PurpleUP Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 Hi All, I thought some of you all-in-one tank owners might be interested in my latest BC14 upgrades. Due to a restricted budget, I wanted to limit myself to a nano cube that I could stock rather quickly without having the desire to buy more and more corals. On top of that, required calcium, iodine, strontium, magnesium supplements can be costly for a larger system. In addition to that, 3 gallon water changes per week are much less tedious than 20 gallon water changes, while using less salt - which can also be costly. However, I also wanted to keep SPS corals, which demand higher water flow and intense lighting, so the stock BC14 just wouldn’t do. What you see here is the culmination of 5 months of trial and error. I’m starting this thread to possibly save fellow all-in-one tank owners some serious money and time. Many people argue why buy an all-in-one tank when you’re only going to upgrade the stock equipment anyway? From my experience, I am glad I did it this way (although I never intended to from the beginning) because the design of cube itself is very appealing to me and I’ve found use for all of the old parts – The old lighting hood is now being used to light my experimental 10gal tank, and the old pump is used for circulating Kalkwasser in the 5gal ATO reservoir. Overall, I am incredibly pleased with the higher quality of water, better lighting conditions, and apparent good health of my upgraded tank. The tank details and equipment enhancements are listed as follows: LIGHTING:. Coralife Hang-On 150W 20,000k HQI – the hang-on mount allows for me to have an open top, while giving me accessibility to the tank at all times. (on from 10am to 7pm) Coralife 1W Moonlight – the snake-arm curls out of the way by day so it won’t cast a shadow onto the corals beneath. (on from 7pm to 2am) PUMPS:. 2 X Rio 90s – placed on opposite sides of the tank to create desirable water chaos Maxi Jet 1200 – replaced stock pump Hydor Flo (rotating water deflector) – to vary water flow SKIMMER:. CPR Backpack Protein Skimmer – some people argue that skimming is not necessary for nano tanks, but because I keep so many corals I don’t want to take any chances. This one is the largest one that could fit in the 2nd chamber. I only put it in several days ago. I’ll let you know how much dirt it pulls from the tank after I’ve used it for another couple weeks. AUTO TOP-OFF SYSTEM:. ATO – This has become the most essential add-on to my tank. With 2 fans running 9hrs/day on an open-top HQI lit system, water evaporates soooo quickly. The 5gal freshwater reservoir is replenished weekly with Kalkwasser to maintain my calcium, dKH, and pH. The ATO sensor has been placed at the bottom of the 3rd chamber just above the main Maxi Jet pump. Today, I added a ball valve to close the return when necessary, so I don’t have to turn the system off every time I do water changes or adjust salinity. SUPPLEMENTS:. Reef Solution by EcoSystem – 2ml added daily PurpleUp by CaribSea – 3.0ml added to 3gal of saltwater at every water change Lugol’s Iodine – ½ drop added once per week Live Phytoplankton – 2ml fed once every other day Instant Ocean Salt – for regular water changes Premium Reef Crystals Salt – used once per month WATER:. Only RO/DI water from the same LFS, EVERY TIME. They give 20 gallons FREE every visit! PARAMETERS:. Ammonia: 0 Nitrates: 0-5 Phosphates: 0 pH: 8.4 Calcium: 400-440ppm Alkalinity: 9-10dKH Salinity: 1.025—1.026 Temp: 78º - 80º maintained by constant home A/C set @ 76º and 2 Honeywell Air Fans LIVESTOCK:. Whoa. Too much too many to mention! BTW: My tank is entered in Reef Central’s NTOTM contest. Care to vote for a fellow All-In-One Reefer? Tough competition though. 2 past winners are also in the contest. Everyone is open to enter. Good luck to you if you do! Check it out: AUGUST NTOTM Over time, I’ll be adding close up pics and topics of interest related to this tank. Feel free to ask me any questions if you’d like. Hope this information helps at least one fellow reefer out there! CLOSE UP FTS Link to comment
Obi Juan kenobi Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 Very sweet Tank!!!!!!! Link to comment
PurpleUP Posted August 11, 2007 Author Share Posted August 11, 2007 Somethin about LEATHERS brings back memories of diving in the Philippine Islands. I think it might be its subtle motion in the current. Link to comment
