AlexReef » equipment

Zeovit.com’s Third Dream Tank of the Quarter 2010

Alex — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 13:11:29 +0000

Check out the Third Dream Tank of the Quarter 2010 on Zeovit.com website. Although there are still skeptics out there, who think Zeovit is worthless, how can anyone argue these results?

http://www.zeovit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20690

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Warner Marine- EcoBAK biopellets (solid vodka dosing)

Alex — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 18:32:37 +0000

Just picked up some EcoBAK pellets from Jon (president of WM) direct from Warner Marine. This product is currently available direct from WM only. From what I’m hearing, the delay is due to packaging issues. I order 1 liter and it came in a plain zip lock bag. Directions from Jon was to soak the pellets in RO water for a day or so to get them to sink. Then to be safe, use half (in a reactor) and then add the other half after a week. Some ‘clouding’ of your water may happen if you have high nitrate levels, but will go away. The usage recommendation is 500ml per 100g of tank water. Based on all the other similar products out there, this seems about right. Why did I choose EcoBAK over similar products like NP Biopellets, NPX Bio Beads, and Vertex Pro-Bio Pellets? Price, plain and simple. I got 1000ml for the price of some competitor’s 500ml.

So is all the hype about solid vodka dosing legit? Some people have reported a reduction in their nitrate levels. Others have seen some cyano bacteria as a result of using biopellets. My gut feeling is that this product will help in the fight against elevated nitrate levels. I’ll report back in a month w/ my findings.

Here’s some links to what others are saying:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1847060

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1694529

Update 7-16-2010. So far, so good. I’ve noticed my water looking extra clean and I believe the biopellets may be helping. I haven’t tested my nitrate levels (I don’t believe my test kits are reliable), but I have noticed increase color in my corals. Biopellets are being used in my PM reactor (does not tumble).

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Tunze Interzoo 2010 Flyer

Alex — Tue, 25 May 2010 14:28:47 +0000

Here’s the link to Tunze’s Interzoo 2010 Flyer, showing all the new goodies from Tunze. The best thing coming is the Silence clamp that should eliminate the annoying vibration noises from the Stream II pumps.

Also check out the master pump specs that rate the pump at 29,000 gph(designed for pools and public aquariums)!

http://www.tunze.com/fileadmin/downloads_en/interzooen.pdf

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Pumps Gone Wild

Alex — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:26:49 +0000

It’s been a bad few week for my pumps. First, the Red Dragon pump on my Bubble King Supermarin 250 goes bad, and now my Reeflo Super Dart is out of commission. The Red Dragon’s needlewheel impeller shaft broke and has been replaced by Premium Aquatics and Proline. Comparing the impellers, the old one was defective and was bound to fail at some point. For whatever reason, the titanium shaft looked like it didn’t have a uniform diameter, getting smaller near the needlwheel. Even w/ this defect, the skimmer skimmed like a champ. Hopefully the new impeller will prove to be more durable.

The Reeflo Super Dart’s seal failed and leaked; causing the motor bearing to seize. I returned the pump and Reeflo has repaired the pump (cleaned the bearings, changed the seals). I’m glad that I purchased these from reputable dealers, otherwise replacement costs would be crazy. A new skimmer pump would cost about 500-600 and the return pump about 300-400 more.

Lesson learned: 1. Clean your pumps regularly, even if they don’t look like they need it. 2. Spend the money on products that are backed w/ a good warranty, you’ll eventually need it! ( salt and motors don’t mix and will eventually fail).

*Update: Reeflo pump is making noise again and Chris is sending a brand new replacement. Good customer support from this company!

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Simplified Reef Tank Plumbing

Alex — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:50:34 +0000

In an attempt to streamline my plumbing setup, I’ve updated my overflow downtubes into one. Before, I had 3 x 1.5″ flex pipe going into my sump from my overflows and into individual filter socks/holders. This caused a big mess of tubes running all over the place. I’ve cleaned up my setup using a single 2″ pvc pipe to handle the 3 1.5″ overflow tubes. This runs into my custom filter box that houses 3 x 4″ filter socks. The setup is much quieter now too! Still need to clean up the return plumbing, but that’s for another day.

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Seachem Aquavitro- Salinity Review!

Alex — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:59:46 +0000

I’ve finally gotten my hands on a bucket of the newly release Seachem Aquavito Salinity Salt. Special thanks to Seachem Technical Support for making this happen!

Here’s my early review of the product:

1. The package is worth it’s weight in gold! Although regular salt buckets, such as the ones used by Instant Ocean, are OK to use, others are just terrible (Brightwell). The Salinity bucket is a god send! A clever lever releases the top and its a simple spin to open and close the bucket (Goodbye rusty hammer!).Also the package is taller than a regular bucket giving it a very sleek and premium look. I’d recommend everyone to get this salt just to reuse the bucket alone! Below is a picture for size comparison.

