Iceman's Cobalt C-Vue 40

iceman14555 · May 15, 2020

Aquavaj said:
Cool, thanks for the suggestions. I see you have the Intank media baskets. I want to get one for each side but holy snaps they're expensive. I think I'm just going to make my own.

If you have the means to do so, then go for it. I didn't want to deal with it, so I bought InTank baskets. No regrets at all, they are quality baskets and the company is super helpful.

iceman14555 · May 23, 2020

Well the tank is successfully cycled. I do have the diatom bloom still going on, but it is subsiding. Slowly but surely.

The main thing is, I added my first livestock today. A pair of black snowflake clowns. They seem to be acclimating well to their new home.

I floated them for about 15 minutes, drip acclimated for about 20 minutes and then added stress guard to the tank with them.

iceman14555 · Jun 3, 2020

Here's an update for everyone.

The tank is off to a great start. Parameters seem very stable, I have yet to conduct a water change. One is coming soon, I'm sure.

Got a small cleaner crew, but I'll probably buff it up, just want to take things slow. I also got the
Refugium going and seeded the tank with pods. Starting to get color on the rocks and the diatoms seem to be receding. The pom pom macro I got looks great and since it came in two pieces I added one to the display part for now to add a splash of color.

Next up on the to do list is, making my skimmer higher in the back, right now it is sitting way to low in the water to get good skimate. I was thinking several layers of egg crate or possibly a block of acrylic.

Anyways, seems to be off to a good start. Enjoy the video and photos.

iceman14555 · Jun 3, 2020

BubbleFett42079 · Jun 8, 2020

Great start to you Cobalt c-vue 40.

I just purchased one this past weekend. I love the 18" depth, but Cobalt made the back chamber too big at close to 5". The in display dimension falls around 12.5" which kills the reason why I wanted the 40 Breeder.

I also own the IM25 Lagoon and the rear chamber is around 3.5", which is plenty enough space.

iceman14555 · Jun 8, 2020

I8A4RE said:
Great start to you Cobalt c-vue 40.

I just purchased one this past weekend. I love the 18" depth, but Cobalt made the back chamber too big at close to 5". The in display dimension falls around 12.5" which kills the reason why I wanted the 40 Breeder.

I also own the IM25 Lagoon and the rear chamber is around 3.5", which is plenty enough space.

I actually like the bigger back, it's opened up my options for pumps, skimmers, refugiums, and whatever else I want to throw back there.

Aquavaj · Jun 10, 2020

What's the led grow light that you're using?

iceman14555 · Jun 10, 2020

Aquavaj said:
What's the led grow light that you're using?

A submersible one from Tunze. I like it so far.

Eco Chic Waterproof Refugium LED Light 8831.00

Waterproof | Efficient Recommended Spread: 14" x 8" The Tunze LED system is a full spectrum light that is super easy to mount. Mounting the light is done with a magnetic holder that can hold the light in multiple positions and orientations. The innovative design is fully waterproof and is...

www.marinedepot.com

iceman14555 · Jun 19, 2020

Well guys and gals, an update for you.

I added a few more inhabitants since the last update. A blood shrimp and a diamond Watchman goby. On the equipment side of things, my protein skimmer is starting to tick me off. It's super finicky, and one week it'll work perfectly, producing thick black skimate. The next week it wants to overflow, shoot foam and bubbles into the return pump.

I think I'll be looking into a different one. One that is more simple to operate and less finicky. I'm looking at the Tunze 9004 either in the regular or DC flavor, and the IM midsize AIO skimmer. Anyone with expertise in this area or experience with these skimmers please chime in.

iceman14555 · Jun 20, 2020

I ended up purchasing a 9004 DC after researching it and looking at recommendations posted by others here on R2R. We'll see how this goes. I'll try to get some new pics up tomorrow.

najer · Jun 20, 2020

Very nice, love your scape.

Aquavaj · Jun 20, 2020

I have the cadlights pls-50 elite 2. After a few days of breaking it in it's been creating almost a coffee colored skimmate. At times it loses its bubble foam but it has never overflowed yet. Only thing I don't really like is that the pump is a bit loud.

iceman14555 · Jun 21, 2020

najer said:
Very nice, love your scape.

Thanks, very much.

Aquavaj said:
I have the cadlights pls-50 elite 2. After a few days of breaking it in it's been creating almost a coffee colored skimmate. At times it loses its bubble foam but it has never overflowed yet. Only thing I don't really like is that the pump is a bit loud.

I actually looked into this one, and the design did not seem to different from what I have. It also seemed like it was going to be finicky and need constant adjustment. As, I said I ended up going with the Tunze 9004 DC version. I looked at many articles on it and many R2R recommendations of the product. One of the selling features is that it's almost/very close to plug and play and the built in overflow protection was a big buying factor. It was pricey, but I rather have the piece of mind.

iceman14555 · Jun 23, 2020

New pictures

iceman14555 · Jul 11, 2020

Nothing too exciting going on, did the first water change ever yesterday. Probably going to get rid of the three light setup and go to a two light, with another Ai prime. I would really like to do a Kessil 360x, but they are so darned expensive, even used.

Probably going to get another fish next week. The tank is starting very stable, still high in nitrate though.

iceman14555 · Jul 14, 2020

Some new pictures!

Today I added a new piece of live rock, it's from Fiji. Picked it up from Blue Zoo's collector corner. It's got coralline all over it, I noticed a crab and a shrimp of some sort on it this morning. I also noticed what looked like an amphipod, some sort of underwater insect looking thing crawling on the rock today. Overall, it's a nice piece and I think it'll boost my biodiversity greatly. I placed it near the back middle. I like it there, but I may change it, I'm not sure.