Pump or controller recommendation

Crooked Reef · 09/11/2018, 08:20 PM

I am looking for a return pump or controller option for a 90 gallon tank. I am running a mag7 currently but I don’t like shutting the entire power strip off to the sump for 10 minutes a day for feeding. It’s not that I am worried about the equipment not running, I have almost forgotten to turn it back on a few times. Basically I’m looking for a controller, timer or pump with a built in feed mode.

I have an mp40, an mp10 and radions on a reeflink so I could go with the Vectra pump and tie into that, but I’m curious if there are better options out there. I do not currently have a controller like an apex.

pecan2phat · 09/11/2018, 10:38 PM

If all your looking for is a feed mode option, you can get a DC pump. They all have 10 minute (some more) feed options.
2nd option is to find a used Reef Keeper Lite. They run around $75 used and with this you can monitor your temperature, control your heater and fans and use the Stand By option to shut down individual equipment to x-amount of minutes.
I would probably just pickup a Jebao DC pump from Amazon because Mag Drive pumps are notorious for not starting back up after they are not that new anymore. Usually you have to pull it out and give it a smack with your palm to get them going again but it just gets progressively worse IMO.

mcgyvr · 09/12/2018, 04:37 AM

Do you really need to turn pumps off to feed?
I just use a feeding ring and sinking food..
The feeding ring keeps the food from just floating right over the overflow until it sinks..
After it sinks its not a problem..

But there are numerous pumps now with feed modes and you can certainly purchase a controller if you want.. Not too many options out there for controllers..
You also have Alexa/Wifi enabled power strips now where you can control individual outlets from your phone/Alexa/Google Device.. As little as $25 for a 4 outlet device on Amazon.

Crooked Reef · 09/12/2018, 07:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

Do you really need to turn pumps off to feed?
I just use a feeding ring and sinking food..

A little background. Tank was set up in March of 17. Skimmer running from day one and biopellet reactor added around three months in. Carbon running in a BRS reactor from day one and gfo added a few months in due to algae and phosphate issues. Around April of 18 I started losing all of my sps. It sounds bad, but it was a couple of montiporas and a few small frags of birdsnest I tried. Then my lps started to bleach and die. I lost most of them as well. At some time during all of this gfo was stopped gradually, because phosphates were under control. My biopellet reactors screen got a hole in it and was slowly dumping a few pellets a day into my sump in some rock rubble so I didn’t notice them, I just thought they were being consumed. Now phosphate issues started to arise again and battled I them for a while.

A few weeks back I refilled my biopellet reactor as it had gotten “low” and siphoned the sump around the rubble as normal. To combat coral loss I started feeding reef roids and reef nutrition R.O.E. Every three days. Within a week I had a massive bacterial bloom in the water column, milky white water but no thick snot like slime on the rocks. I let it work itself out for a week. Skimmer was going nuts and every 8 hours it overflowed and literally looked like bubble bath added to a jacuzzi. If you have never seen this it was pillows of foam overflowing into the sump, obviously because of all the bacteria. and when I didn’t I pulled all equipment out of the sump and took half the pellets out, pulled all the rubble out and deep cleaned the sump, this is when I found the pellets that escaped. Finally, I added a UV sterilizer to kill the bacteria in the water column off and polish the water, prepared to fight ammonia and nitrate/phosphate issues from this if the arose. Water cleared overnight and my levels showed nothing. I mean 0 ammonia, 0 nitrate and 0.00 phosphate. Ammonia and nitrate are tested with api kits because I have never had a trace of ammonia after a cycle completed and I usually run about 5-10 nitrate so it is accurate enough for that. Phosphate is tested with a Hannah checker. I had my LFS test my water and verified the numbers.

Sorry, long read. Now comes to the point that I turn my return pump off to feed. I have never in the past shut anything down at feeding time, but somehow now I am running a system that is too clean. I shut off the return when I feed nightly because of target feeding the corals. I know a lot of people will say to feed more, but I currently feed two cubes of mysis, a chunk of rod’s pacific plankton and two gourmet grazers of nori a day. Plus the reef roids daily at the advice of my lfs to get some nutrients in the water. Nitrates and phosphates still read 0 every day but one, when I got them up to 5 and .05. They were back to 0 the next day. Corals are looking better with the feeding and I have plenty of fish, truthfully I am very overstocked, so there is plenty of fish poop. All fish are plump, happy and healthy so they are getting enough food.

