Ricenoodle Reefer 170 Euphyllia Paradise

[ricenoodle]

Then i realized there was a problem unknown to me before partly because this is my first time building a controller board and owning a Ecotech MP series pumps. The dry side power cord does not disconnect, and my holes were 2", and the wet side on a MP10 is 2.5"! Short of making the hole bigger i decided to take it apart the same way you do an upgrade and feed the control wire through the grommet hole that way.

Notice the cord on the right, it does not disconnect.

Flip it over, and unscrew the 3 screws on back, take off the back cover.

The front knob pull straight out and only goes in or out 1 way through the keyed slot.

Undo the connector carefully and feed it through the hole.

Reverse all the steps and seal the driver back up.

 

[ricenoodle]

Installed everything else and mounted all the equipment and here's the end result. I like it much better than shoving everything behind the stand.

 

[ricenoodle]

Let the cycle and equipment break in begin. Picked up some man made Reef rock at PK and shooting for the minimal look this time around with lots of swimming space. Had great success cycling the tank with Dr. Tim's last time so i'm using it again. Will be cycled in a week after it levels out. Programmed the Apex, setup powerheads and the control board and the Tunze ATO is so easy and accurate to use. Still getting all the chemistry to dial in numbers wise but so far everything is stable within the appropriate range. Tank is currently running at 1.025 using Fritz RPM and i'm loving this salt. No residue and super easy to mix.

 

[kinetic]

What a great build! I'm a week behind you (getting mine hopefully next week delivered). Which NYOS skimmer did you end up getting?

 

[ricenoodle]

I got the Nyos 120, the chamber is pretty big in this sump for the Reefer 170. I'm thinking even a 160 would fit but not going to change that now.

 

[kinetic]

I got the Nyos 120, the chamber is pretty big in this sump for the Reefer 170. I'm thinking even a 160 would fit but not going to change that now.

Any concerns that it might be oversized? I used to run skimmers that were way too oversized (total water volume wise) and they never pulled any skimmate after awhile. There was just a really perfect sweetspot.

That's one of the last pieces of equipment I don't have yet, just because I can't decide what to get. I've been looking at the Simplicity 120. It's a DC pump too that you can adjust, so it has a lot of different adjustments that might work out, and being a DC pump should be fairly quiet. I've seen a lot of people with great success with the Bubble Magus Curve 5 too, and even the extremely affordable IceCap k2-50. I can't believe that thing works so well, it's tiny.

 

[ricenoodle]

For sure the Nyos 120 is a good fit, could always use it for a future upgrade and it would still handle it. I have a Curve 5 sitting in the garage that won't get used on this tank because this Nyos skimmer rocks.

 

[NYC_Reef]

Where do you keep the controller board relative to the tank stand, just propped up next to it? Would there have been enough room to mount the equipment within the 170 stand?

 

[ricenoodle]

Where do you keep the controller board relative to the tank stand, just propped up next to it? Would there have been enough room to mount the equipment within the 170 stand?

Yes there probably would have been enough room inside the stand if i decided to mount everything inside, would have been too much clutter for my taste. The board currently is next to the stand, painted to match. Down the road i will redo it with smoked glass and into a cabinet, for now it is only temporary but also have to be pleasing to the eye.

 

[ricenoodle]

Been a busy week! Dialed everything in, tank is fully cycled using Dr. Tim's and all levels are stable. Stopped by AquaSD and left with a HUGE box of goodies. Always love supporting small businesses especially one with the best livestock hands down in SD. Thanks Will! Everything is acclimating for a few days while adjusting to the lighting and flow. Next update coming soon!

 

[ricenoodle]

Everything is still adjusting and acclimating to the tank's conditions but here's a peek.

 

[kinetic]

Wow that's a lot of corals. did you buy them that large, or did they grow out in the tank? Couldn't have grown out that fast right? Pretty awesome.

 

[ricenoodle]

Wow that's a lot of corals. did you buy them that large, or did they grow out in the tank? Couldn't have grown out that fast right? Pretty awesome.

Being in the military i don't have time to watch frags grow as every 3 years i'm moving. So it's always been colonies to get the full blown look for as long as possible before being broken down and i hate seeing frag plugs

 

[kinetic]

Being in the military i don't have time to watch frags grow as every 3 years i'm moving. So it's always been colonies to get the full blown look for as long as possible before being broken down and i hate seeing frag plugs

That's really great. Tough to keep moving, especially with a tank!

 

[ricenoodle]

Picked up a few more colonies of various hammers plus a nice colony of gold Aussie hammer, my euphyllia garden is coming along nicely.

 

[ricenoodle]

Added a few more pieces, almost there.

 

[ricenoodle]

Almost there. GFO and carbon reactors are tuned and running perfectly.

Picked up a Hannah magnetic stirrer today to stir the Kalkwasser and it's great to use. Didn't feel like stirring everyday so it's definitely worth the money to save the hassle.

This Nyos skimmer is a beast, this is 1 day of skimming, coffee black and it smells if i don't clean it out every 3 days. Totally impressed.

 

[ricenoodle]

My pair of clowns

 

[ricenoodle]

HUGE update coming soon after everything acclimated but I've done RBTA's dominated tank, mixed reef, acans dominated, so for this one i've decided to do a Euphyllia tank. I love LPS and the moving motion of everything so as soon as things settled, i'll get an update up.

 

[kinetic]

HUGE update coming soon after everything acclimated but I've done RBTA's dominated tank, mixed reef, acans dominated, so for this one i've decided to do a Euphyllia tank. I love LPS and the moving motion of everything so as soon as things settled, i'll get an update up.

Oh sounds like fun! Yeah you're going to have some beautiful motion for sure.