PurpleUP Posted August 12, 2007 Author Share Posted August 12, 2007 TASTE A RAINBOW Coco Worm meets Turbinaria Link to comment
dtfleming Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 Very cool, great job with the setup and maintaining it. Link to comment
PurpleUP Posted August 12, 2007 Author Share Posted August 12, 2007 It's THE BRAIN! A little small, but not for long... Thanks for the compliments dtfleming & nessbuilder Link to comment
PurpleUP Posted August 12, 2007 Author Share Posted August 12, 2007 More Zoas for you. Can't see these from the FTS shot. They're located on the left side of the tank. Link to comment
dtfleming Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 Haha just noticed that your from San Jose, Im in Sunnyvale right now visiting family. Link to comment
PurpleUP Posted August 12, 2007 Author Share Posted August 12, 2007 Small world. But my home is actually in El Dorado Hills just 30 miles east of Sacramento. My business is in San Jose though. Sunnyvale is a loooooong way from MD. Check out Aquatic Gallery in Milpitas while you're there - amazing reef displays. Owner of the store used to be a doctor but preferred reef keeping instead. Haha just noticed that your from San Jose, Im in Sunnyvale right now visiting family. Link to comment
dtfleming Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 yea til me about it. Flying home tomorrow for a long day of flying ahead. Link to comment
pattykat99 Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 beautiful colored brain, how big is it? your pictures look awesome! Link to comment
PurpleUP Posted August 13, 2007 Author Share Posted August 13, 2007 hi patty, the brain's skeleton is roughly 2.5" wide and 3 inches when extended. I put it in there no more than 2-3 days ago, but it seems to like its new home. Link to comment
pattykat99 Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Randy, Too funny! i just got a brain too; Last friday! i got a Lime green about 3-4" i been monitoring mine and it seems happy also ... I did take pics like i said but i cant seem to find the camera cord, i'll post em as soon as i find it LOL!.... grrrr! Happy Monday !! (NOT) Link to comment
PurpleUP Posted August 13, 2007 Author Share Posted August 13, 2007 Hey Patty, Yes, please do share! *Today, I placed half a bottle of Purigen into a fine mesh bag and dropped it in the 2nd chamber. I've read it works wonders against nitrates and last up to 6mos. Saw that it reduced the amount of bubbles in my protein skimmer though I'll keep watching it... Randy, Too funny! i just got a brain too; Last friday! i got a Lime green about 3-4" i been monitoring mine and it seems happy also ... I did take pics like i said but i cant seem to find the camera cord, i'll post em as soon as i find it LOL!.... grrrr! Happy Monday !! (NOT) Link to comment
PurpleUP Posted August 14, 2007 Author Share Posted August 14, 2007 ACROPORA. Hopefully this evolves into something spectacular. Link to comment
ge0 Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Did you use a regular digital camera to get these pcitures? Great tank, muy impressado. Link to comment
PurpleUP Posted August 14, 2007 Author Share Posted August 14, 2007 Lost my regular Sony Cybershot. For these, I use a 5 megapixel hard-disk video camera! - JVC Model GZ-MG505U. Did you use a regular digital camera to get these pcitures? Great tank, muy impressado. Link to comment
KBELLEW Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Somethin about LEATHERS brings back memories of diving in the Philippine Islands. I think it might be its subtle motion in the current. what is the purple in the background next to the pink leather it is so pretty? sorry for the noob question Link to comment
PurpleUP Posted August 15, 2007 Author Share Posted August 15, 2007 I believe it may be a Blue Goniopora from Thailand. I haven't seen it in the LFS very often. Hoping it spreads onto the surrounding rock soon. what is the purple in the background next to the pink leather it is so pretty? sorry for the noob question Link to comment
PurpleUP Posted August 15, 2007 Author Share Posted August 15, 2007 I've had this sps acro for only 2 wks and it's already starting to grow some nice furry polyps. Link to comment
pattykat99 Posted August 15, 2007 Share Posted August 15, 2007 SHOOT! If I lived in that tank... I'd be growing nice furry polyps too! ! ! LOL! Hey Randy i've been meaning to ask you, what test kit are you currently using? Link to comment
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