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MedRed's 60 Gal Solana XL: The End of an Era


MedRed

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Thanks!

 

You're welcome!

 

Med, are you still running bio-pellets?

 

Yes sir.

I've never had any of the issues that others have had with biopellets. Maybe it's because I started using them from day one.

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Thanks Hype. As I always say, I'm just trying to keep up with you.

 

Paleoreef is right. It's a colonial tunicate. I knew that was going to catch your eye ;-)

 

I still need Hype to come visit so I can get some really amazing shots. Here that Hype? Come take pictures of my tank and I'll take you to Disneyland!

 

Dude you caught up...and then blew right by me. This tank is just ridiculous.

 

You know me well....That thing is uniquely awesome.

 

Im game let me know when :D

 

Oh BTW how high is the giesemann from the surface?

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I can't stop looking at your sunny d's palys, you've got quite a colony growing there haha

Thank you. They seem like they are going to take over my Ked's reds. Atleast they are nicer to look at. I started with 3-4 polyps in September of last year. They have been expanding like crazy ever since.

 

Dude you caught up...and then blew right by me. This tank is just ridiculous.

 

You know me well....That thing is uniquely awesome.

 

Im game let me know when :D

 

Oh BTW how high is the giesemann from the surface?

You're modest, but also a liar, but I like the compliment so I'll take it. lol. The fixture is just under 8.5" from the actual surface of the water. The spread is not as good as either LED setups I had as the HQI doesn't really make it to the far side of the spires. It'd be the opposite if the scape was lower and more parabolic in the middle. I could raise it up, but I wanted to minimize light spillage and really bathe the corals.

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d'Espresso
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Need to take the side pics when it's dark. There's a light source on either side of the tank.

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This branching goni is fluffy!

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Candy cane took off since it's humble beginnings

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Definitely TOTM next month or really soon!

 

Finger crossed*

 

I just got my brand new tek now u making me wanna get a Giesemann fixture too!

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Definitely TOTM next month or really soon!

 

Finger crossed*

 

I just got my brand new tek now u making me wanna get a Giesemann fixture too!

 

Ha ha. Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'd love TOTM, but if it's meant to be, it will come. I just knew I wanted MH lighting with some T5 helpers. Got a sweet deal on this fixture.

 

 

yeah definitely totm soon. For sure I'll vote for medred, my inspiration for my upcoming tank :D

 

Thank you IIX!

 

It looks amazing!

 

Thanks beau!

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Fantastic tank, I am running bio-pellets as well on my 20g, can I ask what dkh and pH your tank is sitting at, and are you dosing potassium? I was keeping my dkh at 10-11 but find much better growth now that I am keeping it at 8-8.5 dkh, my pH is average 8, and I am dosing K (420ppm).

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Hey med, looks great as usual!

Thank you Joel!!!!!

 

 

 

Also, I'd like to give another big thank you to StevieT. Thanks to his custom overflow, I'm enjoying my tank magnitudes better than if I had the original textured overflow. I can't express how happy I am with Steve agreeing to take on the challenge and execute with flawless craftsmanship. Thank you so much!

.

 

Fantastic tank, I am running bio-pellets as well on my 20g, can I ask what dkh and pH your tank is sitting at, and are you dosing potassium? I was keeping my dkh at 10-11 but find much better growth now that I am keeping it at 8-8.5 dkh, my pH is average 8, and I am dosing K (420ppm).

 

I checked ph on an api test kit not too long ago and I remember it was withing range, but my alk was low. It was in the 7's. I bumped up my alk on my auto doser and was going to test, but I screwed up my ATO and dumped a bunch of RO water into the sump so I decided to wait to test again. I'm not dosing potassium.

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Thanks Schreiba! I tend to put my favorite stuff on the right pillar. Most of the stuff on the other two pillars either started off as tiny frags or are only a couple of months old. I've pretty much run out of room for SPS. Now it's time for a few more zoas and some more LPS.

 

And I still need to come up with another fish!

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teamschreiba

Yeah I know that feeling. All I've been adding recently is zoas because I don't have room for anything else :P You really have a perfect balance of colors in your tank so I'm sure whatever fish you decide to add will look great. I wish I could help but I don't spend much time researching fish because I know I would just want more.

