Equipment

Equipment

Every choice here was made for a reason, and the reasoning is published alongside it. Status and service history are read from the live inventory that runs this tank, so these pages cannot drift from what is actually installed.

Installed now

Aquarium
UNS 90P · Dutch-inspired planted layout · ADA Amazonia Ver.2 · rescape started July 3, 2026
Light
Chihiros WRGB II Pro 90, installed September 17, 2026 · R125 G95 B130 W0 · ramp up from 9am, full 9:30am – 3:30pm, off 4pm (schedule copied from the fixture’s app, checked November 1, 2026). The original ADA Solar RGB is out of service and kept as the baseline.
CO₂
Regulator and solenoid into an inline diffuser · a fixed daily window on an Apex outlet, run by the Apex's own program: on two hours before the light, off when it starts to fade. Off below pH 4.70, after a leak and during water changes. Pearling watches it and alerts if it is on when it should be off · not closed-loop on pH; the logged pH drop is used to review and tune the schedule
Fertilizer
2Hr Aquarist APT 3 · 4 mL/day in one dose, dosed automatically by the Red Sea ReefDose 2
Water
RODI remineralized with 2Hr Aquarist APT SKY, 9 g per 20 US gal (11.25 g for a 25 gal batch) · practice, not a measurement: KH kept near zero on purpose; GH generally around 5–6 dGH
Circulation
EHEIM Professionel 5e 700 · ADA Super Jet ES-600 · ADA Vuppa II · AI Nero circulation pump, about 25% by day and 40% overnight, reading 40% now
pH probe
Apera Instruments 203DJ-C on the Neptune Apex, since September 19, 2026. The Milwaukee MA911B/2 is retired.
Measured
Temperature, pH and conductivity logged continuously · PAR measured by hand · water chemistry hand-tested
Background
Clear rear glass, no illuminated background; the room wall is visible behind the tank. The DET panel failed in October 2026 and is out of the tank; it is repairable.
Plants
16 active groups; removed groups stay in the record
Displays
A tablet mounted beside the aquarium showing Pearling · A private dashboard · This public site

Lighting3

ADA Solar RGBAcquired 2020. Chosen for its color rendition, reliability, and long-standing reputation in high-end planted aquascaping. It was bought from Aqua Forest Aquarium as the centerpiece fixture for a pendant-mounted layout.Out of serviceChihiros WRGB II Pro 90Acquired 2026. The standing PAR survey found the constraint on this tank was spread rather than output: no position read below its working range, and the highest reading was more than three times the lowest. A bar the length of the tank starts from a different distribution than a pendant narrower than the tank, which is the thing being tested.In useDET illuminated backgroundAn illuminated panel behind the rear glass, used to light the background of the scape.Out of service

Instrumentation1

Apogee MQ-510Acquired 2026. Purchased because inexpensive PAR meters vary significantly. The goal was repeatable measurements using an instrument trusted in horticulture research, with an underwater sensor and a spectral correction intended for use below the surface.In use

Filtration and flow4

EHEIM Professionel 5e 700Chosen for silent operation, electronic flow control, and programmable day/night profiles, so flow can be scheduled rather than left at one fixed rate.In useADA Super Jet ES-600Runs alongside the EHEIM as a second filter, chosen for its glassware and quiet operation in a rimless display where the hardware is visible.In useADA Vuppa IISurface skimming keeps the film off the water surface, which matters both for gas exchange and for photographing the scape through a clean surface.In useAI Nero circulation pumpAdded to complete the circulation loop the filters leave unfinished, from the opposite side of the tank to the filter outflows.In use

CO₂1

CO2 Regulator + SolenoidA solenoid-equipped regulator was required so CO₂ could be placed under automated control rather than run continuously or switched by hand.In use

Monitoring6

Neptune ApexChosen as the hardware layer that keeps life support running independently of anything running on a computer. Outlets, probes and safety limits live on the controller itself.In useMilwaukee MA911B/2 pH probeA replaceable laboratory-style probe was preferred over a sealed sensor, since pH drives the CO₂ control loop and drift there has real consequences.Out of serviceApera Instruments 203DJ-CAcquired 2026. A double-junction laboratory electrode to replace an eighteen-month-old probe on the controller. Double junction because the reference is the part that fouls, and pH here drives the CO₂ figure the whole schedule is judged from.In useAtlas EZO Conductivity ProbeAcquired 2026. Added to turn total dissolved solids from an occasional hand measurement into a continuous trace, so the creep between water changes could be observed rather than guessed at.In useRaspberry PiA small always-on machine was needed to poll every device, hold the CO₂ control loop, and publish the record, without becoming something the tank depends on to stay alive.In useChihiros Heater ProAn inline heater keeps hardware out of the display, which matters in a rimless tank photographed regularly.In use

Dosing1

Red Sea ReefDose 2Bought so fertilizer dosing would be identical every day and independent of whether anyone is home, a variable removed rather than managed.In use

Water1

Auto Top-Off (ATO)Evaporation changes dissolved solids concentration. Replacing it automatically keeps the water volume, and therefore the chemistry, steady between changes.In use

Substrate2

ADA Amazonia Ver.2Acquired 2026. An active aquasoil was chosen deliberately: it drives carbonate hardness down and supplies nutrients from the root zone, which suits the low-KH approach this tank is run on.In usePower SandAcquired 2026. Used as the base layer under the aquasoil to keep the substrate porous and give the root zone somewhere to establish.In use

Also installed, not yet documented5

These are on the tank and tracked in inventory, but do not have written notes yet. Listed rather than hidden so the gap is visible.

RO Membrane · SpectraSelect Plus 99% 90 GPDRODI Filter Set · P1 + CBC-10 + ChlorPlus-10RODI DI - DI-MC-10HCRODI DI - DI-SB-10HCEZO Conductivity Calibration Solutions · K0.1 set (84 / 1413 microS/cm)

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