JBJ 28 Gallon Nano Owners Club
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SlvrSurfRidr
aka: coraltopia
you should get a Porche and a hamburger - don't expect much help if you aren't going to help anyone else
sl-atl
Member
Has anyone else had a problem with the screws holding the bottom (clear) part of the hood rusting out? When I changed the MH lamp, there were 3 that had totally rusted out and broken off, and several others that were clearly rusting. It is only about a year old.
If so, what did you do??? Seems that JBJ should provide new ones, or something...
If so, what did you do??? Seems that JBJ should provide new ones, or something...
yes, this is a problem.
I take mine out every three months and keep them well greased. That solved the problem for me.
I take mine out every three months and keep them well greased. That solved the problem for me.
I have been very happy with my Sapphire. I have the gate valve about 2/3 closed which produces about 3/4 cup of some pretty dark skimmate with dark chunks about every 4-5 days.
It is well built, solid, and produces a ton of bubbles. I do not see any parts wearing out or breaking easily. It has a good size body with a bubble plate allowing contact time with the bubbles.
Setup consisted of putting the pump on the bottom, setting it in the middle chamber, and plugging it in. It immediately started producing tons of bubbles. Took me longer to take the pictures than to put it in. I did have to remove the lip of the tank rim inside so it would fit. Very easy to do. I left the gate valve completely open for the first 5 days, then started raising it to get the skimmate I wanted.
Consistency has been great. I have not changed the gate valve since I first adjusted it. It always stays at the same level in the skimmer body, and produces about the same amount of skimmate daily. I like the gate valve as it creates a very fine tuning of the water level as opposed to having to raise and lower the skimmer.
Also, the pump starts and stops without any problems. I have it connected to my Reefkeeper, so when I feed the fish, it turns off all the pumps including the skimmer. Then, the skimmer is delayed by a minute after the main pumps come on so the water level in the back has time to stabilize. Starts back up every time without any problems.
Hope this helps. Good luck with a skimmer choice.
Check out my mini review on the Sapphire nano reactor:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=14931823#post14931823
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=14931823#post14931823
I had some silicone based gel lubricant laying around which i used. I only put a little on the tip of the screw. This spread it pretty evenly down the length of the threads. The screws are really small, and i think this helps.
Then just a quick wipe with some alcohol (vodka). Some for the lid, some for me. it works great.
Best of luck
drew
Then just a quick wipe with some alcohol (vodka). Some for the lid, some for me. it works great.
Best of luck
drew
Breeze,
Thanks for the update. How's the tank?
Thanks for the update. How's the tank?
Tank is great. I recently had a few of my orange/red SPS lighten a little. I think I raised my alk a little too fast a week ago. Should recover though. Good polyp extension. I'll have to update with some pics. We haven't had much tank pics recently on this thread.
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I was wondering where you went. . . .
SlvrSurfRidr
aka: coraltopia
Happy with mine too. Break in period was short, and installation easy. I do have a question though ... you say you have your gate valve about 2/3 closed. I've got mine as open as possible, but have noticed that the bubbles aren't getting to the top any more. The cup covers the valve, so I can't open it anymore. Has anyone else experience this - or do I just have super clean water that isn't kicking up enough bubbles?!
I'm not sure what you mean. You would want to close the valve to get the bubbles to go higher. I remove the cup to get access to the thumb screw to adjust the gate valve. Clockwise would cause the valve to close more. I watch the level of the water in the body rise up some, then I replace the cup and let it settle for an hour or so to see where the bubble level goes to. That's how I got it to the level I wanted it at.
I've decided to go with the sapphire. What settled it for me was the need for less modification to the tank, and the gate valve. The Euro-Reef requires you to manually raise or lower the skimmer to adjust water level. I regard this as a major flaw. I just don't see how this method could produce consistent results. In addition, I know from past experience that fine tuning is the very important to skimmer operation.
As a matter of fact, i'm ordering it now. GOOD BYE ALGAE!!!!
As a matter of fact, i'm ordering it now. GOOD BYE ALGAE!!!!
By the way, I have about 30 or so homemade limewood airstones for the stock skimmer. I'd be willing to let them all go for about 20 bucks plus shipping if anyone is interested. They have worked very well for me before the Sapphire. Only the whole lot, however. I don't want to ship to more than one place.
balloonpilot
Premium Member
Chasing pH
Chasing pH
Ive been playing a bit with my nano. Recently added a ProFilux controller and the biggest eye opener for me was the pH!
For months Ive been using the color method and figured I had it nailed between 8.2 and 8.4. After calibrating the probe (with 7 and 9) and finding the probe to be withing 0.02pH I was told that the probe was the most accurate. TIme to make some adjustments.
So I added more "Kent Supper Buffer" (1tsp a time) but could not get the pH above 8.1 (reading from probe), called local store and they recommended using a SeaChem product called "Balance" - This product seemd to have successfully raised the pH to 8.3, the next day it dropped again to 8.01.
Confused, I went to another fish store with a water sample. They coonfirmed the pH level at 8.0; however, they noted that my Alkalinity was about 16 and my calcium was only about 290! Yikes. So they provided me with Seachem "Reef Advantage Calcium" - Theory is that initial doses of Reef Advantage will not raise the calcium but actually lower the Alkalinity, then it will get to the poing where the Alkalintiy will 'hold' and the Calcium will come up. Once these are in sync, the pH can be adjusted (using "Balance".
I think the overall theory is that the "Kent Supper Buffer" go the Alkalinity out of wack which prvented the stable pH and it goes down hill from there!!!
Right now, I'm very confused and frusturated.
How do I get this thing where I want it and stablized?
Chasing pH
Ive been playing a bit with my nano. Recently added a ProFilux controller and the biggest eye opener for me was the pH!
For months Ive been using the color method and figured I had it nailed between 8.2 and 8.4. After calibrating the probe (with 7 and 9) and finding the probe to be withing 0.02pH I was told that the probe was the most accurate. TIme to make some adjustments.
So I added more "Kent Supper Buffer" (1tsp a time) but could not get the pH above 8.1 (reading from probe), called local store and they recommended using a SeaChem product called "Balance" - This product seemd to have successfully raised the pH to 8.3, the next day it dropped again to 8.01.
Confused, I went to another fish store with a water sample. They coonfirmed the pH level at 8.0; however, they noted that my Alkalinity was about 16 and my calcium was only about 290! Yikes. So they provided me with Seachem "Reef Advantage Calcium" - Theory is that initial doses of Reef Advantage will not raise the calcium but actually lower the Alkalinity, then it will get to the poing where the Alkalintiy will 'hold' and the Calcium will come up. Once these are in sync, the pH can be adjusted (using "Balance".
I think the overall theory is that the "Kent Supper Buffer" go the Alkalinity out of wack which prvented the stable pH and it goes down hill from there!!!
Right now, I'm very confused and frusturated.
How do I get this thing where I want it and stablized?
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