Chaucer's pilgrimage back to the reefing world

[iball1804]

Remember, LEDs are deceivingly dim. Yet they have an output far greater than thought.

 

It'll be fine. You just won't be able to put SPS on the corners

[Chaucer498]

Remember, LEDs are deceivingly dim. Yet they have an output far greater than thought.

 

It'll be fine. You just won't be able to put SPS on the corners

 

Yes, this is pretty much my thoughts and plans on this. The LEDs are so bright the camera doesn't do a good job of picking it up. As long as you know the limitations (can't stock high light intensive coral in the corners) it should be fine. This was my plan all along. I like leaving sufficient open spaces in the corners of the tanks for fish swimming and turning anyway. I'm pretty sure there will be more than enough light in the center of the tank where my display will primarily be.

[Chaucer498]

Yeah that was what I was getting at. 1 light fixture will not be enough I am thinking.

You have to remember that spread in your pics does not look like enough....................even before you but water in the tank.

 

I am no expert, and have been looking into LED lighting for my next build which will be 36x18x18.

I would need to go 2 fixtures there to get decent PAR on the sand bed as well as having proper spread so the corners would get light. I love the radio fixtures...............but needing 2 fixtures and the budget I have I am leaning towards AI Sol Blues ($650 with controller) versus 2 Radion's which would be $1500.

 

When you fill with water and get everything running you will be able to make the call based on your needs.

I really like your tank!

 

Thanks!

 

Yes, I agree with you. If I wanted full coverage on my tank I would most definitely need a second fixture. I may even add a second one in the future but for now I'm interested in keeping majority of my corals in the center only. I'm trying to go for a simple look with a nice coral display in the center (main focus of the tank) and leave the dim corners to the fish as swimming and turning areas. I don't really like taking and loading up the entire span of the tank with rock and coral (just a personal preference). I think if you want full coverage throughout the tank (corners and all) 2 fixtures is a must. This setup should work for my vision though.

[Chaucer498]

Great job on the clean up of the tank and stand. What kind of coverage do you get with the radion? It looks to me like you will need one more to have adequate coverage.

 

Thanks! It was a lot of work cleaning it up. I'm still waiting for a side door hinge to come in the mail so I can finish up the stand.

[Chaucer498]

I received an email yesterday from the site I purchased my sand from. Lucky me, it just so happens that this vendor is located in PA and I'm in NJ sooooooo my sand should arrive today. SWEET!

 

My side door hinge will probably arrive today too which means that we should see H2O this weekend.

 

Pictures to come...

 

Any thoughts on how long my cycle will be considering I am using Live Rock, Live Sand and bottled Ocean Water? Will I even see a spike? I'm thinking maybe a slight raise in ammonia but I don't know. It's been years since I cycled a tank and I had to wait a good week to get a cycle going since I made my own water and didn't have live sand. Thoughts? I'll be testing regardless just wondering if the method I used this time around may have sped things up a bit.

[PSYS]

Looks like it's gonna be an awesome set-up. This is time anxious time of excitement and anticipation when everyone wants to hurry, hurry, hurry and fill the tank! Hurry up and cycle! Cycle already!!!

 

Keep true to your original words and continue to have the patience that you've had... this thing is gonna be awesome once you get going.

 

Congrats on the start of a beautiful build!

[Chaucer498]

Looks like it's gonna be an awesome set-up. This is time anxious time of excitement and anticipation when everyone wants to hurry, hurry, hurry and fill the tank! Hurry up and cycle! Cycle already!!!

 

Keep true to your original words and continue to have the patience that you've had... this thing is gonna be awesome once you get going.

 

Congrats on the start of a beautiful build!

 

Thanks for the encouraging words!

 

You are right, nothing good happens fast in a reef tank.

 

I keep telling myself that. Tonight I need to try and work on getting some things mounted in the stand.

[PSYS]

Thanks a lot for the encouraging words!

 

You are right, nothing good happens fast in a reef tank.

 

I keep telling myself that. Tonight I need to try and work on getting some things mounted in the stand.

 

You're welcome!!

 

Good luck with the work on the stand tonight and enjoy your weekend!

[mpsti05]

Looks like the light should be good there. Sweet get that sand in there and get that tank runnin!

[Chaucer498]

Okay, loooong and productive day today. LOOOOooooong story short...I filled the tank. Some pictures below and more to come.

 

Tank at half full:

 

 

Full:

 

 

Side View from the Vortech side:

 

 

 

 

This is so far spot on as to how I wanted my tank to look. I was able to pick up some really nice premium rock from my LFS. It is supposedly man-made stuff that is created with great shapes and is cured in tanks that are safe of any bad hitchhikers and reef pests. I couldn't really tell the difference between this rock and ocean rock so I went the safe route. It did cost much more than the ocean rock though. I really liked the feel of it and how porous it is. I am usually terrible with aquascaping but I actually like the way I set it up.

 

One of the workers at the LFS heard how I was setting up my tank and got really excited. lol He said it was a smart idea with the route I took with my light because I'll have low light areas and shaded area for corals that can't take the intense lighting. He says he can't keep any of the low light corals in his tank because his tank is too light intensive. I had this issue in the past on my old reef so I sort of knew how I wanted to go into this tank.

 

Overall, I am really feeling the look and am really happy with it so far. I thought the water was going to be really nasty and murky as it has been for me in the past but not too much stuff blew around. I tried to fill the water in the tank by splashing across the rocks and not the sand. My sand...yes, my sand is not exactly the conventional reef look. heh. This was how I had set one of my first reef setups many years ago and it was one of my favorite tanks so I decided to go that route again. I loved how the fish and coral popped out from the dark black bottom. A yellow tang looked so vibrant. Anyway, I'm rambling. Hope you like the setup.

