redmushroom

Me fixing up the aquabee return pump today. Finally got it up and running. My tank was devoid of turnover during the time that i had the pipings detached. Hope there are no casualties in the LR.

Now guys, here's the piping that i had problems getting my tank maker to agree to adjust for me. Eventually got it fixed up by myself. What needed to be done was to shorten the length of the pipe to fit the rest of the return piping, as the height of the aquabee outlet was more than that of the hydor. Glad that everything works out fine now.

Here's the specs of the aquabee 5000.. for those anxious to find out more. Its quite good i heard, and widely used among reefers here. Quite low power consumption too for a powerful pump like that...

Now, the subject of some/none controversy. My new aquabee 5000 which will serve as the new return pump for my main tank.

My dog, figo, checking out the new arrival in the house. He is my customs officer, inspecting everything, and occasionally pee-ing on items that doesn't pass his stringent checks. Oh, the chiller passed the dog sniffing test.

A closer look.....

Ok lets start with the chiller. Here's myself carrying my new toy into the house.

Ok that seems to be the end of all my correspondence with reefers who bothered to post their concern in my thread. Lemme show u guys some updates instead and get to the real business cos i am getting sick of too much typing.

Haha chill bro, i am not out here with my guns blazing. Not intending to shoot anybody, but instead hoping people can learn or draw somethin from it. i gain nothing from shooting anybody/anything in a forum and i have no intentions of doing that too. Reefing is the business in this forum here, and i will keep my scope of matters to that as strictly as i can. Cheers!!

Haha i dun think this is a chicken and egg story bro. i am sure all reefers here do not get every single item in their set-up from one sole shop. The obvious person to look for when u encounter problems and need help is to approach your tank maker, which i did. However, having said this, i agree that it is not obligatory on the tank maker's part to help you out once the set-up and installation is over. But in my eyes, the service rendered by the retailer AFTER purchase is the best measure of his service standards, and it would be up to every individual to measure that. Therefore, i leave it to you to decide if my experience would be acceptable if you were in my shoes. Once again, i stress there is no right or wrong here, just the expectations that the individual sets on his tank maker, which in my case i thought was already low enough.

Hi jervis, i bought the chiller from my tank maker, but i got my pump from another lfs as there was no stock available from my tank maker for the pump. However, as a result of this, my tank maker refused to cut short the pipings for me upon learning that the pump was not purchased from them, even though he had promised to do it for me when i eventually decide to change the return pump. My actions were also due to his suggestion that i change the return pump to an aquabee 5000 and convert the hydor L45 (which was serving as the return pump previously) to the feeder pump for my chiller which i would get in due time ( and which i already did finally last week). The $100 was the amount my tank maker wanted to charge me for getting him to deliver, and install the chiller for me. However, he suggested that it would be "better i install it myself" and that was exactly what i did, so i did not pay the $100 in the end. Hope this helps to clear any doubts u have bro.

Thanks alot bro kus, i am still very inexperienced when compared to many reefers here. Hope my tank will turn out fine and pretty though. Pop by my thread when u are free la, i will try to update as and when i can.

Yeah i agree with you bro, i kinda expected it to be like that, but i did not expect to be refused a simple service of cutting the pipe for me when i have even offered to drive down to the shop to seek his help. Guess this kinda things happen, which is why i am putting up this advice to reefers wanting to set up a new tank to consider everything properly first before facing similar experiences to mine in future. Cheers!

Hi MAG, I think there is no misunderstanding here. Its just a simple case of service not being up to my expectations, but it doesnt matter anymore. Haha no i haven put in any livestock yet. Will do so from tomorrow since my chiller is up and running already. And yup i will keep the pics coming... starting from tonight. Cheers!!

Oh and anyway guys, this issue has already been settled as i ran around yesterday to get the piping cut to fit by myself. I was very disappointed by my tank-maker's service and comments and there was no way i was going to let him do it for me after all this to prevent anymore possible "min charges for workmanship". As some bros here would know, the LFS does offer to deliver and install the chillers for them with no extra cost, and in thus doing so, i hope that this service is not only provided for people whose spending with them has been in the higher echelons. Once again, just some experience sharing since some bros here are anxious to find out. For me, this issue is over, but i will seriously need to reconsider patronising them again after these experiences. Oh and stay tuned for new pics and updates as i will be posting up all the work done over the weekend once i get home from work today!

