Jump to content
SaltCritters.com

Paleo's reef - A quick stop in the Red Sea


Paleoreef103

Recommended Posts

The 40 breeder was taken down when I moved down to Florida. I purchased a used Red Sea Reefer 250 as my next tank. Unfortunately, just as it was starting to look great we are going to move again. 

 

Current FTS: 12/23/2015
xeP8fHB.jpg

FTS 5-17-13

aew4NJS.jpg

FTS: 1-10-12
JustftsJPG.jpg
 

Equipment:
Tank: 40 Breeder
Lighting: DIY LED 14 Cree XP-G NW : 28 Cree XP-E RB : 4 Cree XP-E B: 3 Cree XP-E2 B : 3 Rebel Cyan : 3 Rebel ES Lime : 3 Rebel ES 2700K Warm White : 9 LGB 430 nm HV : 4 LGB 405 nm TV
Controller: Apex Jr. w/ VDM for LED control
Powerheads: Vortech MP10w ES Nutrient mode ~ 66%, Jebao RW-8 @ 50%
Return Pump: Maxi-Jet Utility 1800
Sump: 20 Long w/ Refugium
Reactor: TLF Phosban reactor 150 w/ BRS GFO and MJ1200
Refugium pump: MJ 900
Dosing: two BRS 1.1mL dosers for Calcium and Alkalinity. Manual Magnesium dosing
Skimmer: SWC BMK 150
ATO: Tunze Nano
Salt: Red Sea Pro
Heaters: 1 x 300W Finnex Titanium heater on controller + 1 x 75W Rena Smart heater as an emergency.
Rock: Scrounged mix of Fiji and Caribbean live rock and BRS dry rock
Substrate: 40 lbs Fiji Pink, 20 lbs special grade

Supporting Equipment:
RO/DI: BRS 5 stage plus system
Refractometer
5 gallon buckets
Stealth 75W heater (mixing salt)
MJ 900 (mixing salt)

Modifications:
Herbie style overflow. DIY Overflow box

Livestock:

Neon Goby (Elactinus oceanops)

Snowflake Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)

Black Ice Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)

Four line Wrasse (Pseudocheilinus tetrataenia) "Wrex"
Kaldern's Cardinal Fish (Pterapogon kauderni)
Fridami Psuedochromis

Red Banded Shrimp Goby (Stonogobiops nematodes)

Solomon Island Percula (Amphiprion percula) "Alpha Alpha Dipperdil"
Misbar Black Ocellaris (Amphiprion ocellaris) "^@##& Sprinkles"

Royal Gramma (Gramma loreto)
Kaldern's Cardinal Fish (Pterapogon kauderni) "Gepedo"

Cherub Angelfish (Centropyge argii) "Scott"

2019-06-03 (2).jpg

Link to comment

No love?

 

Build pictures.

2011-07-30100301.jpg

The frame of the stand being made out of 2X4s

2011-07-30100327.jpg

Canopy designed so that the light can be within the canopy without restricting airflow to the heatsink.

2011-08-07114832.jpg

Naked stand and canopy.

2011-08-26102815.jpg

Starting to skin the stand. Poplar boards stained with minwax red mahogeny and a gloss clear coat for moisture and shine.

2011-08-05160423.jpg

Drilling the tank. If you're worried about drilling your tank, don't be. Just let the weight of the drill do the work and you'll be done in no time.

2011-10-22135757.jpg

Plumbing the beast. Schedule 80 PVC for the herbie style overflow.

2011-08-05132240.jpg

The heart of the system. SWC 150 BMK. Amazing piece of equipment. Quiet and powerful. Sorry about the mess. This was in the middle of a move and our place wasn't put together.

IMG955449.jpg

LED build.

2011-09-14105023.jpg

LEDs fired up!

2011-11-10213430.jpg

The tank in position and scaped. I'm pretty happy with my aquascape. The fish love all the nooks and crannies.

Edited by Paleoreef103
Link to comment

Nice build ya have there.

 

I'm looking at a similar setup for my 65 (36x18x24). Hows your color shadowing and "disco effect"?

The pictures I'm sure don't do justice to the real thing.

My layout in the planning stages:

Array_LED_48_Layout_Base.jpg

Sink is 6x28 and will be bout 4" off waters surface. I was considering the possibility of using some form of light diffuser to aid in mixing. I will add a string or strings down the center at a later date.

