specore Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Finally! I've had this 36x18x18 Reef Octopus Luxury T-90 tank sitting empty since February of 2013. Sometimes life just gets in the way . 12/26/14 FTS http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/specore1/media/48g%20Reef%20Octopus/DSC03738_zps595dabbf.jpg.html'> Background: Like a lot of members here I have been keeping aquariums since I was kid. I had a 150g discus tank for several years, until my wife convinced me to change it to saltwater. The tank sat on the wall in our family room where we could really enjoy and appreciate it. All in all, we had pretty good success with our first reef (especially considering we were lighting a 29" deep tank with compact flourescents) before having kids and realizing we needed more space. In the new home we decided to go bigger, building a 210g into the basement with a dedicated fish room behind it. This was a valuable lesson for me, as the only time I spent in the basement was working on the aquarium. Personally, I don't spend a lot of time in the basement and as a result this tank was largely neglected before being removed after a couple of years. Sometime around December 2011, after a year or two hiatus from reefing, I somehow stumbled upon Brad Urbanek's beautiful nano cube. Feeling inspired I decided to purchase my current tank and place it in our family room where we could enjoy it day in and day out. The current tank is a 28g nanocube with retrofit Cree LED's and has been up since Feb 2011. About a year after starting this tank we decided to move again in order to get our children into a better school system. The new home was getting a kitchen remodel and new hardwood floors throughout. As a result the nanocube was banished to the basement so we wouldn't have to move it multiple times. About the same time I purchased my new tank so that once the remodeling was being wrapped up I could move my livestock back out of the basement. Unfortunately it took me longer than anticipated to build the stand for the new tank, meaning the nanocube was left to steadily decline in the basement. The nanocube just before the move: I actually finished the stand and put the new tank in place in May, and this week finally have water! The tank is in the living room, is the first thing we see when coming down the stairs each morning, one of the first things you see coming in the front door, and also is visible from the family room where we spend a lot of our free time. Link to comment
Dryland Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Wait.... Your wife convinced you to switch to the salty side? That is awesome! I love the clowns hosting the sarcophyton, I hope to do the same with mine in a few years. Keep us posted. Link to comment
specore Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share Posted November 20, 2014 Wait.... Your wife convinced you to switch to the salty side? That is awesome! I love the clowns hosting the sarcophyton, I hope to do the same with mine in a few years. Keep us posted. Yep...that is home sweet home. They are still there but won't be making the move to the new tank because 1) the toadstool has gotten huge and would take up a lot of real estate even in the 48g and 2) I'm tired of the female clown attacking my hand every time I reach into the tank. Link to comment
specore Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share Posted November 20, 2014 Ok...so here's the equipment plan for this tank. Philosophy: I generally try to not overthink things. KISS...as they say . I recognize my limitations, and although some people have amazing results with carbon dosing, biopellets, Zeo, etc, those are not for me. IME you can maintain a great reef with the fundamentals, which include lighting, protein skimming, basic filtration (filter floss, carbon, and GFO), two part dosing and regular water changes. Current equipment: -Reefcleaners dry rock -30 lbs Caribsea Special Grade Reef Sand, mixed with about 10lbs or Tropic Eden Reef Flakes left over from the last nanocube move. -Mag 7 return pump -Jebao WP-10 (wasn't sure exactly what to expect but love this little pump) -DIY 15H sump with a built in media rack -JBJ ATO -Portable RO unit which I picked up only because I got a deal on it. -Apex controller. Currently this is still controlling the LED's on my Nanocube. Will be moved when I am ready to add lights to the T90 -Vertex Omega 130 Skimmer Planned Equipment: - 2 Kessil A360's. I love the shimmer and shadowing from these lights. Although there are a lot of great options out there for LED's I am drawn to the Kessils by the complete lack of "disco". I'm really leaning towards the A360N, to help in limiting the amount of light spilling onto the walls, furniture and floor. My only concern is having enough coverage in the upper portions of the tank with the narrow beams, but I could always raise them a bit to compensate. To me this would be preferable to having light spilling everywhere. - Additional Jebao WP-10 or RW-4. May just let the two do their own thing in Else mode to get random flow initially. If I don't like that I'll likely either use my Apex for control or invest in a dual controller. Link to comment
specore Posted November 22, 2014 Author Share Posted November 22, 2014 Worked on cable management tonight. Stumbled upon these clips at Lowe's and they worked great for what I wanted to do. Not terribly pretty but they are at least out of the way http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/specore1/media/48g%20Reef%20Octopus/20141121_183339_zpsga5uivu2.jpg.html'> http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/specore1/media/48g%20Reef%20Octopus/20141121_183059_zpskcruhjcd.jpg.html'> http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/specore1/media/48g%20Reef%20Octopus/20141121_183050_zpsqmb1jphi.jpg.html'> Link to comment
specore Posted November 24, 2014 Author Share Posted November 24, 2014 Kessils will be ordered at 15% off this weekend... Link to comment
specore Posted November 26, 2014 Author Share Posted November 26, 2014 I guess this is a lesson learned. I have been buying RO water for the last 2 years from the only LFS within 15 minutes of me but have never had a TDS meter to check it, just blind faith. Recently I purchased a second hand RO unit and picked up a TDS meter to check the water being produced and also tested the LFS water. $80 second hand portable RO unit http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/specore1/media/48g%20Reef%20Octopus/20141125_165321_zpsydzi5zo2.jpg.html'> $.59/gallon LFS RO http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/specore1/media/48g%20Reef%20Octopus/20141125_165245_zpslibvo62n.jpg.html'> Link to comment