Crooked Reef · 09/12/2018, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pecan2phat

Mag Drive pumps are notorious for not starting back up after they are not that new anymore.

Interesting. I have been using them for 16 years and only had complete failures twice, once was my fault. They did run constantly though and didn’t get shut down daily for feeding so that may have been part of it.

The reefkeeper sounds like a good idea. I don’t need a lot of outlets because the reeflink controls my lights and circulation pumps. I was also looking at an entry level apex for $500, but they don’t come with the salinity or orp probes. Those would be an additional purchase and you need another module for it.

Crooked Reef · 09/12/2018, 07:52 AM

Pecan2phat, not sure if you are aware, but digital aquatics has closed down. If you have a reefkeeper and need pets, I would get them now while you can find them. I know they may be a good deal but this steers me towards the apex for future updates, parts and service options.

pecan2phat · 09/12/2018, 08:29 AM

Yes I'm aware that they are no longer supported or produced.
Reef Keepers are pretty solid so I have no worries in terms of malfunction. The only obstacle is obtaining a plug n play temperature probe. There are threads on some options but it's not plug n play and temperature probes are consumables because they do go bad over time.
I've had the original Reef Keeper (which pales in comparison to what today's controllers can do) since it came out 13~14 years ago and still use it on frag tanks and the occasional QT setup. I also have the Lite and Elite for many years now and they are solid.

But you are also absolutely correct in regards to purchasing for the future if that is what your goal is. Apex is the way to go.
Only suggesting a used Reef Keeper as an option to shut off your feed pump and have a few extras perks (heaters/fans) since you stated that you do not use any type of controller.

Crooked Reef · 09/12/2018, 10:38 AM

Thanks. It’s still a good option but I would be concerned with the temp probes as well.

reefinmike · 09/12/2018, 03:01 PM

Bummer reading the reefkeepers arent being produced anymore. I was going to buy one as a cheap temp controller for my qt systems i wish apex made a module for multiple temp probes like the reefkeeper. Otherwise I absolutely love my apex and it is certainly what you need! I upgraded from the jr to the $800 wifi model last month only to find out the $500 EL model was released minutes after shredding the plastic wrapper off. I have had a lot of trouble with my salinity probe and have come to find they aren't nearly precise enough to be of any real utility such as controlling an auto top off. They can serve as an additional layer of redundancy in your top off but I would certainly not use it to control when the fresh water dumps in. The ORP is kinda neat to see but far from necessary unless you feel the need to dose ozone. I already have a vdm module so the variable voltage ports weren't a necessity.

I run a similar sized pump on my 90 and I dont see the need to shut the return off during feeding, just the powerheads and skimmer. I run a herbie overflow and I always have to tweak the valve a little after shutting the pump off so I limit that to once a month or so for water changes.

Crooked Reef · 09/12/2018, 04:13 PM

I’m only shutting the return off during coral feeding, mostly target, just to keep it in the tank.

pecan2phat · 09/13/2018, 05:27 AM

$70, just get one of these and call it a day. Clean up the Mag 7 and store it as a backup in case you need it.
https://www.amazon.com/Jebao-DCP-300...cp%2B3000&th=1

09/11/2018, 08:20 PM	#1
Crooked Reef Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 1,765	Pump or controller recommendation I am looking for a return pump or controller option for a 90 gallon tank. I am running a mag7 currently but I don’t like shutting the entire power strip off to the sump for 10 minutes a day for feeding. It’s not that I am worried about the equipment not running, I have almost forgotten to turn it back on a few times. Basically I’m looking for a controller, timer or pump with a built in feed mode. I have an mp40, an mp10 and radions on a reeflink so I could go with the Vectra pump and tie into that, but I’m curious if there are better options out there. I do not currently have a controller like an apex. __________________ “In wine there is wisdom; in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.” - Benjamin Franklin Current Tank Info: 90 gallon reef. Biocube 29 lionfish tank. Mantis tank.

09/12/2018, 04:37 AM	#3
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	Do you really need to turn pumps off to feed? I just use a feeding ring and sinking food.. The feeding ring keeps the food from just floating right over the overflow until it sinks.. After it sinks its not a problem.. But there are numerous pumps now with feed modes and you can certainly purchase a controller if you want.. Not too many options out there for controllers.. You also have Alexa/Wifi enabled power strips now where you can control individual outlets from your phone/Alexa/Google Device.. As little as $25 for a 4 outlet device on Amazon. __________________ Who me?

