I received my stand and cabinet from
@Billdogg a couple of weeks ago, but I've been quite busy with work and home life, so the frag system had to sit idly. However, I was able to begin work on it within the last week.
As you can see below, the light bars that I installed are quite bright. They are linkable LED modules from The Home Depot, and they have two brightness settings, which provide more-than-adequate visibility. The white paint on the inside helps reflect the light, which which the black paint on my current stand reduced. There is also a thick layer of Flex Seal on the bottoms of both the stand and cabinet, which will reduce the chances of water touching the floor should a leak arise. The leak detectors that I have connected to my Apex will continue to provide redundancy against possible water damage.
I ordered a Trigger Systems 10g Triton ATO reservoir, which is well-made. It has engraved markings to indicate how many gallons are remaining, an adjustable opening for cords to prevent evaporation, a clear lid to prevent evaporation, and a John Guest fitting to allow the passthrough of tubing to cleanly connect the pump to the sump.
I ordered rigid tubing to install my PMUP, which keeps it from toppling over in the reservoir, and it provides a better aesthetic.
Sadly, I have been battling dinoflagellates (Ostreopsis), which you can see in the following video and image.
Unfortunately, they took the life of my Hawkin's Acropora echinata.
I picked up a 57-watt Aqua Ultraviolet UV sterilizer, which I connected to the display of my current system. It's sitting in a spare 20g aquarium so that any possible leaks will be contained. Happily, I have not identified any leaks.
When I checked on my system the morning after installing the UV sterilizer, the only signs of dinoflagellates were on my Flipper algae scraper. So, this UV sterilizer will be moving over to the frag system as soon as I transfer the corals to it.
I picked up some John Guest fittings to install on my DŌS' heads to help prevent air bubbles in the tubes because the tubing that came with my DŌS units seems to allow air in at the connections and at the connections of my dosing containers. I'm hoping that this solution will prevent that. In the process, I learned that you do not have to cut the cone off of the connection at the DŌS if you install the tube in the fitting
before connecting the fitting to the DŌS.
I plan to paint the back of the aquarium this weekend, but it depends on what the weather in Columbus, OH does.
Also, I will be deciding what fish to order from Mike at
Quarantined Fish. He has a Six-Line for me, which is currently going through his quarantine process; I need to make a decision soon so that he can obtain the fish that I decide on. I'm thinking of a damsel, or two, since they will likely be able to hold their own against the Six-Line and vice versa. If you have any suggestions for fish, then I'd love for you to present them.
