Nobby's S-650

SPR

Well-Known Member
I had to order the Vibrant from the US, as the UK suppliers would not send it to Germany ! Globalization eh!
Regarding spare parts for the tank. Did you get yours via Red Sea or did you have to order them via the LFS? I'm just looking to get some spare water intake covers for the circulation pumps, and some more weir combs, just so that when I take them out for a clean I can fill the gaps as I'm worried some bright spark of a fish will nip through the holes !

You have to order via LFS and it has to be one of the Red Sea 'premium dealers' I think. I've got a spare pump, the round intake covers and I'm just awaiting the set of overflow combs but they are struggling to get correct code for these.

Round Grill is: SP2139 Max S Vent Grill

Kevin and Red Sea got me the codes. I've got the one for the overflows at work but haven't got these yet LFS seem to be struggling.

Try Charterhouse Aquatics in London they are very good as are Complete Aquatics. I believe Charterhouse dispatch international as well. I get most of my stuff from these two.
 
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Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
I tried to get my Vibrant from Charterhouse, but they wouldn't send to Germany.

My LFS is a 'premium dealer' (I think). It's not so much an LFS as a bloody huge chain. The actual shop is on two floors and covers everything from cats, dogs, birds, fish, rabbits, snakes etc etc.

I've actually got a problem finding a quality shop.The one I use is big, but expensive. I came across a new shop only 30 minutes drive away, but when I went there they had a couple of dead fish in their tanks. One had even turned white and was half eaten. I felt that a basic daily inspection would have had that removed, so if they didn't even do that then I wasn't going to buy anything from them.
Until I can find a genuine LFS then it'll have to be the big shop for me.
 

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
Still waiting for the Vibrant to arrive...........

In the meantime I have been trying to work out how to tidy up the view from the back of the Chiller Compartment. My problem is that that part of the tank can be seen easily, so I have to keep it tidy. My first attempt involves a Louvre Door Panel This can just sit on the floor and stand against the frame, with some thin magnets providing a bit of adhesion. It will still leave a small gap at the top to allow the cables to run into the Power Centre, and being a Louvre Panel, it will help with the air circulation when I eventually get a Chiller. I will try a White panel first, and if I don't like that I'll paint it black ! If it is just sat on the floor and held up with magnets there is no permanent fixing to the frame needed, plus it is easy to remove when required.
I'll pop some pictures up when I find the panel I want. Ideally it'll be 49.5cms wide by 80cms high. So far I have found a panel that is 49.4cms wide but only 60cms high.
 

SPR

Well-Known Member
My vibrant is arriving today, although i don't know if I need it much now as my hair algea is receding slowly. I might give it a try to see how it goes to get rid of the last bits.
 

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
My next little modification........

The back/side of my tank can be seen quite easily from the living room, and all of the cables are hanging down and going into the Power Centre...
One.jpg

So, I bought a nice piece of black PVC boarding from a local hardware shop. It was 50cm x 100cm, so I just cut 20cms from the length with a craft knife. No sawing needed. It cost about 12 English Pounds.
I then bought a roll of self-adhesive magnet.....
One1.jpg
This stuff can be cut with a pair of scissors. I put three strips of about 10cm down both sides of the tank (top, middle and bottom) and then mirrored them on the pvc board. The magnet is not strong enough to support much weight, but it holds the board against the tank perfectly. This sticky backed magnet roll cost about 6 English Pounds.
Finally, with the board cut to length, the sticky backed magnet applied, it looks like this....
One2.jpg
Much much tidier with the thumbs up from the Boss. Plus, if I need to get amongst the wiring for any reason, it is really simple to just lift off the panel.
 

