drexel Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 I started this tank last year (01/04/15) for my son as a xmas gift. I've been in and out of this hobby since the early 80's and this is my first tank in 13 years. A lot has changed in this hobby since my last tank, but most of it has stayed the same (the equipment is lot better and more efficient now). I wanted to start with something small with the hope of upgrading to a larger tank down the road. Until then, here are a couple pics showing the start up and it's current state. 01/2015 01/2016 Sorry, I'll have to break out the Nikon and get better pics soon. Tank specs: Aqua Japan AJ60 (roughly 22 gallons) 23x12x14 not including back chamber Two Kessil a160we's w/Spectral Controller (previously controlled by apex) NeoTherm heater 75w Two Jebao RW-4's w/apex controller MaxiJet 1200 for return Apex (full version) w/ temp & Lab grade ph probe Tunze 3155 ATO Two BRS 1.1mL Dosers (Alk & Calcium) Seneye Reef (mainly for PAR/PUR readings) no skimmer is used, just chaeto in the back chamber and some polyfiber in the overflow Livestock: 1 pair of CB clowns 1 ORA Neon Goby 1 Wetmorella Albofasciata (White Banded Possum Wrasse) various nassarius snails various cerith snails (dwarf & florida) 1 fighting conch 4-5 scarlet hermits a few mex. turbos (hopefully munching on the overabundance of red turf algae) astraea's trochus nerites 1 peppermint (temporary only) Mostly sps 3 different Monti's Red Dragon Garf bonsai A. granulosa Seriatopora guttatus A. exquisita A. microclados A. millepora A. youngei Stylophora Acanthastrea lordhowensis Euphyllia ancora Duncan Caulastrea Blasto merletti Favia sp. Green Rhodactis (and a mega ton of vermetid snails) Well, that's all I have for now. Enjoy and happy reefing everyone! Btw, my name is John. Drexel is my favorite Gary Oldman character. Link to comment
Droy008 Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Looks good. I can only imagine how excited your boy must be. What type of rocks do you have attached our the back wall? Link to comment
drexel Posted January 18, 2016 Author Share Posted January 18, 2016 Just live rock. I used a dremel tool to smooth the ends to create a straight edge and put a boat load of super glue gel on them and held them in place for a minute or two. Here's a pic of the side view a few months into the tanks life. Link to comment
vlangel Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Hi John, Looks real nice. Welcome to N-R! Link to comment
Hexadron Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Nice build! /following Link to comment
drexel Posted February 27, 2016 Author Share Posted February 27, 2016 Just fragged the orange monti after it started to beat up the m. mollis, now I have to frag the "green manalishi" for the third time in under a year. Anyone in the valley want some cheap green birdsnest frags? Link to comment
reefernanoman Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 Just fragged the orange monti after it started to beat up the m. mollis, now I have to frag the "green manalishi" for the third time in under a year. Anyone in the valley want some cheap green birdsnest frags? That's a beautiful tank there! That screaming green birdsnest colony is stunning! Any updates? I see that Kessil has worked out very well for you. Do you dose? Link to comment
drexel Posted March 7, 2016 Author Share Posted March 7, 2016 Took this pic before a water change today. Hey reefernanoman, thanks! Yes, I love Kessil's, they're great lights! Yeah, the birdsnest is a monster, so much so, that I might take a frag and sell the rest? It's too big and I want to add other sps and need to make the room. It always has a funky growth pattern, mainly because the flow is so random. I have a pretty good program for the Jebao's, but I move them ever so slightly every month to break up the pattern, so it's never the same for very long. I dose two part (BRS calcium and homemade soda ash) and hand dose magnesium (brightwell magnesion) once or twice a week. I add aquavitro fuel twice a week (if I remember) and feed reef chili twice a week. I don't use a skimmer, nor do I use carbon. I do a 4g water change every Sunday. Thanks for checking out my tank! Happy reefing! Link to comment
drexel Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 Just a couple crappy iphone pics. Link to comment
drexel Posted May 29, 2016 Author Share Posted May 29, 2016 Just a few pics with added T5 lighting. I just added the T5 retro today, so we'll see how it goes, but I'm liking the color so far. 2 x 24w coral+ bulbs and the 160's are ramping up to 30% color. Link to comment
reefernanoman Posted May 29, 2016 Share Posted May 29, 2016 Just a few pics with added T5 lighting. I just added the T5 retro today, so we'll see how it goes, but I'm liking the color so far. 2 x 24w coral+ bulbs and the 160's are ramping up to 30% color. That's the best thing that you could have ever done (adding T5)! I have seen very good growth out of my corals after adding T5's to my 28G cube (I only use the T5's for 3 hours a day). I use my A160we as my main light for the rest of the day. Looks great! Link to comment
drexel Posted May 29, 2016 Author Share Posted May 29, 2016 Yeah, I get great growth from the kessil's, but I also get too much shading. I could've added two more 160's, but on this tank it didn't make sense. When I upgrade to my 45g shallow, then I'll add two more 160's and two more T5's. I'm running out of room and I still need to mount the 5 frags that I'm acclimating, but I like having these kind of problems. Right now I have the T5's on for an hour, but will increase an hour each week or two until I hit 6hrs. I'm going to move everything to a 45g shallow 36x24x12 soon, but I have to build a stand and canopy first. Link to comment
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