Mike's 240 Peninsula Build

[mike810]

My ATB Flowstar return pump took a dump on me after a little over a year of use. There is no hum or anything from the pump when I plug it in. Pump doesn't try to turn or anything. Is the pump completely dead?

I had to ghetto rig a maxi-jet to the display to supply water from the sump to the display. This went on for about 2-3 days while I looked for a replacement pump. I settled on a Red Dragon RD3 80 watt DC pump.

I cut up my return plumbing to accommodate the new return pump.

 

[mike810]

Ordered a swabbie for the bubble king and the vibe to shake the zeo rocks. Pumping 2.5 liters of rocks twice a day is not fun nor is it easy as the rocks are heavy! Also just placed an order for the Apex Gold along with some modules.

Energy Bar 8
Magnetic Probe Rack
Advanced Leak Detection Module
Solid Surface Advanced Leak Detection Probe x 3
Neptune Systems I/O Breakout Box

Hopefully I'll get everything next week and have it set up shortly after. I am sure there will be a big learning curve on the Apex.

 

[mike810]

Special delivery! ��

 

[mike810]

Swabbie assembled.

And on the skimmer

The swabbie does a good job of cleaning the skimmer neck. The cup was pretty dirty when I installed the swabbie. I cleaned it up a bit before the install but left a good amount of gunk on the neck to test how well the blade would clean the neck. Avast recommends running the swabbie for 5 mins, 4 times a day. In the 5 minutes I watched it run for the first time, I must say the neck was cleaned pretty good. The gunk I left on the neck was wiped cleaned.

I am hopeful that this will increase the efficiency of the skimmer. This skimmer stops producing skim after a week. The neck gets so dirty foam doesn't make it over the top. The skimmer cup has never been filled to half a cup ever. A quarter cup at most.

Next up will be the vibe for the zeo rocks. I need to find time to put it together. I may do it tomorrow or just wait until my apex gets here Friday.

 

[mike810]

Was able to put the vibe together today. Build quality is solid, was packaged well. I need to rinse the inside out with RO water. There looks to be some water drops probably from testing.

I tested it without rocks, wow this thing is loud. I guess this we'll be programmed to run when I'm sleeping or not home. It can hold 4 liters or rocks but only 2.5 liters will be in use.

I plan to rearrange all my wires when the apex gets here tomorrow. The ato reservoir will be moved to accommodate the vibe. I'm going to try and clean everything up. When I hooked up my RKE, there was a mess of wires which I tried to keep organized. While it was decent, it wasn't good enough. Hopefully this time around I will be able to better organize the wires.

 

[mike810]

What can I do to get more pink in my strawberry shortcake? Seems like there is a lot more green than pink.

Same with my red planet, there is a lot more green than red.

 

[mike810]

I love new toys!!

 

[mike810]

This is where I'm at with the control panel. Waiting on the glue to dry on the grommets before I run the wires.

 

[mike810]

This came in the mail today. :celeb3:

 

[mike810]

I just installed the QD upgrade. I must say this thing is freaking quiet compared to the old MP60 driver. In fact, it is so quiet that my two Tunze 6105s are now louder than the MP60QD. My tank is finally quiet. The majority of the equipment I have is quiet. The MP60 was the loudest part of my tank.

 

[mike810]

Some bad news! Last night, the red dragon return pump died on me. Was dosing the tank when I heard an electrical pop. Looked under the tank and the red dragon control box was flashing then died. I had to place another order with next day shipping to get a replacement. I'll be returning the defective pump for a refund. Dang pump was only running for 19 days.

 

[mike810]

Well, after several days of endless wire management. I was able to finally clean up the all the wires and hide it behind a panel. There are still some wires here and there but a lot better than before. I gotta say the Apex is awesome. The things you can do with the Apex blows the Reef Keeper Elite out of the water.

Here are some before and after pics.

Old Setup

New Setup

Sump lit by LED rope lights which automatically turns on by a magnetic switch when a door is opened.

Avast Marine Vibe surrounded by Apex leak detectors programmed to turn the vibe pump off if any leaks are present. No more pumping rocks for me! I will have an acrylic box built for the vibe to contain any leaks.

Need to install another magnetic switch so that when the doors are closed, a fan inside the cabinet will turn on to control humidity.

 

[mike810]

Opinions please!

Opinions please!

So I have an MP60 on one end of my 8ft peninsula. Two tunze 6105s on the over flow box side. I'm thinking of switching these pumps out because they're actually noisier than the MP60. There's a pillar right in the middle of the over flow side. Should I go with two MP60s on left and right side or should I go with two MP40s both of which will be the new quiet drives.

Another option would be to use the vortechs with the tunzes. They will have to be stuck to the overflow itself. More flow but it would make for a cluttered over side.
Thoughts, opinions and maybe other recommendations ? I feel the over flow side does not get enough flow with just the two 6105s. There is some gha build up on the sand and rocks in this side.

The half of the tank with the MP60 does not experience this type of gha build up on the sand and rocks. Thanks!

 

[akopley]

So I have an MP60 on one end of my 8ft peninsula. Two tunze 6105s on the over flow box side. I'm thinking of switching these pumps out because they're actually noisier than the MP60. There's a pillar right in the middle of the over flow side. Should I go with two MP60s on left and right side or should I go with two MP40s both of which will be the new quiet drives.

Another option would be to use the vortechs with the tunzes. They will have to be stuck to the overflow itself. More flow but it would make for a cluttered over side.
Thoughts, opinions and maybe other recommendations ? I feel the over flow side does not get enough flow with just the two 6105s. There is some gha build up on the sand and rocks in this side.

The half of the tank with the MP60 does not experience this type of gha build up on the sand and rocks. Thanks!

any updates? have a similar build starting.

 

[DesertReefT4r]

Very well layed out. I like it, organized and clean.