A Macro Tank in a TV Studio

[phobos2deimos]

Hey guys, getting back into it after a few years.  This tank is going to end up in our master control office at work.  We just renovated and I managed to make it an excuse to get back into reefing 😄

This is my old big macro tank, I'm going for a similar vibe.  Old thread here: 

Bought a nice 20g from Reefer78 and decided to build a nice stand to fit the space perfectly. Should have it done tonight.
No sump so I can keep it simple.
Lighting I've been going back and forth between an A160we and a PrimeHD.  I think the Prime is going to be my choice, since I want a white light and the controller is integrated.

 

 

 

 

 

If any of y'all still have my macros out there I'll definitely have to hit you up!!

 

[phobos2deimos]

Got the rock and sand in this weekend.  I have a bit more BRS rock and fiji rubble that I may end up adding for hiding spots for fish and pods.

 

 

 

This tank is in our Master Control that runs our local education and public access TV channels in San Diego - you can see our master screen split in the reflection. 🙂

These are feeds from IP and satellite decoders, as well as local cable, feeds from the studios, and some other places.  From here our ops make sure the stations stay on the air.

[dling]

Great job on the stand. Looks really nice.

[WV Reefer]

7 hours ago, phobos2deimos said:

Got the rock and sand in this weekend.  I have a bit more BRS rock and fiji rubble that I may end up adding for hiding spots for fish and pods.

 

 

 

This tank is in our Master Control that runs our local education and public access TV channels in San Diego - you can see our master screen split in the reflection. 🙂

These are feeds from IP and satellite decoders, as well as local cable, feeds from the studios, and some other places.  From here our ops make sure the stations stay on the air.

 

Welcome back! 

 

The tank looks great so far. 😀

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

I really like your aquascape. Wish my LFS had a good selection of dry or liverock to choose from to make something like that.

[phobos2deimos]

Thanks guys.  Rock selection is pretty rough right now but one of our stores had a decent set of marcorock to dig through.

 

Got the first additions to the tank... two clowns, some pom pom xenia, and some zoas.

 

 

[yoshii]

Nice stand and beautiful clowns! It's going to look great with a bunch of macros 🙂

[dling]

Are those Pulsing Xenia's ? If yes, be careful they grow like weeds.

[phobos2deimos]

Can't wait for the macros to grow in!  I just put in an order to live-plants and hunted down C. Serrulata, one of my favorite macros, so I'm pretty psyched about that.

The pom pom xenia was chosen specifically for its hardiness and growth, so it'll keep up with the macros.  I might have to chunk the zoas off the rock and move them further up away from the xenia and substrate.

[phobos2deimos]

Progress!

Looks like Gracilaria sp. but I think it's actually Halymenia sp.

No idea, hope it survives:

[yoshii]

Nice! I like the Caulerpa meadow in the front

[VictoryBell]

Oooo I can’t wait to see this grow in! 

[phobos2deimos]

Quick update, things are growing pretty nicely already.  The C. Prolifera especially has taken off.

 

I really need a nem, though... the clowns are hosting the Prolifera!  They dive in and just waggle around in it most of the day.

 

The rather crappy C. Serrulata I got has almost totally died off right off the bat.  Maybe I'll get lucky and it'll regrow, doubt it.  This whole side was full of it.

 

Added a tiny Bangaii Cardinal today.  Almost went with a small Lubbock's Wrasse but figured people in my office would like the Bangaii more.

 

This has been coasting along nicely, got quite a bit more pink... perhaps Rhodopeltis sp.?

[phobos2deimos]

Ferts ready to go

Busted out one of my old ghetto temp controllers for the growout tank at home... still works!

Red Gracilaria is pearling like crazy already.  I'm gonna start supplementing pressurized CO2 using my offroad tire fillup kit and a cheap $7 needle valve, should get crazier pearling than this once that's done.

Here's the 55g growout tank.  Using the CREE 150w equivalent par38s from home depot, but I think I'm gonna switch to chinese black boxes and see how it goes.  These floodlights are a little too far up IMO.

From right to left - chaeto and ulva growout, which will moved to make room for halymenia and portreria.  The tubing is from my submerged pump, which keeps the tank flow going constant left to right in order to keep the chaeto from getting mixed in with everything else.

Then the "good stuff" - Halymenia, Birdsnest Graciliaria, Portreria, branching coraline, G. Mammillaris, Bryothamnion, C. Prolifera, Codium, Brown Graciliaria, Rhodopeltis (?), dragon's breath, Botryocladia, etc.

top down

Last off, plain red graciliaria and C. Prolifera, and the return spray bar.

[dling]

Great job. Thats a very cool set up for growth.

[phobos2deimos]

On 5/16/2019 at 12:36 AM, dling said:

Great job. Thats a very cool set up for growth.

Thanks!

 

Finally did something I've wanted to do forever... pressurized CO2 for the macros!  Used the CO2 that I use to refill my tires when I'm offroading.  All I had to buy was a cheap needle valve to dial the flow wayyyy down.  I have it diffusing into the powerhead.

I've also been practicing my macro shots a bit today.  Pretty happy with them but I have more to go.

The Dragon's Breath has gotten suuuuper bright.  I have it under pretty high light, which limits the growth a bit but gets great color.

[phobos2deimos]

11 days later FTS, getting past the nasty stage!  Diatom bloom is definitely over.  Next is to handle the GHA.  It's receding, but I might throw a small blenny in there to help out.  I moved the uppermost rock so it gets a bit less light.  I hate having rocks against the display glass, though, so I'll probably move it again soon.
Added Halimeda Opuntia in a couple spots, moved the Dragon's Breath down low to increase growth, added what might be Gracilaria or Eucheuma sp, and finally got some Blue Hypnea in there!  Might actually be Blue Ochtodes, I need to check it against my old pictures.
C. Prolifera is doing great, finally had to prune a bit.  The crappy C. Serrulata is long gone, but I'm picking more of that up (and C. Brachypus!) later today.
Nitrates/Phosphates are way low, gonna start dosing those in this tank next week.

[Tamberav]

Really beautiful tank!

[Lypto]

What a fantastic tank, I love how much the C. Prolifera has spread and made a meadow.  Is there anywhere where you show how to make the ferts you use?  I love the results. ☺️

 

[phobos2deimos]

Thank you both! I'm overdue to post updated pics and my other 50g at home.  

I'm in a crazy huge line at comic con right now but I'll post up a quick bit about the ferts later.

[phobos2deimos]

On 7/20/2019 at 10:48 PM, Lypto said:

What a fantastic tank, I love how much the C. Prolifera has spread and made a meadow.  Is there anywhere where you show how to make the ferts you use?  I love the results. ☺️

 

So you can either dose dry, or via solution.  Dry means you don't need to mix, but might be limited in accuracy.  I do a solution so I can customize how concentrated my ferts will be.  For nitrate I like 1ml=1ppm in my 50g tank, so a regular dose for me is 10ml.  For phosphate, I do 10ml=1ppm in my 50g tank.

Using the nutrient dosing calculator at rotala butterfly, this is what that looks like:

 

From here it'll tell me that I need 135 grams of KH2PO4 in my 500ml container to make a solution of this concentration.  I dump the granulated KH2PO4 in the 500ml container, fill the rest with RODI, and mix it up.  Bam, custom fert solution for not much money.

I do this for N, P, micros, and Fe.