Whaler's 30g Finnex

[Whaler]

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm starting this thread for my 30g Finnex I bought a few weeks ago. The room its going into (and the stand it will sit on) is still being built so this may be slow in getting started. I figure what the heck, I'll start the thread anyway, it'll give me something to do while waiting. Seeing that empty tank sitting there everyday is driving me nuts right now.

 

30g Finnex AIO

4x24W T5 with 9 Blue LEDs

Stock pump

Stock protein skimmer

Extra powerhead (MJ1200 or Koralia 1)

150W Stealth Heater

 

The stocking plans (more like a wish list - not sure if it is realistic) are below. I think I'm going to enjoy the crabs/snails/stars as much as the fish, I usually like to look at the not so obvious things going on in the background.

 

Biofiltration:

20lbs base rock from reefcleaners.org

15lbs nano live rock from premiumaquatics

Aragonite sand (I plan to seed with sand from LFS)

Chaeto in fuge

 

CUC (still trying to figure this out completely - ideas are welcome):

Red/Blue Legged Hermit

Ceriths

Narcarius

Pom-Pom or Porcelain Crab

Nano sized brittle or serpent star (need to research this more - I remember seing a website with nano sized stars)

Cleaner shrimp

 

Fish (I'm not completely sold on any except the perc - kids insist):

False Perc Clown (tank bred)

Purple Firefish

Royal Gramma

Anything my kids would love to watch? (ages 4mo - 5)

 

Corals:

Zoas

Frogspawn or Hammer

Not too sure what else yet

 

By the way - this is my first SW tank. Let me know if this seems to ambitious for the size.

[Whaler]

Since I'm still waiting for the room to be finished I didn't want to setup the tank yet, so I figured I'd get the lights done. The lights are the Finnex 4x24 Watt, 24", T5's with 9 blue LEDs for night viewing. The packaging was very good, everything was tight. A nice solid piece of plastic was protecting the sockets and area where the bulbs would be mounted.

 

The lights right out of the box

 

 

The lights come with three power cords so they can be run on a timer to simulate dusk/dawn. One switch controls the inner two lamps and a second switch controls the outer two lamps. A third switch (not shown in this picture, it is in-line with the cord) controls the LEDs.

 

Controls

 

I was a bit surprised that the switches for the T5s were for inner and outer, rather than alternating. Because of that I have the 2 actinic bulbs on the inner and the 2 daylight on the outer. Hopefully the distance between the daylights won't be a problem. Each T5 bulb has an individual reflector. The bulb mounts to the reflector with clips and then the mounting of the bulb into the socket holds everything in. I was also surprised here because I figured the reflectors would be mountd to the casing and the bulbs would just clip in. Maybe its is easier to clean the reflectors this way?

 

Bulbs Installed

 

The LEDs are shown ON in the Low Power mode in the top photo and High Power mode in the bottom. They seem like they will give a good spread across the entire tank. I don't plan on putting the LEDs on a timer, but just to turn them on when vieweing at night. I'm not sure if that's a good plan or not.

 

LEDs Low Power

 

LEDs High Power

[Guest theoldman]

wow

 

That lighting fixture looks great!

This is going to be a sweet setup.

[w1dude]

wow

 

That lighting fixture looks great!

This is going to be a sweet setup.

i agree

[Whaler]

Thanks - I'm hoping it turns out nice.

 

Right now the stand is still being built (my dad is going through chemo right now and working on it when he gets a chance). I received the base rock from Reefcleaners and decided to start seeding it with about 2 lbs of live rock from my LFS.

 

There have been a bunch of hitchhikers - pods, worms, shrimp, sea cucumber, starfish and some unknown corals which I have to put in the ID forum because I have no clue what they are.

 

Here is my "seed tank" which will someday be my quarantine tank. It's a 10g with a 50W heater, MJ900 powerhead and my T5 lights (which I run for ~1hr per day.)

