MedRed Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 Looks good med. I love the picture of the jawfish...be careful they will test your lid for a way out and if they find any weaknesses they will find a way out. Thanks Hype! My tank is completely sealed except for the seam where the hinges connect to two pieces of glass. He's already way to fat to make it through the seam no matter how many attempts he makes. I do make sure he's in the tank everytime i need to replace the lid. Link to comment
d9hp Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Nice photos Med. I really love that torch. The photo of the jawfish swimming towards the surface is awesome and scary at the same time. I eventually will have one as they're one of my all time favorite fish but I sure would be sad if I ever lost him. The ric and zoa gardens are going to be phenomenal in a month! Link to comment
bioload Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Loving it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 Link to comment
MedRed Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 Nice photos Med. I really love that torch. The photo of the jawfish swimming towards the surface is awesome and scary at the same time. I eventually will have one as they're one of my all time favorite fish but I sure would be sad if I ever lost him. The ric and zoa gardens are going to be phenomenal in a month! Thanks d9! I'm going to be adding a few more zoas and would like to add 10-15 more ricordeas. Loving it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 Thanks bioload! Link to comment
MedRed Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 I wonder if the coralline inhibition could have been caused by the flatworms? I did read somewhere that flatworms can eat that algae as well. Maybe their bodies added enough to the bioload to jump start things. After going back and looking at the tank progression pics, I just couldn't believe the difference in the tank in less than a month. Two weeks in the tank looked like this: 2 months later: less than a month later: Link to comment
seabass Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 That will look sweet after it has time to fill in. Link to comment
MedRed Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 That will look sweet after it has time to fill in. Thanks seabass. Just wait until the update later in the week. BIG surprise (not fish related) Link to comment
MedRed Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 I finally moved the piece of furniture that was on the left hand side of the tank. Now it truly lives in 3 dimensions. Left: Right: Link to comment
MedRed Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 Oh yeah... I forgot to mention I ordered a couple of clowns from doni's reef... they'll be here later this week! The 2nd one was not my first choice. Doni posts up a handful of clowns first come first serve on Saturdays, and I missed out on the perfect match. I've been waiting a month to get in on these "gladiator" clowns, and grew impatient. http://s85.photobucket.com/albums/k56/MrsD...Set_10NET-A.mp4 http://s85.photobucket.com/albums/k56/MrsD...=Set_0NET-B.mp4 Link to comment
gutterguy Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 I never agreed with the prices that all these new clowns are getting, but if I ever loose my clowns I will spend the money on those. Those f***ing awsome!! Link to comment
d'Espresso Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Awesome choices on the clowns med, they gonna boost up your load and look great in your tank. When do you expect them to be here? Link to comment
d9hp Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Wow you weren't kidding about those helmet clowns. Those are so slick. Lots of pictures expected! When do they arrive? Link to comment
MedRed Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 I never agreed with the prices that all these new clowns are getting, but if I ever loose my clowns I will spend the money on those. Those f***ing awsome!! Ha ha...thanks. It was tough to choose between these and the s'mores. Awesome choices on the clowns med, they gonna boost up your load and look great in your tank. When do you expect them to be here? Thanks d! They arrive on wednesday! Wow you weren't kidding about those helmet clowns. Those are so slick. Lots of pictures expected! When do they arrive? Wedneday. I hope they sit still so I can take pics! Link to comment
