*d2mini's 200g Reeftastic Reef - Part Deux!*
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thejuggernaut
Active Member
So do you use some sort of reference for white balance, or do you just eye ball it to where it looks good to you. Also, what kind of screen do you use and is it calibrated. I was looking into an IPS panel the other day and for a nice one that was around 99% Adobe RGB were in the 700-1200 range. Geesh!
reefandriver
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Where did you purchase the large white square tank you used during the transition? I have been looking for one of those for years!<br><br>
Diesel
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It was a loaner if I'm correct.
OP
OP
d2mini
5000 Club Member
No problem man, that's why this thread is here.
I'd rather people ask questions in my thread than PM me because then nobody else gets to see the answers.
The skimmer is quiet. It's in my fish room where I have plenty of other noise, but I usually can't tell if its running without looking at it.
I just upgraded to a Mag 18 because my 12 died on me. I do not know how many watts it's pulling. All I know is it's less than the max advertised because it's dialed back.
And I agree... nice not to worry about needing a specific pump, no needle wheels to wear out, sump level doesn't matter (just needs to stay consistent), and there is only one adjustment dial. My last skimmer had 3 different adjustments to deal with.
-Logzor
2500 Club Member
No problem man, that's why this thread is here.
I'd rather people ask questions in my thread than PM me because then nobody else gets to see the answers.
The skimmer is quiet. It's in my fish room where I have plenty of other noise, but I usually can't tell if its running without looking at it.
I just upgraded to a Mag 18 because my 12 died on me. I do not know how many watts it's pulling. All I know is it's less than the max advertised because it's dialed back.
And I agree... nice not to worry about needing a specific pump, no needle wheels to wear out, sump level doesn't matter (just needs to stay consistent), and there is only one adjustment dial. My last skimmer had 3 different adjustments to deal with.
I appreciated the info! My system isn't as big as yours but I want to have a skimmer that I can move into an upgraded system in the future. I have a 150g with a 30g sump and I was thinking of getting the 30" skimmer since my stand can accommodate the height. For my system would you recommend the Mag 12 or 18?
OP
OP
d2mini
5000 Club Member
30" is good with plenty of head room left to upgrade your system.
Mag 12 works great. Just got the 18 so can't really comment on that yet.
But others say they've seen an improvement in skim.
Mag 12 works great. Just got the 18 so can't really comment on that yet.
But others say they've seen an improvement in skim.
OP
OP
d2mini
5000 Club Member
Sorry, missed these questions earlier.
They were bought from some place online but had to be bought in bulk, as they are no longer sold individually.
Cool! Cya when I cya.
I usually set a custom wb to get close in camera, but I don't worry about it too much. I shoot raw and adjust the wb in Lightroom and yes, I just eyeball it.
Diesel is correct, borrowed it from a local reefer.
They were bought from some place online but had to be bought in bulk, as they are no longer sold individually.
FrankAbagnale
Active Member
In your original thread I saw that you dosed some Zeo products for a bit and also saw that you tried out AcroPower.
Just curious if you still dose anything else on top of your calcium reactor?
Just curious if you still dose anything else on top of your calcium reactor?
OP
OP
d2mini
5000 Club Member
Nope. Never saw any benefit from AcroPower.
Between the Reefbuilders glowing review of that stuff, and the Red Sea Refractometer which I also own, I will NEVER trust one of their reviews again.
I do have some Zeo Flatworm Stop or whatever its called and I forget to dose it. This i've heard decent things about but since I always forget about it, i can't report on it at all.
I should probably hook it up to a doser.
So yeah, right now the only thing dosing is my CaRx.
OP
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d2mini
5000 Club Member
Added a lil' sumfin sumfin this weekend.... SEA SWIRLS! :bigsmile:
After going back and forth with Ed for a while (a very nice and patient business owner!) I went with the new Multi-Swirls for the upgraded motor and the fact that they come with all the fittings for multiple size outlets. 1", 3/4" and 1/2".
