Zombies Ultra Automated 65g

zombie

zombie

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#61
#61
Added some 120V solenoids to my RODI using a used EB8 to automate filling and prevent me from accidentally leaving the flush valve open for a week again (that was an expensive water bill. 7,000 gallons more than usual from that 1 week and I did it two months in a row). I haven't finalized the code yet, but it currently does hysteresis between the low float (about 20 gallons remaining) and high float (about 5 gal shy of top), but is also activated when my NSW reservoir runs dry or I just filled the NSW reservoir. Failsafe shuts it off if it runs longer than 12 hours (40 gallons) and I have a mechanical float valve as a backup. The flush runs the first 3 minutes of each fill. View attachment 12940

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zombie

zombie

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#63
#63
Got out for a while after a pretty nasty crash a few years ago. Still not certain of the cause, but the most likely contenders were nutrient overload following fluconazole treatment, Cracked float switch mount that was leaching neodymium magnet into my RODI reservoir (so F'ed up they did that. I assumed the acrylic encased a ceramic magnet not a non reef safe one), or turf algae outbreak smothering corals after fluconazole treatment. Managed to save the clowns frogspawn, scroll coral, and one acan, but lost everything else.

I've slowly restocked and battled the algae down (dosing vibrant now to remove the last of the turf algae).

Updated stock list I think I can get away with 2 more fish and still have a safe bioload.

In tank:
2 snowflake clowns
1 Lawnmower blenny
1 tuxedo urchin
1 shunk cleaner shrimp
1 banded shrimp goby
Various snails
Various hermits

In QT
1 purple firefish
1 splendid pintail fairy wrasse

Possible future additions (2 from the list plus shrimp)
1 coral beauty
1 flame angel
1 exquisite fairy wrasse
1 blue/green chromis
1 blue reef chromis
1 tiger pistol shrimp
1 candy cane pistol shrimp


Any advice on future additions, such as compatability, aggression, bioload, etc? Color wise I am leaning coral beauty plus exquisite, but I'm worried that might be pushing it in the 65. If it is, my next inclination would be wrasse plus blue chromis or beauty plus green chromis.

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Thomas Doty

Thomas Doty

Amphipod
M.A.S.C Club Member
#64
#64
I just did a quick browse of your 2018 low mainence goal set up. If you're still trying to stay hands off, I would just keep the livestock you have in the tank and qt( maybe downsize even). I feel your pain on the crash, I bleached all my corals about a yr ago after using vibrant for bryopsis. I'm glad youre sticking with it because you can still find balance, just don't change much for a few months.
My 120 only has like 8 fish, but plenty of corals and rock. I don't run socks, skimmer, and my fuge is tiny. All I really have to to do for now is top off all my fluids once a month.
 
zombie

zombie

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#65
#65
Thomas Doty said:
I just did a quick browse of your 2018 low mainence goal set up. If you're still trying to stay hands off, I would just keep the livestock you have in the tank and qt( maybe downsize even). I feel your pain on the crash, I bleached all my corals about a yr ago after using vibrant for bryopsis. I'm glad youre sticking with it because you can still find balance, just don't change much for a few months.
My 120 only has like 8 fish, but plenty of corals and rock. I don't run socks, skimmer, and my fuge is tiny. All I really have to to do for now is top off all my fluids once a month.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I actually intend to go light on the corals since there is a good to fair chance I will be upgrading houses in 2-3 years. Corals are kind of a pita to move, so only planning on corals that won't encrust to rocks for now. Focus will be more on the fish.

I noticed in your tank shots that you're running a Triton and an AFS. Definitely check out my code partway through for some automation ideas. I am the same Zombie as on the Neptune forums, so the code I listed is pretty comprehensive of what the apex is capable of.

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zombie

zombie

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#66
#66
Algae is now almost gone. I dosed vibrant for a month before realizing it was an algaecide not bacteria, then started a fluconazole treatment to get rid of the bryopsis with heavy GFO use.

View attachment 20524

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zombie

zombie

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#69
#69
Janky but functional baby proofing to keep little hands away from cords and reactor control. I also upgraded my carbon/gfo reactor from a single to a dual so I can change them independently when exhausted.

I plan on checking phosphate every other week and if levels are above 0.04 ppm, change GFO.

I plan on changing carbon monthly. View attachment 20716 View attachment 20717

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zombie

zombie

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#70
#70
Trident and BRS 1.1ml doser set up in the new cabinet. I'm still still trying to get parameters up to my ideal levels and then I will determine maintenance levels to start trident controlled dosing.

Shooting for 10dKH, 450ppm calcium, 1350+ magnesium.

Right now working my way up from 7, 550, 1450. Got it to 8.83, 486, 1423 by pretty heavily dosing bicarbonate. View attachment 20718

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zombie

zombie

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#71
#71
Neat trick with the Trident.

By default, you can only test parameters 4 times daily for ALK and 2 times daily for Ca Mg.

I wanted to test ALK twice daily and once a day for Ca Mg. This is the way around it.


1. Use apexfusion.com not the app

2. Go to the module setup page and figure out the module address of the Trident. In my case it was 11

2. Go to the outlet programming of any outlet and note the current web address. It should be something along the lines of: https://apexfusion.com/apex/"Your apex id number"/config/outputs/"specific to outlet you went to"

3. Change just the last part after outputs/ to Module address_3 for combined test (all three) and Module address_4 for only ALK. Ex https://apexfusion.com/apex/"Your apex id number"/config/outputs/11_3



The way the programming works is if the outlet is turned on for the combined test for any amount of time, it will run all three parameters. If you turn on the ALK only for any amount of time, it will just test ALK.



My programming tests all three at 8am (basically sunrise for my tank), and just alk at 8pm (basically sunset for my tank).

11_3 combined test.
Set OFF
If Time 08:00 to 08:01 Then ON

11_4 ALK only
Set OFF
If Time 20:00 to 20:01 Then ON


You can also add stuff like
If DOW S-T-T-S Then OFF
To only test Mon, Wed, Fri

There is no way to test calcium or magnesium on their own. You must either do a combined test with all three or just alk.

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zombie

zombie

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#73
#73
I did not like the par I was getting with the SOLs, so I replaced them with Gen4 radions with the diffuser.

Par is so much more consistent it is night and day. I also like the spectrum better.

With these numbers, I should be able to slowly increase my par over the course of several weeks to acclimate the torches to the higher par and stop at 85% to keep them at no more than 300 par. People on R2R said up to 400 is okay, but I don't want to push it at least not for a while. ThT would get my best SPS zones in 350-425 PAR, which should be ideal. View attachment 20934

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zombie

zombie

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#74
#74
So word of advice...don't let your nitrates or phosphates bottom out.

Shortly after adding these lights to the tank along with a cool montipora frag, I got a huge bloom of ostreopsis dinoflagellates.

If I don't tackle them immediately, I risk losing all of my corals and fish, so I am using the kitchen sink method. So far the only losses are an emerald crab and most of my cerith snails. A couple zoa colonies look pretty pissed but the rest of the corals are doing alright.

- increase feeding
- temporarily stop refugium
- stop GFO
- double carbon use and change weekly instead of monthly.
- dose 5ml of microbacter7 daily
- dose 20ml of NeoNitrate and NeoPhos each daily until nitrates and phosphates stay above 5 and 0.05 respectively, then target a value of 10 and 0.08 respectively.
- install a 27W UV sterilizer
- reduce photoperiod of display lights


All of this could have been avoided by not overdoing it with my refugium and GFO when trying to handle my previous algae problem.

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