Tank Management

[virginreef]

Good Day all,

I'm new to the hobby; looking for feedback on a couple of things.
I currently own a 32g biocube; cycled about a month ago... it been up and running since Nov 12th.

Changes made:
Upgraded stock lights to Steve's LED's about a month and a half ago - haven't quite gotten to the desired settings as of yet.

Added a chiller about 2 weeks ago (difficult bringing the temperature down below 80)
replaced stock baskets with ntank fuge and media basket for Coralife and a
currently using chemi-pure blue media bag

currently: have a brown algae issue; I acclimated the lights by going up a notch every other day, but do to the algae, I took it back down... not as much algae this go round, but not completely gone either.

The way-a-head
I currently have a nano sump that I would like to install at the bottom of my tank stand, along with a overflow pump and Eshopps Protein Nano 10-35G skimmer. Don't like the skimmer I currently have.
If I decide to remove the hood on my biocube (I know I just purchased Steves LED's) however I do like the look of the open tank.
- any ideas on the best lights to achieve maximum growth in the tank and color pop?
- would you recommend keeping the hood and working with the Steves LED's?
- With the sump, any idea where to place the out/return tubes from the chiller, (remain on back of tank or placed them in the sump)?
As for dosing:
Anyone have experience with the Polyb lap 1? will this be better then getting the individual dosing. I;ve read the directions on the Polyb lab 1; content has to be shaken well before dosing... don't think that can take place using a dosing machine. The idea of have a dosing machine hooked up does not less bothersom.

Appreciate your time and attention.

 

[GoVols]

Good Day all,

I'm new to the hobby; looking for feedback on a couple of things.
I currently own a 32g biocube; cycled about a month ago... it been up and running since Nov 12th.

Changes made:
Upgraded stock lights to Steve's LED's about a month and a half ago - haven't quite gotten to the desired settings as of yet.

Added a chiller about 2 weeks ago (difficult bringing the temperature down below 80)
replaced stock baskets with ntank fuge and media basket for Coralife and a
currently using chemi-pure blue media bag

currently: have a brown algae issue; I acclimated the lights by going up a notch every other day, but do to the algae, I took it back down... not as much algae this go round, but not completely gone either.

The way-a-head
I currently have a nano sump that I would like to install at the bottom of my tank stand, along with a overflow pump and Eshopps Protein Nano 10-35G skimmer. Don't like the skimmer I currently have.
If I decide to remove the hood on my biocube (I know I just purchased Steves LED's) however I do like the look of the open tank.
- any ideas on the best lights to achieve maximum growth in the tank and color pop?
- would you recommend keeping the hood and working with the Steves LED's?
- With the sump, any idea where to place the out/return tubes from the chiller, (remain on back of tank or placed them in the sump)?
As for dosing:
Anyone have experience with the Polyb lap 1? will this be better then getting the individual dosing. I;ve read the directions on the Polyb lab 1; content has to be shaken well before dosing... don't think that can take place using a dosing machine. The idea of have a dosing machine hooked up does not less bothersom.

Appreciate your time and attention.

Lights:
I'd lose the hood, and mount a Red Sea ReefLED 50 or an 90...

ReefLED 50 LED Light Fixture

Reef-Spec Light Output For Optimal Coral Growth & Coloration Over the past few years, Red Sea has dedicated a lot of time to testing and researching LED lighting, and the culmination of those efforts resulted in the ReefLED 50. Designed for optimal growth, while producing great coloration with a...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

ReefLED 90 LED Light Fixture

Reef-Spec Light Output For Optimal Coral Growth & Coloration Over the past few years, Red Sea has dedicated a lot of time to testing and researching LED lighting, and the culmination of those efforts resulted in the ReefLED 90. Designed for optimal growth, while producing great coloration with a...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

The only thing I use with Poly-labs is their Reef Roids coral food.

Might want to look into Tropic Marin "All-For-Reef", could be a nice fit with your small reef.

All-For-Reef

Tropic Marin All-For-Reef is a revolutionary approach to dosing, combining calcium, alkalinity, and other trace elements into a single, easy to use solution. It's no longer necessary to maintain two, three, or four solutions, or a complicated reactor. All-For-Reef is a balanced source of calcium...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Really a fan of Apex DOS pumps, but you'd need to buy a Apex controller too.
Auto dosing systems gives you day to day automation, even if your out of town.

Good luck, and Welcome to Reef 2 Reef!!

 

[Auquanut]

Just a thought. Losing the hood and adding a sump may solve the issue of needing a chiller at all. Of course your evaporation will increase dramatically.

And welcome to the family!

 

[virginreef]

Lights:
I'd lose the hood, and mount a Red Sea ReefLED 50 or an 90...

ReefLED 50 LED Light Fixture

Reef-Spec Light Output For Optimal Coral Growth & Coloration Over the past few years, Red Sea has dedicated a lot of time to testing and researching LED lighting, and the culmination of those efforts resulted in the ReefLED 50. Designed for optimal growth, while producing great coloration with a...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

ReefLED 90 LED Light Fixture

Reef-Spec Light Output For Optimal Coral Growth & Coloration Over the past few years, Red Sea has dedicated a lot of time to testing and researching LED lighting, and the culmination of those efforts resulted in the ReefLED 90. Designed for optimal growth, while producing great coloration with a...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

The only thing I use with Poly-labs is their Reef Roids coral food.

Might want to look into Tropic Marin "All-For-Reef", could be a nice fit with your small reef.

All-For-Reef

Tropic Marin All-For-Reef is a revolutionary approach to dosing, combining calcium, alkalinity, and other trace elements into a single, easy to use solution. It's no longer necessary to maintain two, three, or four solutions, or a complicated reactor. All-For-Reef is a balanced source of calcium...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Really a fan of Apex DOS pumps, but you'd need to buy a Apex controller too.
Auto dosing systems gives you day to day automation, even if your out of town.

Good luck, and Welcome to Reef 2 Reef!!

Appreciate the feedback... UT Grad class of 2005
Quick 2 question: the reviews on APEX were pretty bad on amazon. I take it you had a good experience with the product ?
This "all for reef" ... is this similar to the Polyb Labs all in one? and with the apex, i only need to use one head correct?

 

[GoVols]

Appreciate the feedback... UT Grad class of 2005
Quick 2 question: the reviews on APEX were pretty bad on amazon. I take it you had a good experience with the product ?
This "all for reef" ... is this similar to the Polyb Labs all in one? and with the apex, i only need to use one head correct?

Yeah, I've had good experience with the old Apex Classic, but have not upgraded to the newer 2016 models and up. Got DOS when it first came out, and another reefer on here still uses that pump to this day.

I really would not go with Amazon reviews regarding most reefing hardware.

ApexEL Controller System

Control Your Aquarium The ApexEL has built-in WiFi, Temperature, pH, monitoring and much more! Set reminders, log testing and dosing information, and access your tank from anywhere with Apex Fusion! Just as powerful as the flagship Neptune Systems Apex Controller but at a much more affordable...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

And each one has their pros and cons, but Apex Fusion is really nice to have, and easy to program.

Yes,
It looks like the TM "All for Reef", would use one dosing head.
I don't know anyone on here that doses the Poly-lab, but hopefully another member will chine in.

ATI Pro Essentials have been getting good review too

ATI Essentials Pro Two-Part Supplement Concentrate Complete Set #1 & #2 (2L per bottle) - Marine Depot

ATI Essentials Pro is a super concentrated two-part system that will replenish all necessary elements that reef aquariums demand and consume, at a level on par with natural seawater. With more than 20,000 water analyses, the information provided from those analyses has enabled ATI to improve...

www.marinedepot.com