I gave Ed some basic dimensions, a pic and description of my eurobracing and canopy setup. He was then able to make a custom bracket and make sure they would mount securely.
He also put the hole for the power supply on the side to make sure there was going to be no issue with the canopy interfering.
It took around 2 weeks for them to ship, just like mentioned on their website.
I was notified when they shipped and they arrived pretty quickly after that.
Here's what was included.
I ordered two (one for each side of my tank) so everything is doubled.
Two Multi-Swirls, two power supplies, and two full sets of fittings.
And here is a couple pics of the Multi-Swirls...
The install went pretty quick/painless.
I had to remove the old return plumbing.
The old plumbing came through the wall and into a standard 1.5" Tee fitting. I felt this added to the overall restrictiveness of my plumbing.
The water was basically hitting a brick wall before being forced left and right.
Right after the Tee it converted down to 1". Then at the ends I had an elbow which came down and split into two 3/4 localness on each side of the tank for a total of 4 loc-lines.
This worked well for pointing the water output where I wanted it but I felt this was also probably adding a little more restriction.
So this time I went a little overboard (who, me?!) and picked up a 2.5" True Wye.
So the 1.5" return line comes through the wall, enters the 2.5" Wye, and then splits left and right into 1.5" Flex PVC.
Then right before the Multi-Swirls it converts down to 1" into a true union ball valve and then the Swirls.
Note that the Swirls are NOT submersible and your warranty will be void.
The Swirls are heavy and then with the flex pvc plumbing added on to them and the fact that the whole thing could possible rotate since I have a union on the other side of the wall, I was worried about the bracket not holding.
So i simply added a little extra support using a bungie cord supported by the same bracket that is holding my light fixture.
So that was it!
I plugged them in, they started spinning, and I was able to make minor adjustments to the output direction.
They rotate slowly back and forth 90 degrees. You can position the start/end how you want, but it will always rotate 90 degrees.
And it pauses for a few seconds at each end before starting to rotate back.
I'm pretty pleased with these so far.
Customer service has been excellent.
Shipping/Packing was excellent.
Build quality so far seems excellent.
And and I'm enjoying seeing my return flow dispersed around the tank more than before.
Below is a quick video I took of them in action.
In the vid I mention that they are "both pointed to the front of the tank" meaning that but sheer luck they happened to both me "synced". I didn't want that, so after the video i pulled the power cable on one, while the other rotated 90 degrees.
Then I plugged it back in. So now they are "Anti-Synced". When one is pointing towards the front glass, the other is pointed across the back of the tank.
Enjoy, and if you have any question I'll do my best to answer them as always.
[video]https://youtu.be/Xpl5pXZjdxg[/video]
After going back and forth with Ed for a while (a very nice and patient business owner!) I went with the new Multi-Swirls for the upgraded motor and the fact that they come with all the fittings for multiple size outlets. 1", 3/4" and 1/2".
I gave Ed some basic dimensions, a pic and description of my eurobracing and canopy setup. He was then able to make a custom bracket and make sure they would mount securely.
He also put the hole for the power supply on the side to make sure there was going to be no issue with the canopy interfering.
It took around 2 weeks for them to ship, just like mentioned on their website.
I was notified when they shipped and they arrived pretty quickly after that.
Here's what was included.
I ordered two (one for each side of my tank) so everything is doubled.
Two Multi-Swirls, two power supplies, and two full sets of fittings.
And here is a couple pics of the Multi-Swirls...
The install went pretty quick/painless.
I had to remove the old return plumbing.
The old plumbing came through the wall and into a standard 1.5" Tee fitting. I felt this added to the overall restrictiveness of my plumbing.
The water was basically hitting a brick wall before being forced left and right.
Right after the Tee it converted down to 1". Then at the ends I had an elbow which came down and split into two 3/4 localness on each side of the tank for a total of 4 loc-lines.
This worked well for pointing the water output where I wanted it but I felt this was also probably adding a little more restriction.
