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Panda Jerk
Community Member
I'm not familiar with the Infinia stands, but looking at the image on WB site I'd say no. These don't look the same to me.
The "OK, Let's Try This Again" Waterbox Marine X 110.4 Build Thread
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Panda Jerk
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Hopefully its for better stability!! Most of us Marine-X guys sleep poorly because of the wiggly design of the 2020 frame.
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Panda Jerk
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It's been a bit since posting info. Things are amazingly stable after yanking out the RowaPhos. I let that deplete PO4 to zero and the results were bad in the following weeks. Everything started to decline. I yanked it, kept the ESV dosing and added in Tropic Marin K+ and A- and things really responded. My gorgonia that was frozen in time started branching. Here's a small photo dump.
Purple Candalabra Gorgonia
Green Kenya Tree, a Lobo, small Alveopora, a very angry Acan (it hates the Kenya Tree) and juuust barely visible between the tree and Acan is a small green BTA that the Clowns have claimed
Toxic Green Bernardpora and Acan
Obligatory sump shot
And here's why I've been sort of absent lately. I got my '66 back on the road and there's only so many minutes in a day to get prepped and ready for NOT Summer weather here in AZ!
Purple Candalabra Gorgonia
Green Kenya Tree, a Lobo, small Alveopora, a very angry Acan (it hates the Kenya Tree) and juuust barely visible between the tree and Acan is a small green BTA that the Clowns have claimed
Toxic Green Bernardpora and Acan
Obligatory sump shot
And here's why I've been sort of absent lately. I got my '66 back on the road and there's only so many minutes in a day to get prepped and ready for NOT Summer weather here in AZ!
Kodock
Active Member
I don’t know what’s more incredible, that sump, or the mustang!! LolIt's been a bit since posting info. Things are amazingly stable after yanking out the RowaPhos. I let that deplete PO4 to zero and the results were bad in the following weeks. Everything started to decline. I yanked it, kept the ESV dosing and added in Tropic Marin K+ and A- and things really responded. My gorgonia that was frozen in time started branching. Here's a small photo dump.
Purple Candalabra Gorgonia
Green Kenya Tree, a Lobo, small Alveopora, a very angry Acan (it hates the Kenya Tree) and juuust barely visible between the tree and Acan is a small green BTA that the Clowns have claimed
Toxic Green Bernardpora and Acan
Obligatory sump shot
And here's why I've been sort of absent lately. I got my '66 back on the road and there's only so many minutes in a day to get prepped and ready for NOT Summer weather here in AZ!
That sump is so clean, mine looks like sewage lol I’ve had the opposite problem with high phosphates.. killed most of my sps.. not wanting to invest or work on gfo reactor.
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Panda Jerk
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Ha! Thanks. I just replaced the rear springs with 1" lowering leafs... now the tires rub juuust barely! Gahhh! its literally always something to spend money on with my hobbies.
About 2 months ago I had pineapple sponges taking hold all over the sump. They've just recently starting to vanish. No clue what that means though.
Phosphates... I've fought them in every previous tank. I bought the el-cheapo Aquamaxx reactor from BRS when they were 50% off, now it looks like discontinued and seems this one replaced it. You could read reviews saying it sucks, but with 100g of RowaPhos it sure did wipe out the phosphate! I assume it came from the Marco rock leaching. After I bottomed those out I pulled the reactor offline and the levels have remained low - how low? It's been a while... I really should test again
My biggest risk was running an algae scrubber. It was new equipment for me and so a gamble. That thing has become a work horse - not joking. I run the Santa Monica Rain-2 unit with lights 18 hours on, 6 off with ~180-200GPH through it and it grows some n-a-s-t-y stuff - and there's no GHA in the tank so it's out-competing the lights - just like @SantaMonica said it would. I've not done one single water change in 9 months and I clean the glass weekly, which I don't know if the latter is because of the scrubber, but previous tanks were hazy in two days. My dosing cocktail is 15ml ESV part 1 & 2 + 4ml Tropic Marin A- & K+ over incremented over 12 hours... stable as can be. He also told me the skimmer was not necessary but I'd already bought it, so it went in, but it would be appealing to get that skimmate cup cleaning maintenance eliminated.
I feed with a feeder 3x per day, but in the last month I went heavy with some extra and the scrubber started showing this funky brownish-red growth right near where the lights hit the screen. I don't know how to decode the growth (shameless cry for help) but at least it's contained to the screen and not in the tank!
Some recent scrubber pics.
Scraped clean 5 days prior
Scraped clean 10 days prior
Solo McReefer
Valuable Member
That's a follow
Even though I don't think the follow works
Even though I don't think the follow works
Kodock
Active Member
Ha! Thanks. I just replaced the rear springs with 1" lowering leafs... now the tires rub juuust barely! Gahhh! its literally always something to spend money on with my hobbies.
About 2 months ago I had pineapple sponges taking hold all over the sump. They've just recently starting to vanish. No clue what that means though.
Phosphates... I've fought them in every previous tank. I bought the el-cheapo Aquamaxx reactor from BRS when they were 50% off, now it looks like discontinued and seems this one replaced it. You could read reviews saying it sucks, but with 100g of RowaPhos it sure did wipe out the phosphate! I assume it came from the Marco rock leaching. After I bottomed those out I pulled the reactor offline and the levels have remained low - how low? It's been a while... I really should test again
My biggest risk was running an algae scrubber. It was new equipment for me and so a gamble. That thing has become a work horse - not joking. I run the Santa Monica Rain-2 unit with lights 18 hours on, 6 off with ~180-200GPH through it and it grows some n-a-s-t-y stuff - and there's no GHA in the tank so it's out-competing the lights - just like @SantaMonica said it would. I've not done one single water change in 9 months and I clean the glass weekly, which I don't know if the latter is because of the scrubber, but previous tanks were hazy in two days. My dosing cocktail is 15ml ESV part 1 & 2 + 4ml Tropic Marin A- & K+ over incremented over 12 hours... stable as can be. He also told me the skimmer was not necessary but I'd already bought it, so it went in, but it would be appealing to get that skimmate cup cleaning maintenance eliminated.
