I started the tank 1 week ago. It is a regular 90 gallon with left corner over flow. The sump is a 20L. I am dosing carbon and GFO. I also have a denitrator. thats about it for filtration (for now)
here is what im using for flow right now. (want to upgrade to a vortech mp40 (es))
K3 and K2
400 Maxi Mod
After school on Thursday i bought this little frag of clove polps which looks really cool. It has been doing pretty well, and has been opening more each day.
Yesterday my dad offered to buy me some fish so i took him up on his offer. i got a pair of Ken’s clownfish. They are doing well and eating pellets.
Brett, since you dont want a sand bottom, shoudnt you put down a sheet of starboard or cutting boards to protect the glass bottom? a rock tumbling down, or sliding and scratching the tempered glass could make it shatter real fast. I thought most bare bottom reefs had some sort of protective bottom cover. It soon gets covered in coraline, so no problem with looks.
Probably a good idea to put some in, but also would probably be ok with out it. Many LFS use glass tanks for LR holding tanks for years and take rocks in and out all the time with out concern for scratching or breaking the glass. That being said you will find images of peoples tanks with the bottom broken out. Odds are it will be ok, BUT you never know.
have been really busy with school work. The tank is cycling and the rock is growing lots of brown and some green algae too. I will be drilling the rock as soon as i figure out how to, haha. I will not be picking up my t5 lights instead im going with LEDs. I dont know if i want to DIY it or buy from our new sponsor. Will have to do some more research.
Clowns are looking good and eating ok. One of them will eat alot of pellets and the other dosnt like them as much. oh well, they look healthy.
I’ll try and get some picture up, might not get a chance to until Thursday.
Brett it is up to you, but my recommendation would be to look at the big names in LED and if they don’t seem affordable stick with T5s. In my opinion if you don’t have a large amount of time to be reading up on the subject it isn’t going to happen over night. Also if this is your only tank you would be experimenting with the animals in it and may not be able to keep them alive.
Most of the people I know who have looked at LEDs have given up and after a year of reading and debating returned to buy Aqua Illuminations as a long term investments.(either that or still haven’t decided what to do an in essence stuck with T5s for now) If you are in the position to spend the money up front which in 10 years will work out for the better and are comfortable with the decision then go for it.
Even if I had the money I would still be waiting for a bit before putting them on my main display tank. I plan on experimenting on a nano in the future, but still waiting to see others results and what other companies come out with soon. Vertex is another brand I haven’t looked into too much. Marineland has one, but not sure if I would go with theirs even if it was half the price(looks like 0 control other then off on via a switch and other reasons)
Look into it, but if you are still unsure after a months worth of reading look into finding a T5 fixture and go with proven tech. There are plenty of used T5 to be found if you are looking.
These pictures are from last week, sorry it took so long to get them up. wil have some more recent ones up later.
Update- For lighting im going with the AI fixtures. I went with the SRO 2000 for my skimmer, it should be here next week (it was out of stock when i placed my order). I am going to epoxy my rocks together.
Tommrow I’m going up to That Fish place. I’m getting two tanks that will be my frag tank and fuge. Will also be picking up some puddy and a heater.
Tommrow when i get the tank i will redo my sump, just need to put in some baffles.
in other news- Yesterday i found one of my clownfish stuck to a powerhead dead! I guess he was not eating enough, i had him for over two weeks. The other clownfish looked kind of confused. I was feeding pellets and it looked like they were eating it, somewhat. even when i fed mysis they didnt seem to thrilled.
The last thing that i want to talk about is algae. I have notice a decrease in the brown stuff, and the green stuff seems to be increasing. Today makes it a week since i introduced coraline into the system and i havent seen much of it. I seem that i will have to take a blade to it if i want to see it spread faster
brett, are you also getting the AI controller or just the lights? if the controller, don’t forget the firmware on the AI site.
you really cannot use their legs, they don’t lift the modules high enough away from any bubbling/spray/turbulence. it’s just dumb/dangerous how they worked them. bottom of lights is only about 3" above tank top. unless there’s a better way, i say hang them.
im getting the whole shbang. Controller, lights, and hanging kit. I will be hanging it. im thinking between 12-18 inches above the tank. I have been doing some research and these lights put out some serious par. i cant wait to get mine!!