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Yeah I know that feeling. All I've been adding recently is zoas because I don't have room for anything else :P You really have a perfect balance of colors in your tank so I'm sure whatever fish you decide to add will look great. I wish I could help but I don't spend much time researching fish because I know I would just want more.

 

Ha ha... I can't believe finding one fish would be so difficult! I have to hurry up and add the zoas before the existing ones take over the rock they are on. They are currently wrapping around it. I have a very aggressive favia keeping them from jumping to the other pillars. It's doing its job exceptionally well.

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teamschreiba
Ha ha... I can't believe finding one fish would be so difficult! I have to hurry up and add the zoas before the existing ones take over the rock they are on. They are currently wrapping around it. I have a very aggressive favia keeping them from jumping to the other pillars. It's doing its job exceptionally well.

Haha that's perfect! I have a feeling I'm going to have that same issue once my zoas and acans collide. Have you narrowed your fish ideas to a few choices?

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Haha that's perfect! I have a feeling I'm going to have that same issue once my zoas and acans collide. Have you narrowed your fish ideas to a few choices?

 

I have no suitable leads

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I'm not sure about the actual size scale of your corals and scape, pictures can be so confusing. But I have to say that you take gluing frags to an art form. How wonderful to see!

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Spirofucci

Holy crap!!!! Finally, some pics of those corals!!! No offense to anyone here, this is the best tank on NR or RC!!!!!

 

The scape, the coral choices and their perfect placement, coral health and color, lighting, etc......incredible.

 

I can't believe no TOTM, yet.

 

Hey, btw, what's this about the Stevie overflow????

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Strawberry Shortcake and Super Blue Tenius from Vivid? Man, I'd love to buy a frag of both of those when they grow out.

 

Your new FTS is looking amazing BTW.

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I'm not sure about the actual size scale of your corals and scape, pictures can be so confusing. But I have to say that you take gluing frags to an art form. How wonderful to see!

 

Thank you metrokat! If my stand wasn't as tall (which I prefer that it's so tall) I could glue frags with even better skill, I am not afraid to glue and reglue frags until I like the way they look... or move them to new locations if think it might look better somewhere else.

 

Holy crap!!!! Finally, some pics of those corals!!! No offense to anyone here, this is the best tank on NR or RC!!!!!

 

The scape, the coral choices and their perfect placement, coral health and color, lighting, etc......incredible.

 

I can't believe no TOTM, yet.

 

Hey, btw, what's this about the Stevie overflow????

 

Thank you Spiro! And don't go saying that, because I don't believe it myself! I think I probably still need some time for the tank to continue to mature. I think If I'd have started with my current light fixture, my tank would be a lot more grown out than it is.

 

On the Solana 34 the back wall is textured. Looks nice at first until stuff starts growing on it. Because of the texture, you can't scrape it. It's impossible to keep the coralline off. Stevie T agreed to make me replacement panels. I removed the original panels and sent them to him.

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leaving my overflow bare...

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He produced smooth replicas... Here's a shot comparing the old a new front panels

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I siliconed the three new panels in place and it was like having a completely different tank.The smooth panels fit perfectly and have been a breeze to keep clean.

 

Strawberry Shortcake and Super Blue Tenius from Vivid? Man, I'd love to buy a frag of both of those when they grow out.

 

Your new FTS is looking amazing BTW.

 

No problem Joe Dirt, and thank you. I'll probably be able to frag some SS in the near future. The Super Blue Tenius seems to be a slow grower. The two NFS pieces they have growing out have taken a long time to put on some mass. I have enough room for maybe two more frags of something. One will be the turquoise stag!

 

 

I still need ideas for a fish or pair of fish. I'm at a loss for what to add... also, I need to find a source for the soft plastic bendy "clips" that are used to hold to panes of glass together on glass lids. I snapped off one of them on my lid last night.

 

I'm also happy to report the coralline growth is going very well. Nearly two years after I started the tank and I finally have a shot and purple rocks!

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Spirofucci

Thanks! I thought Stevie had some sort of new stealth overflow, lol.

 

I hear you on the lights. I love my radion for all the right reasons, pluch & play, shimmer, low heat, low energy useage, no bulb replacement, but..............there is a little something missing.

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