I feed with a feeder 3x per day, but in the last month I went heavy with some extra and the scrubber started showing this funky brownish-red growth right near where the lights hit the screen. I don't know how to decode the growth (shameless cry for help) but at least it's contained to the screen and not in the tank!
Some recent scrubber pics.
Scraped clean 5 days prior
Scraped clean 10 days prior
Wow!! Maybe I need to look into a scrubber. Those filter socks that came with the tank clog up in 1 day and then it messes up my sumps water level. Is that scrub sheet exposed to the air, to the point where you can smell it or anything?
I had about a million pineapple sponges, but the left after I put in nudibranchs, they eradicated the aptasia I had. I have a cyano issue in my tank right now, but softies have always liked water a little dirty ime. I think it’s the 2 frozen cubes I feed a day, or the rock leeching. The fish eat every crum of that food, and the skimmer does a decent job.. I’m at .3-.4 phosphate.
Nothing is really using up my parameters to justify dosing for me, but I copied you and got that same doser lol.. one day I’ll do it.
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Panda Jerk
Community Member
You can’t smell it at all. I smell skimmer funk more than anything and I dread cleaning that cup. I was also expecting cyano like every other tank I’ve run but has not happened. Who knows, maybe the reddish crud on the scrubber screen is cyano - looks similar, but it stays put better than I remember cyano did so maybe not. Also I might be under feeding TBH. I rarely put cubes in since the feeder went on. I will cut shrimp to feed the Brittle Star and watch the hermits go berserk.
I never ran the socks and instead put in the roller mat. I get ~2 months, maybe just under per roll of fleece. It’s been a reliable unit too.
I hear you on the doser and justifying. When I read water changes might be eliminated I started reading how others did it, and it came down to supplements every time. Some have huge tanks with huge bioloads, which made it worth the time to try replicating on our tanks. So far, so good.
Solo McReefer
Valuable Member
It is
When I made and used an ATS. It grew purple cyano
None in the tank
It does have it's own nasty smell. Don't think it's as bad as skimmer cup, tho. Like how fresh cow poop has some grass smell in it, which is better than cat poop smell
SantaMonica
Valuable Member
Looks like you have the Rain with 2 lights. Are both plugged in?
The screen needs to be brushed clean in your sink under running water so that all the white is visible again and all the screen holes are open (no slime remaining). Also brush the tray and water pipe slot clean. Will need this every 3 to 5 days until green hair algae starts attaching.
The screen needs to be brushed clean in your sink under running water so that all the white is visible again and all the screen holes are open (no slime remaining). Also brush the tray and water pipe slot clean. Will need this every 3 to 5 days until green hair algae starts attaching.
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Panda Jerk
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Thanks @SantaMonica for the feedback. I do have both lights running and upped flow to 250GPH. I’ve been scraping one side at each cleaning, alternating smooth and rough sides so it’s never fully scraped.
Are you recommending I scrub both sides?
Should I rough-up the smooth side?
Also, I find I need to clean the growth at the slot twice as often as the screen itself, and at the slot it’s always fine hair, never slime. Is there a shading solution to prevent light from hitting at slot-to-screen junction? I do get fine hair tailing off the lower edge of the screen but never seems to take hold ON the main screen.
Thanks for any guidance!
SantaMonica
Valuable Member
Yes scrub/brush both sides; not scrape. The slime must come off.
The green hair at the slot and bottom are because the light is too bright in the middle. So go to 1 light only, and still brush clean when the screen holes fill in, usually 3-5 days.
The green hair at the slot and bottom are because the light is too bright in the middle. So go to 1 light only, and still brush clean when the screen holes fill in, usually 3-5 days.
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Panda Jerk
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OK, scrubbed it clean and pushed the muck from each hole, then pulled the light on the rough side offline. What's my trigger to bring the light back online, or should I alternate them side-to-side? Feels like an opportunity for a rheostat on the light if they're too much.
SantaMonica
Valuable Member
Just post pics after 5 days before cleaning and I'll see when it's time for more light.
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Panda Jerk
Community Member
Well @SantaMonica, I was out of town so ended up with 11 days of growth; I know, not ideal. This is with the light on only the smooth side 18/6 cycle. The rough side grew next to nothing. Ignore the diagonal white area. The red cap doesn’t like to stay seated after a few days so I “borrowed” my daughter’s headband to strap around the cap, and it looks like it slipped down while I was gone. Scraping it with a credit card it came off like a tough fibrous mat even though it has a slimey appearance.
SantaMonica
Valuable Member
Ok this is good. Just scrape/brush it all off.
If you have the 4 light version then plug in a second light on the same side; if you have the 2 light version then continue with just 1 light, and run another week. The diagonal line will slowly move upwards.
The red cap is only supposed to go on half way, with a friction fit.
If you have the 4 light version then plug in a second light on the same side; if you have the 2 light version then continue with just 1 light, and run another week. The diagonal line will slowly move upwards.
The red cap is only supposed to go on half way, with a friction fit.
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