Paleoreef103 Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 $.59/gallon LFS RO Wow. That's worse than a lot of tap water. Link to comment
1.0reef Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Nice, how do you like the T90? They seem pretty cheap. Link to comment
specore Posted November 26, 2014 Author Share Posted November 26, 2014 Wow. That's worse than a lot of tap water. My tap water http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/specore1/media/48g%20Reef%20Octopus/20141125_211610_zps2loigzg0.jpg.html'> Not sure how that happens. Double checked with a second meter as well. Link to comment
specore Posted November 26, 2014 Author Share Posted November 26, 2014 Nice, how do you like the T90? They seem pretty cheap. At $450 for the tank, overflow, and shipping I like it a lot. Biggest issue I can see is that you are stuck with the stock overflow, but it isn't loud and looks pretty slick. Link to comment
specore Posted December 3, 2014 Author Share Posted December 3, 2014 Got the last major pieces of equipment during the Black Friday sales. First picked up a Vertex Omega 130 skimmer which is currently breaking in. Then today I received my Kessil 360N's and spent most of the evening getting them hung over the tank. http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/specore1/media/48g%20Reef%20Octopus/DSC03571_zps2e2c88a1.jpg.html'> http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/specore1/media/48g%20Reef%20Octopus/DSC03578_zps305b2e95.jpg.html'> And we have our first inhabitant, Sunny. http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/specore1/media/48g%20Reef%20Octopus/DSC03576_zps70fc1747.jpg.html'> Link to comment
Pinner Reef Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Really good lookin build. Gonna have to watch this one mature. Link to comment
specore Posted December 3, 2014 Author Share Posted December 3, 2014 Gonna have to watch this one mature. Me too Link to comment
specore Posted December 5, 2014 Author Share Posted December 5, 2014 Moved the Apex over from the other tank. The controller has been on cruise control for 2 years now so it was kind of fun to reprogram it for the new equipment. It really is amazing how much you can do with these things and always fun to be able to monitor everything remotely. Also added a candy pistol. Him and the goby have yet to find each other even though they are both burrowing under the same rock. Just a matter of time. Link to comment
specore Posted December 9, 2014 Author Share Posted December 9, 2014 Picked up two pajama cardinals this week. I am told they are to be called Daisy and Donald. http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/specore1/media/48g%20Reef%20Octopus/1743f6c9-0766-4fcd-af78-ff0ad87ed31f_zps606eec73.jpg.html'> This guy looked great at the LFS but took a beating from his companion on the ride home. Eating pellet food already soshould recover quickly. http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/specore1/media/48g%20Reef%20Octopus/6a2b1851-3ae5-4de1-af41-177c98cba901_zpse0390fd0.jpg.html'> Link to comment
specore Posted December 10, 2014 Author Share Posted December 10, 2014 Been working on moving the maxi mini's from the old tank to the new tank but they don't want to come off the rock. Worked on two so far and removed the entire rock from the water to wait for them to detach, hung the rock upside down over a bucket of tank water for 45 minutes and nothing! Tried to persuade them with a butter knife also before chiseling away as much rock as I could. Link to comment
vlangel Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 Nice looking tank and smart move putting it in a highly visible spot. Like you I learned that out of sight can mean out of mind when it comes to aquariums. My system is right by the front door in the living room dining room area. It will be fun watching your tank progress. Link to comment
specore Posted December 12, 2014 Author Share Posted December 12, 2014 After two weeks the skimmer is finally settling down. Also have all all out diatom bloom so looks like a Reefcleaners order will be happening soon as well. Meanwhile the maxi-mini anemones are starting to settle in Link to comment
Sk8n Reefer Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 After two weeks the skimmer is finally settling down. Also have all all out diatom bloom so looks like a Reefcleaners order will be happening soon as well. Meanwhile the mini maxis are starting to settle in Great picture! Link to comment
reefernanoman Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 Nice upgrade! Following. Got the last major pieces of equipment during the Black Friday sales. First picked up a Vertex Omega 130 skimmer which is currently breaking in. Then today I received my Kessil 360N's and spent most of the evening getting them hung over the tank. And we have our first inhabitant, Sunny. I have one of those little guys! Great fish! Link to comment
reefernanoman Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 Now your little buddy needs either a tiger PS or candy PS. Link to comment
specore Posted December 17, 2014 Author Share Posted December 17, 2014 Now your little buddy needs either a tiger PS or candy PS. I have a candy pistol and they shared a hole for about two days and then seem to have had a falling out. The goby's behavior has been somewhat erratic, as he is out swimming aimlessly around the top of the tank frequently. Link to comment
reefernanoman Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 I have a candy pistol and they shared a hole for about two days and then seem to have had a falling out. The goby's behavior has been somewhat erratic, as he is out swimming aimlessly around the top of the tank frequently. Interesting. Even when I have moved these guys from one tank to another, they find each other right away. What's even more amazing is that there's even a second candy PS that joins the relationship too!. Link to comment
specore Posted December 18, 2014 Author Share Posted December 18, 2014 Although I really like the WP-10 it doesn't move enough water for a 3 foot tank. Ordered an RW-4 today and will see if it works better. Link to comment
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