New Setup - Fluval Flex 32.5 Marine Temperature

[#R_TST]

I’m considered setting one up as a refugium when my tank becomes a little more established.

I'm curious how you will set up the refugium?

 

[marcwjj]

I have intank media baskets on both sides,

Left (up to bottom): filter pad -> chaeto and a few live rock rubbles -> chemipure elite
Right (up to bottom): filter pad -> purigen -> activated carbon

I attached a grow light at the back of the tank that turns on at night to grow chaeto.

I'm actually considering of removing a shelf and make a larger section for chaeto, since the purigen and activated carbon are supposed to achieve the same thing??

 

[#R_TST]

I have intank media baskets on both sides,

Left (up to bottom): filter pad -> chaeto and a few live rock rubbles -> chemipure elite
Right (up to bottom): filter pad -> purigen -> activated carbon

I attached a grow light at the back of the tank that turns on at night to grow chaeto.

I'm actually considering of removing a shelf and make a larger section for chaeto, since the purigen and activated carbon are supposed to achieve the same thing??

Do you have any issues withe cheating getting in the pump?

 

[#R_TST]

I have intank media baskets on both sides,

Left (up to bottom): filter pad -> chaeto and a few live rock rubbles -> chemipure elite
Right (up to bottom): filter pad -> purigen -> activated carbon

I attached a grow light at the back of the tank that turns on at night to grow chaeto.

I'm actually considering of removing a shelf and make a larger section for chaeto, since the purigen and activated carbon are supposed to achieve the same thing??

@marcwjj do you have any issues with chaeto getting in the pump? Do you think copepods would do ok in the chamber?

 

[marcwjj]

@marcwjj do you have any issues with chaeto getting in the pump? Do you think copepods would do ok in the chamber?

My chaeto chamber is “sandwiched “ between the filter pad and chemipure bag, so they can’t escape into the middle area where the pump is. If they grow too much, I plan to prune and throw the surplus (though this hasn’t happened yet, I actually had the opposite problem of some chaeto rotting away, because initially I did not use filter pad on top and the detritus got trapped into the chaeto and rot inside)
I’ve recently started dosing chaeto Gro and will see if it help the chaeto to thrive.

 

[marcwjj]

@marcwjj do you have any issues with chaeto getting in the pump? Do you think copepods would do ok in the chamber?

Re. Copepods, that’s why I added a few live rock rubbles. To be honest I can’t see copepods easily in the media baskets or back chamber but I’m pretty sure there would be some, since my dragonet goby is still surviving after 3 months.

 

[Davos2911]

Ive had the fluval flex marine 123l for about 4 months. Here is a small video of its current state.

 

[EnigmaticBrew]

I started up a new all-in-one fluval flex marine 32.5. I’m using the factory 3.0 lighting and hood. I‘m still cycling the tank. The temp fluctuates between 79 (no light) to 82(with light). 82 seems borderline high to me. I’d rather not remove the hood permanently. Anyone else had this concern with the Flex? And advice?

Here is my fluval marine tank. I've had it up since summer. Have not upgraded the lighting yet but my corals have been doing good.

 

[Willardpease3]

This is how I did my with a HOB refugium. I ended up using culerpa as the chaeto was getting into the display.. mighty mini pump feeding both the fuge and return. Mp10 for added current. I want to ditch the fluval lights and run 2 xr15 pros. But I have decent growth this far

 

[norner]

This is how I did my with a HOB refugium. I ended up using culerpa as the chaeto was getting into the display.. mighty mini pump feeding both the fuge and return. Mp10 for added current. I want to ditch the fluval lights and run 2 xr15 pros. But I have decent growth this far

Looks good! How did add the fans? And how much is the evaporation now Weekly?

and do You run without skimmer?

 

[AirIck]

This is the SOLUTION.

@wonroc would you mind walking me through how you did this? I'm not very handy at all and i'm brand new to reefing and I'm terrified damaging the lid but I definitely need help in reducing the temperature. How'd you cut holes in that piece? What type of fans are those did you buy? Are the fans resting on top or are they mounted/glued somehow?

 

[AirIck]

Looks good! How did add the fans? And how much is the evaporation now Weekly?

and do You run without skimmer?

@Willardpease3 i'm very interested in how you added the fans as well. i'm not very handy but I definitely need to figure out how to regulate this temperature quickly.

 

[AirIck]

I’ve had a flex 123 since May 2020 and I’m also running into heat issues. I drilled holes in the lid above the light and heat does escape through them but not enough. I added a clip on fan (glued it to the ato magnet) and that worked well until the fan got wet or the magnet crapped it out. Not sure if I’ll go with another fan or cut the lid more. The fan was another thing to be plugged in and cutting the lid is risky. I’ve got a digital thermometer coming because the two glass ones I have show different readings. Then I’ll do some testing and post my results.

What did you end up doing to reduce the temp?

 

[rvs2112]

I started up a new all-in-one fluval flex marine 32.5. I’m using the factory 3.0 lighting and hood. I‘m still cycling the tank. The temp fluctuates between 79 (no light) to 82(with light). 82 seems borderline high to me. I’d rather not remove the hood permanently. Anyone else had this concern with the Flex? And advice?

I had to buy a chiller and removed the heater altogether.

 

[rvs2112]

I had to buy a chiller and removed the heater altogether.

I cannot find the optional additional light for this either.

 

[wonroc]

@wonroc would you mind walking me through how you did this? I'm not very handy at all and i'm brand new to reefing and I'm terrified damaging the lid but I definitely need help in reducing the temperature. How'd you cut holes in that piece? What type of fans are those did you buy? Are the fans resting on top or are they mounted/glued somehow?

Remove the small rear plastic fuge cover. I used a dremel sanding bit to open up the hole a bit so the fan could completely blow in. Just remove some fan screws and attach through the plastic, fitting the fans screwed in. Link the two fans together and plug into inkbird controller. I also unscrewed the metal guard on the fans. Dont want it rusting into the tank. Set the temps on the controller and your set. If the fans die in a year, you can replace for 10 bucks.

 

[Benjammin]

What did you end up doing to reduce the temp?

Small computer fan and an inkbird temperature regulator (heating/cooling) from Amazon. Get the regulator that uses a plastic coated probe, the metal ones rust over time.

 

[Deago]

You're going to find a lot of compatriots in the biocube community. Any of these AIO tanks with a lid definitely suffer from high temp swings with the lid closed and lights on. A lot of biocube users end up propping the lid open, cutting new vents or installing a nano-chiller. The cheapest solution that keeps the lid is to retrofit a small fan onto it somewhere and have it blow fresh air into the tank. You can have the fan run on a temp controller or just a timer with the lights. Nano chillers are little less DIY, but are much more expensive in the $150-300 range.

82F is borderline high, but there's tons of tanks that reach that temp without issue too, so I wouldn't stress over it too much if you don't think it's at risk of getting even hotter depending on the time of year.

I'm going through this right now as we speak debating if I should get a chiller myself
Cycling process right now temperature got up to 86-87. I've propped the hood with some lid risers. Dropped the temp to 82-84