Here's a post on my experience with an established LFS, my tank-maker. Oh, and read on ONLY if you're interested. I'll try my best to post an objective report. As you guys know, i have been shopping around for a chiller. My choice was an Artica 1/5 HP and i finally decided to get it from my tank maker. Initially, i was not offered delivery, pipings and installations. According to my tank-maker, he suggested that i install it myself becos it was very fast and easy. After making known my preference to get it installed by them, i was told that "deliver and installing at min cost $100" and that "it is not about time, is about petrol and workmanship". I accepted that such a request was not obligatory on their part, therefore i still went ahead with the order. Upon reaching the LFS, the unit was not there after payment was made and i was then offered delivery the next morning. On receipt of the chiller, i went shopping for a new return pump, my aquabee 5000 which my tank maker had no stock of. This was due to my decision to convert the current Hydor L45 return pump to the feeder for my chiller. When that was finally done, i contacted my tank maker to request for him to cut and adjust the length of my piping (as it was configured for my Hydor L45) to fit the new aquabee 5000( the 5000 was higher in height and thus the piping had to be cut shorter to fit). However, to my shock, upon hearing that the pump was not bought from them, he told me to cut it myself or get the shop that i bought the new pump from to cut it for me. I was appalled, to say the least, as after spending thousands on my set-up from them, i was refused a simple service by my tank maker even though i had offered to drive down to the shop for him to get it done for me. It was only after i refuted that they did not carry the stock that i wanted and that there were my tank-maker which i bought almost everything from was i told to come back the next evening to do it, citing busy schedules on the day. Well, personally, i feel that i was not rendered satisfactory service from my tank maker and i thought that i should share this. In fairness, it was not obligatory for them to do me these favours, but i thought that as a customer who got the set-up from them, i expected better. Probably a word of advice to reefers wanting to set up new systems is that it is best if you could get everything from the start, as once you decide to get things seperately as opposed to a whole package, the service might not be as good anymore once the tank has been set-up. Hope that mine is just an isolated case here.

Many things happened over the weekend. Over the course of upgrading the equipment in my tank and striving to improve my home for future livestock, i had quite a few experiences, more of them bad than good.

Finally.... something is arriving tonight..... Stay tuned for more updates......

Nice perculas you have there.... and the contrast from the anemones are really great! Am looking to get another clown into my tank in future to pair up with my current one... but it seems that true percs are hard to find these days.. Anyway keep it up jervis!

$60

Yeah i think i will be introducing some fishes once the chiller is up. My gf has been rather eager to see some life in the tank since its been a month now and all i have are still LR's! Anyway do drop me advice when you have any. Appreciate all bro's inputs.

Hey bro.... just read your thread. Haha seems like we are in the same situation huh regarding the chiller and cycling. My tank is also about 31deg during the day when the lights are on and 29deg when off. I'll definitely need to get my chiller before any livestock goes in so this will be done hopefully by this week. For now, i've decided to switch off the lights to keep the temp low since there's not really a need for lights now. Anyway, am surprised that your tank cycling is progressing quite fast.. considering its only 2 weeks old. My nitrate level was quite high last week when i tested it (25 mg/l) whereas yours is only 10 mg/l now. Any bros care to enlighten on why this is the case? Anyway, keep up the good work bro. Everything looks good for now. However, maybe you might want to reconsider having the maroon clown in your tank. Its quite aggresive especially to new introductions and also esp territorial in my previous experience. True percs would be a good welcome change.

Yeah bro sorry for the inactivity recently. My tank is still in its cycling phase, although in its finishing stage, so there's nothing much to say. Dun wanna bore you guys too much with equipments and some minor maintainence once in a while. But no worries bro, i'll surely be posting my first fish that swims in my part of the ocean. Meanwhile, keep a lookout at my thread for new updates that will be coming soon!!

Hi MAG, yeah i will be getting a chiller. Am currently shopping for a Artica 1/5hp. Will most probably be getting it installed by this week. Temp is too hot for my tank, esp with lights on (sometimes even 31deg celcius!! ) so the chiller has to come in soon b4 anything goes in. My cycling is probably not over yet. Tested my water jus now and here are my results: Ammonia - Undetectable Nitrite - Undetectable Nitrate - 15 mg/l What do you guys say? Think its ok to put in livestock now or should i wait for it to drop to below 5 mg/l? Oh and anyway bro.... i will be keeping some LPS and softies too. It wont be a FOWLR setup. Cheers!!

Haha..... not yet. Didn't find a need to. Only tested for Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and Phosphate so far. You need help on the english instructions? Haha lemme take a look at the box and see what they have... i believe i saw England Words. Maybe other reefers can help you too....