[Whaler]

My stand is finally ready and in place. My dad did a great job with it - he's much better than I am with wood working. You can see in the background that the tank/stand will be up against the heater in the room. My dad built the stand so that it fits around the heater and can be placed up against the wall. He also left an opening in the overhang for the cords to fit through. I love it.

 

 

 

This pic is the back of the Finnex tank showing the compartments. The right side will hold the protein skimmer. The chamber just to the left of that has a built in rack to hold floss, carbon, etc. All the way on the left is a chamber for the return pump and heater. In the middle is the refugium. The flow to the fuge is teed off of the return pump and it has a return of its own.

 

 

I have 15lbs of nano rock on order from Premium Aquatics scheduled to arrive on Thursday. I took the 20lbs of base rock I have been seeding for almost 2 months now and put it into the tank tonight. The 2 lbs of live rock from my LFS is still in my seed tank. It has such good life on it that I don't want it to go through the cycle, so I'll move it when the ammonia and nitrites are gone. I am concerned right now that I will have too much rock as the base rock seems to fill the tank pretty well right now. If it does look like too much, I'll take out one of my base rocks - guess I'll find out on Thursday.

[Phixion]

Another new fellow Finnex 30g owner. I have original 1st generation Finnex 30g glass tank with the old T5 light fixture. I'm looking to upgrade to the new fixture as soon as I can. To my understanding, the blue LEDs have 2 brightness settings, bright when the daylights are on (for a shimmer like effect) and dim for nighttime moonlight simulation. Maybe you can confirm this for us. Keep us updated how your SW adventure goes.

[Whaler]

Thanks Phixion, I've been following along on your tank thread to try and get some ideas. The LEDs do have two brightness settings, the bright setting is BRIGHT, like wear sunglasses bright. I didn't realize one was for daytime (it does give a nice shimmering effect, though.) I'll try to capture a video because I think you will see the effect better than in a picture.

 

Is there any way to run the return pump without the water level being up to the grates? I haven't put all my rock or sand in yet so the water level is ~4 inches below. When I run the return pump it quickly drains the back compartments. I have a MJ900 powerhead providing flow in the main tank right now.

 

Any advice on how much flow I will need once I am up and running? Will the stock return and the MJ900 with upgrade kit be enough?

 

Thanks

[schwaz]

I just got my Finnex 30g today. I can't wait to set it up... it'll have to wait for a couple weeks until I move into my new place. Your stand looks pretty sweet!

 

Thanks Phixion, I've been following along on your tank thread to try and get some ideas. The LEDs do have two brightness settings, the bright setting is BRIGHT, like wear sunglasses bright. I didn't realize one was for daytime (it does give a nice shimmering effect, though.) I'll try to capture a video because I think you will see the effect better than in a picture.

 

Is there any way to run the return pump without the water level being up to the grates? I haven't put all my rock or sand in yet so the water level is ~4 inches below. When I run the return pump it quickly drains the back compartments. I have a MJ900 powerhead providing flow in the main tank right now.

 

Any advice on how much flow I will need once I am up and running? Will the stock return and the MJ900 with upgrade kit be enough?

 

Thanks

[Phixion]

Thanks Phixion, I've been following along on your tank thread to try and get some ideas. The LEDs do have two brightness settings, the bright setting is BRIGHT, like wear sunglasses bright. I didn't realize one was for daytime (it does give a nice shimmering effect, though.) I'll try to capture a video because I think you will see the effect better than in a picture.

 

Is there any way to run the return pump without the water level being up to the grates? I haven't put all my rock or sand in yet so the water level is ~4 inches below. When I run the return pump it quickly drains the back compartments. I have a MJ900 powerhead providing flow in the main tank right now.

 

Any advice on how much flow I will need once I am up and running? Will the stock return and the MJ900 with upgrade kit be enough?

 

Thanks

 

That should be plenty enough flow. I'm current running a Rio 14HF pump for my return (840gph) and a Koralia 2 in the display. Works out pretty well for me so far, the Rio pump is rather noisy though, so advantage to the stock Finnex pump on that front.

