Podpimp's SPS SOLANA

[myzislow]

haha, I thought those colors and scoly looked familiar, very nice dude! I'm really liking your new solana, it looks great.

 

I just posted a little intro thread here, kind of dated shots but looks pretty much the same. You're right, the sunset is huge!!

[Reefman36]

Any updates? Pics!

[PODPIMP]

Hey Reefman,

 

No update pics at the moment. I am STILL battling a hair algae/bryposis outbreak. This still is a pain to get rid of. I tried all the common techniques to stop its growth to no avail. It's not a water quality issue since this tank is very low nutrient. My phosphate is .01 on a Hanna meter which is lower that I have kept previous reefs and I hardly grow diatoms on my glass. This hair algae is relentless.

 

Next attempt.........I am going to change my salt back to Coralife from IO and step up my clean up crew.

[Reefman36]

I feel you man! I've been thru the samething before. Keep the battle going, you'll won!

[PODPIMP]

Well, I changed my salt back to coralife and did several water changes, I added a dozen more mexican turbos placing them directly on bad HA spots, and I continued manual removal. I am about 90% free from the hair algae and bryposis. Hopefully I can just leave everything alone and let the corals grow and encrust naturally.

Here is what the tank looks like today.

[tangov559]

nice FTS. Is that with all the lights on?

[scubasteve2580]

Well, I changed my salt back to coralife and did several water changes, I added a dozen more mexican turbos placing them directly on bad HA spots, and I continued manual removal. I am about 90% free from the hair algae and bryposis. Hopefully I can just leave everything alone and let the corals grow and encrust naturally.

Here is what the tank looks like today.

i love it! very nice. great job

[DocReef]

Still battling hair algae on my rocks but the tides have turned. I tried keeping my nutrient level VERY low but the HA still grew. I tried clean up crews + seahares and the HA still grew. I tried using Algaefix marine.....that slowed growth a little and made the HA's grasp on the rock kind of weak. I also began using Kent Magnesium to raise my MG levels. It seems whatever algae I manually remove doesn't grow back. I am also seeing some strands of HA free floating in the tank ( I remove as much as I can).

So the HA is not totally gone but I conquered 70% of it. Hopefully I fully eradicate it in the next month or so.

 

Here's a pic from OCT 13

and new ric I got today

 

 

PODPimp. I had a hair algae problem in my Solana as well. Took about 4-5 months to conquer. I was very aggressive with water changes, and I removed as much as I could by hand. Tried Mag, tried raising Alk, and nothing seemed to work. The thing that I think may have helped the most was placing Chaeto in the second compartment. I haven't had hair algae for at least a year now. Hope this helps.

[youincolor]

This tank is insane. As soon as I can afford it I am going to ditch my metal halides and go T5. Amazing.

[DocReef]

Reefman, no sump. Deltec MCE 600 hang on skimmer and no reactor. I manually dose b-ionic cal alk and mg.

 

How did you set up a hang-on skimmer on your Solana? The water level on the back compartments is lower than the front compartments. Did you just flood the back chambers so that they were at the same water level as the tank? I am thinking of getting a new skimmer, but I feel the nano-skimmers just cut it. I would like a higher quality skimmer but most are hang on skimmers. Any info would be great.

[PODPIMP]

Thanks guys.

 

Tangov559 that is with all 6 T5's on.

 

Gerber, thanks for the cheato suggestion. I haven't tried that yet. I will get some tomorrow.

The water level is about 3"-4" lower in the back chamber that the water level in the tank. The deltec intake comes down a bit with a tube, kind of like a whisper hang on filter so it is able to prime the water though the skimmer body. I

[Paleoreef103]

Wow that's amazing!

[mikedege]

How did you set up a hang-on skimmer on your Solana? The water level on the back compartments is lower than the front compartments. Did you just flood the back chambers so that they were at the same water level as the tank? I am thinking of getting a new skimmer, but I feel the nano-skimmers just cut it. I would like a higher quality skimmer but most are hang on skimmers. Any info would be great.

 

My Warner Marine H2X works with the normal(lower) water level in the back of my Solana. btw, I do have a Sapphire aquatics(Solana version)with about 3 weeks use, that I have sitting @ home if anyone is interested. It works great, but I had a chance to pick up an WM H2X at a good price, and couldn't pass it up, and its a beast!

 

Mike

[DocReef]

Thanks guys.

 

Tangov559 that is with all 6 T5's on.

 

Gerber, thanks for the cheato suggestion. I haven't tried that yet. I will get some tomorrow.

The water level is about 3"-4" lower in the back chamber that the water level in the tank. The deltec intake comes down a bit with a tube, kind of like a whisper hang on filter so it is able to prime the water though the skimmer body. I

 

 

Thanks. I will have to try it. I think I have an old AquaC Remora hidden in the garage somewhere.