Edited by Mojorizn
Link to comment
Nice build ya have there.

 

I'm looking at a similar setup for my 65 (36x18x24). Hows your color shadowing and "disco effect"?

The pictures I'm sure don't do justice to the real thing.

My layout in the planning stages:

Array_LED_48_Layout_Base.jpg

Sink is 6x28 and will be bout 4" off waters surface. I was considering the possibility of using some form of light diffuser to aid in mixing. I will add a string or strings down the center at a later date.

The color shadowing and disco is noticeable, but only if you're looking for it. Honestly, I don't notice it anymore. It did take about three days for me to get used to it from my MH though. That layout looks great. I've got 60 degree optics and am sitting about 8-10 inches off the water at 700 mAs and I'm hitting about 250 PAR with my apogee at the sandbed and 180 at the corners. It's probably closer to 300 and 230, but those apogee units don't sense blue as much as they should. On a 24" deep tank, you'll probably be fine with a similar set up. I'd be sure to swap out 4 royal blues for cool blues though. They really do add a little extra. I'm thinking about putting 3 Deep Reds into the mix too as the oranges and reds aren't very vibrant when the neutral whites are on. You were thinking about some supplemental T5s though, weren't you?

 

Ive been waiting years for you to start a build :o :o .....great job so far man.

Thanks hype! I just wish I had your photo skills! I've got a neon green with purple polyp porites that's just out of this world, but I can't take a good picture with my crappy camera to save my life.

Link to comment
You were thinking about some supplemental T5s though, weren't you?

 

Yep. I have four T5's + the MH's in my canopy, so, I was gonna keep 2 for kicks. I was thinking CB (4) down the center and maybe a deep red or TV. But, I'll wait on that till the color debate settles down.

 

Thanks for the input. lol...this is your thread...don't wanna intrude, but, I'll stay tuned for your updates.

 

Thanks again

Link to comment
  • 3 weeks later...

New pictures. Slightly better camera too.

DSCN5231.jpg

 

 

DSCN5235.jpg

My Meteor Shower. I thought I lost this one in my old tank to a really bad cyano outbreak.

 

 

DSCN5237.jpg

A washed out picture, but the LEDs make this frogspawn pop!

 

 

DSCN5246.jpg

Another coral that I thought I'd lost in the old tank that's making a come back. In the background I have some spiderman zoas and Tibb's reds.

 

 

DSCN5248.jpg

Purple deaths and radioactive dragon eyes.

 

 

DSCN5249.jpg

Part of the left island.

 

 

DSCN5252.jpg

My ric island. I need some orange and yellow rics!

 

 

DSCN5257.jpg

As close to true color as I can get with my camera and the neutral whites on. Some of the colors don't sing as much as I'd like. After comps I think I'll treat myself to 6 TVs and 3 Deep reds (or 4 TVs, 3 Tuq, and 3 DRs) while upping the current to my standard blues and see what I think of the color then.

Edited by Paleoreef103
Link to comment
  • 4 weeks later...

Nice build paleo! Thanks for the observations on LED coloration.

 

I'm getting sick of replacing MH bulbs and I also have a 40b that I'm thinking about doing an LED build for.

 

I like your scape a lot too, and your stocking list! Do you have a cover on the tank though?! If not, you should consider one...

Link to comment
Nice build paleo! Thanks for the observations on LED coloration.

 

I'm getting sick of replacing MH bulbs and I also have a 40b that I'm thinking about doing an LED build for.

 

I like your scape a lot too, and your stocking list! Do you have a cover on the tank though?! If not, you should consider one...

Thanks man. I love my LEDs. Yes the color could be a bit better, but I just ordered 10 extra LEDs to help and I'm thinking about putting some star defuser between the new LEDs and the tank to help with blending. I've been shocked by the growth I've been getting from my corals though. I have acros that aren't directly under the light and sitting at about 180-200 measured PAR and they're still exploding with new growth.

 

I am pretty content with my fish stocking, but I might add a small blenny (tailspot or two spot). I don't have any perching fish!

 

I have a full canopy. I know, rimless with pendants is the new hotness, but i like being able to hide lights, equipment, etc and a nice wooden cabinet is quite aesthetically pleasing.

