pump to the tank and then use a second pump for the reactors and refugium. Not sure how I want to pipe it yet. I figure if my return pump dies, i can replace it with the other pump as I don't care if the reactors and fuge aren't running until a new pump shows up.

 

[d2mini]

Thanks Dennis. Always a great synopsis as usual. I am spec'ing out such a similar tank to yours and I'm working through the return pump I need to get, as well as flow meters and was trying to figure out the sizes I should consider. All of the manufacturer data and sheets for the Elos 125xl suggest it will move a whole hell of a lot more than 500gph, but if that's what the GHL says, no reason to doubt it.

IME, the overflow WILL flow a ton more water. I have a valve on the drain that's probably closed 50%, easily. The problem is finding a pump that will push more water though the return section. The outlets into the tank are pretty small. The lower is only 1/2" and the upper is similar. 3/4 at most. This provides some nice flow and surface agitation but at the expense of stealing power from your return pump. I'm sure if you had a reeflo barracuda or something running on this tank you'd get numbers closer to what Elos advertises. So when working on your tank, keep the return plumbing as unrestricted as possible and you can use a smaller pump.

On my lifereef sump, I think i'm going to dedicate a return pump to the tank and then use a second pump for the reactors and refugium. Not sure how I want to pipe it yet. I figure if my return pump dies, i can replace it with the other pump as I don't care if the reactors and fuge aren't running until a new pump shows up.

Sounds like a plan.
I still don't have my canisters so that pretty much made the decision for me. I'll just use a little sicce or something to feed them.

 

[Joe Kelley]

Interesting conversation, I have a similar sized tank as well running an Eheim 1262 getting 310 GPH verified with the old bucket and stopwatch method. Reading your experience carefully and also wanting more flow less energy and heat I might try the Fluval sp4. Seems the vectra does not like head pressure. What are your or anyones thoughts?
Love your tank BTW!

Joe

 

[d2mini]

Interesting conversation, I have a similar sized tank as well running an Eheim 1262 getting 310 GPH verified with the old bucket and stopwatch method. Reading your experience carefully and also wanting more flow less energy and heat I might try the Fluval sp4. Seems the vectra does not like head pressure. What are your or anyones thoughts?
Love your tank BTW!

Joe

I was looking at the SP6 if I ever needed to replace it.

 

[SchnitzelReef]

I was looking at the SP6 if I ever needed to replace it.

Been running an SP6 for 3.5 years on my tank. Flow is insane. I've cleaned the pump once in 3.5 years. When you compare watts vs gph vs cost, the Fluval SP pumps are hard to beat.

 

[saf1]

Sorry to hear about the new issue(s) there D2. How is everything looking after the fact and how are you? Also glad there was no fire!!!

Almost seems like there is some form of alien attack on peoples reef! I know I woke yesterday to a white cloudy tank. No idea what happened but my fish are all laying on their sides with heavy breathing, rose bubble tips completely closed and those that are not tentacles are not moving, etc. To make it worse I had no water made but kicked on the RO/DI and started emergency water changes. Weird thing is I have a mated pair of azure damsels(Together over 2 years). Once they came too they started to fight. I tried to separate them but it was too late and lost one with the other pretty beat up. Reminded me of that Mars Attacks movie.

Side question - do you have a sensor that detects water on the floor or elsewhere? I've been looking at the GHL/ProfiLux controllers to replace my ReefAngel and after reading your update going to see if they offer something like that. Might be a good safety measure - I don't know.

In either case hang in there and have a good weekend!

 

[d2mini]

Sorry to hear about the new issue(s) there D2. How is everything looking after the fact and how are you? Also glad there was no fire!!!

Almost seems like there is some form of alien attack on peoples reef! I know I woke yesterday to a white cloudy tank. No idea what happened but my fish are all laying on their sides with heavy breathing, rose bubble tips completely closed and those that are not tentacles are not moving, etc. To make it worse I had no water made but kicked on the RO/DI and started emergency water changes. Weird thing is I have a mated pair of azure damsels(Together over 2 years). Once they came too they started to fight. I tried to separate them but it was too late and lost one with the other pretty beat up. Reminded me of that Mars Attacks movie.

Side question - do you have a sensor that detects water on the floor or elsewhere? I've been looking at the GHL/ProfiLux controllers to replace my ReefAngel and after reading your update going to see if they offer something like that. Might be a good safety measure - I don't know.

In either case hang in there and have a good weekend!

Must be a full moon or something! :hmm3:

Those GHL sensors have been on my list for years. That probably would have come in handy this time!!! :facepalm:

Everything is fine in my tank. Temps barely moved and my Vortechs kept the water circulating. Damage under the stand was contained to the power strip and two power adaptors. Already got the replacement adapter for my Touch display today so that is back up and running. The vortech will just keep running off the battery backup until i get a new power cord.

 

[Stickboy97]

Damn bro, sorry to hear about your skimmer, glad it wasn't too bad! Its got to get to a point where you an sit back and enjoy it soon!

You have any recent shots of your corals or FTS?

Have a good and quiet weekend & fathers day!

 

[damienpbuckley]

Interesting conversation, I have a similar sized tank as well running an Eheim 1262 getting 310 GPH verified with the old bucket and stopwatch method. Reading your experience carefully and also wanting more flow less energy and heat I might try the Fluval sp4. Seems the vectra does not like head pressure. What are your or anyones thoughts?
Love your tank BTW!

Joe

I have a Vectra M1 on a Reefer 250 and agree; it doesn't like head pressure. I have mine connected with soft pipe into my chiller then again to the return. If I run it over 60% it whines. Thankfully that's still loads of flow for my size tank.


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