What's new in reefing? (1 Viewer)

[Cody]

What are the new things in the reefing hobby, or new things to you? Are there any new pieces of equipment that you're excited about? What did you learn recently that you didn't know? I've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to talk shop in a while and I want to hear what's going on in your world.


I'll start off. My wife and I are going to get scuba certified soon (we want the water to warm up a little more for The Blue Lagoon in Huntsville) then go dive a reef. I'm very pumped to see these corals in their natural environment!​

 

[soymilk]

15-20 years ago it seemed like alot of people were going to vietnam or thailand to get certified for scuba. I'm not sure if the same anymore but it seemed like a good way to have a vacation and knock it out at the same time

as for what im excited for...... im hyped on all these new fish hybrids. very cool. we've gone a long long way towards aqua culturing fish for sustainability.

 

[R-BallJunkie]

.....I'll start off. My wife and I are going to get scuba certified soon​

Diving offers a whole new perspective. LMK if you need recommendations, best bang for the buck.

 

[jrounding]

Man, I’ve always wanted to get scuba certified. I worked with a guy who did his certification in 288 lake in the dead of winter. He’s from Miami and didn’t have a good time. Lol! It was cheap though! Lol! As for reefing I’m just doing my thing trying to keep my fish and corals alive and happy. Slowly stocking the tank. I do think Red Sea’s ATO and their auto tuning DC skimmer is pretty exciting. The tracking of evaporation rates and volume monitoring is interesting. They have a return pump too and I guess if it is a return pump then great? You pretty much can have a whole Red Sea system now.

 

[Cody]

15-20 years ago it seemed like alot of people were going to vietnam or thailand to get certified for scuba. I'm not sure if the same anymore but it seemed like a good way to have a vacation and knock it out at the same time

as for what im excited for...... im hyped on all these new fish hybrids. very cool. we've gone a long long way towards aqua culturing fish for sustainability.

Which hybrids in particular? Also, are Koi tang some type of hybrid? I don't remember of even hearing of them until within the last couple years.

And yeah, I will definitely make a trip over there to scuba one day, but for now, I just want to get certified. I would hate to spend a day or two getting up to speed while on vacation time when you can do it cheaply from home and then enjoy all your time actually diving while there. Also, the wife is insisting on Hawaii next year for our 10 year anniversary, so I want to make sure I'm good to go there too!

 

[BigRick]

Which hybrids in particular? Also, are Koi tang some type of hybrid? I don't remember of even hearing of them until within the last couple years.

And yeah, I will definitely make a trip over there to scuba one day, but for now, I just want to get certified. I would hate to spend a day or two getting up to speed while on vacation time when you can do it cheaply from home and then enjoy all your time actually diving while there. Also, the wife is insisting on Hawaii next year for our 10 year anniversary, so I want to make sure I'm good to go there too!

Koi is a hybrid from Biota

 

[Cody]

Man, I’ve always wanted to get scuba certified. I worked with a guy who did his certification in 288 lake in the dead of winter. He’s from Miami and didn’t have a good time. Lol! It was cheap though! Lol! As for reefing I’m just doing my thing trying to keep my fish and corals alive and happy. Slowly stocking the tank. I do think Red Sea’s ATO and their auto tuning DC skimmer is pretty exciting. The tracking of evaporation rates and volume monitoring is interesting. They have a return pump too and I guess if it is a return pump then great? You pretty much can have a whole Red Sea system now.

Yeah having a monitor of daily top off rate would be nice considering that I have daily automatic water changes. It would let me know if the pump wasn't working correctly, for whatever reason. Having said that, I've been using a gravity fed ATO with a float valve for about four years now on both of my systems. Never had a problem, and it's by far the most reliable method I've ever used.

 

[Cody]

Koi is a hybrid from Biota

Really? I would have gone with Picasso Tang or Painted Tang if I had the chance to name them. Don't look anything like Koi to me.

 

[jrounding]

Which hybrids in particular? Also, are Koi tang some type of hybrid? I don't remember of even hearing of them until within the last couple years.

And yeah, I will definitely make a trip over there to scuba one day, but for now, I just want to get certified. I would hate to spend a day or two getting up to speed while on vacation time when you can do it cheaply from home and then enjoy all your time actually diving while there. Also, the wife is insisting on Hawaii next year for our 10 year anniversary, so I want to make sure I'm good to go there too!

