My Slice of Nature (Part 3)

[SubzeroLT]

Added a new anemone. Moved an IP camera to monitor it just in case it moves & able to shut off the wavemakers remotely. Paranoid.

 

[SubzeroLT]

Some recent pics with yellow filter lens.

Fiji Pipe Organ. Previously purchased from fellow reefer MarCal

 

 Got this from Coral Fanatics. Gonio garden from Makassar (Indonesia)

 

Top view

 

Anemone all shriveled up as the lights dim out. 

 

Using these to block the clam from falling off the rock scape.

 

From Allyboy. I should grow this on some 3D printed structure

 

New addition. Scooter Blenny.

 

Someone asked what I dose. This :

 

 

 

 

[Gary943]

Hi, I’m new to reef tank and I also DIY a second hand tank. Initial I wanted to continue to keep fresh water fish decided to redo everything including replace the heavy duty aluminium stand to heavy duty custom make cabinet , compartment t the sump. Family and friend later encourage me to try reef tank , so it end up a massive project, 3 moth and I still constructing base on my many yrs of fresh water keeping experience.

1) main tank a L177 crystal tank approx 6ft x 2.3 x 2.

2) sump tank 150 x 48 x 42 cm

3) external under gravel filtration tank 24 x 60 x 27 inch

didn’t take much pic , will visit the piping shop , hope is still around since the tread is so many years back.

[SubzeroLT]

On 11/7/2023 at 10:35 AM, Gary943 said:

Hi, I’m new to reef tank and I also DIY a second hand tank. Initial I wanted to continue to keep fresh water fish decided to redo everything including replace the heavy duty aluminium stand to heavy duty custom make cabinet , compartment t the sump. Family and friend later encourage me to try reef tank , so it end up a massive project, 3 moth and I still constructing base on my many yrs of fresh water keeping experience.

1) main tank a L177 crystal tank approx 6ft x 2.3 x 2.

2) sump tank 150 x 48 x 42 cm

3) external under gravel filtration tank 24 x 60 x 27 inch

didn’t take much pic , will visit the piping shop , hope is still around since the tread is so many years back.

That's a huge tank!

The shop Hai Cheong at Kallang is still around.

[Gary943]

On 11/8/2023 at 8:51 PM, SubzeroLT said:

That's a huge tank!

The shop Hai Cheong at Kallang is still around.

Thank you, visited them , they sell in 6m length. If in the beginning I will buy, now almost done , so find others alternative.

 

[SubzeroLT]

Tank husbandary hasn't been tip top the past few months with work & family commitments. Coral colors dropped and were more scusceptible to infection (more on that later). Time to step up on proper system maintenance & operations. One of the first things I was looking at was a good quality, wifi-connected doser for dosing trace elements.

A recent brand that is gaining popularity is Reef Factory. I've been following the brand since they started in 2019. Along the way, they introduced several "Smart Devices". The recent buzz is all about IoT (Internet of Things), having interconnected sensors and data communication & data analytics. In the past year, I've tried their ICP testing and they have a nicely integrated mobile app. Products are stable with good local support from ReefMarket.

Got the reasonably priced Reef Factory Dosing Pump X3.

 

Small & compact size

 

Dosing heads are packed seperately.

 

To install the dosingg heads, align the tabs of the dosing head to the grooves in the doser body. And rotate anti clockwise.

 

I'm mounting mine on an aluminum profile. Used the provided hole template as spacing reference. BTW, there is an acrylic stand available but I didn't get that.

 

User manual available. Scan QR code from instructions sheet to access it.

 

Note there is a small magnet in one of the dosing head packs. This is to factory reset the unit by placing on the 'reset' label on doser body.

 

The setup via the mobile app is quite simple. Details in the instruction manual. In any case, its quite simple :

1. Add device via the mobile app
2. Prime the tubes (they call it "Fill the circuit")
3. Calibrate the pump. Use either a measuring cyclinder (~ 10ml needed. Not provided) or a good quality weighing scale.
4. Set the dosing schedule

Some pics : 

Priming the tube with RODI water in prep for calibrating the pump

 

Software is quite intuitive

 

 

For the calibration, it'll pump slightly less than 10ml. Just input the volume you get into the app.

  

 

This was a pic for Pump B (8.3). Pump C was 8.6

 

Then define the next calibration reminder. Typically 1-3 months cadence is about right. But as this is a new set of tubes, I will recheck it in one week.

 

Dosing schedule is also quite simple to generate a 1st pass list. From the template, I fine tuned it to skip some a few doses in the middle of the night. And dose a bit more during peak lighting hours.

 

Finally rename the pumps & specify the volume in the dosing container so the app will notify you when its empty.

 

The beauty of this doser is that its possible to export the logs. My plan is to double check the doses made vs the weight of the bottle after a few days. This would be a simple way to check accuracy of the dose. If there is any drift or intended change, its possible to set a % offset in the app.  Pretty cool.  

 

All set & running the past week week already. Loving it. 

 

 

[SubzeroLT]

Some random pics :

Monti area. They help shade the acan colony underneath. As mentioined in Tank Talks interview with Reef Monster boss, too much light will cause them to turn reddish.

Next : Looking to add some sunburst montipora.

 

Recent trachy addition from Aquamarin :

 

Not a great picture but this was one of the brightest yellow tip torch I've ever had. I'm told from Coral Fanatics folks these were hand picked from their recent trip to Bali. Surprisingly decent price for this quality.