kinetic RSR 170

[kinetic]

I noticed you went with a varios 4 return. I have been contemplating an upgrade of my return pump but had been thinking varios 2 or 4. Silence is my #1 criteria.

You still happy with it?

Hey Rishma: if you look back a few pages, I did a review on the VarioS-4. My criteria is absolutely silence. I could care less if it used more power than other pumps, or looked uglier, as long as it performs how I need and is silent, I'm happy. And I am. The VarioS-4 is incredible. Ambient sound reads 46 decibels, with my VarioS-4 at 70% power (using Apex VDM to control it), the decibels do not increase, even in the cabinet. I have a VarioS-2 that powers my reactors/chiller that's running at 75%, and that one also leads to 0 increase in decibels. The float switches are a great safety feature, and the fine tuning ability with a simple connection to a VDM is fantastic. I have yet to have any issues! I purchased an extra VarioS-4 on black friday as a backup just in case, though not sure if I'll ever need it.

I purchased the VarioS over the Ecotech, simply because at the time the S1 didn't exist yet, and the M1 was a really tight fit. I didn't think I'd care about Apex control or the float switch, but now that I have them, it's such a great perk.

Can't say enough good things. I wish my skimmer was quieter (it's the only thing that makes any noise in my system). I wanted a Reef Octopus Elite SSS, but there isn't one small enough for the tank. I bet that thing is silent too.

 

[kinetic]

In an effort to automate dosing, I picked up a Neptune DOS and will be using a dosing container I found on BRS that fits perfectly next to my Reefer 170 sump. I modified the DOS to use RO Polyethylene tubing instead of the soft tubing, and had to drill the reservoir to push the tubing through instead of using the barbed end.

Materials:

• Neptune DOS: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/dos-dosing-and-fluid-metering-system-neptune-systems.html
• Reservoir: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/triple-liquid-dosing-storage-reservoir.html
• John Guest 1/4 OD by 1/8 NPTF Adapter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003YKF256/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
• Clear 1/4” Polyethylene Tubing: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/1-4-mur-lok-polyethylene-ro-tubing.html
• RectorSeal Pipe Thread Sealant

Why the Neptune DOS?
I’ve been looking high and low for the perfect dosing pump. All had their pros and cons, but the biggest thing for me was the price. Overall, the Neptune DOS had the best results, as long as you were in the Apex controller world. Unfortunately the pump only has two heads, at quite the premium price. I decided to take the dive and just get the pump for Alk and Ca dosing. My mg never seems to fall much, and water changes have kept the levels high enough. If I end up needing to dose other things, I’ll buy another DOS.

Other pumps I considered: GHL Doser 2.1, CoralBox WiFi, Kamoer X4 WiFi, and Bubble Magus. GHL Doser seemed nice and could run on its own. For the same price as the DOS, I could get 3 heads. CoralBox and Bubble Magus were super affordable, but I didn’t like the setup problems and failures I’ve heard with Bubble Magus. Kamoer was a good price point with 4 heads, but I also heard that it was hard to setup. That was probably the dosing pump I was going to go for, but being heavily committed to my Apex Jr, I decided against it.

Why modify with RO Tubing?
I didn’t really like the idea of limp tubing being strung through my cabinet. I have clear RO tubing left over, so I decided to go that direction. I’ve also heard that the Neptune lines are hard to straighten out and remove the kinks. I did order 16 meters just to see, and it seems to be OK and kink-free.

How did I modify?
It was pretty easy to modify the DOS. I used RectorSeal Pipe Thread Sealant on the threads and screwed on John Guest adapters that have 1/8 NPTF thread that I could push my 1/4” RO tubing into. I realized that the reservoir I bought actually uses the small 1/8” airline tubing. I decided to use a hacksaw to chop that off the barbs, then used a 1/4” drill bit to widen the hole. The clear RO tubing was an extremely snug fit through the hole, enough where I wouldn’t need to use silicon or anything.

What’s next?
I need to get the 24v power adapter (oops) and then calibrate it. Then I’ll set it up to dose daily 17ml of Alk and Ca from my Aquaforest Components 1+, 2+. I’m thinking of just spreading it evenly out throughout the day. I know some people prefer to dose at night for pH swing reasons. I literally have never tested for pH, and don’t have a probe for it, so I’m just going to leave it.

Current cabinet mess:

 

[Clayton Jessup]

Very nice dosing Pump , like the little modification for RO line vs airline .. keep up the great work kinetic

 

[kinetic]

I tested my magnesium levels again today, twice, and both times I'm reading over 1600ppm of magnesium using Red Sea kit. I'm using 8.4ml of the titration liquid.

Is this concerning?

 

[gig 'em]

That's a ton of Mg!!! I can hardly keep my Mg above 300, I have to dose it on top of my CaRX. [emoji15] I don't know if it's detrimental from experience, but I doubt it if it's been a gradual increase over time.

 

[kinetic]

That's a ton of Mg!!! I can hardly keep my Mg above 300, I have to dose it on top of my CaRX. [emoji15] I don't know if it's detrimental from experience, but I doubt it if it's been a gradual increase over time.