 

If the water is draining out from the back, then you'll need to add more water into the tank till the back is full. I kept mine full this way, this is a tank that can definitely benefit well from an ATO. Once evaporation factors in, the back chambers will drain out rather quickly throughout a day. Just something to be aware of. You don't have to have an ATO, but you'll have to keep on top of topping off daily!

[Whaler]

this is a tank that can definitely benefit well from an ATO. Once evaporation factors in, the back chambers will drain out rather quickly throughout a day. Just something to be aware of. You don't have to have an ATO, but you'll have to keep on top of topping off daily!

 

Really? Even with T5 lights? I have the glass cover, but it won't fit once the T5 lights are on because the feet from the mount prevents the glass from fitting in the groove.

[Phixion]

I have the covers too but have never used them...

[Whaler]

So the Live Rock came in from Premium Aquatics. It is the Nano rock, but they told me it would be a mix of Bali and Indo Premium. The stuff looked great, lots of dark and light purple coralline algae and red macro algae. The rock smelled real fresh, not smelly at all. Once it was in the tank I immediately started to see hitchhikers - lots of worms, a snail, a chiton, some polyps and unfortunately, some small aiptasia. I've already hit the aiptasia with a mix of sodium hydroxide/calcium hydroxide that I made at work.

 

 

Here are a couple of FTS with the T5 and LEDs. I'm pretty happy with the aquascaping, its growing on me. All I need now is the sand, should be here next week.

 

 

 

Let the cycle begin!

[Whaler]

Just added my sand, ~20lbs of a 50/50 mix of Fiji Pink and Flamingo Reef. I wanted a good grain size range, the Fiji Pink says 0.5-1mm and the Flamingo Reef is 1-2mm.

 

[burtbollinger]

use the link below to build a sweet lid for the finnex....you use aluminum door frame and pond netting....:

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...mp;pagenumber=8

 

congrats on the finnex, btw....keep us posted on progress...

 

ps: get with Masterbuilder to see what bulbs he uses in his t5 setup....his color looks awesome.

 

also, do look into an ATO, I use the tunze ossimilator, as I get up to 1/2 g. a day evaporation....

[Whaler]

Bookmarked - Thanks for the link. If mine comes out half as nice as that one I'll be happy.

[Whaler]

Time for a big update. My tank has been up and running about 2 months now. I never had a cycle, I guess the 15lbs of Reef Cleaners baserock I had seeded before my Premium Aquatics live rock came in did its job. I measured parameters every other day for a month and never detected ammonia or nitrite.

 

Here is a series of FTS:

 

Jun 22, 2009

 

Jul 22, 2009.

 

Aug 22, 2009

 

I ordered a cleanup crew from ReefCleaners.org - they held up their reputation for sending extras. I ordered 30 dwarf Ceriths, 3 Nerite, 3 Florida Ceriths and 3 Nassarius snail - I received ~90 Dwarf Ceriths, 5 Nerites, 5 Florida Ceriths, 6 Nassarius and a thin legged hermit (hitchiked in a Florida Cerith shell.) This was in addition to the Margaritta snail and two blue-legged hermits I had already added. My blue leggeds immediately killed some of the Florida Ceriths for their shells. Since then one of my blue leggeds has disappeared and I added a scarlet hermit in its place.

 

I picked up three Peppermint Shrimp to deal with the Aiptasia that kept showing itself. Since I added them I haven't see a single Aiptasia - so they worked for me. Before buying them at my LFS, the owner dropped an Aiptasia in their tank and I watched them go attack and eat it, so I knew they were Aiptasia eaters. I think three are too many and I am actively trying to trade one (along with about 10 dwarf ceriths) for some frags. They pissed me off by eating my favorite feather duster the first night I added them to the tank (didn't know they ate them at the time.) The Peppermints are fun to watch, though. They go crazy when I feed the tank, running upside down on top of the water to grab chunks of frozen mysis. They also jump all over my hand whenever I put it in the tank, kinda creepy feeling, but my kids love it.

