Tofu's IOS Peninsular

[MarcoVan]

So fast must upgrade liao?! LOL


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[tofubox]

Unfortunately not everything goes as swee even with some experience.

Came back from overseas to find two of my sps mini colonies had RTN. Main factor was probably instability with my parameters even with auto dosing. My alk went from 8.6 down to 7.4 in two nights. I reckoned I added corals too quickly.

Moving forward, gonna make some major changes to the system.

1. Adding sand, to give a more natural look and hoping it will help to stabilize the system further.

2. Changing over to a calcium reactor. Dosing is great, but i reckon for my system, a CR will improve it overall and also supplement some minor trace elements in the process. Magnesium and acropower will still be dosed automatically.

3. Rescaping to make the entire scape lower to provide more room for growth

4. Removing some fishes and replacing them with "Nano tank" suitable fishes. 

5. Limiting the types/varieties of SPS, instead of trying to collect a varied amount of sps with different requirements.

Will update with some pics with the upcoming changes.

 

 

[Darren Sim]

Nice choice of calcium reactor. Probably you can add some mg medias in the calcium reactor so you don’t have to auto dose your MG. 

[tofubox]

yeah i thought about adding mag, but realise its going to be hard to control with that 10% mag ratio as I would like to keep mag higher at 1440. I might do both actually, adding mag and auto dose to keep it up. 

[Darren Sim]

That’s true. Looking forward to your new scape.

[tofubox]

Finally got about rescaping the tank, after i came back from overseas. Really liking the new scape, everything is pretty much stand alone, allowing me to move them as the corals grow larger. Plenty of room now for the staghorns to grow unlike the previous scape. Also looks cleaner and neater. 

Main idea is that the blue, green and red staghorn will fill up 3/4 portions of the tank. Lower portions will be filled with montipora caps and other sps. Will be focusing on only selected SPS. 

The center small piece of rock will house a toadstool leather. 

Right side will be an LPS corner as the waves there are much weaker. The rock will be covered with all types of zoas. 

 

Still having issues with my alkalinity, I figured its mostly due to the dosing pump trapping small pockets of air, resulting in inconsistency. Just waiting on my CR to arrive in SG, takes about 3 weeks to build the cr. Have all the parts ready, just short of the reactor. I am hoping the CR will really make the tank more consistent. 

 

[Darren Sim]

Very nice scape but have you calculate your par? Whether it’s sufficient? And what’s your cr model? 

[tofubox]

Thanks bro. My lights used to sit 11 inch off to surface, with the new scape, i have dropped it to 8 inches. Its running at 67% intensity, still got room to increase if needed, dont plan to go lower than 8 inches due to the light coverage on the width of the tank. Only been 2 days, so just have to watch the corals. I follow the same intensity and setting as the WWC 293gallon system, their lights are 11 inches off, and the depth is much deeper, but no issues. 

I am running the 612 x 2 Geo CR. Its a dual chamber reactor. Figured I can go big on the reactor, run extra coarse media and tune it to run at a higher ph of 6.8-7.2. That way media usage will be lower, lesser top ups and still get sufficient alk/cal output. 

[Darren Sim]

Wow. Nice planning of the lights! Suggest you to ask someone who have a par meter to measure to get a better par values. Nice choice of CR. Are you heading towards full sps like your old glory?

[tofubox]

Yeah, i think if possible, ill try to get a par meter to do readings again for the new scape. 

I  will be aiming to achieve a mix system, with both LPS and SPS. Main sps will be staghorns, montiporas and some  specific acros. LPS mainly will consist of Zoas , soft corals and euphyllias 

Yeah, CR is pretty pricey, but this tank is for the long term, so hopefully it will work out well. 

Thanks for the feedback, really appreciate it. Forum seems quite now a days 

[Mahesh]

Hi Bro, nice scape and looking good.  Btw, what lights are you using?

[Harlequinmania]

Still trying to keep all staghorn as before ? Haha ... Remember you are a staghorn lover but not easy to find now with the coral ban.

I am running a CR with a kalk stirrer for supplement to maintain the pH. Hope it helps

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[alexcyf]

how would anyone forget tofu’s staghorn dream tank


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[tofubox]

On 6/28/2019 at 10:15 AM, Mahesh said:

Hi Bro, nice scape and looking good.  Btw, what lights are you using?

Hey bro, I am using Radion XR15 x 3. Using the WWC light setting at 8 inch height now. Corals seem to be doing well under the lights. 

On 6/28/2019 at 4:39 PM, he said:

Still trying to keep all staghorn as before ? Haha ... Remember you are a staghorn lover but not easy to find now with the coral ban.

I am running a CR with a kalk stirrer for supplement to maintain the pH. Hope it helps

Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app
 

Haha, now tank smaller, can't go crazy like before. Going to just keep the 3 main stags. Bali Slimmer green, Red stag and Aussie blue stag.Trying to get these 3 to mix together to form the main focal point of the tank. The rest just fill with some tenius and some variants of SSC. 

Thanks for the tip! Will be switching over to CR when my order arrives! I really feel the benefits of CR out weigh the benefits of dosing. 

On 6/28/2019 at 8:17 PM, alexcyf said:

how would anyone forget tofu’s staghorn dream tank


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Haha, thanks alot bro. Was a really good period in my reefing hobby! Got to own the dream tank i wanted! Unfortunately, went overseas for 2 year training, had to stop. =( 

I'm amazed by all the beautiful tanks out there now, so much have improved over the years! Really kudos to all the other reefers 

[tofubox]

Huge Update!

