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Nox

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Nox last won the day on December 5 2016

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    Singapore
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    Singapore

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  1. I’ve never believed in hype and paid / “sponsored” reviews. Someone should do a proper test and comparison to decide once and for all if their products live up to the hype they have been given by the reefing community ... anyone wants to sponsor ?
  2. Nox

    Ian's 8

    Recently got a standalone solenoid for my calcium reactor. Reason for adding this: I used to run my co2 for 24 hours a day, but ph was quite low at night at around 7.6 measured in the morning before lights on. Now the co2 comes on only during lights on hours and the ph has went up by 0.1 to 7.7 at night. The brand of the solenoid is dennerle and should be very reliable as it is actually made in Germany. Furthermore, I can use my simple and durable tunze regulator! No need to change regulator if the solenoid fails too. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  3. Nox

    Ian's 8

    Sorry for multiple posts via Tapatalk. The bottom right hand is a peristaltic pump I was playing around with to feed my calcium reactor. Now I changed to a solenoid as the pump cannot keep up with the flow Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  4. Nox

    Ian's 8

    There's a door. It's clear so I can see inside Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  5. Nox

    Ian's 8

    Also made a heavy duty aluminium profile cupboard / enclosure for my sump. Rust and moisture resistant, and can see everything inside like a museum exhibit [emoji16] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  6. Nox

    Ian's 8

    Some updates for my corals Started using B balance daily PIF daily Zeospur weekly 50% dose for now And just decided to set my lights everything including uv 100% , red green 0%. 7 hour peak , 2 hour ramp on and off Think the Colours have improved especially the blues, probably due to the PIF With zeospur2, the brown cast on most of the sps has lightened too ! The sunset Mille looks more yellow and the brownish cast on the purple / blue stag on my lower right side has improved slightly. Will continue to monitor. Also I think I must start adding more iron , as my ssc doesn't look so green on the base. Funny though since my cherry blossom has quite some greens on the base Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  7. This is what the alert shows if power or network is cut off in your house Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  8. Can get it from kens shop , think fresh n marine also has Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  9. My first review contribution! So here is my story: After setting up my tank, everything has been running smoothly and the tank can basically be left on autopilot for weeks at a time. But what happens when I am out of the house or on holiday? How would I know that everything is running ok? Everyone knows what happens when your chiller fails or your power trips, and its usually not pretty. I have been looking for a cheaper alternative to the Apex controller system ($1k+++!) and a more fuss free solution compared to the iSocket (requires SIM card) and was recommended this product by my LFS. It is a wifi connected temperature sensor / heater, but we can use it as a temperature alarm and power monitor for our reef tanks! It is actually an intelligent heater / temperature alarm from china. However, we can ignore the heating function and use it to monitor our tank temperature and alert us if temperature is too high. Features 1. Temperature monitoring 2. Audible alarm when temperature falls out of your own specified safety range 3. Heater function that can be controlled electronically (not used for reef applications here unless your ambient temperature is too cold) Packaging Very well designed and packaged. For a china product, it far exceeded my expectations. In the box there is the main device unit, a heater rod, and dual temperature sensors Main box packing The main box with a power cord on the left, and the connections to the temperature sensor / heater on the right. The bundled wire is the temperature probe with 2x sensors. I was surprised that they include 2 sensors for reliability and redundancy. Well thought out design. The 2 numbers on the box are for indicating temperature. The top number is the heater set temperature (ignore this number) , the more important is the lower number, which is the temperature of your tank. Notice the 2 temperature probes, instead of 1. These are for redundancy and reliability. Usage At first it was quite challenging to read the instructions as they were all in chinese. But after some reading and google translate, here are the steps 1. Download the caperplus app for iphone / android 2. Create an account on the app and log in 3. Plug in the power to the main unit 4. Press the button on the right side of the box for 2-3 sec 5. Use "device add", enter your home wifi details to the app 6. It will automatically connect the device to your wifi, and you can see it under "Find new device". Click on it and it will add it to the system. App (iphone) The first screen you will see will be your tank temperature after you have set everything up The "stop heating temperature" and "average temperature" will not be accurate as it is only used when you connect and use the heater Settings You have to only make 2 settings, first is set the stop heating temperature to 20 degrees as this will disable the heater function. Second setting would be to make sure your temperature safety range is set to your requirements. If temperature falls out of that setting, there will be a beeping sound from the box and app alerts on your phone. The app also gives you history and graph of your temperature. Alert / logging functions The device works by communicating with the server every 30 minutes over your internet connection / wifi. The server checks that all is good with the device and will monitor that it is powered on and communicating properly. It requires a constant on internet connection. Your phone also must be connected to data network and internet in order to receive the alert (3g/4g/wifi). Temperature alert: If the temperature is out of the range you have set, the box will make an alarm beeping sound which you can hear in your home, and it will send an alert to your phone. The beeping sound is immediate, but the phone app alert takes about 5-10 minutes before you see the alert. Power off: If the device powers off, you will get the alert after 30 minutes if the device does not communicate with the server The only drawback to this product is the lack of configuration of alert time. It is only after 30 minutes for power and 5-10 minutes for temperature. Cost analysis This product is retailing at $98 from madpetz and other LFS, and is quite good value for money. When compared to the neptune apex system ($1400++) or an iSocket ($200-300+), it provides a good alarm for the basics: temperature and power. Overall impressions When you have a reef tank, the most important things are power supply and temperature. This device monitors and alerts you for these, and I believe it is quite a value buy for the money. I would have preferred the alert to be more immediate at maybe 5 or 10 minutes , but it may be addressed in a future software update. Otherwise, reliability is still untested as I only tried this for a few days. I would not say this is superior to the other products, but if you have no alarm / monitor, this is the cheapest solution available. The main drawback to the system is that it requires internet connection and your phone needs data connection in order to receive the alerts. But hey, the apex emails are also the same. All in all, cheap enough to buy as a monitor or as a backup to your apex / isocket monitor. It is a $100 insurance toward your thousands of dollars in livestock. Thanks for reading! Next up, peristaltic pump review...
  10. Nox