 

 

The tank currently holds a Pajama Cardinal and False Percula Clown for fish. They get along great. The clown is a real pig when it's feeding time. I'm not certain about future stocking plans at this point, any recommendations would be appreciated.

 

 

For corals, I had about 8-10 button polyps hitchhiked in on my live rock and a Green Star Polyp frag I just added this week. I expect to get a bunch of free softie frags in a few weeks from a local reefer.

 

It hasn't all been easy so far, though. I had the Aiptasia problem to deal with. I was killing them with NaOH/CaOH that I made in the lab at work, but they kept coming back somewhere else. The Peppermint shrimp have taken care of those. I had a polyclad flatworm (a real disgusting, freaky looking thing) that I was able to remove with tweezers. Taking it out was tough and it tore into pieces. I think it grew into another one later on because I did see another one once after that. I have not seen it since I added the Peppermint shrimp, I don't know if they eat them or not, but I keep looking out for it. I have some real strange clear looking algae that clings to the baserock and hangs out in low light areas, nothing seems to want to eat it. I've also recently started to get some green algae showing up, I'm not sure if it is green hair algae or what. I'm trying to get my skimmer up and running efficiently, it doesn't seem to want to produce a consistent foam in the cup, though.

 

 

That's it for now, I'll try to keep the updates more frequent.

 

 

Thanks to burtbollinger and his link to the DIY lid for the Finnex. I followed the post and thought it turned out great.

 

 

[Phixion]

Wow, your tank has really come along!! I looks awesome, Whaler! I fonally got mine all set back up a month ago. I sold my T5HO light though in favor of a Solana 150w MH disco ball which looks not too bad and works out nicely for the tank. Doesn't really heat up the tank much more than otherwise either.

[MGDMIRAGE]

That tank is looking gorgeous! I love the top you made for it too

[likwidglostix]

Nice looking tank! I've been interested in this tank for a few days now. I can't believe I've never heard of this AIO until now. Due to the way the fuge is set up it's my front runner. I know it's up against the wall, but can you get some pics of it? It's nice to see someone made a tank with a real fuge. My converted middle chamber isn't cutting it. Do you notice a decent pod population, like enough to feed a mandarin, perhaps? Nice job on the lid, some one from the local club showed me a link to one a few months back. It looks perfect on that tank.

[asting]

yeah very nice top.

Love the cardinal!

 

You have plenty of rockwork, so a sixline would feel right at home. They're gorgeous fish and very active. I love mine.

[latteslave]

Tank looks great so far! The six line are great to watch. Very active - darting in and out of the holes in the rocks. The one caution is that not only did mine take care of flatworms, it also ate the brittle stars...

[kellerexpress]

tank looks awesome! How does the stock protein skimmer work? I'll be ordering this tank soon to upgrade from my 24g nano-cube and was wondering what to expect from it. Any pics of the skimmate? thanks!

[pismo_reefer]

thats a sweeeet tank setup....

 

 

 

 

im jealous.

 

[Whaler]

Thanks everyone. I'm battling some green hair algae right now, not quite sure why. I do a 3g water change every week, nitrates are 10-15ppm, 0 phosphate. I feed about 1/2 cube of mysis shrimp or Formula 2 every other day and the Peppermint shrimp seem to eat anything that hits the bottom of the tank. Lights are on 12PM-7PM. I have had a little problem with pH and alk being a bit low, would that lead to GHA? I'll be buying some 8.2 buffer soon.

 

I haven't been skimming too much, I can't seem to get it setup right. I don't tend to get a good skim at all. I just get a very small amount of tea colored liquid. The skim started to look good last night, but I turned the pumps off to feed and afterwards - no skim overnight. I'll be looking for a new skimmer once I get some $$$.

 

I'll take a look at the 6 line, I hadn't even thought of them before. Right now I'm not adding anything (except maybe a emerald crab) until the GHA is taken care of.

 

I'll try taking pics of the fuge and skimmer tonight.