Im thinking about using just one of the rails so i can mount the fixture length wise over the tank.
Paul how is the light spread with the fixture the regular way? i dont really have a limit on how high the fixture can go, i just figure if i go length wise i will actually get more light in the tank.
[quote=“bz350, post:11, topic:3581”]
im getting the whole shbang. YOU MUST HAVE BEEN REALLY GOOD FOR SANTA TO GET THEM FOR YOU!!! Controller, lights , HOW MANY MODULES? and hanging kit. I will be hanging it. im thinking between 12-18 inches above the tank. I have been doing some research and these lights put out some serious par. i cant wait to get mine!! YOU WON’T BE DISAPPOINTED. THE ONLY THING IS THE CONTROLLER IS FINE FOR AN OLD GEEZER LIKE ME, BUT SOME FAST-COMPUTER GAME GEEK LIKE YOU WILL FIND IT OLD FASHIONED. BUT IT WORKS FINE. 2 THINGS ON THAT SCORE. EACH TIMER ASKS FOR A LUNAR CYCLE. SAY NO FOR EACH ONE EXCEPT THE LAST ONE YOU USE. OTHERWISE IT GIVES YOU WEIRD EFFECTS THAT MESSES UP THE LOOK. IT ALSO ALLOWS YOU TO “RAMP UP” LIGHTS FOR A SET PERIOD. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, IF TIMER 3 IS AT 5% WHITE FROM 9AM TO 9:30 AM AND YOU WANT TIMER 4 TO BE AT 50% WHITE FROM 9:35 [DON’T OVERLAP TIMES] UNTIL 11:30, YOU CAN SPECIFY HOW LONG IT TAKES TO GET TO 50%. THAT IS NOT HOW LONG THE TIME PERIOD IS THOUGH. IN THIS SITUATION, I’D WANT TO GO FROM 5-50 IN ABOUT 15 MINUTES, SO TIMER 5 WOULD START AT 9:35, END AT 11:30, BUT ONLY RAMP UP FOR 15 MINUTES, NOT THE ENTIRE TIME. OTHERWISE IT’D TAKE WAY TOO LONG TO REACH MAXIMUM OF 50%. CONFUSED??? THEY HAVE GREAT TECHNICAL SUPPORT–ASK FOR JOE.
Im thinking about using just one of the rails so i can mount the fixture length wise over the tank. IF YOUR ROCKWORK IS SUITABLE, GO THAT WAY.
Paul how is the light spread with the fixture the regular way? I HAVE 2 ON MY 75, BUT MOST OF MY LIFE IS IN THE CENTRAL AREA OF THE TANK, NOT WAY AT THE BACK OR WAY IN FRONT. i dont really have a limit on how high the fixture can go, i just figure if i go length wise i will actually get more light in the tank. IT TOOK ME A WEEK TO SLOWLY INCREASE AND GET THE LIGHT TO GET TO WHERE I HAVE, IT 87% WHITE, AND MINE ARE ABOUT 14" ABOVE WATER LINE. THERE’S VERY LITTLE OVERFLOW OF LIGHT INTO THE ROOM.
BTW, YOU’LL PROBABLY NEED AN ADDITIONAL DATA CORD THAT GOES FROM M1 MOD TO ANOTHER, IF YOU KEEP THE MODS MORE THAN A FOOT APART. RADIO SHACK HAS THEM. $8, I THINK.[/quote]
THE BLUE AND ROYAL BLUE ARE GONNA KNOCK YOUR EYEBALLS OUTTA YOUR BRAIN!! i always thought the colors i saw on people’s pics were photoshopped, but just wait until you see a pale zoa in the daytime glow like it’s radioactive!!