Yeah that makes sense. Gravity has never failed, lol! As long as you have a reliable float valve. When I first got my Red Sea tank I was using the included auto top off. It was good until it wasn’t. I’d come home to the pump sucking air because it didn’t open for whatever reason. The last straw for that one was it dumped what was left in the ATO tank into my sump. So I threw it away and got a Tunze and sapphire ATO container.

 

[BigRick]

Yeah that makes sense. Gravity has never failed, lol! As long as you have a reliable float valve. When I first got my Red Sea tank I was using the included auto top off. It was good until it wasn’t. I’d come home to the pump sucking air because it didn’t open for whatever reason. The last straw for that one was it dumped what was left in the ATO tank into my sump. So I threw it away and got a Tunze and sapphire ATO container.

I use manual float vales for auto top off. More consistent. Less worry.. some tanks I have to use ato.

 

[jrounding]

I use manual float vales for auto top off. More consistent. Less worry.. some tanks I have to use ato.

Yeah the simpler the solution the better generally. The Tunze has way more points of failure whether it’s the optical eye, the float valve, controller or the pump. I always joke at work that our favorite thing to add to a design is complexity. I guess that methodology odd embraced in these top offs. Also apparently Reef Builders exclusively uses float valves and gravity top offs. It’s working though so I will leave it alone, lol!

 

[Cody]

Yeah that makes sense. Gravity has never failed, lol! As long as you have a reliable float valve. When I first got my Red Sea tank I was using the included auto top off. It was good until it wasn’t. I’d come home to the pump sucking air because it didn’t open for whatever reason. The last straw for that one was it dumped what was left in the ATO tank into my sump. So I threw it away and got a Tunze and sapphire ATO container.

So there’s a work around for that because I had the same issue at first too. The float valve will get build up on it over time and stick in the off position.

My solution was to zip tie a urine analysis cup with holes in the lid to the float. The holes allow it to fill up with water and pull the level down as water evaporates. Once the sump reaches the “full” level, the water in the cup doesn’t pull down on the float anymore because the weight of the water in the cup is displaced by the water surrounding it. Has been working well for years without me ever touching it.

 

[Cody]

Yeah the simpler the solution the better generally. The Tunze has way more points of failure whether it’s the optical eye, the float valve, controller or the pump. I always joke at work that our favorite thing to add to a design is complexity. I guess that methodology odd embraced in these top offs. Also apparently Reef Builders exclusively uses float valves and gravity top offs. It’s working though so I will leave it alone, lol!

I have been designing a new auto top off system and I think it’s gonna be a game changer! So first off, you need to get a cat food automatic feeder that you have to position in a corner in such a way that when your cat comes to get food, it has to knock over the first domino to set off the chain reaction. From there, I have a series of switches and levers that top off an ounce of RO water. You have to reset everything a few dozen times a day, but once it’s set and my cat is hungry, it never fails!

 

[BigRick]

I have been designing a new auto top off system and I think it’s gonna be a game changer! So first off, you need to get a cat food automatic feeder that you have to position in a corner in such a way that when your cat comes to get food, it has to knock over the first domino to set off the chain reaction. From there, I have a series of switches and levers that top off an ounce of RO water. You have to reset everything a few dozen times a day, but once it’s set and my cat is hungry, it never fails!

U would try it if beer is involved I know it.

 

[jrounding]

U would try it if beer is involved I know it.

Just turn it into a drinking game? Every time you reset the ATO you have to drink?

 

[Cody]

U would try it if beer is involved I know it.

Oh I already have another machine that brings me a beer on the couch. It only takes a few hours to reset it after I use it, but again, works like a charm!

 

[BigRick]

Oh I already have another machine that brings me a beer on the couch. It only takes a few hours to reset it after I use it, but again, works like a charm!

I'm gonna stop before you get into trouble, don't want ya sleeping, I mean hiding on the couch

 

[Cody]

I'm gonna stop before you get into trouble, don't want ya sleeping, I mean hiding on the couch

I happen to like my couch. It's how you reclaim your power! "Oh you want me to sleep on the couch?! Well, jokes on you! Mwahaha!"

 

[Tangs]

I have been designing a new auto top off system and I think it’s gonna be a game changer! So first off, you need to get a cat food automatic feeder that you have to position in a corner in such a way that when your cat comes to get food, it has to knock over the first domino to set off the chain reaction. From there, I have a series of switches and levers that top off an ounce of RO water. You have to reset everything a few dozen times a day, but once it’s set and my cat is hungry, it never fails!

As a kid I had that game....it was called mouse trap.

 

[jrounding]

As a kid I had that game....it was called mouse trap.

Me too, it never seemed to work, lol!