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
There were a couple of new additions to the tank on the weekend. A little while back I bought a small Dwarf Fire Angelfish, but it was beaten up by the Kole Tang and died within hours. I was determined to have one of these fish in the tank, so I bought another one, but too some steps to help it. First off, the new one was a bit bigger. The first one was small and this probably didn't help. Next, the rock island I have on the right hand side of the tank has a large piece of rock on top, which is not stuck down. So I 'moved' this piece of rock to change the scape. I was hoping that this would confuse the existing fish population and reduce any thoughts of 'that's my territory'. I also put in a 6" piece of plastic pipe next to where I had changed the scape.. So the scape was changed, and there was a hiding place, if necessary, for the new fish. At the same time I was adding a Lemonpeel Angelfish.
Initially, whenever the two newbies appeared there was aggression shown by the Kole Tang, the Two Damsels, the Coral Beauty and the Clowns. However, with the new hiding places the newbies were able to get away from the aggression. By Sunday afternoon, the two newbies were swimming around the tank without any aggression being shown by the others, so I was able to put the rock scape back to how it was, and remove the plastic pipe.......and everybody seems happy :Flustered:
I don't have any pictures of the new fish as it's almost impossible to catch them not moving, so here is a stock photo of the Lemonpeel......If you haven't seen one before it's about the same size as a Coral Beauty or the Fire Angelfish as it is another Dwarf Angelfish. It has a deeper yellow than the Yellow Tang.
103500.jpg
 

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
Had my first jumper yesterday. It was the Cleaner Wrasse. As I consider this fish to be a vital element in keeping the fish disease free, I will replace him.
 

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
This morning I placed an order for a Teco TK 1000 Chiller ! We've already had three days where the temperature rose to about 35 degrees, and the tank temperature rose to 29.2. As this is only the start of the summer, there is no way I can keep the tank temperature down. A fan blowing across the surface just ain't going to deal with it unfortunately!
The wife is moaning that the tank is heating up the Living Room (What?!?!?!), so I plan to run the Chiller overnight, when everyone is in bed and it is a bit cooler. During the day I will not run it as the heat expelled into the room will only produce howls that will make my ears bleed ! I don't expect the temperature to fluctuate that much when it is switched off during the day, but as with all things, it'll be trial and error.
 

SPR

Well-Known Member
If your getting to those temperatures I would be getting air conditioning or a portable one anyway never mind the tank as it's very hot .

i don't think you have any choice really with a chiller in that climate and there's no point spending thousands and then not keeping a basic and critical parameter under control

Let me know how you get on with it when you've set it up as they look a nice piece of kit.
 

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
We try to keep it cooler in the house. We have triple glazing, and we have the outside blinds down when the sun is shining in. We also have fans everywhere. To install air conditioning would cost a fortune, and a portable unit won't really work as we have a large Living Room, with an opening to the Reception room and kitchen. It's a massive ole space, and there are no doors.
 

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
The Teco TK 1000 has arrived !
I unboxed it yesterday and it does look and feel like a serious bit of kit.
The next thing is to decide how to feed it. I have two options.
1. Connect the input to the Manifold. My main concern here is any fluctuation in the feed will result in the Downflow Regulator having to be adjusted, plus it is almost impossible to determine if the amount of flow is correct going into the Chiller from the Manifold, as you only have the Red handle to turn. However, this is the quietest and cheapest option. If there is no fluctuation in the feed, then the only concern is regulating the flow.
2. Buy a pump to feed into the Chiller. I'd be able to adjust the pump easily to determine the flow. The only drawback is that it's yet another plug, and although the pumps do run pretty silently, it is just that little bit more noise and another point of failure.

Does anyone have any recommendations?
 
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Whitey1973

Active Member
I would agree with you on adding another pump, I would see how it goes running it off the manifold...... loving the frags, just be careful with the sun coral, looking at the picture it might be in to much light!!


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Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
Yeah, I've been thinking about moving it to a shadier spot. Some say it needs shade, others say it doesn't matter..........trial and error eh! It is very close to the sand, so it is not high up.
 

Whitey1973

Active Member
Everyone I know has had better luck positioning them under a overhang if you have one


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Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
I've got a very good overhang, however it does give me problems feeding it. I have a long plastic feeder thingy (like a long turkey baster), but it can be difficult to get the angle right.
 
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