Ok, I am going to be the bad guy here. I think you moving too fast, and expect too much. I would cancel your lights and pick up and read reef book first. I never knew you can cycle reef tank with Acropora.
Clowns are probably poisoned by ammonia, it’s only being 2-3 weeks since you set up BB and uncured rock system, I don’t see any mention of Cal/Alk/Mag maintenance, testing, water changes and list goes on and on. Best thing you can do now is run skimmer and do lots of water changes. Put you money in water circulation, and not LED. And before you know when you ready for LED’s they I’ll half the price. Other wise it’s going to be a very frustrating reef tank experience. :TWOCENTS
Have to agree that you may need to take a step back and slow down a bit. If you are losing animals then it may be best to take a month off from new additions. I usually say reef tanks should be cycled for 5-6 months before addition of certain types of stonies. If you spend money on some nice equipment and know what you are doing you can rush things a little bit, but it seems way too soon.
Is that a Hydor K4 and a Maxijet mod? May be too much flow with that little amount of rock and coral to block flow. Clowns are not the strongest swimmers. Hard to say with out seeing it in person.
I think the hobby would be a lot more enjoyable and your success would be a lot better if you were to read, “The Reef Aquarium Volume Three” cover to cover. That being said I’ve stated that on this forum about 20 times in the past to 15 different people and Rosti may be the only one who has read it.
i shouldve said something the day i saw you in DPA, but I probably could’ve given you close to 90 gallons of aged water…although your rock isn’t seeded, this could’ve helped…
still an option if you could get some from maybe two members, get just water from their tank, not the normal WC muck…
Im loving my BB by the way, my skimmer doesnt pull as much as it once did, so ive been feeding a tad more than normal…
i hope i wasn’t misinterpreted to be saying ignore tank issues in favor of lights. all i was commenting on was the AI leds and my opinion of their positive points.
the reason why the fish died was because it wasn’t eating enough. Its stomach was pinched. i was irresponsible and did not take proper care of it. I should have bought a wider verity of food for them.
With this said I will probably not be getting any fish/coral for at least a month. I got some rock from ken which contains some very diverse life. This isn’t my first trip to the rodeo, I’ve been into reefing going on 4 years. With that said i still have lots to learn, haha. My dad offered to buy me a pair of clownfish. i accepted. i would have liked to waited another week before i introduced them but it was free.
i know this doesn’t happen over night, my last tank took 2 years to get it to its prime. I still have much to do. Have to epoxy putty the rocks rebuild my sump, build a stand for my frag tank and fuge, drill the tanks and the list goes on.
I will need a light. It’s not worth it to buy a t5 and sell it for half of what it is worth. Ill buy this light and I will never need to buy a new one. If I downgrade to a cube ill sell one fixture and keep the controller and 1 fixture.
Paul i will be buying two fixtures. I am switching my scape up and will be going with two islands instead of what i had before.
Well the last 4 days have been crazy! Built a new sump with some glass baffles, did a small modification to my plumbing (will be doing something more dramatic soon), drilled my rock, and did a water change of about 20 gallons. Will post some pictures tomorrow as the lights are out and I’m tired haha.
Some bad news though. With the rock being out of water so long a lot of bacteria died and the cycling will take longer. It will all work out though as I still have a lot to do before I even think about adding more live stock.
The clownfish looks to be doing fine. i took out the moded maxi jet and moved the k3 to the other side. I can tell the clown appreciates low flow as she is swimming around much more then before.
Now for some more bad news. My digi and cap were rotting and i took them out today. They looked to be surviving, but not much more then that.
Next on the list is an order to BRS. Have to get the stuff to drill the tanks, plumb them, and a dual reactor. Then I need to build the stand for the tanks. I’m hoping to have this done within the next 2-3 week and the end of the month at worst.
