Sam's Oceanic 120 - DIY solutions

[Projects with Sam]

I really like this!

Thanks! I've since stopped using it though! have been experimenting just recirculating the skimmer off-gasses back into the air-intake. Works the same smell-wise. I just took an 1" long piece of hard tubing, heat bent it 90 degrees and put one end into soft tube that ran down to the skimmer-pump air intake; the other end, with the bent tube, fits perfectly into one of the holes in the top of the skimmer lid.

I didn't bother taping the other holes because there shouldn't be excess air... I mean it'll put out no more air then it takes in so it will stay in equilibrium and no smelly air will leave the other holes in the skimmer lid.

 

[Projects with Sam]

Photo dump, new corals!
Odd place for the blenny but he stayed up there for as long as he could:


cyphastrea: (good video about their care)


gold hammer:


red/purple montipora:


poclipora: (great care video)


galaxea: (all about)


Tank Shots:


Fish in QT:
Scooter Blenny
Canary Blenny
hmm all blenny 120 - haha rhymes...
maybe I should have done a nano tank...

ack...my cute little yellow blenny hides those monster fangs!

When I added the second algae Blenny, the larger one seemed to tolerate it - he'll occasionally charge the other algae blenny but otherwise no fighting, thank goodness. And the cleaner shrimp seems to be on the mend! And I won a contest! It has been a great day!

 

[Projects with Sam]

Now offering aquarium products for sale online:

7" Filter sock holder for a 150 gallon Stock tank

7" Filter sock holder for a 150 gallon Stock tank

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Projects with Sam]

So I saw a really good deal on an MP40 but it was in a questionable state regarding whether I could repair it or not.
I am happy to say I was able to!
It needed a new wet-side and I had to crack it open and replace the bearings (@ $1/bearing). There was some rust/mineralization making it super hard to get apart without tweaking anything. Once inside, I was able to mitigate that and replace the bearings. Thanks AVID! The bearings I needed I got from a post here.

Once I got the pump back together I feared I needed to replace the driver too because it would operate for a moment then go to full power and just blast everything. Turns out all I needed to do was reset it.



Yay! I have to pinch myself I have an MP40 and I cant even say how much I got it for because it was a stupid deal. need to figure out how to tie it into my Apex!

Oh... also for what they charge, I am unimpressed with Eco Tech Marine Customer service... granted I'm so po-dunk only spending $120 to get a wet side and 12V patch cable...
It took them 5 days to tell me their 12V cable was backordered till the 18th. Then they wouldn't split the shipment to get the wet side to me ASAP despite the cable only costing a few dollars to put in an envelope (I would have paid extra if they even cared to ask). It would have taken over 3 weeks to get the part so I cancelled the order. It took them a few hours to do that.
I think they're resting on their laurels and I'm unimpressed. When I look at all the MP10s and MP40s, they all seem to have frayed cables where on the dry-side. despite these pumps being on the market for over 10 years they still have not fixed this issue. Lack of innovation/improvement is what will allow other manufacturers to erode their market share and prominence as a top-tier supplier of aquarium products.
Granted, my view is myopic and limited solely to my experience with this one product - I have not researched the company or their other products.
I am impressed with their videos, documentation, and a bunch of other things like being able to get parts, and that there is service in place to begin with! So, I don't want this to be completely negative... I am the one who sought out the product so there is a lot of merit in that.

 

[Projects with Sam]

Now that I think about this all; It may be charma... The other day my kid gouged someone else's car when he went to open his door in a parking lot... I showed him responsibility and we left a note for the other person and we are paying for the damage to their car despite being able to just pull away and carry on with our day... Since my decision to do that, a ton of cool stuff has been happening. could also just be coincidence...

 

[Projects with Sam]

Traded some custom 3D printing services with a local refer for some more awesome coral!

I got some Seachem zooplankton and phytoplankton to help feed the corals and copepods.
Cant believe I got my 4-channel doser in the stand!

I set it up to do my kalkwasser in the mornings.
My BRS 2-part starter pack arrives Saturday along with all the calibration fluids for my apex probes.
So stoked but am spending more on my hobby then initially intended.
Its crazy how easy it is to justify the expenses.

cleaner shrimp molted! I think he is ready to go to DT after I sump the purple dottyback.

and I finally did a water test:

Nitrate	0
Phosphate	0.015
Magnesium	1365
Calcium	410
Alkalinity	10.1

I am feeding over 3 cubes of frozen food daily and 3 types of pellets get auto-dropped 5 times daily

 

[Projects with Sam]

New version of my DIY Filter Floss Roller. It's basically the same as the earlier one, just narrower so the water-weight isn't as much. I've also 3D printed the float switch holder and glues strips down both sides so mis-aligned filter floss isn't as big of an issue. Its pretty hard to load so I am probably going to go through another revision process after running this roll of floss.

Oh, and the back board is actually PVC trim, not ceiling tile laminate so it should be a little more ridged. The next version will be in two parts, one part will be the basket with perforations, the filter floss and roller will be in a part that just drops into the basket so it will be super easy to reload and make modifications.

