SuncrestReef

For those of you who didn't follow along on my build thread at Reef2Reef, here's a recap of the whole project in photos start to finish: I wanted to make this 34" sump fit into a cabinet that was only 28" wide due to the Red Sea cabinet's center support panel. I figured the safest way to do this would be to drain and remove the display tank from the cabinet, disassemble the cabinet, then replace the center panel with an aluminum frame, opening up the full 46" interior width of the cabinet. I started by turning off my return pump, moving my heater and probes into the display tank, then draining the sump. At that point the display tank was self-sufficient so I could disassemble and remove the sump, plumbing, and wiring. This is the mess created when you unbundle all those carefully routed wires: Here's what a Neptune 1" flow sensor looks like inside after 3 years of use without cleaning it: I pulled the sump out for a thorough cleaning: And then set up the sump and my 20 gallon QT tank to hold my corals and fish while I drain the display tank: Next I removed the display tank for cleaning: A simple razor blade worked really well: Meanwhile, I acid washed and bleached the rocks. Thanks to @obrien.david.j for loaning me his blue barrel and suction cups that helped immensely in this project! The next step was to disassemble the Red Sea cabinet to replace the center support panel with the aluminum frame. This was surprisingly easy and only took about 30 minutes: And now the new Trigger Systems Platinum 34 sump fits perfectly! Next it was time to work on the new plumbing. I stayed with my original use of orange PVC and gray fittings: A few hours of sniffing PVC glue and drinking beer is a great way to spend a weekend afternoon! What could go wrong??? Luckily everything fit: While the build was in progress, I stocked the tank with a couple of 22" bluegill...🤣 The leak test was a success, so I was able to fill the tank: I mounted my Neptune GRO refugium light to the Trigger sump's top crossbar to eliminate the bulky mounting arm: And with that, I was ready to transfer my fish & corals back to the display tank: Now I just need to start re-stocking the tank with new frags to get back to where the tank was about a year ago.

As Treasurer, I'm thinking of investing all the PNWMAS cash into Bitcoin and GameStop stock. What do you guys think? 🤣

Love it so far. The roller is doing an excellent job. In fact my skimmate locker used to fill every 10 days, but so far it's only about 10% full after nearly one month. My only complaint is that I wish the built-in dosing tube holder was moveable. I'd rather place it in a different chamber where I can place a powerhead to disperse the 2-part rather than the return chamber because I don't want that chamber's water surface to fluctuate for my ATO sensors. But that's a very minor issue to overcome.

I lost about 80% of my corals before shutting down the tank. The corals that survived and all my fish & CUC were moved to temporary tanks during the rebuild. I have a 20 gallon QT tank for the fish, and utilized the original Red Sea sump as a frag tank for my corals. This was also around the time I was invited by Neptune to be a part of their NSI testing group for the new SKY lighting system, so I mounted a SKY over the coral tank: I used the Red Sea sump's overflow chamber as an ATO reservoir for both tanks, and set up my Apex to control two ATK's, one for each tank. It worked out well. I kept everything in these temporary tanks for about 6 weeks until I was ready to move them back to the main display tank.

I'm just testing them for Neptune as part of the SKY NSI team.

Here's a quick update on my Reefer XL 425. I replaced the stock Red Sea sump with a Trigger Systems Platinum 34 sump and roller mat. I bleached and cycled my rocks, and put in new sand. The roller mat is working amazingly well! It's just about time to start re-stocking the tank.

Lots of Likes on the Facebook post! One person brought up a good point: what is the magnetic lock’s behavior if the power fails? Does it unlock or remain locked?

By the way, I was on a Neptune YouTube livestream video yesterday talking about my Apex. One person commented that "Chuck Norris has a poster of SuncrestReef on his wall". I thought that was hilarious! 🤣

I posted this on Neptune's Facebook group and tagged Terence at Neptune:

Thanks, those links work!

Ha! Those links are to show the Amazon order history, so when I click them it shows me the most recent items I ordered, not the items you ordered.

Yes, I understand the configuration is pretty simple, but the overall concept is great and likely overlooked by a lot of people. Can you post links to the magnetic lock and the push button you used? I'm sure those would be the first questions people will ask.

Excellent Apex integration technique! Mind if I share this on a Neptune forum? I'm sure you're not the only reefing parent out there that could benefit from this extra layer of security.

Welcome! Feel free to add yourself to our Member Map which shows the location of fellow reefers as well as the local fish stores: https://www.pnwmas.org/membermap/

Wow, looking good! Thanks for the update.

Sold.

Trident Cal tests sometimes show elevated levels when the reagent is nearly empty, supposedly because it's not drawing in enough reagent. Since yours is still full, it's possible the reagent tube is partially pinched when the tray was closed, or it's possible the metal tube under the reagent cap is loose or has come off the connector, both of which could restrict the amount of reagent being drawn in. Unscrew the cap on reagent B & C to verify the tube connection, and also try running the test with the tray open so tubes cannot be pinched.

You'll likely need to contact Neptune Support. But if you want to further investigate on your own, wipe up the spilled reagents with a paper towel, then re-run the initialization process with the tray removed so you can watch inside to see where the leak is coming from.

Pull out the reagent tray and look inside the Trident at the center manifold where each of the tubes connect. Look for any tubes disconnected from the fittings. If anything is disconnected, you can remove the Trident's outer shell to gain access to the fittings and reattach the tube(s).

There is some programmability, but not quite what you described. IOTA outputs don't support Apex profiles, so the ability to "ramp" is not so simple. You can program specific speeds, but not a smooth transition from let's say 10% to 50% in a single transition. Example: Set 50 If Float OPEN Then 10 This would run the pump at 50% under normal circumstances, but if the float switch indicates low water, it will instantly change the pump to 10% until the float detects water, then it will immediately revert to 50%. You can "simulate" a ramp using a series of virtual outputs, but it's not an elegant solution. The example below would ramp from 10% to 50% over 5 minutes in 10% increments when the float switch detects low water: [Speed10] Set OFF If Float OPEN Then ON Min Time 004:00 Then OFF [Speed20] Set OFF If Output Speed10 = ON Then ON Defer 001:00 Then ON [Speed30] Set OFF If Output Speed20 = ON Then ON Defer 001:00 Then ON [Speed40] Set OFF If Output Speed30 = ON Then ON Defer 001:00 Then ON [Return_Pump] Fallback ON Set 50 If Output Speed10 = ON Then 10 If Output Speed20 = ON Then 20 If Output Speed30 = ON Then 30 If Output Speed40 = ON Then 40

My tailspot blenny changes color occasionally, usually at night, with various white spots or markings. I think it's a camouflage technique.

Awww dangit...Now you tell me about the breakfast tacos and bloody Mary's! I totally should have changed my plans! Oh well, sounds like you're in good hands. 🙂

Just to follow up on Neptune’s announcement today about IoTA integration with Sicce pumps, here’s the newly released setup guide: https://www.neptunesystems.com/downloads/docs/IoTa-Sicce_SDC_Pump_User_Guide.pdf

It looks like Neptune is going to announce a new integration with Sicce pumps using IoTA today at 3pm on their YouTube livestream: https://www.youtube.com/c/NeptuneSystemsVideo/videos

IoTA is a closed platform that Neptune will not share with anyone other than hardware manufacturers willing to partner with Neptune. So without knowing how the protocol works, there's not much else you can do with it. See Neptune's comment here: https://forum.neptunesystems.com/showthread.php?31141-IoTa-Protocol