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TJ's Planted Adventure - Transfers & New Plans


TJ_Burton

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TJ's Rimless Reef Planted Adventure

Changing over from Reef to Planted...

Current FTS

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Previous FTS (Reef)

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My Reefing Resume

I first made reef keeping a part of my lifestyle in early 2003 at the ripe age of 16, with a small 20 gallon aquarium utilizing an Eclipse hood for lighting and filtration. I used tap water, regular jet-style powerheads, and plain old Instant Ocean salt. It was this small soft coral tank that would send me flying into the complex and beautiful word of reef keeping. Over the years I have had dozens of saltwater tanks, mostly reef, and most with all sorts of coral, fish, and inverts. I was a big fan of DIY due to the hefty cost of equipment, and I always tried to push the boundaries of what was considered possible. Whether it was what corals could touch, or what fish were compatible, I had to find out first hand in a controlled environment. This process is what I believe has lead me to be the seasoned reefer I am today; and the reason I feel that I will never stop learning from this hobby. A reef aquarium is more than just a living work of art to me, it is an intricate and delicate system, a learning tool, and an outlet for creativity and scientific study.

With that being said, here are a few of my more notable reefs that I have built and cared for over the years:

20 Gallon Mixed Reef (2004)
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40 Gallon Mixed Reef (2009)
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20 Gallon SPS Dominant Reef (2012)

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Original Post Starts Below
_______________________________________________________________________

A
nd so it begins,
for those of you that know me and my 'reef resume' probably remember that in 2008 I sold off my most successful system, a 40 breeder SPS dominated reef. Since then I have had a tank here and there, but never really committed to any system long term. I haven't posted much, and my current 20 gallon tank isn't something I am proud enough to post up. That being said, I am setting up a new system to tide me over for the next year or two while I save up to purchase my first home. I know what you're thinking, "saving money while reefing is impossible". Well, luckily for me I already have a slew of equipment, and am using a hand-me-down rimless aquarium and sump to keep things on budget.

I have kept a very basic 20 gallon system for the past year and a half that relies on canister filtration, UV sterilization, automatic dosing, 6 bulb T5HO lighting, and weekly 5 gallon water changes to house an array of colorful SPS corals. I set this system up to keep myself in the game, and to disprove the common theory that canister filters can not be used on serious reef aquariums. This was a fun and educational challenge for me, and I appreciate the amount of effort it did/didn't take to keep this system looking its best.

The system I am going to be setting up is going to be fairly simple, and will utilize much of the same practices and approach that my current 20 gallon reef has been using to flourish. The main difference is that I intend to use a sump and skimmer on this new system, rather than an Eheim Canister filter. I still have the room divider stand from my 30 breeder setup that was built when I renovated my basement, so the build photos may seem eerily familiar to those of you who followed that thread.



A list of equipment I currently have on hand for this system:

  • Rimless Tank 24" x 15.5" x 16"
  • Aqueon Proflex Sump
  • Hydor Smart Level ATO & 12 Gallon Reservoir
  • Ecotech Marine MP40wES
  • AquaMedic Triple Digital Doser & Dosing Container Marine Color Triple Doser & Triple Expansion
  • Medusa Heater/Chiller Controller & Eheim Jager Heater
  • Maxspect R420R 16,000K Fixture Ecotech Marine Radion Pro
  • TLF Phosban Reactor
  • Eheim 1250 Return Pump Danner Mag-Drive Model 5
  • Coralife Turbo Twist 3x UV Sterilizer Discontinuing use of sterilizer until further notice
  • Ecotech Marine ReefLink
  • Eheim Automatic Feeder

 

 

IMG_3774VaMAN.jpg


I am going to collect more equipment as it becomes available, mostly purchasing second hand equipment (which is a practice that is entirely new to me). I may have access to an Ecotech Radion Pro fixture, but that is still up in the air. This is by no means my dream system, and will certainly not look as fancy under the hood as I'd like it to, but my goal is to simply grow out some nice looking SPS and other corals in the interim, without breaking the bank.

