kevantheman35 Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 I have had an addiction to this hobby & all marine life for around 5 years now. In that time I have learned a great deal and still feel like I have barely begun to scratch the surface of what there is to know about the hobby. This tank has been running since christmas of 2010, and I am not very happy with the growth I have gotten in that time. In the passed 6 months or so I have been putting a lot of time and money into upgrading equipment in an attempt to get better growth and lower algae problems. You may be able to tell in some of these pics that I am having some real problems with bryopsis lately, and am currently trying to come up with a solution if anyone has any input. Anyways, here is my tank as of tonight (10-16-2012). Aquarium 34g Solana. 20''x20''x20'' Home made red oak stand with marble top & removeable magnetic doors for easy access when I upgrade to a 24'' cube in the future. Lighting Ice cap 250w pendant & ballast with a 250w pheonix 14k bulb DIY 3w Cree LED royal blue actinics. Hung from the ceiling with a gieseman hanging kit. Filtration Gfo & carbon run in a phosban reactor with a maxijet400 Bubble Magnus NAC5E HOB skimmer(kind of big for the tank but I like it a lot) Other Equipment Digital aquatics Reef Keeper Lite controller JBJ Auto top off Milwaukee SMS122 pH monitor Rf20 Refractometer 150w jager heater Maxijet 900(Return) Tunze 4045(Circulation) Brs 4 stage ro/di plus system http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-4-stage-...stem-75gpd.html I have always bought water locally but recently purchased this rodi as I just did not trust the water I was using and contributed it partially to my algae problems. Maintainance I do 5g water changes every week (sometimes 10g) Clean the glass every three days or so Feed every other day on a rotation of Mysis, rodsfood, & IO marine blend. I also fix in some coral frenzy every now and then. I try not to feed very heavy as I have algae problems but I spot feed coral when I can. Dosing I am not as good as I should be with dosing & have struggled getting a dosing schedual down. I do add kalk to my top off water (2tsp per gallon), and dose b-ionic 2 part. Live Stock Fish Darwin Clownfish pair Pseudochromis Inverts Rose Bubble Tip Anemone(Clowns don't seem to be interested but the nem is still fairly small) 3 Maxi-mini Carpet Anemone variations Sea cucumber Yellow sea cucumber 2 maxima clams Theres also a few emerald crabs, a porcelain crab, and some various snail species. Coral SPS Gnarf Bonsai (frags available) Green Digitata Green Birdsnest Orange moniticap Purple rim green monti cap Superman monti Spongodes Unknown deepwater sps LPS Frogspawn Neon Green Candycane Blue Candycane Pot of Gold Favia Prism Favia (frags available) A few unknown favias Lobophyllia Softies Purple death palys Captain Amrica palys Pink palys (frags available) Green palys Blue Hornet Zoas Rasta Zoas Whammin Watermelon Zoas Nuclear dragon eye Zoas (frags available) Yellow button polyps (frags available) Abunch of bright pink Yumas Random coral pics 2 Link to comment
kevantheman35 Posted October 17, 2012 Author Share Posted October 17, 2012 Thanks, I think lol Link to comment
chachew Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Super sweet, the magnetic doors are freaking genius! Link to comment
kevantheman35 Posted October 17, 2012 Author Share Posted October 17, 2012 Super sweet, the magnetic doors are freaking genius! Thanks! I used neodymium rare earth magnets counter sunk into the wood, and then epoxy over top. Even without a sump right now it makes it much easier for me to do maintenance. 1 Link to comment
kevantheman35 Posted October 19, 2012 Author Share Posted October 19, 2012 Some of my yumas 1 Link to comment
JR! Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 man i need some of the yumas. no one has them around here Link to comment
kevantheman35 Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 I love the Yumas. Some of the ones I have bud off a new clone probably once a week or two. I never have that kind of luck with Florida rics splitting thats for sure 1 Link to comment
kevantheman35 Posted October 30, 2012 Author Share Posted October 30, 2012 added an mp10 to replace my tunze 6025 today. Come on polyp extension and coral growth! Link to comment
Arkayology Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 added an mp10 to replace my tunze 6025 today. Come on polyp extension and coral growth! Good choice. You will love it! It is like night and day. I really like your stand BTW. Link to comment
kevantheman35 Posted October 30, 2012 Author Share Posted October 30, 2012 Good choice. You will love it! It is like night and day. I really like your stand BTW. Thanks! It seems very nice, but I'm going to have to get used to the noise for sure Link to comment
kevantheman35 Posted November 2, 2012 Author Share Posted November 2, 2012 Impressions of the mp10 so far Pros: 1. Its awesome to have multiple settings to play with. I played with making waves on short pulse mode before finally settling on lagoon mode at about 100%. What settings does everyone like to use? 2. It has much more sex appeal than my tunze pumps haha. 3. It is much less noticeable in the aquarium than other pumps and takes up a lot less room. Cons: 1. It is way louder than any pump I have ever used when set anywhere near full power. I would rather g with an mp20 or 40 and set the power real low to minimize sound. 2. The dry side gets very hot and I am constantly messing with it afraid that the two sides are not perfectly aligned and the pump will overheat or break. 3. You have no choice but to have an ugly cord going across your tank as it is impossible to hide if you have the pump on the side of the tank. Overall I like it a lot so far. I got a very good deal on the mp10, trading a tunze 6025 and a little cash for it, so I am not out too much if it does break on me. Plus I always have a tunze 6045 sitting around if I change my mind. Link to comment
