Sangheili/House of Sticks Triton Powered Display System & Fish Room

[schaNYC]

I noticed you have a sand in your fuge. Correct me I'm wrong... Doesn't the triton method discourage using sand in the algae bed? Not trying to find fault with your setup, just trying to learn more about the triton method.

[sangheili]

I guess in a pure sense yes but it's not a big deal. The sand is mostly in one side and used to hold down some of the macros that attach (buried frag plugs and roots). I think also most people have their refugium in the sump and the sand would keep detritus on the bottom instead of allowing it to remain suspended.

 

DSB is heavily heavily discouraged though and I do not have one of those.

[sangheili]

Some updated growth pics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sangheili]

New light for my frag tank (48x18x18). I really wanted to do T5 but couldn't justify the price of a new ATI fixture on a frag tank.

 

So I ended up purchasing a 6bulb 48" Hydrofarm with the expectation it would put out probably 30-50% less light then my ATI Powermodule when only running T5s. Boy was I wrong.

 

With 4 T5 bulbs (2 Blue+, 1 Coral+, 1 Actinic) on the ATI I get about 250PAR at 26".

 

With 6 bulbs (4 Blue+ and 2 Coral+) on the Hydrofarm I got about 150PAR at 26".

 

50% more bulbs for 40% less PAR - wow. It looks like the main culprit is that the reflectors on the Hydrofarm don't have such as an aggressive beam angle as the ATIs - kind of cripples it at height.

 

So I spent half the day pondering a solution and think I scored big time.

 

 

 

Yep, I frankensteined my 300w Marsaqua into the Hydrofarm. At the same 26" I am getting 600PAR now! Along with the added benefit of non-uniform intense light so that I can still have lower light areas in the tank for things like chalices and leptos.

 

 

 

Total cost new, with bulbs: $425

[lilmatty5dimes]

That's great growth but not only that the color improvement is awesome as well. Great job.

[D Z]

New light for my frag tank (48x18x18). I really wanted to do T5 but couldn't justify the price of a new ATI fixture on a frag tank.

 

So I ended up purchasing a 6bulb 48" Hydrofarm with the expectation it would put out probably 30-50% less light then my ATI Powermodule when only running T5s. Boy was I wrong.

 

With 4 T5 bulbs (2 Blue+, 1 Coral+, 1 Actinic) on the ATI I get about 250PAR at 26".

 

With 6 bulbs (4 Blue+ and 2 Coral+) on the Hydrofarm I got about 150PAR at 26".

 

50% more bulbs for 40% less PAR - wow. It looks like the main culprit is that the reflectors on the Hydrofarm don't have such as an aggressive beam angle as the ATIs - kind of cripples it at height.

 

So I spent half the day pondering a solution and think I scored big time.

 

 

 

Yep, I frankensteined my 300w Marsaqua into the Hydrofarm. At the same 26" I am getting 600PAR now! Along with the added benefit of non-uniform intense light so that I can still have lower light areas in the tank for things like chalices and leptos.

 

 

 

Total cost new, with bulbs: $425

Awesome retro...#winning!

[sangheili]

Got my Avast Porthole today so I took a few pics. Still waiting on the macro lens so these were all shot with the stock 15-35. Hoping the light reflection spot goes away when using the macro lens.

 

Tank is doing fantastic except my clams are struggling with Pinched Mantle. I'm going to have to hold back on buying any for a few months to try to squash it. Running heavy Carbon right now and doing FW dips.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[D Z]

Amazing photography. Everything looks great! Love the PE on all your SPS. What is this one?

[sangheili]

Amazing photography. Everything looks great! Love the PE on all your SPS. What is this one?

Acropora Plana

[sangheili]

So another day, another struggle.

The tank has Bryopsis.

Going to be hitting this one hard. Already got a Yellow Tang that appears to be eating some of it. I ripped out all the egg crate and froze it to kill what was there. Kent Tech-M is on its way. On the hunt now for some Bryopsis-eating livestock - planning to grab some Lettuce Nudibraches, Emerald Crabs (rarely touch it but worth a try), FW Mollies, and maybe some Urchins. Also going to pull what I can and peroxide spot treat stuff.

[Cameron6796]

Oh man, well if t has problems I sure can't tell. Looks really good.

[D Z]

So another day, another struggle.

 

The tank has Bryopsis.

 

Going to be hitting this one hard. Already got a Yellow Tang that appears to be eating some of it. I ripped out all the egg crate and froze it to kill what was there. Kent Tech-M is on its way. On the hunt now for some Bryopsis-eating livestock - planning to grab some Lettuce Nudibraches, Emerald Crabs (rarely touch it but worth a try), FW Mollies, and maybe some Urchins. Also going to pull what I can and peroxide spot treat stuff.

Sounds like you are hitting it hard from all possibly angles. Just be carefull when spiking the mag with the tech m. It will also cause your salinity and alk to rise, FYI. Some people also dose some top off at the same time to couteract this. I, unfortunately, did not know about this and lost a couple piece due to the alk spike and am still dealing with alk being slightly higher than I want a couple months later. Daily dosing of peroxide is what eventually helped me get rid of it, but it is back now. One thing that I noticed is that my turbo ate all the bryopsis, but not until it was already white/partially dead from the peroxide treatments.

 

Good luck, bryopsis is a PIA.

[wrassegauche17]

anyone know if urchin,turbos, or leopard wrasse sensitive to tech m?

[D Z]

anyone know if urchin,turbos, or leopard wrasse sensitive to tech m?

I know that I have heard of others having issues with cleaner shrimp. I'm not sure about the urchin or turbo, but I would be cautious. The wrasse should be fine, I have never heard of anyone having problems with fish.

[sangheili]

A little update I guess. Yellow Tang is eating most of it in the frag tank. I added some Lettuce Nudibranches this week and they seem to be cleaning up stuff too. Started dosing a bit of Tech-M as well.

 

I think the outbreak is so minor and slow-growing that this will be an easy battle. Hopefully not jinxing it, but it doesn't seem too serious and I think the form of Bryopsis I have isn't as crazy as the large fern type I've had in a different tank previously.

 

On a side note, I got my business license for my new coral propagation company a couple days ago

[wrassegauche17]

only feathers i like are ones in my cap and my boa. not in the fish tank.

goodluck with your bryopsis treatment!

[sangheili]

Some quick shots,

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sangheili]

And a couple updated growth pics:

 

 

 

[4x5]

Looking good.

[schaNYC]

Looks like you have an apex auto feeder in the upper left corner. How do u like it? Read some mixed reviews online.

[sangheili]

Looks like you have an apex auto feeder in the upper left corner. How do u like it? Read some mixed reviews online.

Loud and annoying, but it works well. I have one on both tanks actually. Only downside is most of my fish wont eat anything I put in it, since I feed them frozen every day.

[JR!]

growth looks awesome

[sangheili]

Some new pics...

 

Coolers Turaki

 

ORA Pearlberry

 

SSC

 

Blue Vermiculata

 

Joe's Milli

 

Red Dragon

 

ORA Red Planet

 

Ricordia

 

Ricordia

 

Blue Squamosa (Teal from top - blue from side)

 

Orange Torch/Green Frogspawn/Orange Hammer

 

Zoas

 

Zoas

 

Zoas

[Addinali]

This looks great so many colors.

[sangheili]

The frag tank is packed now...