ChouDawg Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Tank is in the process of being taken down, taking a break from the hobby for now... My past tank was 12" Mr. Aqua 8.5G AIO, with my recent move I decided to "upgrade" and finally take a dip into a full size reef complete with overflow, refugium and a big ol skimmer. Lighting is provided by a 36" Teklight that I removed four of the six T5 bulbs from, one ballast and added in two tubular heatsinks w/ pressurized cooling fans. The LEDs consist of four Philips Luxeon M RB 12W LEDs, two Philips Luxeon M NW 12W LEDs and eight StevesLED HV 3W LEDs. These will be paired with a set of LET Miro-4 reflectors with ATI Coral Plus bulbs. LEDs are driven by Meanwell ELN drivers and controlled by a FlamingSystems DIM4 from LEDGroupBuyStart Date: 10/25/2013 End Date: 09/2014HardwareAqueon "40G" Breeder20L Sump w/ DIY Glass Baffles - Center Return Chamber w/ RefugiumHerbie Style Overflow With Hang-On, Tri-Outlet ReturnsSWC 160 Cone Skimmer2x Eheim Jager 100W HeatersAmerican DJ Power SwitchReefkeeper Lite w/ SL1 + ATO / pHTom's Aqualifter ATO PumpDIY 2x4 Stand w/ Pine SkinningDIY 3/4" Conduit Light HangerDIY Mesh Top With BRS 1/4" Clear Netting DIY Tek 36" T5HO/LED Hybrid FixtureJebao DC-6000 Return PumpBRS Deluxe Reactor w/ Carbon/GFO2x Vortech MP10 Circulation PumpLivestockPair of Hybrid Percula/Ocellaris ClownfishStarry BlennyMcCosker Wrasse (Jumped) Adorned Cosmetus Wrasse (Died On Top of The Netting...) Misc CUCCoralsMixed Reef 07/28/2014 Lighting: LED 4x Philips Luxeon M RB 4x Philips Luxeon M NW 8x StevesLED Hyper Violet 3x Meanwell ELN Drivers 2x StevesLED Tubular Aluminum Heatsink 2x StevesLED Pressurized Cooling Fans 1x BlueFish LED Controller T5 1x Sunlight Supply 36" Teklight Fixture 2x LET MIRO-4 Reflectors 2x 39W ATI Coral Plus Bulbs Past FTS 07/18/2014 07/06/2014 06/28/2014 04/13/2014 03/15/2014 02/01/201401/17/201401/04/2014 Thanks for tagging along, tank is just over two months old and in its infancy. Can't wait for it to mature and fill out Link to comment
RC1313 Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Nice tank! That is a beautiful nem in the front as well Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 Here are some pictures, lots more to come including macros when I get more time. View From The End Top Down Rose Bubble Tip Anemone Acans Link to comment
Gramophone Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Lovely tank! I love that birdsnest Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 Nice tank! That is a beautiful nem in the front as well Nice looking tank Dang you guys are quick, didn't even get my second post up yet lol...thanks for the kind words. I got the anemone from my coworker, I've had it for almost a month now and it has moved over 15x! Finally it seems to have found its happy place and lucky me its smack in the middle on the side that faces the living room Clowns still have no idea what to do with it though... Link to comment
bdevillier19 Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 your tank looks great. mind showing some pics of your light. i'm going to be building a 48" t5/led and i'm considering using a tek fixture as a starting point Link to comment
Rehype Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Looks awesome...great job so far. Link to comment
urbaneks Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Very nice start. Would love to see a photo of the other side. Best of luck with the tank as it grows out. Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted January 11, 2014 Author Share Posted January 11, 2014 Lovely tank! I love that birdsnest Thanks! I still have no clue what kind it is but when I got it, it was a mini colony about 1/10 the size with no color, if you're curious check out the early post of my 12" cube build. Whoa. your tank looks great. mind showing some pics of your light. i'm going to be building a 48" t5/led and i'm considering using a tek fixture as a starting point See below for a picture, not the best but PM me if you have specific questions. I wanted all my drivers, fans etc all internal so I only have the two main original TEK T5 cords coming down and one to power my DIM4 driver. I plan to get a smaller DC power supply for my DIM4 to make that internal as well then I wont have the third cord. Looks awesome...great job so far. Very nice start. Would love to see a photo of the other side. Best of luck with the tank as it grows out. A more legit update w/ the other side and maybe some macros will be coming over the weekend. Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted January 11, 2014 Author Share Posted January 11, 2014 Got my ReefGeek order in today, awesome customer service and super fast shipping since they're only a couple hours a away. Picked up some Pinpoint pH 7.0/10.0 calibration solutions to calibrate a BRS probe I just picked up, a Kent Pro-Scraper II, 4x ATI Coral Plus bulbs and 2x LET Miro-4 36" reflectors. With the bulbs and reflectors I was able to finally finish my T5/LED hybrid, the tank is lit much "fuller" now and I definitely need to crank up my RB/HV channels to account for the extra "whiteness" from the Coral Plus bulbs. I see myself probably not even running my NW channel with these T5s on. I'm running my RB/HV at about 640mA and my NW at about 320mA, keep in mind I have twice as many RB as I do NW so the NW has really just been in there for a bit more brightness and to add some color. And now for some crummy Samsung GS3 photos... I wasn't kidding about the awesome packaging, two layers of foam and tons of bubble wrap Who doesn't love free sugar? Finally the goodies! Bonus Top Down Shot w/ the T5s and T5/LED Setup Link to comment
