Thanks Bolo and Sneek. It is a tight little package for sure.
An unavoidable truth about this hobby is, no matter how large or small the system, from 5g pico to 500g monster, corals and livestock in those tanks need the same water chemistry and parameters in order to thrive.
When initially building this the first go round, I figured I'd make it a reasonable size so water changes weren't too big, energy consumption would be less and just in general, it would be somewhat more manageable than a larger tank. Ha! No such thing. They all require the same maintenance and having a small footprint, it somewhat makes that a little more problematic.
So in order to ensure what I put together is easily serviced, maybe I should have taken a second look at the design. It's easy enough to put a system together, plumb it and get everything going. It's another to then have to utilize it and realize things you did, though work ok for the ecosystem, don't work for you when performing maintenance. Then the tank inhabitants end up suffering because it becomes a real chore or life throws a curve and time ends up being at a premium.
Not lecturing anyone but myself by the way
I love the hobby. In my last house I had a fish room and it made the whole experience very different and in some ways more enjoyable. Everything was done behind the scenes with little to worry about as far as water drips, spills, etc, in the living area. Last fish room had a floor drain which is a real luxury imo. I don't have that now so things have to be buttoned up and modular.
Oh one more thing. I originally designed the system the first go round for Zeovit. I believe this was the magic that would make tank maintenance easy. Well it's a good system and obviously has proven itself, but it's not any less work or any easier than other systems and in fact, in some ways it requires more attention because of the dosing regimen. I'll be using some of their products, but not the whole system.
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