SuncrestReef

+1 on goniopora, but it's not fully extended.

Holy crap! Is that a giant anemone or the monster from Stranger Things?

How many can I keep in a 10 gallon nano??? 🤣

OMG...now all I want is fresh crab for dinner!!! How many did you end up catching? 🦀

@pdxmonkeyboy...If I'm ever in court, I want you to represent me! Well played.

Wow, I was surprised to hear about the problems last time you had an issue. I can't believe it's still happening! How long have you had these lights? What's the warranty period? My Radion XR30 Pro's have been rock solid. (knock on wood...)

My work here is done!

I let her try out my filter when she looked at my tank. This one is an AquariClip, but I'm looking to replace it with either the PolypLab Coral View: https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/smartphone-coral-view-lens-kit-version-2-polyplab/ or the IceCap Stackable Clip-on Multi-Lens Kit: https://www.amazon.com/Stackable-Clip-Multi-Lens-Kit-Mobile/dp/B07KGFR5JK The reason I want to switch is that the AquariClip only includes an orange filter, but these others include orange, yellow, and a macro lens add-on.

Yeah, sorry about Cooper...We've tried to explain to him about "personal space", but his reaction is just:

I think one of the biggest problems with the Apex is the lack of easy to follow documentation. Most people don't realize you can make a backup of your config and restore it easily if needed rather than re-programming everything from scratch if you have to replace it. That was part of my motivation when I wrote my Week of Apex Tutorials segment. Whether it's an Apex, GHL, Reef-Pi, or other type of controller....These are all just toolkits. You can build something elegant or something horrific. All of them require an investment in learning how they work and what they are capable of doing. By no means is automation needed to keep a successful reef. But for people who travel frequently, for people who like gadgets, for people who obsess over data, or for people who are lazy enough to spend a little time automating to avoid manual labor over the long run, you can't beat having a controller. Just be sure to put the required effort into learning how to use them properly and to have failsafes in place.

I also like that this model has flat surfaces at the top making it easy to add other bulkheads for both plumbing and cable/tubing access.

I can't remember the exact price, but I think it was about $150 for each 75 gallon container. They came with a pre-installed 1.25" threaded bulkhead at the bottom.

The same question came up a couple months ago in this thread where I posted a lengthy list of how I use my Apex:

I am heavily invested in Apex with several add on modules and absolutely love it. But others are perfectly content and have successful tanks without it, and many others use competing brands of controllers. I think it boils down to what you hope to achieve with a controller, and whether you have the time and patience to learn how it works. I chose the Apex over other solutions for several reasons. It has the largest user base, a very active community support forum, a wide assortment of optional accessories, easy access from computer/tablet/phone from anywhere in the world with Internet access, and little (if any) DIY skills needed to install and use it. I’m sort of the resident Apex nerd on these forums, so perhaps I’m a bit biased, but feel free to ask me specific questions about it.

By the way, if you haven’t yet figured out what additional parts you’ll need for your mixing station, I have a full annotated parts list from mine on my R2R build thread: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/suncrestreefs-red-sea-reefer-xl-425-build.358990/page-34#post-6173194

Wow, that's awesome! You could get pretty creative.

That’s cool. Do you make the pattern, or does it randomly evolve?

I have 45 gallons on hand. I'm in far SW Beaverton on Cooper Mountain.

I got mine at Green Concepts Containers in Gresham. They have a huge selection of every shape & size of storage containers. They advertise on Craigslist where you can see a lot of their selection: https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/bfd/d/portland-green-concepts/6921696553.html 2227 NW Eleven Mile Ave, Gresham, OR 97030

These are from my Nikon D610 camera with a Nikon 200mm f/4 macro lens. It's a ridiculously overkill setup for coral photography, but it works well for me. You can see a lot more of my macro shots with this lens here:

Unfortunately not all heaters have their own built-in thermostat.

Ouch. SO sorry to hear this. 😞 This has been one of my biggest worries, and so far I've religiously double-checked everything before walking away from my tank to make sure everything is set to Auto. As an added failsafe, I have set up my Apex with a few virtual outputs I use for maintenance tasks as master On/Off switches. This allows me to leave all the critical components set to Auto, and the programming turns them off when I'm doing maintenance. Unfortunately this won't help for yesterday's mishap, but maybe it can help you and others here prevent future problems. Let me know if want me to go over your Apex setup to help set up some additional failsafes.

Based on other threads, apparently my purple coralline algae is in demand, so perhaps your prize should be some algae scrapings. 🤣 And of course I have detailed floor plans. I even have 3D renderings of the room. Doesn’t everyone??? 🧐

That’s exactly the reason. My tank sits in front of a 4 foot long divider wall that’s at a 45 degree angle to the room. The left side is easily accessible, but the right side is pretty cramped to reach behind. I leave my Flipper scraper “parked” on the left side rear wall and use it to scape that section plus the sides and front, but never the right rear.