125mph Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Hi MedRed! Lovely tank As you can see from my signature, I just started a NC 28g but I want to upgrade to the Solana XL 60 next year. I was short on budget so I couldn't blow $2k+ on a tank this year hehe. I have limited familiarity with tank setups. Why do you have so many stuff like reactors and ATO. Where do you put your carbon/chemipure and mechanical filters.. is it in the sock of the sump?. What are all these for: - Return Pump: Eheim 1262... Is this the stock return pump? - Bioreactor: NextReef SMR1... What does this do and why do you need it? - Skimmer: SWC Cone 160... Is this the stock skimmer - ATO: Tunze Osmolator... Doesn't the xl60 already have a top off system By the way, how do you like the lights? Are two panels enough? Is it completely programmable for 24hr lighting? Thanks! Link to comment
animalmaster6 Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Looks like everything is coming together. Looks great Med. I love the fish choices and the corals look good as well. Link to comment
NirvanaandTool Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Wow Med! The tank is looking great. Amazing progress there... Link to comment
qwuintus Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Great tank! I just got a 34g Solana and will be checking out your thread. Link to comment
MedRed Posted February 1, 2011 Author Share Posted February 1, 2011 Hi MedRed! Lovely tank As you can see from my signature, I just started a NC 28g but I want to upgrade to the Solana XL 60 next year. I was short on budget so I couldn't blow $2k+ on a tank this year hehe. I have limited familiarity with tank setups. Why do you have so many stuff like reactors and ATO. Where do you put your carbon/chemipure and mechanical filters.. is it in the sock of the sump?. What are all these for: - Return Pump: Eheim 1262... Is this the stock return pump? - Bioreactor: NextReef SMR1... What does this do and why do you need it? - Skimmer: SWC Cone 160... Is this the stock skimmer - ATO: Tunze Osmolator... Doesn't the xl60 already have a top off system By the way, how do you like the lights? Are two panels enough? Is it completely programmable for 24hr lighting? Thanks! Thanks 125mph! My filter sock is my mechanical filtration. It catches physical particles. I'm using purigen and chemipure for chemical filtration. Yes, they are in the filter sock. - Return Pump: Eheim 1262... Is this the stock return pump? It's not the stock pump. The stock pump is a quiet one 4000. I decided to change it because it became really loud (vibrating noise). I've read that the quiet one's aren't all that quiet and can dump extra heat into the tank. The eheim 1262 is rated a little less gph wise but is actually more powerful than the quiet one. I think a 1260 would be a better pump for this tank. The 1262 is so powerful, It raised the water level in the tank high enough that I have to turn the return off before using a magfloat, otherwise I'll slosh some water out. - Bioreactor: NextReef SMR1... What does this do and why do you need it? You may have seen threads on vodka dosing. Vodka has a form of carbon that some bacteria will consume along with nitrates and phosphates (both tend to build over a tanks life due to feeding, waste, decaying matter, etc. and can become detrimental to corals and can lead to algae issues). The bacteria will consume N & P and get removed from the tank via the skimmer (thus eliminating N & P from the tank.) Vodka dosing has to be done daily to truly be effective. A bioreactor uses solid carbon pellets (solid vodka dosing) and eliminates the need to dose daily (you just add more pellets every few months as they dissolve). The bacteria grow on the pellets, consume nitrates and phosphates, and are sloughed off by the flow of water through the pellets. The outlet out of the reactor is positioned at the inlet of the skimmer, thus removing N&P from the system. - Skimmer: SWC Cone 160... Is this the stock skimmer The 60 XL Solana does not come with a skimmer. You can definitely go with a smaller skimmer, but I wanted a beast. - ATO: Tunze Osmolator... Doesn't the xl60 already have a top off system The ATO system that comes with the solana is kind of a joke. It uses two inverted bottles that drip water into the sump. It's not very reliable or accurate, and the water will be used up very quickly. A real ATO will monitor the level of water in the sump, and add water only when needed and only to the level you specify. This is important to keep the salinity where you want it and to make sure the water level in the sump stays within the skimmers necessary range (not enough water and the bubbles won't reach the collection cup... too much water and the skimmer overflows) Hope this helps! Looks like everything is coming together. Looks great Med. I love the fish choices and the corals look good as well. Thanks animalmaster! Wow Med! The tank is looking great.Amazing progress there... Thanks NirvanaandTool! Great tank! I just got a 34g Solana and will be checking out your thread. Thanks qwuitus! You'll love the 34g Solana! Link to comment