As always, I will add a nice title graphic and table of contents to this thread as it progresses, and make sure to post as many photos of the build as I can manage to find the time for. I am always open to questions and comments so don't hesitate to post.

Hopefully tonight I can get a quick snap of the tank in it's current position to kick off this thread.
It feels good to be back on NR.com as something more than a viewer taking in all the eye-candy.



A quick birds eye of my current 20 gallon canister driven SPS system:

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Glad to see your officially back TJ!!Looking forward to this build.How about a FTS of the current tank?I know its sick.

 

Thanks Hype :)

Honestly, I don't want to sully this thread with my half baked 20 gallon. I will pm you tomorrow with some pics if you'd like.

 

And to kick things off, here is a teaser photo of the tank to be set up.

 

TJsReef2014O24b3.jpg

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Sweet! This is going to be awesome!

 

I don't think the system itself will be all that impressive, but the livestock should look fantastic. Don't expect a typical TJ build on this one; much more conservative plans than normal.

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Thanks Hype :)

Honestly, I don't want to sully this thread with my half baked 20 gallon. I will pm you tomorrow with some pics if you'd like.

 

 

Ok sounds good. I know this tank is going to be killer

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Quick update,
Suspended the fixture, hung up some themed photographs to set the mood, neglected to move my laundry basket of clean clothes before taking the photo, all is well. The tank to the left is my Auratus vivarium; its actually sold and the new owner is going to be removing it after Christmas.


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That's a fancy light you've got there!

 

It will do the job for now ;)

I am one of the most OCD people when it comes to lighting. I usually have 3 or 4 fixtures on hand and switch between them periodically because of a multitude of different reasons. Right now I have 3 LED fixtures at home, also have a T5HO unit... we will see what comes and goes.

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You're back. :wub:

 

So it seems ;)

 

I was never really gone though... just not as 'public' as I have been in the past.

I am sure this new system will give me something to post about regularly. :P

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Whoa, what kind of tank is that? Brand? I'm glad you went with the razor. Super sleek looking fixture. And you only need 1 WIRE for it....not like other light fixtures (2+ wires...)

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Whoa, what kind of tank is that? Brand? I'm glad you went with the razor. Super sleek looking fixture. And you only need 1 WIRE for it....not like other light fixtures (2+ wires...)

 

It is a China low-iron tank with "fire" etched on the glass. I paid $40 for it used; it was a friend's holding tank while he upgraded to a much larger system. He was planning to keep it but I guess the bug I put in his ear inspired him to let it go.

 

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Trying to get things rocking and rolling asap. A friend of mine asked me to help tear his 90 gallon reef down this Sunday, and for my help I get to claim ownership of his big SPS colonies and a triple dosing system. I need this bad boy ready to go in the next few weeks so that my coral sitter doesn't have to house those big SPS for too long.

Cleaned up and tossed the hand-me-down Aqueon Sump 3 under the stand. Going to try and get the drain plumbing done this weekend!

IMG_30450cfDo.jpg

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Trying to get things rocking and rolling asap. A friend of mine asked me to help tear his 90 gallon reef down this Sunday, and for my help I get to claim ownership of his big SPS colonies and a triple dosing system. I need this bad boy ready to go in the next few weeks so that my coral sitter doesn't have to house those big SPS for too long.

Cleaned up and tossed the hand-me-down Aqueon Sump 3 under the stand. Going to try and get the drain plumbing done this weekend!IMG_30450cfDo.jpg

 

Sounds like a good deal to me. Work = sps colonies & doser. Well worth the labor.

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So I got that friend's tank torn down and claimed my bounty. I only kept some of the SPS and nice sized frags of the largest colonies, and the rest were traded in to a local LFS of mine who gave me a whopping credit that I will put towards more variety once the tank is established.

For fun, here are a couple cell pics of the corals filling up the 17" x 13" x 13" Sterilite containers I purchased just to transport the corals. There were also a couple buckets with corals but I only thought to take pics of these two.

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