OP
OP
IchthyChris
Aquarium Advice Regular
So I've had the prototype running for over 6 months now and it is very low maintenance! The biggest flaw is the multi pumps. If one pump grate clogs with detritus then one side will drain faster than the other. So the pumps have to be cleaned regularly and since I made the compartments barely bigger than my hand its hard to pull them out n replace them without breaking some glue. Had to patch one side with some epoxy.
Also my "window to the inner world" is plexiglass. I can't keep the calcareous algae off it and it scratches easily. I can't really see through it very well but it is a great copepod breeder. I've had a mandarin for a couple months and he's as happy as ...the clam I also added.
One more downside is that the wall is not removable so all frags have to be glued underwater.
All in all though, I'd say its a success. The tank is mostly LPS and zoas plus one Kenya,one finger leather, a couple gorgonians, one hammer, some favs, and first SPS's: a millepora and lepastrea. My custom lights, which everyone said don't do, are 3 daylight 100 watt spiral bulbs and 2 blue spiral "party lights". They are on a timed system with the blues coming on an hour before and after the day lights which run for 9 hours. Everything seems happy and some critters have actually colored up since I bought them.
The biggest things I would change is the scale and maybe make the wall sloped more and in separate stackable pieces.
Also my "window to the inner world" is plexiglass. I can't keep the calcareous algae off it and it scratches easily. I can't really see through it very well but it is a great copepod breeder. I've had a mandarin for a couple months and he's as happy as ...the clam I also added.
One more downside is that the wall is not removable so all frags have to be glued underwater.
All in all though, I'd say its a success. The tank is mostly LPS and zoas plus one Kenya,one finger leather, a couple gorgonians, one hammer, some favs, and first SPS's: a millepora and lepastrea. My custom lights, which everyone said don't do, are 3 daylight 100 watt spiral bulbs and 2 blue spiral "party lights". They are on a timed system with the blues coming on an hour before and after the day lights which run for 9 hours. Everything seems happy and some critters have actually colored up since I bought them.
The biggest things I would change is the scale and maybe make the wall sloped more and in separate stackable pieces.