125mph Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 - Bioreactor: NextReef SMR1... What does this do and why do you need it? You may have seen threads on vodka dosing. Vodka has a form of carbon that some bacteria will consume along with nitrates and phosphates (both tend to build over a tanks life due to feeding, waste, decaying matter, etc. and can become detrimental to corals and can lead to algae issues). The bacteria will consume N & P and get removed from the tank via the skimmer (thus eliminating N & P from the tank.) Vodka dosing has to be done daily to truly be effective. A bioreactor uses solid carbon pellets (solid vodka dosing) and eliminates the need to dose daily (you just add more pellets every few months as they dissolve). The bacteria grow on the pellets, consume nitrates and phosphates, and are sloughed off by the flow of water through the pellets. The outlet out of the reactor is positioned at the inlet of the skimmer, thus removing N&P from the system. Hi Med, Thanks for the explanations. So growing chaeto would be the same as having a bioreactor with the ecoPak... for elimination of nitrates an phosphates? Is your SMR1 installed in the sump or hanging on the sump? I see that the flow to the MR1 should not be more than 160gph , and if that goes directly to the skimmer, wouldn't that slow down the skimmer a bit since the flow rate on the Magdrive 3 is lower. Link to comment
davidr2340 Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Thing are really looking amazing bro! I can't wait to see your new Clowns!!! Link to comment
MedRed Posted February 1, 2011 Author Share Posted February 1, 2011 Hi Med, Thanks for the explanations. So growing chaeto would be the same as having a bioreactor with the ecoPak... for elimination of nitrates an phosphates? Is your SMR1 installed in the sump or hanging on the sump? I see that the flow to the MR1 should not be more than 160gph , and if that goes directly to the skimmer, wouldn't that slow down the skimmer a bit since the flow rate on the Magdrive 3 is lower. You're weclcome! Cheato can help you reduce nitrates and phosphates, but will not eliminate them. It can be easily be overwhelmed by heavy feeding and bioload. In some cases, they can become a source of nitrates as detritus tends to get trapped in cheato instead of the mechanical filter, and end up decaying. A bioreactor is much more efficient and reliable in nitrate and phosphate reduction. My SMR1 is located outside of my sump. You can see it on the right. The MR1's have a lower flow rate and aren't meant to be used as bioreactors. the SMR1 is the bioreactor model and will handle over 300gph of flow. The outlet from the reactor is placed near the inlet for the skimmer. It isn't actually inserted into the skimmer... sorry I wasn't clear on that. Thing are really looking amazing bro! I can't wait to see your new Clowns!!! Thanks david! Tomorrow they arrive! Link to comment
125mph Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Thanks Med! The pic helps a lot. I can't wait to get my XL 60 setup hehe. BTW, how did you make the rock formation. Did you just break up all the base rocks and glue them together the way you wanted? And did you use some live rock to get the cycle all started or was it 100% base rock? Link to comment
MedRed Posted February 2, 2011 Author Share Posted February 2, 2011 Thanks Med! The pic helps a lot. I can't wait to get my XL 60 setup hehe. BTW, how did you make the rock formation. Did you just break up all the base rocks and glue them together the way you wanted? You're welcome! I didn't break any of the pieces of rock. I bought a bunch of rock. I used a drill to drill holes into the rock and connected them using fiberglass rods from home depot yard markers. http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores...mp;ddkey=Search I then used aquamend or jb water weld epoxy to cement the pieces together and the rods in the holes. Congrats on getting a 60 XL! I'd recommend not using the the sump contraption that's supposed to hold the filter sock. It takes up WAY too much room. I bought a BRS filter sock holder that's been great. Link to comment
125mph Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 I'd recommend not using the the sump contraption that's supposed to hold the filter sock. It takes up WAY too much room. I bought a BRS filter sock holder that's been great. That thing is huge! Do you have a link to the BRS filter sock holder? Link to comment
MedRed Posted February 3, 2011 Author Share Posted February 3, 2011 Here you go... It was the only one I could find that didn't have a built in pvc connection already. http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/brs-fi...sock-mount.html Link to comment
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