    Ian's 8

    Changed my new light program and increased intensity, so far shows great improvement in size of my LPS and leathers at the sand bed level. I need to measure the par again to see if i can boost the levels even further. The theory of this as used by david saxby is that the peaks will allow the coral to "rest" in between, to prevent over saturation during photosynthesis... Basically it is to allow higher peak par levels without burning the corals, especially good for deeper tanks. Main lighting period is for 5 hours with 4 peaks at 1/2 hour intervals. At each peak i am running my hydra 52hd at almost full power, but it didn't burn the corals as it is just touching the peak and dropping down again. Also, with my testing with UV, i am running at approximately 70% without much harmful effect. So many theories for UV browning the corals or lightening the colours, no conclusive evidence thus far for me yet. Here's an FTS for your monday blues
  11. Nox

    Ian's 8

    Following the legendary tanks
  12. Nice tank and nice meeting you that day!
  13. Nox

    Ian's 8

    Yup i just rigged some aluminium foil , need to make a hood soon
  14. Nox

    Ian's 8

    Been a few months and i haven't got time to update, but here is how everything is coming along. Here is some technical info to get those guys into equipment a bit excited Got the sump working and everything in. From left to right the stuff i got, 1. Return pumps Abyzz A400 , A200 2. Vertex FR 2.5 for rowaphos 3. Vertex dosing pump. Only dosing additives / trace at the moment, after setting up my CR. 4. Skimmer deltec sc2560 5. FR for biopellets 6. Ozone 200mg/h 7. 40w UV 8. Schuran jetstream 1 calcium reactor. Caribsea ARM media and ~20% grotech magnesium pro media Also i have 7x marine pure blocks and a whole lot of bacteria king in the right compartment under the filter wool. So far nitrates are around 0, phosphate is maintaining at around 0.02 depending on how much i feed Side shot: FTS with phone camera, have moved things around a bit so i'll take another proper picture when i got time Still a long way more to go, in terms of stocking fish and more sps
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