DaJMasta's 45G AIO Cube Mixed Reef

[YHSublime]

Very strange, but possible that you missed a spawning? 

[DaJMasta]

It's possible, but while I was distracted, I didn't notice anything out of the corner of my eye, and there didn't seem to be anything in the water when I eventually caught it.

 

I sort of doubt the sand is deep enough for this, but it sort of reminds me of the reports of gas bubbles building up in deep sand beds.

[DaJMasta]

Was seeing more algae buildup on the glass than usual this past week and went to clean the scrubber... the lights are as dim as can be while still being on.

 

Second time in two years, same fault, and of course it's out of warranty.  I wouldn't recommend the Santa Monica Filtration Drop 1.4X, especially for the insane price it's currently going for.

 

 

I don't know what my scrubber options are, now, since the chamber really could only accommodate something about that size.  I would like some kind of scrubber as nutrient export, so if anyone's got recommendations, I'm all ears.

[Gatortailale]

It looks like the Drop 1.4 comes with 2 power supplies.  Are they both working - try switching the power bricks for each. And maybe you can find a power brick on amazon or a mean well one that is compatible with it.  

[DaJMasta]

Yeah, the power supply is still good - measures a tad over the 15V nominal, but well within tolerance.  They replaced it the first time the same thing happened after a few months, but the warranty is only a year.  If I have to guess, it's an issue with waterproofing, since the failure mode isn't fully short or open, but that the lights get just really dim.

 

I'm tempted just to DIY it because scrubber prices just keep going up for some reason - just a plastic piece and some lights and a pump, but the very cheapest is like $200 and virtually nothing actually fits in the rear chamber of an AIO.  Will probably do a 3d printed shell, a clear algae basket, and then a relatively powerful spotlight type light to shine down the middle.  Should fit reasonably in the media basket tower, not exactly a scrubber without the airflow (maybe it can be added too), but at least an algae reactor and a way to offset the evening pH swing.

[DaJMasta]

And today, a little PSA for AIO users: vacuum your rear chamber!

I got about a quart of sludge out of mine and it may have been the first time since I started the tank up

 

[Gatortailale]

Saw this on bookface. No idea any good. Says for AIO tanks 

[DaJMasta]

That kind of thing could certainly work, but it's sort of a mess to try and incorporate - this is an AIO system, so either you add it on like a sump, or you add it on like a HoB, which doesn't physically have a great option where my tank is.  Probably the option that would make sense would be to mount it over the tank, so you pump water into it and then let it fall back in, but there's not a lot of space and I don't know if I want to mount it to the wall of this apartment, so it's a harder sell.

 

I thought about it and looked around a bit and decided I could probably make my own, though.  So I bought some low color temperature halogen bulb LED replacements as well as some ceramic bases, and I've got a 12V power supply and a low speed fan to go along with.  The idea is to design and 3d print a plastic box that slides into the media basket tower - black sides, but a clear plastic basket in the center with short handles to remove and then a black plastic hood with the lights, electrical, and vented cooling fan.  I think 3 narrow beam halogen replacement bulbs should allow pretty considerable depth penetration (the chamber is something like 20 inches high, but I think the basket will go down maybe a foot), it will fit where the previous one was, it will be larger in size, and with reasonable thermal design, it should be no risk to itself or the creatures around (12V DC, fused, and seated above the top of the glass to prevent flooding.)

 

Have to get to designing it and will probably need an iteration or two, but then it will be time to try and grow something with it.

Since taking the scrubber offline, I had the big film algae bloom, some hair algae in the display (especially on powerheads), and finally a bit of cyanobacteria bloom, but everything's calming down a bit.  I think it's back to some level of equilibrium for now.