Wes' Jewel Lido 120 Drop

[Wes1984]

Some updates and progress. I've pretty much finished the plumbing and sorting out the sump. I've mock placed equipment for the minute to get an idea and also some equipment is in use on my current system but will be moved over eventually.
This is my sock holder i made this morning:
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Return with Hydor Flo connected.
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[RollaJase]

Nice, looks like you have put a lot of thought into the plumbing.

[Snow_Phoenix]

 

Drop-offs rock!

[RiddleEagle18]

2 weeks without an update? I need my dropoff fix!

[Wes1984]

It's finally wet!!!Inbetween all the chaos of moving I've managed to get it filled and cycling with most of the equipment in except the MP10 and the algae scrubber etc. I don't think the heater is working properly so i will be replacing it. I still need a few more large pieces of rock and then i will attempt an aquascape of some sort. Atm it's just been thrown in. I have noticed some mini brittles so thats good And the rock has come from a mature cycled tank so i'm not expecting much of a cycle either if any. I managed to buy a lightstand from a local reefer that he had custom made to fit his Lido. I also sold the jebao DC3000 pump i had originally bought for this tank and replaced it for the 6000 which is loads better

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[Wes1984]

Swapped some zoas and £20 and got myself 7kg of tongan branching rock and a couple large bits of fiji. And here is my new scape.
I really like it. really excited to get corals in soon hopefully.

[Mr. Microscope]

Fasntastic!!! So many possibilities! What are your livestock plans?

[Wes1984]

Thanks yes the scape has loads of ledges and peaks which i intend on filling. I have a complete mixed reef alread coral wise so will be transferring them shortly. Numerous softies,lps and sps colonies. Will also have the normal clean up crew including my trio the mithrax, pom pom and porcelain anemone crab. I have a mini maxi anemone as well.

Fish wise i have a white tiger goby/circus goby. He'll be moved over and then a friend has a single bagaii cardinal that lost its partner so i'll be rehoming it and then I'd like to get the following:

Royal Gramma,

Yellow Prawn Goby,

Midas Blenny.

Black clown orange misbar clown pair. or a pair of picasso clowns,

And one more that i cant decide on yet, possibly a wrasse of some sort.

[RollaJase]

Very very cool, looks great filled and with rock. I am starting to like drop off tanks more and more these days.

[Wes1984]

This was three days ago, moving second batch of corals over to the new tank.
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And these were taken today, all corals seem pretty happy. need sticking down though.
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[RiddleEagle18]

Nice work!

[Wes1984]

So recent additions, purchases over the last few days have been:
6x bumble bee snails
The return of my conch who has been on holiday in my friends tank lol
2x digi plate frags, a purple and a orange/red one. Will be getting a green one soon too.
A lovely stylo milka frag, purple/blue
A bright green staghorn frag.
And my fav addition, a TINY female red/ruby scooter dragonett who i am delighted to say is eating yster eggs. This fish is so small though and really cute, probs about a couple cm max.
I will post some pics soon.

[RollaJase]

Wow, looks completely different once stocked. Looks great .

[Wes1984]

Here we go
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[chironerd21]

one of the most unique builds for sure, good luck with the GHA

[Cameron6796]

This is awesome

[Wes1984]

BIG UPDATE, BEAR WITH:
So I've been pretty busy with the tank recently and am happy to say that I am extremely happy atm especially with today's purchases
Had some minor rearranging of some corals and have now stuck the majority in place ready for the urchin as he tends to knock everything over if its not stuck down lol.
I've cleared a nice space up on the sand bed for something very nice, thinking along the lines of a very nice lobo or a small traci garden.
The conch has done some serious damage to GHA and the lower level is almost all clear.
Had a big sort out of my sump, i've added a removable deep sand bed and finished and plumbed in the algae scrubber. Had two attempts at making the scrubber as first was spraying water everywhere. All sorted now and silent. #
I've purchased a new reactor as well the BM mini 70 from a local reefer which i still have to add in. I also have a tub of miracle mud which i havent decided if i will use or not.
And for todays purchases i finally found a pair of clowns, one black and one orange. The black one has a slight misbar under its chin which makes it look a little like the gladiator clown but black oh and he has orange face which i hope it will keep.
Still to do this eve is to add reactor and do tests to see how the doser is doing as the kh needs filling.
Enough babble here is some pics:




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[Wes1984]

Finally transferred the urchin into his new home couple days now and seems pretty happy.
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After speaking to a fellow reefer decided to minimize the light spill of the scrubber and try prevent algae growing in the rest of sump. after the use of some vinyl this is what it turned out like. the light stays pretty much only on the scrubber and DSB
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And the little 'in is growing. defo bigger than when first purchased.
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[Wes1984]

Picked u 2 new bits today, still settling in but looking good. Think i got a decent deal £32.50 for the 2

The plate has so many colours on it, orange skeleton with some green inbetween and purple edge. then green tentacles with purple tips.

 

And heres the blood shrimp i picked up a couple weeks ago. He's a lot less shy now and comes out regularly.

 

And some other pics of more tank inhabitants.

[TheKleinReef]

this tank is so cool.

well done!

[hey]

very special build, love it.

[Wes1984]

FTS:
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And a few more snaps:
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[nidding]

Very nice drop!

I've always loved them, from the first time I saw one, and this is one of the better looking ones I've seen.

 

Actually I'm in the process of upgrating from 14 gallon to somewhere around 30, but now you've got me started on looking into the possibillity of my own drop off.

[nidding]

So I got myself a 40 gallon, and am planning on copying your setup (though with some variation). I have a few questions for you, if you don't mind

 

What would you have done differently if you were to build it again?

 

Have you thought about passing some flow underneath the shelf so that you could get the advantage of the bigger amount of water? I've seen it on a few bigger drop setups, but can't figures out if it will just be a detritus trap. Do you have any thoughts?

 

Also, what kind of flow do you have on the lower part of your reef?

 

Keep up the good work!

[Wes1984]

So I got myself a 40 gallon, and am planning on copying your setup (though with some variation). I have a few questions for you, if you don't mind

 

What would you have done differently if you were to build it again?

 

Have you thought about passing some flow underneath the shelf so that you could get the advantage of the bigger amount of water? I've seen it on a few bigger drop setups, but can't figures out if it will just be a detritus trap. Do you have any thoughts?

 

Also, what kind of flow do you have on the lower part of your reef?

 

Keep up the good work!

Hi, no problem. I did think about using the space under the shelf but was worried about stuff getting trapped under there and i would be able to get to it ie dirt or livestock etc so decided that it was a sacrifice that had to be made for the shape. If you're really worried about the extra volume i would up the size of the sump and gain some more volume that way. i think using the void space would be too risky imo.

I wouldnt necessarily change anything on my tank as i am really happy with it however if i were to start again i would use a larger tank like a 3x2x2 i think would be perfect or possibly even a 4x2x2. The only other thing i may consider but would have a long think about is maybe haveing the drop slightly lower. i think mine is at about 10" but i would say about a 7" drop is a good height. Hope that helps.

Whats your variation that you had in mind?