bdevillier19 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 That top down shot is amazing. Great job on a cool light and good looking tank. Hopefully when I get my new tank going it'll turn out something like this. Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 Tank is 84 days old today, just shy of the three month mark. Picked up my AquaSD live sale purchases yesterday which consisted of a bunch of different acans, zoas/palys, montiporas and one mint tip torch coral...I also picked up a McCosker Wrasse and Starry Blenny. The RBTA decided to "escape" down the overflow since my last update and ended up splitting itself. One half was stuck on the main drain and the other half was on the overflow wall. I shut off my return, scooped out the larger half and the overflow wall piece and placed them back in my rockwork. The smaller chunk was deflated and pretty PO for days, once both seemed to be opening up better I fed them raw shrimp three days in a row and they seem to be happier and healthy. Now I have two RBTAs I added a BRS pH probe which I calibrated with Pinpoint 7.0/10.0 solution on my RKL. My pH seems to be on the low end though, with it ranging between 7.5-7.9, rarely going over 8.0 unless its immediately following a water change. I think the issue may be CO2 build up in my house since I'm gone most of the day at work and all the doors/windows are closed. I've been opening the doors and windows right when I get home and that seems to help raise my pH a bit. Even with my fuge running 9 hours opposite my main lights the pH still doesn't seem to be where it should be. Everything is happy and healthy but I'm guessing with higher pH coral growth will be better and stability is always key. Today I made a DIY screen top with BRS 1/4" clear netting and a framing kit from Home Depot. Turned out well, I had to leave an inch or so off the end for my hang on return plumbing so I left about that much clear netting on one end to cover the remaining exposed parts. I'm planning to add some eggcrate and netting to finish off the remaining uncovered parts but should be fine for now. Both fish made it through the night, fed my clowns pellets and frozen mysis today. I put a bit extra mysis in different parts to try to get the Blenny or Wrasse to eat but both are still timid and hiding. The Wrasse is tiny, thin and finds crevices in the LR to hide in that I didn't even know existed. The Blenny will come out when I'm not near the tank and the clowns don't seem to mind it. Any tips on getting these fish happy in their new home and eating quickly? T5s are running great with the LEDs now, slowly increasing my HV/RB channels to increase the "pop" as most of it was drowned out once the T5s were installed. Anyways, the good part, pictures! Took some "FTS" please excuse the makeshift frag rack and acclimation hose. And some bonus macro photos of my various existing corals and new additions. End Shot Right Side Left Side Birdsnest Galore Green Tip/Tricolor Macros Clowns Cleaning Rock In Preparation For Spawning Smaller RBTA (Overflow Chunk) Close Up Of The Larger RBTA Green Montipora Cap Mint Tip Torch Baby Pinks Acans Purple Queens Spitfire Zoas/Top Down (Are Those Hydroids!?) Link to comment
Arkayology Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 That's a pretty cool DIY job on the TEK fixture. Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 That's a pretty cool DIY job on the TEK fixture. Thanks, I'm very happy with how the light turned out. I upped my RB/HV channels to 760 mA, going to push it to 1000 mA over a few more weeks. Wrasse and Blenny are still chugging along, surprisingly the Blenny is more shy than the Wrasse. I got the Wrasse to eat NLS and Frozen Mysis today, that was awesome! Found some Aiptasia on the frags I recently got so I nuked them with Aiptasia-X, hopefully they don't come back... Link to comment