09/12/2018, 07:52 AM	#6
Crooked Reef Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 1,765	Pecan2phat, not sure if you are aware, but digital aquatics has closed down. If you have a reefkeeper and need pets, I would get them now while you can find them. I know they may be a good deal but this steers me towards the apex for future updates, parts and service options. __________________ “In wine there is wisdom; in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.” - Benjamin Franklin Current Tank Info: 90 gallon reef. Biocube 29 lionfish tank. Mantis tank.

09/12/2018, 10:38 AM	#8
Crooked Reef Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 1,765	Thanks. It’s still a good option but I would be concerned with the temp probes as well. __________________ “In wine there is wisdom; in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.” - Benjamin Franklin Current Tank Info: 90 gallon reef. Biocube 29 lionfish tank. Mantis tank.

09/12/2018, 03:01 PM	#9
reefinmike Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: ohio Posts: 846	Bummer reading the reefkeepers arent being produced anymore. I was going to buy one as a cheap temp controller for my qt systems i wish apex made a module for multiple temp probes like the reefkeeper. Otherwise I absolutely love my apex and it is certainly what you need! I upgraded from the jr to the $800 wifi model last month only to find out the $500 EL model was released minutes after shredding the plastic wrapper off. I have had a lot of trouble with my salinity probe and have come to find they aren't nearly precise enough to be of any real utility such as controlling an auto top off. They can serve as an additional layer of redundancy in your top off but I would certainly not use it to control when the fresh water dumps in. The ORP is kinda neat to see but far from necessary unless you feel the need to dose ozone. I already have a vdm module so the variable voltage ports weren't a necessity. I run a similar sized pump on my 90 and I dont see the need to shut the return off during feeding, just the powerheads and skimmer. I run a herbie overflow and I always have to tweak the valve a little after shutting the pump off so I limit that to once a month or so for water changes. __________________ 90g reef lit by 2 kessil 360's and 4 T5's. 55g sump/fuge, eshopps s-200 skimmer and slowly working on getting every apex gadget

09/11/2018, 10:38 PM	#2
pecan2phat Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Wallingford, CT Posts: 4,990	If all your looking for is a feed mode option, you can get a DC pump. They all have 10 minute (some more) feed options. 2nd option is to find a used Reef Keeper Lite. They run around $75 used and with this you can monitor your temperature, control your heater and fans and use the Stand By option to shut down individual equipment to x-amount of minutes. I would probably just pickup a Jebao DC pump from Amazon because Mag Drive pumps are notorious for not starting back up after they are not that new anymore. Usually you have to pull it out and give it a smack with your palm to get them going again but it just gets progressively worse IMO.

09/12/2018, 08:29 AM	#7
pecan2phat Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Wallingford, CT Posts: 4,990	Yes I'm aware that they are no longer supported or produced. Reef Keepers are pretty solid so I have no worries in terms of malfunction. The only obstacle is obtaining a plug n play temperature probe. There are threads on some options but it's not plug n play and temperature probes are consumables because they do go bad over time. I've had the original Reef Keeper (which pales in comparison to what today's controllers can do) since it came out 13~14 years ago and still use it on frag tanks and the occasional QT setup. I also have the Lite and Elite for many years now and they are solid. But you are also absolutely correct in regards to purchasing for the future if that is what your goal is. Apex is the way to go. Only suggesting a used Reef Keeper as an option to shut off your feed pump and have a few extras perks (heaters/fans) since you stated that you do not use any type of controller.

09/12/2018, 04:13 PM	#10
Crooked Reef Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 1,765	I’m only shutting the return off during coral feeding, mostly target, just to keep it in the tank. __________________ “In wine there is wisdom; in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.” - Benjamin Franklin Current Tank Info: 90 gallon reef. Biocube 29 lionfish tank. Mantis tank.

09/13/2018, 05:27 AM	#11
pecan2phat Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Wallingford, CT Posts: 4,990	$70, just get one of these and call it a day. Clean up the Mag 7 and store it as a backup in case you need it. https://www.amazon.com/Jebao-DCP-300...cp%2B3000&th=1