2. This salt is heavy. I’m not sure if it’s the packaging, but the salt bucket feels much heavier than my other buckets. Seachem claims that Salinity is more concentrated and will yield more saltwater. Based on my unscientific weight test, I can’t argue with this. I’ve read elsewhere that a bucket may yet 220-225g at 1.025. Compared to other salts that mix 150g at 1.021, the price vs quantity produced shows this new salt’s value.

3. The salt contains many different particle sizes of material. Most of the salts I’ve used had a uniform salt grain appearance. The salt in Aquavitro Salinity appears to be a mix of different materials. I can’t quite explain it, but some particles look like regular salt, others look like tiny flakes and others look like tiny balls. This is a good indication to me because these look like some of the additives I use. It appears that Seachem is using different dry ingredients to get the exact ratios they’re after.

4. A batch specific label is attached to each bucket to show what the salt actually tested at the warehouse. I don’t know about you, but this gives me much reassurance that I’m not getting a bad batch of salt and using it in my tank. Below is what my label read. I’ve mixed 5 gallons so far and my Salifert test kits(pH, Alk and Calc) supports the label very closely (A bit of advice: Always roll you bucket around before opening to account for settling).

5. Conclusion: I’m a reef geek! The fact that I’ve been waiting for this salt mix and got excited when it finally arrived proves that I have no life! The good news is that the wait was well worth it and I’ve found my new salt mix. We’ll see how my tank reacts to this salt, but all indications show it’ll be a positive one.

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Neptune Systems- APEX Controller User’s Manual

Alex — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 13:59:38 +0000

Neptune System’s APEX Controller is a powerful controller, but initial setup and installation can be a bear for some users. Alan Jones has published his version of a user’s manual on his website. For what I’ve read, it’s better than the manual that Neptune Systems provides, covering ever step in more detail w/ actual screen shots. Major props go to the configuration setup for network connections. Here’s the link for all you APEX users:

http://reeftech.webs.com

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Zeovit.com’s First Quarter Tank of the ‘Month’- Wow!!!

Alex — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:37:32 +0000

Zeovit tanks achieve the best colors of any tanks I’ve ever seen. Although my experience w/ Zeovit was just ok, there are people out there that have had great results (My suspicions are that they’d have great results without Zeovit). Here’s Zeovit.com’s 1st quarter tank. If I could only get those colors in my sps!!!

1st Quarter Zeovit.com Tank

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Tunze Support= A++

Alex — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:03:02 +0000

I’ve been a long time supporter of Tunze products. I currently have their osmolator top-off device, 2 Tunze nanostream 6025s, and 2 Tunze streams 6065s. I recently had some problems w/ my Tunze 6000 controllable pump. Since this pump is discontinued, some parts are no longer available. I contacted Roger, the man behind Tunze USA, and he informed me to send it in. After looking at it, he said he could fix it for $25 or offer to sell me their current controllable pump, 6105, at a huge(did I say huge?) savings. I opted to get the new pump and received it yesterday.

The new pump is a major improvement from the old pump. The new brackets allow the pump to swivel in all directions; the old pumps would only allow left or right movement. The new pump uses a computer laptop looking power supply and the driver is built in; the old pump had separate driver and power supply. My old 6000 was rated for 1850gph, the 6105 is rated for 3,434 gph (don’t ask me how they figure these numbers out?). I can reduce or increase the overall power of this pump w/ the supplied 12v, 18v, and 24v jumpers. This pump is so much more versatile the the old one. I just hooked it up to my APEX controller and it’s controlling the Tunze to pulse from 30% to 100% power. Nice flow. Two thumbs up for Tunze!

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In-Sump Filter Sock Holder- Design Stage

Alex — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:51:56 +0000

I’m a strong believer in using filter socks to capture detris from the water column. As long as you replace them every few days, they shouldn’t be a problem creating nitrates. I’ve been using off-the-shelf filter sock holders in my sump. Although they work OK, they’re not as cleanly designed and simple to use, as I would like. One of the problems is that I’m using a 4″ and a 7″ filter sock holders to handle 3 inlets. That means I need to replace different size filter socks periodically and removing these socks from their holders are a pain in the butt. Recently at MACNA, I saw some custom sumps that had integrated filter socks holders. I’m going to copy these designs into my own in sump filter sock holder. I’ll be building this holder from 1/4″ pvc sheet. Much easier to work w/ than acrylic (but just as expensive!). Here’s the initial design. Water from the display and frag tank will be plumbed into a 18″x 4″x 10″chamber. This should reduce water splashing noise from these returns. The water chamber overflows into the filter sock holding area and into the skimmer area of my sump. What I like about this design is that the socks can be easily removed without moving the plumbing around, unlike existing hang-on filter sock holders. I may add an additional baffle to redirect all the water, coming through the filter socks, directly to my skimmer’s pumps intake nozzle. This should really make my filter system work at it’s optimum potential.

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