From day 1, my mg has been that high. So I guess things are OK? I'm going to test my next batch of salt mix when I change out my water this weekend and see if mg levels are just super high from this AquaForest Reef Salt. If it is, I'll probably need to find a salt mix with low mg and slowly lower mg that way.

 

[gig 'em]

Could be from your salt. What hard corals do you have?

 

[kinetic]

Could be from your salt. What hard corals do you have?

Tiny nubbins of SPS. A total of probably 2" total of SPS. I have to dose Alk/Ca at 17ml a day.

I'm guessing that my SPS aren't using any measurable magnesium, and my water changes are enough. But the Aquaforest reef salt mix might be too high in mag for my system right now. Maybe I'll get a bucket of regular salt from Aquaforest and mix that in to lower mg.

 

[gig 'em]

Yeah I would test some fresh salt water and see what the Mg is at. If you don't have any hard corals regularly consuming it, then I can't imagine why it would be much lower than whatever the new salt water would have.

 

[rishma]

I recently chased am chemistry issue that didn’t exist...bad test kit.

If a parameter doesn’t make sense, I now test with a second kit before taking action.

 

[kinetic]

Afternoon light hits my Rainbow BTA just right.

 

[Janci]

I recently chased am chemistry issue that didn’t exist...bad test kit.

If a parameter doesn’t make sense, I now test with a second kit before taking action.

Same issue here.
Try a second test kit.
Mg from Red Sea is not that reliable for me. I went back to Salifert.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

That's a ton of Mg!!! I can hardly keep my Mg above 300, I have to dose it on top of my CaRX. [emoji15] I don't know if it's detrimental from experience, but I doubt it if it's been a gradual increase over time.

I tested my magnesium levels again today, twice, and both times I'm reading over 1600ppm of magnesium using Red Sea kit. I'm using 8.4ml of the titration liquid.

Is this concerning?

1600 is high, but I don't think it is concerning. Check out Randy's articles in the forums about reef chemistry. 300, on the other hand, is very low according to Randy. I would question that number. Every salt mix I know of has at least 1200 mg or higher.

Here is a link to his article. https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/re...-coral-reef-aquarium-randy-holmes-farley.html

 

[kinetic]

I have some concerning algae or bacteria that shows up within 24 hours of my water changes. It doesn't get much worse than the photos below once it grows. Any thoughts?

• Grows on glass, rocks, gets caught on my corals, and grows on sand
• Does not care about flow (I have it in both high and lower flow areas)
• My snails eat it. I see them mow it down. (trochus, mexican turbo)

 

[Janci]

I have some concerning algae or bacteria that shows up within 24 hours of my water changes. It doesn't get much worse than the photos below once it grows. Any thoughts?

• Grows on glass, rocks, gets caught on my corals, and grows on sand
• Does not care about flow (I have it in both high and lower flow areas)
• My snails eat it. I see them mow it down. (trochus, mexican turbo)

Please check dinoflagellates and the treatments.
If it is this, make sure it does not spread as it's nasty.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

So this happens only after water changes? Are you carbon dosing or using any other method of nutrient control? I had a little of this about six months into my new tank, and eventually it went away. For me it was just part of the ugly phase. If it goes away or is eaten fairly quickly, I would just continue to monitor it. If you are doing anything to reduce nutrients, maybe decrease or increase the amount of nutrient control based on your N and P readings.

By the way, your pictures are great.

 

[Zack K]

So this happens only after water changes? Are you carbon dosing or using any other method of nutrient control? I had a little of this about six months into my new tank, and eventually it went away. For me it was just part of the ugly phase. If it goes away or is eaten fairly quickly, I would just continue to monitor it. If you are doing anything to reduce nutrients, maybe decrease or increase the amount of nutrient control based on your N and P readings.

By the way, your pictures are great.

It sounds like you had Cyano, common new tank ugly, this has bubbles and could be concerning. Don’t panic [emoji6]. Read Post #1 of this post https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dinoflagellates-–-are-you-tired-of-battling-altogether.293318/ and tell me what you think.

-Zack, who loves your pictures!

 

[vinny110]

Ha, yea mine is that plastic/acrylic material. I was thinking that would be the only downfall of it being glass. With glass, I like that you could see through it so you could see the water level. Every once in a while, I have to fine tune the flow with their gate valve. Plus, it's easier to scrape coraline off glass.

Hi Pugcrush, how did you create the hyperlink of your youtube channel below your post?

 

[IslandLifeReef]

It sounds like you had Cyano, common new tank ugly, this has bubbles and could be concerning. Don’t panic [emoji6]. Read Post #1 of this post https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dinoflagellates-–-are-you-tired-of-battling-altogether.293318/ and tell me what you think.

-Zack, who loves your pictures!

Mine had bubbles just like this. I also thought Dino's, but after about three weeks of increased feedings because my nutrient were low, it went away.

 

[Zack K]

Mine had bubbles just like this. I also thought Dino's, but after about three weeks of increased feedings because my nutrient were low, it went away.

Their are many signs that point to Dino’s, bubbles are not a for sure sign. I know of at least 1 strain of Cyano that can cause bubbles. Although it had a tendency to attract micro bubbles already in the water.