So this time I went a little overboard (who, me?!) and picked up a 2.5" True Wye.
So the 1.5" return line comes through the wall, enters the 2.5" Wye, and then splits left and right into 1.5" Flex PVC.
Then right before the Multi-Swirls it converts down to 1" into a true union ball valve and then the Swirls.
Note that the Swirls are NOT submersible and your warranty will be void.
The Swirls are heavy and then with the flex pvc plumbing added on to them and the fact that the whole thing could possible rotate since I have a union on the other side of the wall, I was worried about the bracket not holding.
So i simply added a little extra support using a bungie cord supported by the same bracket that is holding my light fixture.
So that was it!
I plugged them in, they started spinning, and I was able to make minor adjustments to the output direction.
They rotate slowly back and forth 90 degrees. You can position the start/end how you want, but it will always rotate 90 degrees.
And it pauses for a few seconds at each end before starting to rotate back.
I'm pretty pleased with these so far.
Customer service has been excellent.
Shipping/Packing was excellent.
Build quality so far seems excellent.
And and I'm enjoying seeing my return flow dispersed around the tank more than before.
Below is a quick video I took of them in action.
In the vid I mention that they are "both pointed to the front of the tank" meaning that but sheer luck they happened to both me "synced". I didn't want that, so after the video i pulled the power cable on one, while the other rotated 90 degrees.
Then I plugged it back in. So now they are "Anti-Synced". When one is pointing towards the front glass, the other is pointed across the back of the tank.
Enjoy, and if you have any question I'll do my best to answer them as always.
[video]https://youtu.be/Xpl5pXZjdxg[/video]
w.gurney77
Active Member
Sea swirls sweet! Creates great random flow. My acros love it.
OP
OP
d2mini
5000 Club Member
Well, never thought I'd see this... one of my several rock anemone's decided to make a meal out of the Mystery Wrasse that I've had for exactly 2.5 years. :squigglemouth:
This is the underside of his head.
That was one hungry nem.
This is the underside of his head.
That was one hungry nem.
143MPCo
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Ouch, that hurts!!!
Had the same thing happen with a Colorado nem and Lineatus fairy wrasse, seems it got a little too close... sry for your loss!
Had the same thing happen with a Colorado nem and Lineatus fairy wrasse, seems it got a little too close... sry for your loss!
Last edited:
OP
OP
d2mini
5000 Club Member
Here's a few new random pics. A little less carnage in these.
If anyone can I.D. the last one, let me know!
It's something I had in the old setup but with the mini crash last year and the stress of the rebuild, some coral didn't fare so well and have been coloring back up over the past few months.
This is one of them and I'm at a loss as to what it is/was.
AND.... I started a blog!!! :wink:
http://www.everydayreef.com
I'm going to give it a go for awhile and see what happens.
Just started so the look will probably change but this should give you a taste of what's to come. It won't be a rehash of everything you see here. But some of the important bits from here and also some unique stuff. The goal is for it to become a more concise collection of helpful tips for both reefing and reef photography. A lot of that gets lost here with all the back and forth banter and minor things posted.
If anyone can I.D. the last one, let me know!
It's something I had in the old setup but with the mini crash last year and the stress of the rebuild, some coral didn't fare so well and have been coloring back up over the past few months.
This is one of them and I'm at a loss as to what it is/was.
AND.... I started a blog!!! :wink:
http://www.everydayreef.com
I'm going to give it a go for awhile and see what happens.
Just started so the look will probably change but this should give you a taste of what's to come. It won't be a rehash of everything you see here. But some of the important bits from here and also some unique stuff. The goal is for it to become a more concise collection of helpful tips for both reefing and reef photography. A lot of that gets lost here with all the back and forth banter and minor things posted.
gettaReef
Valuable Member
Very cool blog! I really enjoyed the writeup on the sea swirls. I am strongly considering getting one when I replumb my return plumbing when I get the new return pump. I look forward to reading the blog!