 

[jsker]

New version of my DIY Filter Floss Roller. It's basically the same as the earlier one, just narrower so the water-weight isn't as much. I've also 3D printed the float switch holder and glues strips down both sides so mis-aligned filter floss isn't as big of an issue. Its pretty hard to load so I am probably going to go through another revision process after running this roll of floss.

You cannot beat a good DIY version

 

[Projects with Sam]

Sumped my purple Dottyback and promoted the following to the DT:
cleaner shrimp
court jester goby
green line goby
scooter blenny
cannary blenny

It'll be a much more peaceful tank

 

[Projects with Sam]

Installed MKII DIY Filter Floss Roller. I made one last modification to it that I think will be very useful...

I will probably replace the stainless screws with 3D printed plastic, or I may just buy some Nylon screws at Menards.

I saw a little glowing thing in the sand the other day so I fished it out and glued it to a frag. I think its a baby neon green hammer coral: (I saw it the night after I added the hammer corals.)

 

[Sean Clark]

Is that just easier access?

 

[Projects with Sam]

Is that just easier access?

Yes, I used clear plastic from a muffin container to make the window. Its nice but the skimmer all but blocks the view. At least I can get my hand in there now to attach it to the sump bulkheads and reload filter floss.
before I used a long, flexible plastic ceiling tile retainer-thing that I cut to be flat to thread-through the floss-path, then I taped the end of the floss to it to pull through.
With the hand-access It may be way easier to reload but still need to take out skimmer.

 

[Projects with Sam]

Roller floss filter is performing awesome. I cranked the float-switch up so the water level inside the filter is about 2" above sump level or about 1/2" above the window and the roller is having no problem handling the load. If anything I need to remove the shims on the back I used to angle the roller to get the floss to stay aligned towards the back.
Just watched the 2-part dosing instructions and am thinking about setting that all up. Though, I am tempted to take kalkwasser further before adding 2-part. What are people's recommendations? all 2-part or mix the two?

My NPs arrive today... so excited. Also, going to CMAS this Saturday.
I'll be signing my 2' thumbs-up posters for people if you bring yours.

 

[Projects with Sam]

I Just installed the two Noopsyche K7 V3s that I ordered and they are insane! totally changed the way light filters down to the scape. If I thought my tank looked good before, this is another story. It looks like the ocean! The shimmer these lights make is fantastic; you see the shafts of light and shadow rippling through the water. I cant wait to get the third fixture. And I need to figure out the remote. Unboxing and images forthcoming.

 

[Projects with Sam]

So ever since I installed my Filter Floss Roller my ORP trend has been dropping. now its around the 300 range.

 

[Sean Clark]

So ever since I installed my Filter Floss Roller my ORP trend has been dropping. now its around the 300 range.

I would give it a while (like a few days) to settle in. It should stabilize back at your previous normal level.

 

[Projects with Sam]

wow! I've been living in the dark ages. I just spent the better part of an hour and a half watching my lights cycle down.
My old lighting setup had 3-ish settings. Blues on, whites on, T5s on. You could kind of dim the blues or the whites manually but that was it. Being able to have a program that changes all the levels independently on a schedule is a game changer. The new Noopsyche K7 V3s have given me a whole other side or aspect of my tank that is new and exciting. I cant wait to check in on the tank throughout the day tomorrow to see what time it is on the reef! albeit a very algae encrusted reef...

 

[Sean Clark]

wow! I've been living in the dark ages. I just spent the better part of an hour and a half watching my lights cycle down.
My old lighting setup had 3-ish settings. Blues on, whites on, T5s on. You could kind of dim the blues or the whites manually but that was it. Being able to have a program that changes all the levels independently on a schedule is a game changer. The new Noopsyche K7 V3s have given me a whole other side or aspect of my tank that is new and exciting. I cant wait to check in on the tank throughout the day tomorrow to see what time it is on the reef! albeit a very algae encrusted reef...

This is the way.

 

[Projects with Sam]

I did not get to check on the tank throughout the day. I, instead went to CMAS and got a ton of new livestock. Its all in QT now, as are the new coral frags.

I forgot all the corals so maybe people can help me out when I post better pics of them. I went a little nuts with the dips because a few of the corals had worms, which I am trying to keep out of my tank, one of the frags was dripping flatworms too...

SO I got a bunch of astrea snails,
a banded coral shrimp
another emerald crab,
an arrow crab
and a peppermint shrimp.
I also got 4 Lyretail anthias.

So, I'm pretty excited; the anthias have already been in QT for 8 weeks according to Tom @ Mermaids Cove.

Nonetheless, I didn't want to deal with acclimating too much so I matched their salinity in my QT and put the fish there for observation. The crustaceans, snails, and corals I put my other QT and hooked up a Galaxy Hydro light.

I'll up the fish's salinity tomorrow and promote them to the DT if all looks well with them; they've already eaten a bunch.

 

[Projects with Sam]

Ok, and here is a series of photos of the tank with the new Noopsyche K7 V3 lights at various settings with random filter on my phone camera (I also took a bunch on my big camera):