mseepman's 16" starfire nano

[Myka]

Put the sand in a cup or bowl (after it's rinsed if it's dry sand), then gently lower it to the bottom of the tank and gently dump it out. Your tank will still get uber cloudy though. Use a turkey baster to baste rocks 2-3x a day.

[Okguy]

Originally Posted by mseepman

Well, I tested the plumbing today...no leaks!!!

I put most of the water in and I"m just making some more SW to finish it off. Got the temp up to 79 and holding. RK2 works like a dream. I will take some pics as I finish the ATO and put the sand in.

Haven't filled it up enough to put my sump into place yet but that will occur tomorrow or Wed probably.

Hey Mark, sounds great! I'm excited to see it in person. Are you going with the ATO we discussed? Can the ATO be run using the RK2? I'm also curious how well the RK2 maintains the temperature. Now that it has cooled off drastically outside, I find it even more difficult to keep my temperature swings in check. I came home yesterday to find my cooling fan and both heaters on. I'll be watching your tank closely to see if an investment in the RK2 is worth it.

Cheers,

Kevin

[mseepman]

Hey Kevin, I have to say that I am nothing but happy with the RK2 considering it's price. It does keep my temp under control. It uses one channel to control the heater (with a cut-off in case heater control itself fails) and one channel for my chiller (Which is a bank of fans on the sump) Since putting water in, getting it to 79 degrees, it has not had a variance of more than .1 of a degree (currently that mostly consists of heating the water rather than cooling it).

Here are some pics of the rockwork in place (still missing the seeder rock).




I had what I thought was a better setup, but I couldn't pass the magnet everywhere around it and that was not acceptable for me.

The SCWD is working well, but a little noisy for me. (Kinda a creaking sound)

I'm a little disappointed in my flow...so many elbows that its cut down more than I thought it would be. May have to bump that Quietone (which isn't that quiet) up to an Eheim or something. Any recommendations for me? (I don't want it generating too much heat)

[mseepman]

I am wondering about my circulation in this tank. I have approx. 950gph flow between the two Koralia nano's (I replaced the MJ400 in the picture) and the return pump (Quietone 3000 through an SCWD).

Does everyone think this is enough flow for a 16G SPS dominated tank?

[Oscar]

Originally Posted by mseepman

Hey Kevin, I have to say that I am nothing but happy with the RK2 considering it's price.

Why the RK2 and not the elite? Who did you get the RK2 from?