 

I have to go back to the LFS tomorrow because the heater I picked up today is faulty. Bah! I have no luck with these things.

[Chaucer498]

Well I picked up a new replacement heater and it seems this one is acting strange as well and doesn't do a good job of heating the water. For some reason I keep seeing the red heater light go off and the temps are not being met. It's a 300W Titanium heater with electronic control. Anyone have any experience with these?

 

I shot an email to the company to see if they want to make good on a bad situation. This is the first Finnex product I have used and will probably be the last if they don't come through and explain why their heaters aren't working properly.

[Chaucer498]

Well I picked up a new replacement heater and it seems this one is acting strange as well and doesn't do a good job of heating the water. For some reason I keep seeing the red heater light go off and the temps are not being met. It's a 300W Titanium heater with electronic control. Anyone have any experience with these?

 

I shot an email to the company to see if they want to make good on a bad situation. This is the first Finnex product I have used and will probably be the last if they don't come through and explain why their heaters aren't working properly.

 

UPDATE:

 

I took the second heater back to the LFS and explained what I had experienced with the second heater. I had to dial the heater up to 90 degrees just to get the tank temps to 79 degrees. The heater only goes to 92. I told the guys at the LFS I would be too worried that the heater would one day raise the temps to 90 degrees and cook my tank. They swapped it out for a 500Watt heater which seemed to be working better though I am going to continue monitoring it. The guy at the LFS said it was the last time they order an Finnex products because they had a whole box of stuff that has to be returned for being faulty. It's a shame too because the heater does appear to be well built and solid.

 

On another note, I think I will probably end up adding a MP40 on the left side of the tank. My original plans were to add another mp10 to the left side which would end up being the equivalent of one mp40, but I think I want some serious power on that side of the tank. It will give me more areas to work with consisting of high flow, low flow, high light, low light.

[Chaucer498]

Hey guys I had a question about evaporation water.

 

My tank is obviously open on top so I seem to be getting a steady flow of 1gallon evap a day...give or take.

 

I do not have an RO/DI unit yet but plan on getting one for my evap water int he future. I have been buying Nestle Pure Life containers as my evap water. The label says that the water is purified using Reverse Osmosis or Distillation of which from my understanding either method is good for purification in our reefs.

 

I started looking into this because I have started to get the brown diatom algae bloom. I know this is sort of normal in a new tank while is cycling. I know it then dies off after leaching all the nutrients in the water. I was just curious and somewhat disturbed that maybe I am introducing extra nutrients into the water by using the Nestle Pure Life. The reason I suspected it was because I saw they add minerals for taste. Then I went on a mission to find what minerals. Some search online seems to suggest the water is safe and some reefers have tested it with a TDS meter and while not the best option it's wasn't really that bad.

 

I'm wondering if anyone has used this water or if there is a better water to use out there for evap water? I don't want to start my reef tank behind the curve. I want to have a clean fresh start. Any suggestions?

 

I think I may wait another week or two and introduce a CUC.

[ditka]

if you would like some assurance on the quality of the nestle pure life water try finding a local water company that will check the TDS for you. If that isn't an option then fork over $20-$30 and get one of these .

 

or just buy your RO/DI with in-line TDS meter right now and be done with it.

[Chaucer498]

if you would like some assurance on the quality of the nestle pure life water try finding a local water company that will check the TDS for you. If that isn't an option then fork over $20-$30 and get one of these .

 

or just buy your RO/DI with in-line TDS meter right now and be done with it.

 

Thanks for the link. I may have to pick one of those meters up because now curiosity is killing me. I just read that the distilled method of purification is even better and more aggressive than RO/DI. I don't know how true that is but I am pretty sure I did see water at the store that was distilled and no minerals were added. I may end up giving those a try.

[twan]

RO/DI unit and a TDS meter.

You bought quality items they need this backbone.

[Chaucer498]

RO/DI unit and a TDS meter.

You bought quality items they need this backbone.

 

Yea, the RO/DI was already on my hit list. Hopefully, I can pick one up sooner than later. I figured buying water would be easier for now.

[twan]

Yea, the RO/DI was already on my hit list. Hopefully, I can pick one up sooner than later. I figured buying water would be easier for now.

 

I would like to know how the radion is working out for you and the dimensions of your tank please.

Thanks!

[Shallow]

The light coverage looks pretty sick.

[Chaucer498]

It's been a while since I last made an update and I have made some more changes.

 

Here are some pics of the tank:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I added about 90 more lbs of rock to the tank. I upgraded the skimmer from a 6" eshopp cone skimmer to a Reef Octopus 8" skimmer. I didn't have a pleasant experience with the eshopp skimmer and long story short the skimmer cracked straight down the middle. It was an overpriced piece of plastic that never really worked well and was too much of a pain to get it to the sweet spot.

 

The reef octopus.... Much better skimmer. Very pleased with it so far.

 

I now have two mp10s running on the system and they provide adequate flow for my tank.

 

I just hit the 6-7 month tank age and the 3 coral colonies I have in here for some months now have started to spread now. I just picked up a torch coral yesterday so hopefully it does okay where I put him.

 

I did pick up an RO/DI unit as well for my water.

 

Going to give it some more time and then I will be getting some nice color zoanthids and rics with some lps.

 

Edit: forgot to add that I also added a Next Reef MR1 shorty that hangs from my sump with a phosphate media. I'm thinking of getting a second one to run some carbon through it.

[uglyfish]

update

[saltwatercoral]

update

+1