Arkayology Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Thanks, I'm very happy with how the light turned out. I upped my RB/HV channels to 760 mA, going to push it to 1000 mA over a few more weeks. Wrasse and Blenny are still chugging along, surprisingly the Blenny is more shy than the Wrasse. I got the Wrasse to eat NLS and Frozen Mysis today, that was awesome! Found some Aiptasia on the frags I recently got so I nuked them with Aiptasia-X, hopefully they don't come back... Cool. Good choices on LEDs and the bulbs. You should get some great growth out of this tank. Next time, maybe just take the bone cutters and snip them off. That way you don't have to worry about them coming back from a small remnant. Just an idea. Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Nice tank! Love those nems! Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 Cool. Good choices on LEDs and the bulbs. You should get some great growth out of this tank. Next time, maybe just take the bone cutters and snip them off. That way you don't have to worry about them coming back from a small remnant. Just an idea. Thanks, it tooks months of research and a slow DIY to get it all together but I'm glad I did it. Normally i would, i had another frag on a LR rubble that I saw an Aiptasia and cut it off then super glued over where it was just to be extra safe but in this case it's on a frag plug in between a couple Zoas so I can't really do that. I think I might pull the frag today though and cover everything non-polyp with super glue just to be safe, I think there are some Hydroids on the other part of the plug so will be nice ot get rid of those too. Nice tank! Love those nems! Thanks! The original RBTA was about 10" in my friends tank when fully expanded but just couldn't settle down in my tank, was moving around daily. After the split they've stayed in their spots for a week or so now (knock on wood). The larger one is right under a Frog/Hammer bundle which gives a cool Red/Green contrast and they don't seem to bother each other. Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Nice tank. I have to be honest, though. The only reason I opened this thread is because the way the title appears on the forum page next to the members aquariums sub forum. "who doesn't love Penins..." I really thought this was something I was going to have to close. Reading skills, FTL. Link to comment
DannaM Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Very nice! Sorry if I missed this info in your thread but how'd you get the bottom white? Is it starboard or did you paint the underside of the tank? I have a 40B BB too and regret not painting the underside a whitish sand color. Love your corals and clowns. Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 Nice tank. I have to be honest, though. The only reason I opened this thread is because the way the title appears on the forum page next to the members aquariums sub forum. "who doesn't love Penins..." I really thought this was something I was going to have to close. Reading skills, FTL. Guess my attempt at a catchy title worked after all, glad you didn't have to close my thread Very nice! Sorry if I missed this info in your thread but how'd you get the bottom white? Is it starboard or did you paint the underside of the tank? I have a 40B BB too and regret not painting the underside a whitish sand color. Love your corals and clowns. I painted the bottom with a few coats of plain white spray paint, the overflow end is painted black as well. I wish I would've done more coats though because the light still bleeds through to the sump area. I solved that by using a piece of cardboard that fits in the small gap between the bottom glass and the stand due to the plastic tank rim. I was going to go with white Starboard at first but didn't want to worry about getting it cut to the perfect size and around my overflow. My past rimless cube i had a black liner pad under it so it was essentially "black bottom" but I noticed the undersides of my corals weren't as "full" could be related, could be not. Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 Alright so I took these a couple weeks ago but just got a chance to upload the photos. Since these photos I've added a handful of multi colored ricordeas. Planning to mod a BRS Reactor soon for biopellets in the next few days. Will be going biopellets and slowly weaning off the GFO/Chaeto (since it will probably die off). I moved my MP10 up about 2" and it now churns up the surface very nicely. The Clownfish still do not care at all about either anemone and are on their second batch of eggs. Oh ya I'm still doing 5 gallon water changes roughly every 7 days with Red Sea Salt, no dosing. End Shot Right Side Left Side Happy Stinging Buddies Acan Ball Thinking about adding a couple more fish, current stock: Pair of Hybrid Percula Ocellaris Clownfish, Starry Blenny and McCosker Wrasse any suggestions? Thanks for looking! Link to comment
Arkayology Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 I would suggest a yellow coris wrasse, possum wrasse, or a fairy wrasse would all be good choices. Link to comment
Roshan8768 Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 I would suggest a yellow coris wrasse, possum wrasse, or a fairy wrasse would all be good choices. I second the yellow coris, great fish... but will it do well without a sand bed? Some bangaii or pajama cardinals might do well in that that tank. Also... fantastic tank, looks great! Link to comment
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