 

Good Luck with the Chaeto. Hope it works.

[rubadakis]

How did you set up a hang-on skimmer on your Solana? The water level on the back compartments is lower than the front compartments. Did you just flood the back chambers so that they were at the same water level as the tank? I am thinking of getting a new skimmer, but I feel the nano-skimmers just cut it. I would like a higher quality skimmer but most are hang on skimmers. Any info would be great.

 

 

I just got a custom made euro reef nano skimmer from http://www.globeaqua.com/skimmers_euroreef.html They make one for the solana and it hangs in the back. The performance is amazing! Todd at globe aqua has top of the line customer service and he will work with you through the entire process. Hope this helps!

[PODPIMP]

That ER hang on looks great but I would have 2 concerns using that skimmer. If the skimmer freaks out is there a high level drain that I could feed back to the tank preventing a flood? Are the pump start issues that I have seen and personally encountered using mesh wheels?

[machochino]

This post was really helpful. I have a K2 in my solana and def need more flow (I'm starting to get diatoms etc). So most of the mp20/solana owners don't use the mp20 to its full potential continuously without making a mess? I suppose the mp20 is overkill for a 20" length. But is the mp10 enough for a 20" height?

 

You get dead spots with only a mp10; is it because of your rock work? What happens if you lowered the mp10 a little?

 

I'm considering a vortech myself. Soon!

 

The MP10 is just about as strong as you can go on full pulse mode without splashing the water out of the tank. If I move the pump higher up than what you see in the pic I will get drips on the opposite side of the tank. So even if I went to an MP20 I don' feel it would do much to help the flow in the entire tank.

I like having the Tunze 6025 blowing across the back of the rocks in the opposite direction so I don't have any dead spots.

Hope that makes sense

[mikedege]

I run my Vortech Mp20 @ 100% in reefcrest mode in my Solana, And I only have about 20lb's of fiji pink fine sand. I don't get any sandstorm at all. But I did wait a few weeks after the tank was new to turn it up to 100%. I ran it about 80% for the first few weeks. Oh and btw, mine is about 2/3 of the way up in the middle of the left side of my tank. Never anything close to water going over. I love it, and would highly recommend an MP20 to anyone with a Solana. IMO.

 

good luck, Mike

[PODPIMP]

I run my Vortech Mp20 @ 100% in reefcrest mode in my Solana, And I only have about 20lb's of fiji pink fine sand. I don't get any sandstorm at all. But I did wait a few weeks after the tank was new to turn it up to 100%. I ran it about 80% for the first few weeks. Oh and btw, mine is about 2/3 of the way up in the middle of the left side of my tank. Never anything close to water going over. I love it, and would highly recommend an MP20 to anyone with a Solana. IMO.

 

good luck, Mike

 

Hey Mike could you post a pic of your tank so I can see where vortech in relation to rock/placement etc?

The MP10 moves the sand on the opposite side of my solana. I have it running on the short pulse mode.

[mikedege]

Hey Mike could you post a pic of your tank so I can see where vortech in relation to rock/placement etc?

The MP10 moves the sand on the opposite side of my solana. I have it running on the short pulse mode.

 

Sure, this is an old pic(b4 coral). But the rockwork is pretty much the same today. The pump on the left side is about "dead center" in relation to front/rear, and about 2/3 of the way up. Also, I have never run "short pulse mode" I have always ran "reefcrest". Maybe that is what is causing the sand movement? Can anybody else chime in with an MP20?

 

 

-Mike

[machochino]

Now I'm more confused! I was set on the mp10 but it seems many solanas have success with mp20. I'm just trying to not to spend the extra $$$ if I don't have to. (not upgrading tank anytime soon either)

 

But thanks again Mike for the info!

[DCG1286]

We want updated pictures!!!

[PODPIMP]

We want updated pictures!!!

It hasn't even been a month since my last update

 

I will take new pics soon. I made a few frags and now have my ugly frag rack blocking my display. They'll be gone soon though

[Weetabix7]

Now I'm more confused! I was set on the mp10 but it seems many solanas have success with mp20. I'm just trying to not to spend the extra $$$ if I don't have to. (not upgrading tank anytime soon either)

 

But thanks again Mike for the info!

 

I really think an MP10 would be too small for a Solana, Solana's need at least an MP20 IMO.

[PODPIMP]

I really think an MP10 would be too small for a Solana, Solana's need at least an MP20 IMO.

 

I think my tank is doing really well with the MP10. I'm usually pro flow but I can't see me having more flow in the vortech streams path. If you run the MP20 on the short pulse mode, how is the flow in a solana?