Link to comment
  • 1 month later...
Paleoreef103

Quick update. I had an ich infection (3 months after the last fish was added) that killed off both of my clowns, my cardinal and my royal gramma. The fish I added most recently are completely fine. I'm waiting a few months before adding any more fish to hopefully purge the system of ich. I don't think I'd be able to catch my wrasse in the tank or I'd remove all my fish to a 15 gallon for a two month treatment. I also have 3 Deep reds, 3 Turquoise, and 4 True violets to add to my light, but my soddering iron is 5 hrs away. The corals are all doing well, but the colors on some of them aren't spectacular. If the exotic LEDs don't add what I want, I'm going to add a pair of T5s.

Link to comment
Paleoreef103
You have a 4line wrasse! How is it's temperament? I've really been wanting one but there doesn't seem to be a lot of info on them.

I haven't had any trouble with him, but he was second to last thing added to the tank (Cherub angel) and he's got a decent amount of space. I wouldn't expect him to be a good community fish if he was added 1st to a smaller tank. A 40 breeder seems to be a good size to have one. He eats like a pig and will eat just about anything, but I haven't seen him attack rocks looking for microfauna like I've seen other wrasses do.

 

That said, he's awesome.

Edited by Paleoreef103
Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

Hey Paleo really sorry to hear about the ich outbreak and fish losses but the tanks coming along nicely...although you know what would make your coral colors look even better? T5's ;)

Link to comment
Paleoreef103
Are you a CrossFitter?! :D I can't help but smile every time I read your member name!

Actually, I'm a paleontologist who works on corals (PhD candidate at Iowa)!

Hey Paleo really sorry to hear about the ich outbreak and fish losses but the tanks coming along nicely...although you know what would make your coral colors look even better? T5's ;)

Yeah, I'm sure they would! I've been kicking it around, but the colors are actually still improving on my tank and I'm loving the fact that I don't have to replace bulbs. I do wish that the full spectrum revolution occurred a year earlier though! (still planning on installing the full spectrum mod though. I'm having trouble finding time to take the light down for a few hours and just pounding out the LED addition)

 

I'm starting to think about what I should add as my next fish in a month. I'm open to suggestions.

 

I'll try to get a few pics up later.

Edited by Paleoreef103
Link to comment
  • 2 months later...
  • 10 months later...
  • 5 months later...

Man you've got a ridiculous 40 Breeder. I'm such an idiot and didn't pick one up at petco's recent $1 per gallon sale.

 

Any update on the tank?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
  • 3 months later...
  • 5 months later...
Paleoreef103

Sorry about the lack of updates. I've had a battle with cyano that won't go away and a lot of vermetid snails that have caused some other problems. Thankfully the cyano seems to have been more under control now that I've doubled the water changes and brought my GFO reactor back online. I'll try to get some pictures posted up again. I'm contemplating trying a Emerald Crab to see if it'll pick on the vermetid snails.

I'm also breathing more life into my aging LED fixture. It's served me faithfully for the past 3 years, but it's time for an update. The total fixture will be 14 XP-G NW (60o optics), 3 Rebel ES 2700K Warm Whites, 3 Rebel Limes, 3 Rebel Cyans, 4 XP-E CB, 3 XP-E2 CB, 28 XP-E RB (60o optics), 9 430nm HVs, and 4 405nm TVs. I'm hoping this will bump my PAR in the SPS region to 400+ and my sandbed to 250-300. I'll also try to snap some pictures of the addition. Honestly, I've been extremely happy with the layout of my fixture so far, but I also feel like SPS really like violet light and all of my warmer corals could be a bit more vibrant.


  • Like 1
Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...
Paleoreef103

Alright! I upgraded my light exactly as mentioned above. I'm not going to lie, the combination of 2700K Warm whites and Limes works beautifully. The tank looks brighter and I'm getting the halide effect that Evil mentioned with his experiences with Limes. I'm surprised that only three of each over a 40 breeder works as well as it does. PAR is up to about 300 in the SPS region and 180 on the sandbed. Overall, I'm really happy with my upgrade and I can't wait to see how my corals react long term. Anyway, here are a few pictures to keep everyone happy.
2nnrcKw.jpg

C0XQB3d.jpg

Ym7f573.jpg

  • Like 2
Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recommended Discussions

×
×
  • Create New...