Going to upsize the tank. Decided to increase the overall volume by adding a sump system. Tank itself will be of the same dimensions, but this time instead of an IOS, it will have an external bean animal overflow. Reason for this is I needed more stability in terms of parameters when I am overseas. Good thing the Geo CR i ordered is oversized, even for the new tank. Also, it gave me a chance to waterproof my flooring. Will be laying the flooring with 2 layers of pond lining on the ground. 

Reason for staying the same size was because I liked the overall dimensions, the water level and width was just nice for doing maintenance. 

Tank will have redundancy for all equipment, dual return pumps each individually plumbed to a different chiller. Both chillers can be run at the same time, but I will have one running with other on standby, the standby will automatically be switched on with my apex if the temperature probe detects a high temp. The return pump and the wave makers will both have a battery backup in case of power failure. 

Old tank will now be used as a QT for fishes. Sadly, I overlooked a fish addition even after a 4 week qt, and accidentally introduced ich to the main display. This hobby never fails to surprise me. 

Heres a pic of my newly designed sump by me. 

 

 

 

 

[Darren Sim]

Very wise choice haha! For your standard iso cannot la bro!


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[tofubox]

The new tank arrived yesterday! Got it plumbed up and ready to get wet!



Sump tank exactly as envisioned. Ample room for a refugium. The bubble trap works very well.





Just waiting on the cr. And then I’ll be transferring the rocks and corals over.






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[acodestny]

Great look! Look forward to seeing ur end product!


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[tofubox]

Thought I share some info on my co2 regulator choice for my GEO CR.

Was torn between going back to a carbondoser electronic co2 regulator (https://aquariumplants.com/products/carbondoser-electronic-co2-regulator-the-best-in-the-world) or to go with a 2 stage regulator. Found some handy information on reef2reef that helped made the choice easier. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/carbondoser-vs-2-stage-regulator-system-supply-pressure-effect-on-co2-flow.397486/

Well basically I have used a carbondoser before, and it worked well and served me many years. But from feedbacks on the forum, it seems the carbondoser is very much a cheaply built single stage solenoid controlled by a circuit board. 

With almost the same price point, i decided to get a 2 stage regulator. 

"The average 2-Stage regulator is industrial quality, made for laboratory environments, and will not be affected by supply pressure decreases. Meaning that as PH is monitored, swings in PH should be much closer to your desired setting and much more consistent due to consistent delivery pressure and bubble flow." 

A 2 stage regulator also prevents a end tank dump, which happens towards the end of the co2 bottle.

I ended up getting a co2 art Pro elite series regulator (Most recommended by freshwater aquascapers for consistency

Shipping was really fast, and the packaging was top notch

Every component was solid and well built. 

 

Some info about the regulator:

New Generation of our highest rated dual stage regulator (Word Class Aquascaper George Farmer reviewing previous version of this regulator).

Every detail has been designed with Aquarium Safety and Fine Precision in mind. 
Built for aquariums from 5 liters to 5000 liters!

Dual stage construction minimise increase in output pressure as pressure drops in gas cylinder and will prevent end-tank-dump no matter what size CO2 cylinder you will use.

Features : 

• Safe 12V DC Integrated Solenoid Valve 
• Power adapter with universal voltage 100V-240V
• Adjustable working pressure up to 5 bar
• Stainless Steel Dual gauge pressure indicators (tank volume and flow pressure / working pressure)
• High precision integrated needle valve
• Bubble counter with built-in check valve
• Extendable manifold block
• Due to Two Stages construction compatible with any size CO2 Cylinders.
• The thread is made according to UK, Europe, Japan, Taiwan standard (BS341 / DIN477 / W21.8x14) or CGA320 thread.

 

Just looking forward to receiving my GEO CR. It is currently shipping, took almost 2 months for it to be built as they only do custom orders.

[chercm]

which model of geo CR ?

[tofubox]

6 hours ago, chercm said:

which model of geo CR ?

I got the Geo 612 x 2 dual chamber CR. Should be expecting it this friday! Will do a review. 

[chercm]

7 hours ago, tofubox said:

I got the Geo 612 x 2 dual chamber CR. Should be expecting it this friday! Will do a review. 

since it is coming from US will the pump be able to stand 240V power supply ?

[tofubox]

26 minutes ago, chercm said:

since it is coming from US will the pump be able to stand 240V power supply ?

It will come without the pump (Slight discount given). The pump is a standard sicce sycra 1.5, have already clarified with Georeef. 

[tofubox]

Received my CR today! Really fast delivery by DHL, took about a week. I do have to mention, I paid about $76 in GST to clear customs. Do note, the time taken to build from the time you place an order is about two months for the dual chamber CR.

The CR was very well packaged. All the parts were carefully packed. I do have to say the quality and make of it is second to none. Parts felt very strong and sturdy. Only issue I had was that the instruction manual (Online) was really terrible. There isn't instructions for specific models, so you kind the have to figure it out along the way. For new users to CR, this can be quite a challenge as there are multiple ports and some self assembly required. 

Also, Geo has decided to use mostly RODI fittings, which are easily available.

The complete set up without the co2 bottle.

The CR612 x 2 i received was slightly different from the pictures on the Geo's website. The re-circulation enters through the side of the reactor body instead of from the top as per the original pic on the website. I don't foresee any issues with this, it works exactly in the same concept 

I must say, the fact that Geo decided to use the sicce syncra 1.5 pump, was a great choice. Makes replacement much easier, and also the pump is Extremeeeely silent. I bought my pump from FnM, installation was a breeze. 

 

Doing a leak test on the CR. So far so good. 

Will upload some pics of it running on the tank once it is all set up.

 

[Darren Sim]

Very sick CR. Mind pm me the price?


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