kevantheman35 Posted January 22, 2013 Author Share Posted January 22, 2013 Time for an update! Since my last post I have installed brs dosing pumps for my 2 part which has been great. I am still fighting hair algae problems, still barely feeding and using ridiculous amounts of GFO. I think I may finally be getting a handle on it and am planning on running bio pellets starting this week. I just replaced my bulb to make sure that wasn't the issue so bio pellets are my last resort. Other than that the Darwin clowns continue to grow and are getting along great, and I have added some new livestock. New Livestock: Tuxedo Urchin-This guy is the only invert I have ever owned that has actually destroyed algae. I am very happy with his performance and he looks awesome. Lettuce Nudibranch- Enjoyed him for a few days before he disappeared into the rock, haven't spotted him in a few weeks. New corals: These guys are waiting to find a spot in my tank, The rasta frag went from a single polyp to 7 polyps in 2 weeks so I am extremely happy with it. I've never seen a mushroom quite like this one I picked up from a local who was taking down his tank, it's extremely bright and pretty large. FTS 1 Link to comment
kevantheman35 Posted January 22, 2013 Author Share Posted January 22, 2013 Alright time to kick some algae ass lol. Hooking everything up tonight, will keep updates on the progress. Link to comment
kevantheman35 Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 Here's some other products I got in this week. The Lifeguard thermometer is actually waterproof and suctions from the inside of the tank instead of having some kind of probe, Its real bright and easy to read. I'm a big fan except for the short power chord it has. I am really enjoying the Hikari marine S pellet food so far. It is a really nice balanced food to supplement between frozen feedings and I feel like less food ends up going to waste like when I feed flakes. The Dr. F&S cleaner spray claims that it is completely safe if it accidentally gets it the tank, which is reassuring, although it seems like it is a lot harder to buff out then the household window cleaners I have used in the past. Link to comment
kevantheman35 Posted January 26, 2013 Author Share Posted January 26, 2013 Hooked up my biopellet reactor and the maxijet 1200 was super underpowered. It was making a lot of noise and the impeller seemed loose so I contacted Dr. F&S and they are shipping me a new one so hopfully it works out. Link to comment
kevantheman35 Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 Update I purchased this green milli the other day from a lfs after noticing that an acro crab was calling it home. I wish I had a macro lense so I could snap a good pic' date=' but he's pretty amazing to watch. I rescaped a little to fit this guy in, creating an island on the right side of the tank, and a few pillers going upward on the left to hold sps. I also started my biopellets, as well as dosing mb7 this week and am waiting for them to start kicking in. [b']New product[/b] I purchased a nice Hanna phosphate colorimeter this week off of craigslist (model HI 93713). I got a great deal and it came with 85 reagents, although expired haha. The first reading I got was .04 mq/l which was much lower then I had expected due to my hair algae problems I've been having. FTS So I've never mentioned before that I work and am a member of the dive team at the Fort Wayne Children's zoo. Our zoo is rated in the top 10 in the country and were pretty proud of it. Here's a few crappy pictures of the 20,000g reef tank and 50,000g shark tank where I dive, clean, and do underwater question answer sessions. 1 Link to comment
SeahawkReefer Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Some pretty nice toys ya got there! I want to dive in a 20,000 gallon fish tank!!! Pretty sure you have most reefers dream job! Pics of the clams? -Aaron Link to comment
kevantheman35 Posted February 4, 2013 Author Share Posted February 4, 2013 Tests tonight show 0 nitrates and .04 phos. I may finally be getting this algae thing under control! Link to comment
NicoS Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Nice tank. Seems like you would be able to blast out the sps with that light. Do you have any complaints regarding the JBJ auto top off? Link to comment
kevantheman35 Posted February 4, 2013 Author Share Posted February 4, 2013 Nice tank. Seems like you would be able to blast out the sps with that light. Do you have any complaints regarding the JBJ auto top off? It works, except both float switches quit working on me and they have a wierd connector on them that plugs into the unit. So I had to buy a new float on ebay and wire it into their connector which was kind of a pain. Other than that I like it but would have gone with the tunze or elos if I could have forced myself to spend a rediculous amount of money on an ato lol. Link to comment
Spirofucci Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Looking good in there! Is that a Sulcatta in your sig? Link to comment
kevantheman35 Posted February 6, 2013 Author Share Posted February 6, 2013 Looking good in there! Is that a Sulcatta in your sig? Yes it is, I have had Leonidas for about 5 years now, he's getting huge, around 30lb's now. In that pic he was about 3 pounds haha Link to comment
Spirofucci Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 I have one as well and he's about 40 - 50 lbs. We also got him as a hatchling. Link to comment
kevantheman35 Posted February 7, 2013 Author Share Posted February 7, 2013 I have one as well and he's about 40 - 50 lbs. We also got him as a hatchling. Nice! Does it stay warm enough there to keep him out year round? I hate keeping my big guy indoors through the winter. I have been thinking about re-homing him somewhere warm, but I would hate to lose him. Link to comment
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